Jesus, the Living King who Atones as the Passover Lamb (Luke 24:1-12)

Introduction

If you have your Bible with you, please turn it to Luke 24:1-12.

I’m sure you’ve noticed that the sermon name for the last sermon of this series is much longer than the names that I normally give my sermons and that’s intentional. If you’ve been following along closely, you’ll notice that everything that we’ve been working through over the weeks leading up to Resurrection Sunday has been building up to the statement given in the sermon’s title—that Jesus is the living King who atones for our sins as the Passover Lamb of God.

The reality is that throughout the last week of Jesus’ life and ministry on earth, the Bible (and really God) is shouting that Jesus is the Passover Lamb, that Jesus is the one who atones for our sins, and that Jesus is the living, eternal King—and yet, for most of us, we get so distracted by different details and different ideas concerning the crucifixion, the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus that we completely miss the main point of what all is going on. This morning, my goal is for you not to only see the resurrection in the Gospel according to Luke, but rather for you to see how the resurrection actually fits within the context of redemptive history.

Let’s take a minute to read the passage for this morning.

Luke 24:1–12 ESV

1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. 5 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? 6 He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” 8 And they remembered his words, 9 and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10 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, 11 but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. 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.

As we study this passage, we’re not going to break it into multiple sections, however, the sermon will have two distinct sections: (1) The Resurrection (Luke 24:1-12), which shows us Luke’s account of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and (2) The Context of Redemptive History (Selected Passages), which will tie in Luke’s account to the overall storyline of the Bible. The idea is for us to not just focus on the resurrection, but to see how the resurrection fits into God’s overall plan throughout the history of mankind and really the universe. The goal is that when I finish this morning, you will be overwhelmed with a sense of awe at the beauty of God’s plan and that you’ll simply praise Him for both His plan and His ability to accomplish His plan.

Prayer for Illumination

The Resurrection (Luke 24:1-12)

Our text starts by continuing through Luke’s record of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection—in particular, we’re looking at the aftermath of His death.

If you were here on Friday and you’ve been following along during the previous two Sundays, you’re already caught up to where we are in the text, but for those who were unable to be with us or for those that are forgetful like me, let me just remind you of where we are.

In our first Easter sermon (a few Sundays ago), we worked through the Triumphal Entry of Jesus Christ.

We reflected on what exactly the triumphal entry meant and how despite the peoples’ clear misconceptions of what Messiah would do, Jesus was and is the promised Messiah, who is the King of kings.

I emphasized the need for us to not just praise Him like the people in Jerusalem did, but to be sure that we have the right understanding of who Jesus is and what He has done and what He plans to do.

I also emphasized the need to not make Jesus the Lord of your life, but to submit to Jesus because He is already the Lord of every life.

The idea was that Jesus is the King.

Last Sunday, we worked through the passage of Scripture in which Jesus celebrates the Passover with His disciples.

We reflected on the symbolism of Passover and what exactly it meant for the Jewish people before tying in the symbolism of the Lord’s Supper with Passover.

I made the argument that Jesus tying both the Lord’s Supper and Passover together was a bold statement from Jesus that He is the Passover Lamb.

And really, what it came down to was the truth the Jesus is our Passover Lamb who atones for the sins of His people.

On Friday, we worked through Luke’s record of Jesus’ death through song, Scripture reading, and preaching.

We reflected on what all led up to His crucifixion through various Scripture Readings, and then I spoke on how the death of Jesus was primarily a spiritual affair, not a physical one.

Despite our usual focus on the physical death of Jesus, it wasn’t His physical death that brought about the atonement of sin, but rather the spiritual battle that Jesus fought for and paid for on our behalf.

The crucifixion, death, and burial of Jesus is the means through which He spiritually atones for our sins.

Our text then brings us to what exactly happened after His death, after He was buried in a tomb. v. 1 gives us a more precise idea of when this is, “But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they [meaning the women mentioned in vv. 55-56] went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared.”

