He is Risen, Indeed!

Luke 24.1-12

Introduction 

Ever since the WHO declared the COVID-19 pandemic we’ve experienced a big change at our house. Many of you have experienced this change as well; I’m talking about homeschooling. Our kids are young so we don’t have the pressure that some of you with middle and high school-ers are facing, but we still feel the burden to educate the kids. Haddon and Sophia were going to preschool 2 days a week before the schools were closed for the rest of the year. So we got them preschool workbooks that we’re working through. One of the activities that they do is a color-by-numbers sheet.

And here we find ourselves; almost a month to the day that school was suspended, on Easter Sunday 2020. Like our new experience of homeschooling, we’ve also had the depressing experience of suspended worship services and live-stream teaching. But even when the church is providentially hindered from gathering, the gospel is still true. As Pastor Kevin tweeted this week, “our church building may be empty, but so is the tomb!” 

As we think about Luke’s resurrection account this morning, I want to do a bit of color-by-numbers. There’s a Bible study method I learned from Dr. Jim Hamilton while I was in seminary. Part of it is that whenever I see numbers in a text, I underline them in blue. Numbers are used to convey different things in ancient text, and they often have more significance than mere history. Luke gives us four numbers in these twelve verses so we will color them hermeneutically and see what the final picture reveals.

If you’ve ever seen the show Stranger Things you know the first season follows four kids. There are three boys and one girl. The girl’s name is Eleven. So we’re gonna have a bit of a stranger things color-by-numbers. Our numbers are going to be: one, two, three, and eleven.

One

We start with one, or more properly, the first – the first day of the week. The first word in the English text is but. It’s actually the second word in the Greek text. It’s the conjunction, δὲ and it’s what scholars refer to as postpositive. That means that even though it’s second in word order it jumps to the front and must be translated first.

Even more importantly it signals that transition is happening. Something was true but something else is about to happen. If we had read the whole Gospel of Luke we would’ve read about the Holy Spirit conception, virgin birth, and growth into manhood of Jesus. We would’ve read about his baptism, temptation, teaching, and miracles. We would’ve read about his betrayal, crucifixion, and burial. Luke 23 ends with all of Jerusalem resting on the Sabbath. Jesus is dead. That’s what we know.

Then chapter 24 begins, but. All of that was true but something else is about to happen. The women went to Jesus’ tomb with spices to embalm his body. Jesus died on Good Friday and then needed to bury him before sundown so they didn’t break Sabbath. Now the women come to finish the job and they do it on the first day of the week. Sabbath is over and so they come on Sunday.

Here we see a transition in redemptive history. Everything that’s about to unfold, does so on the first day of the week. Not only that, but at early dawn on the first day of the week. What beautiful imagery! This is the early dawn, literally in Greek the deep sunrise, this is the beginning point of the new creation. 

All four Gospels witness that the events of Easter took place on Sunday. And because that’s true, the day of worship for God’s people has changed as well. For centuries God’s people had rested and worshipped on the last day of the week. Every week ended in rest. But, but now that’s changed. Because of what these women learn, the day of rest and worship for the new covenant people of God is the first day of the week. We gather to remember and rest in what is about to happen on this first day of the week.

Cultural commentators note that the most conservative elements of any given society (ie the least likely to change, or the last to change) is religion. And so for hundreds, and even thousands of Jews to transfer their day of rest and worship from Saturday to Sunday in such a short span of time speaks volumes. This wouldn’t have happened haphazardly. Something radical must have happened.

Two

That was number one, the first day of the week, now we move to number two. The women find that the stone is rolled away and the tomb is empty. And behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. Whenever you see the word behold in Scripture it’s like a loud siren: pay attention this is important. Luke describes these two as men, but later in verse 23 he’ll reveal they’re angels.

Luke is making a redemptive point here. Matthew and Mark only mention one angel. Why does Luke think it’s important to let us know there were two? This language would’ve ringed some bells for first century readers. You see, they would’ve known that in the holy of holies was the Ark of the Covenant, and on the ark there was the mercy seat. On either side of the mercy seat there were two cherubim, angels. We see this in Numbers 7.89: And when Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim; and it spoke to him.

John gives us an even clearer picture in his Gospel: But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet (John 20.11-12). Matthew makes the same point when he tells us that the curtain for the holy of holies was torn in two. The tomb of Jesus has become the final holy of holies. Just like there were two cherubim in the holy of holies, there are two angels here.

