The Resurrection of our Lord - Easter Sunday - April 4, 2010

The Church Season of Easter,
The Resurrection of our Lord - Easter Sunrise
The Baptism of Sienna Orvis
Our Savior Lutheran Church, Midland, MI (April 12, 2010)

“The Word of Salvation”

Readings:
Psalm 22
Isaiah 25:6-9
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
John 20:1-18

Sermon Form: Deductive

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In the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

John 20:1-18 (ESV)

1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes. 11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.

Alleluia! Alleuia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Alleuia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Alleuia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

What joyful news that proclamation gives on this Easter Morning! Christ is risen from the dead. Our Savior lives. Jesus has defeated sin, death, and the devil. The battle is over. The victory is won. The Word of salvation is that Christ is risen!

On this very day, the women came to the tomb and found that it was empty. They had come to prepare Jesus’ body. They had waited for the Sabbath to be over, and so very early they went out to prepare Jesus for eternal rest. But these women did not find Jesus. Instead what they found was an empty tomb. By all their love of their Lord, by all their compassion, by all that they had heard....they found nothing. The tomb was empty. Jesus was gone.

We can only wonder what they expected to find? They thought they were going to finish Jesus’ hasty burial. They had come with burial spices and oils. They expected to find a tomb with stone door, and a corpse. They were sensible and rational. They may not have been as “sophisticated” as you and I, but these women knew that corpses do not rise from the dead. Just as you and I know that corpses do not rise from the dead.

What they found was an open and empty tomb. That was unexpected. But, Jesus has told them all that was to be expected at least three times in advance, hinted a few times more what was to be. Jesus said, “The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” He told you. He prepared you. He predicted it for you. Then why oh why didn’t they believe Him? And for that matter why don’t we?

Let’s face it, if someone you knew told you that he was preparing to die and on the third day rise again, would you have believed him? Put yourself in the disciples’ sandals. They had left their lives and livelihood to follow Jesus. Peter, Andrew, James, and John left a family business high and dry to go off with this itinerant preacher from Nazareth who said to them little more than “Follow Me.” Matthew left a lucrative tax collection business to follow Jesus. Things are going along just fine—miracles, teaching, crowds, popularity—until Jesus starts talking what can only be called “crazy talk.” “The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” Wouldn’t you have some questions? A few doubts? Misgivings maybe?

When the women returned and told the Eleven, no one believed them. It seemed like nonsense. When Peter saw the empty tomb and the burial cloths, he wondered to himself what had happened. He had forgotten Jesus’ words of salvation, so he didn’t believe that Jesus had risen.

Today we could ask some similar questions. Today we witnessed a baptism. Today when Sienna was baptized, she died to sins, and she now lives to Christ. The scriptures tell us that over and over again these words of salvation, “baptism now saves us.”(1 Peter 3:21) But what did we expect to see when the baptism occurred? Did we expect to see flashes of light, rumbling upon the earth or in the skies? What did we expect to see? Did we come to see our friend? Did we see amongst the members here the opportunity to make new friends here today? Well to all those questions, I will say that you may find nothing of what you thought. Rather today in this baptism, God in Jesus Christ offers His Words of salvation, and they did not come back empty. God’s Word of salvation found Sienna and you too.

For that baptismal font is the location where heaven touches earth. When God’s Word is combined with that plain water, a miracle occurs. God’s promise of salvation is there. It is there for you, it is there for me, it is there for Sienna. Now you may wonder how it can be said that your baptism is there. Baptism is not a past event for you and me, nor is it all over with for Sienna. You are baptized, and you will always be that way. You now answer the question, have you been baptized by answering....Yes, I am baptized. Yes, I have salvation, it is given to me by Jesus’ death and resurrection. And so what does that mean to you and I?

St. Paul writes, “If the only reason we have hope in Christ is in this life, that somehow Jesus will help us cope, make us feel good about ourselves, help us be healthy and wealthy, if that’s all there is to Jesus, then we are the most pitiful fools that have ever bought into a religious lie.”

To be quite honest, if Christ is not raised from the dead, if there is some box of bones out there with Jesus’ name on it, then you would do well to find another religion or perhaps abandon religion altogether. That is how important the resurrection of Jesus is. If Christ is not raised, then He can not be trusted, His Word can not be trusted, His endorsement of the Old Testament and His guarantee of the apostolic word of the New Testament is nothing more than empty talk and wishful thinking. His words will fall away and not endure. But Jesus’ Words did not fall away, and they do endure. Though the women and the disciples had forgotten what Jesus had said, He rose from the dead just the same.

This word may seem like nonsense to you, to all of us who are skeptical and scientific people. But I tell you, and even not I but God by His Word in Holy scripture tells you to suspend your skepticism and hang it to the cross. The saints who testified of Christ rising from the dead, testified with their lives. They could have saved themselves quite easily by simply denying that Jesus had risen. They could have saved their lives by taking the authorities to the body. The Romans and the religious authorities of Israel could have put down this Jesus movement in a heartbeat by parading a rotting corpse through the street. But they did not, because there was no corpse. Jesus word of salvation is true. Jesus was risen, Jesus is risen, just as He had said.

You and I live in a very privileged time. You live in the “last days” of the old creation, the time of the fulfillment. The work of saving this fallen cosmos is accomplished. The new creation has dawned. The dead are raised. “As in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22).

Whatever you expected to find on this day, know that Christ has risen, Christ IS risen, indeed. You can be as confident of your resurrection as Jesus is risen from the dead and lives and reigns to all eternity. Our preaching is not in vain. Your faith is not in vain. Your sins are forgiven. There is hope in this life, hope in your death, hope for eternal life with God, hope for a new creation. And it all hangs on this little sentence: He is risen!

We have come a long way in our Lenten pilgrimage through Holy Week to this bright and glorious day. We have heard the words of Christ to us: Jesus’ Word of His forgiveness, Jesus’ Word promising paradise, Jesus Word to His Father, spoken in abandonment, Jesus Word spoken to His mother, Jesus’ suffering Word of His thirst, Jesus dying Word committing His spirit to the Father, Jesus remembering Word of the Lord’s Supper, Jesus fulfilled Word of His mission, all these are Jesus Words of salvation.

Rejoice, rejoice, dear baptized, children of God. Jesus Christ has risen from His three day grave. No matter what you expected to find, Jesus finds you this day and freely gives you His Word of salvation. Jesus has loved you to His death. Jesus IS risen and gives you life. And Jesus Words give you the promise of eternal salvation and no better words of salvation are there than these....

Alleluia! Alleuia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Alleuia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Alleluia! Alleuia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Alleluia! and Amen!

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