Alleluia, Christ is risen. He is risen indeed, Alleluia. 

It’s a joyous day, so let’s get into gameshow mode. I have some questions for you, and I want to hear your answers. Are you ready? 

Question 1: Are you excited about today, Easter Day? Give me a show of hands. Who is excited about today? I am so glad to hear that you are excited. We should be, because today is the day Jesus rose from the dead – the day that changed the world. 

Question 2: Are you excited about being a Christian? Give me a show of hands. Alright, that’s good. I think if you are going to have a faith, you should at least be a bit excited about it. 

Question 3: Who here is excited to follow Jesus? Give me a show of hands. I hope you are, because there is nothing greater, nothing else that qualifies as the ultimate Good News, than Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. 

Easter is the good news. It is the heart of our Christian faith that on Easter Day, Jesus rose from the dead and defeated the power of sin and death in our lives. This is the day that defines Christianity. If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, we are nothing more than a social group with some shared morals and a bit of cake. But Jesus did rise from the dead. 

On Sunday morning, the women went down to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body with spices. When they arrived at the tomb, the stone was rolled away, and the grave was empty. Then, two angels told them that Jesus is no longer here because he is no longer dead. He is alive. He is risen.

It is exciting that our Lord Jesus is alive again. On Good Friday we thought he was dead and out for the count; that was the end of the story. But what is more exciting is what his death and resurrection meant. You see, before Jesus, sin was a stain on our lives. It was this obstacle that made us unclean to come before a perfect God. Think of when you were a child and if you did something wrong. You would probably go quiet or hide in the other room from your parents because you had done something wrong. You were too embarrassed or ashamed to face them. It is why Adam and Eve were cast out from the Garden of Eden after they had sinned, because their sin took them away from our perfect God. Sin has become this ongoing stain on humanity. The consequence of sin is separation from God, the source of life, and as a result, sin becomes a death to us. But now that Jesus has risen from the dead, he has overcome the power of sin and death to separate us from God. Our reading from 1 Corinthians explains this further. 

‘But the truth is that Christ has been raised from death, as the guarantee that those who sleep in death will also be raised. For just as death came by means of a man, in the same way the rising from death comes by means of a man. For just as all people die because of their union with Adam, in the same way all will be raised to life because of their union with Christ.’ 

In the same way that the person Adam brought sin into the world, which has been a fatal disease to us, through the person Jesus, we can share in his risen life from the dead. In this new life, there is no longer any sin to keep us from God because the death of sin has already occurred with Jesus on the cross.  

If you feel puzzled or confused about how all this works, that’s okay. The women who arrived at the tomb and the twelve disciples were all perplexed by what had happened. However, the important thing is that because Jesus rose from the dead, we are freed from sin to share in new and eternal life with Jesus now and forever. This is the best news in the whole world. 

At the start, I asked you three questions. 

1. Are you excited about Easter Day? 
2. Are you excited about being a Christian? 
3. Are you excited about following Jesus? 

I asked you this because when you have heard the Easter story a million times, when you have heard the good news of the gospel week in and week out, you can easily forget how exciting and amazing it all is. In fact, Easter is the most exciting and amazing thing that has ever happened. Does Easter make you feel excited? Does Jesus’ resurrection and new life for you make you excited? Are you excited to be a Christian; a follower of Jesus who can live this new risen with him? 

I really hope it does make you excited. I really hope that the good news we celebrate today is truly good news for you. I really hope it is. 

I know that I’ve been hammering on at you about Easter being exciting. Calm down, Shakeel. I know, right. But I do so because there are so many people who are like: ‘Yeah, I go to church. Yeah, I’m a Christian. What’s the big deal?’ 

What’s the big deal!? It’s the BIGGEST DEAL!!! It’s the greatest, most important thing in all of human history. WE SHOULD BE JUMPING UP AND DOWN WITH EXCITEMENT, but instead we are like: ‘Yeah, whatever.’Instead, we think that other things are more exciting than Jesus. 

Are there any of you here at church today who don’t usually come to church, but came today because it’s Easter? Why don’t you come on the 51 other Sundays throughout the year? Because it’s a special day, I’ll come, but on the other Sundays, I’m just not that bothered. 

I’m not saying this to guilt-trip you, and I want to stress that I am really glad to have you here at church today. You are so welcome, and we love that you are here and that we get to be together as a church family. But coming here to meet with Jesus is the most exciting thing ever. We can meet with Jesus and share life with him, like he is right there [point to heart] in our hearts because of what Jesus did on Easter Day. Why would you want to miss out on Jesus? 

Now, I know it’s not as simple as that. I know that we all have other important commitments that can take us away on a Sunday. But if we found Jesus exciting, then surely we would want to make some sort of effort to meet with him and seek him out. But a lot of us don’t. 

How is it that we can be more excited about other things in life and miss out on Jesus? We are looking for joy and excitement, or purpose and meaning in our work, family, friends, personal goals, etc. These are good things, great things in fact. But none of these will give us true life, life that is perfect and eternal. None of these things will bring us to the most exciting joy of Jesus, the living God, in our lives. 

We are looking for meaning for our lives among the dying things of this world. They may be good things, but they are things that will not last. But the grave is not where Jesus is; he is alive forever, and he is with us. As the angel said, ‘Why are you looking among the dead for one who is alive? He is not here; he has been raised.’

To be clear, Sundays at church are not the only time and place we can meet with Jesus. The good news of Easter is that we get to share life with Jesus 24/7. You don’t have to go to church to meet with Jesus. (But please still come next week otherwise I’ll be out of a job).  We can meet with him at home, at work, at school, at the shops, at the pub, anywhere. 

But when we are excited about something, we will do anything to chase it. Football fans who are excited about their team will travel hundreds of miles to stand in the freezing cold and watch their team lose because they are so excited about their team. When you are in love, you will do anything to spend any time you can with your love. You will stay up all night talking into the night. You will travel across the country to go a see them for only ten minutes. Why? Because that is what excitement does to a person. It stirs their hearts with passion, passion to seek it more. But are we seeking and chasing after Jesus with that same passion? Are you excited about Jesus? 

What I am getting at is that so often we go through life like Jesus is irrelevant, or we find our excitement and meaning in life in things besides Jesus. But I want to tell you that there is nothing more exciting than the risen Jesus. I am so excited to be loved by Jesus, saved by him, and given new life each day. I am overjoyed that he has taken my sin away, taken the guilt and shame that can become a weight over my life. I am so excited that the God who created the universe is at the centre of my life every day, and because I am so excited, I want to seek out Jesus with all my heart and delight in him every moment of my life. I don’t want to miss a beat. 

Are you excited about Easter Day? Are you excited about being a Christian? Are you excited about following Jesus? Jesus is risen. He has brought new life and joy to us. God himself has come to us in the person of Jesus Christ. Are you not excited? Is there anything else more exciting than the risen Jesus here with us?

Alleluia! Because of Jesus, I share the most exciting joy in the world: that Jesus is here with me. Will you share this exciting joy with me? I want you to experience the excitement of having Jesus at the centre of your life. Today is Easter, the day that changed the world, the day that turned death from sin into life with Christ, the day that turned separation from God into unity with Him through Jesus, the Son of God. Alleluia.

Are you excited about Easter? Are you excited that Jesus is alive in you and me? Do you believe that this is the greatest, most exciting thing in the whole of human history? Then let us celebrate and rejoice like we mean it. Alleluia. Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia.