April 5, 2026

Alleluia Alleluia Christ is Risen. He is Risen Indeed. Alleluia!

Wow, what a day. Alleluia, Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed. Alleluia! This day is incredible. This day is different. It’s got a spark unlike any other day. It’s a spectacular day. In fact, Easter is the most spectacular day in the history of the world. Really! It is. Think about that. The Son of Almighty God left the heavens to be born of a virgin Mary and to be human being, to be a baby. He then lived a perfect life. Not one single sin did He ever commit. But then, He died on a cross for our sins. He died for those who sinned against Him. Then, Jesus three days later, breaks the bonds of death and rises victorious on that Easter day. Oh what a day. A remarkable day, a spectacular day, we deserve damnation, we deserve the worst place, to go to hell. Not only have we been delivered from hell but we have been given heaven because of what Jesus did. We not only don’t have to go to the worst place, we get to go to the best place, we get to go to heaven. That is spectacular, that is remarkable and now we have been given a message that literally, can change lives.  That message can soothe hearts and souls. That message can give eternal life and we share it in our witness of our Christ. That is remarkable, that is spectacular because of Easter.

As you were listening from that account from Matthew, did you notice how that day began? It began, with an earthquake. Not just any earthquake. Matthew said it was a violent earthquake. Now there’s a way to start the day, huh? I don’t know if you’ve ever felt an earthquake. I have. Earthquakes can be remarkable, they can be spectacular even.  Shake, rattle and roll. Earthquakes have a way of shaking us, of moving us, of changing us.

There are two earthquakes on record that stand out as the most dramatic, the most life changing to have occurred. Both are recorded here in Matthew’s gospel. And they both occurred around 33 AD. They happened just 3 days apart. The first happened after Jesus just breathed His last. Matthew says “the earth shook and the rocks split, tombs broke open and then the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life, they came out of the tombs and after Jesus resurrection,” That was the first earthquake. The second happened just three days later. You heard that in our text for today, Matthew 28:1-2, “After the Sabbath had dawned on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And 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 heavens split apart so the angel could come down and the earth splits apart with an earthquake. I mean, the universe is literally shaken to the core. Two great earthquakes mark the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is as if God is announcing this great and awesome thing that is being done by Jesus Christ by shaking the earth. First in His great wrath and then in His great joy! It’s remarkable. It’s spectacular! And the meaning behind those earthquakes has a way of shaking us, and moving us, and changing us.

Matthew reports that there were several women who were present at the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Among them were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James (or as Matthew calls her the “other” Mary). They felt that earthquake at Jesus death. Now they felt the earthquake as they approached His tomb. And angel comes, Matthew says. That angel is God’s messenger of good news on Easter day and He’s shining bright and His clothes are white as snow. That splendor of the angel and the earthquake and the open tomb is too much for the guards. The bible says they shook and became like dead men. But the angel says to the women, do not be afraid, do not fear. If you remember that is the same greeting Gabriel gave to Zechariah. The same greeting given to Mary, the same greeting given to Joseph. Fear not. Do not be afraid. When the angels appeared to the shepherds in the Bethlehem fields, guess what their message was? Fear Not! Do not be afraid, I have good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Boy what good news of great joy the angel had, that’s remarkable, that’s spectacular. I know that you are looking for Jesus who is crucified, He is not here in this grave, He is risen just as He said. That’s remarkable. That’s spectacular. It is a soul shaking, mind changing, spirit moving earthquake, for those women. And not just for those women.

The remarkable, spectacular message of that angel says not only has history been changed but our history has been changed. The message of the angel is that God’s promises all come true, every single one of em. He really does love us unconditionally, as He promised. He really is going to keep us eternally, just as He promised. He really is going to walk every step of our lives with us faithfully, just as He promised. The message of the angel says God’s promises are absolutely true. We can believe em. We need to listen to that message of the angel. He speaks the truth of the resurrection.

But Mary did not listen to the message, at least not at first. Ya know, can’t really blame her, over what they all had gone through over the last number of days. But the angel shared the message of the gospel that Christ is risen, He is not here Mary. He defeated death, the devil is done. This is remarkable Mary, this is spectacular Mary! But the message of the angel did not sink in right away. John tells us Mary stands outside that tomb, weeping. She went to anoint her dead Lord and found Him….gone. Jesus is not only dead for her, but she can’t even find His body. And the thought that things were more spectacular than she could imagine that Jesus was not dead anymore, that never even occurred to her.