Remember, that these people are Jewish—as such, they do still have to obey Jewish law even when a loved one died, so, after Jesus’ death and burial was the Sabbath and they weren’t able to return to the tomb to finish the Jewish rituals for the dead until the first day of the week, which we now call Sunday.

They are there specifically because they assumed Jesus was still dead—we know this because they brought spices. In their culture, they didn’t embalm the dead and cremation was typically only reserved for criminals, instead, they would use spices to anoint the body to help cover the smell of decay. And thus, we know they expected Him to be dead because they brought the spices along to cover up the stench of His decaying body.

And yet, when they actually arrived at the tomb, vv. 2-3 tell us that the tomb was empty, “they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.”

Now, despite the fact that Jesus had regularly mentioned that He would die, that He would be buried, and that He would be raised from the dead, it’s clear that no one really understood what that meant—His disciples didn’t quite get it, these women didn’t quite get it, and Jewish leadership didn’t quite understand what He meant.

So, of course, when the women come to the tomb with the spices and ointments needed for the body of Jesus Christ, their assumption is that they would need to open the tomb themselves, go in, and unwrap the body of Jesus, and then use the spices and ointments to prepare His body.

They did not expect the tomb to already be opened and the body of Jesus to not be there, in fact v. 4 says that “they were perplexed about this,” meaning they were shocked or they were at a loss as to what all had happened. I think we could all understand their reaction to Jesus’ missing body.

Probably what’s hardest for us to understand is their unwillingness to believe what Jesus had told them about His resurrection prior to His death.

But again, if we personally knew someone who made the sorts of claims that Jesus made concerning His own death, burial, and resurrection, we probably wouldn’t believe him either.

But they get there and the tomb is empty. And they’re perplexed and without words when in vv. 4-8, we’re introduced to two men in dazzling apparel. “While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faced to the ground, the men said to them, ‘Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.”

First and foremost, I think the question of “who exactly are these men?” is pertinent.

Luke doesn’t really tell us too many details about them, but the details that he records are worth noting—they’re in dazzling apparel, which in and of itself might not mean anything—it might just mean that they’re in fancy clothes,

But what’s telling is how the women respond in v. 5 “they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground.”

This same description is often used when speaking of angels; to the extent, that angels often have to tell humans to not worship them despite their appearance.

Now, you might read Luke 24 and think, “yeah, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re angels.” So, let me help with that. Whenever you find yourself interpreting the Bible and you’re unsure of what it says, the first rule is that Scripture interprets Scripture.

In this case, we can confirm that they are indeed angels, but looking at one of the other accounts of Jesus’ resurrection—Matthew 28:5–6 “5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.”

In addition, when you think of all the other instances when angels appear—they’re always described in similar ways, people always respond in fear, sometimes people worship them by accident, and then, of course, the etymology of the word suits exactly what this angel in Luke 24 says. Angel is from the Greek ανγελος, which means, messenger. This person is an otherworldly being sent by God to deliver a message.

Luke might not outrightly say they’re angels, but they have a description similar to how angels look and Matthew outrightly calls them angels.

Notice in both Matthew and Luke, the statements concerning remembering what Jesus had told them that His death, burial, and resurrection would happen. Every synoptic Gospel account emphasizes this fact:

Matthew 28:6 “6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.”

Mark 16:6–7 “6 And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.””

Luke 24:6–7 “6 He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.””

The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus was prophesied not just by Jesus, but by multiple people throughout the Old Testament. The fact that it happened is what makes Christianity worthwhile.

Layton Talbert, “The resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the doctrinal, theological, and historical hinge-pin of Christianity.” (Layton Talbert, “The Intentional Historical Vulnerability of Christianity,” Theology in 3d, https://seminary.bju.edu/theology-in-3d/the-intentional-historical-vulnerability-of-christianity/)

Without the historicity of the resurrection, Christianity is pointless—Paul makes the same point in 1 Corinthians 15:14–15, 17-19 “14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised . . . 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.”

