Many of us love new things. I love a new pair of Brooks tennis shoes, a new pocket knife, and a new short-sleeve button-down shirt with a pocket.
You all love a lot of new things as well. In fact, I asked many of you on Facebook to share new things that you like. Here’s what some of you said:
New art supplies, new babies, new crayons, new bars of soap, new bag of coffee beans, new orange blossoms, a new day, new improvements, new pens and markers, new car smell, new friends, new beginnings, new book smell, newly tilled soil, newly cut grass, meeting new Christian friends, new opportunity to share the gospel, new sunsets, new opportunities to be a better person, newly baked bread, new believers in Christ, new adventures, new leather baseball, new leather baseball glove, new car, new puppy, new planner, new school supplies, new sunrise over the ocean, new group of students, new house, visiting a new city or country, trying new foods, the smell of a newborn baby, new jar of peanut butter, a new Bible, a new violin, new sheets on the bed, new wiper blades on your car, new mercies each day, new sprouts in your garden, newly brewed coffee, new closeness to the Holy Spirit, new shoes, new gallon of ice cream, new stick of deodorant, new grandson, new lumber, new taste of coffee, new spring blossoms, new Play-dough, new fabric and patterns, and new clothes.
We like new things, don’t we?
Well, there is also a newness that’s associated with Easter. In fact, even the bunnies, eggs, and spring flowers associated with Easter have their origins in celebrating newness and birth.
However, there is a much greater newness that Christians associate with Easter. That newness is found in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
This morning’s sermon is entitled “The Newness of Easter.”
Let’s pray together before we go any further.
(prayer)
So, how is there newness associated with Easter? How is their newness in Jesus? Well, let’s discover that. First, in Easter, we see . . .
I. The newness that Jesus brought to the world.
You see, everything in this world has been messed up since sin first came into our world.
We can learn about this catastrophe in Genesis 3. Sin messed up everything.
Then, God started to intervene to fix what people messed up. He established a covenant with His people; this covenant involved prophets and sacrifices. It was a good system, but it wasn’t the full blessing that God would bring.
What God established then was not the full plan. That plan was a temporary plan until He would give something better; until God would do something new.
Then, through one of God’s final prophets before Jesus, God sent a message that something new was about to happen.
God’s prophet, John the Baptizer, said this about Jesus in Matthew 3:2: “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near!”
You see, something new came with Jesus. The kingdom of heaven was revealed in a new way. There was a newness that Jesus brought to the world, and John the Baptizer said at that time that it was near.
When Jesus began His ministry on the earth, that message of newness continued.
Speaking the same message that John spoke about Him, Jesus said about Himself in Mark 1:15: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
Jesus was saying that something new was here! Jesus was calling people to Himself to experience the kingdom of God in a new way; He was calling them to experience newness in Him!
Near the end of His ministry on the earth, as Jesus instituted what we now know as the Lord’s Supper, Jesus said this in Luke 22:20, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”
Jesus brought a new and better way to know God.
Jesus brought a new and better way to experience the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus brought a new and better covenant between God and humanity.
Of course, we also see the newness that Jesus brought, demonstrated in a powerful way through His resurrection.
Luke 24:1–6 says, On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb. They went in but did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men stood by them in dazzling clothes. So the women were terrified and bowed down to the ground. “Why are you looking for the living among the dead?” asked the men. “He is not here, but he has risen!”
At Easter, we remember that Jesus came, died, and rose from the dead, bringing newness to the world.
Second, at Easter, we celebrate . . .
II. The newness that Jesus brings in your life.
Those of us who have been changed by Jesus know that Jesus brings newness in our lives.
The Book of Ephesians explains what our life was like before Jesus, and let me tell you, folks, it does not paint a pretty picture.
We are told that without Jesus, we are dead, disobedient, ruled over by Satan, living according to our fleshly desires, and that we were children of wrath.
What a terrible picture.
