Walking With Jesus – The Resurrection is Real (Part VIII – Easter Service)
Sermon Title: Easter – Beyond the Sabbath, the Resurrection is Real
Good News Statement: Jesus rose from the Grave for you
Preached: Sunday, April 20th, 2025 at Dogwood Prairie and Seed Chapel UMC
Pastor Daniel G. Skelton, M.Div.
Scripture (NRSVUE): Luke 24:1-12 Today’s scripture reading comes from the Gospel of Luke. During the Lenten and Easter Season, we are going to be walking with Jesus to the Cross, listening to his parables, deciphering his teachings, and experiencing our own resurrection. Our walk continues to the empty tomb where angels inform us that Jesus is not there but has risen; and now it’s our job to scatter the news. Our scripture reading is Luke Chapter Twenty-four, verses One thru Twelve. May the hearing and understanding of this scripture add a blessing to your life.
Jesus’s Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem
28 After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
29 When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it.’ ” 32 So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 They said, “The Lord needs it.” 35 Then they brought it to Jesus, and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36 As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. 37 Now as he was approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, 38 saying,
“Blessed is the king
who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven,
and glory in the highest heaven!”
This is the Word of God for the People of God; And all God’s people said, “Thanks be to God.”
The following Sermon Series will be drawn from the words of Biblical Scholar Charles R. Swindoll, who offers commentary and thoughts on the Gospel of Luke in his book ”Swindoll’s New Testament Insights: Insights on Luke” published in 2012 by Zondervan Publications in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Charles R. Swindoll, Swindoll’s New Testament Insights: Insights on Luke, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2012.
Introduction:
In August of 1988, a Scottish duo known as the Proclaimers released a song that five years later reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. The lead single from their second album, Sunshine on Leith¸ has been featured in several movies and television shows, is still played on the radio today, and is said that the band’s earnings from this one song are “five times more than the rest of their music catalogue combined.”[1] Needless to say, this 1988 song has become a “live staple”[2] for millions of people across the world. The name of this song is “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles).”
The song “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles),” according to Charlie Reid, the lead singer of the Proclaimers, “is a devotional thing about how far [a person] would walk for [someone they love].” The chorus is probably the most remembered of the song, and it goes like this, “But I would walk five hundred miles and I would walk five hundred more just to be the man who walked a thousand miles to fall down at your door.” How far are you willing to walk for the person and people you love?
I was thinking about this song the other day as I was contemplating the Lent and Easter Season. Jesus walked everywhere, except when he was in a boat. He walked to Nazareth to Jerusalem every year with his parents to celebrate the Passover Meal; He walked from village to village and town to town preaching the good news; He walked all over the Galilean Region healing the sick, casting out demons, restoring sight to the blind, helping the deaf hear again, giving words to the mute, feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, releasing captives, blessing the poor, and telling the paralyzed to stand up and walk. He walked by wells and places of gathering to forgive sins and to eat with Pharisees, Tax Collectors, and Unbelievers; He walked throughout the land inviting people to give up everything and to “follow him”; He walked in deserts, up mountains, into deserted places, and within the peacefulness of gardens to find restoration, isolation, and hope; and He walked, while carrying his cross, to his death on Calvary. Then three days later, He walked out of the tomb!
It is extremely evident that Jesus walked. He probably walked more than 500 miles! As a matter of fact, according to Ray Downing—a 3D illustrator and animator—“The Gospels give us a detailed accounting of these walks and destinations [within a region roughly the size of the state of New Jersey] and is [estimated] that during the three years of Jesus’ public ministry he walked approximately 3,125 miles.”[3] Besides walking to share the good news and to change the hearts and lives of many people, why did Jesus walk all those miles?
