When you walk in expecting one thing and get another, it can be disorienting – that is a picture of the empty tomb – think about it: Jesus’ inner circle had all watched him die, and his lifeless body be removed from the cross – and the only times they had seen someone be raised from the dead, it was from the words and authority of Jesus – so the women are showing up grieving, disillusioned, discouraged, and probably a little afraid because the authorities had executed their mentor whom they called Messiah and Lord - all 4 gospels have an account of Mary Magdalene and other women showing up to the tomb, the large stone that sealed the tomb was rolled away, and Jesus was not there – How disorienting would that be?

I’m sure you showed up today, on Easter, expecting to hear something about the resurrection of Jesus – What I would ask of you today is to ask the questions, “What am I missing in the story? Have I taken the resurrection for granted and not fully immersed myself in the story?” What if there are unexpected implications for your life? What if you walked in today expecting one thing, but get another? Luke 24:1-12

V1 – The first morning of the week was the 3rd day after Jesus had died – in this account, “the women” had come to the tomb with embalming spices they had prepared for the body of Jesus – the women are identified in V10 as Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James and others.

V2 – They found the stone rolled away from the tomb – this stone was MASSIVE, hundreds of pounds, and according to Matthew 27:62-66, the Pharisees had taken note that Jesus had said that he would rise again after three days, so they placed a seal on the stone and posted Roman guards to guard the tomb so the disciples couldn’t steal the body and falsely claim that he had risen – This would be equivalent to a magician putting himself into a straightjacket, padlocking it shut and jump into a tank of water – so, in this account, when the women show up to an unguarded tomb with the stone rolled away, it must have been disorienting to say the least.

V3 – Can you imagine the shock to find the tomb empty? Where was the body of Jesus? Who had taken him? In John’s account, he believed the authorities had stolen the body from the grave.

V4 – “While they were wondering about this, two angels appeared…” – I love this: God wasted no time revealing his plan – In the middle of their wondering, standing inside the empty tomb, God came down.

Maybe you are in the middle of a moment of disillusionment in your life: the marriage you thought you had, the job you thought was secure, the friendship you thought was trusted, the peace you thought you would have when you achieved a certain status – I don’t know what your empty tomb is, but life rarely meets our expectations – marriage is hard, jobs are only as secure as the economy or leadership, friends let you down, happiness and peace is elusive – and so here you stand, in your empty tomb, looking around, wondering, “Where is Jesus?” And, if you’re willing to allow your eyes to be spiritually opened, maybe even today, God will come down and reveal his plan to you.

V5 – “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” What a question! The angels are actually calling out their lack of faith and understanding – they had walked with Jesus, watched him perform miracles, including raising people from the dead, and yet, they found themselves in a place of believing that the power of God was only good for others – This will be teased out in the next couple of verses.

But before we move on, maybe it’s a good question for some of you here today: WHY DO YOU LOOK FOR THE LIVING AMONG THE DEAD? In my most broken place, I looked for life in validation from others – And when I wasn’t getting the validation from my wife that I thought I deserved, I looked for it in someone else – and guess what? I eventually found myself standing in an empty tomb and Jesus wasn’t there – maybe you’re like me: maybe you have been looking for life among dead things, trying to medicate your brokenness through relationships, substances, acquiring things, career status – and maybe you find yourself standing in an empty, lifeless tomb searching for answers – HERE IS THE GOOD NEWS: HE IS RISEN! (Say it with me)

V6-7 - “He’s not here. He has risen! Don’t you remember what he told you?” Several times throughout the gospels, Jesus predicted his death and resurrection – Luke 18:31-34 is one account, and there are many others.

Why is the resurrection important? While the cross was satisfaction of the Jewish sacrificial system, providing blood sacrifice for ALL SIN for ALL TIME, many good people have died for a great cause – However, while the debt of sin was paid through the death of Jesus, the victory came through the defeating of death by the resurrection of Jesus – Paul talks about the victory of the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:54-57 – perishable clothed with imperishable, the mortal clothed with immortality, DEATH SWALLOWED UP IN VICTORY.

Jesus didn’t just die for sin, he DEFEATED IT by OVERCOMING IT – the EMPTY GRAVE is simply a picture of a DEFEATED FOE – Good news for you and me – When you say YES to Jesus, meaning you receive the payment for sin through the cross, and believe in the power of God to defeat sin through the resurrection, Romans 8:11 says that the same power that raised Christ from the dead now lives in you
V8 – Aha moment – everything he said now made sense – there is a moment when it all makes sense – Sam talked about it in his video – he said he had been a “Christian” his whole life, but been following Jesus for a couple of years.

V9-12 – The women, standing in an empty tomb, were visited by God and were reminded that God had kept his promise through the resurrection – they had a story to tell, but even those closest to them didn’t believe them – in fact, in this narrative, Peter had to run to the tomb and see for himself.

In the rest of chapter 24, Jesus reveals himself directly to the disciples, tells them to wait in Jerusalem, and in V49 tells them that they will be “clothed with power from on high”, referring to the Holy Spirit coming to live in them – this is the promise of the resurrection power of Jesus coming to live in everyone who believes, and it comes to pass a few weeks later in Acts 2 when the Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost

The disciples followed Jesus because they thought he was going to be an earthly king, and they would be a part of establishing a restored earthly kingdom – but Jesus was establishing something greater: the Kingdom of Heaven coming to earth in an unlikely way – through his death, an empty tomb, resurrection, ascension and descension through the Holy Spirit – and it’s been spreading like wildfire ever since – from the day of Pentecost to April 2023 – and you are invited to join!

1. Are you looking for the LIVING among the DEAD? For some here today, you are looking for life in dead places. You are searching for meaning, purpose, validation in broken relationships, financial gain, moral compromise, looking for a solution only God can give in ungodly places and pursuits.

2. God wants to meet you in your empty tomb. The story of Easter is that death was not the final word for Jesus. For you, if you are standing in an empty tomb, ask God to open your ears to hear the voice of Jesus calling you out of the tomb – there is life and freedom on the other side of your brokenness.

3. The resurrection power of God is available to you today. I don’t know where you are today, but think about Sam’s story – he thought he was good, he didn’t even know what he was missing, until he experienced the power of God in his life – now EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED – what if in an unexpected turn of events, you recognized today that you are standing in an empty tomb, and you receive the RESURRECTION POWER of GOD in your life TODAY?