Easter Sunday - Jesus Lives

Mark 8:31 April 4, 2021 Pastor Ricky Alcantar

Thesis Jesus defeated death itself by suffering and rising again, offering to exchange our contract of sin and death for his righteousness and eternal life.

Series

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Type

Textual

Tone

celebratorypastoralevangelistic

Method

grammatical-historicalredemptive-historicalcanonical

What's in this sermon

The shape of the argument

15 units across exposition, application, illustration, theological claim, and conclusion. The pastor's argument is built from these moving parts.

Pastoral correction · unit #11

"Direct evangelistic appeal to non-Christians to accept Jesus' offer to exchange their contract of sin for his righteousness, turning from fear of death and judgment to eternal life."

Doctrinal loci· 8 surfaced

Soteriology · 8 Christology · 7 Eschatology · 5 Hamartiology · 2 Anthropology · 1 Ecclesiology · 1 Sanctification · 1 Theology Proper · 1

Bible citations· 10

Illustrations· 2

historical example · unit #2 — Tells the story of Jerry Siegel creating Superman out of grief over his father's death to illustrate humanity's longing for a powerful savior and to frame the question of what we would want the ultimate hero to do.
personal story · unit #10 — Tells the story of Bill Russell, a church member with a criminal past who faced death with increasing joy because of his confidence in Christ's resurrection. Illustrates how belief in the resurrection transforms our relationship to death itself.

Theological claims· 1

Death has been completely defeated in Christ's resurrection, and Christians can now mock the enemy that once held all humanity in fear. unit #9

Quotations· 4

"he, the suffering servant, was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. And one from whom men there hide their faces, he was despised, and we esteemed him not." — Isaiah 53 (unit #4)

"For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might do what? Bring us to God." — Peter (unit #6)

"But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way. And the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." — Isaiah 53 (unit #6)

"Then, as a result of the work of Christ, shall come to pass the saying that is written, 'Death is swallowed up in victory.' O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." — 1 Corinthians 15 (unit #9)

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Full transcript

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0 · Welcomes the congregation on Easter Sunday 2021 with joy after being unable to gather in person the previous year

Well, good morning. It is good to see you. Church, he is risen. He is risen indeed. My name is Ricky. I'm one of the pastors here. If you're new, and we are going to be looking at the Bible. So if you have a Bible, open it to Mark chapter 8. If you don't have a Bible, you can take one on the back table. That's our gift to you. If you're new to the Bible, this is a great place to learn about what the Bible means. And its implications for your life. Let me just say this, guys. We've spread all of our folks across 3 services, so we had plenty of room this Easter, but I just have to say, what a privilege and joy to gather on Easter the year after last year, 2020 Easter, we were not able to do this in person, and I have never felt the loss of my church family more than on that day. This is a day we are meant to be together, So we— and there are a number of folks that have not been able to come back to church. And some of our senior saints, this is their first Sunday that they've been back in over a year. So we love that. We love that. And we're so glad we can be together as a church family.

1 · Reads the primary text from Mark 8:31 and frames the sermon's central question: If you had the most powerful hero ever, what would you have him do?

Mark chapter 8, we've been usually walking through the book of Mark section by section. Today we're going to walk word by word. Mark chapter 8, verse 31. This is God's word. And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed and after 3 days rise again. This is God's word. If you had the most perfect hero, the most powerful hero ever to walk the earth in world history, what would you have him do?

2 · Tells the story of Jerry Siegel creating Superman out of grief over his father's death to illustrate humanity's longing for a powerful savior and to frame the question of what we would want the ultimate hero to do

Jerry Siegel answered this question years ago. Jerry Siegel created one of the most iconic characters, really one of the most iconic images ever created in American culture. Culture, but his creation came from a place of deep hurt. One day at the family store, Siegel's father was robbed at gunpoint, and his father had a heart attack in the process and died. A few years later, partially out of this pain, Siegel began to sketch a comic character. This comic character, if you look at the earliest sketches, is often depicted as saving a a man who's being robbed at gunpoint. The man being robbed looked remarkably like Jerry Siegel's father. The savior was a new character called Superman. Now, this character, probably the most powerful character in all of comics and pop culture, he would save buildings and trains and airplanes, but he was really created out of Siegel's Eagle's desire to save just one person, his father. If you had one shot with the most powerful hero ever to walk the earth, what would you have him do? That's the question that's hanging over verse 31 here. That's the question that hangs over this whole weekend.

