Apr. 05, 2026

He Rose Once; He’s Coming Again (Easter 2026) — Pastor John Custer

Introduction: Last week’s message introduced the Holy Week through Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem as the Jews’ King.  The week ended with a surprising turn of events in which Jesus was turned over to the Temple authorities, then the Romans who finally executed Him upon a cross. Looked like His hoped-for kingship was over.  In the process, He succeeded in making the sacrifice of His own life, which was a moral payment acceptable to God to make up for all the sins of mankind ever since the first man was created.  In an amazing display of power, He rose from the dead after three days and began granting power to His disciples after He ascended to heaven!

The First Coming - the Incarnation and its effect on the Kingdom of God

John 20:1-10, 19-29 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene *came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and *saw the stone already removed from the tomb. 2So she *ran and *came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and *said to them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we do not know where they have put Him.” 3So Peter and the other disciple left, and they were going to the tomb. 4The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead, faster than Peter, and came to the tomb first; 5and he stooped to look in, and *saw the linen wrappings lying there; however he did not go in. 6So Simon Peter also *came, following him, and he entered the tomb; and he *looked at the linen wrappings lying there, 7and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings but folded up in a place by itself. 8So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb also entered then, and he saw and believed. 9For they did not yet understand the Scripture, that He must rise from the dead. 10So the disciples went away again to their own homes. NASB

John 20:19-29 Now when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were together due to fear of the [Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst, and *said to them, “Peace be to you.” 20And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be to you; just as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22And when He had said this, He breathed on them and *said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.” 24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, who was called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples were saying to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”26 Eight days later His disciples were again inside, and Thomas was with them. Jesus *came, the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be to you.” 27Then He *said to Thomas, “Place your finger here, and see My hands; and take your hand and put it into My side; and do not continue in disbelief, but be a believer.” 28Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!” 29Jesus *said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you now believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.” NASB

On the Christian calendar, This Sunday is called Easter.  It is the day on which we celebrate the fact that Jesus came back to life again by His own power after being dead for three days!  In doing so, He ushered in a new period of God’s working with mankind: the age of Grace.  Gone are all the tedious tenets of the law of Moses, leaving only the most sensible and mature training objectives, those which lead us toward loving one another and loving God.  At the time, nobody really understood that the main objective in God’s eyes in this First Coming was to satisfy His anger toward sinful man.  That having been accomplished, God set about to build a group of humans who would truly love Him and one another and change the earth.  He called it the church.  We have a part in building the church, in that we are to train disciples.  No one forces us to do this. We will either not believe and live for ourselves, or believe and help to build the kingdom.  This was all symbolized by the donkey he rode into Jerusalem on and His humble submission to Roman execution.  It is an age in which we are given freedom to seek God in our own ways and obey the personal leadings of His Holy Spirit.  

This week had its beginning in the Jewish Feast of the Passover, a remembrance of the night God freed the Israelites by killing the firstborn of man and beast.  The Israelites were commanded to stay in their homes, painting the blood of a lamb on the doorframe, eating a special symbolic meal and dressing themselves as if they were ready to travel. Before the night was out, Pharaoh met with Moses and Aaron told the Israelites to leave.  It is interesting that, when God started the church at the day of Pentecost, the Jews gathered in homes to pray, eat meals, teach, and give thanks before they started out on their mission of making friends with other Jews in Jerusalem.   Homes are crucial to the development of God’s people.  This is a wise principle for us to observe.  You will really grow in the personal, relational setting of a home.  

The Second Coming and it’s effect on the millennial age

The First Coming set up the world for the Second coming of Christ, which is yet to come. It will be very different. Instead of a young donkey, Jesus will be riding a war-horse.  He will have immediate power to destroy on the spot every evil person and every form of disorder:  

Revelation 19:11-21 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. 12His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many crowns; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. 13He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. 15From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. 16And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written: “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in midheaven, “Come, assemble for the great feast of God, 18so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, both free and slaves, and small and great.” 19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, assembled to make war against Him who sat on the horse, and against His army. 20 And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire, which burns with brimstone. 21And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh. NASB

The age following the 2nd Coming of Jesus is called the Millennium.  It lasts 1,000 years starting from His return to earth.  It is characterized by His rule of power.  He rules the nations with a rod of iron.  The Millennium is a fantastic time of restored order and the visible glory of God.  We Christians will have already been in heaven, taken there in the Rapture. We will have been prepared for our roles in assisting Jesus to manage the earth during our time on earth in the church and in heaven with Him.  We, as transformed people, will be amongst natural people on the earth who still need salvation.   Ministry like that will come much easier, because Satan is bound for most of the period.  The natural earth’s condition changes.  Many effects of the curse of sin are reversed.  There is more light, plants and animals grow without disease, everything prospers, animals don’t eat each other, etc.  We are administrators assisting Jesus to govern the earth.   

Conclusion - The power of Easter can be so easily overlooked by the busyness of social custom.  Having a ham dinner, making easter eggs, listening to some special music, etc. are great times, but they are not substitutes for our serious role in disciple-making.   This day’s message is a special call to us from the Lord.  We live in the age of grace. It is typified by Thomas’ experience:  Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe (John 20:29).  There are a number of exhortations in the Bible for workers entrusted by their master to be diligent and in active service when He comes.  You build rewards for yourself for eternity by being faithful to meet, host, teach, sustain, share food with, pray for, and encourage people in a home.  It’s God’s wise way to do it. Easter is a good time to keep this life in perspective:  We’re being trained in homes for a bigger, more responsible and glorious task: Helping Jesus rule the earth!