As He Said

Easter – A                                                                                                      LSB #’s 457, 861, 474
Text – Matthew 28:6a
 
He is not here, for He has risen, as He said. 
 
AS HE SAID
 
 
Christ is risen!  He is risen indeed!  Alleluia! 
I told you so!       They are some of the least  appreciated words in the English language.  The problem is,  especially if the speaker is correct,  those words are often spoken with a smug sense of superiority  & self-righteousness:   “I told you so!” 
In the sermon text, rather than translating it, “…as He said,” we could read the Gospel of Matthew in this way, “He is not here, for He has risen,   as He  told you so!”   Now,  it was a sinless  messenger of God who spoke those words.   No smug sense of superiority  & self-righteousness there.   God’s angel  was simply stating the facts,  as unflattering as they were. 
The truth often hurts,  & yet,  Christ Jesus is  the truth.    In our Easter joy,  we often overlook the facts  because of how unflattering they are.  Not a one  of His disciples  understood that Jesus told them He would rise from the dead. 
At Matthew 16:21, we read, “From that time  Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem & suffer many things  from the elders & chief priests & scribes,  & be killed,  & on the third day be raised.”  (ESV) 
A chapter later, Matthew wrote, “And as they were coming down the mountain,  Jesus commanded them, ‘Tell no one the vision,  until  the Son of Man is raised from the dead.’”  (17:9 ESV)    In Matthew 17:23, it states, “…& they will kill Him,  & He will be raised on the third day…”  (ESV)     At Matthew 20, Jesus clearly laid it out:
“And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests & scribes,  & they will condemn Him to death & deliver Him over to the Gentiles  to be mocked & flogged & crucified, & He will be raised  on the third day.”  (20:18b-19 ESV)   Four different occasions when Jesus told His followers & disciples   He would rise from the dead.  They were so confused & frightened by any discussion of Jesus’ upcoming death  that none of them processed  that Jesus also predicted He would rise from the dead. 
For that reason,  after Jesus’ crucifixion, none of His followers & disciples were waiting for the rest of the plan & promise to be fulfilled.   The truth is,  all the followers of Jesus had failed to believe  His promise.  Since they had rejected even the premise of Jesus being killed, His prediction of His resurrection  got lost in the darkness of their fear. 
 Sadly, many blessings that our Lord offers  get lost in the darkness of our fears.  I used to be deathly afraid of public speaking.  It was an excuse I used to avoid applying to seminary.  The darkness of my fears were blocking the blessings God has prepared in advance.  Now that I’m approaching retirement, I have to drown Satan’s  temptation  to fear running out of money. 
Those of you with children likely face temptations to fear what will happen to them as their years go by.   Fears of illness,  hospital stays,  nursing homes,  all of those bring darkness into the lives of God’s people.  If we allow that darkness to stay,  if we wallow in it & obsess over it,  it dampens  or even destroys  the blessings that our Lord offers to us  each day. 
If you follow the news,  no matter what the source,  you will be tempted to fear for your well-being.  In the political realm, there are elections coming up this year & many politicians will be telling you  literally  to fear for your life.  That darkness suffocates the blessings  our Creator has in store for each one of you. 
This morning, it is tradition for the pastor to say, “Christ is risen!”  In the tradition, you respond, “He is risen indeed!  Alleluia!”    But as your pastor,  I have to ask,  “Do you really believe that?”  If you say, “Yes,” then I’m going to ask, “Do you live that way?”   If Christ is truly risen from the dead  then you have nothing at all to be afraid of  ever – not the nursing home,  not the cancer diagnosis,  not the wayward children,  not even your own  suffering & death.   And in comparison,  to that list,  a fear of public speaking is downright  silly. 
So, when the women show up at the tomb on Easter morning, there’s a great earthquake, because “…an angel of the Lord descended from heaven.”   (Matthew 28:2 ESV)  “…for fear of him the guards trembled & became like dead men.”  (Matthew 28:4 ESV)    And what does the angel say to the women?   “…Do not  be afraid…”  (Matthew 28:5 ESV)    Jesus has risen,   as He told you so! 
Mary Magdalene & the other Mary  had come to see the grave of Jesus.    The angel invites them to see the almighty God’s  new creation  begun with Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.  Death has been conquered.  Perfect & eternal life is now available to all. 
Coming to the grave, the women were bringing the darkness of the past week along with them.  They expected to see a dead Jesus.  How often do we allow some darkness from our past to influence how we think, feel & act?  Instead, a messenger of God showed them the future!  The task of the angel was to enable the women to see something  they never anticipated. 
God’s Son knew His closest followers would fall away.  To the end (26:35) they denied that they would, but their denial didn’t matter.  They did fall.  Jesus was left alone & that was the plan.  He died all by Himself as the singular representative & summary of the human race.  Even the heavenly Father abandoned His Son. 
Jesus is dead.  The disciples are gone.  The authority of Rome & the prominent leaders of Israel are in place.   Everything looks hopeless for the followers of Jesus,  but the stage has now been set for God to act.  Then, a great earthquake happens. 
On easter morning, the Father undoes  His own  forsaking of His Son by raising Him from the dead.  Sin’s corruption is being reversed,  creation is being restored & the Creator’s authority over sin & death is being declared with finality.  We commonly preach that the good news is this: Jesus died for your sins.  But Jesus also rose from the dead  to grant us holy & eternal life.  The resurrection of Jesus is the goal & climax  of all  earthly history.  For the first time since Cain killed Abel  death is conquered! 
The resurrection of Jesus is the beginning of the new creation.  It all flows from this event,  & we are living in that time & with that knowledge.  By the Holy Spirit’s power  we are able to live  as if we believe that Jesus is risen from the dead.  By the Holy Spirit’s power  we are able to live  without being afraid. 
As the women approached the tomb that morning, living in the past,  living in their fear,  they had no idea how their heavenly Father would resolve their struggle.  As we live our lives, often in fear & in our past,  we too have no idea how our loving God will resolve our struggles.  However, living by faith,  living in faith,  we can be certain that He will. 
With that certainty  we can reject living in the darkness of fear.  Christ was crucified for everything we are afraid of.  Our guilt & shame have been buried,  & when we dig them up again,  Jesus will bury them again.  Easter does not make this life a walk in the park,  but it does give us a sure & certain hope  that can never be our permanent end. 
Jesus has overcome our fears.  He has forgiven our sins.  He has made our coming death temporary & weak.    Christ is risen!   He is risen indeed,  just as He said!   And the Word of God has told you so.  Amen. 
 
 
 
Christ be my teacher in age as in youth,  drifting or doubting  for He is the truth.  Grant me to trust Him;  though shifting as sand,  doubt cannot daunt me;  in Jesus I stand.        Christ be my Savior in calm as in strife;  death cannot hold me,  for He is the life.   Nor darkness, nor doubting  nor sin & its stain  can touch my salvation: with Jesus I reign.  Amen.  LSB 861:2-3.