All right. Well empty crosses, open tombs. The moment that changed everything. You know, throughout history, there are monuments all over the world that are revered and famous because of what they hold. Something is still in them. There are the pharaohs in the pyramids in Egypt still revered. There’s the nobility in Westminster Abbey. There are heroes buried in tombs, still filled, buried in Arlington Cemetery, but it’s one tomb, Jesus, that stands alone in its significance because it’s the opposite. It’s empty and the emptiness of Jesus’ tomb. It proclaims our hope today that Jesus is alive. He’s risen. Today, on Easter Sunday, we are celebrating the pinnacle of our Christian faith, and it’s an occasion for us to take great joy in the triumph that Jesus has not just had, but has over the grave. If you’re part of the church crew, the church family here at Victory been traveling with us this past Holy Week. We spent time Thursday with kind of a, a poignant reminder of that upper room meal that Jesus shared with his disciples, and then he repurposed Passover into communion that we still celebrate today. We just did this morning at the 6:00 AM Sunrise service, and then there was Good Friday. We had a very somber remembrance, a service of shadows, a 10 bra service. Remembering Christ’s sacrificial death on that cross. But then there’s Easter as today, and today we stand in the light of that empty tomb. Easter is our assurance that death is not the end of the story, but rather that God’s love, it’s stronger than any darkness or power that we face. Because our savior lives starting today, and in the weeks ahead, we’re gonna be in a series sermon new, uh, sermon series that we’re calling Eyewitness News. We’re gonna be looking at eyewitness accounts of people who saw Jesus resurrection. We put our creative team, put a little, uh, sermon bumper together. Want you to watch this quick little clip. Starting today, in the weeks ahead, we’re gonna be looking at resurrection stories that stand on the sturdy shoulders of people who actually saw, touched, talked with the risen Jesus. Ordinary people whose lives were forever changed through that encounter. We’re gonna look at Thomas honest in his doubts. He eventually places his fingers into nail scarred hands and was moved from skepticism into worship. We are gonna see two weary travelers who meet a stranger on the road between Jerusalem and a town called Emmaus, a stranger whom they finally recognized when he broke bread with them, and then he would turn broken dreams into burning hearts. We’re gonna look at Peter once shattered by denial. Who face to face with his Lord was personally restored by the very one that he had betrayed. We’re gonna look at a band of of people on a Galilean Hill who receive marching orders to disciple the nations, and then later Jesus follows with them as he starts to ascend into heaven, as told he’s gonna return in that same manner. We’re gonna look at a feisty fiery legal. I mean, he’s a, a religious lawyer named Saul, who’s actually out actively persecuting the Christian Church, the new church, who then collides on this road to Damascus with the blinding light and a living savior for each of these people, these were moments that changed their life. And these independent yet overlapping encounters, they, they knit together, kind of, kind of a tapestry of, of eyewitness credibility. That also invites us today to place our feet firmly on resurrection land to walk in the new life that Christ offers us today, that he would transform our lives. As we see the risen Jesus.
So today, if you have your Bibles, we’re in Matthew chapter 28. You can read the first 10 verses. We’re gonna read about an account of two women, the first to peer into that empty vacant tomb who then carried the message, a message that no one expected to hear, and their testimony. It launches the whole dawn and beginning of this Easter message and hope. That reaches out to us today. Lemme begin at first one after the Sabbath at dawn, on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake for an angel of the Lord. Came down from heaven and going back to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, do not be afraid for, I know that you’re looking for Jesus who was crucified. He’s not here. He has risen. Just as he said, come and see the place where he lay. Then 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 so. The women hurried away from the tomb, afraid, yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. Greetings, he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped tomb. Then Jesus said to them, do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee. There they will see me. The Gospel of our Lord. Praise. Let me pray as we continue. Wow, we praise your name, Lord Jesus. You’re the one who has power over death. You’re the one who broke death, defeated it on our behalf, came out of that tomb so that we might follow you. We who trust you in faith. Send now your Holy Spirit that we might see you and have our lives transformed. I ask in your precious name, amen. My dear friends, grace to you and peace from God, our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. The moment that changed everything. You see the resurrection caused a seismic shift in the order of things the angel said. And behold, there’s our text said and behold, there was a great earthquake for the angel of the Lord descended to heaven before Mary Magdalene and the other Mary in our text before they even arrived at the tomb. An earthquake happened signaling that something spectacular was going on. The guards posted at the tomb were so paralyzed with fear. When they witnessed the angel roll away the stone, they were like they were dead. And this momentous event, it, it marks the inbreaking of God’s power over the brokenness in our world. And man, do we need it? The resurrection is a shaking that announces God’s power. My wife Ann and I lived in LA in the nineties, and we experienced a, a couple of earthquakes when we lived there in 1991, there was a Sierra Madre earthquake, and we were about 50 miles east of the epicenter. And yeah, we were awakened by the shaking and we were downstairs watching television and the newscast on it, and the broadcast zoomed in on the, on the size, size, oter. Uh, the semo cam, they called it the needle, that, that measures earthquakes. And all of a sudden we’re watching it and it starts to move and then we feel the shaking coming and aftershock was coming and it was startling. It was like watching yourself, I dunno, on TV, going through a, an earthquake. It left an indelible mark. It was surreal. And thankfully our home wasn’t damaged. But that experience, it left a deep impression on us, and it reminds us just how suddenly and powerfully the ground beneath us in our lives can begin to shift. You know, in the Bible, earthquakes often symbolize God’s divine intervention, and in our text in Matthew 28.
That earthquake had announced the sudden and powerful cosmic shift, the reality of that death’s grip. It had been undone by a mightier force by God himself. My prayer for all of us for you echoes from what Paul writes in Ephesians one. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order to know that you may know the hope to which he has called you. The riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same mighty power he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead. Do you get what the Bible’s saying there, that God’s power at work in you today, it’s the same as that which he raised Christ from the dead. In other words, it’s capable of shaking the seemingly unshakeable barriers in your own life. Because you see, God has the power. God breaks unbreakable stones. When that angel rolled the stone away from that tomb, a seemingly unmovable obstacle obstacle was easily removed and the angel kind of sat on it. I gotta think gloating a little bit. Similarly for us, we each face situations that can feel insurmountable, can’t they? A relationship on the brink and anxiety, you can’t calm guilt. That seems overwhelming. The Bible reminds us in Romans eight, and if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of a spirit that lives in you. That’s the connection, the reality of your Christian walk today. With Jesus resurrection, the resurrection power that shattered death. It can roll away even the heaviest stone in your heart and life. ’cause you see the rec, the resurrection. It’s an invitation to trust. Either believe it or you don’t. And the women approached the tomb way down by sorrow and fear, perhaps not even realizing that God had already accomplished the impossible. And so too, for you and I, we can be unaware of what God has done, wants to do and is doing. What stones do you still try to roll away on your own? The resurrection of Jesus. Invite you to trust that God is the one who can move them for you. So as you reflect on Easter this morning and this day and beyond, remember that God’s power upended the finality of the grave. Think about that, that same power, it’s available to you. The Bible says, ready to bring hope and healing and renewal where you least expect it, but most needed. I was crying when we were singing. I Speak Jesus Over situations were you were invited to do that every day in our lives. Those of you who were alive back in 89 and aware of the fall of the Berlin Wall, remember that a concrete barrier that had stood for decades as the symbol of division and seemingly in a moment, it began to crumble. Ushering in freedom and unity and Easter, it proclaims an even greater miracle, the ultimate barrier of sin and death. It’s been torn down, removed by Christ’s resurrection. In other words, if God can conquer the grave, hey, he can transform any seemingly impossible situation in your life. The resurrection caused a seismic shift in the order of things because he has risen indeed.
The angel said he’s not here for, he has risen, as he said, and with those few words that Angel announces the truth that forever changed and continues to change human history and that statement, he is risen. It anchors everything we believe. As followers of Jesus, Jesus resurrection is the cornerstone of our faith. One Corinthians 15 declares an and Reddit for us. If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless, and so is your faith. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead. You know the resurrection, if it’s true. Indeed, it validates every promise Jesus ever made because Jesus rose from the dead. Everything he said is true because Jesus’ grave is empty. He is who he claimed to be, God in the flesh, and because he lives, Hey, our faith, it’s not futile. It’s not empty or meaningless. Romans six teaches us that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. That’s the promise. You see the resurrection? It’s not just about Jesus defeating death, though it is that, but it’s also about you. New life. Now, your transformation. A fresh start. We’ve said it here. And around the globe, these past hours, Christians all over have been saying Christ has risen and hear the response he has risen indeed. And it’s not just some kind of polite liturgical ritual, it’s actually one of the oldest victory cries of the Christian Church with roots that go all the way back to our text to Resurrection Day itself. We’re gonna hear about it later on in this sermon series. When two disciples from Emmaus, they sprint back to the upper room in Jerusalem, breathless with wonder, and yet the believers beat ’em to the punch and greet them with this burst of good news. The Lord has risen indeed and has appeared to Simon. Indeed he has that Greek word in indeed it’s antos. In Greek it means truly, certainly without a doubt. In other words, Christ has risen truly. Christ has risen without a doubt. And from that spark in that upper room, that declaration, that greeting, it jumped borders and languages and time by the second century believers in Jerusalem are already exchanging that greeting. Here’s the Latin Christos. The Nesty. S. Christ has risen. He has risen indeed and through centuries. Of persecution and pandemic, revival and routine, those same 11 syllables have carried the heartbeat of our faith forward. Death did its worst, but Jesus stood up anyway. Why does this matter for you and for me? The saying, why does it mean anything? Well, it’s because every time we declare he has risen, indeed we are defiantly pushing back against the darkness that wants to keep whispering. Nothing ever changes. Oh yeah. When we declare this resurrection reality, he has risen indeed. We are reminding our hearts that can be anxious about many things. We’re reminded that cancer grief, broken dreams, they do not write the last chapter in our life. Jesus does. Christ’s empty tomb is the receipt stamped, paid in full over every sin and any sorrow. And so when you breathe out that ancient reply. You’re not just mouthing some ritual saying, rather you’re grabbing hold and declaring a living hope so the next time someone greets you with Christ has risen, try not just to kind of mumble a response. He’s risen indeed. Uh, but rather let it rise up from within you. Uh, let it speak over your worries and your to-do lists and your unanswered prayers. We gotta do it again, and this time we’re gonna do it with gusto. So I want you to turn to someone next to you, say Christ has risen. And wait for the reply he has.
Risen indeed. But this time do it with gusto. Ready go. Christ has risen. Indeed. Christ is risen. He has risen indeed. Praise God. Declare it to your heart. Declare it to your loved ones, declare it to the world around us. That’s where I wanna land this message. Today we are called to share this good news. Our text said, and go quickly and tell his disciples that he’s risen from the dead. And so the women, they depart quickly with fear and great joy. So it’s the angel, and then actually Jesus himself. Commission the women to tell others what they’ve seen and they don’t linger at the tomb, stunned in silence or stupor. Rather, they run hearts are pounding full of both awe and excitement, and they’re determined to declare this incredible news and that same commission is given to you and me to carry Easter joy to others later in this chapter, Matthew 28. There’s a section called the Great Commission. It’s given soon after these resurrection appearances, and we’re gonna be looking at this in this sermon series as well. In this, Jesus instructs his, his followers to go and make disciples of all nations, that those are our marching orders. As a church, that’s our mission. In other words. Now as then the story of Easter. It’s not some secret to be kept within our four walls here, but it’s rather a message to be carried across the street and around the world. You can be a messenger of hope to others. Now, that may fill you with fear and joy like the women, but that’s okay. The Bible tells us, always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. You see Easter hope it’s desperately needed in a world full of anxiety, of doubts, of despair, of brokenness, and your testimony about who the risen Jesus is to you. It can be that lifeline that someone needs to hear. If you’re from Victory here, if you notice they’ve been here much, do you notice, have you noticed this new cross up behind me here? It was. It’s new. It was hung just last week. It was paid for with gifts given in memory of loved ones, memorial gifts, gifts designated for the cross in the worship center. Gifts given, I think, interestingly enough, in connection with the death of a loved one. And so, come on, it’s just fitting. On Resurrection Sunday to dedicate this cross and we’re gonna dedicate it to God and for his kingdom purposes so that every time you see this cross, it’ll speak to the truth of Jesus’, death and resurrection for you to lead you to see Jesus every time you see the cross. And then to inspire true and spirit-filled worship within you. And then also I. To motivate you, to motivate us to share this good news of Jesus Christ with others outside of these walls. Let this cross remind your hearts. As the psalmist writes, we ponder your steadfast level God within your temple. Your praise of God reaches to the heavens.
Your right hand is full of righteousness. So let’s end this message by dedicating the this cross to Christ’s glory crafted by human hands and set before us with love. This empty cross stands as our bold reminder. Yes, Jesus died here for you and for me, but just as his tomb is empty. So also is this cross. It’s not a symbol of defeat, but a victory. Calling each of us to believe that through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, everyone who believes in Christ is offered new and everlasting life. And then we are commissioned to step beyond these walls and share this good news with others. So may this cross inspire us daily. To carry this hope into our neighborhoods, our workplaces, our schools, with families, with friends far and near across the street and around the world, inviting all to know the love of God given us in Jesus Christ, our risen savior, and all God’s people said, let’s join our hearts in prayer. Amen. Gracious Lord, we we do, we take joy. We rejoice in the empty cross, in the open tomb living reminders of Jesus’ victory that we gladly receive and believe by faith. Fill us now with your Holy Spirit, empower our hearts with boldness and compassion to carry this life changing message beyond these walls. May our words and lives echo the good news of Jesus’, death and resurrection, inviting all to know the hope and the new life we have found in him to the glory of his name, in which I pray. Amen.
