EASTER DAY
April 20, 2025
Isaiah 65:17–25
1 Corinthians 15:19–26
Luke 24:1–12
Christ’s Resurrection Is the Firstfruits of the New Creation
The Lord has promised to “create new heavens and a new earth” (Is. 65:17), in which His people shall abide in peace and joy. That new creation has begun in the bodily resurrection of Christ Jesus. All the baptized belong to that new creation. Reborn of water and the Holy Spirit, they are “the offspring of the blessed of the Lord” (Is. 65:23). The Lord rejoices and is glad in them; He hears and answers their prayers. For “if in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Cor. 15:19). But Christ Jesus has been raised, “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor. 15:20). We may be “perplexed about this” (Luke 24:4), perhaps even frightened and brought to our knees, because it seems like an “idle tale” (Luke 24:11). But faith clings to the Word of Christ and finds His resurrected body — not in the tomb, but in His Holy Supper.
EASTER ACCLAMATION
P Alleluia! Christ is risen!
C He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
CONFESSION LSB 184
P O almighty God, merciful Father,
C I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You and justly deserved Your temporal and eternal punishment. But I am heartily sorry for them and sincerely repent of them, and I pray You of Your boundless mercy and for the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to be gracious and merciful to me, a poor, sinful being.
ABSOLUTION LSB 185
P Upon this your confession, I, by virtue of my office, as a called and ordained servant of the Word, announce the grace of God unto all of you, and in the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
PSALM 16
MEN: Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
WOMEN: I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.”
MEN: As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.
WOMEN: The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips.
MEN: The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.
WOMEN: The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
MEN: I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also, my heart instructs me.
WOMEN: I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
MEN: Therefore, my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.
WOMEN: For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.
MEN: You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
ALL: Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Collect of the Day
P Let us pray.
Almighty God the Father, through Your only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, You have overcome death and opened the gate of everlasting life to us. Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of our Lord’s resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by Your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
OLD TESTAMENT READING Isaiah 65:17–25
17“Behold, I create new heavens
and a new earth,
and the former things shall not be remembered
or come into mind.
18But be glad and rejoice forever
in that which I create;
for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy,
and her people to be a gladness.
19I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and be glad in my people;
no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping
and the cry of distress.
20No more shall there be in it
an infant who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not fill out his days,
for the young man shall die a hundred years old,
and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.
21They shall build houses and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
22They shall not build and another inhabit;
they shall not plant and another eat;
for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,
and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
23They shall not labor in vain
or bear children for calamity,
for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the Lord,
and their descendants with them.
24Before they call I will answer;
while they are yet speaking I will hear.
25The wolf and the lamb shall graze together;
the lion shall eat straw like the ox,
and dust shall be the serpent’s food.
They shall not hurt or destroy
in all my holy mountain,”
says the Lord.
EPISTLE 1 Corinthians 15:19–26
19If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
20But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
HOLY GOSPEL** Luke 24:1–12
1On the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. 5And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” 8And they remembered his words, 9and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. 10Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, 11but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. 12But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.
Sermon by Pastor David Matthews:
Grace, Mercy, and Peace to you from God our Father, and from Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
The text for our mediation this morning is from our Epistle lesson, 1 Corinthians, chapter fifteen.
"For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive." If any of us remained in the Old Adam, we would all perish. But by a second Adam, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the one who was promised from Genesis chapter three, verse fifteen, which reads, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel."
And Jesus did his on Good Friday. Jesus certainly bruised the head of Satan, with a heavy wooden cross. Jesus did no just bruise the head of the serpent. He conquered him, and also sin and death. Today is that victory. For Christ has arisen. Our victorious Lord and Savior, coming out of the tomb, and proclaiming victory over sin, death, hell, and Satan himself.
Yet it is hard for many to trust in this promise of eternal life and salvation. If you look at the demographics of the world, people who say they are Christian are a little over a third of the population of the world, around 33.5%. Roughly that means 66.5% of the world's population will not be in Heaven. Which is why it is highly important that we share this Good News of Christ's Resurrection. This is because Christ's Resurrection is a precursor to our own resurrection.
Satan is no longer in control of your lives. And that is the very promise that was proclaimed when the pastor handed you or your parent a white garment at your baptism, and said this from the baptism liturgy, "Receive this white garment to show that you have been clothed with the robe of Christ's righteousness that covers all your sin. So shall you stand without fear before the judgment seat of Christ to receive the inheritance prepared for you from the foundation of the world."
In baptism you were declared righteous before God. In baptism you were made an heir of Your Father in Heaven. Satan can no longer touch you. He will certainly try to tempt you, but His stubby little hands will not be able to devour you like a lion, wating for his prey. No, in Baptism, you were made righteous. You have an inheritance that is inherently better than any earthly inheritance.
You get to your Lord and Savior on the Last Day, because He will rise you. For Scripture says, "For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him."
And since our Lord and Savior has tasted death, and has conquered all sin, death, and the devil, we will be resurrected. For Jesus went into the Jordan River, to be baptized. In our baptism we were united with Him. And then Jesus went into the wilderness where Jesus then faced all of our temptations, and those temptations were conquered on the cross. For Jesus tasted death as a punishment for all our sins, even the ones that we want to hide. As we are united in Jesus' baptism, we are also united to His Resurrection.
You poor miserable sinner, get to arise, and be with you Lord on the Last Day. That is a promise we hold dear to on Easter Sunday. For every Easter and every Sunday we prepare ourselves for the feast that happens on the Last Day. Our Savior lives, and will for eternity. You also, dear saint in Christ, will live for eternity as well.
Chris is risen! He has risen indeed! Alleluia!
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
Now may the peace of Christ which surpasses all human understanding, guard and keep your minds on Christ Jesus, until life everlasting. Amen.