EASTER IN A PANDEMIC

by | Apr 11, 2020 | Christianity Today | 35 comments

No one had ever died like this before. Stephen Mansfield, the author of the book, Killing Jesus, wrote, “Then comes the first strike of the flagellum. It is devastating. The lictor does not slap the leather against his victim. Instead, he swings the flagellum so as to partially wrap its straps around the victim’s torso. Then, once the jagged bits of the leather have bitten into flesh, the lictor yanks the flagellum in reverse. Skin tears. Blood gushes. Pieces of muscle and sinew, even chips of bone, fly into the air. The body is torn apart.”

Even those used to administering such brutal scourging, had never witnessed bloodshed like this. Perhaps they even wanted to stop, but the blood lust of demons provided the moral depravity necessary to drive them on. By morning, He was not recognizable. By afternoon, He was nailed to a cross.

The angels grieved and wondered, “Is the human race worth this?” But something even more terrible lay in store for Jesus.

He became sin. The entire weight of mankind’s iniquity was placed upon Him. And then something even worse happened. A sensation Jesus had never known before—an agony transcending everything He had yet endured. His Father’s presence left Him. His humanity screamed, “Why have You forsaken Me?”

Yet, Jesus remained on the cross, enduring greater suffering than anyone has ever known. Why? Because He chose to suffer for you and for me. He stayed there, knowing He could pull the trigger of global destruction, call 80,000 angels, and in an instant, be safe and pain-free, in heaven. But He chose to remain on that cross, until the price was paid in full.

All through history, Satan had been working toward this moment, ever since the prophecy that a redeemer, the Seed of Adam and Eve, would someday come and bruise his head (Gen. 3:15). The devil did everything imaginable to sabotage God’s plan of redemption. But, in the end, his own evil arrogance was his undoing. He should have known that he could never have brought about the death of the Son of God, unless the Father was involved.

Jesus’ last words were, “It is finished.” Satan took that to mean, that Jesus had surrendered. It was his worst miscalculation.

Plans backfire. But as a description for this debacle of the devil, the word ‘backfire’ isn’t even in the same universe. This was a mistake of such cosmic proportions, that it will take eternity to unpack just how mistaken Satan was.

Even Paul couldn’t grasp its enormity, all he could say was that “…none of the rulers of this age realized; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Corinthians 2:8). The rulers of this age would never have fulfilled so many prophecies In fact, you can imagine the devil muttering for the millionth time, “I never should have done it.”

While Satan was saying, “What have I done?” there was a miracle taking place at the tomb. The enemies of Christ remembered something the disciples didn’t. Jesus had told them that He would rise again. His enemies knew that if someone came and stole the body of Jesus, it would keep the young movement alive.

The Romans positioned soldiers all around the tomb, and they hammered a Roman seal into the stone. That meant anyone violating that seal would be killed. It also meant that the Roman guards would be killed if the body of Jesus, which they were supposed to be guarding, was stolen. That fact not only destroys the argument that someone stole the body—it proves that Jesus rose from the dead.

If they wanted to destroy the narrative that Jesus had risen from the dead, the Jews and Romans had only to produce His body, but they couldn’t. And the reason is that Jesus truly had risen from the dead. Over two thousand years later—after every conceivable argument has been leveled at the Easter story, it remains irrefutable, and will always remain so.

What does that mean to us in the 21st century church, sequestered on this Easter Sunday?  It means so much, that I will barely be able to scratch the surface in this message. First, it means that many things that we only think matter do not matter. God raised Jesus from the dead, and nothing else really matters. No one can argue Christianity isn’t true. Dwell on that for a moment.

The stone was rolled away. Jesus rose from the dead. The Roman seal was broken, the soldiers were stunned like dead men, and then they were paid to lie about what happened. It doesn’t matter that on this Easter Sunday, we can’t meet in church buildings, because we can meet God in power. He is risen!

It doesn’t matter what the government, or the scientists, or the politicians do and say.  He is risen!

We need to stop apologizing for something that is an historically proven event. It really happened. No need to be nice and sweet in telling the world about Jesus Christ, or being in fear that they’ll reject us. We should be bold, because the resurrection is not some inspirational story to warm the soul, like soup. It is an ironclad reality that is to be declared with conviction!

It doesn’t matter what the devil has said. His lies don’t count. His threats don’t matter. Jesus is risen!

Sure, we are at home today, but the angels anticipated that. Sure, we see the pastor on a screen instead of in person, but the Holy Spirit is ready for that. We have lost nothing that matters. The fact that Jesus is risen is the only thing that matters.

Pastor, do not get on Zoom and console the sheep—fire them up! Do not be the therapist this morning, be the lion who shouts, “GREATER IS HE WHO IS IN YOU, THAN HE WHO IS IN THE WORLD!”

Don’t preach to us about ‘making the best of this situation.’ Don’t keep saying, “It will be over soon, and we will be back to normal.” We have lost nothing that matters, in the light of eternity. The fact that Jesus is risen, is the only thing that matters!

HE IS RISEN!                                                                              

HE IS RISEN, INDEED!

35 Comments

  1. John Dooley

    I was watching a video n youtube of Mary K Baxter and she said when Jesus took her to Hell and she saw Satan that one side of his face was partly caved in, then she recalled Gen 3:15.

  2. Don Nichols

    It matters not what the enemy’s of God say. The word of God is right and Mario is right He is risen, period. As long as Jesus stands with us as our God and our King the devil is a boob! He and his fellow demons are living a lie. No matter who they trick and convince of their lies, He is risen. He is risen indeed. Love conquers all, and that is the truth and God is truth. John 3:16 says it all. Thank you Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Come quickly Lord Jesus.

    • Carolina

      Exhilarating Resurrection assessment Mario!
      I’ve read all the comments so far & they are too. I would add…

      We have what we have today, the results of a plague anomaly. How we got here is clear to those of us who biblically understand the ‘fallen world’ doctrine that we live within as we sojourn during the human experience. Always remembering THIS earth is not our home.

      Yet nothing, absolutely zero, can or will ever change, alter or remove the reality that Jesus Christ is Who He said He was. The facts are recorded and on display for the entire ‘fallen world’ to see, study, and prayerfully understand.
      There will be NO excuse by the time all is said and done, for those who chose to deny, ignore and repudiate the reality of Christ Yeshua, King of kings and Lord of lords.

      In that day, that will come, like it or not, to all human beings that have ever lived on planet earth. Everyone each in his or her own time, will stand in heaven before the “Great I AM” and have to give an accounting for their life, as The Omniscient Lord God, decides the eternal fate of that person due to what that individual did with HIS SON.
      No excuses will prevail then.

      Awaken Americans’ to your REDEEMER and Repent.

  3. Fots

    Amen and Amen!!!!! Jesus is Alive. Remnant church rise up and take your position. This was so good.

  4. Jerry E.

    Thanks Brother Mario,

    Besides truly the name easter is another name for ishtar, the pagan goddess of fertility, immoral sex and many other abominations. Passover actually started Wed. night. Jesus would have been removed before sundown and given to Joseph and Nicodemus who prepared his body for burial hurriedly no doubt, because of the Passover feast that evening. When Mary arrived at the tomb Saturday morning which would be the morning of Shabbat, the stone was already rolled away. After all that had transpired, (and I thank You, and all whom have read your previous 2 posts on Mary and Peter and now this one should also as well, for the way You so vividly portrayed the events), the enormity of that moment had to be so overwhelming that the shockwaves are still being felt today. Resurrection Day would be a much more appropriate name for this event and it should be tied into Passover as well. After all Jesus was the last Passover lamb and blood sacrifice necessary for the redemption of mankind. Watch and read the testimony of Ron Wyatt which is probably one of the biggest cover-ups in archeological history. “The earth quaked and the rocks were rent” and immediately after this the soldier pierced the side of Jesus where his blood and water flowed down through the rocks onto the Mercy Seat below which had been hidden in Jeremiah’s grotto since the Babylonian captivity which is directly below Golgatha. But the light is soon to shine on that dark little secret as well. The time is drawing near for the light to expose the darkness in a way that will set many things into motion by a truly desperate enemy who knows and feels that the endgame is drawing near upon him. “The beginning of sorrows” (birthing pains). This child that has been growing in total darkness will soon be thrust out into the light to see, and for all to see. Ignorance will no longer be an excuse…everyone will have to choose to believe or not believe. Truth or lies. Righteousness or unrighteousness. Light or darkness. But for the church, the time is now to get the log out of the eye so that it may see clearly to help its fellow brothers and sisters. Denomination is just another word for division. Jesus said “if you love Me you will obey Me” “do all that I commanded you to do”. But instead the church is busy choosing to believe whatever parts of God’s/Jesus’ teachings it wants to and simply ignoring or discrediting the rest. “A house divided against itself cannot stand”…satan knows this. That’s one of his greatest leverage points. “Love one another as I have loved you”. How that turned into the dozens of different denominations that we have today is a head scratcher. There is a LOT of repenting that needs to happen this weekend, in our own personal lives and for our families and our nation. We need to humble ourselves and be grateful and thankful for the abundant blessings that we already have especially as Americans and use them to be a blessing to others around us. Ask our Heavenly Father to pour out His Holy Spirit upon us and to seize the promise of power against the enemy that Jesus gave to His disciples (that being the church). “and you will do greater miracles than these”. If this was our approach to this most Holy of weeks, then the coronavirus would be gone by next weekend.

    Happy Resurrection Day!

    On Sun, Apr 12, 2020 at 12:37 AM Mario Murillo Ministries wrote:

    > mariomurilloministries posted: “No one had ever died like this before. > Stephen Mansfield, the author of the book, Killing Jesus, wrote, “Then > comes the first strike of the flagellum. It is devastating. The lictor does > not slap the leather against his victim. Instead, he swings the flage” >

  5. presswordgav

    Hallelujah Hallelujah Hallelujah …
    Thank you Jesus for the great exchange now I am your captive…

  6. megagenius

    Mario, You just can’t go more nuclear than that. The resurrection of Jesus greatly exceeds all other vindications. The resurrection saved us, sealed us, and secured us. Because He lives we shall also live. Thanks a lot Mario. Now I can’t go to sleep. Good News does that to you.

  7. Connie

    AMEN

  8. Brian Charles

    Romans 8:2 (KJV Strong’s)
    2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

    Jesus made us free from,death,hell,the grave!

    Because He lives We live!

    Thanks for truth Bombs Mario,I’m of a kindred spirit Bro…

    Continue to ignite and excite to keep God’s people stirred and challenged to go deeper,and higher in the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God and be the voice and hands of Jesus on planet earth…

    Thy kingdom come thy will be done on EARTH as it is in HEAVEN!

    Appreciate You Bro!

    Pastor Brian Charles

  9. Marlene Wood

    Thank you for truth

    On Sun, Apr 12, 2020, 12:41 AM Mario Murillo Ministries wrote:

    > mariomurilloministries posted: “No one had ever died like this before. > Stephen Mansfield, the author of the book, Killing Jesus, wrote, “Then > comes the first strike of the flagellum. It is devastating. The lictor does > not slap the leather against his victim. Instead, he swings the flage” >

  10. Denise

    Amen !! The Apostle Paul also had this attitude to know nothing else but Christ and the power of His resurrection. Have a blessed remembrance of Jesus’ glorious resurrection. Hallelujah He is risen. ?????

  11. Harolyn

    Again thank you praise God hallelujah hallelujah he has risen and it is finished hallelujah??????

    Sent from my iPad

    >

  12. Sandra Rose

    Such a great msg 2 start my Sunday morning! Such a great reality! Truly, nothing else matters!!!
    JESUS IS RISEN! HALLELUJAH!
    Thank u Mario! U & Michelle have a beautiful Easter!
    We love & appreciate u…?

  13. martan7

    Just loved what you said about Easter today April 12, 2020. We have lost nothing that matters. The fact that Jesus is risen is the only thing that matters.

  14. womenwam@aol.com

    How very , very encouraging!!!   Love this post.  Makes the beautiful pictures we normally think of Jesus on the Cross “fake news.”  Lana Heightley, Colorado Springs

  15. RG Mori

    AMEN and AMEN!!!!!

  16. Carol Portis

    thank you Mario, I believe this is a time for the Church to arise and be just that..We are His light and His hands and feet on this Earth.. Help us Jesus to be All you called us to be in this hour..Carol P

  17. PJV-AZ

    Thank you, Mario, for being a beacon and a siren. The Church has been given this time to wake up! We’ve hit the spiritual snooze button so many times, thinking we have more time to “get ready”, that we’ve become numb. God’s got our attention.

    HE IS RISEN INDEED!!

  18. Mark Stripling

    Yes and Amen!

  19. Russ

    Good word from a great man! Dont want to hear a message consoling me to be fearless and unchanged. Dont want things to stay the same. The status quo of comfort, prosperity, and intertainment religion is producing little fruit and only satisfies the flesh. We need a firey word designed for a firey people. Jesus died and rose and we should do the same. Rise up people of God and get fired up. Now is the time and now is the day! There wont be a secound chance at today or even tommarro. We are here for such a time as this. The only pandemic we have to fear, is fear itself. Its time for boldness. Its time for power. Its time for love.

  20. HEAVENS TOGO BOX

    Love you posts. On this one I have an issue. I can not accept that Father God turned away or forsook Jesus on the cross. . What kind of Father would do that? I believe Jesus became sin for us, all our sin. It is sin that turns it’s back on the Father . It is sin that makes separation. This was Jesus’s most human moment of His life. A moment He never felt before. He had never been burdened with the weight of sin before. His Mother never left ,why would His Father.
    Respectfully
    Doris Bedsole

    • mariomurilloministries

      Why did He say “My Father,My Father why have you forsaken me?”

      • HEAVENS TOGO BOX

        Don’t we all say that when we can’t sence God’s Presence. But He doesn’t leave us .. He may give us room to experience our situation. I just really think it was was His humanity talking for us

        • mariomurilloministries

          Here’s what Billy Graham said, “You’re referring to some of Jesus’ last recorded words, spoken while He was dying on the cross. The Bible says that He “cried out in a loud voice … ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’” (Mark 15:34).

          What did He mean by this? Was He suddenly filled with doubt, wondering if He had misunderstood the mission God had given Him? Or was He filled with despair, concluding He was a failure and all His work was in vain? After all (some have said), the crowds had turned against Him, and seemingly His ministry had come to an abrupt end.

          But in reality His words point to something far different. They point to the fact that when Jesus died on the cross, all our sins—without exception—were transferred to Him. He was without sin, for He was God in human flesh. But as He died all our sins were placed on Him, and He became the final and complete sacrifice for our sins. And in that moment He was banished from the presence of God, for sin cannot exist in God’s presence. His cry speaks of this truth; He endured the separation from God that you and I deserve.

          This is a profound truth—and yet it also should bring us great comfort. Because Christ died for us, we need not fear death or Hell or judgment! The Bible says, “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God” (1 Peter 3:18).

          • Carolina

            Mario your words and Billy’s are well put. And Heavens GOTO Box, asks some relevant questions regarding this that our precious Lord said in His final moments on the cross.

            Something that has always helped me to get a bigger perspective on this topic, is what king David said which was of course hundreds and hundreds of years prior to our Lord Christ’s passion.
            Psalm 22:1, David says exactly the same thing… “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me”?.. [Why are You] so far from my deliverance and from my words of groaning? [HCSB]

            Right there in Psalm 22: we may also discern the relevance of the predestined and fore-ordained fulfillment of Messiah Yeshua in completing to fulfillment (along with hundreds of other ancient scriptural prophecies about the Hebrew Messiah) these exact same words that David said.
            Prophetically David was a prophet and a king and prophesied what Jesus would say. Because Jesus The Christ, was the root and offspring of Jesse, king David’s dad, so here we get the absolute validity of Messiah Yeshua’s messianic fulfillments, even to the very last drop before His death with
            Amazing accuracy.

  21. Russell Marino

    Truth!!! Great message. Thank you, brother. Our God is HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, ALL POWERFUL, ALL MIGHTY, ALL KNOWING, ALL GOOD, AND WORTHY OF ALL PRAISE…. THE GREAT I AM!!!

  22. Wordforworld

    Excellent word for the whole of humanity! Thanks, Mario. For such a time as this, so relative, so thorough. We only fall more in love with our Redeemer. We are alive, His Spirit quickening us, strengthening us, to step out into newness of life, no matter how long we’ve been saved. True? Thanks again for helping those like Doris. If our LORD did not know separation from Holy God, He would not have paid the debt we owed IN FULL. I believe it is that which killed Him. He handled most of the horror, up until that moment! Father! ABBA! Amazing Grace, Doris! Bask in His love today and from now on in the resurrected life in Christ Jesus.

  23. cactusflower18

    I love this time! This Divine reset has so many things going for it that only our true and living God could have orchestrated it in the midst of what the enemy meant for evil! Our God is the only God and He is smart.
    It’s such a great time to be sequestered in with Him, to judge ourselves and consider our ways (as you have said in your wonderful book; Vessels of Fire and Glory.” It makes perfect sense to put us in a unheard of NEW PASSOVER and in the time of RESURRECTION so we, the body of Christ may in a very real sense…..have a resurrection of new life coming out of this pause/selah…so we are not the same as when we went into it. What a plan….almost like being born again for the first time.
    Thank you Mario….I keep up with what you are saying and Bro. Lance too; so in “sync”

  24. Darlene W

    So well said.Nothing else matters but the fact that Jesus has risen.How can this horribly,beautiful story not prick the heart of the masses?My spirit grieves and is filled with joy every time I ponder this event.Today is a joyful day,filled with much hope.The Holy Spirit reminded me of 1 john 3 :2.We know that when He comes,we will be like Him because we will see Him just as He is.God bless you and Mechelle .The words that you speak are spirit and light.

    • Darlene W

      *life

  25. kingskid48

    Thank you once again, Pastor Mario, for a beautiful word. I agree with those who are saying they do not want to go back to the, “status quo”, or be the same. I turned on the service from our church and could not get into the music. I had been listening to powerful worship music and had expected more worshipful music for Easter morning. I wound up turning it off and forgot to go back to listen to the message. I pray this is not an indication that the church is going to go back to business as usual.

    • Dee David

      So Awesome!

  26. Joyce

    Wisdom from God – Bless you Brother well said!

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