3 · Exposits the title 'Son of Man' as the supernatural Savior from Daniel 7 who has all power, then applies the question to contemporary listeners: What would you have this most powerful hero do with all the brokenness of 2020 and your personal life?

We're gonna walk this verse by— I mean, section by section here. First, He began to teach them that the Son of Man must do something. Now, that phrase, Son of Man, is incredibly important, especially on this Resurrection Sunday. The disciples, as we saw last week, are finally grasping after walking with Jesus for years that Jesus is not just a great man, he's not just a great teacher, he's not just a miracle worker, he is the Christ, as Peter just confessed last week. He is the Messiah. He is the Son of Man, the title Jesus gives himself, the supernatural Savior foretold in the Old Testament in Daniel 7. Where this Son of Man reigns, sickness turns to health, demonic oppression turns to freedom, blindness turns to sight, storms turn to calm. There is no power, as we've seen in the Gospels, there is no power that can stand against Jesus. There is no task too great for him. There is no realm he does not rule over. So then the question, if you have this hero, this most powerful hero, where do you aim him? What do you use him to do? That is the key question here. The disciples are wondering it. Jesus has just said, "Yes, I am the Christ." The disciples are thinking, "What now? Where are we going? Let's raise an army. Let's march on Rome. Let's do this." How would you answer that question today? I think the backdrop of 2020 provides a pretty stark way to answer this question. Maybe you think, you know, if I had one powerful person, I would, I would fix the virus. I would end the virus somehow. We've walked through our church, people losing jobs, people losing businesses as a result of 2020. We've walked through people battling depression. We've walked through people looking for hope. We've walked through all the effects of the broken world around us. We've walked through strange times. Strained relationships between people and their families as a result of the cultural upheaval in our country. If you had one powerful person, what would you use him to do? What would you fix? What's the thing you would fix? Maybe it's even more personal, a broken relationship, a person you wish you could bring back, a freedom from depression. What would you have the greatest hero in the world do for you?

4 · Exposits the shocking declaration that the Son of Man must suffer, explaining that Jesus combines two Old Testament figures—the conquering Messiah and the suffering servant of Isaiah 53—to show he will triumph through suffering rather than military conquest

Well, Jesus aims himself at something in particular. Jesus says he must do something. The Son of Man must do something. What must he do? Where is he gonna aim himself? He must suffer. That's how the hero will save the world, by suffering. Now, that seems bizarre to us a bit, but it would have seemed incredibly bizarre to the disciples. The Son of Man, they knew their Old Testament, the Son of Man doesn't suffer, the Son of Man triumphs, right? The fact is that a few verses later, Peter, hearing this, takes Jesus aside and essentially, the text says, rebukes him. Like Jesus, "You can't do this. You can't suffer. You don't understand what the Son of Man is. Let me explain it to you." Like Jesus says, "Thanks, Peter, but no thanks. I know what the Son of Man is supposed to do." And yet it doesn't remove the bizarreness. Why would the Son of Man, the anointed king, suffer? Well, Jesus, I think, is trying to help his disciples see right here that he's not just the Son of Man. He's not just the anointed king. He is something more. There were actually two great figures foretold in the Old Testament. One was the Messiah, the anointed king who would triumph and conquer and save, and the other was the suffering servant who would suffer and save. Isaiah 53 says this, he, the suffering servant, was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. 'And one from whom men there hide their faces, he was despised, and we esteemed him not.' What Jesus is saying is by combining these two things, he's saying, I am both the anointed king and the suffering servant. I will triumph, I will conquer through loss and suffering.

5 · Exposits the rejection Jesus will face and connects it to the fundamental problem of the world: humanity's rejection of God

