Easter 2026

Luke 24 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. 13 That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, 14 and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 15 While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 17 And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. 18 Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” 19 And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. 22 Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, 23 and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. 24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” 25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. 28 So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, 29 but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. 30 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. 32 They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” 33 And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 34 saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” 35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread. 36 As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” 37 But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. 38 And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” 40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41 And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish, 43 and he took it and ate before them. 44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” 50 And he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. 51 While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and were continually in the temple blessing God.

Introduction:

Easter. The Suday where much of the church world makes a big deal about people coming and celebrating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. As a pastor, it’s easy to feel a pressure to bring your best, home-run message because of the occasion and the amount of visitors most churches assume they are going to have show up. But here is the reality at Hope Bible Fellowship. Every week, all year, we celebrate that our God is alive. Jesus is risen! His resurrection is the reason we meet here on Sundays. You can not overstate the importance or amazement of the resurrection of Christ.

All along the way leading up to Good Friday, we have had foretelling and foreshadowing that Jesus would suffer, die, and rise again. It was all in God’s sovereign plan for His glory and our good. He was working to redeem a people for Himself.

We’re in the midst of March Madness. Ironically, it’s April now. But the Final Four of college basketball is coming up. Some team that wears orange ended up there. One of the interesting things about the basketball tournament is that on any day, any team could win. The ball just doesn’t go in for some teams. And then there will often be a game changing moment where the momentum will shift and shots start going in for the team that’s down by 19 points and they end up coming out with a win and advancing. Commentators will look back at what the game changing moment was. Friends, the resurrection was a game changer for us. It changed so much for the disciples and for the world in general. Today I want to look at five truths about the resurrection of Jesus that are game changers for us.

Before we get to the first game changing truth, I want to take a look at verses 1-12 and how people found out that Jesus was alive.

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.

The women head down to the tomb and the stone was rolled away. They go into the tomb and there’s no body there. They are clearly confused about what’s going on when two men, angels, stand by them. Of course they’re scared by this.

But look at what the men tell them. First they ask them why they seek the living among the dead. Clue 1. Then they tell them that Jesus isn’t there and has risen. They then remind the ladies about what Jesus had told them. He predicted this whole thing.

They remembered his words.

We have another telling that the followers of Christ remembering what Jesus had told them about his death and resurrection after He was raised.

John 2:22 ESV

22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

They head back to the eleven and tell them what had happened. It seems like an idle tale (foolish talk, and invented story) to the eleven and they didn’t believe them. Peter takes off to the tomb and checks out the story and finds it just as was told him by the women. He marvels at what had happened. This is an incredible story. But that’s not all that happens on that very same day.

When we get to verses 13 through 35 we find what is one of my favorite stories about Jesus encountering people. It is in this encounter that we get our game changing truth number 1, the resurrection is necessary.

I. The Resurrection is Necessary (v. 17-27)

That day, there were two followers of Jesus heading down to Emmaus. It was about seven miles from Jerusalem. They’re talking about all the things that had gone on in Jerusalem. As they’re going on their way, Jesus comes up and starts walking along with them, but THEY DON’T KNOW IT’S HIM. I love this. He’s kept their eyes from recognizing Him. So He asks what their talking about. I love this so much. They stand there looking sad and wonder how He hasn’t heard about what’s been going on . So they proceed to recount for Him what had just happened to HIM. Wild stuff. They explain Jesus’ being put to death at the hands of the Jewish leadership. They explain the women reporting that they went to the tomb that morning and there was no body but had seen angels saying that Jesus is alive. They even tell Him that some of them fact checked the women’s report.

Now listen to what happens.

Luke 24:25–27 ESV

25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

Remember: They still don’t know this is Jesus. This is just a stranger to them. Imagine what they were thinking. He’s got a pretty good amount of knowledge.

He says it was necessary for these things to happen. It was necessary for Christ to suffer.

He goes on to explain to them all the things concerning Himself from the Scriptures. Understand: This is basically Jesus expositing the the scriptures to show them that all of it points to Him. Understand, the only scripture they had was the Old Testament. So Jesus is showing that everything in the Law and the Prophets and the whole thing points to Him. Can you share with someone about Jesus from the Old Testament? Jesus did. What are some of the many things in the OT that point to Jesus:

The sacrificial system - An animal shedding blood via sacrifice to atone for sin. The Bible in Hebrews tells us that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. Something had to die but the blood of animals was insufficient for our sin nature. But it was a picture of what was necessary.

Hebrews 9:13–14 ESV

13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

Hebrews 10:4 ESV

4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

The Passover

The very festival being celebrated during Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion week. The Israelites in Egypt were slaves. Moses went to Pharoah but he would not release the people. God sent the ten plagues, the last of which was the death of all the first borns. But any home that slaughtered the passover lamb and put the blood over the door would be passed over and the first born would be spared because the lamb had died in place of the firstborn dying. This is a picture of Christ’s substitutionary death for us. Dying on the cross, He gave His life in place of ours. He faced the wrath of God that was rightly due us and yet He stood condemned in our place. That is what he bore for us. I talked about this last Sunday with the institution of the Lord’s Supper and the New Covenant.

So the crucifixion was necessary and the resurrection was necessary to fulfill all that Jesus said.

