Matthew 28:5 The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know
that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.  He is not here; he is
risen, just as he said.

 There are some things that you expect in the world.  One of the things
that I have grown to expect is that at every Christian holiday there will
be a plethora of shows on TV hyping everything but what the holiday is
truly about.  At Christmas time you can expect to see show after show on
Santa, Rudolf, the Grinch and Frosty.  At Easter you can expect to see
show after show promoting Peter Cottontail, easter eggs, and the joy of
spring.  It's just the way it is.
 But I think the thing that bothers me most are those "quasi" religious
shows and movies that are shown.  You know, the shows supposedly on the
Bible but you get the feeling that the directors didn't really bother
reading the Bible.  This year a new version of the Ten Commandments was
produced.  It was pretty horrid.  They worked in a few miracles here and
there but the end result of watching that movie was that you thought
Moses was a bit loopy and Moses' idea of god was cruel, self-centered and
fairly uncaring.  And I wasn't the only one who thought the movie was
that way.  In the Saginaw paper the review of the movie was anything but
kind.  Just to give you a idea of how he reviewed it consider this line.
"To take a poetical tale of the supernatural and try to make it
"realistic," as has been done here is to diminish it, to strip it of its
power.  A burning bush on film is just a burning bush, and a talking
burning bush is going to be something close to silly."  Not only didn't
he think the movie was any good but it is clear from his words that he
doesn't think the Bible is any good either.
 There are, of course the myriad of films on Jesus himself shown at this
time.  Many of them do a decent job of showing the crucifixion and death
of Jesus but all too often that's where they stop.  Even the movie "The
Greatest Story Ever Told" only hints at something after the death of
Jesus which is pretty typical.  It is this particular facet of the movie
industry that I find the most disturbing.  To me, if you are going to
tell the history of Jesus you must include and highlight as the pinnacle
of his history the resurrection from the dead.  Very few do it.
 Thanks goodness we aren't the movies and thank goodness we don't follow
the world's way of thinking in this area.  We know that the history of
Jesus is made or broken in this one area.  The message of the
resurrection is the sole difference between Jesus the philosopher and
Jesus the Son of God and Savior of the world.  It is that important.
Let's then, on this day of resurrection remind ourselves of the
awesomeness and wonder of this truth of Jesus.  Our theme will be: DO NOT
BE AFRAID.  1st. He is Risen.  2nd. It's just as He said.  3rd. Eternal
life is ours.
 I can only imagine the doom and gloom that the women heading to the tomb
of Jesus felt on this morning.  It was the women (and only one disciple)
who had been eye witnesses of Jesus' death.  They saw him dying.  They
heard his voice as he proclaimed, "It is finished."  But how they must
have wondered at those words and what they meant.  I'm sure that at first
they thought he was speaking about his life, how it was now over and
done.  Yet in a little while Jesus would then say, "Father, into your
hands I commit my spirit."  It was then, and only then, that we are told
that Jesus bowed his head and died.  The grief and pain of that moment
for the women surely weighed heavily upon them.
 Now here it is Sunday morning.  The women came to minister further to
Jesus' body, came to apply more spices and do a better job of burial than
had been hastily done on Friday evening.  They wondered about moving the
stone and evidently had no knowledge that a Roman guard had been posted,
a guard that probably would have prevented them from opening the sealed
tomb.
 But they didn't have a problem.  Didn't have a problem because of what
happened.  There was an earthquake, spoken of in Scripture as being a
"violent earthquake."  I have no doubt that the entire town felt it.
There was an angel or angels who appeared.  The appearance was so awesome
and fearful that the Roman soldiers feinted away.  That always amazes me,
to think that two, no doubt battle hardened soldiers, used to seeing and
facing the horror of the battlefield, feinted at the purity, might and
awesomeness of the angels.  That says something about the majesty of
God's creatures doesn't it?  Those angels rolled back the stone closed
over the tomb, sat on that stone and greeted the women.  Their greeting
is some of the most wonderful words ever heard.  "He is not here; he has
risen, just as he said."
