Alleluia! Christ is risen! And the good news of Jesus’ resurrection changes everything. Sorrow and grief are transformed into joy and hope! Because he lives, death no longer gets the last word. The grave is empty, and a new creation has begun. Good news! Happy Easter!
This year’s Easter Sunday Scripture readings are Colossians 3:1-4; Psalm 118:1, 14-24; and the resurrection story in Matthew 28:1-10. I found helpful Chelsea Harmon’s commentary at the Center for Excellence in Preaching.
Here’s the livestream from Christ the King and the sermon podcast audio:
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Grace to you and peace from God our Creator and our risen Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen
Two days ago in our house, we had a debate about Good Friday. A few hours before worship, Micah asked me, “Why is today Good Friday?”
Good question! I started to say, “Good Friday is about Jesus dying on the cross for us,” and he interrupted, “That’s not good! That’s bad!”
There’s a lot of theology about why Jesus died that I’m not sure how to explain to a six-year-old, but he’s right. It is bad. It’s terrible! What could possibly be worse than killing the Son of God on a cross?
On Wednesdays in Lent, we’ve been focusing on the theme, “Tell me something good.” Whether you came to those or not, the idea is pretty clear: There’s so much bad news in our world today, so much fear and uncertainty on everything from war to economic instability, topics like immigration and climate change and health care access, so much bad news, that we long to hear something good. We need to ground ourselves in good news to have hope just to keep going.
Today, we hear good news. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!
And that’s really the whole message. That’s the gospel. That’s the good news. Jesus is alive! Good Friday is good because in his death, Jesus defeats death itself. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!
And because he is risen, because he’s alive, everything changes.
Our Lenten journey to Easter began with Ash Wednesday, and I don’t know if all of you have been to an Ash Wednesday service, but it’s not always the most…uplifting experience of church.
Ash Wednesday focuses on the reality of death. It’s about being honest with ourselves about our human limitations, the reality that we can’t achieve immortality—eternal life—on our own. Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
We can’t do the things we want to do; just like we confessed, we’ve all sinned. We’re trapped in a cycle of sin we can’t escape.
But Easter changes everything.
Jesus came proclaiming forgiveness, but many people have proclaimed a lot of things. Jesus came saying he was the way to God, the Son of God in the flesh, God with us; he said God’s kingdom is coming to us, even that he could offer eternal life, but there have been a lot of people who claimed to be messiahs before. Lots of great, charismatic leaders have claimed to know the way to God.
But Easter means he was right. Jesus was and is who he claimed to be. And to quote the song, “Because he lives, I can face tomorrow. Because he lives, every fear is gone.” Jesus defeats the power of death, so death no longer gets to have the last word, for Jesus or for us.
Paul writes, “You have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.” (Colossians 3:3-4)
As we’ll sing in a couple minutes, “Jesus is risen and we shall arise!” Good news!
Look at the transformation in the Easter story. Look with me at Matthew 28. Verse 1 is quiet. Sadness. A few women coming to a grave to grieve. Overwhelming grief finding form/expression in a task.
Matthew says they went to see the tomb. Luke adds that they took with them the spices they had prepared, going to care for the body of their friend. Because what else could they do?
Their teacher, their rabbi, their friend is dead. The one they have followed, the one they have believed in, the one they’ve listened to, served, loved, this man in whom they have seen God’s presence…is dead. Buried.
The revolutionary they trusted to set them free, the visionary who proclaimed the impossible dream of God’s kingdom and made it real among them, who healed the sick, fed the hungry, cast out demons…Dead. It’s over.
The authorities were too strong. The enemy won. Condemned at a hasty trial in the night by men fearful of losing their power, their authority, Jesus is dead.
So in verse one, some of the women who had spent so much time with Jesus, who had followed his body to its resting place on Friday night, after a bitter, sorrowful day of sabbath rest, on Sunday morning, first thing in the morning, they went to see the tomb. A quiet, sad morning.
And then we get to verse two. Matthew writes, “And suddenly there was a great earthquake.” The quiet dawn is shattered. The women who came to see a tomb find something else entirely. “An angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and [this is my favorite part] sat on it.”
When Mark tells his version of this story, he says the women saw a “young man dressed in a white robe.” Strange enough.
But Matthew adds some more detail. This angel—whose descent from heaven has just caused an earthquake—has an appearance like lightning and clothing white as snow. One commentary I read describes him as “the lightning-bolt angel,” so alarming that the guards at the tomb faint.
The women too are speechless, but the angel invites them in. Jesus, he says, is alive. “See where he lay.”
And then the angel instructs them, “Go quickly and tell his disciples he’s been raised from the dead.”
Go and tell. The women who came seeking closure are sent out with a mission. Mourners to evangelists. Bearers of good news. Transformation. Our call as well.
“They left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to tell his disciples.” Verse 9: “Suddenly”—abruptly, things are moving quickly. No literal earthquake this time, just metaphorical.
Everything changes, because “Suddenly Jesus met them and said, ‘Greetings!’” And they fall down and worship. They respond the only way they can, with worship. Praise. Awe.
Jesus tells them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers and sisters to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
Transformed. Released from fear. Sent out to go and tell. Everything has changed.
Because he lives, we can face tomorrow. Because he lives, your past doesn’t define your future. Because he lives, there is a place for you at God’s table. Because he lives, this is not the end of your story.
Why do Christians worship on Sunday morning? Why not the Sabbath, like our Jewish siblings? Why in the morning? Why on Sunday? We can worship any time, pray without ceasing, but we gather on Sunday morning because this is the day Jesus was raised from the dead.
This is the day of beginnings, new life, a new reality. A new day is dawning, a new week begins. Easter changes everything. Good because Friday’s cross is transformed into Sunday’s empty tomb. Every Sunday is an Easter celebration, a new beginning, God at work.
Yes, as you go out into the world today after church, things may seem pretty much the same. There are still wars being fought. People we know are still in the hospital. There is still grief and pain and mourning.
But as C.S. Lewis writes, “[Jesus] has forced open a door that has been locked since the death of the first [person]. He has met, fought, and beaten the King of Death. Everything is different because He has done so. This is the beginning of the New Creation: a new chapter in cosmic history has opened.”
I’m not saying the brokenness in the world is all fixed. But because of Easter, we know the truth Jesus gives us: The end of the story is life, not death. For you, for me, for the world.
Easter invites us to set our minds on things above; not to ignore this world, but to see with a new perspective, to see with the eyes of faith, to see our lives, our world, to see our neighbors by the light of the risen Christ.
We are transformed. With death defeated, with the grave’s power shattered, Jesus goes ahead of us, preparing the way, leading us to life.
And on the way, we proclaim the good news: Christ is risen! He is risen indeed. Give God the glory! Alleluia!