The Resurrection Changes Everything

The Easter message is that change is possible. Anything is possible with God and the resurrection is proof. Friends, our God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He does not change, but he is the God of change. He gives second chances. He gives fresh starts. He gives new beginnings. He gives do-overs. Our God is the God of transformation. And I want you to know this Easter that change is possible.

But for many of us, we live with that old dog mentality. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks, right? And so for many of us, we look at our lives and we think, well, this is just how it’s going to be. This is who I am. This is how it is. It’s not going to change — my situation, my health, my thinking, my mental ruts. I’m just going to stay stuck. I’m going to stay lonely. I’m going to stay depressed. I’m going to stay broken. I’m going to stay hurt. We believe that change is not possible. That’s actually a lie that we’ve been led to believe.

Because, you know, we look at some things and we’re like, well, yeah, you can change some things. You can change your clothes, you could dye your hair. But there are other things that are harder to change. Like I’m five eleven and three quarters. I’ve always wanted to be a little bit taller. I cannot make myself taller. And because of those things that can’t change, we believe that lie — that change is not possible.

But I want you to hear this. God can change anyone, anything, anytime. The resurrection is proof, friends, that God can change anyone, anything, anytime. Think about Jesus. Jesus made the deaf hear. He made the blind see. He made the dead alive. He healed broken hearts and fractured minds. God can change anyone, anything, anytime.

So to discover that truth, we’re going to read the Easter story. Would you grab your Bibles and open up with me to Matthew 28, verses one through ten.

If you’re unfamiliar with the story of Jesus, let me give you a little bit of context. Jesus started his public ministry in Israel almost two thousand years ago, where he went around preaching and teaching about the kingdom of God and giving miraculous signs to show that the Kingdom of God was arriving in person and in flesh. And Jesus, although he did miracles, was opposed by the religious leaders. They condemned him. They crucified him. They put him on the cross. He died, and then he was buried on Friday. On Saturday, the disciples mourned. But on Sunday, something happened that changed the world.

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, and going to the tomb rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here. He has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead, and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him. Now I have told you.'” So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said, and they came to him, clasped his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee. There they will see me.”

— Matthew 28:1–10

So this is Matthew’s account of the resurrection of Jesus that first Easter Sunday. Let’s unpack it for just a moment.

We see at the beginning Mary Magdalene and the other Mary go to visit the tomb. Now, why is Mary Magdalene the one who’s named and the other Mary is just shafted? She’s just the other Mary. That poor other Mary — she’s just the other Mary for eternity. They go to visit the tomb because they were there to grieve their master, their teacher who had died. But when they show up, it was not as they expected. An angel arrives, there’s an earthquake, the tombstone is rolled away, the body is not there. And the angel proclaims, “He is not here. He has risen.” They came mourning and grieving, but now they were leaving filled with awestruck joy. They were changed.

But then, as they’re leaving, Jesus himself meets them. The resurrected Jesus — the one who was crucified, died, was put in the tomb, and three days later rose from the grave — he meets them and he says, “Greetings.” The original text is basically like he’s saying, “Hey.” Like if you just raised from the dead, isn’t there anything better than that? Hey. And the women — this is significant — it says they bow down and they worship him. These women were Jews, meaning they’re monotheists. They worship one God and one God only. And so for them to worship Jesus, they’re proclaiming him as God come to earth. And importantly, Jesus accepts this worship, confirming yes, he is God come to earth to rescue humanity from their sins and their separation from God. He was dead, but now he is alive. That’s a pretty big change, don’t you think?

How Can We Trust the Resurrection Happened?

Many people have for many years put this theory out there that the disciples wanted to keep the whole charade going. And so they stole the body of Jesus and proclaimed that he’d risen from the dead so that they could gain some sort of notoriety, fame, or success. But this idea is refuted fairly easily when you look at what happened to the disciples for proclaiming the resurrection. They didn’t gain success or fame or money. They were all eventually brutally killed for proclaiming the resurrection. Peter was crucified in Rome. James was beheaded in Jerusalem. Andrew was crucified in Greece. Philip was stoned in Turkey. Bartholomew was flayed alive and beheaded in Armenia. They did not die for a lie. They died for the truth.

That’s one evidence of the resurrection. But here are three others, because if you’re doubtful, if you’re a skeptic, I can understand. This is a big claim.

The first evidence is that women were the witnesses at the tomb. Two thousand years ago, women were not considered reliable witnesses. They couldn’t even testify in court. No fabrication, no lie would include women as the witnesses, because that would just make it seem untrustworthy. So no fabrication would include it. They’re reporting it as it is. Jesus appeared to the women first.

