EASTER
April 21-22, 2019
Pastor Timothy J. Spaude
Text: Luke 24:1-12 (NIV 1984)
THREE WORDS OF TRUTH
He Has Risen!
Luke 24:1-12 (NIV 1984) “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. 2They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5In 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? 6He 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.’” 8Then they remembered his words. 9When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.”
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Dear friends in Christ, Friday before the first service I was here at church just a little early to make sure all looked nice when a very nice lady came out of the bathroom. She was here quite early so I welcomed her and told her she had the pick of the seats. That’s when she said to me, “Thank you and I saw your dad.” Now of course I was a little puzzled because my dad has been in heaven for ten years now so I asked, “Really where?” He was getting out of the blue car. “Ah!” I said, “so you saw Pastor Waldschmidt!” As you can imagine I was just bursting with joy. I couldn’t wait to tell Pastor the good news that he had been mistaken for—my dad!” What I really can’t wait to do is tell you the good news of Easter with three words of truth. He has risen! Those of you who have been able to be here throughout the season of Lent and during Holy Week know that we have been following a series called Three Words of Truth. Each service has focused on three words of truth from the Passion History of Jesus that have given meaning and comfort to our lives. Today is no different. Three words of truth spoken by angels provide the Easter message in a nutshell: He has risen!
I’m sure all of you saw an image of it and many of you watched it live on TV, the burning of the cathedral of Notre Dame. Not everyone cares about old buildings and cathedrals in the same way but can you imagine what that must have been like for those who do, for the people of Paris? As smoke filled the sky and word began to spread there must have been a collective, “No way! It can’t be!” And then when the truth became evident a sadness at the reality. The next day would be for them one of those “I just got punched in the gut” days. The news was devastating. So it must have been for the women on the way to Jesus’ tomb that first Easter morning. Everything had happened so fast. Jesus had come to Jerusalem and was welcomed in on Palm Sunday like a king! What joy and happiness there was for the followers of Jesus. The week had gone by as expected as they prepared to celebrate the Passover. On Thursday the women had heard that Jesus was observing the Passover with the disciples. The next thing they must have heard was that Jesus was arrested and crowd was gathering at the Roman governor’s palace and they were calling for Jesus to be killed. What! Wait! No way! This can’t be happening. But it was. So they followed Jesus as He carried His cross out of the city. They watched him nailed to the cross. They saw the cross hoisted in position. They heard the seven sayings. They saw Jesus die. In grief and shock they returned to their homes prevented by Sabbath day rules from getting Jesus’ body ready for burial. They would change that as soon as they could.
“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. 2They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.” I’ve always imagined that as a quiet walk there. What do you talk about? Let’s just get this over with. But God had other plans. Jesus’ body was not there. You know how it goes. You come up with all the reasonable explanations that you can. His enemies had stolen the body. Maybe Joseph of Arimathea changed his mind about letting Jesus have his tomb and move it elsewhere. But there was no reasonable explanation. “While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5In 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? 6He 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.’” 8Then they remembered his words.” Three words of truth. He has risen!
Three words of truth gave these women the power to believe everything Jesus has said. Do you think they had a “duh” moment? You know one of those where you go, “What was I thinking? I should have known that!” It was true. They should have. Jesus had told them ahead of time everything that would happen. And it happened just like He said. He was delivered, crucified and raised back to life. Now can we really blame them? All of that would have been hard to believe. But He did it. He has risen. And since He did that they and we can believe everything Jesus says. When Jesus says, “Your sins are forgiven!” you can believe him even if you still feel guilty because He has risen. Whatever He says is true. When He says, “Whoever believes in me will live even though He dies,” and you are standing before the casket of your loved you can believe Him. It’s true. He has risen. When He says He is with us always no matter what we are going through to the end of the age you can believe Him. He has risen. And when He says He will come back for you, believe Him. He has risen.
Those same three words of truth fill our lives with hope. The people who love the cathedral of Notre Dame hope it can be saved and restored. Will it? Structural analysis needs to be done. A billion dollars has been pledged—but not given. Time will tell. Hope built on Jesus is different. You know the help is coming. You just don’t know when. Peter would experience that on Easter. “When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. 10It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. 11But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. 12Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.” Poor Peter. His last personal interaction with Jesus had been the eye contact in the courtyard after the third time Peter had with swears denied even knowing his good friend Jesus. If only, if only he could have another chance. Could it be true? He ran to find out. He hoped so. He didn’t see Jesus right then but he did later. He has risen. Jesus. I’m sure he was hoping to make amends for his denial. He got better than he was hoping for. Jesus picked Peter to work for Him. Can you relate? Ever said something you wish you hadn’t? Do you sometimes live in the world of shoulda, woulda, coulda, didn’t? He has risen. You have hope. The fix might not happen when you want it and how you want it but with Jesus it will happen. In the book of Revelation Jesus told us to look forward to this, “Behold, I am making everything new. Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true!” It is possible that you may have to live your whole life with some regrets over things you have said and done. You may have to live with the consequences of some sins you have committed. You may have to struggle with certain sinful desires until the day you die. But it will end. Jesus lives and when He comes again He will make you and everything new. I can guarantee it because of three words of truth that I’ve been bursting with joy to tell you. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Amen.
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