The Resurrection of our Lord
April 8, 2012 - Pastor Adam Moline
Isaiah 25:6-9 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 Mark
16:1-8
Christ is
risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Amen. Our text today comes from
the readings just read, especially these words, “He has risen; he is not here.
See the place where they laid him.” Thus
far our text.
Dear friends in
Christ, early in the morning at the very beginning of the day, three women walk
the road to a tomb, expecting to find a dead man. The day before they had spent quietly weeping
and mourning, because they knew the truth, once you’re dead, you’re dead. There is no return, not even for Him. The screams from Friday still fill the ears
of those women as they carefully walk outside the walls of Jerusalem to the
tomb, the tomb near the place where it happened, just down the hill.
That Friday sticks
in these women’s mind, the blood, the laughter, the taunting, the
earthquake. All these things stick in
their mind, especially the moment, when they took down the body and quickly
rushed it to the nearby tomb. There
wasn’t time to properly care for it.
There wasn’t time to show the respect any dead body deserves. It was too close to sunset, to the Sabbath,
so they had rushed. Today they will make
things right, today they will wash away the dried blood, they may even sew
together some of the cuts, they will cover the body in spices to keep away the
smell, and say their last goodbyes to Jesus, for he is dead.
But there is a big
stone, one that is sealed shut, that blocks there way? Who will help them move it? Dare they ask the Roman guards to help them
with it? After all they are foreigners, and they are the ones who did this
horrible act. And as these women are
discussing this they arrive and are caught off guard. The soldiers aren’t there. They have abandoned their post, a treasonous
act that’s punishment is death. The tomb
is opened, the stone rolled back. Someone
must have already come to clean the body.
As they duck down
into the tomb, through the already opened door, they meet a young man in the
tomb, dressed all in white, glowing white.
They are instantly afraid, for all who meet angels are afraid. His glory reflects the glory of the living
God in heaven. He sits on the rock bench
where just a few hours earlier the dead body of Jesus had been set. And the body of Jesus is not there. He’s gone!
“Do not be
alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not
here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go,
tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There
you will see him, just as he told you”
Its true! Christ is risen! He isn’t dead! His heart beats again, he breathes the air
again! Death has been defeated, it has
been swallowed up by death! The power of
Satan is forever destroyed! Don’t be
afraid, you will see him alive again forever!
Dear friends, that
news is for you. That promise is for
you. A dozen times over the last year we
have made the journey to the cemetery to bury a loved one. Countless times, tears have been shed,
countless times we have mourned as a loved one left us forever. All of us have lost a loved one. All of us have felt the sting of death, some
more, some less.
And we all know
the truth, one day, we too will die. We
will be carried to a grave, buried in a tomb, and left there even as our family
and friends mourn our loss. And behind
it is all is our sin. Behind it is all
is the very fact that in our thoughts words and deeds we have turned our back
on the one who gave us our very life. In
our desire to become gods we turned against the one true God, and looked only
at our wants, our desires, our opinions.
We did this to such a great extent that when God visited our world, born
of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem, born in our flesh just like you and me, that
we put him to death.
But as those women
discover, Jesus didn’t remain dead. He
died for your sin – yes, but death could not contain him. He suffered your guilt and shame as he hung
naked on a cross, but that could not stop his glory. For today, He is risen! He is risen indeed. And because he is risen, you too will one day
be risen as well. For as he died your
death, he gave you his life. As he laid
in the tomb with you, he will call you forth one day too. As he died, and as you die, so too will you
rise as he rises!
His victory is
yours! His resurrection is yours! No longer is your separation from your loved
ones eternal. Yes we mourn our loved
ones, but we mourn as those with hope!
Christ is Risen! And so too will they
be! Christ is alive forever, and so too
are they, and yes dear friends, so too are you.
And so today, on
this most Holy of Sundays, we come and we eat the body that hung on the cross,
that laid in the tomb, and know that it is now alive forever! We come and we drink the blood spilled for us
and our sin, and know that as it flows through Christ’s veins today, so too
will it flow through ours forever as well.
Today we receive the countless blessings earned and bestowed upon us by
the Victorious Risen Christ!
Rejoice! Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! Alleluia!
Amen! He has swallowed up death
forever; and now the Lord God will wipe away tears from all
faces, and the reproach of his people – all your sin - he will take away
from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.
