Unexpected Easter Hope!

This sermon was preached by Pastor Ted Carnahan for the Resurrection of Our Lord (Easter Sunday) on April 20, 2025.

Grace, mercy, and peace be with all of you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

It's so good to see all of you here on this beautiful Resurrection Day, this Easter morning, where we worship the risen Jesus Christ. Yet, on that first Sunday morning, early in the day, the disciples who gathered at the tomb were not expecting to find Jesus risen from the dead. They were visiting because they thought they were finishing the interrupted preparations of Jesus' burial.

They went expecting not to find angels in dazzling white and an open tomb, but a tomb with a door firmly shut so that no one could come in. They anticipated a closed door with no access to Jesus. If they were able to roll back the stone—and these women weren’t sure they had the strength to do it—they knew that what they would find inside that cold tomb was the dead body of Jesus of Nazareth.

Yet, when they arrived at the tomb that day, they found that the stone had already been rolled away. God had already been doing the work of preparation. There were guards at the tomb to ensure no one disturbed the grave, but those guards were nowhere to be found. The door of the tomb was sealed with a wax seal to make it secure, but that seal had been disregarded, and the stone was rolled away.

When they arrived that morning, they looked into the tomb and what did they find? They found it empty. Grave clothes had been wadded up and put aside. Then two men appeared to them in dazzling white. It was a remarkable day because they arrived expecting one thing and instead found something quite different. They arrived expecting death, but they came away shocked and overjoyed, having found the good news of life.

Reasons for Gathering on Easter

People of God, we come to church on Easter for all kinds of reasons. Some of you are here because you're excited about church and have been doing this your whole lives. Some of you are here because you're trying to make somebody else happy. Some of you are here for your own reasons, and some of you don’t even know why you're here.

I am confident that all of you, no matter your reason for being here today, have come to the right place. Whatever your expectations might have been, here is what you will find. This world is set up to disappoint us. The world is not looking to make us happy. You all know through long, hard experience that the world is not your friend. It’s not cheering for you or rooting for you. This world deals in death, suffering, and pain.

Finding Life Instead of Death

If you've come expecting more of that disappointment, I have good news for you. Here today, something different is happening. We come to the tomb expecting death, but instead, what the women found that morning was life. We come expecting grief, pain, and loss, but instead, we find life, hope, and peace.

As we gather to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, we hold fast to something you might never have expected that morning—or even today. No matter the curves the world throws at you, no matter how tempted you feel in your heart or how burdened by sin or death you may be with the problems of this world—and there are many—God has given His answer to us in the form of an empty tomb.

The Message of the Empty Tomb

A tomb we expected to be full of death is now instead filled with good news. Radiant angelic messengers sitting by the tomb ask, "Whom are you looking for? Why do you look for the living among the dead?" Isn’t that what we often do? We look for life among things that are limited, finite, and fallible—things that will disappoint us and let us down.

We are all part of this world full of sin and death. We struggle against the forces of evil arrayed against us. Yet God wants good things for us, and He gives them to us in His Son.

Remembering God's Promises

The angels remind us, "Remember how He told you while He was still in Galilee, long before any of this ever happened, that He, the Son of Man, must be handed over to sinners, be crucified, and on the third day rise again." Remember what God has said to you in your baptism, where He declared:

• "You are my son, my daughter."
• "With you I am well pleased."
• "I give you my life and my peace."
• "I wash you with clean water."
• "I take your sin upon myself and give you the clean white robe of the righteousness of God in Jesus."

You are made clean and new in your baptism. Remember what the Lord has said to you. Yes, He must go to Jerusalem, but He will rise again.

Victory Over Death

Death is not the end for Jesus, and because that is true, death is not the end for you and me. Jesus Christ is victorious over sin, death, hell, and the grave with its cold, dank death. Because He has risen, because He is the Living One who lived long ago, we can trust and believe that as He lives, so also shall we live.

Do we hear this and disregard it as some of the early apostles did when they heard the women’s report from the tomb, dismissing it as an idle tale? Or do we lay claim to this promise—this unexpected gift that life emerges from death, that light emerges from darkness? Our expectations are flipped upside down.

Living in the Light of Resurrection

When we hold fast to the promise of God in Jesus Christ, it turns everything upside down. We are filled with heavenly blessing and grace. We get to live in a different way. We are filled with love and care for our neighbors. We even get to join in caring actions, being involved in caring for the lives of the people around us.

We have been given a great gift, so we get to share that gift of love, life, and light with others. May you, no matter what you expected this morning, hear something unexpected and beautiful: that the Lord Jesus Christ has risen from the dead.

Yes, Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!

In His name, may you have life. Amen.