Easter Sunday March 31, 2024
“The Power of the Easter Promise” Luke 24:1-12
Rev. John R. Larson Ascension Lutheran Church Littleton, Colorado
I heard an account of a nice wooden bookcase in a living room and how it taught some folks about the power of a promise. You see, a couple bought a leather sofa some years ago and when they did so the company who made the sofa made a promise – if you bought a warranty to repair damage to the sofa and if you didn’t use the warranty after 7 years, you would get a credit for $180.00 of merchandise from their store. The husband and wife talked about it and decided to get it.
Seven years went by. Seven years. The couple did nothing except live in their home and use their furniture, including sitting or laying on that sofa. At the end of the seven years the husband didn’t even remember the promise that was made. But the wife did. So they went back to the store where they bought the sofa and took their receipt with them (the wife was also very good at keeping receipts) and they asked for the promise to be kept. And that store kept their promise. With the $180.00 credit the couple bought a nice wooden bookcase that was on sale, and to this day when the husband walks into that room and sees the bookcase, he remembers how they got it. He is still amazed at the power of a promise.
Easter is about the power of a promise. On Sunday morning, just a couple of days since the death of Jesus upon a cross, at least 5-6 women went to the tomb of Jesus to do something kind to someone who had been kind to them. They had gathered some spices and they went to anoint the body of Jesus.
As soon as they got to the tomb they knew something was wrong. The body wasn’t there. That’s a problem. Dead people usually don’t move. They sort of stay where you put them. Then their problem got worse. They saw two men who as the Bible puts it, “Gleamed like lightning”. They were frightened and bewildered and these two men asked them a question about how good their memory was, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” (Luke 24:5-7)
Do you remember? Do you remember His promise? Sometimes promises aren’t worth a dime. Someone says something to you but it carries no weight. They won’t follow through. Have you ever had someone make a promise to you and they broke that promise? Sure.
A promise is only as good, as powerful, as the one who makes it. There is a lot of unbelief in our account of the resurrection of Jesus. The women, who had heard the promise of Jesus that He was going to suffer, be crucified and then come to life again, heard the first two things, but they must not have heard the third – about the rising from death of the third day. After all, dead is dead, right? I’ve never attended a funeral and expected the person in the casket to sit up and begin a conversation. When those 5-6 women went to tell the apostles of what they had experienced – the empty tomb, the words of the angels – this is the reaction of the Twelve, “But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.” (Luke 24:11)
But that is not the end of the story for the women nor for the apostles. After the chastisement of the angels, that phrase that began, “Remember how he told you”, a great word about their change of heart was spoken, “Then they remembered his words.” (Luke 24:8)
Memory issues are a big thing in our world. You ever go into a room and you know that you went there for a reason and when you get there you forget why you went there. My mom, down in Phoenix, has had Alzheimer’s for a good number of years. Now she lives in a memory care facility. I see her every few months and though she remembers me and my bald head many things have left her memory. For many years she sang in the choir at church. Around our house she was always humming or singing. So, when I went to see her in February I was talking about some of the great hymns of the church. Amazing Grace. How Great Thou Art. She said, “I’ve never heard of them.” But then I sang a note or two, and in an instant she was with me on the very next note, and she knew all the words.
She remembered. I knew she would. I got a feeling that the angels speaking to those women, when they recounted what Jesus had spoken to them many times, that He would suffer and be crucified and then come back to life, that they would remember. And they did.
In a sense, my job as a preacher is like the job of the angels – to help you remember what Jesus said. It is God’s job to make you believe. The remembering that they had wasn’t just an academic exercise. It wasn’t something just for their brain. It was for their soul. It was for their life.
Remembering means faith, trust. One of our folks, an engineer, sent me the little poster that we put on the bulletin board. There is a picture of a cross rising above the valley below that says, “Only Jesus could build a bridge to heaven with just two pieces of wood.” To remember the words of Jesus is to remember what He said about the purpose of His life – “He was to be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified.” Jesus said that He had come “to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45) The prophet Isaiah, speaking of God’s servant, wrote, “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5) Just think of that – all your sins, all the evil that you have done, every step away from the good will of God for your life, was carried to a place of payment. Remembering means that you can live with repentance for all that sin and that Jesus will receive your sin upon Himself.
A promise is only as good and as powerful as the person who makes the promise. God has made a promise, a sure one that. He told us that the blood of Jesus purifies us from all our sin.
Remembering means faith and trust. You have buried some of your loved ones, haven’t you? This day meant everything to them. Dead is dead? NO!! Dead is forever alive in the hands of Jesus. Jesus said, “Because I live, you also shall live.” (John 14:19) Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and he who believes in me will never die.” (John 11:25-26) Paul connects the events in Jesus’ life with believing the promise when he writes, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” (Romans 10:9-10) Because of the resurrection of Jesus Paul mocks death, “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O grave, is your sting?” (I Corinthians 15:55)
To remember His words is to know that our God will do all that He has promised. Today I offer to you this promise of God to forgive your sins, to establish your faith and to live with an eternal certainty that you will spend your forever days in God’s heaven. I invite you to believe it, to trust in Jesus. It is Easter. It is God’s day to keep His word once again. Whatever form that has prevented you from living with Easter confidence, whether it has been your pride, unbelief or despair – all can be forgiven. Be restored!! Be changed!!
“Then they remembered his words.” What a change. What hope. A promise is only as good, or as powerful, as the person who makes the promise. God has made the promise. His words are sure. Live in His promises today and every day. Amen!!
(This sermon has found its formation in the sermon by Rev. Dr. Jeffrey Gibbs, “The Power of the Easter Promise”, Pages 38-42, from the Lenten Sermon Series, “You Meant It For Evil, But God Meant It For Good”, Concordia Seminary Press, 2022)
Christ is Risen! He has Risen indeed!