Living Among the Dead | Under Pressure

Special thanks to all of the music folks of this

church, the praise team, all of the extra music

that we have today. Thank you so much. It is

a wonderful Easter gift. So that question, why

do you seek the living among the dead, has always

been a question that I wish I was there to get

that firsthand. Getting courtside seats that

we read it in the Gospel of Luke when the women

are there. and these men in dazzling clothes,

every tense and purpose we could think they're

angels, that is fine, that they ask a very important

question. Because we have to remember the last

couple days. The last couple days for the women,

for the disciples, for the kind of network of

Jesus, that inner network, if you will, it has

been brutal. And just a week ago, We talked about

it, that Jesus is coming in on the foal of a

donkey, a horse, a ride of peace, right? Not

a war horse like the emperors would have done

or a Pontius Pilate would have done. We've talked

about that. And everything's great. Maundy Thursday,

it starts to take a turn. The Garden of Gethsemane,

it takes another turn. And then he's arrested.

He's beaten. He's flogged. He's lied about. Mistrial

after mistrial. And then that early morning Friday.

He's put on a cross. But now, and I always think

about what was that Saturday like? I don't know

what you all did yesterday, but there's a heaviness

to Saturday. Now, in a post -resurrected society

that we live in, we know what's coming. Barring

the Lord coming back yesterday, we knew that

we were going to come and celebrate Easter. We

get that every year. But there's still a wait.

But for this moment, everything seems silent.

The cross had done its work. The body was laid

in a tomb. The stone was rolled away. And what

do we see? We see these women following Jewish

burial practices. They were going to be let in

just to put the anointing spices and oils and

perfumes on the body. Because at that fourth

day, it would have been a legitimate death. Now,

some of you go, wait, how did I know that? You're

all deep biblical scholars that have gone to

Lazarus. He has been dead in there four days

because it was a legitimate death. Now, I don't

know why. I think on day two, you're just as

dead as day four, but that's not for me to figure

out. But understanding that they were... Just

doing the work they thought they needed to do.

Is it a lack of faith, a lack of understanding?

Who knows? But all that was left was to move

on, right? Jesus is gone. We saw him die, right?

Joseph of Arimathea, we got to use his tomb.

The body's in there, and now we wait. They didn't

have any answers. There was no resolution. The

movement that they were all excited about with

Jesus, that movement of a mere seven days ago,

seemed to be gone. It's okay to be in that space,

friends. I'm even getting that space if I were

them. Because that is the human perspective.

Friday looked absolutely final. I don't know

how more final you get when you die on the cross.

When the spear is stabbed into his side. And

his body laid down. Saturday felt empty, but

then something happens. So we're going to look

at kind of specific pieces of this account this

morning. First is the stone. The stone moved,

but not for Jesus. Luke tells us what happened.

On the first day of the week at early dawn, the

detail is not accidental. The first day at dawn

means something new. Like in Genesis, when God

spoke light into darkness, now again light is

going to break into a dark world. And notice

who comes. The women. Faithful, present, still

grieving. They come with spices, prepared not

for resurrection, but for decay. They are not

expecting victory this morning. They're expecting

death. And then they find the stone rolled away

from the tomb. Luke doesn't tell us how it happened.

No drama, no explanation. Because the point is

not how the stone moved, but what is revealed.

And when they enter, what does Luke tell us?

They did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

Not just Jesus. Luke calls him the Lord. Even

in death, he is still Lord. Death did not dethrone

the Savior of the world. And the empty tomb does

not immediately explain everything. Right? They

don't get a whole lot of answers here. There's

that tension and that pressure comes back. Because

the tomb is empty, just that alone raises a bunch

of questions, doesn't it? What kind of questions?

Just don't go super deep with it. What questions

come for these women, or for us if we're there,

when we see that the body is no longer there?

What questions arise? If you're new to us, I

ask questions, we get a little back and forth

going, so it's not just me talking to you for

45 minutes, just kidding, in half an hour. What

questions would arise? Go simple with it. Who

took it, right? Like, he's gone, we saw him die.

