Easter Sunrise Matins 2026

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Good news, gospel. These are words we should hear every week in church. C.F.W. Walther, in his monumental Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel, reminds seminarians and preachers, and laity alike, to this day that the gospel must predominate in every single sermon. When the good news is told over and over again, there's a temptation to move on in one way or another. There's only one gospel. While there's only one gospel, there are plenty of laws. I mean, we at least have ten, right? So let the law predominate. Have sermon series after sermon series on how to be and do better. You can have one for each commandment. You can make up some more, probably two along the way. Explore the current cultural iterations of commandment keeping and commandment violations. Maybe the gospel itself needs rebranding and repackaging. A new font, you know. Maybe mix some script with some, you know, I don't know, bold face packaging. More inspirational music, that's what'll get them. More fire. Make the gospel predominate by having it appeal to consumer standards for what works and what makes an impact. Maybe we should just ask straightforward. Are we bored with the gospel? Has Easter become boring? The church at Corinth was plagued with worldly problems. The culture of the city was rich and vibrant. Food, safety, and money were at the ready. There was little persecution persecution. In such a stable place with such openness to religion, you'd think the church would be thriving. No issues really to speak of. But not so. Factions, sexual immorality, impious partaking of the Lord's Supper, even denial of the resurrection itself. What had the faith become to this congregation? A hobby? A club? St. Paul addressed the issues at Corinth head on. First he laid the groundwork against factions and differing beliefs, the proclamation of Christ crucified. He laid down his life as payment for our sins. His death alone is the atoning sacrifice that reconciles us to God. But if he stayed dead, then what? Then he was a liar. That's what. He said he'd suffer, die, and then arise, and if he didn't arise, that makes him a liar. It certainly makes Jesus just a man. You might make the case that he was a good teacher, moral, but you could never make the case that he was God if he stayed dead. Jesus becomes just another one in a long line of human philosophers to follow, or a teacher to learn from, or a teacher you can ignore and not follow, with little to no ramifications for you. Death would still hang as a covering over all people. Death would still be undefeated. Our tears would flow and keep on flowing without anyone to wipe them away. Our sins would accuse us and keep pointing at us and pointing them out to us and prodding us, saying, Sinner, sinner, death is coming, death is near, you can't beat death. What are you going to do? And how would we reply to such accusations? Such a reality. But others have said that I'm a good person. My family knows that I've tried. But truly, what authority do other sinners have to judge you? What authority do you have to judge yourself? Your sins continue to tell you what you really deserve. Death now and forever. If Christ is dead, faith in Christ is futile. And you're still dead in your sins and trespasses, not just now, but forever. Why trust in Jesus if he was a liar? Why follow the philosophy of just another man? Why not just live life up? Eat, drink, be merry, while you still have the time? As sinners, it sounds tempting, doesn't it? Isn't that kind of how we let our sinful flesh indulge itself anyways? Isn't that what the world calls freedom? Do whatever you want to. If it makes you happy, can't be that bad. If it feels good, do it. If it's wrong, why does it feel so right? So goes the temptations of the devil and his lie. It's better for you if there isn't any good news, because the good news is bad news for sinners. That's the devil's way. The devil keeps at it with the same tactic. He calls evil good and good evil. He's been doing it since the garden. In 1 Corinthians 15, Saint Paul wrote, Now I'd remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved. The Corinthians need to be reminded of the good news. It didn't need repackaging or tweaking. It needed to be proclaimed. Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures. He was buried, he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures. He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve, then to more than five hundred brothers at one time, who can deny this, then to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all to Paul himself. So on Easter Sunday, I humbly would like to remind you of Easter. Christ truly is risen from the dead, and this matters. It mattered for Corinth, and the fact of Christ's resurrection should have impacted their factions, their sexual immorality, impious partaking of the Lord's Supper. The resurrection of Christ can't be denied. Scoffers will scoff, sure. But Christ has been raised from the dead. Even the church persecutor Paul, self-admittedly unworthy to be called an apostle, and the most unlikely of converts, was convinced of Christ's resurrection. This news is good news. It means that God confronts our factions, impiety, immorality, false beliefs with the truth. His word is truth. Jesus is no liar or lunatic, but he is Lord. His death is the atoning sacrifice that has paid for your sins and reconciled you to God the Father. For Christ has been raised for your justification. The Father accepted the pure and spotless sacrifice of his Son. It's clear on Easter Day. Death has no dominion over the sinless Son of God. Jesus, true God and true man, died in our place, and because he lives, all who believe in him will live even though they die. The covering that is over us all, death, has been removed by Christ. Death has been dealt the death blow by Christ the life of the world. Our victorious champion stands with his foot crushing the devil's head with death defeated. The Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior, lives to wipe away our tears. That good news can't and shouldn't get old, boring. It predominates. It's our baptism. It's the Lord's Supper. It's the forgiveness of sins. It's not only our death, but it's our life. The truth has pointed out our malady and brought healing. This is the antidote to sin's venom. This rights the wrongs. It makes a fallen creation new. Makes you new. The reality of Christ's resurrection brings the import that God's word is true and his promises sure and certain. Christ really is risen from the dead. The accusation of sin and the devil stop when Christ speaks his word of forgiveness. Death itself has to give way to life for every believer in Christ the risen Lord. Let the good news sink in. Weep like Mary at the tomb, thinking Christ was dead and his body merely taken away. That's a scary and sad position to be in. I suppose maybe a little make believe on Easter Sunday, you know, isn't a bad thing to do when you consider how bad off you would be if this day didn't happen. And listen as your God then calls you by name and holy baptism and joins you to his cross and to his empty tomb. Your Savior lives, his word is true, the message is true, your forgiveness is true, your baptism is true, his supper is true, your eternal life is true. Christ is risen indeed. Hallelujah. Amen.