Death Defeated, Life Restored 1 Corinthians 15:51–57; Job 19:23–27; John 20:10–18
He is risen! He is risen, indeed! Alleluia!
Grace, mercy and peace be with you, from God, our Father, and our risen Lord, Jesus Christ.
We’re going to talk about how Jesus has defeated death and restored life,
based on our Epistle, especially verses 54 - 57: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Some say that death is natural, just the way things are, so we ought to just accept it, or resign ourselves to it.
But our Lord and Savior doesn’t think that way. If He did, He never would have risen to life again… and then neither would we.
And so with the apostle Paul, we can say: But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
God, who made the Universe, and created life, especially life in His image, human life, never wanted or intended for sin to invade His good creation, and for death to end and destroy it.
He made Adam and Eve, and thus humanity, to live, not to die… and to love, not to sin. He created them for an eternity on earth of love and joy and every blessing forever.
Imagine how it all would have been, had humanity not sinned and ruined it all. The earth would be a pure and perfect paradise, quite different than it is now.
By our sin, paradise was lost, creation was corrupted, and the world fallen.
But God was not about to concede His plan of an eternal paradise… eternal life, peace, love and joy for humanity, whom He had created and loved.
He personally intervened in this world of sin and death in the person of His only Son.
And so Christ entered into our fallen world, to exchange, as we talked about on Good Friday, a wonderful exchange, an exchange of sin for grace, of suffering for healing, of grief for joy, and of death for life.
What an exchange Easter morning was. Before the sun rose that morning, everything looked lost. All Jesus had done, all the miracles, all His teachings, it seemed to be in vain.
But soon, it would be seen that it was all in victory.
But it didn’t look that way for the women who, very early on Easter morning, made the trek to the tomb.
What a dark and despairing walk it must have been.
John, in His account of Easter morning, mentions Mary Magdalene going to the tomb first: Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.
Matthew tells us that Mary Magdalene was accompanied by the other Mary, Mary Clopas, who was Jesus’ aunt.
Mark tells us that Salome, who we think was the mother of the disciples James and John, also went to the tomb with Mary Magdalene and Mary Clopas.
So each Gospel account adds more detail and insight into the miraculous Easter event.
Mark and Luke also tell us that the women went to the tomb with the intent of anointing Jesus’ body with oils and perfumes, even though He had been dead for a day and a half… they still wanted to honor Him in that way.
Mary Magdalene and Mary Clopas knew where the tomb was because they had followed the burial detail.
It was the personal tomb of a wealthy man named Joseph of Arimathea, a secret follower of Jesus.
It was a newly made tomb, and elaborate, it seems, with a garden there. We know that because at first, Mary mistook Jesus for the gardener.
Although they left very early, they got there too late… or, just in time, just at the right time, as Jesus no doubt, had planned it.
When they got there, there was no body to anoint: Jesus was gone… but His burial clothes remained…
… and there was an angel, who told the women, “Don’t be afraid. I know you’re looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He’s not here; He has risen just as He said He would.”…
… the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:20., the first to rise eternally from the dead.
Jesus needed to rise first so that He can raise us someday.
But before He does that, He had to rise to prove He is truly God Almighty, God’s one and only Son, with the power to rise from the dead…
… and the power to raise us.
Jesus rose to show Himself to the women and the disciples, alive and victorious over death.
He rose to immediately and briefly, descend into Hell, as we proclaim in the Creed.
He descended not to suffer… as we said in our Good Friday message, Jesus suffered the full fury of Hell on the cross for us…
… He descended to show Himself alive and victorious over sin, death, the devil, and all the forces and powers of evil…
… as our Epistle says, “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
And Jesus rose to fulfill Scripture, thus proving Himself to be the promised Messiah, the world’s Redeemer, as Job had prophesied, and as we’ll sing in our closing hymn: I know that my Redeemer lives… and at the last, will stand upon the earth.
And finally, Jesus rose to show that our sins are fully forgiven.
The sin of the world He had taken on Himself was forgiven by the Father, and so He had no reason to remain dead and continue to be punished for our sins, but had to rise and be alive in glory, as His righteousness deserved…
… and alive so that He might forgive and save all who believe in Him.
So much good happened on Easter morning, much more than we mentioned… And so much good has happened ever since because of it… it’s hard to wrap our minds around it all.
But this is for sure, our Lord’s resurrection has changed everything for us!
It’s taken us from a life ruined, to a life restored…
…from a life with no good reason to be lived, to a life of godly love and lasting purpose…
… from a life obsessed with self, to a life dedicated to service…
… from a life of lonely regret, to a life of new-found joy, and living hope…
… from a life of loss and sorrow, to a life of eternal gain and everlasting joy…
… from a life of worry, to life of letting go and trusting God’s plan…
… from a life of morbid lust and selfish greed, to a life patterned after the sacrificial love of Christ…
… from a life that leads us to what is eternally worst, to a life in Christ that leads to what is eternally best, and unimaginably good and glorious.
Sin, death, the devil and Hell defeated… love, life, Christ, and Heaven victorious.
What a remarkable change Easter, the resurrection of our Lord, has made for us, forever.
Our Epistle says it well: But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord, Jesus Christ!
In conclusion, all I can say is: Alleluia! He is risen! He is risen, indeed. Alleluia!
May the peace of our risen Lord, which passes understanding, guard your heart and mind, in Christ Jesus, who has defeated death, and restored life and love everlasting. Alleluia! Amen.