Easter Sunrise Service Luke 24:1-12

Sunrise Service...Sunday, April 5th, 2026 @ 7am

Opening Prayer…David

Hymn #225 “Worship Christ the Risen King!”

Poem: By Ciera Winkler

Hymn #228 “Rejoice, the Lord is King!””

Hymn #229 “Our God Reigns”

Scripture: Luke 24:1-12

Hymn #220 “He Lives”

“He is Lord”

Message:

Hymn #214 “Because He Lives”

Closing Prayer…David

Imagine the Moment… (Ciera Winkler)

Imagine the moment death was defeated…

Imagine the resounding power of His first breath…

With the rise of His chest the burial cloths meant to confine Him…loosen their hold.

The grave has lost its power!

Imagine the authority forever settled as His toes touch the ground.

His feet once wounded for you and for me…now stand…

Crushing the enemies best laid plans.

Death and Hell have been defeated!

Imagine the song that filled all of Heaven as His voice resounded in the darkness 

The same voice that called out to Lazarus.

Now commanding His own grave stone be rolled away.

The Word returned to flesh, alive forever more.

Imagine the blinding sunlight that streamed into the cave greeting the Light of the world

as He walked out of the grave victorious over darkness forever…

Alive forevermore! 

Imagine the moment when death was defeated!

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A lot happened in the week between Palm Sunday and Resurrection Sunday,  we call Holy Week.

Recap events of HOLY WEEK… 

Palm Sunday…Jesus rode into Jerusalem in triumph…on the back of a foal of a donkey.  

Monday/Tuesday…the conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders escalated. 

Wednesday…Judas met with the religious leaders and arranged for Jesus’ betrayal. 

Thursday…Jesus met with His disciples in the Upper Room and shared the Last Supper with them. Later that same night He was arrested while praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. 

Early Friday morning…Jesus was tried before Pilate and sentenced to death. 

By Friday evening…Jesus was crucified, dead and buried. 

Saturday…was the Sabbath…the day of rest.

Sunday morning. Only 7 days had passed but so much had happened in between.

We often try to imagine how the disciples felt at this moment. 

Shock from the events of Thursday & Friday. 

Mourning/Grief over the death of their Lord and friend. 

Hiding in fear for their own lives… 

Jesus had warned them that the road to Jerusalem was the road to suffering and the cross, but somehow, they did not understand. 

But now Sunday morning had arrived, and everything was about to change.

But before we get to Sunday morning…I want us to back up to Friday night.

READER #1 Luke 23:50-56

The account of Joseph of Arimathea taking the body of Jesus down and the women looking on

We are not told much about him but we are told that Joseph…

Was from the Jewish town called Arimathea…

He was a member of the Jewish council…which made him a Pharisee

Was a good and righteous man…

He did not consent/agree with the decision to kill Jesus

He was “…looking for the kingdom of God.”

He was not afraid to go to Pilate and ask for the body of Jesus…

John 19 tells us that he was a disciple of Jesus.

Joseph went boldly to Pilate after the crucifixion asking for the body of Jesus.

This really is all we know of Joseph of Arimathea…BUT HE IS WORTH NOTING.

Joseph is not found in the book of Acts…when the church was started 

Joseph is not found in the letters of the apostles. He is not mentioned by name.

He never came forward during the life of Jesus for us to know him. 

But here this man is not afraid to show himself as one of the Lord’s friends.

When the disciples of Jesus had forsaken Him…Joseph is not ashamed to show his love and respect for Jesus… and yes even to take a stand.

Others had confessed and followed Jesus while He lived and did miracles.

Joseph confessed Jesus when He was dead.

Joseph underlines something for us to think on this morning…it will bring us true joy of Sunday morning

Joseph knew without a shadow of doubt that Jesus was dead. 

He was the one who took the lifeless body of Jesus down from the cross.

He could not have been deceived. If Jesus were still alive why wrap Him in linen and bury Him? 

The fact of Jesus’ death is beyond dispute. Nothing short of His death could have paid our debt.

1 Peter 2:23-24 When He was reviled He did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly. He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed.

THEN CAME SUNDAY MORNING…

1. Looking for Jesus among the dead…Luke 24:1-8

READER #2 Luke 24:1-8

“Why do you look for the living among the dead?” Luke 24:5

That is a great question! We do not normally look for the dead among the living. 