Yet, Jesus brings newness to our lives. Right after that section in Ephesians, Ephesians 2:4–7 says, “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! He also raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might display the immeasurable riches of his grace through his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”
Did you catch that? God made us alive in Jesus! What a beautiful and wonderful miracle! Easter remembers that Jesus brings newness to our lives!
The Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!”
In Jesus, we are quite literally new creations. There’s a transformation that takes place in those who follow Jesus. It’s not necessarily a physical transformation, though following Jesus can actually change our appearance. More so, it’s a spiritual transformation. It’s an emotional transformation. It’s a psychological transformation. It’s a behavioral transformation. It’s a relational transformation.
The old has passed away and the new has come!
You might say, “Well, that sounds crazy.” It’s more than crazy; it’s supernatural!
You see, there is a special power that comes to those of us who are in Jesus. There is a special power found in the resurrection of Jesus.
Philippians 3:10 says, “My goal is to know him and the power of his resurrection . . .”
There is power in the resurrection of Jesus. There is newness in your life when you experience Jesus.
Easter remembers and celebrates the newness Jesus brings to your life.
Finally, at Easter, we remember . . .
III. The newness that Jesus will bring to all things.
You know, the reality is, we live in a world that is still plagued by the old curse.
We still have the oldness of death. We still have the oldness of darkness.
We still have the oldness of sin. We still have the oldness of suffering.
We still have the oldness of corruption. We still have the oldness of chaos.
We still have the oldness of hatred. We still have the oldness of hurt.
We still have a lot of the old curse that came when sin came into the world.
Well, why is that?
You see, God has not completely eliminated sin yet because to do so, He would have to completely eliminate sinners. Yet, God, in His grace, is being patient with sinners to give them opportunity to turn to Him and be made new.
2 Peter 3:8–9 says, “Dear friends, don’t overlook this one fact: With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.”
God is being patient with sinners and calling them to repentance.
If you do not know God, come to Him today. Come to God through His Son Jesus, who makes all things new.
God is patient with sinners.
However, a day is coming when Jesus will return, just as He left the earth, and He will make all things new.
Jesus will eliminate sin and sinners from the earth, and with it, He will eliminate all the old cursed things of the earth.
Part of the blessing of Jesus bringing newness to all things is that He will bring our old mortal bodies back to life so that we can live eternal life in new immortal bodies with Him in paradise forever.
Jesus said in John 11:25, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live.”
There is new life in Jesus that even death cannot undo. Easter remembers that Jesus will make us totally new.
Not only will Jesus make us totally new, He will also make all things new.
Revelation 21:4–5 says, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away. Then the one seated on the throne said, ‘Look, I am making everything new.’”
Can you imagine everything being made new?
Just this past week I painted our living room and stairwell with a new fresh coat of paint. It looks great. But then, all you have to do is look up at the ceiling and see that the ceiling white does not look new. The dining room does not look new. My sons’ rooms certainly don’t look new.
We are constantly surrounded by old and cursed things. However, Easter reminds us that Jesus will make all things new! There is hope in the resurrection of Jesus Christ that all will be made right! All will be made new!
Behold, He is making all things new!
Easter reminds us of the newness that Jesus will bring to all things.
Let this bottom line summarize all that we’re learning this Easter Sunday:
Bottom Line: The newness of Easter is found in the newness of Jesus.
Jesus brought newness to the earth, Jesus brings newness to your life, and Jesus will bring newness to all things.
The newness of Easter is found in the newness of Jesus.
Challenge yourself in these two ways:
Weekly Challenge #1 – Thank God for newness.
For those of us in Jesus, let us thank God that He brought newness, that He has made us new, and that He will make all things new.
What a wonderful act at Easter: thanking God for newness.
Weekly Challenge #2 – Look to Jesus for newness.
If you’re ready to escape the old curse of this world, come to Jesus for newness.
If you’re ready to become a new creation, come to Jesus.
If you want something new, come to Jesus.
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: The text contained in this sermon is solely owned by its author. The reproduction, or distribution of this message, or any portion of it, should include the author’s name. The author intends to provide free resources in order to inspire believers and to assist preachers and teachers in Kingdom work.
