TITLE: “At the Lamb’s High Feast”

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text for this morning is from the Gospel lesson just read from John chapter 20, with focus on the other disciple as follows: Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes. (John 20:8-10 ESV)

Life and death. As surely as the sun rises this morning, each one of us will die. It maybe today. It may be tomorrow. It may be 10, 20, 30 years from now or more. But we will surely all die. There are times in life when this reality strikes home. It may be some kind of violence on television, war and bloodshed throughout the world, pain and suffering at home, or it might be the death of someone you love and cherish very much. We’ve all been there, in one way or another. It is a hard reality. It is a part of life that sometimes is very hard to accept, because it forces you to acknowledge that you are not the master of your own fate; you are not the captain of your own soul. There is a force greater than you at work in your life, and that force draws you to the grave one step at a time.

This is the reality which the disciples faced on that first Easter morning. Talk is talk. Jesus had been preaching and teaching with them for three years. They had even seen Him do miracles, including raising several from the dead. But on that day of the Passover, that dreadful Friday, they saw all their hopes and dreams fall into the dust. Jesus Christ, the one they had hoped was that great prophet was dead. And that reality hit them like a ton of bricks. A wasted life. A good man, an innocent man even, was dead because of envy and hatred of the religious leadership of the day. There is no escaping the grave, they thought. There was no hope.

But something happened that first Easter morning. They should have seen it coming. They should have known. But they were blinded. Jesus Christ rose from the dead. He could not be contained by the shackles of the grave for long. For three days he was in the belly of the earth, but three days only. He rose from the dead. He is alive, even to this very day.

The disciples could hardly believe it. Even when the women came and told them the news, they didn’t think it could be true. Peter and John ran to the tomb and peered in, and all they saw were the linen clothes laying there, empty of His sacred body. After Peter came John, the other disciples. Our text says: Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes.

He must rise from the dead. Now those are some words to remember. He must rise from the dead. It was prophesied. It was a part of God’s plan. The work of the salvation of the world was complete with the death of the innocent Lamb of God. When Jesus’ died, the power of death was broken forever. And so our text says that He must rise from the dead. As surely as the sun rises this morning, Jesus had to come back from the dead. His work on the cross reached its climax that Easter morning. For when Jesus rose from the dead, so did you.

You see, that is what this story is about. Jesus work, His suffering, death and resurrection are all about you. Jesus did not do these things for Himself. He is the Son of God. He doesn’t do anything for Himself. Everything He is, everything He does, He does for you. He dies for you, and He rises for you so that you will rise from the dead just as surely as He did on that first Easter morn.

Easter is a celebration of life. Your life. For with Jesus’ resurrection, your eternal life is sealed. The seal of death is broken, and in its place comes the baptismal seal of everlasting life. He must rise from the dead. And because of that great, that wondrous reality, you must rise from the dead. For everyone who believes and is baptized will be saved.

But notice what the disciples do after they come to know the truth of the Gospel. They went home. For you see, this Jesus Christ who died and rose again for your salvation, is with you every day. They went home. Just as you will go home this day, and tomorrow it is back to work, back to school, back to life as we know it. But because of Jesus’ resurrection, it will never be the same again.

It is that triumphant life, it is that great reality of your eternal life that we celebrate with Christ this day. Life continues, but it is now a life rooted and found in eternity. So sound the trumpets! Break forth in glorious song! For the Lamb of God who was slain from the foundation of the world is alive, and lives forever and ever. And because that Lamb lives, every time you eat of His body and drink of His blood, that new life is poured into you once again.

The Lord is risen. He is risen in indeed. Alleluia! Amen.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in true faith, unto life everlasting. Amen.