We turn to God's word this morning, to the gospel according to Luke. Luke chapter 24. We'll begin reading at the end of chapter 23, beginning at verse 50. And then we'll read through verse 12 of chapter 24. Luke chapter 23, beginning at verse 50. immediately after the death of Jesus Christ. And behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counselor. And he was a good man and a just. The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them. He was of Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who also himself waited for the kingdom of God. This man went unto Pilate and begged the body of Jesus. And he took it down and wrapped it in linen and laid it in a sepulcher that was hewn in stone wherein never man before was laid. And that day was the preparation and the Sabbath drew on. And the women also which came with him from Galilee followed after and beheld the sepulcher and how his body was laid. And they returned and prepared spices and ointments and rested on the Sabbath day according to the commandment. Now, upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulcher, bringing the spices which they had prepared and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulcher. And they entered in and found not the body of the Lord Jesus, And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. 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? He is not here, but is risen. Remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee saying, the son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and the third day rise again? And they remembered his words and returned from the sepulcher and told all these things unto the 11 and to all the rest It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary, the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles. And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not. Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulcher, and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass." Thus far we read God's holy and inspired word. It's on the basis of this text and others like it. We have the teaching of the Heidelberg Catechism in Lord's Day 17. The one question and answer of Lord's Day 17, what doth the resurrection of Christ profit us? First, by his resurrection, he has overcome death, that he might make us partakers of that righteousness which he had purchased for us by his death. Secondly, we are also by His power raised up to a new life. And lastly, the resurrection of Christ is a sure pledge of our blessed resurrection. Beloved congregation in our Lord Jesus Christ, what would the message of the Gospel be if the last chapter of Luke would be Luke chapter 23? What would the Gospel message be if the last chapter of every Gospel account simply ended with the death and burial of Jesus Christ. If Luke 23 would be the last chapter in Luke which is to say that Jesus died and was buried and there he remains Then Luke 23 and then John 19 would effectively have to be the last chapter in all the New Testament because apart from the resurrection of Jesus Christ, nothing else could follow. because everything that does follow is based upon the resurrection of Jesus Christ. If there is no resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, then there is no sense in having a book of Acts, because Acts is not record for us simply the acts of the apostles, but it records for us the acts that the risen Lord and Savior continues to do. If there were no resurrection of Jesus from the dead, then there would be no sense of having the Pauline epistles. the letters that Paul wrote to the churches because there would have been no risen Lord Jesus to appear to Paul on the road to Damascus and to convert him. If no resurrection, obviously there would be no book of Revelation because there would be no risen Lord Jesus Christ to appear unto John. and to show him the things that must hereafter come to pass." If the gospel accounts ended with the death and burial of Jesus Christ, and if He still remains in the grave, then we are of all men most miserable, and we are yet in our sins. But thanks be to God that that's not how the Bible ends. and that there are the final chapters in the gospel accounts and that there is the rest of the New Testament because the good news of our salvation is that Jesus was crucified dead and buried, He descended into hell but then this too and on the third day He arose from the dead. Catechism is explaining the articles of the Apostles' Creed. In this Lord's Day we come to that article in the Apostles' Creed where we confess that the third day he rose again from the dead. In many of the prior Lord's Days, The questions of the Lord's Days were along these lines. How do we understand these words? What is the meaning of these words? He was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary. Lord's Day 17 doesn't approach the doctrine of the resurrection so much that way. All it asks is this one simple question, what does the resurrection of Jesus Christ profit us? And the catechism would have us immediately to know that there's great profit in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. There's profit for Jesus Christ himself personally, being the first begotten from the dead. and being the victor over death and the grave and there's profit for us who are members of his body and therefore partakers of his resurrection life. So this morning we examined the doctrine of the resurrection from the historical account recorded for us in Luke 24 along with the details that we have in the other gospel accounts and from these accounts we learn that when the women come to the tomb early Easter Sunday morning that they met the angels and the word of the angels was this, he's not here for he is risen And then this too, Luke 24 verse six, the