The Resurrection of our Lord 2011

+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.

Text: Matthew 28:1-10
Theme: The Bodily Resurrection

Dear friends in Christ Jesus,

Christ is Risen! Alleluia!

Bodies of the deceased could not be prepared for burial on the Jewish Sabbath. The sacred command was to first honour the living God and His holy day. Before dawn the Marys went to attend to this task for the body of Jesus. We can see the irony. Their experience is recorded in a candid and uncomplicated manner. They were greeted by angels. The tomb was open. The body of Jesus was not there. They met Christ on the way to tell the disciples the news. They had witnessed the event that would change the world and alter eternity. At the moment they were stupefied to see Jesus alive.

Without the living Christ humanity would face a living hell. Jesus resurrection proves- among other things- that the Father accepted His Son’s sacrifice to atone for the sins of the world. This is the crux of the matter. Many are greatly offended at the idea that they would need assistance to be worthy of the next life. It’s much less confronting to the ego to assume that one can safely pass to the next world based on personal merit and accomplishment. Some simply believe there is no obstacle at all. Christian truth makes quick work of these falsehoods. It’s a great offense to assume you are not a sinner that needs the benefit of the death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ.

Many explanations have been put forth to explain away the miracle of the resurrection. The earliest is recorded here in Matthew “When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, ‘You are to say, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’”1 Others have claimed that He never really died but recovered and walked away from the experience. None are satisfactory even from a secular, historical standpoint. Those who deny the veracity of Christian truth are better off remaining aloof from discussions of the resurrection.

The Christian faith is deeply rooted in historical reality. Jesus was crucified. His tomb was found empty. He was seen alive. There were many witnesses. Paul mentions more than 500 at one time. This miracle is the bedrock of our belief. But your personal faith cannot be sustained by unique miraculous experiences or signs from God. Your confidence must rely on His word and sacraments. We see Him through these means with eyes of faith. The person who demands other proof from God- some sort of personal testimony, a vision or grating of a wish- can never have certainty. The memory fades, doubt rises and a new sign is demanded. This approach is as old as Adam’s fall.

Cain was given a mark. But the ungodly still transgressed God’s command. The Israelites saw God’s mighty deliverance in crossing the Red Sea. But soon doubt and complaint set in and many lost their faith. Many throughout the ages right up to the present day have had their faith dashed when- in some way, shape, or form- they thought God failed to show them the proper sign- to give them “proof”. The Jews repeatedly asked Jesus for signs and He said, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”2 In other words, the death and resurrection of Jesus was THE sign.

Undeniably Jesus did many miracles during His earthly ministry. Miracles continued in the apostolic age. Today God still sends His angels and interventions as He sees fit. But there is no promise that this is His ongoing program to engender faith. He does not employ a regimen of personal signs and miracles to convert people from unbelief to faith. Were that the case humanity would require a constant stream of spectacular displays. “What have you shown me lately?” would be the cry. These too would soon be met with skepticism and complaint. Short of forcing people to fall prostrate those of hardened heart would never honour God.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the validation of divinity and proof that the Father accepted His sacrifice to cover the world’s sins. Christ’s bodily resurrection will not remain limited to His own person. As a preview of what’s to come the graves of believers were opened in Jerusalem on that first Easter. The Scripture says, “They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.”3 Now, how can you be convinced that you also will be raised bodily from death? Irrational assumptions are of little use. The Holy Spirit directs your heart and mind to the One who has been there and done that.

Jesus says, “He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die.”4 He says, “Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”5 These are the promises we rely on. We will find on this earth no fountain of youth. Oh what little certainty human strength and ingenuity can give us. God grants humans many skills but the outcomes still depend on Him.

A hospital administrator was alarmed to see a patient fleeing down the hall out of the operating room, his loose hospital gown flapping in the breeze behind him. He stopped the patient and said, "Do you mind telling me why you ran away from the operating room?" The patient looked at him with startled eyes and said, "It was because of what the nurse said." The administrator said, "Oh, what did she say?" "She said, 'Be brave! An appendectomy is quite simple.'" The administrator said, "Well, so what? It is quite simple; I would think that would comfort you." The patient said, "The nurse wasn't talking to me; she was talking to the doctor."

Yes, sometimes human assurances are of little comfort. A farmer in a drought area went into a small town bank to see about getting a loan on his farm. "I think I might be able to do it," said the banker. "But maybe we'd better drive out and appraise your property." "No need to trouble yourself," said the farmer, looking out the window at a vast dust cloud rolling up over the horizon. "Here it comes now." Certainty in human affairs is elusive. That’s why we have laws, lawyers and lawsuits; codes and regulations. And still, it’s not enough. What is certain is God’s love in Christ.

His resurrection effects a spiritual resurrection in all believers. In baptism you were raised in faith. You live now in that faith clothed with the righteousness of the crucified and risen Lord. Your future is in God’s hands. Today is the day of victory. Each Sunday marks its celebration. Every Lord’s Day we have the privilege to gather as His people. The Table is set in the new “holy of holies.” We no longer eat the flesh of the Passover lamb, but the body and blood of the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.6 We live in the new era of salvation. The risen Lord prepares us for His return. Daily we are sustained by His promises. May the words of Job spoken so many centuries ago be our source of confidence and joy on this day of resurrection, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the end He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God.”7
Thanks be to God for His unspeakable love in Christ! Amen.

Christ is Risen! Alleluia!
+ in nomine Jesu +

The Resurrection of our Lord
Easter Sunday
24 April, 2011
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt

1 Matthew 28:12-13 2 Matthew 12:39-40
3 Matthew 27:53 4 John 11:25-26
5 John 5:54 6 See John 1:29
7 Job 19:25-26