For the next several weeks, leading up to Easter, we are going to attempt to answer that question by walking with Jesus, from town to town as he takes his last step on Calvary but also takes his first step out of the tomb. And hopefully, as we walk with Jesus, it will become clear to why he walked all those miles and to why he invites us to continue to walk for him on this earth. Are you willing to walk 500 miles? Are you willing to put on those boots that are made for walking? Are you willing to walk for those you love and for the One who loves you?
Body:
In the words of Charles Wesley, a renowned hymnist and brother to John Wesley, “Christ the Lord is risen today…! Earth and heaven in chorus say…! Raise your joys and triumphs high…! Sing, ye heavens, and earth reply…! Love’s redeeming work is done…! Fought the fight, the battle won…! Death in vain forbids him rise…! Christ has opened paradise…! Hail the Resurrection, Alleluia!” Today, Christ is risen!
In 1739, Charles Wesley penned these words as a reminder to all of us that nothing can conquer the resurrection of Jesus Christ: a tomb could not contain him, a cross could not destroy his spirit, and death could not stop him from “rising again.” Through Christ’s resurrection we experience the work of his redeeming love, we embody the victory that leaves an empty tomb, and we embrace the grace which has saved our souls. The resurrection of Christ allows us to soar where Christ needs us to soar. The resurrection of Christ reminds us that we have been “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139) in His image with the strength to face tomorrow. The resurrection of Christ is our alleluia to victory won: it is our start to new beginnings and eternal salvation![4] Charles Wesley wrote his hymn to help us understand that the resurrection is eternal, life-changing, and real. There is power in the resurrection of Christ and that power begins today. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is not just something we read about and anticipate: it is something that we live.
On a calm day in Jerusalem, Jesus rode through the town on a humble and gentle donkey as people waved palm branches as a sign of victory and shouted “Hosannas” from every street corner after they placed their cloaks and robes on the ground. A few days later, in an upper room, hours before Jesus would pray in the garden as a few of his disciples fell asleep, “not my will but your will be done, Father,” Jesus shares a meal with his disciples that left them confused but forever changed. Then, once beaten and tortured nearly to death, Jesus is lead to Calvary or Golgotha to be crucified by those who despised him, while political leaders of the day saw Jesus as being innocent.
On that day, which we call Good Friday, we realize that “Jesus was praying, Peter was sleeping, and Judas was betraying. But Sunday was coming. The crowd was vilifying, the disciples were running like sheep without a shepherd, Mary was crying, and Peter was denying; but Sunday was coming. Jesus was stumbling, His spirit was weakening, He was hanging on the cross—feeling forsaken by His Father; but Sunday was coming. Jesus was buried, a soldier stood guard, and a rock was rolled into place. But Sunday was coming” (Lockridge).
All that took place on Friday, so that we would remember that Sunday is coming. Let me tell you, on Friday, Sunday was coming; but today, Sunday has arrived which means that our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, has risen from the grave and is searching for us to do the same. Church, the time has come to live out the resurrection in your life. But what does it look like to be resurrected for Christ?
Movement One: Understanding the Sabbath…
Before answering that question, it’s important to understand the situation of the disciples leading up to the resurrection. What I mean by this is that we need to take amount and understand the Sabbath, Holy Saturday. Remember, the disciples had to wait: wait to see if what Jesus told them would come true—that he would be handed over to men, die, and rise on the third day. Let’s start with some statistics. In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John there are 89 chapters. There are four chapters devoted to the first 30 years of Jesus’ life, which are found in Matthew and Luke. There are 28 chapters devoted to the last week of Jesus’ life (from Palm Sunday through Easter). There are 16 plus chapters devoted to the time between the Last Supper and the Resurrection. That points us to the vital importance of this part of Jesus’ life. The death and resurrection of Jesus is the most important thing in our faith. Paul wrote, “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.” The resurrection is a core belief to our faith. If we remove the resurrection, then we don’t have a complete story of Jesus’ life and ministry: we aren’t set free from our sins, we aren’t given eternal life (John 3:16), and we aren’t gifted unconditional love. If we don’t have the resurrection, then the devil wins. We need the resurrection which is why the Gospel writers spend 16 plus chapters leading up to the empty tomb.