He will suffer and be rejected, be rejected. Now, this at first seems strange, but it actually explains the whole mission of Jesus. Jesus describes that he, God himself, come in the flesh, he should be honored, he should be welcomed, but his people will reject him. The rulers won't like him, the scholars will find ways to explain him away, the holiest of the holy will call him sinful, right? God's people utterly, completely reject him and cry for his death. Crucifixion. Now, in this rejection of God by people, we find the source of all the suffering in the world. You might ask, how did all of this suffering enter the world in the first place? Well, the answer is that our rejection of God and his good kingdom is what leads to suffering. We, as humanity, have made a terrible, terrible choice. Jerry Siegel made a terrible choice as well. Years after creating the character of Superman, he sold the rights to the character. But this was not a kind of George Lucas multi-billion dollar payday. This character, this icon was sold for the grand total of $130. Right? And for the rest of his life, Jerry Siegel realized he made a mistake. He saw the money right in front of him. They asked, "Hey, do you want to sell this guy? We'll give you $130." He's like, "Sure, I could use $130." He hands him over, signs him over. For the rest of his life, he regretted it. It ended up destroying his relationship with DC Comics because he kept fighting them for control of the character. He sued them multiple times. He dealt with money problems for the rest of his life. Many people say if he had not done that, he probably would have been welcomed and celebrated by DC forever, but the deal was done. The lawsuits didn't work. Why? Because his signature was on the contract, right? He did it. He made a terrible deal. And similarly, this is what humanity has done. God made a world without suffering, right? In the beginning of Genesis 1 and 2, no one is suffering. There is no suffering. There is only God and his good reign over the whole world, and yet humanity rejects him. Humanity says, "No, humanity says no, I will be king. I will rule. I will do what I want." We refuse God, we refuse his justice. And that's what the Bible calls sin. Sin is behind every form of suffering. And here's how. When sin enters the world, 3 things break, okay? Our relationship to creation breaks. That's how we get coronaviruses and cancers and our bodies begin to break down. Break down and creation turns against us. That, that happened as a result of sin. Second, our relationship with one another breaks. That's how we get strife and riots and injustice and abuse, right? And third, our relationship with God breaks. And that's really the fundamental thing here. We lose our relationship we were made for. We lose our source of life, our stability, our hope, our peace, our everything. We have made a terrible mistake. It's a terrible deal, but here's the problem: all of us make this deal. All of us, if you were to pull out, you know, the records of heaven, there would be our signature on the deal saying, "Would you trade all of this for a shot to rule yourself? Yes, I think I could do better." And we lose everything. We lose everything. Jesus knows that, and Jesus knows the only way to save the world is to go through the rejection almost in a focused way that has broken the world and then Be killed.

6 · Exposits the climactic work of the cross: Jesus, the only person who could escape death, walks toward it to take our contract of sin and give us his righteousness

Be killed. Now, every night when I put my boys to bed, they come up with questions they can ask me and things to talk about so they don't have to go to bed. Any kids, you guys ever do that? Like your mom and dad's putting you to bed and you're like, oh, I have a question now about science, about the world, about how airplanes work, right? And you're like, I don't know how airplanes work. Aerodynamics is a word, you know. Cohen asked me this week, who is the biggest bad guy Jesus defeats? I was like, oh, that's a good question. Like, he's— that's a theological question. So I began to walk him through, well, he defeats sin in this way, he defeats Satan, but the Bible says the last enemy to be destroyed is death. And I'm like, death? And I'm thinking we're gonna have a really good theological conversation here, big important moment for his life. And he goes, no, no, no, that's not what I'm talking about. I mean a bad guy you can hit. Right? Because he's just thinking, okay, death is a problem, but you can't hit it. What are you going to do against death, right? Look, for Superman, for all of his strength and power, he couldn't save Jerry Siegel's dad. He can't stop death itself, right? This is the fundamental problem. Jesus knows that the fundamental problem, the final enemy, as it says in 1 Corinthians 15, is death. The last enemy defeated is death. We know this, church. In the last year, since last Easter, we have lost 5 precious folks from our church to different reasons for— at different times. Some were kids, some were parents, some were grandparents. Look, we feel this. Out of all the wrongness of the world, the thing most wrong with the world is this. Death has entered the world. But how, how can you hit it? How do you hit something unhittable? The Bible lays out the problem. It says that there is a one-two punch of death resulting in a knockout. First punch is that as a result of sin, our bodies decay and die. That's our physical death. But then after that comes, as it were, another death, death in quotes there, We stand before God and we receive whatever is due to us with our contract. The Lord says, "Is that your signature?" "Yes, that is." "Did you reject God?" "Yes, we did." Therefore, justice comes to us. Sin leads to death. But Jesus, in Jesus, we find a different kind of hero. You know what's different about Jesus? Jesus is the only one who who has no standing appointment with death. Death can't touch him because he never rejected God. He never sinned. He's the only one who can look death in the eye and walk away, the only man to ever be able to do that. And yet what we find is that rather than walking away from death, Jesus walks toward it. Jesus, the only man who could escape death, chooses it, goes toward it, says he must face it. He challenges it. Why? Why would Jesus do this? Isaiah 53 tells us, "But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way." And the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. You know what Jesus' contract was? A perfect life, a perfect record, a perfect righteousness, and a perfect eternity with God. That's what his contract was. You know what ours is? We rejected God. It results in death, eternal justice coming against us, and what Jesus does on the cross is he Jesus says, "I'll take your contract. You take mine. I will cross your name off and write mine here, and you have mine. You go on to eternal life. I will take the death that your sin deserves upon myself." This is what Jesus does to save the world. The Bible says the wages of sin is death, and Jesus pays our wages to the very last penny. Peter would say, "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might do what? Bring us to God." That that way of life would be restored to us. Church, Good Friday is good news, as we talked about a couple days ago, because it means one payment for all time for our sins. All our debts are paid. All the justice is fulfilled. All of the curse is borne. All of it.