The resurrection was prophesied, the Gospels attest to its historicity, and everything about Christianity requires not just acknowledgement of the truth of the resurrection, but rather belief that Jesus was truly raised from the grave.

In fact, Paul says in Romans 10 that salvation comes “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead.”

In reality, the message that we celebrate when we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ is simple in that we can sum it up in three words, “He is risen,” but it’s profound enough that we can elaborate on it.

Yes, He is risen, just like He said He would rise.

He is risen, just like He promised.

He is risen and this fact has the profoundest effect on us as Christians because without it, without the living King who atones as our Passover Lamb, we have nothing.

This is the message of the Gospel itself—that Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life, that He took on our sins and was crucified, died, and was buried as our substitutionary atonement, but that He didn’t stay dead—that He is alive reigning on the right hand of the Father as the eternal King. That apart from what Jesus has done as our substitutionally atonement for our sins, there is no salvation, but repentance and belief in Jesus and what He has done is what secures our salvation—this is the Gospel.

And the spread of this good news starts rapidly in vv. 9-12, “Returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.”

I can only imagine what the experience would’ve been like for these women and for the first disciples to hear the truth. Luke points out that with the exception of Peter, who went and ran to the tomb, the others thought that the women were telling them an “idle tale.” They didn’t believe.

Again, note the fact that they still didn’t understand what Jesus had taught them—they still didn’t understand what Jesus had said about HIs own death, burial, and resurrection.

Their lack of belief didn’t mean that the resurrection didn’t happen, but it did mean that they still had a lot to learn and a lot to grow in.

And I hope you see the significance behind the fact that as soon as they realized the miraculous resurrection actually did occur, they spread that truth as quickly as they possible could.

You can see how big of a deal it is for them in how quickly they go to tell other people.

The resurrection isn’t something that they see evidence for and then they think “oh, that’s nice” and forget about it. It’s something that causes the women to be perplexed or speechless, it’s something that causes Peter to run to the tomb and walk away marveling in astonishment.

The fact that some of the others doubted or struggled in their belief didn’t stop the resurrection from being a true event that happened from an historical perspective.

Now, I do want to point out from a purely apologetic mindset for your own edification, that the fact that the empty tomb and the message of the resurrection of Jesus Christ was given to women first, is actually validation for the historicity of the Gospel and the validity of Scripture itself.

To understand that statement, you need to consider the culture during the first century. In the first century, women were treated as second-class citizens, often women were viewed as commodities, and thus, their opinion or their thoughts about things didn’t really mean much whatsoever.

In court, during the first century, a woman’s testimony was pretty much inadmissible; and yet, the resurrection, which is essentially the main point being driven at throughout redemptive history is revealed first to women, who then go and tell the men.

If I lived in the first century and my goal was to write a fake religious text or convince people to obey my religious teachings that weren’t legitimate, I wouldn’t have used women as my first witnesses to something so significant.

If the Bible was a product of man’s thinking, the human author would’ve had the disciples go to the tomb first.

Speaking of Redemptive History, let’s take just a few minutes to remind ourselves of how the resurrection fits into the overall context before talking about some application.

The Context of Redemptive History (Selected Passages)

In Genesis 1-2, we’re introduced to the Creator God who created all things for HIs own pleasure and glory.

Overall, we learn that God created all things.

We read about the creation of all the celestial beings—the heavens, the stars, the planets, and everything in-between.

We then zoom in and see the separation of the waters on earth, the dry land, the creation of plants and animals.

And on the last day of creation, we’re told of the creation of mankind—God formed man and of the dust and then formed woman out of the rib of a man.

We’re told that after God created all things, everything was very good.

There was no sin, pain didn’t exist, disease, illness, cancer—none of that existed.

There was no death.

And Adam and Eve lived in peace and harmony with themselves and also with God, Himself.

There is one rule, however, that Adam and Eve need to obey as part of their covenant life with God—and it’s this, they shall not eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil lest they die.

