“Just as He Said!”

+ In the Name of Jesus +
“Just as He Said!”
Sermon on Matthew 28:1–10
for Easter Day, A
April 9, 2023

1. In 1899  an editor of a Christian magazine had an idea. He read the words of institution for the Lord’s Supper in Luke 22, “This cup is the new testament in my blood,” and got the idea to print the Bible with the words of Jesus Christ in red. Now, every word of Scripture is God’s inspired word, God’s living and active Word (Hebrews 4:12; 2 Timothy 3:16).
2. But the words of Jesus are indeed special because he made some very specific promises—some life-and-death promises. We could make a multi-week study on this, so I will just highlight some life-and-death promises Jesus made as recorded by John:
   1. “This is the will of him who sent me: that I should lose none of those he has given me, but raise them up on the Last Day.” (John 6:39)
   2. “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats this bread, he will live forever.” (John 6:51)
   3. ““I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me will live, even if he dies. And whoever lives and believes in me will never perish.” (John 11:25)
   4. “Because I live, you also will live.” (John 14:19)
   5. “Do not let your heart be troubled. … In my Father’s house are many mansions. … I am going to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to be with me, so that you may also be where I am.” (John 14:1-3)
   6. ““I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.” (John 14:6)
   7. “I am the Vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him is the one who bears much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
3. All of these are promises of life—live beyond this life—promises of life for us when this life is done. These are promises of life we often hear in our funeral services—some of them are a permanent part of our funeral services, intended to be read at every single funeral. “I am the resurrection and the life.”
4. This is a chief reason why Easter is important—why the words of the angel in today’s Gospel are so important, “He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.” All those promises of life, “I will raise them up on the Last Day,” “I am the resurrection and the life,” “Because I live, you also will live,” –those would mean very little if a dead Jesus was still lying on a slab in a tomb. Those are all promises that require, yes, demand a living Jesus because a living Jesus is needed to fulfill them. A dead Jesus is a powerless Jesus, but a living Jesus shows him as the Lord of Life and Death—in Revelation he says, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last—the Living One. I was dead and, see, I am alive forever and ever! I also hold the keys of death and hell” (Revelation 1:17-18).
5. The angel said, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.” Does that remind you of something a Christmas angel once said? “Do not be afraid! Fear not! I bring you good tidings of great joy that shall be for all people. To you is born this day… a Savior who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign to you, you will find the babe… lying in a manger.” “Do not be afraid!” “See the place where he lay!” A donkey’s feeding trough and a stone slab in a tomb are not fitting places for the Almighty God to be, but he embraced both. The creed says, “For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary…. He suffered death and was buried.” God took on human flesh, but concealed the full divine glory to walk among human beings, do his work, and bear the sins of humanity by his death. Now see the place where he lay—empty. Death could not hold him because death is subject to him. “Just as he said.”
6. The rising of Jesus shows us that every promise of Christ is certain. The disciples doubted at first—not just Thomas, but all of them—hiding away in fear. But after they saw the risen Jesus, they endured everything, even death, rather than deny the truth, the fact, that they had seen Jesus alive. St. Paul says, “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3). Elsewhere he says, “He died for our sins and was raised for our justification” (Romans 4:25). The risen Christ means that we are forgiven and we have the status before God as his beloved children. The risen Christ means that because he lives, we will live also. The words of the angel are for our ears, too. “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.

Amen.

Gospel (Sermon text)    Matthew 28:1–10

¹After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

²There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. ⁴The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

⁵The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. ⁶He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. ⁷Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

⁸So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. ¹⁰Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”