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The Festival of the Resurrection of our Lord
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hamilton, Ohio
Pastor Kevin Jud
April 20, 2025
Isaiah 65:17-25, 1 Corinthians 15:19-26, Luke 24:1-12
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We worked so hard for this moment. It has been a long time coming, but we finally achieved our goal. We were direct, we were sneaky, we laid traps, we manipulated people, we schemed and planned and finally we have what we were going after. Jesus of Nazareth is hanging dead on a cross at Golgotha. That aggravating teacher from Galilee will no longer be a problem with His violation of the Sabbath rules and His eating dinner with low life sinners. Now He…is…dead…silenced forever.
Word is that two traitors are going to bury Jesus; Joseph of Arimathea who is a wealthy member of the Sanhedrin; the Jewish governing assembly, along with Nicodemus, a Pharisee. They got permission to bury Jesus. We thought these two were with us, but apparently they are secret followers of Jesus…probably spies. Who else might be secret followers? Who can we trust?
With Jesus dead, it feels like it is all done, that we have accomplished all that we set out to do, but now is not the time to rest. We remember that when Jesus was alive He told his followers… Luke 9:22 (ESV) 22 …“The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”
He was right about rejection and being killed, but He is not going to rise from the dead. Dead is dead. Nobody rises from the dead. Somehow, Jesus supposedly raised Lazarus from the dead but it cannot be true. Dead is dead. Nobody rises from the dead.
So, we are going to make sure that everyone knows Jesus is dead, and that He will stay dead. He claimed to be the Son of God and King of the Jews, but we will show the world that He was just another lunatic claiming to be the Messiah.
You have got to imagine that the Jewish leaders who worked so hard to get Jesus executed never let His body leave their sight. I’m sure they keep watch to make sure no one steals the body to claim that Jesus rose from the dead. Certainly they are watching as Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus take the body down from the cross and prepare it for burial. They watch as the two men wrap Jesus’ body in a linen shroud with spices and lay it in a tomb. They watch as a great stone is rolled in front of the entrance to the tomb and the two men go away. They watch the two women who are also there by the tomb. They watch the women leave, after a while, as the Passover Sabbath begins with the setting of the sun. I’m sure the tomb is kept under watch all night.
In the morning the chief priests and Pharisees get Roman soldiers to fortify security. They send a delegation to Pilate to ask for a guard. After talking to Pilate they get soldiers and … Matthew 27:66 (ESV) 66 …they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.” Now they just have to wait a few days to prove that Jesus was a fraud.
For the soldiers it must seem like an easy assignment. They are guarding a dead man sealed inside quiet garden tomb; a boring assignment, but easy. Dead men cannot get away.
Saturday is quiet during the day and through the night, but then comes Sunday morning… Matthew 28:1–4 (ESV) Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men.”
The tomb is empty. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! Matthew 28:5–6 (ESV) 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.”
As the women are leaving the tomb to tell His disciples, Jesus meets them and says, Matthew 28:9–10 (ESV) 9 … “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”
The guards are paralyzed or passed out with fear. The angel never told them, “Don’t be afraid.”
After the women leave, the soldiers come around and realize they are in a bad situation. How can they explain what has happened? Who will believe that a heavenly being came and rolled away the stone? Everyone will think they fell asleep on guard duty and the penalty for that is a severe beating or even execution.
Matthew 28:11–15 (ESV) 11 While [the women] were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. 12 And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers 13 and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ 14 And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” 15 So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.”
The elders and the chief priests had to pay Judas to betray Jesus, now they have to pay the soldiers to make up a story about falling asleep. And, possibly, they have to somehow convince Pilate not to punish the soldiers if he finds out about their story of falling asleep on guard duty.
The elders’ and the Chief Priests’ plan is falling apart. All of their scheming and planning and hard work is for nothing. Jesus really did what He said He would do. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
The crazy thing is…the elders and Chief Priests know the truth. They heard from the Roman soldier eyewitnesses about the earthquake and the angel and the empty tomb. The soldiers may have even seen Jesus talking to the women. They know that Jesus rose from the dead. Just as Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, now He himself is raised from the dead.
They know the truth….and they cover it up. They are so concerned about their own stuff; their rules, their traditions, their positions, their power and control that they try to cover up the most important event in the history of the world -- Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Jaroslav Pelikan, a Lutheran theologian wrote, “If Christ is risen, nothing else matters. And if Christ is not risen, nothing else matters.”
When the Magi came to Jerusalem looking for the newborn King of the Jews the chief priests and scribes knew where the Christ was to be born but none of them went with the Magi to worship the Christ child.
The religious leaders witnessed Jesus’ miracles, but they did not rejoice -- they were only concerned about Sabbath regulations. The Jewish leaders know that Christ rose from the dead, but other things matter more.
This is a stark warning. This is convicting. Some folks know that Jesus rose from the dead, but then the things of life become more important…and Christ’s resurrection no longer matters to them.
We are warned about this in Jesus’ parable of the sower and the seeds. Matthew 13:22 (ESV) 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.” If Christ is risen…nothing else matters.
Do not let the busyness of life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke out that knowledge in you. Do not leave here today and then live as if Jesus’ resurrection does not matter.
Do not let Godly good stewardship of money become a satanic love of money that chokes out faith in Christ and is the root of all kinds of evil.
Do not let lust take control of you and lead you into ongoing sin. Do not let the sun go down on your anger and give the devil a foothold. James 4:7 (ESV) 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
You know Jesus died and rose from the dead for you. You know your sins are forgiven. You are the light of the world. Let the love of God shine in your life. Listen to Jesus. Jesus teaches, Matthew 7:24 (ESV) 24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” Remain in the Word of God -- read, mark, learn and inwardly digest God’s word. Pray regularly. Stay connected to God’s Word and His sacraments. Remember your baptism in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Repent, confess your sins, and receive absolution. Regularly receive the Body and Blood of Jesus into your body to strengthen and preserve you in true faith. You are one with Christ.
It is a wonderful day to be here in God’s house enthusiastically proclaiming, “Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!”
Pilate asked, “What is truth?” You know the truth. Jesus died on the cross as payment for the sins of the world. Jesus, the Son of God, drank the cup of God’s wrath because of your sin. He paid the price for you and forgives you all your sins. Jesus rose from the dead on the third day just as He said He would. Jesus is indeed King of the Jews. He is King of the universe. He is God in flesh. He is your Lord and Savior.
You know the truth. The truth sets you free. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia! “If Christ is risen…nothing else matters.” Amen.