Ya know I think grief has that way, it sticks and Satan tries to part our faith from us. And it’s not just grief, other things do that too. Heartaches do that. The pains of life in this sinful world. Life can be so very hard sometimes. And it pulls us and it deafens us to that spectacular message of the angel. To the wonderful promises of God. Sometimes we are so wrapped up in our own story of our own lives that we forget that we know the ending to that story. It’s a remarkable ending. It’s a spectacular ending! You and I, because of Easter, have heaven. We have salvation, we have eternal life. St. Paul say our present sufferings are not even worth compared with the glory that will be revealed in us. Easter makes all the difference, because with that resurrection, life defeats death. Life interrupts death and the angel bears witness to that fact. What that means there is nothing that Jesus cannot pass through to get to you. Suffering and pain? Jesus can overcome that. Mourning and grief? He brings His peace and comfort. Stubbornness? no problem for Jesus. Deep seated resentment? That can’t stop Him from getting to you. Sinful preoccupation with the things of this world? He will not be stopped. How about a rock hard heart as thick as Joseph’s tomb? Well He did it once, He can do it again. All those things cannot stop Jesus from getting to you. Like no rock could keep Him inside of there. He comes to you to roll away your suffering, your grief, your stubbornness, your preoccupation with earthly things, even a rock hard heart. So you may know His love for you. So you may know His forgiveness for all of your sins. So you may know His peace for you. His salvation for you. His heaven for you.

The tears of Mary, well they didn’t last very long. She was met by the living Lord and He simply says her name….Mary. That’s all it took and she falls in worship (talk about an earthquake for Mary). Jesus says go tell My brothers. Tell them about the resurrection. Jesus just echoes what the angels already told the ladies, go quickly and tell His disciples Christ is risen from the dead. And with that, Matthew says they hurried away from the tomb. That spiritual earthquake shook them and moved them, it changed them. So they went with great speed to tell the good news that JC had risen from the dead. There’s a sense of urgency in the text. Ya can’t sit around with news like that, One who was dead is now alive. The grave has been conquered, the devil is defeated and we are victorious in Christ.

When you have news like that, ya gotta share it. Go quickly, with speed. Tell His disciples. They put on running shoes, racing to tell everyone the news.

I gotta tell ya, those ladies are not the only ones called to share the news. They are not the only ones shaken and moved and changed by the resurrection by Easter. We have all been called to go with great speed and share that good news. To be runners, racing to tell everybody that Jesus lives. Because the truth is people are dying. The fact is, those who die, who don’t know Jesus die in vain. Every second of every minute or every day people are dying and going to hell because they don’t know Jesus. Acts 4:12 “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” John 14:6 Jesus says “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.” Oh we’ve gotta go with great speed be/c people are dying and people are hopeless without the risen Christ. But we have seen Him and we know Him and we’ve rec’v that good news and we know what it means. The grave has been conquered and the devil has been defeated. We are victorious in Christ. When you got news like that, well ya gotta share it.

I love the story of Andre Thornton. 1970’s Andre ‘Thunder’ Thornton was a big hitter. The fall of 1977, the van in which he was driving hit an icy patch on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and his wife Gertrude and 3 year old daughter Teresa died in that accident. In his grief, turned to only place any of us can turn in such a time as that. He turned to his Lord and he worked in the heart of that Cleveland Indians 1b. His life was changed forever. He believed in His resurrection and what that was all about. He said, “I know one day I will see my wife and daughter again in heaven. If I didn’t believe that I couldn’t go on living.” During a game NYY Willie Randolph drew a walk and when he arrived at 1b he asked Andre how it was going, (small talk at 1b). Andre immediately started talking about his faith in Jesus Christ.  Willie got so engrossed in that conversation that he missed the steal sign from his 3b coach. Later on in an interview Andre said, “God has put me on 1b and if anybody comes down here he’s gonna hear about Christ.” Isn’t that great! God had placed Andre on 1b to play baseball? Sure to play baseball, but more importantly to share about Christ! About His love, about His grace, about His death and His resurrection. Where has God placed you? Have you ever thought about that? Where has He placed you in your family or in your neighborhood or in your workplace or in your school? Where has He placed you to share about His love, about His grace, about His death about His resurrection.

The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ they set off the most spectacular set of earthquakes that has ever shaken this planet… and the aftershocks continue to be felt throughout this whole world beginning with those women at the first Easter and then they spread to the disciples and then throughout Jerusalem and to Judea and to Samaria to the whole world…and finally to you and to me. At our baptisms, and lives continue to be shaken and changed and the tremors of GF and Easter Sunday will continue until the last trumpet sounds. Oh what a day. The earth-shattering message of the angel is for us, He is not here, He is Risen just as He said. That’s remarkable, spectacular, life changing. He has made all things new. In Him, we have safety, security, a future and a hope and in Him we have peace in a fallen world. All because of Easter. Oh what a day. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed. Alleluia.  Amen.