The second evidence is the empty tomb. The Romans knew the tomb was empty. The Jewish leaders knew the tomb was empty. The disciples knew the tomb was empty. The question was how it was empty — was the body stolen, or was Jesus actually alive, resurrected from the grave?

The third evidence is the resurrection appearances. Jesus didn’t just appear to these women. He appeared to the disciples and then to a group of five hundred people. These witnesses were around when the Gospels were written, and they could have easily refuted them, saying, “No, this isn’t true, I didn’t see the resurrected Jesus.” But they affirmed it. They said, “Yes, I saw the resurrected Jesus. I’m a witness to him being alive even after he was killed and crucified.”

These three evidences and more help us to know that the Gospel is not something you have to turn your mind off to believe. Reason and faith actually go together.

What Does the Resurrection Change in Us?

So if the resurrection is true, if God came to earth to rescue each and every one of us, what would that mean for you today? I’ve got three things that I think the resurrection changes in us, and I think one of them might be exactly what you need to hear.

Point 1: The Resurrection Changes My Mind

Nothing is too hard for God.

The women show up to the tomb to mourn Jesus who had died, and their natural conclusion was that because Jesus had died, he would stay dead. Even though Jesus had said that he would rise from the grave, they didn’t believe that, because they thought rising from the grave is impossible. You just can’t do that. But when they see the resurrected Jesus, all of a sudden their minds are changed, and now they begin to believe that nothing is too hard for God.

We will find ourselves at times in life facing impossibilities. We will face difficult situations. We’ll face burdens that are too heavy for us to carry. We will face problems that we don’t know how to solve. And it’s in those moments that I want you to remember that God can do anything. Nothing is too hard for him.

But we do have an enemy who wants us to believe that change is not possible. We have an enemy who wants us to think that you or your friend or your family member is beyond hope. He wants us to stay in our mental ruts. He wants us to stay anxious, to stay depressed. This enemy wants us to stay lonely. He wants us to keep thinking that our sin and our past are going to continually define us, that this is just who we are. But I need you to listen to this. Change is possible because nothing is too hard for God. He can do anything. You are not doomed to stay as you are. You are not doomed to stay depressed, broken, hurting, lonely, anxious. Our sin, our shame, our insecurities, the pain and anguish we go through — these things are like filthy clothes that he can easily change.

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

— Matthew 19:26

About four days a week I try to work out downstairs in my basement. I get up around five a.m., read my Bible, and then I work out. And some mornings my one-and-a-half year old likes to get up with me and work out with me. On those mornings I’ll grab the highchair, put it downstairs, plop him in it, give him Cheerios, give him his sippy cup, and just hope that he stays happy while I’m working out. But eventually he eats everything or throws everything, and then he wants to get out because he’s bored. And so on those times, I’ll let him down and have him hang out with me.

Just a couple weeks ago, I did that. I let him down and he saw these ten-pound dumbbells on the floor. He reaches down to try to pick them up, and as much as he tries, he just cannot get these dumbbells off the floor. It was impossible for him. Now, friends, what was impossible for him was easy for me. I can easily lift ten-pound dumbbells. There are going to be situations in your life where you feel like you can’t lift the weight off the floor. You cannot fix the problem. It is impossible for you. And when you face those impossibilities, I want you to know that what is impossible for you is easy for your Heavenly Father. He is not worried or burdened by the weight that you cannot pick up. God can easily do it. Anything is possible for him.

Now there’s this reality that even though anything is possible for God, it doesn’t mean that he will do everything. There have been situations in my life where I’ve asked God over and over again to do something for me, and he hasn’t done it. Why is that? Well, it’s because God is not a genie who’s just going to grant every wish. God is not a vending machine where if we push the right buttons, he’s going to give us what we ask for in prayer. God is a loving father, and a loving father is going to do what’s best for his children. There may be times when we think we know what’s best for ourselves, but God knows better. So we can keep asking, but he’s going to say, “I’m not going to give you something that’s going to harm you.” He’s a loving father.

God can do anything, but I can’t force him to change anything. But we are told to keep on praying. Jesus once told a story of a woman who was seeking justice from a judge, and she kept going to him over and over and over again, until finally the judge relented and gave her justice.

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.

— Luke 18:1

Keep on praying and don’t ever give up. Why? Because anything is possible with God. We just keep praying and we leave the answers to him. The resurrection is the proof.

Point 2: The Resurrection Changes My Heart

Nothing can keep me from his love.

