[Sermon Archive] - [Weekly Devotional Guide]

This Week's Sermon THE RESURRECTION of OUR LORD 23 March 2008 "Why Expect the Worst?" John 20:1-18 LSB Series A Vicar Heath A. Trampe Soli Deo Gloria!

Easter is a time for celebration, and all over the world today, people are going to celebrate their own Easter customs. In most of North America, as well as parts of the UK and Australia, for example, people will decorate and hide Easter eggs, eat chocolate, and perform other activities that celebrate fertility and the coming of spring and new life. If you're from the Netherlands or Northern Germany, you couldn't celebrate Easter without building a huge bonfire that morning. Last, but certainly not least, in Scandinavia, along with cross country skiing, it's become popular to solve murder mysteries for Easter. Every medium of entertainment will be airing and printing some sort of mystery for the general public to debunk.

Beyond these pagan rituals, however, Easter is still the church's most important and sacred celebration. We fondly recount and discuss Mary's finding of the empty tomb and the wonderful message of life and salvation that she heard there. However, some of you will undoubtedly leave church today to engage in the secular activities that I just discussed, putting you in danger of missing the entire point of the true Easter. That point being that as Christians,

I. We, like Mary, expect the worst from the empty tomb.
--Peter and John saw the evidence and left, confused.
--Mary saw the empty tomb and was filled with sorrow.
II. We, like Mary, must hear from the mouth of Christ that He is truly risen.
--Only the Word of God can cure our sorrow and unbelief.
--Christ's victory becomes our salvation and joy.

There are many similarities and congruities between the texts for this morning. In the Old Testament text, the Israelites are escaping the rule of wicked Pharaoh, in which God aids them with many miracles. In the Epistle, Paul rightly explains the significance of the empty tomb for Christians. Finally, the Gospel speaks of Jesus' closest followers at His tomb. Mary, Peter, and John all discovered His tomb empty, much to their dismay. Although they heard the Word of Christ throughout His ministry- that He would die and rise again-they couldn't grasp the scope of such a reality. They figured that someone robbed the grave and they were distraught.

We, likewise, tend to live our lives as if Christ hadn't truly risen. We've heard what His death accomplished, and we profess to believe it, but we don't let it change our bleak outlook on life. Even on this blessed Easter morning, you groggily yet somberly ponder what Christ's death could have truly meant for you. You eat the breakfast that the youth have so graciously prepared, you sit through one or two services, and you go about your way. One more Sunday, one more year. It's nice that Jesus died and rose again, you say, but you still have a life to live, and it's not easy. This must have been the mindset of Jesus' closest followers as they approached the empty tomb. Mary was the first to reach the tomb on the first day of the week. Discovering it empty, she confessed her fear to Peter and John. "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him". The fear lacing Mary's words is obvious, resulting in John and Peter taking off at a full run. Mary accompanies them and they all see for themselves that although the burial cloths are neat and folded (not the signs of a grave robbery) they just don't have the strength to hope for the best.

What is the consequence of Jesus' resurrection? We know that our sins died with Him on the cross, but we also know what Paul says concerning His resurrection. "just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:4). There it is. If Christ truly died and rose again, then we have no more burden of sin upon us. But we still feel sinful, don't we? We still live in this sinful world, where pain and confusion characterize our day to day lives. We feel ourselves growing older and more brittle. We know that one day we will die, and we don't feel the comfort of Christ's resurrection. This is why we don't joyfully proclaim that "He is Risen!" Like Peter and John, we slump our shoulders and walk away from the tomb. Like Mary, we drop to our knees in sorrow, weeping for our fallen Savior.

Life is tough, and much like the Israelites and Christ's devoted followers, we still have to live in this world. Sure, God miraculously parted the waters of the Red Sea so that the Israelites could escape. Sure, God closed the waters so that Pharaoh and his army were completely crushed. So what? We still have to wander in the desert for forty years and we're miserable. It's true that Christ taught His disciples all that they needed to know. It's true that Christ died just as He predicted, and it's true that He descended into hell to declare His victory over Satan for the vindication of His people. So what? He's no longer standing here with us and now we have to face all of the persecution ourselves. When the reality of the resurrection is not our reality, our lives are bleak and meaningless.

As Mary wept near the tomb of her fallen Savior, she "saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet". A full miracle stares Mary in the face and she can do no more than to sorrowfully answer the question of "why are you weeping" with "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him". We enter the house of Christ every Sunday to receive His true body and blood. Christ Himself gave this to us so that we might receive the full comfort of our salvation, of our vindication. He truly defeated Satan. He truly took us back from the clutches of the beast. Now he offers this comfort in the form of bread and wine. This is true comfort food unlike anything else on this earth. However, we eat it, say our 'amen', and leave the way we came. We stare this miracle in the face and continue weeping.

Jesus Himself approaches Mary, and she cannot recognize Him. She thinks that He's an ordinary gardener and she pleads for her Lord's body. However, at Jesus' Word, the comforting and passionate Word that can only come from the mouth of God, she is cured of her blindness. She sees Christ standing before her and tears of sorrow turn to tears of joy. He's real, He's present, He's Risen. Oh what a day! We cannot come to Christ on our own, as this text indicates. Mary, one of Jesus' closest friends, cannot come to Him or know Him except for a Word from His mouth. Then she sees. Then see clings to her Savior.

What we despise as ordinary is the true Word of God. That which you hear read from the chancel and preached from the pulpit is real and life giving. This Word from the mouth of our Savior opens our eyes to His salvation, and we cling tightly to this promise. On no other day of the year is this as clear as today, the Resurrection of Our Lord. We have lived in sorrow and contrition for forty days, anticipating this day. We have refrained from the Alleluia, knowing its recitation improper in the face of our Lord's suffering. But today, glorious today, the Lord is not dead. He is not suffering. He is Risen! He is Risen indeed! Alleluia!