Mark 16:1-8

Easter Sunday Sunrise Service

April 12, 2009

Mark 16:1-8 (New International Version)

The Resurrection

¹When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body. ²Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb ³and they asked each other, "Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?"

⁴But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. ⁵As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

⁶"Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. ⁷But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.' "

⁸Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.

WHEN THE GRAVE SHUTS US IN...GOD’S LOVE BREAKS THROUGH....

I. With a promise you can count on

II. With a promise you can share

He was perhaps the world’s greatest escape artist. In matters of minutes he could free himself from leg chains, handcuffs, jail cells, and wooden crates that were nailed shut. His most sensational feats were escaping from an airtight tank filled with water and escaping from a straight jacket while hanging upside down from a tall building. Who was this man? He called himself “Harry Houdini” and there seemed to be nothing from which he couldn’t escape, except one! Before he died, Houdini boasted that he would escape the grave. Houdini died in 1926 and he’s still in a grave in Appleton, WI.

It’s probably a sure bet that none of us will ever be sealed in an airtight tank or dangled from a tall building restrained in a straight jacket. But one day, unless the Lord returns first, all of us will be placed in a casket, sealed in a crypt, and buried under several tons of dirt. It’s not easy to talk about, but one day the grave will shut all of us in. And like Houdini none of us could ever, would ever come out of the grave if it were not for Easter. The reason we can say this is because Jesus, the Son of Man, was able to come out of his grave. Because his grave is empty, one day ours will be too. That’s why we celebrate Easter. Let us rejoice again in knowing that WHEN THE GRAVE SHUTS US IN...GOD’S LOVE BREAKS THROUGH I. With a promise we can count on II. With a promise we can share!

Speaking of promises, Houdini isn’t the only one who failed to keep his word. Think of the promises that we make. On our confirmation and wedding days we make sacred promises to be faithful to God and faithful to our spouse. When our babies are baptized we promise to bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord and to set a good example by our holy living. There are other promises that we make which may not be considered sacred, and yet are still important. It might be a promise to take the family on a vacation, or to take someone out to the park to fly a kite, or to stop gossiping about family, or friends, or fellow believer. It might a promise to control our anger, to stop using foul language, or to stop yelling at the kids or being critical of others. And how well do we keep those promises? More times than not, we fail to keep our promises. And in so doing, we not only let ourselves down but others too. It’s a sin against God.

That dear friends is why Easter is such a joy for us, because what happened on Easter is the clearest demonstration that God has given us a promise that we can count on. And what is that promise? The basic message of the Bible is God’s promise to take away our sin, and the Savior’s tomb has everything to do with that promise. To understand that, we need to remember why he died on Good Friday. On Good Friday God took the weight of the world’s sin, laid it on his Son’s shoulders, and let it crush the life out of him. That’s the work God had sent his Son to do. Now just imagine if Christ had not come out of that grave! What would that mean? It would mean that Christ was still dead, that isn’t a living Lord but a colossal failure, that he hadn’t taken our sins away, and that God had not kept his promise.

But my dear friends, the tomb is empty and what that means is that God’s promise to take away our sin is not some empty boast like Houdini’s or a promise like our mortal bodies lying broken in the dust of a grave. The fact that God permitted our Sin Bearer to leave the grave shows that he accepted the payment Christ made for our sins. If God kept that promise, then he surely will keep all of his promises to us. You can count on that.

Because this is so, think of what this means for us then when it comes to our graves. Like those women don’t we often go to the cemetery wondering the same thing? They approached the graveyard wondering who was going to roll away the stone so that they could get in. Our worry is who will open the grave so that we can get out! Because of Easter we don’t have to worry about that. Because Jesus came out of his grave we can be sure that he has the power to open our graves too, and that we will live again after death.

The great dilemma of life is how will we escape death and the grave. There is no escaping it. But there is a way to come out of it. God’s love found a way. Because Jesus lives we too shall live! That’s a promise you can count on!

II. Not only is our Savior’s empty tomb a promise we can count on, it’s a promise that we can share. That’s what the angel told the women on that first Easter morning. They had seen the empty tomb. The Savior had risen just as he had promised and the disciples were going to see him again in Galilee. All there was left to do was to share the good news.

That’s what we have the privilege of doing too. No the Lord hasn’t promised to see us in Galilee, but he has gone ahead of us into heaven and has promised that he will see us there one day. If Jesus kept the promise to rise from the dead and the promise to see his disciples again in Galilee, will he not also keep the promise that we will see and live with him forever in heaven? This is the promise we can count on and this is the promise we now have the privilege to share!

And we do share that promise, don’t we? Isn’t that why we have built this facility and come to worship in it? Isn’t this why we have a Sunday School, a Christian Elementary School, and Lutheran High School and send our children to them? Isn’t that why we send missionaries around the world? It’s all about sharing the promise of salvation that you and I and all people can count on.

Whenever Houdini came up with another great escape routine he would advertise all around and invite crowds of people to come and watch him escape. At that time Houdini was one of the most popular entertainers. Millions of Christians around the world will be gathering for Easter services this weekend. They will gather not to watch some great entertainer. No, they will come to worship and praise the only one who has ever conquered the grave--Jesus Christ. Because he rose from the dead our sins are forgiven and one day we will rise from our graves too. Dear friends, that’s a promise you can count on and a promise to share. Amen.