angels say, remember how he spake unto you while he was yet in Galilee saying, the son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and the third day rise again. Effectively saying to the women, and does this surprise you that his body is not here? He promised these things would happen and now his promise has come to pass. He is risen from the dead. We take for the theme of our sermon the risen Lord Jesus. Let's note in the first place that the tomb is empty. Let's note in the second place that the grave is overcome. And finally, that the promise is fulfilled, the risen Lord Jesus. So Jesus arose from the dead early Sunday morning. We call that Resurrection Sunday or Easter Sunday. It was the third day after Jesus was crucified according to the Jewish reckoning of days because that day that Jesus died on Friday and was placed into the grave, that's day number one. And then Jesus was in the grave all day Saturday, that's day number two. And then for those few hours on Sunday morning before Jesus was raised from the dead, that would have been day number three. But together with the Church of Jesus Christ the world over, we believe the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead actually happened. Though there was no human eye there to witness that moment, nobody was there and witnessed Jesus raising himself up out of those grave clothes. Nevertheless, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is an object of faith. We believe it. The scriptures declare it. God's Word sets it forth and by faith we believe in the resurrection of the dead. Well let's examine what the Word of God says with regard to the resurrection and we start with the women waking up early Sunday morning to come and to anoint the body of Jesus. They wanted to do it earlier on Friday but they didn't have time on Friday afternoon because when Jesus died there were only a few hours before the Sabbath began and that meant for Joseph of Arimathea and then also Nicodemus who joined him that they must work as quickly as possible First getting permission from Pilate, and then taking the body of Jesus Christ down from the cross, and then preparing his body with those linen cloths and all of the rest, and then taking the body of Jesus to the sepulcher. And mind you, this wasn't something that anybody was anticipating would happen earlier in the day. that Jesus would die and that that evening they'd have to bury him. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus did not think that later that day that they would be engaged in that type of work, nor the women, nor any of the other disciples. But that's exactly what has to happen, and they are in a hurry to place Jesus in the sepulcher. And then the Sabbath day comes, Saturday, the day of the Passover feast, now comes to an end, and early Sunday morning, The women are walking to the sepulcher to do that which they were not able to do on Friday afternoon. From the other gospel accounts, we know that while the women are walking to the sepulcher, they are saying, who's going to roll the stone away from the sepulcher? We saw Joseph and Nicodemus put the body of Jesus inside and roll that stone over the entrance. But now, how will we gain access to the body of the Lord? And as they come closer, they look, and to their amazement, that stone has been rolled away. Luke 24 says that the women enter into the tomb, they look around for a brief moment, and they do not see Jesus' body. And while they are in that state of bewilderment, Two angels suddenly appear unto them, verse 4, whose garments were shining. The women fall down on their knees in fright. The angels say, why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but he is risen. So the women saw the body of Jesus carried into the tomb on Friday afternoon. It was there all day Saturday, guarded by the soldiers. And now on Sunday morning, though nobody had entered the tomb, but now the body is gone, the sepulcher is empty. As the angels say, he is not here, he is risen. There were others who were witness to the empty tomb. Peter and John were the next to come and to see the empty tomb. Now Luke 24 only records for us that Peter went But according to John's gospel, it was John and Peter who both went back. Mary Magdalene, who was with the company of those women initially, and upon seeing the stone rolled away, immediately ran back to Jerusalem, told Peter and John. Peter and John both come running to the sepulcher, John arriving first, Peter a few moments later, and then entering into the tomb, and Peter and John saw some things. They saw the place where the Lord lay. They saw the grave clothes of Jesus lying there, those strips of cloth that were wound about Jesus' legs and his arms and his body, but lying there undisturbed as if somebody had come right up out of them without having torn them off. And they noticed the napkin that was over Jesus' head folded in a place all by itself. And so they saw the place where Jesus was laid. They saw the grave closed. They saw the napkin that was around his head. But for all that, they did not see the body of Jesus because the tomb was empty. And then finally, there was Mary Magdalene as well. After Peter and John return to Jerusalem, Mary Magdalene comes back to the tomb and she sees some things. The Bible says that she stooped down and peered into the sepulcher and she saw two angels. They asked her, why weepest thou? And she says, because they've taken away the body of my Lord and I don't know where they've placed him. And then Mary Magdalene turns around and there a man asks her the same question. Woman, why weepest thou? And she thought it was the gardener. If you've taken the body, tell me where it is and I'll take it away. And we know that that was no gardener. That was the Lord Jesus Christ himself. And he speaks