Easter Sunday (A)
Matthew 28:1-10
April 5, 2026
Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
On Palm Sunday and Good Friday, you heard that Jesus’ prayer, betrayal, arrest, trial, suffering, and death are the details that gained the forgiveness of our sins. Each of these details is important because in the absence of just one, we’d be eternally lost. We know how the story ends, we’ve heard it repeatedly, and yet we left here on Good Friday in quiet somberness.
While the church is all decorated and we’re singing joyous hymns, the Gospel still has a gloomy start. Luke writes, “On the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared.” That’s not exactly a joyous beginning to Easter. The women who loved and served Jesus make their way to the tomb to serve Him one more time. Still grief-stricken, they have to anoint His body with spices to finish the burial process. As they walk in the breaking dawn, they’re filled with questions: who will move the stone for us, will the Romans even let us in, what do we do now that Jesus is dead, have we been wrong all along? If they had been following any of the false messiahs or prophets who came and went in those days, it would’ve been awful! Praise the Lord it wasn’t!
“Behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.” The terrifying earthquake on Good Friday that split rocks and tore the Temple curtain right down the middle signaled, in part, the death of Jesus. This earthquake signaled the resurrection of Jesus. It announced God’s judgment over death. Death has been condemned and rendered absolutely powerless! This terrified the Romans, but its message shakes us to the core with joy and excitement!
The angel and the earthquake terrified the Roman guards who, once they regained consciousness, ran away. The women got to hear the greatest sermon ever written. Just three words: “He is Risen!” The angels announced the salvation of mankind in the birth of Jesus and now they announce the salvation of mankind in the resurrection of Jesus! “He is risen!” An announcement that tells the world that all is well. No more grief, no more tears, no need for spices! The Savior lives!
Some have said that “He is risen!” is bad grammar because it should be “He has risen!” While it might be more proper, there is significance for the use of “is.” “Is” signifies a present reality which means that that Jesus wasn’t resurrected as a past event, He’s currently alive and active. Paul tells us that if Christ had not been raised from the dead, we’d be hopelessly trapped in our sins. “He is Risen!” means that we are free! Free from the chains of sin! You can have true joy. When Jesus rose from the dead, He wasn’t conquering His sins, His death, or His enemies. He’s conquering your sins, your deaths, your enemies, so His resurrection is your resurrection!
After the soldiers fled, the angel said to the women: “Don’t be afraid!” Angels say that because they’re bringing good news. Don’t be afraid, your child is the Son of God. Don’t be afraid to marry Mary, her son will save the world. Don’t be afraid, the Savior has been born in Bethlehem! Don’t be afraid, He is risen! The fear nots from the angels are for you too! You don’t need to be afraid of the risen Savior – He rises in mercy, not judgment. He comes from the tomb forgiving, not seeking retribution. He rises to give life, not take it. Don’t be afraid!
Boy that’s not easily done, is it? Fear is a common human emotion, isn’t it? We’re afraid of sickness and death, the sickness and death of loved ones. We’re afraid of the past, afraid of the present, afraid of the future. We’re afraid of what God thinks of us, sometimes we’re afraid that He doesn’t love us, and sometimes we worry that the suffering won’t end.
In the resurrection of Jesus, these fears are put to rest. Jesus tells us not to be anxious about anything, and why? Because He won! You don’t have to be afraid of anything: not sin, sickness, death, satan, enemies, hell, nothing! You may have noticed that the guards didn’t get to hear the angels comforting greeting. Those who reject Jesus, need to be afraid, need to fear God’s judgment. Satan and the denizens of hell should be afraid! Sin and Death should be afraid! But not you! Fear not for He is Risen for you!
After Peter lost the race to the tomb to John, he went in and saw “the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself.” This detail is important, and not because Mary taught Jesus to make His bed. The cloths lying neatly means that Jesus’ body wasn’t stolen, no matter what the High Priest said. Thieves wouldn’t have folded the face cloth or left other wrapping behind. The other thing we can see is that Jesus didn’t struggle with death or with the garments of death. Lazarus had to be unwrapped, not Jesus. He simply stood up and left the tomb.
Jesus promised the disciples numerous times that He would rise three days after dying, apparently none of them paid attention. Chances are Joseph of Arimathea didn’t remember this promise either so sharing his new tomb with Jesus was incredibly generous. He didn’t realize that its use was only temporary. Your grave is also only temporary! Your loved one’s graves are only temporary! Paul promises: “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.” Where is death’s victory? Where is death’s sting? Snatched away by Jesus who makes the graves of all believers temporary places of rest.
When the women approached the tomb and looked inside, they didn’t see Jesus waiting patiently for the stone to be moved. The angel rolled the stone away not to let Jesus out, but to show He’s already out! The angels told the women at the tomb: “Come, see the place where He lay.” Here is clear evidence that Jesus is alive! The angels aren’t lying, Jesus’ spot is empty, just linen wraps left behind. The women were so lucky! We’d never doubt again is we saw the empty tomb and heard the angels’ sermon.
Ah, but what does Jesus tell Thomas? “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” You are blessed with faith! Look with your eyes of faith and know that He is Risen for you! And when you’re struggling, whether it’s because of sin, the prospect of death, whatever may frighten you, or threaten to harm you, keep looking at the empty tomb. That empty spot where Jesus used to lay is proof that there is nothing that can separate you from Him, and there is nothing that He hasn’t defeated for you.
The angels told the women: “Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead!” Go tell the ones who abandoned Him and denied Him, who forgot what He promised and who were hiding behind locked doors. Tell them that He is Risen! As they ran in the morning light to deliver the incredible news to the disciples, something even more incredible happened. They ran into Jesus who said: “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” Did you catch the difference? The angels called them disciples; Jesus calls them brothers. Yes, they sinned, that’s why the Good News of the resurrection is for them! Go tell them that they don’t need to be afraid of God. They are more than forgiven, they are His brothers!
Hundreds of times in the New Testament believers are referred to as brothers. So, if the believers in the Bible are called brothers, what does that make us? We’re also His brothers! Don’t worry, ladies, you’re included in this term also! Despite our many, many sins, our risen Lord calls us brothers, that’s what His death and resurrection mean to us!
He is risen has been the proclamation of the church for 1993 years today. Every time we shout it in church or greet one another with it, we’re reminded of the hope and joy that we have in Christ. “He is Risen!” is a confession that the resurrection isn’t an event that happened in the past, it’s a present reality we experience in our lives today!
It’s Easter! The time for somber faces is over! It’s not a day of sitting in the pew with a grumpy face, well no day is a day for that, you know what I mean. Let us soak in the details of Easter: earthquakes and angels, empty tombs and folded linens, “Fear not!”, “He is Risen!”, and the Savior who calls us brothers. These are the details that give us Easter joy!
Amen
Now the peace which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen