EASTER VIGIL & SUNRISE SERMON APRIL 22 & 23, 2000

St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church - Watertown, WI

THE LIVING ARE NOT WITH THE DEAD LUKE 24:1-8

Have you ever gone to the cemetery to visit the grave of a loved one and found that the grave was open and the body of your loved one was gone? Probably not. When you go to the cemetery, you expect to find undisturbed graves with corpses lying beneath the ground. That was not the case for that group of women who went to the garden where Jesus had been buried. These women were coming to complete the embalming of Jesus' body. Remember that Jesus had to be quickly buried on Friday afternoon before sunset and the beginning of the Sabbath observance. Joseph of Arimathea had a tomb in a garden near Calvary, so he along with Nicodemus took Jesus' body and buried it. Nicodemus had brought strips of linen and 75 pounds of spices to embalm the Lord's body. Now these women wanted to finish the embalming. How surprised these women must have been when they came to the tomb. The stone had been rolled away from the entrance. The guards that Pilate had posted to guard the body were gone. The women walked into the tomb but the body of Jesus was gone. Suddenly two men appeared to them. These men were dressed in clothing that shone like lightning. The women were frightened and bowed their heads to the ground. The men said to them, "Why are you looking for the living among the dead?" (v. 5) As we ponder this strange event we would like to focus on this truth THE LIVING ARE NOT WITH THE DEAD. The angels told the women, I) Jesus Is Alive. This exciting and life changing message has had an impact on our life and our future. II) We Are Alive and We Will Live.

JESUS IS ALIVE !

If you want to talk and visit with real live people, you usually don't go to a cemetery. Cemeteries are full of dead people. There you find the remains of people whose souls have departed from their bodies. That's what the women expected to find that Sunday morning. They thought they would find the remains of Jesus' body. But that's not what they found. They found an empty grave and angels with good news, but also news that confused and puzzled them. Listen to the angels words to the women, "He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you while he was still with you in Galilee: The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again." (vv.6-7) He rose? The dead don't rise. Haven't you and I heard that before. "Once you're dead, you're dead." There is nothing after that. That is what people think. That's what the world and sad to say even many churches teach today. Oh they still talk about Jesus' resurrection, but they don't believe that his body came out of the grave. What they mean when they talk about the resurrection is that the spirit and teachings of Jesus live on. But they will deny that he bodily came out of the grave. But what does the Bible really teach us?

In our reading for today, the angels tell us that Jesus really rose. In our earlier readings even the guards told the priests that Jesus rose. But remember what the priests and Jewish elders did? They paid the guards off and told them to spread the lie that they had fallen asleep while on guard duty and that the disciples of Jesus came by night and stole the body of Jesus.

Jesus also told his followers that he would rise. As the angels reminded the women, "He told you that the Son of Man would be handed over to sinful men, crucified and on the third day rise." (v.7) A number of times Jesus had explained to his disciples that he would have to go to Jerusalem and that he would be arrested, crucified, but on the third day he would rise from the dead. (cf. Matthew 16:21) After our Lord's transfiguration, he told Peter, James and John, not to tell anyone about what they had seen until after he had risen from the dead. (cf. Matthew 17:9)

Not only did Jesus tell people that he would rise, he proved it. After his resurrection he repeatedly appeared to his followers and disciples and gave them many convincing proofs that he was alive. He allowed people to touch him. He ate food with them. He appeared to more than 500 people at one time. They all saw him together. Some of his disciples were not so quick to believe that he had risen. Remember Thomas? He would not believe the report of the ten other apostles. He demanded that he wanted to put his fingers in the nail prints and his hand into Jesus' side where the sword had pierced him. A week after Jesus' resurrection on the following Sunday, Jesus appeared to his disciples again and this time Thomas was with them. He had Thomas put his fingers in his hands and his hand in his side. Thomas then believed that Jesus truly had bodily risen from the dead.

Jesus is alive! That is the good news that we proclaim today. It is the good news that we announce every week in this church. Our final enemy, death, has been defeated. It has no power over us. The resurrection of Jesus Christ has real and lasting meaning for everyone of us.

WE ARE ALIVE AND WE WILL LIVE

What does all this mean for you and me? First we are alive. That's a stupid statement! If we weren't alive, we wouldn't be here this morning. Our bodies would be out in the cemetery rotting and decaying. That's true. But not only are we physically alive, that is, we are breathing, walking and eating. We are also spiritually alive.

When we entered this world, everyone of us was spiritually dead. We hated God and were openly opposed to him and His Word. But God who is rich and mercy and love made us alive in Christ Jesus even when were dead in our sins. God made us his children through the power of His Word. He brought us to believe that we were sinners and that our sins were washed away in the blood of Jesus Christ. God gave us the faith to believe that Jesus Christ truly rose from the dead and because he rose we are forgiven and will never have to suffer the punishment of eternal suffering in hell. For many of us that life transforming miracle of new life was given to us as infants when we were baptized. For others of us that came as we read and heard God's Word and the Holy Spirit worked faith in our hearts through that Word. Whatever the case, we are alive!

This new life we have is great! Oh, we still sin. We struggle with sin in our personal lives. But we have the weapons and power from God to fight against sin. We have the ability with God's help to say "no" to the devil's temptations. We have the ability to walk away from sinful activities. Sin no longer enslaves us. We have also been freed from the strangle hold of guilt and shame. We know that Jesus lives and because he lives God has forgiven us of all our sins. God will not eternally condemn us for the wrongs we have done and the good we have failed to do. This new life enables us to forgive ourselves and others. Why? Because God has forgiven us and all people. And he commands us that as he has forgiven us so we need to forgive one another. I once was talking to a person who had a friend who refused to forgive. This person had not spoken with any of her family members for over five years. She had separated herself from everyone. All she thought about doing was making her family pay for the hurts that she perceived she had experienced from them. She was even excommunicated from her church as an unbeliever because she refused to forgive. She was a very lonely and bitter person. How sad and unfortunate. But God can still melt her bitter heart of lovelessness with his love and forgiveness. He did it for us and he can do it for her.

Not only are we alive but we will live. Now what does that mean? We all know that physically we will die one day, our souls or spirits will separate from our bodies. Our souls will go to be with the Lord in paradise and our bodies will be placed in the grave to rot and turn to dust. But we will live. Our physical bodies will be raised from our graves when Jesus returns on the Last Day. This is what the Bible teaches, this is what our Lord Jesus promised. And remember, Jesus promised that he would rise from the grave and he did. He promises that he will raise us from our graves and he will. Listen to his promise, "Because I live, you also will live." (John 14:19b) This is not some new and foreign idea. In fact, the patriarch Job, between 2000 and 1000 years before Jesus was born tells us about the resurrection of the body. He says, "I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes; I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me." (Job 19:25-27) Remember just before Jesus raised Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, back to life he told Martha, "Your brother will rise again." Martha told Jesus, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." (John 11:23-24) This teaching of the resurrection of the body at the end of time was taught throughout the Old Testament. The Jews believed and taught that also. And this truth is taught in the New Testament also. As Paul writes, "Brothers, we don't want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep (that is, die), or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him." (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14)

Why all the special music? Why all the decorations and celebration today? This is a day of victory. It's like when the second world war ended. People were jubilant and excited. It's like when your favorite team wins a bowl game or the Super Bowl. But it is even more exciting, important and lasting. Our enemy death has been defeated. Jesus destroyed death and the power of the devil for us. We are forgiven and we will rise from our graves and live forever with the Lord on the new earth.

He is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Amen.