I enjoy cemeteries…Bunhill Fields Cemetery in London…123,000 graves…Non Conformists, Dissenters from teh Church of EWngland…many Baptist History…any one not associated witht eh Church oif England

John Bunyan…Pilgrims Progress Amazing Grace

Isaac Watts…hymn writer

Daniel Defoe…Swiss Family Robinson

Here’s the thing…when we visit there…Not once do we expect to find someone living.

So why would you look for the living among the dead? 

That’s the question the angels asked the women who came to Jesus’ tomb that first Sunday morn. 

And it is the question I would like for us to consider this morning as well.

This is important for us to remember.  We have already established…Jesus really did die.

If Jesus had not really died…that would be the end of the Gospel.

It was His death that paid our sin debt to God…to reconcile us to the Father  

So yes! We bless God that our Saviour’s death is beyond dispute. 

The centurion who stood near the cross…the friends who removed the nails and laid the body

The women who stood nearby and watched where they laid Him

The soldiers then who guarded the tomb…are all witnesses to the fact that the sacrifice for sin has been fully made by Jesus our substitute.

Jesus truly did die in my place.

Luke 24:1 “On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.”  

“at early dawn”  …very early in the morning.

Just like this morning early…here we are once again…very early on Easter Sunday attending an Easter Sunrise service. 

Sometimes when it is still dark it can be difficult to get out of bed. 

But you obviously feel there is something of greater value than sleeping in on Easter morning. 

So, you got up early, and you came to the Sunrise Service.

Well, these women also felt there was something more important than sleeping in on that Sunday morning.

So, they got up. They took the spices they had prepared, and they went to the tomb. 

Why did they bring the spices? 

Out of love and respect for their crucified Lord, they were going to anoint his body in the grave. 

In other words…they went fully expecting to find Jesus dead and still buried in the tomb. 

But instead v.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.”  

I like that. They found the stone rolled away, but they did not find Jesus. 

They were looking for Jesus among the dead, and they did not find Him.

Many people are still looking for Jesus among the dead. 

There are Biblical scholars who study the words of Jesus and the gospel manuscripts…

but get this: they do not believe in Christ’s resurrection. 

Archaeologists who 2000 years later are still trying to find Jesus’ body and bones in the tomb but keep coming up empty. 

Many people believe in Jesus…and yet do not believe in His resurrection.

These people all have one thing in common…They are all looking for Jesus among the dead. 

But if you are looking for Jesus among the dead…you will not find Him. Because He is not there.

2. REMEMBER the GOOD NEWS of EASTER Luke 24:4-8

v.4 “perplexed” = means to be wondering…completely baffled…very puzzled…dumbfounded

These were clearly not ordinary men…clothes were shining like lightning “dazzling apparel”   

The other gospels confirm to us that these were indeed angels. 

Messengers sent from God with their clothing still burning bright with the glory of heaven.

I have never met an angel…at least not that I know of…angels have been known to travel in disguise. 

But in the Bible whenever an angel appears in glory, one thing always happens…people fall down on their faces in fear…an instinctive reaction. 

Angels are majestic and glorious beings, and we fall down before them.

The women at the tomb were no different. In their fright, the women bowed down with their faces to the ground.

The angels asked 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.’” And they REMEMBERED His words. Luke 24:5-8

REMEMBER on “The Road to Jerusalem…”

Jesus had told His followers repeatedly what would happen to Him when they got to Jerusalem.

He told them He would suffer…be crucified…on the third day He would rise from the dead.

So…Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion should not have surprised His followers.

So…His resurrection should not have been a surprise either. 

Yet…somehow the meaning of these things escaped them. 

It was only after these things had happened that they remembered his words and put it all together.

And so it was that these women showed up with spices at Jesus’ grave on Easter morning looking for a dead man.

The angels rightly asked them: “Why are you looking for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!”

Friends…that is the good news of Easter. REMEMBER…REMIND OURSELVES

Jesus Christ has conquered sin and death and the grave. 

He rose from the dead on Easter morning. 

He is alive and well today. 

You will not find him among the dead, for He is among the living. 

And He offers new life to you. 

The Bible tells us that those who trust in Christ, we will share in his resurrection. 