 Look at those first two phrases for the wonder that they are.  The
angels clearly testify that Jesus, the one crucified, Jesus, the one dead
on Friday was not present at the tomb.  He was gone.  And then to make
sure there was no lack of understanding, the angels make it clear that
Jesus is gone, not because someone stole his body, not because of
trickery and deceit, but rather because Jesus had risen.  Jesus had come
back to life!  Jesus had awakened from death.  Jesus was alive and
living, and they informed the women, Jesus they would soon see.
 I want you clear on this moment of history.  Jesus has actually and
physically come back to life.  It is what Jesus said was going to happen.
 It is what God's Word had promised would happen.  The whole message of
Jesus...the whole worth of Jesus...the whole life and story of Jesus thus
pivots on this one clear moment and its truth.
 Consider God's Promises.  Like the promise in Isaiah 53:10,11: "Though
the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and
prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be
satisfied."  Those verses are speaking of Jesus.  But, if Christ has not
been raised, was the prophecy just a pipe dream?
 Or what about Psalm 16?  "I have set the LORD always before me. Because
he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad
and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will
not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay".
Clearly another prophecy of promise about Jesus.  But, if Christ has not
been raised God's Word is nothing more than a lie, a horrid lie not
worthy of hearing.
 Jesus himself said, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in
three days."   Again Jesus said more than once, "The Son of Man is going
to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three
days he will rise."  Empty promises?  Vain boasting?  The rantings of a
mad man? If Christ has not been raised that's what these words are:
empty, vain, mere rantings.
 It is these truths of God's Word that help us to understand why the
angels said what they did.  They said, "Just as he said."  Either Jesus'
words are true or he is nothing more than a con man.  Either God's Word
is true or it is nothing more than the pious ideas of men.
 The good news, no, the great news, is that Christ Jesus is alive.  What
God's word promised has come true.  What Jesus himself promised has come
true.  All of this to show that Jesus is the Son of God and our Savior.
The word says, "[Jesus Christ] was declared with power to be the Son of
God by his resurrection from the dead."  It is in the resurrection that
we realize Jesus is our Savior.
 More than that.  We realize the truth of all that he said.  He said,
"Because I live, you also will live."  That doesn't mean much unless you
realize that Jesus said it before he died and came back to life.  That's
when you realize the promissary nature of the words.
 Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in me
will live; even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will
never die."  Again, the resurrection of Jesus makes these words awesome.
Because they tell us that Jesus is going to conquer death and give that
gift of eternal life to all who believe in him.  His resurrection is the
declaration of his victory!
 In the book of Romans God's Holy Spirit leads us to grasp the point of
Jesus death when he has Paul write, "He was delivered over to death for
our sins and was raised to life for our justification.  Therefore, since
we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God."  Jesus has
won our peace.  Jesus has given us the gift of forgiveness and eternal
life.  All of this declared and testified to in the resurrection of
Jesus.
 In another Easter sermon that I read recently the pastor spoke of the
resurrection in a way that I thought was very good.  He said, "On Easter
morning, the Father issued us a receipt for the payment of his Son."
That's it.  The resurrection of Jesus is the receipt saying our sins are
forgiven in Jesus.  It is a receipt that helps us to understand that when
Jesus said, "It is finished" he was not talking about his life but rather
was telling us that the sins of the world had been paid for.  Paid for in
full.  Paid for by his suffering and death.  Paid for each and everyone
of us.  And now because of this receipt day we know we have peace with
God.
 Do you realize what this peace means?  It means I have no fear in this
world, no fear of living or dying, no fear that things will go my way or
won't, no fear because God is on our side.  When I die in this world, I
enter the kingdom of heaven to be with Jesus forever.  Where is the fear
in that?  Whatever happens in this world, I believe that Jesus is always
working for my good.  No matter what happens it is for my good.  Where is
the fear in that.  And should I make any mistakes, more realistically,
when I make mistakes or commit sin the Savior Jesus is right there to
offer forgiveness and lead in the path of righteousness.  Here is the
true impact of this peace, the peace we have in Jesus.
 What awesome and wonderful words those angels spoke to the women on that
morning of victory.  They are still awesome words.  Awesome because those
words still ring true today.  Jesus is alive.  Jesus Christ has risen
from the dead.  Jesus Christ is our God, our Lord, our Savior from sin.
You and I have peace, true peace with God.  The victory is won in Jesus.
Won for us.  Thank God for his day!  Amen.