In The Days Following Easter

The days following the first Easter Sunday were defining days.

The days following Easter Sunday 2025 are also defining days.

In the days following the first Easter, the religious hierarchy began conspiring with Roman authorities to discredit the story that was spreading, and spreading quickly, that the same Jesus whom they had killed on the cross was now gone from His tomb.

The Roman soldiers accepted the bribe that was offered by the religious leaders, and spread the deception that the followers of Jesus had stolen His body to support their religious beliefs and fake a resurrection.

A campaign of misinformation was launched, driven by personal ambition, pride, ignorance, and rebellion, resulting in cultural chaos.

And deception.

But things became complicated. Jesus began making live personal appearances. Many appearances.

In the days following Easter, two men were walking to a nearby city discussing their personal disappointment in the way things had turned out for the Nazarene---and for them personally. The prophets were apparently wrong. Or, maybe He just wasn't the Messiah after all, they concluded.

The lies and deception had led them to doubt. And despair.

Be informed, not misled.

The two men walking the 7 miles between Jerusalem and the town of Emmaus (Luke 24) were discussing what had transpired in the city over the weekend. Their discussion, in some ways, mirrors the narrative of our culture today.

We talk about Christianity, claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ, celebrate Him, ask God to bless America, yet deny the very biblical moral truth Christ died for.

A third man joined them, asking, "Why are you so sad?"

They couldn't believe that he was unaware of all that had taken place, explaining how the religious leaders had led in having the man from Nazareth executed. Their sadness, they said, was that they had hoped that He was the one who "would redeem Israel."

They told the man some claimed Jesus had been resurrected and that the tomb was empty, but there were conflicting stories--they were unsure. While Pilate never claimed to be a believer, he too was conflicted, asking, "What is Truth?"

In a sense, these two on the way to Emmaus, who did claim to be believers, were equally conflicted.

While claiming to believe in the coming Messiah, they were explaining to Him why Jesus of Nazareth apparently wasn't Him.

Later, as you most likely know, when they broke bread with Him, "their eyes were no longer restrained" and they recognized Him for who He was and is.

In these days following Easter, we live in a web of cultural deception, confusion, and chaos.

While it is incumbent upon true believers to work to help elect leadership in our country who embrace traditional biblical values, it is more important that we recognize the Jesus whom we claim to follow.

Before choosing a "champion," we've got to recognize Jesus as "Savior".

In the days following Easter, Jesus told His disciples to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every person, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

That is now described in our culture as "proselytizing."

It was not so many days following His Ascension that the power of the Holy Spirit visited the disciples, and they were empowered to do exactly what Christ had instructed them to do.

Without overthinking all of the problems in the culture, they went into the public square and told the Truth.

Following Peter's sermon in the public square, 3,000 people accepted Jesus as Messiah and Savior.

The events of these days are not unlike the days following the first Easter.

What is Truth?

In order to understand absolute or universal truth, we must begin by defining truth.

Truth, according to the dictionary, is "conformity to fact or actuality; a statement proven to be or accepted as 'truth.'"

Some say there is no true reality, only perceptions and opinions. Others would argue that there must be some absolute reality or truth.

One view says that there are no absolutes that define reality. Those who hold this view believe everything is relative to something else, and thus, there can be no actual fixed truth.

In their mind, there is your truth and my truth. Everyone creates their own truth. You've probably heard the phrase "You live in your truth and I'll live in my truth."

That is the gateway to chaos and confusion.

That is the worldview of the so-called secular progressives.

The other view holds that there are indeed absolute realities and standards that define what is true and what is not. Therefore, actions can be determined to be either right or wrong by how they measure up to those absolute standards. If there are no absolutes, no reality, chaos ensues. Take the law of gravity, for instance. If it were not an absolute, we could not be certain we could stand or sit in one place until we decided to move. Or if two plus two did not always equal four, the effects on civilization would be disastrous. Laws of science and physics would be irrelevant, and commerce would be impossible. Thankfully, two plus two does equal four. There is absolute truth, and it can be found and understood.

Takeaway 

When the disciples went out into the streets of Jerusalem, preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, they were accused of turning the world upside down. 

Thousands accepted Christ as Savior---the Messiah.

They did not overthink their message. They stood in the public square and told the Truth---the story of Jesus, to the public.

There is a Creator, and He has revealed His truth to us through His Word, the Bible. Knowing absolute truth/universal truth is only possible through a personal relationship with the One who claims to be the Truth—Jesus Christ. Jesus claimed to be the only way, the only truth, the only life and the only path to God (John 14:6). 

The fact that absolute truth does exist points us to the truth that there is a sovereign God who created the heavens and the earth and who has revealed Himself to us in order that we might know Him personally through His Son Jesus Christ. That is the absolute truth.

Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Vigilant. Be Engaged. Be Prayerful.