Who took the body? Any other questions? That's

basically it. Good. You passed. That's basically

it. But then another question comes. A question

that disrupts everything. What does Luke tell

us? Let's work with the text this morning. Luke

tells us they were perplexed. I don't know how

many times we use that word actually in our lives,

right, to be perplexed about something. Someone

else give me a definition of perplexed. When

you think of the word perplexed, what comes to

mind? Puzzled, okay. Confusion, absolutely. My

wife said it. She looks at me perplexed a lot,

don't you? Well, you didn't have to answer that

quick, but okay. Anything else? Confusion? Ooh.

Intrigued. To be perplexed is to be intrigued.

I think, Katie, that's really good. I think we

lean in on that fact. They're intrigued. They're

confused. They're disoriented. Their categories,

the things that they had that they planned to

do isn't going to work. They brought spices to

bless a body. The body's not there. What do we

do? Because resurrection doesn't fit human expectation.

Though we see churches filled today. If I'm being

honest, more than they're filled any other Sunday

that ends in Y. They're filled more today for

something that we don't fully understand. Because

resurrection is not a human expectation. Why

is that? Why is resurrection not a human expectation?

Don't go deep with it. Thank you, Henry. Because

we don't do it, right? Now, Henry, after his

surgeries, is now part bionic, but he still can't

resurrect. None of us can resurrect. Henry's

more like the Terminator than anything else as

far as resurrection. I'm done with that, Henry.

Don't worry. We'll leave it there. But understand,

we don't understand resurrection because we can't

have it. We don't resurrect. So do you see where

the tension really comes? The human expectation

of the moment to everything that God is intending

to happen. The angels speak. Why do you seek

the living among the dead? They don't say Jesus.

They say the living. That's who he is now, right?

He's the living Jesus. The living one. The question

exposes something way deeper. They were not wrong

to come. They were not wrong in what they expected.

They came to honor a body, good Jewish tradition,

but the body's no longer there. They came prepared

for death, but death no longer has the final

authority. And if we're honest, that's us. In

our reality, in our humanness, that is us. We

don't reject Jesus. We just expect less from

him at times. We believe in him, but still look

for places that are dead to live. Let me say

that again. We still look for places in our life

that should be dead. We look at those things

to live in our lives. It's called sin. We go

back to it time and time again. We still live

as though sin has the final word. We still carry

burdens that have already been lifted. Today

is the great burden lifting day, yet tomorrow

we'll lean right back into it. That's why the

declaration of what they say is huge. He is not

here, but he has risen. Not might be, not will

be, not I think that's what happened. No, it

is certain, it is final. And the angels say,

remember how he told you. Now, if I'm one of

the women and I hear that, there's a whole mix

of emotion, isn't there? Whole mix of emotion.

They came to do a job. Now you've got two people

in dazzling pajamas talking to me, right? They're

asking me questions that I should know the answers

to. But I'm probably still very just stunned.

They say it with such certainty. And then they

put it back on us. Remember how we told you.

Because at the end of the day, they should not

have been surprised. They should have seen this

as fulfillment. Yet, they miss it. Jesus had

already said, the Son of Man must suffer, must

be crucified, and on the third day rise. The

word must matters here. It had to happen. It

means that this was not accidental. This was

not reactive. This was not chaotic. This was

the plan that God was unfolding since when? Let's

go a little more specific. Let's go a little

more specific. Nope. The plan unfolds from when?

I'm looking for a specific place. Genesis chapter

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

3, right in the garden. This is exactly what

Genesis chapter 3 starts. This is a process that

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden.

Genesis chapter 3 now unfolding. This is something

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

that these women, the disciples, would have heard

over thousands of years. This is the Messiah.

Yet they act like they've missed it. This is

everything actually coming together. And now

we see the change in the women, don't we? What

does Luke tell us? The remembering. They remember

his words. And this is where Easter makes our

faith come alive. And they remembered his words.