7 · Pivots from the cross to the resurrection with celebratory anticipation

But the verse does not end there, and I've never been more grateful for a comma in my Bible.

8 · Exposits the resurrection as the vindication and completion of Jesus' work on the cross

"And on the third day rise," or your translation might say, "And after three days rise again." The question hanging over Saturday is, Did it work? Did Jesus with his one shot really save the world? Did he really do what needed to be done? And the resurrection, the empty tomb proclaim out, "Yes." The only one to freely walk toward death and into the tomb is the only one that can freely walk out of the tomb, and he did. This is what Jesus has done, church. Destroyed death, defeated death, and in so doing transformed it. See, in 1 Corinthians 15, it shows us that the first death, the physical death, where it became an inevitable lead-in to the second eternal death, is totally transformed. The first death now is nothing but a car ride over to eternal life, right? Jesus, through the tomb, blazes a trail and kicks out the back door of death into new life for all who will follow him. And you know what's through that door at the back of death? Eternal life. Eternal life. The life we long for. However you answered that question earlier, this is what your heart is longing for. No murder, no cancer, no riots, no kids without families, no goodbyes, no loneliness, no tears, no pain. This is what Jesus has won for us. Jesus hits the unhittable enemy, and he doesn't just hit him, he destroys him completely.

9 · Makes the theological claim that death has been utterly defeated—swallowed up in Christ's victory—so that Christians can now taunt death because our Savior has won the fight

1 Corinthians says this, "Then," as a result of the work of Christ, "shall come to pass the saying that is written, 'Death is swallowed up in victory.'" This thing that has swallowed up person after person after person in every age, in every place, it itself is swallowed up in victory. And then the song rings out, "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" Right? This thing that humanity has feared ever since the beginning, right? This thing that enters into our lives at an early age that we are afraid of, all of a sudden Christians are talking trash to. And saying, "Where are you at now, death? Where's your victory?" But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. It's not us. We didn't win the fight, but we cheer our victorious Savior on as he does.

10 · Tells the story of Bill Russell, a church member with a criminal past who faced death with increasing joy because of his confidence in Christ's resurrection

And church, when you believe this, when you get this, it changes everything. Over the last few years, our church has had the privilege of getting to know a man named Bill. Russell. He used to sit right there. Just imagine him right there, if you would. He was an older man with a big smile and an even bigger, if that were possible, booming voice. He'd be the first guy to tell you that early in his life he rejected God in every way possible. There was a time where somebody told us, "Hey, Bill was on the news." And we're like, "Oh, Bill Russell's on the news? What's he on the news about?" And he was on the news because he— He was in a book chronicling one of the most elaborate drug-running schemes in American history. And you're like, "Bill?" And he says, "Yep, that was me." You know, he went to jail, but somewhere along the way, Jesus saved him. So we got to know Bill later in his life, and Sunday after Sunday, he often dealt with health issues, and he often came to church leaning on a cane, and that his body broke down, he couldn't always even stand for all of our time of singing, all the time of worship, even though he wanted to. And so sometimes when he couldn't stand any longer, he would sit down, but he would raise his cane up. Or if you've ever been here during the preached word, something would happen that he agreed with, and he would say, "Preach that," and then he would raise his cane up into the air. How does a guy who's getting closer and closer and closer to death, only get more joyful as he goes. You know how? The resurrection of Jesus Christ. 'Cause if you talk to him, he would say, "Listen, man, I'm ready to go. This body's breaking down. I think it's about through with me. I'm ready to move on." And he was utterly confident that because his Savior rose, so would he. He. Now, you may have heard a rumor, church, earlier this year that Bill Russell died, but I'm here to tell you that that rumor is not true. Bill Russell died years ago, and this year he rose to eternal life.