When the women arrive at the tomb, what does the angel say to them? “Do not be afraid.” Well, why does the angel say that? Jews believed that if you saw an angel, you were as good as dead — that the angel was there to pronounce God’s judgment upon you. And so when these women show up and they see the angel, they think, “Oh no, we’re dead.” And the angel, knowing what they’re thinking, says, “No, no, no, do not be afraid. I’m not here to pronounce death. I’m here to pronounce that Jesus is alive. He is risen.” They came with their hearts afraid, and now they leave with this awestruck joy.

But then, as they’re leaving to go tell the other disciples, who shows up but Jesus himself. And what does Jesus say? “Do not be afraid.” He’s telling them, look, I’m not back as the Terminator. He says, “I’m back to bring life to any who believe.”

I’ve found, as I’ve talked with so many people as a pastor, that a lot of people are afraid of God. They think that God is upset with them, angry with them, judging them. And why wouldn’t God judge them? Because they’re counting their sins and judging themselves. They think, “I’ve done so many things that are wrong. Of course God’s going to judge me too.” And then there are Christians who know they’re forgiven of their sins, but then suddenly they begin to believe this lie that God is disappointed with them. Like God’s looking at their efforts and saying, “Really? Is that it?” Believers and non-believers begin to be afraid of God — that God hates me, God’s judging me, God’s angry with me, or God’s disappointed with me.

Yet there’s nothing that could be farther from the truth. Friends, God loves you and he is for you. And the resurrection is proof that God is for you. Jesus came to forgive our sins and to bring any who believe in him into right relationship with God.

Why is “do not be afraid” the most often repeated commandment in the Bible? It’s because God knows how fear can grip our hearts. God knows how easy it is for us to be afraid of his anger or judgment. God knows how easy it is to be afraid that he’s disappointed. God knows how easy it is to be afraid of life. Because let’s be honest, life can be scary, can’t it? There are moments where you don’t know how you’re going to get through this next month financially. You don’t know how you’re going to get through this difficult situation. Our paths can take us through shadows and grief and more. But in all of that, we need not be afraid.

Let me tell you a story to help you see it. When I was ten years old, my dad took me on a cross-country ski trip into the mountains where we were going to stay at a cabin. When we got up to where the cabin was supposed to be, we couldn’t find it. It was buried in the snow — that’s how much snow was there. We finally saw the chimney and were able to dig down to the front door. And because the whole thing was buried, when we got in there — no sunlight, no windows, no light from the stars. So at night when we blew out the candles, it was pitch black.

My dad tells me that sometime during the night, I woke up screaming, “Where am I? Where am I?” Terrified. I was afraid because it was pitch black. I had no idea where I was. My dad, hearing this, was jolted out of his sleep, and he said the first thing that came to his mind: “I’m right here, son.” He didn’t even answer my question. He told me that he was there, but he didn’t tell me where I was. But my dad says that was enough for me. Without saying another word, I laid down and went right back to sleep.

How could I do that? It’s because I heard my dad’s voice, and I knew that if my dad was with me, I would be okay. You will wake up at times in your life. You will look around and feel like you are in the dark. Sometimes it’s a darkness that you did not ask for or could not control. Sometimes it’s a darkness of your own making through your sin and bad choices. But when you find yourself in the dark, I want you to know that in that moment, you can listen for your Heavenly Father’s voice, and he will tell you, “I’m right here, son. I’m right here, daughter. You do not need to be afraid.” It is the presence of God with us that allows us to not be afraid, no matter what is going on. Why? Because he loves us. He is for us.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

— Romans 8:38–39

Nothing. No sin, no mistakes. Nothing you could ever do could separate you from God’s love that’s in Christ Jesus for you. Have you received it? Do you believe it? Do you know how loved you really are?

The resurrection changes our hearts. Nothing can keep us from his love.

Point 3: The Resurrection Changes My Future

Nothing can steal my hope.

When the disciples on Friday and Saturday experienced the death of Jesus, they were confused. They were grieving because they thought that Jesus was the Messiah — so much so that they’d staked their entire lives on it. They’d left their businesses. Some of them had left their families to follow Jesus around, proclaiming the Kingdom of God with him. And then Jesus — this future that they imagined with him — all of it vanished when Jesus died on the cross, and their future plans were buried with Jesus in the tomb. Their futures that once looked so good now looked incredibly bleak. They were without hope.

So when Jesus resurrected, their hope came back. But their hope came back bigger and better than they could have imagined. Because Jesus wasn’t just going to establish a physical kingdom in one location — Jesus had established a spiritual kingdom that people from every tongue, tribe, nation, race, and color all around the globe would be able to join by believing in Jesus. And so Jesus had not only established his kingdom, but he had made a way for us to be with the Heavenly Father forever, to be in God’s presence.

