Easter | The Savior of the World | April 5th 2026

It really is hard to try and imagine the emotions of Jesus’ apostles and disciples as the dawn broke on Easter Sunday. Of course, they did not know it would be Easter Sunday. In In Luke 24 Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out early in the morning with the hope of completing the spices and wrappings that Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus had so hastily done on Friday. They were not eagerly anticipating His resurrection but were going there to lovingly care for His dead body. Mark informs us that on the walk to the tomb they were discussing and worried about how they would get the stone rolled away so they could care for Jesus’ body. Their emotions must have surged when they saw the stone was already moved because now they would be able to accomplish their task. Then just as quickly, their emotions sunk as they saw the body of Jesus was gone. The last few days watching Jesus’ arrest and death had already left them emotionally and physically exhausted. Now in their grief they could not even care for Jesus’ body correctly.

It is in this moment that two angels appear and asked such an amazing question. “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” The women went to the cemetery to care for a dead body with spices. They lovingly sought out Jesus not to see if He was resurrected but to care for His body before decomposition progressed too far. They were seeking the wrong thing, a dead person, so they were in the wrong place, a cemetery. Jesus was no longer dead so He was not in a cemetery and He no longer needed the spices. The angels proclaimed the most amazing news “He is not here, but has risen.” Jesus had conquered death and was alive in a resurrected body. This amazing truth was beyond anyone’s thought or even imagination at the time. When the apostles are told, they at first dismissed it as an “idle tale.” The were depressed, scared, exhausted, and fearful. The first easter was full of confusion and disappointment, until they found out what had taken place. The two disciples who were walking to Emmaus, show this well.

Luke 24:13-17 ESV

(13)  That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem,
(14)  and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened.
(15)  While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. (16)  But their eyes were kept from recognizing Him.
(17)  And He said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad.

As Jesus asked this question they stood in shock. Their grief and pain showed on their faces. This word means to wear dark garments in mourning as your state of mind. The anguish they were feeling was more then grieving the loss of a friend or teacher. They had many expectations of what Jesus would do.

Luke 24:18-24 ESV

(18)  Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered Him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
(19) And He said to them, “What things?” And they said to Him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,
(20)  and how our chief priests and rulers delivered Him up to be condemned to death, and crucified Him.
(21)  But we had hoped that He was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened.
(22)  Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, (23)  and when they did not find His body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that He was alive.
(24)  Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but Him they did not see.”

Cleopas expresses what so many of Jesus’ followers were thinking. Jesus was a mighty prophet both in what He taught and the miracles He performed. Over time they had developed a real hope of what Jesus would accomplish. Dying a gruesome death on a cross as a condemned criminal was not one of them. They had hoped that He would be the one to redeem Israel. They thought He was the destined one who came to rescue, set free, pay the ransom, for Israel. As Cleopas shares this it is easy to hear the disappointment in his voice. They thought that Jesus’ death proved that He was not the redeemer, when the exact opposite is true. It was through His death on the cross that Jesus paid for sin and could be the redeemer of not only Israel but the entire world.

1 John 4:14 ESV

(14)  And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world.

Israel knew they needed a redeemer, a savior. Rome was in charge, and they did not even have authority over their own country. The religious leaders were corrupt and the blessings that they were to enjoy in the promised land did not seem to be working. They kept failing at following the law. Ultimately life seemed unfulfilling in the promised land. They had a desperate need for a savior. Seeing the need for a savior is not a new thought. The world has constantly been looking for one. Jesus was not the first one to be declared the Savior of the World. At this time a common toast for the Greeks would be “Zeus Soter” which is toasting to Zeus as Savior. They would also toast to Hermes, Apollo, Hercules, or even Aphrodite. Each time declaring that they had hope in that false god to be the savior of the world.

It was not just false gods and religions that were declared to be the savior but also political systems. King Prusias I of Bithynia came and addressed the Roman Senate around 200 BC and called the senators “Hail, ye savior gods.” (The Histories of Polybius). The Romans thought they had perfected government and had such a confidence in their Senate that they thought it would be the savior of the World. We have other Greek and Roman writings where doctors and philosophers are called savior. Each time a savior is turned to, the hope is that it/they will provide the solution to humanities problems.

The world has always needed a savior. Our current culture uses different words but is constantly trusting in new solutions and ideas just like the Greeks and Romans. Each new leader, form of government, economic system, philosophy, technology or medical advancement is hoped to be the savior. We keep turning to anything other then the true Savior.

Isaiah 43:10-11 ESV

(10)  “You are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and My servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after Me.
(11)  I, I am the LORD, and besides Me there is no savior.