Here is one more stat. There are 3,749 verses in the Gospels. Of those verses exactly half of a verse is dedicated to the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter. Luke 23:56b says, “But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.” With all the chapters dedicated to the last week of Jesus’ life, it seems odd to me that only half of a verse is dedicated to that one day. The Sabbath is important to the story of Jesus’ resurrection. In The United Methodist Book of Worship, it identifies the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday as “Holy Saturday.” All that is written to commemorate that day is a prayer: “Merciful and everlasting God, Creator of Heaven and earth, the crucified body of your Son was laid in the tomb and rested on this holy day. Grant that we may await with him the dawning of the third day and rise in newness of life, through Jesus Christ our Redeemer. Amen.”[5] Before we experience the fullness of the resurrection, we must wait.
Imagine with me what was going on in the minds of the disciples that day. To imagine it, you have to understand the nature of the Jewish Sabbath. The Sabbath was a day of rest, a day of waiting. God created the world in six days and then rested on the seventh. The fourth of the Ten Commandments says, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.” There were all kinds of rules about what could and couldn’t be done on the Sabbath. No work could be done; You couldn’t go on a journey of greater than about one mile; You couldn’t kill anything; You couldn’t buy and sell anything; You weren’t even allowed to prepare a meal on the Sabbath. All preparations had to be done on the day before.[6]
It’s against this backdrop that we come to consider the events of this Saturday. The disciples had traveled with Jesus. They had eaten with him. They had prayed with him. They had seen him do incredible miracles. They had heard his teaching. They had laughed and cried with him. They had left everything to follow him. They had invested their entire lives in him. They were with him in the Garden of Gethsemane when he was arrested and dragged off. They watched the crudeness of his trial. They observed the beating. They saw him nailed to a tree. They looked upon his suffering. They saw the Roman soldier plunge his spear into Jesus’ side and saw the blood and water come out. Now he is dead. They had witnessed it. Now they sit with that image in their mind.
Thursday night they had been with him in the upper room. The emotions of that Friday had no doubt fried their nerves. Imagine sitting around doing nothing on the Sabbath replaying those events in your mind over and over and over again.[7] Have you ever had something bad happen, only to have a bunch of time to sit around and stew about it? Perhaps they were thinking about what they could have done to stop it all from happen. “If only we had done this or that.” All that time they had invested with Jesus over the last three years had been wasted. They could have done something else, anything else. The thoughts played through their minds like terrible movies. What they show was vivid. The crack of the whip on Jesus’ back echoed in their ears. The ping of the hammer and nails sent shivers up their spines. The stench of blood and death hung in their nostrils. Their stomachs churned with bitterness at everything that had happened. Their Sabbath rest was anything but restful.
Just the night before they had plucked Jesus from that old rugged cross and placed him in a borrowed tomb. They had sealed the tomb with a giant boulder. The Romans put guards at the entrance. The next day some of the women planned to close this horrible chapter of their lives. They would go and give Jesus the proper burial he deserved. Sadness, anger, and confusion hung in the air like a thick morning fog. What a depressing scene that must of have been. It’s hard for us to imagine. We are on the other side of Easter. We are on the side where we know what happened. They didn’t have the advantage that our perspective gives us today.
There are numerous places that we get bogged down. It could be work, school, home, or anywhere. We think that God has abandoned us, much like the disciples did on that Saturday. Can you imagine what was running through the minds of the disciples as they lay down to sleep that Saturday night? The women would head out the next morning to put spices on the body of Jesus so he could have a proper burial. But until then, everybody had to wait. Church, we have waited 40 plus days to experience the power of Jesus’ resurrection. Today, our wait is over: we are on the other side of the tomb looking at the stone rolled away. We have waited; and now the time has come to live again, because Sunday is here!