Jesus’s resurrection paved the way for our resurrection, for our eternal life. Any who believe in him are given this eternal life. So death is not the end. It’s a doorway into life to the fullest for those who believe. Without Jesus, without believing in Jesus, we are choosing to die in our own sins. But when you believe in Jesus and accept that he died for your sins, you receive and experience that forgiveness and you are saved and you get to live forever.

Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never, ever die. Do you believe this?”

— John 11:25–26

When you believe in Jesus, your future is secured. No matter what happens to you in this life, when you believe in Jesus it means that when you die, you go to be with him forever in heaven. And it means that one day Jesus will return to this earth, and he will create a new heaven and a new earth, and they will come together, and everyone will be resurrected, and we will be given new bodies. I will no longer be five eleven and three quarters. I will be six foot five and a baller, okay? And we will get to live with him in paradise — delight upon delight, unending goodness. This is the hope that you and I hold on to.

But the path between the present and that future is not always pretty. Sometimes it will lead us into darkness. Sometimes it will lead us through trials. So how do we hold on to hope when our circumstances are dark?

On May 10 of 1940, Winston Churchill was elected the Prime Minister of England. But even at that time it looked like England was doomed. They were one of the few nations still standing against the onslaught of Nazi Germany as they went to overtake Europe. Two weeks into Churchill being Prime Minister, France fell, and then it was just England standing against Nazi Germany. For nineteen months, England stood alone against this onslaught — dogged, determined, but going through hell on earth. They were getting bombed. They were discouraged.

So how did Churchill lead this battered, beleaguered people during this time? He was famous for his sayings that would liven the hearts of his people. Here’s one of the ones he was most famous for. He told his people who were going through hell on earth: “If you are going through hell, keep going.” Don’t stop there. Don’t quit there. Don’t give up there. Keep on going. This is not your destination. This is not where you’re meant to stop.

So friend, if you right now are going through hell on earth, if you have a situation that is out of your control, that is just mind-bogglingly painful — don’t quit. Don’t give up. Don’t stop, because that is not where you’re meant to stop. You are meant to keep on going. God is not leading you to that place. He’s leading you through that place. So keep on going, no matter what happens, come what may.

I love Psalm 23. It begins, “The Lord is my shepherd.” And then it says he makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters. But then in verse four it says, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.” Now hold on. Jesus is my shepherd — he leads me to green pastures and quiet waters. And yet, even as he’s my shepherd, I’m going to walk through the valley of the shadow of death. Why is that? It’s because sometimes in your life, the green pastures and the quiet waters are on the other side of the valley of the shadow of death. And so to get you to where he wants you to go, he’s got to take you through the valley of the shadow of death. That is not your destination. That is not your endpoint. God did not plan for you to stay there. He’s taking you through there to a better place.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.

— Psalm 23:4

His presence is what makes it that we need not be afraid, to know that our future is bright and we can hold on to hope.

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

— Matthew 28:20

Someone needs to hear this today. God is for you. He is with you. The death of Jesus, the resurrection of Jesus, the life of Jesus is proof that God is with you and for you. No matter what you have done, no matter the weight of your past, no matter what has been holding you back or the excuses you have made or the addictions that have been weighing you down — God is with you and for you. Would you hear that and believe it today?

Closing: How Do You Receive This Change?

The resurrection changes my mind. It changes my heart. It changes our future. And if you want that change, you experience it daily in relationship with Jesus. That’s where you get it — in relationship with him. It’s not a magic prayer. It’s not something that you’ve got to do over and over again to be good enough to earn God’s favor. No, you just believe and you receive in relationship with Jesus. And I’ve seen Jesus change people over and over again. Jesus has changed me. He changes people over and over again. And if Jesus did it for me, believe me, Jesus can do it for you.

If you are a believer in Jesus, I want you to walk away believing again that Jesus can do anything. You believed it once. But your belief has waned as you’ve gone through life, as you’ve gone through struggles. I want you to believe it and evidence that belief by praying big, bold, consistent prayers for God’s power to be made evident in your life. When you do that, God will move mightily in and around you. He may not change what you want him to change — he might change the thing that needs to be changed in you. But pray those big, bold prayers.

But if you’re not a believer, if you haven’t said yes to Jesus yet, if you’ve not started a relationship with him, I want to help you do that. There are three steps to experience this change that only Jesus can bring.

The first step is to choose to believe in Jesus and accept him as Lord of your life. Romans 10:9 says, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” You’ll be saved from your sins. You’ll be saved from separation from God. You’ll be saved into eternity with him.

The second step is to get baptized.

The third step is to get connected to a church and follow Jesus daily. Christianity is a team sport, friends. We do not do this alone. We do this together. We minister to each other and through each other through the Holy Spirit. We need each other to follow Jesus.