It’s really a beautiful image if you think about it—mankind lives side-by-side with God, God cares for mankind; mankind cares for God’s creation. All is well.

After an undisclosed amount of time, in Genesis 3, we read about a serpent who comes and tempts Adam and Eve.

The temptation though often misunderstood is rather simple.

Disobedience is part of the temptation, but the real temptation is the desire to eliminate the need of God.

The serpent tempts them to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which would open their eyes (and here’s the temptation), they will be like God.

Unfortunately, Adam and Eve break their covenant life with God by choosing to eat that fruit, to disobey, to try and be their own people without God.

But in the pronouncement of the curse from God against sin, we see the first promise of a coming Messiah.

Throughout the Old Testament, we’re repeatedly reminded that someone is coming that will make these things right.

We’re given prophecy after prophecy after prophecy of one who would be beaten, who would be torn apart, who would be crucified, who would die as a substitionary atonement for our sins.

We’re told where He would be born, even the fact that He would live in Egypt for a brief amount of time, and multiple other details about HIs life.

We’re even told that after HIs resurrection, He will reign eternally on the throne of David.

Really, the whole Old Testament is pointing towards the day when the Messiah would come.

Even if you look at the narrative of the Old Testament—you see, over and over, this idea that we need a better King, a better priest, and a better prophet and the New Testament opens up by pointing us directly at Him.

In the New Testament

The Gospel accounts all retell the life of Jesus—His death, burial, and resurrection.

We’re given four accounts to show us four different perspectives, but they’re all saying essentially the same thing.

Jesus is the promised Messiah from Genesis 3. Jesus is that one who would be born in Bethlehem, Jesus is the one who goes to Egypt with His family when Herod decides to attack, Jesus is the one who is beaten, who is torn apart, who is crucified, who died as a substitutionary atonement for our sins. Jesus is the one who reigns eternally on the throne of Jesus.

Really, with the Narrative of the Old Testament tying in with the New—some have argued that Matthew reveals Jesus to be the King, Mark reveals Jesus to be the prophet, and Luke reveals Jesus to be the priest, but that might be reading into things.

After the crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, the rest of the New Testament the point back at the resurrection.

Why should you believe? Because Jesus was raised from the grave.

Why should you allow Scripture to transform the way you think? Because Jesus was raised from the grave.

Why should your behavior reflect your claim to be a Christian? Because Jesus was raised from the grave.

Why should you have hope that Jesus will return? Because Jesus was raised from the grave.

Why should you look forward to what Jesus will do as He establishes His earthly kingdom, judges mankind, brings His people into closer communion with Him? Because Jesus was raised from the grave.

The reality is that everything in Scripture is all about Jesus.

Everything that has happened, everything that is happening, and everything that will happen is all about Jesus and what He accomplished on the cross for us, through us, and in us.

That’s why the overall storyline of Scripture is about Him and not about us.

Yes, we get to be a part of it, but if we didn’t exist, God would still exist and it would still be all about Him.

The reality is that everything in Scripture is about Jesus, His Kingdom, His reign, and His glory.

So, while the tendency is to read ourselves into the text, to do so misses the whole point.

The Bible tells us all about Jesus and what His life, death, and resurrection means and how we ought to live in light of His life, death, and resurrection.

But again, it’s really not about us, it’s about Him.

To think that it’s about anything else is a serious misreading and misunderstanding of what the text is all about.

Which brings us, this morning, in our last few minutes to our application.

Over the past three weeks, I’ve been emphasizing three ideas—Jesus is the King, Jesus is the Passover Lamb, and Jesus is the Atonement. The question as we wrap up our Easter series this year is, “how do we apply such tremendous truths?” We can really sum it up in three ways: (1) worship and praise Him, (2) follow Him, and (3) trust Him. This builds the basis of our application:

Application

Jesus is risen, let’s worship and praise Him.

To worship means to express devotion, reverence, or adoration towards God. Some have described it as giving or showing the worth that is owed to God. To praise means to give thanks.

