The Resurrection of Our Lord, Easter Day (2023)

Mark 16:1-8

Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed, Alleluia! What a joyous morning my brothers and sisters in Christ, for Here we celebrate our Lord’s victory over the powers of sin and death and all that he has accomplished for the sake of mankind. Here at the end of the Gospel of Mark there is a beautiful reading about what happened that morning. It records it with such detail for each of the Gospel’s want you to investigate and to know that the resurrection is true, it is part of our history, and can be verified.

Now after the day of Sabbath rest the women go to the tomb early in the morning as they go to prepare Jesus’ body, for his burial had been a hasty thing on Friday and they were not permitted to do any work on the Sabbath, but now they come to the tomb to anoint the body of Christ.

They do not yet understand what has happened, they still think that He is dead and are worried about the ordinary concerns such as who will move the stone away. Now you might wonder why these women? Well the disciples were in hiding, Peter, who because of his confession that Jesus is the Christ was called the rock and then he denies even knowing Jesus. Another of the gospels tells us the disciples were hiding for fear of the jews.

These women received that joyous news, that Jesus is not here, but has gone ahead of them and they will see him again. Even though Jesus’ enemies had done everything in their power to put him firmly in the grave and banish him to hell, even though He bore the sins of the world and suffered the wrath of God to the point of crying out, My God, My God why have you forsaken me, the Father did not abandon His Son to the grave or hell, but rescued Him and brought him back to life.

It is this joyous news that we wish to share with the entire world, the hope that we have as Christians and that the hope that is found in Jesus Christ alone. For what Jesus did for us no one else could have done. His resurrection was meant to assure us of the hope that is found in Him alone.

We might understand better why this is such a wonderful morning, if we use a different illustration to help us understand the terror and power of sin. Imagine for a moment a country that has rebelled against their king and ruler, and the King has threatened to bring wrath and destruction against those who have rebelled and stood against him and stole for themselves what belonged to Him. So finally they see his army and it has surrounded them and death is all that awaits.

This is what God has threatened through the Law, that since we sided with the forces of Satan in the fall of Adam that God as Creator has watched us misuse and abuse that which belongs to Him. What is it that belongs to Him? He is the creator and so all of creation, the sun, moon, stars, earth belong to Him, and so do you. You belong to God body, mind, and soul, it’s not my body my rules, but rather God’s body. So anytime you sin, you take that which belongs to God and use it for evil, you sin against God. This also means that your neighbor belongs to God, and when you mistreat them, you sin against God as well.

What would a ruler do to those who have been misusing what belongs to him, and abusing those who are under his care, and protection? The ruler will put down the rebellion and all of those who belong to it and cast them into the deepest pits. In God’s language this is why God threatens with all manner of misfortune in this life, and banishes people to hell for eternity.

So we see this army that has surrounded us and threatens our destruction. Now let us say there is one who is found in our midst, who offers to go and approach the King on our behalf. Who stand in His presence and plead our cause, and win for us amnesty and peace, who will work to secure for us a full pardon and restoration to His Kingdom? Who out of great love for us is willing to suffer whatever the Ruler demands so that we might be forgiven? All of our hopes are pinned on this one man, and that’s what we watched happen on Good Friday.

As Christ ascended the hill of Golgotha and was lifted upon between heaven and earth, Jesus interceded for you, pleading with the father that we might be forgiven. He bears upon himself all of our sins, all of our punishments, and even goes down into the deepest prison, hell itself for our sake.

Now if we heard that our advocate, had been punished and consigned to prison, and remained in that prison, we would wondering, was it enough, did He actually win for us peace, is all forgiven, and are we welcomed back into His kingdom? As long as our advocate remained in prison, under the King’s wrath, we would have to reason to believe that what He did was enough. But if our advocate returned to us, and brought with Him the Word of the King and the promised pardon, then there would be great rejoicing. We would have hope in this life that all was forgiven.

This is why we celebrate Easter, for it is not just the suffering of Jesus on Golgotha that saved us but Jesus was also raised for our justification. What we witness on Easter morning is that the suffering, the blood, the sweat, the tears, that He bore to court of the King are no longer on him, they are gone, they have been forgiven and full atonement has been made. This is why you ought to rejoice for Christ is Risen! He Is Risen Indeed Alleluia!

Who did Jesus do this for, was it just for the good people? No He pleaded even for the Jews and Romans that were crucifying him. What about those who have denied Him, walked away or fallen from the faith? Look at what the angel says, tell his disciples and Peter, even if you have wandered far from him and fallen deeply into sin and denied even knowing Him, Jesus rose for you.

So what does one have to do to receive this gift of forgiveness life and salvation? When a judge pardons a criminal, what must the criminal do to receive it? When a rich man gives a gift to those who have not earned it, what must a person do to enjoy the gift? It’s a silly question, you receive it. However, if a person in their pride they say no, I wont’ receive it until I am worthy. Then its no longer a gift, you treat it as a wage that must be earned, and reject the generosity of the giver and insult them by your sinful pride.

Jesus rose for you, and has brought to you the promise of forgiveness, life, and salvation for all your sins. This can only be received by faith, for if you try to add any work to this, you are saying that what Jesus did wasn’t enough, and you don’t believe that His forgiveness is real. Which is to say you reject God’s pardon, that’s why in Lenten Series Paul was so insistent that it is faith, not works that save.

You who have remained in sins, who have continued in them to this day hoping vainly to evade God’s promised wrath and punishment, and continue to live in sin, repent, for look at what Jesus has brought for you. Your forgiveness is offered here today, so leave your sins behind for Christ has buried them and whatever pleasures sin promised you in this life, leave them behind and rather find in Christ, your comfort, peace, joy and life that your hearts might be set at ease.

If you have stayed away from the grace of God fearing that your sins were too great, too awful, too despicable, Christ won for you a full pardon, what does full pardon? If you think that there is no way God could forgive me, look to the Resurrection of Jesus who already bore your sins, and see that the Father has raised Him for your sake that you might know you really are forgiven.

So my Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed, Alleluia! Let us cling this morning to the great work of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, for He has gone before God the Father as our advocate, He suffered and went down unto Hell itself, but Jesus rose on the 3rd day for our justification, that we might know we are forgiven, and we have peace with God. In Jesus name. Amen!