May the peace and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ flood your heart on this day of victory. As a colaborer in the Lord's work, I present this expository message designed to edify the church in the most glorious celebration of our faith: the resurrection of our Savior.
Scripture Text: Luke 24:1-8
“1 Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain other women with them. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb; 3 and entering in, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 And it came to pass, as they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments;5 and as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but is risen. Remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, 7 saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.8 And they remembered his words.”
Introduction.
Let us imagine for a moment those women walking in the gray of dawn. Their hearts were heavy, not only from mourning, but from the physical burden they carried: aromatic spices. These spices had a single purpose: to anoint a corpse to delay the corruption of the body. They were the symbol of a faith that hoped to honor a tragedy, not celebrate a miracle.
In my ministerial experience, I have seen many Christians live this way: “preparing spices for a dead Christ.” They live with a faith that is a constant funeral, focused on their problems, on the weight of their sins, and on the finality of their failures. They walk toward emotional and spiritual “tombs,” believing that death has the last word. But today, just as two thousand years ago, the Holy Spirit comes out to meet us to tell us that we are looking in the wrong place. Christ is not a historical memory to be preserved; He is a Living Presence to be experienced. The spices were left over that morning, because life does not need to be embalmed.
Historical Context: Resurrection Sunday began under the shadow of defeat. The disciples were hidden, the women were going to fulfill a ritual duty. The tomb was sealed by Roman authority and guarded by soldiers. Humanly speaking, the chapter of Jesus of Nazareth was closed.
1. The Surprise of the Rolled-Away Stone (vv. 2-3): The stone was not removed so that Jesus could come out (He had already risen in His glorified body), but so that we could enter and see the evidence. God removes the obstacles that keep us from seeing His glory. Sometimes, the “stones” in our lives—pain, unbelief, doubt—are moved by divine power only so that we realize that what we feared most (the tomb) is now empty.
2. The Question That Changes Everything (v. 5): “Why seek ye the living among the dead?” The angels confront human logic. Our tendency is to seek living solutions in dead places: in human philosophies, in legalism, in the past. The angel reminds them that the nature of Jesus is Life. This question is a call to lift our gaze. If you seek Jesus in a dead religion, you will not find Him. He is working today, healing today, saving today.
3. The Power of Remembering (vv. 6-8): “Remember how he spake unto you”. The foundation of the victory was not only the empty tomb, but the fulfilled Word. The faith of the women was activated when they remembered the promises of Jesus. The resurrection is the final proof that God fulfills everything He says. If He fulfilled the “impossible” (conquering death), what promise of His for your life will He not fulfill?
Conclusion.
The resurrection is God's “Amen” to the sacrifice of His Son. Today we do not simply celebrate an event of the past; we celebrate a present reality. If Christ lives, your hope lives. If Christ lives, sin has no legal power over you. If Christ lives, the end of your story is not the tomb, but glory.
Prayer: “Lord Jesus, today we bow before Your empty throne. We thank You because You are not a marble bust or a story in an old book, but the King who lives and reigns. We ask that the power that raised You from the dead would today raise our faith, heal our bodies, and restore our families. Forgive us for seeking solutions in dead places. Today we declare that You are our Life. Amen.”
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