one word. Mary, and her eyes are opened and she recognizes Jesus and falls down and worships Him. But Mary too, she also saw the sepulcher and that sepulcher was empty. All these witnesses came into the tomb, they saw different things, angels in grave clothes and the head napkin, one thing in common that they all did see, they saw an empty tomb. There was no dead body of Jesus inside. Why is the tomb empty? The angels answer that question in verse six. He is not here, but is risen. And here we ask the question, what does it mean that Jesus is risen? Well, very simply, it means that the body of Jesus is now alive. That same body that Jesus died on the cross with, which was wrapped in those grave clothes, that same body that was buried in the sepulcher, and that Jesus being buried entered into the fullness of our death, the dead body of Jesus is no longer dead, but alive. And the body of Jesus isn't simply alive with the life that we have right now in the body. but Jesus' body has now been glorified. And this becomes the difference between the resurrection of Jesus and the resurrection of Lazarus just a few weeks earlier. Lazarus was raised from the dead with a body that had to die all over again. But Jesus came forth with a glorified body that could never die again. No return to the grave for the Lord Jesus Christ, because now his body was fit for heavenly glory with a life that could never be taken away. So that for the next 40 days, Jesus would show himself alive through many infallible proofs to the disciples, But in all that time, Jesus' body was no longer fit for life on this earth, but fit for heavenly glorified life and soon he would be taken up into heaven in the ascension. But Jesus' dead body rose from the dead. He was alive again. His soul, his soul which always stayed alive and went to heaven the moment of his death, even as he said to the penitent malefactor, today thou shalt be with me in paradise. But now Jesus' soul was reunited with his body. And this is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The work of resurrection is a work of God. And this is a work of God that takes almighty divine power to be raised from the dead isn't to be healed of a sickness, great as we might regard that to be. And in this life God has given man the wisdom to look at cells and bacteria and to prescribe medicine so that the body can heal. God has given man skill and learning and the ability to perform remarkable surgeries not only to mend together broken bones but then also to perform surgeries with regard to deep internal complex surgeries and it's not uncommon for us to hear that the doctors performed a life-saving surgery so that whereas before the person would have died now they are alive But what thing that the doctors with all their knowledge and life-saving surgeries and prescribing the right medicine, one thing they do not have the power to do is to raise a body from the dead. And even if a hypothetical situation, even if during the last days there is Antichrist, there is the false beast, and they will have the power to perform all kinds of miracles, and even if they are able to claim to bring somebody back from the dead, and thereby to say, see, we have power, believe on us, yet even that is not the resurrection of the dead. Not Jesus' resurrection, His resurrection took divine power because His resurrection was not just a return to this earthly life, but a resurrection to a higher life, the life of glory, a life that can never be snatched away in death anymore. Jesus says in John chapter 10, I have power to lay down my life and I have power to take it up again. So that in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Jesus didn't need the power of a team of doctors to give him medicine and to stitch up the holes in his body and to put him on a ventilator and to bring him back to life. That's not the life that Jesus comes back with, but Jesus has the power to raise himself from the dead. And what came out of the grave then was a resurrected body, so filled with life. that Jesus can never die again. And the angels say to the women, he is not here because the tomb is empty. Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. And the emptiness of the grave now means that the grave is overcome. Now moving on into the second point of the sermon. The grave is overcome. And here I'm using language from the Heidelberg Catechism where it says that Jesus Christ has overcome death, but then also using that language of 1 Corinthians 15, verse 55. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? So that there is a distinction that we make between death and the grave. They're very much closely related. The one who dies goes to the grave. But there's importance that we see in the grave itself. Now, the grave has a certain kind of power. The grave tried to be victorious over Jesus, and that grave has a certain power. The grave has the right to take hold of all its victims. The grave has authority to latch on to that dead body and to keep that body and to drag it there in the grave. And that's an aspect of the punishment of sin that now the body is given over to the corruption of the grave. And then that also is that the second aspect of the power of the grave, that the grave has the power to corrupt that body and to decay that body and to bring that body back to the dust of the earth. But when Jesus arose from the dead, And he stood up and he came out of the grave. Jesus was as much saying, grave, you do not have the authority to hold me. I break your power. I was dead and in your clutches for three days, but now I rise from the dead and no power either to corrupt my body. And it was as if during those three days that the grave was fighting against Jesus and trying to hold him and to keep him down there, but Jesus overcame