Movement Two: On the Other Side of Easter…
As the sun burst over the horizon that Sunday morning the women headed out to the tomb. They made a discovery that would forever alter the course of human history. They fully expected to find the decaying corpse of their friend and leader. On the way, they discussed how exactly they could move the boulder when they arrived on the scene. They were carrying the spices that would be used in any good Jewish burial. They certainly did not expect to find the boulder moved and Jesus missing.
Can you imagine the look on their faces as the tomb came into view? The stone was not in front of the opening. They must have looked at each other with a dumbfounded look. They approached for closer investigation. And the stone was indeed gone from in front of the opening. They peeked inside to see what awaited them on the other side. There was no body. There were a couple of angels sitting there, who said Jesus was not there, but alive. From that point on everything changed. Jesus wasn’t dead. The end hadn’t come. It wasn’t the end of the world. They hadn’t wasted the last three years of their life. Let’s take a closer look at our text this morning.
Luke 24:1 shares, “But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, [the women] went to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared.” The graveyard near Jerusalem became a bustling place early Sunday morning! The combined Gospel accounts reveal that several women came to the garden to complete the burial process, in which they started before Jesus was laid in the tomb (Luke 23:55-56). The women probably arranged to meet at the same time, but arrived separately.
Luke 24:2-3 shares, “They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body.” Burial caves were designed for security. No one wanted the remains of their loved one disturbed by grave robbers or wild animals. So they covered the entrance with a large, circular stone, sometimes weighing a ton or more. It’s no wonder Mark tells us that the stone was “very large” (Mark 15:46-47; 16:4).[8] The giant disk rolled in a groove carved into the ground so that when released, the enormous stone would naturally roll into place, and from that point it would take several people to roll the stone away.
When the women arrived, the stone had already been rolled away and the grave stood open. Upon entering, the women found no body inside. This very large stone was rolled away. The one thing that was keeping Jesus safe from robbers and wild animals was no longer in its place. What gave the disciples and women comfort during the Sabbath seemed to fail them. And above everything else, the body of Christ was not in the tomb. What should be a place of rest and peace has now become a place of confusion and worry. It’s no wonder Luke says that the women were perplexed.
Luke 24:4-7 reads, “While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for 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 handed over to the hands of sinners and be crucified and on the third day rise again.’” Luke describes the women as “perplexed,” meaning they could think of no credible way to explain the mystery. People stole valuables placed on or around dead bodies, but they didn’t steal bodies; but yet Jesus wasn’t there. The stone had been rolled away, so animals couldn’t have been involved. The women stood there, staring at the empty tomb, perplexed until two angelic beings appeared. Luke doesn’t call them angels until later in verse 23, but his description is clear enough: dazzling clothes probably glowing white.[9]
Swindoll notes, “The angels’ rhetorical question suggests the women should have known better than to look for Jesus in the tomb, or at least should not be so perplexed.”[10] The angels remind the women of the Lord’s many predictions of his suffering, death, and resurrection. Everything that was predicted became real. No matter how many times we are told do something, we sometimes don’t believe what we are told until it actually happens, and even then sometimes we still don’t believe that it happened. Church, we shouldn’t be perplexed by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: we should be joyful knowing that it has taken place, that it has happened, and that it has invited us to begin to believe in the words and teachings of Jesus Christ. The resurrection has happened, is happening, and will continue to happen as long as you believe in the promises of the Lord.
Luke 24:8-11 reads, “Then they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.” The women had a “light bulb go off.” They connected what they saw with what they remembered, and the realization struck like a thunderbolt. Jesus was alive! And they couldn’t wait to tell the apostles and his other followers. I bet at that moment they were singing that famous Christmas hymn that tells all of us to “Go, tell it on the mountain, that Jesus Christ is born.” But instead of born they sang, “Jesus Christ is alive.” There is excitement in their voices. There is joy in their steps. There is hope in their spirits and love in their hearts. The resurrection is real and they want to tell everyone about it! They want to share the good news of great joy!
