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Easter: are we out of tune with its significance? Worldviews #10

Easter: are we out of tune with its significance? Worldviews #10

Last updated on: April 3, 2023 at 12:54 am by Rob Dalrymple

Easter: are we out of tune with its significance? Worldviews #10 2023-04-01T12:51:38-08:00 Rob Dalrymple

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A Christian worldview[1] indeed begins, as it is often stated, with Creation and it ends with New Creation. In the middle is the “failure” of humanity (see my post on why I think it was a “failure” more than a fall) and the redemption or restoration that was brought about by Christ.

This traditional understanding of a Christian worldview is quite helpful. The problem, as I will flush out in the next handful or more posts, is multifaceted.

In my last post, I noted that too often we fail to recognize that the New Creation has already begun! I argued in that post that the resurrection of Jesus is the beginning of the New Creation.

In this post, I wish to build on the significance of the resurrection for our understanding of the New Creation by suggesting that the resurrection is far more important than we make it out to be and then by noting the contrast between the proclamation of Jesus Christ crucified and risen again and what we find proclaimed in many of our churches.

The centrality of Easter (I mean “Resurrection Sunday”)

I suspect that most Christians think of Easter as the most important Holy Day in the Church’s calendar. And indeed it is.

NB: This is not to deny the significance of Christmas.

The problem is that we too often think of Easter as only one day a year. This is certainly evident by the large numbers of people who attend church only at Easter.

Now I am not about to rant about those who attend only once a year. I am far more concerned about the fact that most churches—including its leadership and those who attend church regularly—consider Easter as a once-a-year event.

It is my conviction that Christianity centers on the resurrected Jesus and that understanding this addresses many aspects of a Christian worldview.

This means that if we get this wrong, or we undermine its significance, we may well be wrong on any number of other points.

NB: I am not saying that this is all there is. I am simply contending that we have missed the significance of Jesus’ resurrection in a number of ways.

Every Sunday is Easter

The book of Revelation opens with a description of Jesus. The description ends with Jesus declaring to John and his readers,

“Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades” (Rev 1:17-18).

In saying this, Jesus assures John and his readers that there is no need for concern—despite the fact that Rome provided many reasons for such concern—because He has defeated death!

It is as if Jesus was saying, “What are they going to do to you, kill you? Well, I’ve got that covered! They killed me—’I was dead’—and now look at Me—‘and behold I am alive.’ Oh, and btw, [Jesus was the first to use text initialism] I have the keys of death and Hades so you definitely have nothing to worry about.”

The importance of the resurrection is also evident in Paul’s words to the church in Corinth:

*“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (*1 Cor 15:3-4).

For Paul, the resurrection of Jesus, along with the cross and burial of Jesus, was a matter of first importance.

Why do we gather on Sunday?

This leads to the question as to why we gather on Sunday. Now there are a lot of reasons why we gather, but I am asking, “why Sunday?” After all, the Sabbath was (and still is for modern-day Jews) Saturday. Why was the change made from Saturday to Sunday?

The answer is: to honor the resurrection.

NB: On the determinetruthpodcast (Dec 19, 2022) we discussed the fact that one of the central reasons for the gathering of God’s people is to take communion. Communion points, among other things, to the resurrection life that is ours in Christ. After all, remembering Jesus’ death would have little significance if He did not rise.

In other words, every Sunday is meant to be a celebration of the life that we have in Christ as a result of His resurrection.

NB: this is something that most churches miss: our weekly gatherings are supposed to be a celebration! There is something to the modern-day Jewish practice of a Sabbat meal in which the community gathers to eat and celebrate together. It is supposed to be a meal and a celebration. Instead, we often eat a tiny wafer and somberly go through our services sitting in isolation from the rest of the covenant community.

The significance of this for a Christian worldview cannot be overstated.

For the rest of this post and the next, however, I intend to deviate—at least it will appear to be a deviation—by providing an example of how some of our conceptions of Easter serve as an example of how we may have gotten some things wrong.

Easter and the Gospel

Easter is a funny thing in most churches. For one, it is a time of major stress for pastors and the church staff—especially the staff.

“All hands on deck” was a common credo uttered at staff meetings of the mega-church I used to work at. And for obvious reasons. Attendance on Easter would rise exponentially compared to any other Sunday.

Pastors and staff members of smaller churches also face the burden of needing “to deliver” on Easter.

After all, it is the one time a year when we are able to get our grown kids, our neighbors, our co-workers, or friends, and Aunt Martha to come to church. So it is important that the pastor deliver! Otherwise, our kids, neighbors, co-workers, friends, and Aunt Martha are never going to get saved.

Let me say two things about this.

First, I want to remind you that people are not likely to become Christians because they came to an Easter service and the pastor and staff delivered. Sure it happens. And praise the Lord!

But most people are not very likely to become a Christian because your pastor and the staff put on a good show!

NB: And do we realize how much stress we create for our pastors and the staff to “perform” at Easter?

The fact is that your kids, neighbors, co-workers, friends, and Aunt Martha are far more likely to come to faith in Christ because:

They respect you
They admire you
They envy you
They see Jesus working in your life and they want to know more

This means that instead of putting pressure and stress on our pastors and the staff, perhaps we should look at ourselves first.

And this serves as a perfect example of how we got a lot wrong. But it looks like I am out of space and I point two will have to wait until next week!

NB: considering the fact that Easter is next Sunday and these posts are relevant, I will release the next post tomorrow!

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[1] I am very intentional in calling it “a” Christian worldview and not “the” Christian worldview. After all, if it is “the Christian worldview, then we must ask if the Catholics, Baptists, Presbyterians, Orthodox, etc. have it correct. The fact is that there is much disagreement even on some of the basics of the Christian worldview.

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About Rob Dalrymple

Rob Dalrymple is married to his wife Toni and is the father of four fabulous children, and two grandchildren. He has been teaching and pastoring for over 33 years at colleges, seminaries, and the local church. He has a PhD in biblical interpretation. He is the author of four books (including Follow the Lamb: A Guide to Reading, Understanding, and Applying the Book of Revelation & Understanding the New Testament and the End Times: Why it Matters) as well as numerous articles and other publications. He is currently completing a commentary on the book of Revelation titled, “Revelation: a Love story” (Cascade Books, pending 2024). You can read more about the author here.

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