Easter Sunday 2024

Well, happy Easter.

Welcome.

My name is Dress Masterson, the pastor here at Redeemer.

And what we love to say every week is that we are more broken than we originally thought, but we are more loved by God and Jesus than we could dare to dream.

And that is what we talk about every week at our church.

We sing about, we celebrate, and again we remember it today.

And our hope is that this would bring great relief to your weary soul.

Jesus' body was buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea.

Joseph was a Jewish leader, well-off guy, secret follower of Jesus.

And Joseph wanted Jesus to have a proper burial.

And by asking for Jesus' body, a Jewish prophecy from hundreds of years prior comes true, Isaiah 53, 9.

And they made his grave, Jesus' grave, with the wicked and with a rich man in his death.

Although he, Jesus, had done no violence, and there was no deceit in Jesus' mouth.

Whether you're here because you believe, or you're here out of family, or your family made you come, or you're here out of tradition, this Jesus is captivating, pursuing us and loving us exactly as we are, not as we should be.

And even when he was hurt, even when we hurt him, he responds with truth and love.

We pick up the story of Jesus' death and resurrection in Luke 24.

A group of women close to Jesus are coming to this tomb.

They're showing up with spices because they expect to find a dead body.

They're going to prepare the body.

But the stone, this massive stone that they could never move, these ladies, is rolled away.

The soldiers are gone.

The tomb's empty.

We know the body wasn't stolen because Rome, the power of Rome, would have never allowed that.

These soldiers were there to prevent just that.

Nobody would have overthrown these soldiers.

And Jesus' most devout followers, they were in hiding.

They were holed up hiding somewhere.

But this empty tomb changes everything.

And even after the resurrection, Jesus shows himself as historical evidence.

Twelve, the Bible actually gives us 12 distinct moments where the resurrected Jesus shows himself to a person or a group of people.

This happened.

Luke 24, 1 through 7, our text this morning.

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared.

They found the stone rolled away from the tomb.

But when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

When they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.

In their fright the women bowed down their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, Why do you look for the living among the dead?

He is not here, but has risen.

Remember how he told you while he was still in Galilee that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and on the third day rise.

This year, 2024, is the year of the cicada.

Is anybody aware of this?

Nobody's aware of this.

It's the year of the cicada.

Remember the cicada, it's the bug during summertime, lives up in the trees, and makes that really loud sound in the southern U.S.

And you know, at first it's really charming and then it's just kind of irritating.

So it's a jumping bug, more than 3,000 species of the cicada.

Most cicadas, here's a cicada, most cicadas are annual, which means they live underground during the year, and during the summer they emerge from underground, they come out and they live in the trees, they live around us.

But there are seven species in North America that are not annual, they are periodic.

So periodically they emerge from underground, and either they periodically emerge every 13 years or every 17 years.

And this is the year of the cicada.

Exact timing, these two different periodic, 13-year and 17-year-old is gonna align, and they're gonna all emerge.

For years these have lived underground as nymphs, feeding on fluid from tree roots.

And then this is the year they emerge.

Fascinating, right?

Fascinating.

Billions will emerge.

Billions.

They'll be everywhere.

This hasn't happened in 221 years.

It hasn't happened since 1803.

It won't happen again until 2245.

It's called cicada mania.

The bug world is going nuts.

There are tens of people following this online.

A huge following.

Huge following.

We now know about cicada mania.

Now, what does this have to do with us?

It would be easy to be a cicada, especially if you're a periodic cicada and you're down there, under it, underground, and it'd be easy in your little cicada brain and heart to think, this is it.

I'm just always gonna be under it.

My story is over.

I will be here forever.

Nothing will change.

Then one day, the story changes.

You were in darkness, and then there's light.

Right?

There is crucifixion, there is death, and there is resurrection.

Point number one is this the resurrection gives us the promise of our redemption, not an impossible to-do list.

This is the difference between religion and gospel.

This is the difference between exhaustion of a performance-oriented faith life and a faith life that is by grace and in grace.

The story of Jesus' death and rising again was during the Passover feast in Jerusalem.

The Passover was an annual gathering for the Jews to remember the story of the Exodus, their people's people, ancient Israelites who were freed from slavery in Egypt.

In the Old Testament in Exodus, Exodus 12, we read the story where the Jews smeared the blood of a lamb on their doorpost when they were in Egypt.

And by doing that, God's wrath passed them over.

Passover.

So the people would sacrifice a lamb at this Passover festival to atone for their sins.

The blood of the lamb was used for the payment of sin rather than them paying the payment of their own sin.

And there was one problem with this: the endlessness of it.

It was redo after redo.

That's what a religious performance life is.

And that's why it's so exhausting.

It just feels like redo after redo.

But Jesus doesn't give us a redo, he brings us and gives us redemption.

Always his, always forgiven, always righteous, with an eternal redemption.

All these sacrifices were leading to Jesus, Hebrews 9.22.

Jesus entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves, but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.

Point number two is this we do not merit our victory over sin and death.

We receive.

We receive our victory over sin and death.

A month ago, my wife and I we went shopping at an antique market, which means she was shopping, and I was following behind her, bothering her.

This is how we shop.

And then eventually what she'll say is she will say, I love you, but I want you to leave me alone.

And then I kind of go do my own thing, and at this antique market, I was doing my own thing, and I saw this.

This is what I saw.

Which is amazing or horrible.

I don't know which one it is.

At best, it's like a really good gift, like a really funny gift.

At worst, at worst, the idea of Taylor Swift on a prayer candle, at worst, it would sound something like this.

I am not enough, but if I connect to her, I can feel like I'm enough.

If I only know enough about her, then I will be enough.

We all do it with something.

It's idolatry.

It's called idolatry.

If I have this, if I can get this, if I can earn this, then I will be forgiven, then I will be righteous, then I will be whole.

If I, then I.

We're looking to attach ourselves to something else beyond ourselves.

Because we all want a victory.

We all want a victory.

And how quickly we attach our hearts to a victory outside of ourselves because we were created to do just that.

And God gives us a secure victory in Jesus.

This is what we have in the resurrection.

God's victory over sin and death and given to us.

We have done nothing for it, and we don't have to add anything back to it.

It is fully and enough outside of us, sufficient and given to us.

We are the fans in the stadium, and somebody else wins the game for us.

This is why our relationship with Jesus does not have to have, and it has no anxiety, it has no fear, and it has no performance.

Listen to this.

Just after the resurrection, his disciples are afraid and hidden, and Jesus shows up.

John 20, 19 and 22.

On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked, where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, Peace be with you.

When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.

Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

Jesus said to them again, Peace be with you.

As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.

And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, Receive the Holy Spirit.

Point number three is this enduring peace for your heart is found in Christ's victory for you.

Two times in this passage, Jesus says to his followers, Peace be with you.

Our peace and our security comes because we are relieved of playing the game of self-justification.

The game of justifying your own worth or your own forgiveness, your own righteousness by the means of your own performance.

Justification before God, justification for you as a child of God was earned outside of you.

Already won by Jesus.

That is why, no matter what's going on in our life, no matter how we feel on a given day, how great of a Christian or horrible of a Christian, we can have peace.

Because Jesus is for us.

And we have the Holy Spirit in us, the very Spirit of God in us, working in our hearts, helping us to come alive to this astonishing love.

2 Corinthians 5, 17 and 18.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.

The old has passed away.

Behold, the new has come.

This is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.

The old is passed, the new has come.

How are we buried with Christ?

What does it mean for the old to have passed?

Three thoughts.

In Christ, the claim over you as separate or unfavored by God.

That is killed, and that is buried.

That's in Romans 6.

In Christ, the claim of sin's ownership over you, defining you, that sin, that mistake, that thing, that habit, that is killed.

And that is buried.

In Christ, the old way of slavery to sin as a way of life.

That is killed.

And that is buried.

That's Galatians 5.

Yet we're not perfect.

But a new life has begun.

We'd say the old Adam is dead.

But the story has changed.

A new resurrected life has started.

We have emerged from underground.

So what is this new life we have in Christ?

Eight thoughts.

Eight.

We come alive to our forever forgiveness in Jesus.

Ephesians 1, 7.

We come alive to Jesus' righteousness for us.

1 John 1 and 2 Corinthians 5.

We come alive to Jesus as our peace, Romans 5.

We come alive to Jesus as our friend.

We come alive to Jesus as our freedom from merit-based living.

Galatians 3.

We come alive to Jesus creating compassion in us and freeing us from judgmentalism.

Galatians 5.

We come alive to our position as godly in Christ.

And we're empowered toward godliness by Christ.

Titus 2.

And we come alive to Jesus as our resting place and our forever home, our eternal redemption.

John 14.

Back in February, the Detroit Mercy Titans, a college basketball team, they were winless.

0 in 26.

That's a season right there.

It was Valentine's Day when they got their first win.

I don't know which is worse to be the O in 26 team or to lose to the O in 26 team.

They beat IU Indianapolis 81 to 66.

Amazing.

Amazing.

One in 26.

Now, also in February, maybe you watched the UNC Duke game at UNC.

And UNC won, the place went nuts.

Everyone stormed the court.

Here's a couple pictures.

Everyone stormed the court.

Victory creates a response.

Now back to the Detroit Mercy Titans.

Finally a victory.

And victory creates a response.

One guy storms the court.

Just him, nobody else.

I don't know if anybody else is at the game at this point, but he storms the court.

Can you imagine being this guy?

Like 0-5, and you're going like, we'll get one.

Like, we'll get it.

0-8, 0-10, you're like, this is gonna be a rough season.

0-15, 0-18, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 losses in a row.

What's he thinking?

He's thinking I'm a cicada living underground.

I will never emerge.

Will this story ever change?

Then there's a victory.

And the victory is given to him, right?

He didn't do anything.

He didn't do anything.

He is storming the court.

He is victorious.

He is joyful.

He is grateful.

And the victory was outside of him and given to him.

So he is filled with joy and gratitude with his arms open wide.

Hands lifted high.

On Friday, we remembered the cross of Jesus.

All of our sin put upon him.

So we're fully forgiven.

All of his righteousness given to us, so we're fully righteous.

Fully his.

And today we celebrate not the death of a story.

It's not the end.

But Jesus rose from the grave to show there is victory over sin and guilt, victory over shame, victory over death, and we have redemption.

And we have a restoration to come in heaven.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

Hallelujah.

He's risen.

Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, thank you that this victory is yours, and thank you that we humbly come, helpless and needy, weary, tired, beat down, broken with open hands, and receive the wealth of the forgiveness we have in Jesus.

And we receive the wealth of the righteousness of Jesus.

And we receive the wealth of our identity as your children.

May we know that the old Adam in us is dead, and may we become alive to the resurrected life we have in you, not as perfected, but as loved, fully loved, fully redeemed.

May we trust all the more in this wonderful Jesus.

In his name we pray.

Amen.