11 · Direct evangelistic appeal to non-Christians to accept Jesus' offer to exchange their contract of sin for his righteousness, turning from fear of death and judgment to eternal life

Friend, if you don't know the hope of Christ this Sunday, Jesus offers to switch contracts with you. You got a terrible one, man. We all do. And it's your signature on the bottom line. Your sin has helped break this world to be what it is. But Jesus says, "Give it to me and I will pay it in full to the last penny." Won't you do that today? Man, this Easter could be the day that you stop being afraid of death, that you stop being afraid of what's to come, stop being afraid of God, to stop being afraid of judgment, stop being afraid that justice will catch up with you, stop being afraid that at the end of life there is no hope. This could be the day you come to life. Look to Jesus, repent of your sins, believe in him, and turn to follow him.

12 · Calls the church to lift their eyes from present benefits to ultimate hope: because Jesus rose from the dead, so will we, and this future certainty makes us unshakable in the face of any earthly trial

And church, here's, here's what I believe God's heart is for us. There have been times over the last few years that we on Easter have focused on some of, in a good way, the present benefits of Jesus' work for us, right? We talk about how Jesus gives us peace in life, Jesus gives us hope in life, Jesus helps us feel welcomed and loved in this life. And that is all true, and we say amen to all of it. But I think after the last year we've had, where we've seen we are far more vulnerable than we ever thought, when death is probably far closer to most of us than we want to believe, let's lift our eyes off of our present circumstances to that day that because Jesus rose, so will we. Because Jesus walked out of the tomb, so will we. And if we see that, there is nothing this year or next year or the next decade can throw at us to shake us because our hope is in something far beyond this world.

13 · Returns to the Superman illustration to contrast the powerlessness of created heroes with Jesus, the only hero who can defeat the unhittable enemy of death and offer eternal life

You know what our friend Jerry Siegel ended up dying from? A heart attack, just like his father. The hero he created couldn't have saved his dad and it couldn't have saved him, but we know, church, a better hero, and his name is Jesus. He's the only one to hit the unhittable enemy. He's the only one to offer us new life, not just now, but for eternity.

14 · Closing prayer for unbelievers to accept Christ's offer and for believers to find unshakable hope in the resurrection, free from all fear

Would you stand and let's pray? Lord, we pray in joy today, understanding what you have done. Lord, I pray if there's any here that don't know you, that they would feel you calling them today. They would feel your open hand outstretched, offering to take their contract and give them a far better one. I pray that they would take you up on it today, God. And I pray for all of us who are part of the church, God, I pray that we would rejoice in the many good things that Easter reminds us. It reminds us that we're loved, that we're not abandoned. It reminds us that we have hope. It reminds us that we have— we can have peace in this tumultuous world, God. But I pray that we would aim higher this Easter and remember that there is nothing in this world we have left to fear. Because our Savior rose from the dead and death itself has been defeated. And I pray that you would make us unshakable in our unkillable Savior. Amen.

Where this fits

Recent preaching context

The three sermons immediately preceding this one in the preaching schedule.

Feb 28, 2021

The Kind of People Jesus Welcomes

Only a certain kind of person can receive help from Jesus, but that certain kind of person is defined by faith in Christ, not by moral achievement, ethnic identity, or social respectability—and that means the door is open to all who come in humble, wholehearted, persistent trust.

Mark 7:24-30

Mar 21, 2021

The Overlooked Gift of Sight

It is only through Christ—the light of the world who reveals himself in Scripture—that we receive the gift of spiritual sight we desperately need but do not know we lack.

Mark 8:22-26

Mar 28, 2021

Who Do You Say Jesus Is?

Jesus is not a great man among others but the Christ—the preeminent King in a category altogether different—who demands and deserves the totality of our lives, not mere tribute or admiration.