Of course, I think any Christian in their right minds would say that worship and praise are due to God if for no other reason than He created all of us, but in the context of the resurrection, there’s added significance.

When we consider the lengths that Jesus went to reconcile us to Himself, to redeem us, to rebuild the bridge between God and man, it shouldn’t be shocking that giving thanks and then reverencing God are essentially givens.

The issue is that most who claim Christ today only worship when it’s convenient for them.

So, the only time that they really praise Jesus or worship God is when they get together on Sunday morning or another day of the week and sing songs and listen to preaching.

The problem with this is that Romans 12 makes it abundantly clear that true worship includes everything about you—you aren’t genuinely worshiping God if the only time you worship Him is when the church says that it’s time to worship Him.

According to Paul, genuine worship engulfs your entire life regardless of if you’re at church or at home or at work or wherever else you could be.

The reality is that genuine worship should be happening in your life every opportunity that you can.

So, you worship God by fulfilling what He has called you to do.

You worship God by keeping your heart and your mind focused on Him throughout the week.

You worship God when your decisions are made in light of who He is.

And you praise Him when you pray a prayer of thanksgiving.

You praise Him when you sing songs of praise as you drive to work.

You worship Him and you praise Him when you care for your family.

Your entire life is supposed to worship and praise Him because Jesus is risen.

Likewise, Jesus is risen, let’s follow Him.

Again, it sounds like something that ought to be a given, but this is very much the idea of submitting yourself to God in every area of your life and many of us (if we were honest) would say that we haven’t submitted to God in ways that we should.

So, for instance, we know that we ought to reject sin, but sin is fun and the reality is that we love our sin—and thus, we have secret sins that we think we hide when we indulge in them, but God is omnipresent and He is omniscient, you can’t hide from Him—He sees all. And you’re refusal to deal with your sin is really you refusal to submit to God.

Or, we know that the Holy Spirit is leading or directing us to do something—that might be to visit a shut-in, to pray with someone you bump into, to accept a job offer doing something different. It could be that God has been calling you into the ministry or calling you to get more involved in church, but instead of doing these things, you just keep making excuses—oh, it’ll be awkward, they don’t want to talk to me, I don’t know if I should accept a new job, I’m too introverted to be in ministry or to do any type of ministry. The reality is that your excuses, which are preventing you from obeying the Holy Spirit are the fruits of your refusal to submit to God.

Do you see where I’m going with this? We all readily admit that we ought to submit to God, but until every aspect of our lives are submitted to Him, we aren’t actually submitting to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

So, consider where you are spiritually today—what are you holding back from God, what are you refusing to give Him.

It’s time to submit to Jesus as your King.

Your entire life is His, He bought it on the cross—so submit your entire life to Him.

Lastly, Jesus is risen, let’s trust Him.

Our lives are often so complicated, so confusing, and so busy all the time.

We live in a world that is constantly difficult and constantly requiring a lot of our time and attention.

And if you’re like me, the more complicated like is, the more I want to have control over everything.

The issue is, that you can’t control everything—in fact, you can barely control anything whatsoever.

So, what ends up happening is that you end up falling into anxiety and you end up acting in fear.

When in reality, the proper response is to simply trust in Jesus.

From the beginning, God had promised Messiah.

For over 4,000 years between Genesis 3 and Matthew 1, the world awaited the coming Messiah.

Most held onto that hope of Messiah, but there are plenty of examples throughout the Old Testament of people who didn’t hold onto that hope.

The reality is that Jesus has everything under control.

If He could orchestrate the events of His own crucifixion, He can certainly deal with our messed up lives.

That ought to give you a significant amount of hope.

You are His—so trust Him with you.

Put simply, what we see in Luke 24:1-12 is a reminder of who Jesus is. He is the living King who atoned for your sin as the Passover Lamb—so worship Him, praise Him, follow Him, and trust Him.

Anything less is taking the cross of Jesus Christ for granted.

Pastoral Prayer