The Final Victory! – March 31, 2024, Easter Sunday!
Isaiah 12:2-6, Matthew 27:62 – 28:15
March 31, 2024, Easter Sunday
So, I was looking at the Easter accounts. And as I did, I thought I’d continue in Matthew. Because we’ve been following his account of Jesus’ story this year. And, as I thought about a title for this sermon, it seemed to me that “The Final Victory” was appropriate. Because it follows from last week’s sermon, which (if you remember) was called “The Final Confrontation.”
If you think about it, “The Final Confrontation” does seem a bit “incomplete.” Doesn’t it follow that, if you have a final confrontation, you also need a resolution to that confrontation. Well, the more I thought about it, the more I believe that the resolution is victory!
So I want you to think today about “The Final Victory” – the victory that Easter represents. I also wanted to give you a feel, first of all, for the final victory of Jesus over his adversaries. That’s why I included the parts before and after the traditional reading for Easter. We’ve been talking a lot lately about that adversarial relationship between Jesus and the religious leaders, and we’ve seen how Matthew brings that out in his Gospel. And he’s the one that makes it part of his resurrection account.
We even see it in Matthew’s account of the crucifixion. He tells us how they mocked Jesus on the cross. “You would destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days,” they said sarcastically. “Look! He saved others, now he can’t save himself.” “If you are the King of Israel, come down from the cross and we will believe.” And then, after he was dead and buried, they went to Pontius Pilate, and insisted that the tomb be guarded. Because they remembered what he said about being raised after three days. Then, even after that resurrection happened, we read how they bribed the guards, telling them to say the disciples had stolen the body, so they could claimed he came back from the dead.
We find that confrontation with the religious leaders throughout Matthew’s Gospel. And remember, Matthew was writing his Gospel for a Jewish readership! As I’ve said, he was constantly quoting scripture and citing prophecies about the Messiah, attempting to prove that Jesus was that Messiah. That, of course, was something the Jewish leaders had rejected. And I wonder how all of that went over with his intended readers!
In the end, I believe his adversaries knew they had lost. But even in that loss, they still would not believe! They fought against it, even though the truth and the glory of the resurrection was undeniable! The victory in that confrontation was complete. But we know from the book of Acts, that the confrontation would continue for the Apostles! However, on this Easter day, we have “The Final Victory.”
If you remember, one of the last things Jesus said on the cross, just before he died, was, “It is finished.” And the understanding there was that God’s plan was finished. The work of the atonement was complete. The price for our sins was paid. But the victory – the final victory – took place on Easter morning! Because that final victory, was not a victory over Jesus’ adversaries. The final victory was his victory over sin and death. As I said last week, that was at the heart of his final confrontation. And now it’s the glory of this event!
When I think about the Easter story, I know I can’t begin to imagine the depths of despair that Jesus’ followers were feeling that day. Just think about that. Everything for them had come unraveled three days ago. They had previously pledged to die with him if he insisted on going to Jerusalem. But, when the time came, they ran for their lives! They went into hiding, behind locked doors. They were worrying, with good reason, that they were next. And then this!
These women went to the tomb. They too were in despair. But they went because Jesus had been buried in haste on Friday. They had to because the Sabbath was coming at sundown. So, there wasn’t time to prepare his body for burial. They felt he needed to be interned “properly.” And by the way, the victims of crucifixion were usually not interned properly! They were often not interned at all! They were left to decompose on the cross! That was a further horror of that brutal method of execution!
So, these women went to finish that morbid task. They went to the tomb with their burial spices and ointments. And, as the other Gospel writers point out, they were wondering how they were going to roll away the huge stone. And they were probably thinking about the sad task ahead of them, the task of dealing with the terrible wounds on the body of their dear friend.
Can we imagine the shock they had! They went from all that grief to this moment of sheer terror in seeing this angelic being. Matthew describes his appearance as being like lightning? I imagine lightning was the brightest thing they knew! Remember, this is a description given from a first-century perspective. Maybe today they would say his appearance was like LED headlights!
And make no mistake! This was frightening! This was so frightening that the guards “became like dead men!” But the angel said to the women, (as angels often do!) “Be not afraid!” I wonder how much that helped the situation! I suspect they were still afraid – maybe just feeling a little better about it! “You seek Jesus, who was crucified,” he said. “He is not here, for he is risen – just as he said!” Again, Jesus told his followers a number of times exactly what was going to happen to him. But they didn’t believe him at the time! Easter was still a total surprise! As I said before on other Easters, disbelief was the order of the day!
So, let me ask you. Who would believe it? I know I probably wouldn’t have! What do you think? Remember, the Apostles – the pillars of the Christian Church – they didn’t believe it! They thought what the women told them was an “idle tale” – a fairy tale! And they wouldn’t believe them.
Are there times when we have a problem believing “the final victory?” And I don’t just mean believing a man came back from the dead, but the idea that we are forgiven and redeemed through him, and that sin and death are defeated for us through his resurrection! Isn’t that hard to believe, too? Don’t we sometimes think our sins and our failures are beyond God’s forgiveness? Don’t we have times when we doubt that Grace applies to us?
That’s all hard to believe. But, Easter is the day we concentrate on believing it! This is the day that we remember, that “God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him might not perish, but have everlasting life.” This victory is about that!
As you think about that, remember what I said a few weeks ago. Belief – faith – is something we choose first! And then, through that faith, we seek understanding. Remember that I told you about what Saint Anselm wrote in the 11th Century. He said, “I do not seek to understand in order that I may believe, but rather, I believe in order that I may understand.”
So, let that be true of Easter, too. Choose to believe the good news, the final victory of this day. And then let that belief be the thing by which you seek understanding. Start by choosing to know indeed, that the Lord is risen! …Just as he said!
Prayer
Eternal God, help us to believe the good news of Easter. Help us to live in that final victory, won for us by Jesus, shown to us by the empty tomb. Help us to have faith, and in that faith to seek understanding. Help us to know what Easter means in our lives. And help us to live as your resurrection people. For we pray in the name of our risen Lord, Amen!