Mark 8:27-30

April 4 · This sermon

Easter Sunday - Jesus Lives

Jesus defeated death itself by suffering and rising again, offering to exchange our contract of sin and death for his righteousness and eternal life.

Mark 8:31

Take it further

Discuss · apply · pray

Small groups

6 discussion questions

Mark 8:31 says Jesus 'must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after t…

Daily readings

5-day reading plan

This week, we walk through the arc of Christ's victory: from the wages of our sin, through the exchange Christ offers, to the certainty of our own resurrection and the mockery of death itself.

Prayer

Father, We Receive the Exchange

Father, we gather on this Easter morning to behold the greatest exchange ever made: Jesus, your Son, took our contract of sin and death and…

Family table

Jesus Switched Our Contract

This prompt anchors in the sermon's central image: Jesus offering to exchange our 'contract of sin and death' for his righteousness. Younger…

Couples

Death Has Been Defeated

What fear or uncertainty in your life right now did the resurrection speak to today? Where do you need to believe that death—and the power o…

Memorize

1 Corinthians 15:54-57

This passage crystallizes the sermon's central claim: Jesus has defeated death itself, and all who trust him inherit that victory. It's the verse that turns Easter from a historical event into the Christian's present and future reality—the contract exchanged, the enemy mocked, the fear abolished.

Small-group discussion

6 questions for your group this week

Mark 8:31 says Jesus 'must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.' Why do you think the disciples had such a hard time accepting that the Messiah would suffer and die rather than overthrow Rome?

Mark 8:31

→ What expectations about Jesus did you have to let go of before you could actually trust him?
The sermon talks about the 'contract' we're all born into—the contract that says 'the wages of sin is death.' What does Romans 6:23 mean when it says death is a 'wage'? What has sin actually earned us?

Romans 6:23
Jesus didn't just die; he rose again on the third day. According to 1 Corinthians 15:54-57, what exactly did Christ's resurrection accomplish? What enemy did he defeat?

1 Corinthians 15:54-57

→ How does knowing that death itself has been defeated change the way you think about your own mortality?
The sermon describes the gospel as an exchange—Jesus takes our contract of sin and death and offers us his righteousness and eternal life instead. When you repented and believed in Jesus, what did you hand over to him, and what did you receive in return?

→ Are there parts of that contract you're still trying to hold onto?
Because Jesus rose from the dead, 1 Corinthians 15:26 says death will be the last enemy to be destroyed. What does it mean for you personally that your death has already been conquered by Christ, even though you still face physical death in this life?

1 Corinthians 15:26
The sermon says that because Jesus rose, we will rise too, and this certainty should make us 'unshakable' in the face of any trial. What trials or fears are you facing right now where you need to lift your eyes to that future promise?

→ How would your response to that trial change if you truly believed it with the same certainty you believe Jesus rose?

Draft · pending review

Pray together this week

Father, We Receive the Exchange

Father, we gather on this Easter morning to behold the greatest exchange ever made: Jesus, your Son, took our contract of sin and death and gave us in return his perfect righteousness and eternal life. We adore you for the power displayed in raising him from the dead, for destroying the enemy that held all humanity in fear, and for blazing a trail through the tomb to resurrection morning (1 Corinthians 15:54-57).

But we confess that we live as though death still holds dominion over us. We fear the future. We cling to temporary things. We forget that the wages of sin is death, yet your gift in Christ Jesus is eternal life (Romans 6:23). We live as though we must negotiate our own way, earn our own standing, prove our own worth—when all along you have offered us a switch: give Jesus your broken contract, and receive his.

We believe, Father, that Jesus suffered and rose again. We believe that he paid in full what we owed and could never pay. We believe that because he lives, we too shall live. Make this belief unshakable in us. Not because our circumstances change, but because the One who conquered death sits at your right hand, and nothing in all creation can separate us from his love.

Grant us grace this week to lift our eyes beyond present trials to our certain future. Give us the courage to speak of Jesus to those still bound by fear of death. And transform us from people who merely survive into people who live in the unshakable hope of resurrection. We commit ourselves to you—to follow Jesus, to trust his exchange, and to wait for that morning when we, too, will rise (1 Corinthians 15:26). All glory to you, Father, through your Son, in the power of your Spirit. Amen.