That means the fear of death and judgment is taken away. 

In fact, that’s good news today! That is Good News everyday! 

Jesus Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

3. How will you respond? Luke 24:9-12

READER #3 Luke 24:9-12

How will you respond this morning? We see several responses in our passage this morning.

a. The Women’s Response: They BELIEVED & SHARED the Good News! Luke 24:9-10

Romans 10:9 “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

The women came back from the tomb, and told the apostles and everyone there. 

Frightened? Maybe confused…I doubt they fully understood all that happened. 

But there was one thing they could do. They could SHARE what they knew. 

They could share that Jesus’ body was no longer in the grave. They could share that the angels said He had risen from the dead. 

The women believed, and they shared their faith with others.

Are you a believer in Jesus’ resurrection this morning? 

Do you confess, “Jesus is Lord,” & believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead?

If so, then share your faith with others, just like the women at Jesus’ tomb did.

Jesus died, but He rose again from the dead. He is alive forevermore.

That is good news! And good news is for sharing.

Don’t keep the good news of Easter all to yourself.

That would be selfish! Share it with other people.

Perhaps share a tract…Share with others…because you know the astonishing good news that God sent His Son to die for sinners, and that Jesus rose from the dead on the third day. 

What better way to respond to the good news of Easter than to share it with others! 

That’s our first response this morning. Believe and share.

B. The apostles’ initial response: DON’T BELIEVE and DO NOTHING …v11

The women’s response was believe and share. 

The apostles’ response was don’t believe…and do nothing! 

Look at v.11 “…but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.”

i.e. their words seemed to them like nonsense.” 

The women believed the good news of Easter…and so they shared their faith with others. 

The apostles did not believe…and so they did nothing.

Now, we need to note that the apostles later changed their minds about this…

But their first response…mirrors the response of so many people today.

They don’t believe in all this Jesus stuff. 

It all seems like so much nonsense to them, and so they do nothing. 

They dismiss the story of Jesus outright. 

They continue to live their lives as though nothing happened that first Easter morning.

Maybe that could be your response today…or of some people you may know.

Maybe you have heard the Easter story many time before…but it is just a season of celebration.

And so you have never really done anything about it? Have you ever thought, “Well, that’s okay for those people at church, but it has nothing to do with me?” 

If so, then you are missing out on the most wonderful news in all the world. 

Jesus is alive! And if Jesus rose from the dead, that means that if you put your faith in him, then one day you will rise from the dead, too.

C. Peter’s response: ROSE & RAN…Check it out for yourself…Luke 24:12; 1 Corinthians 15:5 We find a third option in Peter’s response.

v.12 “But Peter, rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marvelling at at what had happened.” 

If you are not sure what to make of the resurrection…a third option you can take. 

DO WHAT PETER DID.

Check it out for yourself…

Peter ran to the tomb…examined the evidence…saw the stone rolled away…stooped and looked in the empty tomb…saw the linen cloths that once wrapped the body of Jesus, now lying there by themselves.  Peter went looking for Jesus, and you know what? He found him! 

Not lying dead in a tomb, but resurrected and alive. 

The Bible tells us “…Jesus appeared to Peter first before He appeared to the twelve.”  Luke 24:33

1 Corinthians 15:5 “…that He appeared to Cephas then to the twelve.”

This must have taken place sometime after Peter left the tomb.

Peter was not yet ready to believe that Jesus was alive, but he did not dismiss it as nonsense. 

He checked it out for himself, and he encountered the living Christ.

You might say, “Well, that’s all well and good for Peter. He could run to the empty tomb and check it out. I can’t do that today.” No, you can’t. but you can at least check out the facts for yourself.

Josh McDowell’s, More Than a Carpenter;

Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ,

Timothy Keller The Reason for God.

There are so many good resources that present the evidence for Jesus’ resurrection.

If you are not yet ready to believe this morning…don’t just dismiss it all as nonsense.

Don’t you owe it to yourself at least to investigate the claims of Christianity?

Be like Peter and check it out for yourself.

CONCLUSION: The angels asked the women: “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” 

If you are looking for Jesus among the dead, you will never find him, because he is not there.

But if you look for Jesus among the living, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will find him, and you will be saved. 

Jesus Christ is alive. He is risen! He is risen indeed!