Dr. Ron Sumners
April 11, 2004
When I was a child, one of my favorite things was getting a new coloring book. There was something exciting about a book full of pictures waiting for the master artist to supply his touch. Even as an adult, I still enjoy coloring with children. You may be like me, even if you don’t enjoy a coloring book, I’ll wager that you love to see all the colors available. The flowers and colors of the spring bring joy to all of our hearts.
Easter seems to be a lot about color. The colors of the very first Easter were not so bright and cherry as our colors are today. At least, it didn’t seem so. That first Easter morning started off cold, callous and oppressive.
I wonder if the people of Jerusalem felt like the citizens under the tyranny of Saddam Hussein. They were being terrorized by a dictator and their religious leaders didn’t make their lives any easier.
There was a feeling of death that first Easter. It had been a bloody, cruel Friday outside the walls of Jerusalem. We call it “Good Friday.” But, it seemed like anything but good on that day. Three men hung on rough, Roman crosses. Two were known criminals, but the one in the middle had done nothing to deserve capital punishment. Even the Roman governor could find no fault in Him. But under the pressure of the religious leaders and the people, he allowed the crucifixion to take place.
While they hung on the crosses, a strange darkness fell over the earth. There was a cry from the Man on the middle cross, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” And a short time later He uttered His final words, “It is finished,” and He died.
A small group of followers took Jesus’ body from the cross, quickly wrapped it in a burial cloth and then laid the body in a borrowed tomb. They closed the tomb and walked away. Roman guards were posted in front of the tomb to make sure nothing would happen to the body.
That is how Easter began; as a cruel, dark, depressing Friday. But Sunday morning changed everything! Just before the sun arose on Easter morning the earth shook, the stone covering the entrance to the tomb rolled away and Jesus walked out of the grave, alive.
He is risen from the dead, resurrected! He came back to life proving that he was God; proving that death had no power over Him. And when He walked out of the tomb, it changed everything!
This morning we celebrate that first Easter once again. I want for us to look at some of the colors of Easter and the amazing truth those colors reveal.
Gold is the first color of Easter. Gold represents where Jesus came from and who He is.
The three wise men brought a gift of gold to the baby Jesus. Gold is the sign of royalty and of deity. And gold symbolizes heaven.
People have debated the deity of Jesus through the centuries. Yet it is hard to get around the facts: His miracles, His message and ultimately His resurrection all point to the fact that Jesus is God. The very first verse in the Gospel of John tells us that “in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.”
Jesus came from heaven to earth for one specific purpose: to redeem mankind. Jesus came to earth to give His life as a sacrifice for our sins so that when we put our faith in Him and what he did for us, we can have forgiveness of sin and eternal life. He came from heaven to earth to show the way.
Red is the color of the cross.
In the scripture Jesus is pictured as a lamb. John the Baptist said of Jesus, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” In ancient times lambs were used as sacrifices. A young, innocent and spotless lamb was slain on the altar as a sacrifice to God. It is not a pretty picture, but it was real. That sacrifice pictured how bad all the wrong we do really is.
Sin deserves death. Romans 3:23 tells us that “the wages of sin is death . . .” It cost the blood of the lamb to atone for sin. Jesus is the Lamb of God and the once-for-all sacrifice. His blood atones for our sin. He took death upon Himself.
That is why the second color of Easter is red. It represents the blood that Jesus shed at Golgotha as He hung on the cross. Two thousand years ago Jesus Christ hung on a cross, bled and died for a purpose: that purpose was to bring us forgiveness of sins and a wonderful, eternal life with Him.
There is another color that needs to go with red, and that is black. It represents sin. The Bible tells us several important things about sin.
Sin hurts. The result of sin is death and you can’t get any more hurtful than that. We usually think of sin as overt acts like lying, cheating, stealing, or murder. Sin is anything that is less than what God desires for our lives. All sin hurts us or someone else.
Sin separates. It separates us from God. Death means separation. Our sin leads to death which separates us from God. He is perfect and we are not. He is holy and we are not. Sin makes it impossible to have a relationship with a sinless God. Sin not only separates us from God but from other people as well. Our sin causes division and destruction of relationships. Sin destroys friendships, marriages, and families.
Sin has a price; death. That is why it was necessary for Jesus to die on the cross; our sins deserve death. Someone had to pay the price. Jesus did!
Red and black remind us of our sin and the blood of Jesus shed on the cross to free us from the consequence of our sin. We can live forever with God because we are cleansed through the blood of Jesus.
White represents what the cross does for your life when you accept Jesus’ gift of forgiveness and eternal life. We are cleansed and made whole. The old Gospel hymn says, “Whiter than snow, yes, whiter than snow, wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.” All the blackness and ugliness of my sin can become pure white if I accept the sacrifice of Jesus.
Brown is the color of the tomb. Jesus not only died; He was buried. Why all the fuss about Jesus being buried? The tomb proves that Jesus really died. It was a real death and it was final and He was buried. No more hope, they thought. Let’s put Him in the tomb quickly so we will not be defiled for the Sabbath. He flamed brightly like a shooting star for a while, but now He is dead. Let’s go home and get on with our lives.
There were three fellows who were discussing what they would like said over their bodies at their funeral. The first two gave expected answers about being a good husband, good Christian, etc. The third said, “I would like for them to say, ‘Look he’s still moving’”
Jesus wasn’t moving. He was dead.
J. Vernon McGee received a letter once that read, “I know you say Jesus was dead and he rose from the dead, but my pastor says Jesus just fainted and the disciples nursed Him back to health. What do you think?”
Dr. McGee replied:
“Dear sister,
Beat your preacher with a leather whip for thirty-nine strokes. Nail him to a cross. Hang him in the sun for six hours. Run a spear through his heart. Embalm him. Put him in an airless tomb for three days. Then see what happens.”
The grave proves that Jesus died. The grave proves that it was finished. He had truly died for the sins of the entire world. His last words were, “It is finished!” What was “it”? “It” was the mission that God had sent Him to do.
Blue is the color of resurrection. Jesus was dead and buried, but He did not stay dead! The truth that we celebrate on Easter is that Jesus rose from the dead. Nothing else proves the power of God more than the fact that even though he died, even though He was buried, He came back to life.
Blue is the color of the sky. Jesus came back to life and eventually returned into heaven to prepare a home for us for eternity.
Jesus came back to life! The bible tells us that not only did His disciples see Him, but at one time over 500 people saw Him. The most compelling evidence is the changed lives I have seen over the last 34 years in the ministry. I have seen changes that could only have come from an encounter with the living Christ.
Jesus died for our sins. He was buried. He rose from the grave to prove that neither sin nor death could hold Him down. You might not choose to believe, but that won’t make it any less true.
There is one final color I would like to present; green. You can believe all the facts of Easter; you can believe that Jesus lived, died and rose again. But until you make it personal and accept it, it will do you no good.
Green represents a new way of life. Until you accept the truth of Easter and the resurrection and become real in your life, Easter will be nothing more than a candy-filled, egg-hunting Sunday.
Resurrection means that you can have your sins forgiven. Resurrection means you can live a new life and look forward to life forever with Christ.
For some of you, this Easter could be the time for beginning a brand new life in Jesus Christ. For some of you, this Easter could be a time to recommit yourself to a relationship you began sometime ago, but have been untrue to.
For all of us it is a time to reflect on the colors of Easter and to share the eternal message: “He is Risen! He is Risen indeed!”
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