Draft · pending review

Sunday-evening family table

Jesus Switched Our Contract

For the parent

This prompt anchors in the sermon's central image: Jesus offering to exchange our 'contract of sin and death' for his righteousness. Younger kids will grasp the swap; older ones can wrestle with what they're giving up and what they're receiving. Listen for where family members feel the weight of the exchange.

Jesus said he came to suffer and die, and then rise again. The pastor said Jesus wants to make a trade with us—he'll take our contract of sin and death, and give us his perfect life instead. If you could trade something you're carrying (worry, a mistake you made, something you're scared of) for something Jesus offers (his forgiveness, his courage, his promise that death isn't the end), what would you trade? What would you give to Jesus, and what do you think you'd receive?

Works for ages 6+. Younger kids can name one worry or fear and listen to how older siblings or parents talk about the trade. Teens and adults engage with the deeper theological swap.

Draft · pending review

Couples · three questions over coffee

Death Has Been Defeated

What fear or uncertainty in your life right now did the resurrection speak to today? Where do you need to believe that death—and the power of death—has already been conquered?
How does knowing that Jesus exchanged his righteousness for our sin-contract change the way we face trials together? Where do we need to stop acting like the tomb still has power over us?
What is one specific way you can pray for your spouse this week—that they would live in unshakable hope because Jesus rose, not because circumstances are easy?

Draft · pending review

Memory verse this week

1 Corinthians 15:54-57

When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: 'Death is swallowed up in victory.' 'O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?' But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Why this verse: This passage crystallizes the sermon's central claim: Jesus has defeated death itself, and all who trust him inherit that victory. It's the verse that turns Easter from a historical event into the Christian's present and future reality—the contract exchanged, the enemy mocked, the fear abolished.

Draft · pending review

Daily readings · Monday–Friday

5-day reading plan

This week, we walk through the arc of Christ's victory: from the wages of our sin, through the exchange Christ offers, to the certainty of our own resurrection and the mockery of death itself.

Monday Romans 6:23

Paul names the math clearly: sin pays a wage, and that wage is death. Not a slap on the wrist, but death itself—separation from God, the end of all things. Before we can understand what Christ does on Easter, we must feel the weight of what we deserve. This is the contract we're born into.

Tuesday Isaiah 53

Isaiah saw it centuries before: a man, pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, bearing the punishment that brings us peace. The Servant doesn't negotiate or escape—he absorbs. On the cross, Jesus didn't sidestep death; he walked straight into it, carrying every sin, every wage, every contract violation. He took what was ours.

Wednesday 1 Peter 3:18

Peter anchors the exchange: the righteous died for the unrighteous. One death. Sufficient. Final. Not a down payment or a temporary pardon, but the full and complete payment. Through that death, we are brought to God—the contract is torn up, and we are reconciled. The way is open.

Thursday 1 Corinthians 15:54-57

Hear Paul's taunt: 'Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?' The resurrection turns the tables. Death is not reformed or delayed—it is *swallowed*. Consumed. Defeated so completely that we can laugh at it. Jesus didn't escape death; he destroyed it, and in destroying it, he destroyed the fear that death held over all of us.

Friday 1 Corinthians 15:26

Death is the last enemy to be destroyed, and it *will* be destroyed. Not might be. Will be. For every Christian who has believed, the resurrection of Jesus is not a hope suspended in the clouds—it is a completed transaction. We will rise as he rose. Let that sink into your bones this week: whatever trial presses on you today, whatever loss you carry, whatever fear whispers—none of it is permanent. Death itself cannot hold you. You are unshakable because your future is certain.

Draft · pending review

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# Cross of Grace Church

A church preaching expository sermons through the books of the Bible.

## Sermons
- [The Kind of People Jesus Welcomes (Mark 7:24-30, 2021-02-28)](/CoGElPaso/sermons/2021/02/the-kind-of-people-jesus-welcomes)
- [The Overlooked Gift of Sight (Mark 8:22-26, 2021-03-21)](/CoGElPaso/sermons/2021/03/the-overlooked-gift-of-sight)
- [Who Do You Say Jesus Is? (Mark 8:27-30, 2021-03-28)](/CoGElPaso/sermons/2021/03/who-do-you-say-jesus-is)
- [Easter Sunday - Jesus Lives (Mark 8:31, 2021-04-04)](/CoGElPaso/sermons/2021/04/easter-sunday-jesus-lives)

## About
- [About the church](/about)
- [Plan a visit](/visit)

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