The women searched for the scattered disciples, perhaps breaking into teams to spread the word faster. They told the eleven apostles and other followers about the empty tomb and the angels who appeared to them. But no one took the women seriously. Swindoll notes, “The disciples dismissed the women’s story as insane.”[11] The disciples, who were called faithfulness, are the ones who should believe if they don’t want to live into that title. The ones who have been with Jesus for the past three years, seeing and hearing miracle upon miracle, healing upon healing, are stuck in the tomb: the resurrection isn’t real to them…at least not yet.
Several weeks ago, I shared a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center that concluded that Christianity was on the rise after a fifteen year decline. For fifteen years the tomb of Christian belief was on the verge of being sealed, but now the stone is being rolled away because people are believing again, are making Christianity important again, and are living into a new resurrection of life, belief, and faith. People are living on the other side of Easter: proclaiming the good news, sharing that the word of God is alive, and offering the hope of real resurrection. Christianity is on the rise because of people like you: people who know that the resurrection is real because they are living proof of what it looks like to walk out of a tomb a new person for Christ. I have to ask, are you with the women—so excited, so eager, so hopeful—to share about the resurrection of Christ or are you more like the disciples who have still yet to believe that the resurrection is real?
Lastly, Luke 24:12 asserts, “But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.”[12] Immediately, Peter ran to the tomb to investigate. When he arrived, he was “stooping and looking in.” In Koine Greek, the concept of “stooping and looking in” is one word: parakypto, which expresses two primary ideas. First, “to bend over for the purpose of looking, with focus on satisfying one’s curiosity” and, second, “to try to find out something intellectually.” Peter not only observed but studied the empty tomb for clues, trying to comprehend what might have happened. Peter left the tomb amazed—thaumazo—but not necessarily convinced of the resurrection.
Sometimes, I think we are like Peter: studying and studying to prove something but forgetting what we have been told. Peter, like Thomas, was searching for physical proof of Jesus’ resurrection rather than believing in what Jesus told him and the others three times: that he would die and rise again on the third day. We want to see the empty tomb in order to say that the resurrection is real. But do we need to see the stone rolled away, the linen left on the ground, a dark empty tomb to know that Christ is risen?[13]
However, I tend to think that Peter’s doubtfulness may have been challenged when he noticed that some of the cloth was folded. The King James Version, tells us in the Gospel of John 20:7 that the napkin, which was placed over the face of Jesus, was not just thrown aside like the grave clothes, it was folded. The Bible takes an entire verse to tell us that the napkin was neatly folded, and was placed separate from the grave clothes. Why? According to Hebrew tradition, the folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant, and every Jewish boy knew this tradition.[14] If the master were done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table. The servant would then know to clear the table. For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, ‘I’m done.’ But if the master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table, because the folded napkin meant, ‘I’m coming back!’”[15] If Peter was studying the empty tomb, then he should have noticed that the napkin was folded indicating that Jesus was not done, that Jesus was coming back; therefore, the resurrection is real. But again, did Peter believe in what he saw: “an empty tomb to prove his savior lived”? Do you believe that Jesus has risen?
From Luke’s account of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are encouraged to remember the words of Christ and realize that what he said has come true. We aren’t meant to look at the empty in a perplexed fashion, but with hope and joy that our savior lives. We are meant to see the folded napkin and take to heart that Jesus is coming back. We are encouraged, like the women, to spread the news that Jesus is risen, that Jesus conquered death, that the cross didn’t have that last word, and that Satan has no place in our new resurrected life. Church, you have heard the story of Jesus’ resurrection many times, but how many times have you lived your life knowing that the resurrection is real?