II. The Resurrection is Real

Luke 24:31 ESV

31 And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight.

These guys were eyewitnesses to the risen Christ.

They head back to Jerusalem and find the others and report on what has happened.

The crucifixion of a man named Jesus by the Roman government is a historically recorded fact.

In a court of law, what is the best witness you can get? An eye witness. If you can get a couple of them to tell the same story then you can get a conviction. Back in the day when you could trust the news on tv you have EYEWITNESS news.

Understand: We have eye witness accounts of the risen Christ! People who laid eyes on Him alive and then it was recorded in this book. You can count on this. People touched Him and it was written down.

The resurrection is real.

Third:

III. The Resurrection is Proof

At the moment the disciples recognize Jesus, all of His teachings are confirmed. Jesus being alive proves that He is who He says He is. Everything He said is true. Confirmed.

Tim Keller said,

“If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn't rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his teaching but whether or not he rose from the dead.”

― Timothy J. Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism

The resurrection is proof that the atonement for our sins was sufficient. It was accepted by God. Evil has been defeated by Jesus. Sin has not won. This proves it.

IV. The Resurrection Changes Everything

The resurrection of Jesus Christ changed the world. It introduced a new religion. Really it was the sealing of the creation of this new religion: Christianity. It was the working out of God’s ultimate plan to redeem a people for Himself.

It gives us something to look forward to: The return of Christ and our resurrection.

It changed the disciples’ life direction. Instead of going back to being fishermen or tax collectors, they were not followers only but now would be planters and pastors and missionaries spreading this Good News about Jesus to the known world.

For the brothers on the Emmaus Road: It even changed their traveling plans.

The resurrection brings life where there was death.

The message of the Gospel is that you and I are separated from God by our sin nature. Jesus, God in the flesh, gave His life willingly, on the cross as a substitutionary atonement for us, exchanged our sin for His righteousness though He had never known sin, and died. On the third day God raised Him from the dead and shows us that sin has been defeated and you and I do not have to live enslaved to sin any longer. We can be free because Jesus is alive.

Years ago I heard someone say,

“Jesus didn’t come to make bad people good. He came to make dead people alive.”

This is the power of the Gospel. It takes we who are dead in our sin and frees us when we could never free ourselves. God in Christ, by the Spirit takes our lifeless, sinful soul and makes us alive. And you had nothing to do with this. He sets us free and sets us apart for holy living and service to God as citizens of the kingdom of heaven. The resurrection promises us new life and life to come in eternity with Jesus! This is Great News!

John 11:25 ESV

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,

Jesus is the resurrection. You can’t have one without the other. He is the life. Jesus is our life.

V. The Resurrection Sends

Luke 24:49 ESV

49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to indwell believers. You can read about this in the beginning of the book of Acts. This is fulfillment of the Old Testament promise of the Spirit coming. It was fulfilled at Pentecost when the Spirit came.

All of us who have trusted Christ for salvation have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Those who have been regenerated by the Spirit of God have the Spirit in them.

Convicting us of sin

Guiding us

Helping us understand the Word of God as we study

Helping us in holy living

Jesus sent them the Holy Spirit and sent them out into the world.

We are compelled to share this life giving news with a world of people who have no hope without Jesus. There is no other way. There is no plan B.

Jesus is the only way we can:

have peace with God

be adopted into the family of God

experience the glorious salvation from the wrath we so richly deserve

The resurrection would send us out to share this good news everywhere we go.

NOTICE:

When Jesus was arrested, His disciples fled. They deserted Him. Peter denied even knowing Him.

But when we get into the Book of Acts, also penned by Luke, the disciples are willing to face suffering and even death for the sake of the kingdom of God. What changed in their life from Luke 23 to Acts 1? THEY HAD SEEN THE RISEN CHRIST!

Because Jesus is alive, we can give our whole life for Him. And even if we die in service to our King, we live.

So to recap:

The resurrection is necessary.

The resurrection is real.

The resurrection changes everything.

The resurrection is proof.

The resurrection sends.

The Lord Jesus Christ is ALIVE! The tomb is empty!

ALL other religious founders and leaders are bones in a grave. Ours is alive. Jesus sits now at the right hand of God the Father waiting for the day when He will return and make all things new. He will right every wrong. All we who believe upon Him will spend eternity with Him. This should give us a deep and abiding JOY! This should inspire a deep urgency in us to spread this news to those who have never heard about our Jesus.

This should compel us to live lives that matter for God’s glory. Many of us get caught up in the stuff of the world that doesn’t really matter for eternity. Ask yourself this question when the next “situation” comes your way: “In light of eternity, does this thing matter?” Live your life for those things that truly matter.

You see, the resurrection demands a response from us. To not respond is to respond. You have heard the truth and now you are held responsible for what you do with it. What will you do with Jesus. What will Jesus do with you?

Will you believe and trust?

Will you repent of your sin?

Will you submit to the RISEN KING?

Church - This is our message. Let’s commit to live for this, the thing that truly matters, the gospel. Let’s commit to live as missionaries in a missionary outpost in Dixon. Jesus is worthy. Jesus is the King. Jesus is Risen. Jesus is Lord. He is alive! And we can live because of Him. Let’s pray.

PRAY