God wants us to understand that He is the only savior. There is no other god before or after Him. He alone can save us. He is the one we need and yet He is the one that we run in rebellion from. Instead of turning to God, we rely on anything else, even a political leader. The Priene Calendar Inscription from 9 BC gives us great insight into how Ceaser Agustus was viewed. He was the ruler when Jesus was born. In this inscription Ceaser Agustus is praised as “a savior, both for us and for our descendants that he might end war and arrange all things” and that His coming “was the beginning of the gospel for the world”. The word Gospel is the same word that is used in the Bible and means the good news. The Romans were willing to share the gospel good news about Ceaser Augustus and hoped He would be the Savior. There have been many saviors and many gospels shared about each one. Yet Ceaser Augustus died in AD 14; wars are not ended and the world still needs a savior. This in part is why Jesus’ disciples were so defeated by His death. They thought He was the redeemer, the savior, but now He is dead just like every other failed savior. What they didn’t understand is that the truly good news of the gospel is the death and resurrection of Jesus.

1 Corinthians 15:1 ESV

(1)  Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand,

This gospel is not about Ceaser Augustus, or the Roman Senate. This gospel is not about how humanity can solve our own problems if we would all work together. This gospel is not about how the right laws or systems would solve societies problems. The one true Gospel is Jesus.

1 Corinthians 15:3 ESV

(3)  For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,
(4)  that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
(5)  and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
(6)  Then He appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.

The Gospel, the true good news is that Jesus is the savior of the world.

Every savior identifies a problem and offers a solution. Some hope to solve ignorance with education. Others aim to solve poverty with economics and trade. Jesus came to be the savior who paid for our sins. Every other problem humanity has stems from our core problem as sinners.

Romans 5:12 NLT

(12)  When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.

We have disobeyed a holy God, and now life, creation, and our bodies are broken. Death reigns because of our sin. Every other attempted savior failed because they could not address our core problem of our sin. This is exactly why Jesus had to die. He died to be the ransom payment and pay for our sins. His death gives us life and fully dealt with our sin.

Romans 5:8-9 NKJV

(8)  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
(9)  Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

Jesus died on the cross to deal with our sin problem. He was perfect and lived a holy life, never sinning. He then accepted death and paid for our sin by offering His blood. We are justified, declared holy, through the blood of Jesus. He took our wrath and paid His blood so that we would not experience wrath. He is the Savior of the world because He gave His blood to defeat sin and death. We simply believe, in what He did to be saved.

A valid question arises though, what makes Jesus unique from all the other saviors out there. What makes the gospel of Jesus different and true in comparison to all the other gospels? The resurrection.

1 Corinthians 15:13-21 ESV

(13)  But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.
(14)  And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.
(15)  We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised.
(16)  For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised.
(17)  And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.
(18)  Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
(19)  If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
(20)  But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
(21)  For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.

If Jesus is not risen then our faith is in vain, it is futile and we are still in our sins. If Jesus did not come back to life, then all the dead have perished and there is no life beyond the grave. Everything hinges on the resurrection of Jesus. The payment of His blood is proved to be worthy and acceptable because He rose from the grave. He is risen so we have life. He is risen so our sins have been paid for. As a believer the resurrection of Jesus is not to be an abstract truth or something that happened close to 2000 years ago and is only talked about at Easter. We are to seek to live in its power each and every day.

Philippians 3:8-11 ESV

(8)  Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
(9)  and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—
(10)  that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death,
(11)  that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Paul counted everything as loss and rubbish in comparison to knowing Jesus. Paul understood that Jesus fully took care of his sins and he was amazed by this. He desperately wanted to know the power of Jesus’ resurrection. Paul wanted to walk in an intimacy and closeness with Jesus and experience Jesus’ resurrected life.

This means that Jesus is to be the center of our lives. To quote Jim Henderson “You are only going to live for Christ to the degree you hold fast to His word.” We need to know His word to know Him and to walk in this kind of closeness. We have a resurrected savior that fully paid for our sins. Jesus desires for us to know what the resurrected life in Him looks like. This means knowing Him through the Word and using it as a filter for everything in our life.

This might be a season of exhaustion, and disappointment for you, just like the disciples on Easter Sunday. It might be a season where something you trusted in has failed. It might be a season of joy and peace. No matter where you are in life and what is going on for you right now we each can turn to our Savior who offers us a resurrected life in Him.

2 Timothy 1:9-10 NET

(9)  He is the one who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not based on our works but on His own purpose and grace, granted to us in Christ Jesus before time began,
(10)  but now made visible through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus. He has broken the power of death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel!