The Resurrection of our Lord – April 5, 2026

Alleluia! Christ is risen! Praise to you and peace from God our Father,

from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

In the beginning, the earth was without form and void, and darkness was on the face of the deep.

There was no light, there was no life, only darkness.

Then God said, Let there be light, and there was light.

On the first day of creation, light overcame darkness.

And we will learn today that the same thing happened on Easter,

the first day of the week.

The light of Christ overcame the darkness of sin and death.

Not long after Adam and Eve were created, the tempter comes along and tempted

them to eat the forbidden fruit, and they ate.

And at that moment, darkness entered the world, the darkness of sin and death.

Adam and Eve even hid themselves in the garden, trying to, because they were

ashamed of their sin, Mm-hmm.

Unfortunately, we have inherited from Adam and Eve, from our parents,

the darkness of sin and death.

We do not love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind. We worship money.

We harbor anger.

We do not respect authority.

There is in our hands and eyes and hearts sexual immorality.

Out of our mouths come filthy talk and gossip.

We are jealous of what other people have and are not content with what God has given to us.

We want more stuff and more money.

The darkness of unbelief lives inside each and every one of us.

The wages of sin is death. And because we are sinful by nature, we will someday die.

We will return to the ground from where we came.

Freck and Johnston had inherited this sinful nature, and baptism was God's solution to her dilemma of sin.

God came to her rescue and saved her.

Baptism is not an option. It is a necessity for all nations.

Sin loves darkness. More crimes are committed at night than during the daytime.

That's because the evil people do not want their deeds to be exposed.

And we try to hide our sin. We'll lie and then we'll try to cover it up.

But nothing can be hidden from God. He knows all things.

Don't be like Adam hiding in the shadows. I'll be honest.

Confess your sin. Say, I am sorry to God, and also receive his forgiveness.

But also say, I am sorry to those whom you have offended.

Darkness cannot make itself light.

Neither can we poor sinners make ourselves righteous. Unbelief cannot create faith.

Death cannot produce life. We cannot fix ourselves. We need help.

We need Jesus to bring light and salvation into our dark world.

Jesus once said in John chapter 3, The light has come into the world,

John 3 · chapter mention

but men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

For everyone practicing evil hates the light, and does not come to the light,

lest his deeds should be exposed.

Jesus is light. He is the light of the world.

And through his ministry, he preached the truth. He healed many who were sick.

He performed many miracles.

And yet the religious leaders loved darkness rather than Jesus.

Their deeds were evil. They hated Jesus so much that they handed him over to Pilate to be crucified.

And when Jesus was on the cross, there was darkness between noon and 3 p.m.

The Gospel of Luke tells us that, quote, darkness came over all the earth.

The sun failed. The light did not rule over the darkness.

Now, this was no ordinary darkness. It was no eclipse.

The darkness was a sign of judgment.

And as Jesus hung there on the cross, he bore the darkness of our sin.

He bore the wrath of God.

And then he gave up his spirit and died.

The color for Good Friday is black, symbolizing sin and death.

But today is different.

We learn from our Holy Gospel for today that the women went to the tomb in order to anoint the body.

They left early in the morning, right after sunrise, on the first day of the week, Sunday.

When we got there, they noticed that the stone had already been rolled away.

And so inside, they saw an angel clothed in a white robe. A white robe.

And the angel said to them, You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who is crucified.

He is risen. He is not here. Just as light overcame darkness on that very first

day of creation, what we call Sunday,

So also Jesus overcame darkness on a Sunday, the first day of the week, today.

Christ rose from the dead. He is risen and the light shines out of darkness

and life conquered death.

Light has triumphed both at creation and also on Easter.

The color of Easter is white, symbolizing light and life.

St. Paul writes in 2 Timothy chapter 1, Jesus has, quote, destroyed death and

2 Timothy 1 · chapter mention

has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

Christ is the light of the world. He overcame the darkness of sin and death.

He brought light and life into our world. He rose from the dead and he lives

forevermore, never to die again.

Even today a Sunday the

first day of the week the light of Christ

comes to you Easter is

not a thing of the past but it is a thing of the present the

gospel comes to you this morning and it cast out your darkness Christ comes

to you now by means of the gospel bringing you life in the midst of death He

comes to you through the preaching of his word,

and he will also come to you by means of the body and blood here in the Lord's Supper.

Christ came to Brecken this morning by means of water and the word,

and salvation was freely given to her as a free gift from God.

She is now united to both Christ's death and his resurrection, according to Romans 6.

She is clothed with the robe of Christ's righteousness. the light of Christ

drove out the darkness of sin and death in her.

Today is a new day. Today is the first day of the week. Today is a day of the resurrection.

Good Friday has passed and Easter is now among us.

In Christ there is light. In Christ there is life and salvation.

In Christ there is the forgiveness of sins. The devil is defeated and sin is paid for.

Thanks be to God. The cross and the open tomb belong together.

You cannot have one without the other.

First there is Good Friday and then there is Easter. On Good Friday Jesus died

for our sins and then on Easter he rose for our justification,

the forgiveness of sins, God declaring us not guilty.

On Good Friday Jesus suffered the wrath against sin, but on Easter he frees

us from this wrath and has declared us to be forgiven.

The resurrection of our Lord means that the sacrifice and good Friday was sufficient.

And God proved that by raising his son from the dead.

The debt is paid. Therefore, life and salvation must follow.

Since darkness has been defeated, then the light of Christ must shine.

Jesus could not remain in the tomb.

He must rise from the dead, and he did.

Earlier, I mentioned that evil loves the darkness and hates the light That their

deeds are evil and they do not come to the light And so also today.

Resurrection of our Lord is attacked by the unbelieving world.

They claim that the tomb was empty and that Jesus' body was devoured by dogs.

Others claim that Jesus' body rotted away there in the tomb.

Others will say that the resurrection story was made up by the disciples to

put a happy ending to a sad day on Good Friday.

Others claim that Jesus appeared to be dead but was given a slow-acting sediment

on the cross, and he revived three days later.

He never really died, but he revived three days later.

Others claim that Jesus never rose bodily, but he only rose in our hearts.

But nothing is farther from the truth.

Christ rose from the dead according

to the scriptures, and we take the scriptures as our source of truth.

We take them at face value and we believe in what is written.

Jesus was even seen by over 500 people at one time and the eyewitnesses wrote

the resurrection account in the four gospels, in the epistles, and by Paul and others.

The apostles even gave up their lives in martyrdom for the sake of the truth.

They firmly believed that Jesus died and rose again, and they were willing to

stake their lives on it, even if it meant martyrdom.

They were so firm in what they believed in.

Christ had not been risen from the dead, then we really do not know whether our sins are forgiven.

And if Christ has not been risen from the dead, then we don't know if there is eternal life for us.

But Christ has risen from the dead, and therefore your sins are paid for.

You receive from God forgiveness.

And because Jesus rose from the dead, then you too will rise bodily on the last

day, and reign with our Lord forever in heaven.

Ephesians chapter 5 says, For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.

Ephesians 5 · chapter mention

Walk as children of light. In other words, you have a new identity. You are baptized.

You believe that Christ died and rose again for you. You are a light in a dark

world. So walk in love, joy, and peace.

Turn away from the works of darkness.

Stand firm against the, quote, rulers of this dark age, Ephesians 6.

Remain faithful to God's word. Let the light of Christ shine through you so

that others may see Christ in you by your words and actions.

Just as the women were to spread the news about the resurrected Christ,

so also tell others that Jesus died for us and he rose from the dead.

Invite them to come with you to church. Bring a neighbor, a friend,

or a family member to you.

On Easter morning is empty, but not the altar.

Here, the risen Christ is present,

giving you his body and blood for the forgiveness of all your sins.

Today is a new day. Today is a day of the resurrection.

Today is a day of light and life. Let me close with the words of Hebrews chapter 13.

Hebrews 13 · chapter mention

Now may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ,

the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant,

equip you with everything good that you may do his will.

May our Lord Jesus, who rose from the dead, equip you for every good deed to

the will of God the Father.

Thanks be to God. The Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia. Amen.