Movement Three: The Resurrection is Real
The resurrection is real! It is easy to get caught up in living in the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. We wonder where God is. We can’t believe how he let us down. Sure, we give lip service to his resurrection, but we don’t live like it. We don’t step out on faith. We live in that dark day of despair where Jesus is still sealed up in the tomb. But today is our chance to walk out of our own tomb with Jesus. The resurrection is real! He’s been raised! We celebrate it every Easter. It is the Christian’s cornerstone of hope. Because he was raised, we also will be raised. Because he was raised, sin can be forgiven. Because Christ was raised, death is not the final conqueror. Because he was raised, Satan’s doom is sealed and sure. Because he was raised, our church has a future to grasp on to.
We are Easter people, just like the early disciples. We aren’t meant to stay in the tomb forever. We aren’t meant to allow the stone to separate us from Christ. We aren’t meant to merely study the resurrection. We are meant to walk out of the tomb. We are meant to roll away the stone. We are meant to live out the resurrection in our daily life through our deeds, word, service, and worship. We are meant to be living proof for others how believing in the resurrection can change their life. We are called to live out the resurrection through our love and service to God and others. We are meant to live out the resurrection knowing that Christ died for our sins. We are called to believe that the resurrection is real and to live so that we may experience salvation.
Christ’s resurrection is our new beginning to living through and in him. Christ’s resurrection means that there is something more for us and more for this church. Christ’s resurrection is something we wait for but carry with us every day of our life. Because of Christ’s resurrection you can face tomorrow. Church, the resurrection of Christ is real. If you don’t believe me, then stoop and look into the empty tomb, see the cross that bears no one, hear the proclamation of the women and disciples, take to heart the words of the angels dazzled in white, and cherish the reality that Christ lives within you today and always. If you still don’t believe me, then look at your own life and see where Christ has saved you and given you a new life. If you still don’t believe me, then see how his resurrection has given our church new hope:
Dogwood Prairie: Playground installed and blessed, The church has a few new attendees, The restrooms in the Youth Building were upgraded to be more handicapped assessable, The church has added hand rails in the sanctuary near the altar, Treat Bags for the farmers has grown, Trunk-or-Treat has brought people from the community to our church, The church is being considered to host an outside group once a month, The church was given a cabinet to display some of its history, Children’s events, Combined Children’s Christmas Program.
Seed Chapel: Increased Attendance: average attendance is 30-35, with some Sundays exceeding 40, Children’s Church: two people from the church volunteered to put this together, Playground was purchased and installed by the church, Collected plastic lids and had them turned into benches for the playground, The church was given a fridge, and has a “coffee station”, Trunk-or-Treat and Treat Bags for the Farmers, The church has festive banners that hang outside, A young adult Sunday School Class, Bible Study, Laid gravel in the parking lot, Combined Children’s Christmas Program
The resurrection is real and we are now on the other side of Easter. We are living proof that the living a new life is possible. How are you going to live out Christ’s resurrection in your life? How are we, as a church, going to be resurrected for years to come? Leave your troubles, tribulations, worries, and sin in the tomb; and become resurrected today!
Conclusion:
As the hymn “Christ the Lord is Risen Today” reminds us, “Christ the Lord is risen today…! Earth and heaven in chorus say…! Raise your joys and triumphs high…! Sing, ye heavens, and earth reply…! Love’s redeeming work is done…! Today, Christ is risen! Today, Christ has left the tomb! Today, Christ has given us a triumphal love that deserves an Alleluia! Today, the Resurrected Christ has given us paradise! The resurrection of Christ is just the beginning… Christ is Risen! Indeed, the Son is risen today. The resurrection of Christ is a day of new beginning. The resurrection is real and present in your life. And the best part about his resurrection is the fact that his resurrection lives eternally in your heart yesterday, today, and tomorrow because he has promised to return, to come back to us![16] Go, share about the resurrection of Jesus Christ! Christ is Risen indeed! You have been made new!
