Easter Sunday Talk

In case anyone would like to read my talk from Easter Sunday, here it is. I was very fond of it, since I re-wrote it probably 20 times. Okay, just two times.

I was reading in the April 2011 Ensign under the Family Home Evening section, where a mother wrote an idea for an Easter-themed Family Home Evening. She made a time-line of the events of Easter and described each event to her children, showing them the true meaning of Easter. I wanted to go over each of the parts of the time-line so that we too could better understand why we recognize this day as a sacred day for worshipping the Lord.

Christ was born to Mary in Jerusalem in very humble circumstances. He grew up ministering, serving, and teaching the people. Christ served others wherever he went. He was a perfect example. He was baptized in the River of Jordan, ministered to the sick and afflicted, and called the Twelve Apostles.

The Last Supper is the first part of the time-line of Easter. It took place in a large upper room in Jerusalem. He spoke to the Twelve in Luke 22: 15-18 He said, “With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer: For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves: For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.” Christ knew it would be his last opportunity to teach his apostles so he taught them about the sacrament. In verses 19 and 20 in Luke 22 it says, “And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.” The same basic truths are repeated to us each Sunday as we partake of the bread and water to renew our covenants. The bread has a promise written in the scriptures, found in Moroni chapter 4 “ That they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy son, and witness unto thee O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him.” The water does the same, “The water, to the souls of all those who drink of it that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was shed for them. That they may witness unto thee, O God the Eternal Father that they do always remember him.” After the supper was finished Christ washed the feet of the Apostles teaching them to love and serve one another. In John 13: 13-17 it describes that, “Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.” Soon after Christ told the Apostles that one of them would betray him, Judas did just that.

After the supper was over he and some of his Apostles walked to the Mount of Olives to Gethsemane. Where the following took place; (This is from Matthew 26: 36-44) “Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.” This is where Christ suffered for our sins. If you could imagine for a moment, what it might be like to be there as he suffered. To not fall sleep in the dark of the night, and look on as he cried out, what a hard thing to do. Jesus Christ our Savior and Redeemer lived a perfect life and still suffered, but he still went through with the plan that had been created. In Alma chapter 7 verses 11 through 13 it says this about the atonement, “And he sall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities. Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, the he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.” What great comfort it is to know that Christ knows our pains and sorrows. He knows how to comfort us when we are sad, or lonely, and even when we make mistakes. The reality of the atonement and its accompanying gift of repentance is an amazing thing. To be forgiven of our mistakes, and given peace and love in the process, what a great gift. Thomas S. Monson said, “Our Father knew that because of the nature of mortality, we would be tempted, would sin, and would fall short. So that we might have every chance of success, He provided a Savior, who would suffer and die for us.” The love that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have for us is real. It is, at times, beyond comprehension to me, that I could be loved so deeply and so fully, and be forgiven so quickly. That kind of love could only come from a Father.

But suffering in Gethsemane was not the end. Christ went through much more. He was betrayed by Judas and arrested, he was taken into custody and brought before Pilate. In Luke 23: 1-4 it describes his first meeting with Pilate. “And the whole multitude of them arose, and led him unto Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ a King. And Pilate asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answered him and said, Thou sayest it. Then said Pilate to the chief priests and to the people, I find no fault in this man.” Pilate, after finding Jesus to be a Galilean, sent him to Herod, where he was mock and arrayed in robes, then sent back to Pilate. Pilate again questioned Christ, and found no fault. He presented him before an angry mob of people, who screamed, “Crucify Him, Crucify Him.” Relentlessly condemning Christ to death upon the cross. Thomas S. Monson described Christ’s last moments as such, “He was scourged with a whip into whose multiple leather strands sharp metals and bones were woven. Rising from the cruelty of the scourge, with stumbling steps He carried His own cross until He could go no farther and another shouldered the burden for Him. Finally, on a hill called Calvary, while helpless followers looked on, His wounded body was nailed to a cross. Mercilessly He was mocked and cursed and derided. And yet He cried out, “Father forgive them; for they know not what they do.” The agonizing hours passed as His life ebbed. From His parched lips came the words, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.” As the sere nity and solace of a merciful death freed Him from the sorrows of mortality, He returned to the presence of His Father. At the last moment, the Master could have turned back. But He did not. He passed beneath all things that He might save all things. His lifeless body was hurriedly but gently placed in a borrowed tomb.”

In Luke it tells us about another event on the time-line. Christ’s body being laid in a tomb. It says, “And behold, there was a man named Joseph a counselor; and he was a good man, and a just: (The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them;) he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the kingdom of God. This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulcher that was hewn in stone wherein never man was before laid.” Christ’s body was laid in the tomb provided by Joseph of Arimathaea, and the women who came with him from Galilee prepared the spices and ointments. This moment of Christ being gone, and his followers looking on in great sorrow did not last long, because as they had hoped and been told, there was a resurrection.

The final piece on the time-line of Easter, Christ was resurrected. The words were put so beautifully about the day of the Resurrection in Luke chapter 24 verses 1 through 7. “Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulcher, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulcher. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.” He is Risen! The Son of God is Risen! Never to be separated from his body again. Fulfilling his mission, as the Savior of the world and providing all with the gift of immortality and the opportunity for Eternal Life in the presence of him and our Heavenly Father. Mosiah 15: 8 and 9 exclaims the mission of Christ, “And thus God breaketh the bands of death, having gained the victory over death; giving the Son power to make intercession for the children of men- Having ascended into heaven, having the bowels of mercy; being filled with compassion towards the children of men; standing betwixt them and justice; having broken the bands of death, taken upon himself their iniquity and their transgressions, having redeemed them, and satisfied the demands of justice.” Because of the Resurrection and Atonement we can live again. We can be forgiven of our sins, we can enter back into the presence of God. Christ did that for us. In John chapter 11 Christ raises Lazarus from the dead. Mary and Martha went to Christ and asked him to heal their brother Lazarus who was sick. Jesus began to travel to see Lazarus and during that time, Lazarus died. When He arrived in the city, Martha said to him, “ Lord if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.” Jesus taught, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me though he were dead, shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.” This lesson he taught to Mary and Martha, and other onlookers, is a testimony of the resurrection. We, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ are saved from death, and will live again. It is through our faith that we obtain eternal life. It is through our belief in the Savior and the Plan of Salvation that we may live again with our Father.

This is why we have Easter, to remember our Savior’s great sacrifice for us, because without it, we would have no reason to be here. Again, what great love God and his Son Jesus Christ have for us, we are so lucky, we are incredibly blessed!