In the name of Christ Jesus, dear fellow redeemed people of God,

On Good Friday, nearly 2000 years ago, Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God, died on the cross. On that cross he suffered to pay the full atoning price for every sin and every sinner. Then, his body was taken off of the cross and placed in a tomb. There it remained for Friday night, all day Saturday, and Saturday night. But, this morning, I have wonderful news to proclaim. Jesus did not remain dead in the tomb. He came back to life! That is the good news of Easter Sunday. Jesus really, physically rose from death. He came back to life! And yes, it really does matter. If Jesus had remained dead, it would have meant defeat for him and defeat for us. It would have meant that his payment for sin was not sufficient. If Jesus had remained dead, we would perish eternally in our sins. But, we have wonderful news from God’s Word! Jesus did not stay dead! He came back to life! And that means that he won the victory, and so we won too. After all, he was serving as our Substitute. Because Jesus rose from death, heaven stands open today. Let us be glad and celebrate, because...

St. Luke chapter 24 begins with these words: {1} On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. Jesus had died on the cross around 3:00 P.M. on Good Friday, so there was very little time to prepare his body for burial. At 6:00 P.M. on Friday, the Sabbath began. The women did not have time to apply the various spices that were appropriate. In keeping with the Sabbath Law, they rested from 6:00 P.M. Friday until 6:00 P.M. Saturday. They decided to do this work first thing Sunday morning. So, very early in the morning, these women who had so faithfully followed and served Jesus set out for the tomb of their Lord. They were going to prepare his body properly for burial with the spices they had with them. But, there were a few surprises ahead of them.

Here’s the first one: {2-3} They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, {3} but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. This was shocking. The large stone which had covered the entrance to the tomb was rolled away from the tomb. And when they entered the tomb, they had another surprise. They did not find Jesus’ body. This must have troubled these women. They must have been wondering what happened. They were puzzled.

{4} While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. These were two angels who appeared like men in glorious clothing. The angels appeared quite suddenly. Their appearance must have been quite a shock early on that Sunday morning. They were not expecting any of this to happen. They were startled and afraid.

{5-6a} In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? {6a} He is not here; he has risen!...” The angels had a wonderful message to tell. The first part of their message sounds like a mild rebuke, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” The women were looking for Jesus, but he didn’t belong in this tomb anymore. He was alive again! These women should have known. The 11 disciples should have known. Jesus had told them that he would rise from death on the third day. He had predicted it very clearly. So, these two angels delivered the first Easter sermon. It was brief and to the point: “He is not here; he has risen!” Jesus was not in the tomb, because he had risen from death to life. Jesus came back to life! He wasn’t dead anymore! What great news! No human eye was watching when Jesus came back to life. But it happened. Sometime, while it was still dark, very early on this Sunday morning, Jesus rose from death. He came back to life. While we don’t know the exact moment, we know that it was before this, for the holy angels said: “He is not here; he has risen!” It had already happened. That is the message of Easter. Jesus did not stay dead. He was alive again! Thanks be to God! It happened just as Jesus said it would.

The angels explained this to the women. {6-7} He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: {7} 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.'" God sent these angels to proclaim the good news of Christ’s resurrection, and to remind the women of Jesus’ words. Jesus had very clearly predicted this. The angels even quoted Jesus’ words that “on the third day” he would rise again. According to the Jewish reckoning, this was the third day. The women and the disciples should have known! Jesus said that he would be crucified and rise on the third day. The angel’s sermon was clear.

It had an effect on the women. For, {8} Then they remembered his words. They remembered what Jesus had said. They had been faithful followers and listeners. They knew. They knew very well what Jesus had said. They were probably ashamed of themselves for forgetting. There is a lesson there for us too. May we remember our Savior’s words. He always keeps his promises. He promised he would die and rise again, and that is exactly what happened. He said he would take his believers to heaven, and he will do that. He always, always keeps his promises.

The good news brought joy to the women, and they needed to share the joy. And that’s exactly what they did. {9-10} When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. {10} It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. These women went straight to the 11 Apostles and the others to tell them all about it. This was great news! Jesus had risen! He wasn’t dead anymore! He came back to life!

{11} But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. This verse is rather sad. At first, the apostles and others did not believe what the women told them. They thought it sounded like nonsense. Maybe the women were all excited. Maybe they weren’t as clear as they could have been. Most likely, these other disciples just didn’t believe it yet. Now, I’d like to make a very specific point about this that ought to encourage us in the faith. Sometimes, unbelievers will say that the disciples were so eager to have Jesus back they made up they idea of his rising from death. Or, they’ll try to claim that the disciples were so gullible, they would believe anything. But these words prove that these disciples were not gullible men. They were not at all ready to believe the first hints of a resurrection. They were not expecting this at all. They were not looking for it at all. When the women tried to tell them that Jesus rose from death and came back to life, their first reaction was to reject it. They were not gullible!

Soon, very soon, they would receive very convincing proof. We read some of that proof in our Epistle lesson for today from 1 Corinthians 15. The women would see Jesus, face to face. The disciples would see Jesus face to face. The following Sunday, Jesus would even convince doubting Thomas, inviting him to touch his wounds. Eventually it would all be clear. Here, the apostles and others had the opportunity to believe without seeing. But, they did not believe yet. Later Jesus would rebuke them for being too slow to believe what had been so clearly foretold.

Do you believe that Jesus rose from the dead or does it seem like nonsense to you? We don’t see him here, face to face. Yet, after he convinced poor doubting Thomas with sight and touch, Jesus said, “blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed!” May God so bless us through his gospel that we do believe that Jesus, our Savior, really came back to life. May God enable all of us to believe that Jesus entered this world as true God and true man to redeem us from sin. May God enable all of us to believe the gospel message, that Jesus lived a perfect life for us, and died on the cross to pay for all of our sins, and that he rose from death because he had won our victory and our forgiveness. Yes, may we all believe, for Jesus said that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life. Believe in Jesus our crucified and risen Savior. Believe in Jesus, who rose from the dead having won your forgiveness, and you will have eternal life in heaven. Believe that Jesus saved you and came back to life.

On this special day, I would like to now read the appointed Epistle lesson for this Easter Sunday. May these words give you strength, comfort, and encouragement. This lesson comes from 1 Corinthians chapter 15, the resurrection chapter of the Bible. The inspired apostle Paul writes, “Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. {2} By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. {3} For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance : that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, {4} that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, {5} and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. {6} After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. {7} Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, {8} and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born. {9} For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. {10} But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. {11} Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.”

One by one, Jesus convinced his disciples that he really did come back to life. May he convince each one of us too, one by one. On the third day, Jesus rose from the dead. This is a truth of God’s Word. Check it out. Read all about it. One day, we will all see him, but then, it will be too late. I’m here to tell you that it’s true. Jesus saved you. And, then Jesus came back to life! Amen!