The SIGN ABOVE ALL SIGNS

By David E. Crosby, pastor
First Baptist New Orleans
Easter Sunday, the Year of Our Lord 2012

One of the Onion Boys (email for explanation) asked me a few minutes ago by email about the meaning of Easter. I was happy to explain to this Muslim friend halfway around the world why Easter is the greatest celebration of our Christian faith.

The disciples asked Jesus about the signs of the end of the age. His critics had previously asked him for a sign to prove that he was the Messiah. He told them that an “evil and adulterous generation” asks for a sign, and that no sign would be given except the sign of the prophet Jonah. Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights, and the Son of Man would be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The only sign would be the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Easter is the day we remember the Sign above all signs. On this day, God raised Jesus from the dead. This is the message that Peter preached to the crowd on Pentecost Sunday in Jerusalem seven weeks after the crucifixion of Jesus. This is the message for which Stephen was stoned by the Jewish Council. This is the message that Paul preached in the synagogues across Asia Minor. This is the message that called together and constituted the early church. “He is risen!”

A new believer asked me why Jesus stayed in only a small region of the earth when he could have gone to all the different countries and continents. It is a thought-provoking question. My answer is this: the gospel was best-served by having a handful of people who were completely persuaded that the resurrection had occurred and that Jesus was the Messiah. These people would be intimately acquainted with Jesus and his teachings. They would be witnesses to the miracles, the sermons, and the behavior of Jesus of Nazareth. They would see for themselves the execution and the burial. They would go to the empty tomb, and they would see Jesus in his glorified body. With this core group of people who knew Jesus and knew the truth, human history could be changed and people would come to faith.

We stand on the shoulders of Peter and John today. They arrived breathless at the empty tomb that first Easter morning as we do now every Resurrection Day. And all of our lives are changed forever.