Easter.

So I'm in the middle of writing one of my last finals and I'm trying to procrastinate... but I know I shouldn't, so I will share with you thoughts that I meant to share on Easter but forgot... I'm pretty sure the idea came from one of my dad's old sermons...

There are all sorts of Surprises in life- both good and bad-
Good ones like:
The surprise of an engagement ring
The surprise of a new baby on the way
The surprise of a raise or promotion at work
The surprise of an unexpected A on a test
The surprise of a tax refund
A surprise birthday party-
All good surprises that bring joy and happiness to the hearts of the participants and reason for celebration!

But there’s also the surprises in life we don’t look forward to-
Unexpected sickness of a loved one
Layoff’s at work
IRS audit
Car doesn’t start on the busiest morning of the month
Or the shock of going into your car or home and find that it’s been broken into and your precious possessions are no longer in their place…

A couple of Christmases ago, that very surprise hit me like a ton of bricks-
We were at my brother’s house in Sioux Falls- my parent’s van parked in front of my brother’s house- he's a cop, by the way, so I thought it was safe; well guarded.
I went outside to get something from the van found that my iPod had been stolen-
And with it a piece of my heart.
iPods are replaceable, but it certainly was a surprise that I’ll never forget, and never want to happen again!

I doubt the soldiers working guard duty 2000 years ago ever forgot what they saw as right before their eyes Jesus went from Christ crucified to Christ arisen and Christ victorious. Allow me to set the scene:

After Jesus had breathed his last, with a wealthy believer from Aramathea named Joseph got permission to bury Jesus, which they did in a tomb that Joseph owned.
The Pharisees knowing that Jesus had said he’d arise 3 days after dying wanted to make sure there was no fraudulent activity going on amongst Jesus’ believers, so they went to Pilate and got some soldiers to guard the tomb from grave robbers- even going so far as rolling a large stone in front of the tomb and sealing it with a wax seal- nothing was going in, and as far as they knew nothing was coming out.

Imagine the surprise that filled the guards’ hearts when they saw the stone being rolled away. Imagine the terror as the looked into the now empty tomb only to see that Christ had risen triumphantly from the grave- Can you picture the shock they must have experienced?


Matthew 28:2 -4 reads:
2There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

I love that- they shook and became like dead men.- they passed out! THAT, my friends is terror! Imagine the look on their face! Imagine the thoughts going through their minds. Talk about the surprise of a lifetime! They saw for themselves that the tomb was empty- not because the disciples stole it, but because God Himself was on that cross and God Himself conquered once and for all sin, Satan, and death! And no tomb, no grave can contain to Lord! That was a surprise to the guards!!

Friends, is it a surprise to us to see the empty tomb? We know the cross, we see it everyday in our culture- we can comprehend and probably even vividly picture Jesus broken and hanging on the tree- we can see the blood we can picture the wounds. I don’t think the cross surprises us anymore-
But does the empty tomb sometimes take us by surprise? Do we loose sight of the fact that death is not the end? That this world is fleeting? Do we forget where our home really is- in heaven and not on this dust and dirt? Does it sometimes bring trembling to our hearts to see that all Christ said and did is true? Does Easter sometimes sneak up on us? Does the fact that Christ has died, Christ has risen, and Christ will come again- does that cause us to shake a little?

Brothers and sisters, trembling and fear should not be on our hearts on this most joyous morning! Jesus Christ- true God and true man born of virgin lived a perfect life. He, as the sacrificial lamb, suffered a cruel, criminal’s death -fulfilling his purpose to take away all the sins of the world- past, present and future- all sins of all time washed clean in His blood. Our guilt, Our shame, Our sins- all of it was died for on Calvary.
But he didn’t stop there- he didn’t stay in the tomb, but he ROSE AGAIN! All so that WE would have eternal life! We know through faith that Christ’s death and resurrection was once and for all, and that He is coming again. We also know that we can stand in front of the almighty God on the day of judgment with the full confidence that our sins are GONE and our place in Heaven is secured. Sin, death, and the devil have all been defeated by the one who lives- by the one who is in our hearts- by our Lord and Savior Jesus! Fear not, for the battle was won on the cross, and our victory was sealed when the tomb became empty!

The guards at the tomb trembled for several reasons- the sight they saw was a total shock to the system. I can’t help but wonder if any of them trembled because they realized that everything that Jesus said was actually true! Certainly the soldiers knew why they were there- to guard the tomb because Jesus claimed he was going to rise again-
And even though the official response out of the Sanhedrin was that Jesus’ body was stolen, I wonder if at least one of the eye witnesses to the resurrection believed what he saw, believed that Christ rose from the dead. It would be hard to think that anyone could see what they saw and still not believed…

Whether or not any guards came to faith, I don’t know- but I do know that the same event that caused such tremendous terror in the hearts and minds of the guards causes tremendous joy and comfort in our hearts. Because we know full well that all Jesus said is true! We know full well our sins are gone, our souls set free, and our eternal salvation in Heaven is secure.
The empty tomb is the single most comforting place in all of time and history, because it is in the empty tomb that we as believers in Jesus Christ have life!

Praise be to God!
He is Risen! He is risen indeed!
Alleluia