Mark 16:1-8 When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 And they were saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?" 4 And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back- it was very large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. 6 And he said to them, "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." 8 And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
1 What brings you to the Divine Service on Easter Sunday? It makes grandma happy if you come with her? It’s a family tradition to get dressed up and go to church on Easter before beginning Easter egg hunts? The same thing that brings you to the Divine Service any other time? The music is so much better on Easter than other times? Old habits die hard? It just feels right? You can check it off your list of good works and hope God will think as highly of you as you do? Being able to look around at others and feel self-righteous?
2 Whatever the reason, coming to church on Easter is downright dangerous. In fact, coming any Sunday is perilous. The Church gathers on Sunday because She confesses that on a Sunday, nearly two thousand years ago, Her Lord rose from the dead. If Jesus rose from the dead, nothing will ever be the same. But if He didn’t rise from the dead, everything will stay the same.
3 If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, you’re a fool for coming here. You’re wasting your time. If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, you would be foolish to put money in the offering plate. Don’t tithe; don’t give anything. If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, the Church is a huge scam. If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, you may live however you want. You can do whatever pleases you without fear of lasting eternal consequences. If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, believing in Him as your Lord and Savior is ridiculous. If Jesus has not been raised from the dead, my preaching is in vain, your hearing is in vain, your faith is in vain. If Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, only an idiot would be a Christian.
4 If, however, Jesus did rise from the dead, everything is different. There had been resurrections before, but never a death like Jesus’ death before. Every other death that has happened or that will happen was expected. Death is the consequence of sin, sin you inherited, and sin you committed. But Jesus, the Divine Son of God, who took on human flesh, was not corrupted by sin. He never had to die. But He laid down His life, endured the torture of the cross, became the greatest sinner ever by carrying all the sins of all people, to reconcile sinners to God. So if Jesus rose from the dead, there is hope for sinners, hope for you. If Jesus rose from the dead, His payment for sins was complete. If Jesus rose from the dead, death’s power over sinners is broken.
5 If Jesus rose from the dead, the world is different. Creation has new hope. Everything that was in a hopeless progression toward death now has comfort that death is not the end. If Jesus rose from the dead, death has been defeated. If Jesus rose, Christianity has the exclusive claim to absolute truth. Every false god has been defeated by death: Krishna, Buddha, Mohammed, Abraham, L. Ron Hubbard, Mary Baker Eddy, Joseph Smith were all defeated by death. If Jesus rose from the dead, your worship is due to Him and to no other.
6 If Jesus rose, you may no longer live as though He is still in the grave. If Jesus rose from the dead, you must heed His words. Sin is the way of death; to continue in sin is to continue in death. If Jesus rose, death and sin need no longer be your masters. There’s the rub. You want a savior who defeated death for Himself but not one whose victory over death calls you out of sin and death, too. If you think that you may both believe in the resurrection and continue unhindered in sins, repent. If you treat the news of Christ’s resurrection as an insipid, innocuous proposition that you may calmly contemplate, repent. If you treat the news of Christ’s death and resurrection as just another commonplace bit of information, repent. If you suppose that Christ’s resurrection does not change the very nature of your life, repent.
7 So, did Jesus rise from the dead? Everything hangs on that question. Holy Scripture, written under the influence of the Holy Spirit testifies to His Resurrection. The eleven apostles all became eyewitnesses of the Resurrection. They believed in the Resurrected Christ so much that they were willing to die for it. No one dies for a lie he made up. In fact, ten of the eleven apostles were martyred for confessing the fact that Jesus of Nazareth had risen from the dead, just as He promised to do. The bore witness to this fact not only with their lives, but moreso with their deaths. This isn’t some smarmy Hallmark greeting card stuff, nor is it the damnable nonsense of the song, “Ask me how I know He lives. He lives within my heart.” Silliness. He rose from the dead not spiritually, but spirit and body together. He rose with a real, flesh-and-blood body. One such witness of Jesus after His resurrection testifies, “But in fact Christ has been raised the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:20-22).
8 Jesus didn’t rise from the dead for His own sake, to demonstrate His power, to convince the naysayers. No, Christ rose from the dead so that all who believe in Him will rise from the dead. His Resurrection is your resurrection, too. Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live a new life. Baptized and beloved of the Lord, take heart. Since Jesus rose from the dead, your life is different. What seems to be reality is not. Where your body aches and grows older and frailer each day, there is a different reality. He who shattered death’s power will return to raise your dead or dying body. And it still won’t be the smarmy stuff of pillowy clouds and disembodied spirits. Your body will rise.
9 So to the question “What brings you here?” the answer is, “wrong question.” It’s not what brings you here but who brings you here. Here, the Resurrected Lord gathers His people together to make the power of His death and resurrection yours, too. The same Crucified and Risen Lord whose life, death, and resurrection change the very shape and pattern of your life, meets you today in His Supper. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary left the tomb not having beheld what you are about to receive: the very Body and Blood of the Resurrected Christ. The flesh-and-blood Jesus who left the empty tomb behind Him comes to you today. He gives you His resurrected Body and Blood to eat and to drink for the forgiveness of sins. Whoever eats His Body and Drinks His Blood in repentance and faith has eternal life. No grave could hold the Body of Jesus, nor can it hold those who eat His Body and drink His Blood.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria
Pastor Jeff Hemmer
Hope, Jerseyville