So they just got kind of punked out a little

bit by these angels. Now they're kind of perplexed,

confused. Now they're like, oh yeah, right? I

liken that to after the 19th time I tell my boys

to do something or I tell them to remember something,

then all of a sudden you see that, right? That,

oh, dad was right. It doesn't happen often, right?

It's mostly mom. But understand, whoa, now they're

remembering. Now they're looking back. Now it's

starting to make sense. And that's the turning

point. Not the empty tomb, not the angels. It's

the word. They had heard it before. But now they

understand. Because resurrection reframes everything.

They had a certain understanding. And they thought

he was dead. They thought it was it. They thought

the silence had won. They thought that they were

going to have to stay in hiding. Who knows what

this meant politically. All of these things.

But now it's becoming clearer. Friends, we are

literally seeing your faith and my faith walked

out. This is how we come to faith. It's not built

on emotions first, not built on sight alone,

but built on remembering, trusting the Word of

God. That's why the Word of God is so powerful.

As the Heidelberg Catechism reminds us, faith

is the sure knowledge and wholehearted trust.

in what God has revealed to you and for me. Pastor,

what has he revealed? Why are we here? He revealed

that he has the final say. And in that moment,

their faith begins to awaken. And then they respond.

True faith has a response. Right? If you are

brought to that faith, what we call in the Reformed

tradition, we call that the regeneration of the

heart. When that faith, all of a sudden the scales

on your eyes fall and you go, now it starts to

make sense. There is always a response. I don't

know anybody that has ever been brought to the

cross, brought to the tomb and seen the resurrection

for their life and go, neat. No. This is life

changing. This means everything. For the believer.

The response, too good to be true, right? They

run to tell the disciples. I love that. They

run, right? This is the first kind of missionaries

of the gospel. What are they doing? They're going

to tell about the resurrection of Jesus. What

is that called? Anybody? The good news. This

is the good news of Jesus. We don't need to take

him all through the systematic theology. We don't

need to take him to Bible class. Those are all

good things, but the mere fact that they now

see that the tomb is empty, they are remembering

his words and they're going to tell somebody.

This is exactly what you guys could have done

this morning in your neighborhoods. This is exactly

what you could tell your family when you're having

your ham or whatever it is you eat, right? You

could say, Jesus isn't in the tomb. He's alive,

and I have new life in him. Guess what you get

to be? Missionaries. That's exactly what a missionary

does. They go back to the word of God. A missionary

is not good because they have their own words.

Missionaries are good because they have the word

of God. But even then, oh, the disciples. And

if I'm being honest, oh, Jim, oh, insert your

name here. These words seem like an idle tale.

Maybe you've been there in your life. Maybe you

get excited about your faith. You want to tell

somebody about it. And they look at you and go,

you're nuts. How can you believe that? I need

evidence. All the things. They call it nonsense.

Too good to be true. Too impossible to believe.

And let's be honest, some of us, maybe all of

us, we've had that moment in our life. Maybe

we're still there. Maybe we go, this sounds okay.

I mean, I have a lot of fun on Sundays, but I

don't know about every other day. I don't know

about this Jesus thing. And maybe it's because

you look at the church and how we make a mess

of it time and time again. Maybe you look at

pastors or preachers, Bible study leaders or

whatever and go, they're not that special. What's

so great about this? Well, let's get there. Resurrection

doesn't fit our categories. Dead people don't

rise. Graves don't open. Unless Jesus is who

he says he is. Isn't that the question we've

all had to wrestle with? And maybe here you're

young in faith or you don't have faith yet. You're

still wrestling with it. That's the question,

isn't it? Is this Jesus who he said he was? Because

on the other side of that answer is eternal life.

And the thing that keeps us from that answer

more times than not is ourselves and our desire

to control, to want to have the final say. But

hear me again. Dead people don't rise. Graves

don't open. But this Jesus is who he says he

is. I love Peter's response. He hears it. It

makes him confused. And what does he do? I got

to see it for myself. Let's be honest. That's

all of us, isn't it? I got to see it for myself.

I need my own experience here. I can't come to

faith because of these other people's experience

or because of that movie or whatever or that

sermon. I get it. I need it for myself. So what

does Peter do? He runs. He stoops down. He looks.