New Member/Communion:
Closing Prayer:
Let us Pray… Dear Jesus, you rolled the stone away, you left the tomb empty, and rose from the grave for each and every one of us. Help us to live our life knowing that the resurrection is real and that it lives within us today and every day. All honor and glory is yours, now and forever. Amen.
Benediction:
Christ is Risen! Christ is Risen Indeed! May the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; and May the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace (Numbers 6:24-26). In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit go sharing the news that Christ is risen and that the resurrection is real. And all God’s people said, Amen. Amen. Amen.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27m_Gonna_Be_(500_Miles)
[2] “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” has become a live staple at the Proclaimers’ concerts. The duo played it at Edinburgh 50,000 – The Final Push at Murrayfield Stadium on 6 July 2005, the final concert of Live 8, to symbolize the conclusion of “The Long Walk to Justice”. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%27m_Gonna_Be_(500_Miles)
[3] Ray Downing, “How Far Did Jesus Walk”, an online blog post published on February 21, 2023: https://www.raydowning.com/blog/2023/2/20/how-far-did-jesus-walk#:~:text=His%20journey%20was%20not%20a,he%20walked%20approximately%203%2C125%20miles.
[4] Ultimately, Christ’s resurrection provides for us the opportunity to remember, to live into, to accept, that through him we “shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
[5] The United Methodist Book of Worship, Nashville, Tennessee: The United Methodist Publishing House, 1992, pg. 367.
[6] Here’s the kicker: you weren’t even allowed to contemplate such things. The contemplation of taking a journey, engaging in commerce, or anything else construed as labor was strictly forbidden. What are we doing today that violates this? Did you run water from the tap? Did you come more than one mile? The men who will be cooking breakfast shortly will be violating the rules. Even the contemplation of such things would be a violation.
[7] Possibly asking yourself, “Could I have done something to help? Why didn’t I believe Jesus’ words more? If only I would have listened, I could have prevented this from happening?”
[8] 46 Then Joseph bought a linen cloth and, taking down the body, wrapped it in the linen cloth and laid it in a tomb that had been hewn out of rock. He then rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where the body was laid…. 4 When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back.
[9] Notice, how at the start of all of this, Mary receives the news of her pregnancy from an angel, and Zechariah is informed by an angel that his prayers have been answered, and Joseph was told in a dream by an angelic being to not divorce Mary. And now, at the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry, angels appear to inform the women of what has just happened. According to Luke, an angel even appears to Jesus to give him strength while praying in the garden.
[10] Charles R. Swindoll, Swindoll’s New Testament Insights: Insights on Luke, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2012, pg. 515.
[11] Charles R. Swindoll, Swindoll’s New Testament Insights: Insights on Luke, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2012, pg. 516.
[12] According to John’s gospel, both Peter and John heard the news from Mary Magdalene, who had not yet seen the angels or the risen Lord. From her perspective, someone had removed the body. The two apostles may or may not have been together at the time.
[13] Are you one who says “believing is seeing” or are you someone who says “seeing is believing”? Although Peter saw the empty tomb, we are uncertain whether or not Peter fully believed in the resurrection of Christ.
[14] When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he made sure that it was exactly the way the master wanted it. The table was furnished perfectly, and then the servant would wait, just out of sight, until the master had finished eating, and the servant would not dare touch that table, until the master was finished.
[15] https://www.facebook.com/JEDTON shared by Arnold Taube on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/arnold.taube)
[16] There is a scene in the movie “Jesus of Nazareth” where Caiaphas, the High Priest and a group of soldiers come rushing to Jesus’ empty tomb that first Easter Sunday. In it, there is a discussion of what has happened to the body of Jesus. The soldier in charge tells Caiaphas that it would have been impossible for anyone to have come and taken the body because his soldiers, along with some of the Temple guards, were there all night keeping watch over the tomb. Caiaphas then walks into the empty tomb and, as the camera zooms in on his face whispers, “Now it begins. Now it all begins.” Our new life, in Christ, begins today.