The Lord’s Message:  From Sadness to Joy, From Death to Life

The Lord’s Message:  From Sadness to Joy, From Death to Life
Date:  April 20, 2025
Where:  Tilghman Methodist Church
Scripture Reference:  Luke 24:1-12

            We do not celebrate Easter like we do Christmas.  For a Christian that is really strange, because if there was no Easter, there would be no need to celebrate Christmas.  If there were no resurrection, there would be no need to celebrate Jesus’ birth.  Without the resurrection, then Jesus’ death would be in vain.  There would be no need for the New Testament, no church, no Christianity, and no hope. 

            Let us pray. 

Upon opening up your Bible, you will see that this is first day of the week, Sunday, when the women go to the tomb to finish the preparation on Jesus’ dead body.  I want you to think about what these women have endured in the last week.  They were with Jesus when He came into Jerusalem riding on the colt of a donkey.  They were filled with joy and shouted out “Hosanna in the highest!  Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!  Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”  They were there in the temple when Jesus was teaching about the kingdom of God.  They were there when the Pharisees confronted Jesus about whether He was the Messiah.  They were there when the Pharisees brought Jesus to Pontius Pilate.  They were there when Pontius Pilate told the crowd that he could not find any crime that Jesus had committed.  They were there when the crowds shouted, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”  Their hearts must have sunk.  They were there and watched Jesus carry the cross up the hill to Golgotha.  They watched him fall down numerous times before the Romans pulled Simon from Cyrene out of the crowds to carry the cross of Jesus.  They watched Jesus being nailed to the cross and die on that cross.  They were once filled with joy and hope and are now left with sadness. 

But they come to the tomb early that morning out of respect and obligation.  What they find at the tomb puzzles them and puzzles many people even today.  First the large stone at the entrance of the tomb is rolled away.  This tomb was sealed by Pontius Pilate.  They would have placed ropes around the stone.  The ropes would be attached to the sides of the tomb. Then a mound of soft moldable clay would be used to seal the ropes and stones together.  In the center of the clay mold a Roman insignia would be imprinted, indicating the tomb was under Roman authority.  Anyone breaking the seal would be lose their life for tampering.  In addition to the seal, Roman guards were placed to farther secure Jesus’ tomb. 

Before the women get to the tomb, we are told in Matthew 28:2, that there was an earthquake, and an angel came down and rolled away the stone.  This angel caused the Roman guards to flee.  So, when the women get to the tomb, no guards, the seal is broken, the stone is rolled away, and Jesus’ body is not in the tomb.  The women, as any of us would be, are puzzled as to what has taken place. 

In Luke 24:4, while they were wondering about this, two angels appear.  Now all of this has taken place, and they are confronted with the appearance of two angels.  This causes them to be frightened, verse 5.  The angels said something to them that starts the process of them understanding what has taken place at the tomb, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?”  They continue on in verses 6 & 7 explaining to the women what Jesus had told them several days earlier that He would be turned over to the Gentiles and be crucified to pay the sins for all humans and be raised on the third day.  In verse 8, the light bulb kicked on, “they remember His words.”  The women once filled with despair are now filled with joy and hope.

They go and tell the disciples.  As my wife would say, men never listen to the women.  The disciples did not listen to the women.  They ran to the tomb to see for themselves.  In verse 12, Peter goes into the tomb and sees the linen, but he is still puzzled.  He does not accept the testimony of the women.  He is left wondering. 

A little foot note on the burial cloths of Jesus.  In John 20:6b-7, the Bible tells us that the strips of linen were lying there separate from the burial cloth.  The burial cloth was folded up by itself.  In Jewish tradition at that time, if the master was interrupted during his meal, he would take his cloth napkin and fold it and leave it on the table if he knew he was coming back, as a sign to the servants.  If he simply tossed the napkin on the table and left, that was a sign that he was not coming back, and the servants were to clear the table.  The folded burial cloth is a sign that Jesus left in the empty tomb to say He is coming back. 

            Many people today still do not believe in the resurrection.  It is too wonderous for us to believe.  Jesus is alive.  God resurrected His Son from the grave because Jesus has been resurrected, we who believe in Him will be resurrected also.  We have hope.  None of us are beyond this hope.  The British poet John Masefield wrote a poem entitled, “The Widoe in the By-Street.”  The poem is about a mother watching her criminal son being hung for his crimes and saying over and over again, “too broke to mend.”  God is saying to us this morning through the empty tomb that none of us are too broke to mend.  In the book of Isaiah 1:18, God says, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow, though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”  From death on a cross to life found in an empty tomb, God made this possible.

            Even on this Easter morning, death still appears to be a contradiction.  It is the great mystery that we all face.  It is universal and inevitable.  No one receives a pass.  The German theologian Herman Thielicke was out for a spring walk shortly after World War II had come to an end.  He saw a beautiful lilac bush.  He went over and looked more closely at the lilac bush and quickly realized that it was growing from the corpse of a dead German soldier.  Life had sprung from death. 

            Even though Easter has come, the tomb is empty, death at times is absurd.  Some have asked me why do young children die.  Why do some people linger and linger before death takes them.  Or why does death seem to come out of nowhere.  The answer to all of this is I do not know. 

            I have this hope that death will one day be defeated.  As the Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:54-55.  The resurrection provides this proof.  As incredulous as it is to believe, we have proof that the resurrection did happen.  It will take too long this morning for me to bring out all the proof to you that the resurrection did happen, so I am going to save that for next Sunday.  I hope that you will all return to hear The Lord’s message next Sunday. 

            I live with this hope.  It keeps me going when my loved ones pass away.  I do not despair as others do.  It is interesting that archeologists have found the burial tombs of Christians and Pagans.  In the Christian tombs, they are marked with Christus Victor, Christ is the Victor.  In the Pagan tombs, they are marked with NFFNSNC, meaning I was not, I was, I am not, I do not care.  These people who follow other gods were left with a life of no hope. 

Sadly today, many people think that once my life comes to an end in this world, that is all there is.  If that is true then Isaiah 22:13, should apply to their lives. 

Resurrection means forgiveness.  The debt of my sin has been paid on the cross and I have been forgiven of my sin.  We have the victory over sin and death.  Good Friday’s sadness has become Easter morning’s joy.  Death leads to eternal life with God.

God does not save us from suffering and death.  God walks with us through our suffering and death.  He provides us with strength, courage, grace, and hope. 

Easter means we have a future – a bright future in Christ.  Christ is Risen!  He is Risen indeed!  Amen.