death and the grave. and has emerged victorious. And that's how the Heidelberg Catechism explains the prophet of the resurrection. First, by his resurrection he has overcome death so that death and the grave could not hold him. Death could not claim him. He has destroyed the power of death and the grave. And then we ask the question How is that possible? How did Jesus destroy the power of death and the grave? And the answer is this, because of what happened on Good Friday. Because there on the cross, Jesus Christ satisfied for all the sins of God's people. Remember the power of the grave is to hold on to its victims who are guilty of sin and deserve to die and deserve that corruption of the grave. Remember what the Word of God says, the wages of sin is death and that death is to go down to the corruption of the grave. But where there is no more sin, then there is no more death. And where there is no more death, there is no more grave. And so the gospel of our salvation is this, that Jesus took all our sins upon him on the cross of Calvary. and satisfied for every single last one of them. And now we stand before God as those whose sins are forgiven, justified, and God declares of us, you are innocent, washed, cleansed in the blood of Jesus Christ, righteous with the righteousness of Jesus Christ himself. And that has implication, great significance for us with regard to our relationship now to the grave. That means that the grave does not have the authority then to hold us down and to keep us there in the corruption of the grave and forever to corrupt our bodies. And you want proof that the grave doesn't have that power? Well, the proof is Jesus is risen from the dead. And that means that Jesus' death then was effectual. The death of Jesus Christ worked. The death of Jesus Christ accomplished the purpose that it set out to do, to atone for all our sins. And to prove that, Jesus arose from the dead. As we read in the book of Romans that Jesus was delivered for our offenses and raised again for our justification. So that if Jesus would have stayed dead, then all of those gifts of salvation that Jesus purchased for us on the cross, stay dead with him in the grave and he cannot impart them unto us. If Jesus would have stayed dead in the grave, then that would have rendered all his work on the cross as useless and vain. and without any effect. But now on the third day, Jesus is risen from the dead. He is alive. The resurrection of Jesus from the dead looks back at what happened on Good Friday on the cross. And the resurrection is a powerful declaration saying that it worked. What Jesus set out to accomplish on the cross worked to atone for all the sins of God's people. So that now as the Heidelberg Catechism says that He might make us partakers of that righteousness which He had purchased for us by His death. And furthermore, we can say about the power of Jesus overcoming the grave that Jesus really triumphed over the grave even before he was placed in that grave, keeping in mind that the grave is the place of corruption, That's always part of the horror of the grave for you and for me because this is where the body decomposes and rots. and goes back to the dust of the earth. This is an aspect of the power of the grave, that the corruption of the grave is an awful thing. But Jesus overcame that power of the grave because His body was not suffered to see corruption. So that, though the body of Jesus was in that grave for three days, Yet that body of Jesus did not see corruption. According to Psalm 16, thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, that is the grave, nor suffer thine holy one to see corruption. So that though Jesus was truly dead and truly buried as much as we will be in our graves, yet he did not see any corruption. no decomposing of his body, so that already from the moment that he was laid in the grave, it's as if Jesus is announcing to the grave, you may try your best, but I have overcome you already. You have no power to corrupt me. I paid the price, and on the third day, I will rise from the dead. But what a power. What a power, what a victory our Savior has accomplished over death and the grave. Now what does that mean for you and for me? It means that when we face our death and when we encounter the grave that we don't go through that as punishment for sin. Death now has been changed for us, as we saw on last Lord's Day, Lord's Day 16. Because of the death of Jesus Christ, our death has been changed so that it's no longer a punishment for sin, but simply a passageway into heavenly glory. Well, beloved, the same applies to the grave. The grave has been changed for us as well. So that yes, our bodies will still go down to the grave and during this life, yes, even our bodies will decompose and return to the dust. And yet for us as God's people, the place of the grave has been changed from being a place of everlasting corruption and decay and death, so that now the grave has been changed into being a resting place for our bodies, so that in the day of Jesus Christ, by his almighty power, he will awaken our bodies from the dead. In that sense, we may say that our bodies sleep. Our bodies go to sleep in the grave and will be awakened and risen from the dead. in the day of the Lord Jesus Christ, arisen now with bodies that will be made like unto His. But that grave into which we are placed, that grave for the child of God, for whom Jesus Christ died, that grave becomes the place where our bodies sleep for a time until Jesus awakens our bodies and raises the dead. And all this is possible because Jesus Christ has overcome death and the grave. With the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead he also has fulfilled his promise. First and obviously the immediate word of promise that he already spoke to the