[Machine transcription]
Jesus said to her,
Woman, why are you weeping?
Whom are you seeking?
You may be seated.
Christ is risen.
He is risen indeed.
Alleluia.
God be praised
that we are gathered here
as we’ve been emphasizing all week
on the 1,990th anniversary
of our Lord’s death and resurrection from the dead.
We want to hone in on those numbers because this is a true event.
It’s something that really happened.
We know when it happened.
We know where it happened.
On Sunday, April 5th, in the year 33 AD, our Lord Jesus Christ, on the third day after
His death, in the middle of the night sometime, rose from the dead, walked out of the tomb.
God be praised. And this, like everything that he did, is also and always for us.
We want to think about why, though. Why the death and resurrection of Jesus is
such good news for us today. All of us have various problems and difficulties,
stuff that bothers us, but it all goes back to really three things. Sin, death,
and the devil. And those three, and let’s make sure we get this, those three are
always bound up together. Remember how the devil came and tempted Eve to sin
and the result was death. On the day that you eat of it surely you will die. So
when Adam and Eve ate that forbidden fruit they sinned and they were dying and
And they were there, friends with the devil, hiding in the bushes from God the Father.
It’s an ugly picture, but it’s the same for us.
And whatever the trouble that we have, this is the same problem.
Sin, death or the devil.
Sin, sometimes our own sin, the things that we do wrong, the commands that we break.
Sometimes, other people’s sins against us or sins against our neighbor, death, sometimes
our own death as we see it creeping up on us, sometimes the death of those that we love,
that we mourn, those who aren’t here with us this Easter, and the devil who always is
tempting us to stand in guilt before God.
These are always bound up together and that’s the problem that the Lord is getting after
at Easter.
Now look, we’ve got to be very clear on this.
The problem is not living forever, that’s not that difficult.
Remember there was a strange thing that happened in the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve fell,
and there they are with their fig leaves, and then they’re hiding from God, walking
in the cool of the day, and then the Lord finds them and He rebukes the devil, He says
that the seed of the woman will crush your head, that’s that promise of Jesus, and then
Then the Lord takes an animal and he skins it and he wraps the skin around them to cover
their nakedness.
And then, remember what happens?
The Lord drove them out of the garden.
Why?
So that they wouldn’t eat from the tree of life and live forever.
You see, living forever is not the problem.
The Lord could plant a tree that has fruit that could cause you to live forever and never
die.
That’s easy.
The problem is that if Adam and Eve and you and I would have eaten from that tree, we
would have lived forever in our guilt and in our sin and in our shame.
We would have lived forever as God’s enemies, a life eternal experiencing the opposition
of God and the anger of God, and the Lord wouldn’t have it.
He put the chair of him there, these flaming angels to protect the way into the garden
to make sure that Adam and Eve couldn’t get back to that tree and eat from it and live.
He wasn’t trying to keep them from something good.
He was trying to keep them from the worst possible thing, eternal life apart from God.
No, the Lord will give us eternal life when He gives His Son to die for us.
He will give us eternal life when He forgives our sins. He will give us
eternal life when He turns His anger away from us and gives us His smile so
that the eternal life that we have is not a life apart from God, but life with
God. So the angels were guarding the way so they didn’t come to the tree, but the
angels were waiting in the tomb because that’s where we find, that’s where we
find life with God’s smile, life with God’s kindness, life with God’s mercy,
life with the forgiveness of sins, life that will be forever in the glory of his
face and that glory will not will not destroy you but it’ll be your hope and
your peace. It’s an amazing thing that Jesus really preaches one sermon after
his resurrection. It doesn’t matter if it’s Mary Magdalene, we had this
beautiful story of Mary who comes to the garden, and there’s the angel.
Why are you crying?
I don’t know where Jesus is, she says.
She turns around.
There’s Jesus.
She thinks it’s the gardener.
Why are you crying?
If you’ve taken him, tell me where he is.
And then Jesus so peacefully, Mary, don’t be afraid.
to the disciples in the upper room, don’t be afraid. To Thomas who was doubting,
don’t be afraid. Whatever it is, sin, the sin that you’ve committed, the laws that
you’ve broken, the guilt in your own conscience, dear saints, do not be afraid.
The sin committed against you, the anger that’s boiling around, the hurt that
you’ve suffered, the shame, don’t be afraid.
The grave sickness waiting for you, waiting for your loved ones, don’t be afraid.
Christ is risen.
He is risen indeed.
And He takes away that sin with the forgiveness of sins.
He opens the grave by the power of His resurrection.
And he has conquered the devil in his death and suffering.
He wants Jesus, who has risen and sits at the Father’s right hand, he wants you all
to know this most of all today.
That his resurrection made a way for you to come to eternal life unafraid.
His resurrection makes a way for you to stand before Him on the judgment day unafraid.
His resurrection means that no matter what happens, no matter what baggage you have behind
you, no matter what fears are in front of you, that His resurrection means that He has
conquered and He has done all of that for you so that you would stand with Mary, with
disciples, with all the church, rejoicing in His resurrection.
So let us delight in this news, in this history, in this event accomplished 1,990 years ago.
The grave is empty.
And that means one day your grave will be just as empty and you will stand before the
Lord Jesus, clothed in his glorious resurrection and his eternal life,
praising him forever. Why? Because Christ is risen. He has risen indeed.
Hallelujah. And may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, guard
your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