In the holy of holies the two angels are on either side of the mercy seat. The Hebrew word we translate mercy seat is כַּפֹּרֶת, like yom kippur. In the LXX that word is translated to the Greek word ἱλασμός, which means propitiation, or “the means by which sins are forgiven.” This is the same word used in Romans 3.24-25: Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. So what does this all add up to? The Gospel writers are telling us that, surrounded by the two angels, Jesus Christ is the true and final mercy seat. Jesus Christ is the true and final means by which sins are forgiven.

Three

This brings us to three, or more properly, the third day. The clues about Jesus’ fulfillment of the mercy seat and the holy of holies are made explicit by the angels’ message:

Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.

It’s almost as if the angels are speaking to modern westerners, why do you seek the living among the dead? Jesus Christ is not in the same graveyard as the Buddha, Mohammed, Plato, and the rest. He is alive. The proof that he is the final sacrifice is that he is a living sacrifice.

They should’ve known this because Jesus had been preaching the gospel to them. He told them that he must die and resurrect. Don’t miss that important little verb, must (δεῖ). We don’t merely historically affirm that Jesus of Nazareth did die, but that he had to die. It was necessary that he die. It was God’s providential decree that he must die. In fact, the whole point of the history of creation is that Jesus Christ would die and be raised on the third day! 

This is the message that brings life and we know it’s true because he is risen indeed! The message of Easter is the message of Christianity. Jesus Christ is alive; the tomb is empty! This is the message that you must repent and believe. Jesus Christ is the final mercy seat of God. He is the only place where your sins can be forgiven. Scripture says if you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved (Rom 10.9).

But don’t expect to find the living among the dead. Jesus is risen. He’s alive. He resurrected so that we might be raised too. This happens first spiritually when we repent and believe the gospel. God changes our hearts. And it will happen physically when he returns to raise the dead, judge the world, and make all things new!

Eleven

We now come to our final number, eleven. The women return to the disciples to tell them what happened. Notice first that Luke refers to them as the apostles. They will no longer merely be disciples, learners, but they will now be apostles. They will bring the gospel to the world, but not yet. They don’t believe the women. Their story sounds like an idle tale. The word here is λῆρος, which is a medical term utilized by Dr. Luke himself. It refers to how one speaks when they’re in delirium. 

This is another historical proof to the historicity of the resurrection. In first century Jewish culture women weren't valued; they weren't even legally allowed to give testimony in court! You’ll notice that the apostles treat them thus. They don’t believe the women. But Jesus works counter culturally. He calls these women – Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and other women – to be the apostles to the apostles. They are the ones who bring the good news. Their names are forever remembered as the first messengers. 

It’s hard to blame the eleven. They had spent three years in the seminary of Jesus’ ministry. They left all they had to follow him. You can imagine that they thought that he was going to usher in the Kingdom of God by overthrowing the Romans. They probably read Ezekiel’s prophecy about the 2nd Temple and saw that Herod’s Temple was almost complete. It seemed like everything was coming together. Jesus was healing people, commanding nature, and exorcising demons. This had to be the end.

And then they watched him be tried, crucified, and buried. And then Holy Saturday came and went. And now it’s the first day of the week. And whether it’s depression or denial, most of the eleven don’t believe them. Then we get that word but again – but Peter rose and ran to the tomb. Luke’s doing a little word play in Greek; the word rose that he uses for Peter sounds like the word he used for Jesus’ rise on the third day. Peter’s hope is resurrected so he runs to the tomb. Upon finding it empty, as the women had said, he returns home marveling.

Do you find yourself marveling at the empty tomb this morning, or are you like the others who fancy it an idle tale? Do you view Jesus as merely a historical figure, or maybe even a good teacher? Do you seek the living among the dead? 

Conclusion

As we take a step back from our color-by-numbers the picture we’ve colored is a portrait of Jesus Christ himself. On the first day of the week, two angels testified to the women that Jesus was raised on the third day. The women then took the message to the eleven, who then took it to the world. This is the message that we celebrate on Easter. This is the message that we celebrate every single Sunday, as we gather on the first day of the week around the Word and sacrament. There’s no doubt that some of you watching this will still deny the evidence. You’ll still say that it sounds too mystical, too unbelievable, too strange. My prayer this morning is that you will believe in stranger things.