disciples that he already spoke to the women in which he was crystal clear as to what would happen So that in Luke 24, the angels say to the women in verse six and seven, he's not here, but he's risen. Remember how he spake unto you while he was in Galilee saying, the son of man must be delivered unto the hands of sinful men and be crucified and the third day rise again. so that the empty tomb should not have taken the women by surprise. The disciples really should not have been in a state of wonderment and bewilderment about all the things that took place on that day trying to figure out what possibly could have happened. Jesus already told them, and he told them very plainly on the third day, I will rise again. And Jesus has fulfilled that word that he spoke to the women and to the disciples in his resurrection on the third day. But there are more promises which are ours in the resurrection of Jesus Christ The Catechism reminds us and sets forth those promises. In the first place, we confess that we are also by His power raised up to a new life. That's how the resurrection of Jesus Christ profits you and me. that we are by his power raised up to a new life. And that's not talking about the new life that we will have in heavenly glory in body and soul, part of it, but it's talking about a present reality. So that there is a sense in which you and I right now, are resurrected from the dead. From this point of view, that right now, you and I have life. It's a life that can never be taken away. It's a life that cannot die. It's a life given to us from above. It's the life that we have been given in regeneration. The Bible calls it the new man, the life of being born again. It is that spiritual life whereby we know God and love him. The life that is righteous in the blood of Jesus Christ and whereby we delight to walk in all newness of life. From the point of view of our regeneration, we are raised from the dead. even now. And it's all because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And that's the teaching of the Bible in Romans chapter 6 in verses 3 and 4. knowing not that so many of us were baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into His death, therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, and you would think you would say, even so should we be raised from the dead in the body, and that's true. But even as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. The resurrection of Jesus Christ means that we are raised up from the life now, and that we walk in newness of life, loving God, loving the neighbor, and doing all things to the glory of God, living as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Why? Because Jesus Christ is raised from the dead and so are we in Him. And that's the newness of life that we have right now. The resurrected life of Jesus Himself that He gives unto us. that He lives within us, that we live unto Him, that we love our Savior, and that we live in the hope of the resurrection of the body and life eternal. This is the life we now have, right now, because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the second place, there's this promise that even as Christ rose from the dead, this too is a pledge of our blessed resurrection. Now it's speaking about the resurrection of our bodies. Because He arose from the dead and we are members of His body, then we also shall rise from the dead when the Lord returns. And that's a good hope and a good comfort that we have as the children of God. In Jesus Christ, we have this confidence that even as we contemplate our own death, maybe we shudder to think about that. But when we do, that we may have this confidence and that we may confess that this my body will not lie in the grave forever, but this my body will be raised from the dead and all the present corruption will be gone. All that corrupts and defiles me now will be gone forever and there will be no more death, no more disease, no more aches and pains, nothing but perfect glory in body and soul, worshiping my Savior forever and ever. And beloved, that's the confidence that we have in this life, even the confidence we have when we stand at the graveside of a loved one who has died in the Lord. We have the confidence that there will come the day when this grave will be empty That there comes the day when that body will be raised from the dead, a new and glorious body. The Lord Jesus Christ promises it. On what basis? On the basis of the word of the angels, the angels who say He is not here, but He is risen. And that's a pledge and promise Jesus makes to us then, that you shall rise with me. I believe, we say with the church of all ages, I believe in Jesus Christ crucified, dead, and buried. We're thankful the gospel accounts don't stop with Luke 23 and John 20, but we continue, and I believe. that on the third day He was risen from the dead and He lives and we live in Him, both body and soul, both now and forevermore. Thanks be to God for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Amen. Let us pray. Our Father, which art in heaven, we thank Thee for Thy word, bless it to our hearts. We thank Thee for the resurrection of our Savior from the dead, our Savior who gave His life that we might live forever with Thee. Encourage us and build us up through this precious knowledge and then grant that we live out of that new life now. not giving in to the flesh, but living in that regenerated life, which has been raised by the power of Christ within us. We pray all this in Jesus' name alone, amen. We praise God singing Psalter number 29. Psalter number 29, a versification of Psalm 16. And let's sing the three stanzas, all three, Psalter number 29. you Amen. ♪ With God as our guide ♪ The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Ghost be and abide with you all. Amen.