He sees. And what does Luke tell us? He leaves

marveling. Wait a minute. Isn't this the same

Peter that literally three nights ago? He denied

this guy three times. I am not with that man.

I don't know that man. For the love of me, I

don't know it. I don't know him. The cock crows,

he's now denied his rabbi three times. Meaning,

he doesn't have a rabbi anymore. Because when

a disciple denies three times their rabbi, that

relationship is severed. That rabbi gone. That

disciple orphaned. Isn't that all of us? Haven't

we done that maybe even more in this last week?

Denied that God exists, deny our relationship

with Jesus, go the earthly way. But Peter sees

and leaves marveling. Not fully understanding

yet, but knowing something has changed. Knowing

that this isn't the norm. Guess what? Jesus isn't

the norm. And that's what resurrection changes.

This is where everything starts to come together,

right? Because Easter is not just about an empty

tomb. It is about what the empty tomb means for

you, for me, for the world. It means three things

this morning. Take this with you, friends. That

sin is truly paid for. Your sin is paid for.

Now, I know exactly what you're thinking. Cool.

Right? My sin's paid for. So what are we going

to do with that? Let's be honest. What do we

do with that? Some brave souls respond. What

do we do? What? What was that? We abuse it. So

Katie's going right there. We're not even going

to flirt around this, right, Katie? We're going

to go right there. Hey, my sin is forgiven. So

what do I get to do? Sin more. Nope. Paul calls

that out. Should we continue to sin that we might

get heaped on more grace? Absolutely not. Good

Friday declares it. Easter confirms it. If Jesus

stays in the grave, we wonder, was he enough?

I guess not. But the resurrection is God's answer.

Yes, your sin paid in full. Done. Second thing,

death is no longer final. For all of you type

A's that want to know and control everything

about your life, and I'm looking at the mirror

first, death is no longer final. The grave is

no longer the end because Christ walked out of

it. Death is not removed yet. It is defeated.

The power of death is broken. The future is sealed.

And this should be all of the hallelujahs, all

of the right hands raised amens, right? Yet we

still freak out about death. And I'm not saying

you shouldn't. Death is a weighty thing. We look

back at this last year and think of all the people

we've lost. How for some it's going to be the

first Easter without that person. But isn't there

great hope and peace in knowing they're with

the risen Savior? Well, I just, I don't know.

It makes me uncomfortable. I don't like to think

about death. I think I'm going to live forever.

I love you enough to say you're not. Austin Clarks

loves you enough to say he's in med school. Do

we live forever? No. We can prolong it. Insert

Henry in new parts. But understand, at one day,

it's going to be done. It's going to be final.

Finite. Done. Over. End scene for all of us.

I don't know about you, I would much rather hold

on to a hope that there is something after this

life. And guess what? That's exactly what the

empty tomb shows us. Death is defeated. The power

of death is broken. Our future in Christ is sealed.

So this should teach that final thing, that Jesus

is who he says he is. He's not just a teacher,

he's not just a prophet, not just an example,

but he is Lord, he is risen, and he is victorious.

Amen. He is your king, he is my king. So what

do we do with this? Munster Church, friends,

family, online, let's stop standing at the tomb.

The women came expecting death. They left encountering

life. And the question for us is this. Are you

still standing at the tomb? Are you still trying

to figure it out? Are you still expecting defeat?

Where are you living in your life where you think

Friday had the final say? Because guess what?

It didn't. The stone is rolled away. The grave

is empty. The king is alive. Everything has changed.

I'll make it super simple, and then we'll get

out of here. Pastor, what's changed? Death no

longer has the final say in your life. Death

no longer has a final say in my life. That gives

me a reason to live because I'm not waiting on

death. Friends, stop standing at the tomb. Everything

is changed and go bring that change to a world

that desperately needs it. Final declaration

as we go into a brand new week. He is not here.

He has risen just like he said. And because he

lives, so do I, so do you, so do we. So let's

get out there and tell.