Power in the Pulpit | Luke 23:50–24:12

Sunrise Service

Introduction: Thank you all for braving the weather and being here this morning. While the weather did not cooperate this morning, we are still able to be here to celebrate our Lord being alive. This morning we are going to look at Luke 23:50-24:12. We are going to look at how everything changed from Friday evening to Sunday morning.

Exposition: Our passage picks up just after Jesus has died on the cross. The gospel writer Luke tells us about a man named Joseph. We don’t know a lot about this man. All that is known is what the four gospels tell us. Luke tells us, Luke 23:50-53 “Now there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, who had not consented to their decision and action; and he was looking for the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and laid him in a tomb cut in stone, where no one had ever yet been laid.” This man was waiting for the Kingdom of God. I think it’s safe to assume that he had believed Jesus was that King. He was the one that was going to bring hope to the people. And now, Jospeh was going to ask if he could be allowed to bury the man he had thought was going to be king in a tomb be had bought for his family, but had not yet used. Instead of following Jesus in victory, Joseph was going to bury the man as a final show of respect. I can’t imagine the feeling of despair the man was feeling. I can’t imagine how confused he must have felt. But Joseph wasn’t the only one in this strange sad place. We go on to read about the women who had followed Jesus on the road through Jerusalem to Calvary and had stood at the cross and watched him die. Luke writes about these women Luke 23:54-56 “It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning. The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.” It’s important to remember that Jesus died on Friday. The Jewish Sabbath is Saturday, but the way the Jewish calendar works, is the beginning of a day is sundown of the previous day. So the Sabbath started on Friday evening once the sun went down. Friday is often spent doing all the work that needs to be done for the sabbath when work is prohibited. So the women rush to see where Jesus was buried and then go and prepare the spices they are going to anoint his body with on Sunday. They have to do all this before sunset. But then the verse tells us, on the sabbath they rested according to the commandment.” That’s all we know about what happened on Saturday. But that’s probably because it was a normal day. Well, as normal as it could be.

Illustration: On February 5th 2017 the Atlanta Falcons played the New England Patriots in the super bowl. I like any Falcons fan was excited. Then came the game. I being a long-suffering Falcons fan was nervous. But they went up 7-0, that was exciting. They went up 14-0, I thought, wow they are playing really well. Then they went up 21-0 and took a 21-3 lead into halftime. I didn’t let myself get to excited because, well, it’s the Falcons. But then they went up 28-3 and I thought, “Not even the Falcons could lose this game.” I was wrong. They did indeed lose that game. I was not living in Georgia at the time, but so many people I have talked to that were in Georgia that next day said it was just quiet everywhere. They said people were just sad. That was just over a football game. The people that were closest with Jesus were certain he was their messiah. And then they watched him die a horrible death and be buried. While scripture does not tell us what all happened that day, I think we can assume it was a day of great despair.

Transition: This life brings many days of despair. Many of us have experienced days of despair. Maybe it was a death that shocked you and broke you. Maybe it was sickness experienced by you or somebody you loved. But you have had those days where you wondered, what am I suppose to do now? Why is this happening? We have all experienced the sadness that comes from a world where there is sorrow. But what we know is that Saturday ended.

Exposition: Starting with verse 1 of Luke 24 we read Luke 24:1 “But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared.” The sabbath ends and the next morning the ladies leave at dawn to go and properly annoint the body of Jesus. They go hoping to give Jesus one final sign of respect. But they find something they weren’t expecting. We see in verses 2 and three where Luke writes “Luke 24:2-3 “And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.” So they go to the tomb and when they get there, the big stone has been rolled away. That’s not something that would be easy to do. So that’s strange. Then they go into the tomb, and the body is gone. Now that is really strange. It is clear at this point that something is going on. The first part of verse 4 says, “While they were perplexed by this.” They were perplexed by this. And you would have been too. But once again, something happens. Luke 24:4-7 “While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.”” They see two angels and understandably get scared. But the angels quickly give them good news. They ask why they are seeking the living among the dead. They are asking the women why are they coming where a dead body was placed, when it is no longer a dead body, Jesus is alive. This man whose death had devastated them so badly had risen from the dead. He told them this would happen, it was all a part of his plan. Jesus was alive.

Transition: But the response of the women is important. They didn’t just hear that Jesus was alive and then go home eat a good lunch with family and kick back and watch the masters. They went and told what they had heard.

Exposition: Luke 24:9-10 “and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles,” They go immediately and tells Jesus disciples what happened. And what is their response? Luke 24:11-12 “but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.” Their first response is to not believe them. And you know what, that’s a natural response. We should never underestimate how hard it is to believe that a man could rise from the dead. We should never underestimate how beyond normal that is. But we at the same time should never stop being in awe of what Peter found. Luke 24:12 “But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.” Peter goes to the tomb, and he sees for himself it’s empty and that Jesus burial cloth is laying there empty. And it says he marveled at what happened. If this man had defeated death, then in fact, he was the savior they were looking for. By rising again he showed that he had defeated the ultimate enemy death. By rising again, he gave us a hope beyond this life and beyond the grave.

Application: It is truly incredible that the tomb was empty. It is something that could only happen if Jesus was truly the Son of God. It could only happen if he is greater than the curse of sin and death. And we know that the tomb was in fact empty. We know that he appeared to 500 witnesses. We know that he changed Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus. We know that every disciple but one died because they refused to say they had not seen the risen Christ. The evidence says that Jesus rose from the grave. This means that no matter how many days we have like the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter, that the promise of the risen Christ is that this world is not all we have. We have a hope of eternity with Christ. It doesn’t matter what we have done in our lives that we can’t seem to forgive ourselves for. Jesus Christ is alive. Not only did he take on the punishment for our sins, he defeated that punishment by rising again. But this doesn’t mean that we just wait idly by for eternity to come. A hope for tomorrow gives us a purpose for today. We must never stop being in awe that Christ rose again. We must desire to go and tell those who need to hear. If Jesus is truly the savior of the world, the world needs to know.

Conclusion: Jesus is alive. The tomb is empty. No matter how many dark Saturdays life throws at us. No matter how many helpless situations we may face, we know Jesus is alive. We cannot just go on as if the resurrection is just some old story. We must see it it as an event that happened and changed the course of world history. It doesn’t just impact Easter Sunday. It impacts eternity. Have we allowed Easter Sunday to be a day with eternal stakes. If not, don’t wait. Place your hope in Jesus today.