Surprises. There are basically two kinds of surprises. There are the welcome surprises,
and then there are the unwelcome surprises. Welcome surprises are you get your taxes done,
and you've got a sweet refund. Do I have an amen? Or if you're playing Monopoly and you fall on the
chance thing, you get the card that says, go to go and collect $200. That's a welcome surprise.
An unwelcome surprise is when you have your taxes done and you owe money more than you expected and
maybe more than you planned on, yours truly. Or you're playing Monopoly and you fall on the chance
thing and you get the card that says, inheritance tax, pay $200. That's an unwelcome surprise.
But perhaps the greatest surprise of all is Easter. Easter is the annual celebration
of the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and it's a game changer.
All throughout the ages, since the first century, the Christian church has been proclaiming that
Jesus Christ is alive today and changing lives. He is alive. He's risen. He's risen indeed.
Now for many of you in the room, when we started the service and you heard me say, he is risen,
you responded, he is risen indeed with every fiber of your being because you have come to know the
risen Jesus personally. You know him. You have experienced his mercy and his grace.
He has changed you. He has changed you. He continues to change you for his name's sake.
The first time you heard the good news of Christ's death and resurrection and you had ears to hear,
you welcomed it. The surprise of the resurrection was welcomed good news because you realized at that
moment Jesus had died and was raised for you. But let's just be honest, even if you're a Christian,
you can have some doubts, you can have some hard experiences where you're condemning yourself for
sins you've committed. And maybe even if you just remain silent about Jesus, well,
got a surprise for you today. So there's some in this room that give a hearty yes and amen
to this surprise news of the resurrection of Jesus. It's welcome news. But for others of us in this room,
it may not be as welcome. You may be skeptical about the resurrection. And that's not necessarily a bad
thing. It's just that you're like, hey, dead people don't come back to life three days later. That's
impossible according to the laws of nature. Well, maybe there's a surprise for you this morning.
I'm glad that you're here. Maybe you're not skeptical. Maybe you're just a little bit more
pragmatic. So your thinking goes something like this. Hey, you know what? I'm a pretty busy person.
I'm working hard during the week. And if I'm going to plan my Sunday morning, I got stuff to do.
And in that stuff to do, Jesus just doesn't fall into the mix. It's not that I don't believe he
existed. He's just not that important to me. Well, for the pragmatists in the room,
I have a surprise for you this morning. And then there are the searchers among us.
Every three to five years, you find yourself giving yourself fully to something new.
Maybe when you were in school, it was your grades. Maybe it turned into environmentalism.
Maybe it became the cause of sex trafficking. Maybe it became your career. Maybe it came raising
children, having a family. But every three to five years, you're turning to something new in order to
scratch that itch deep inside of you. I've got some good news for you this morning.
And then there are the guilt ridden among us.
You have deep levels of shame and guilt for real pain that has been inflicted on you or you have
inflicted upon others. It's real. And so there are things that you have experienced that you are so ashamed of
that you will never tell anyone until all the way up to your death.
Your greatest fear is having these shameful happenings exposed.
So here's how you get by. You find ways to hide the shame and numb the guilt.
And in so doing, you keep people just far enough away.
We'll have good news for you this morning.
Someone already sees it all
and wants to come close.
Jesus died and was raised
for skeptics, for pragmatists,
for searchers,
and for the guilt ridden.
He came for you and me.
And not only did he die,
he was raised.
And this
resurrection
is to be a welcomed surprise
announcement.
Jesus is alive today.
Changing lives.
We heard that from Billy Johnson already.
So here's how we're going to move forward this morning.
I'm going to walk you through
an eyewitness account of the resurrection of Jesus.
It's given to us by a guy named Luke.
The Gospel of Luke.
He was a first century doctor
and he was a very careful historian.
And you'll see that as we go through this account.
And what this eyewitness account claims
is that Jesus was dead
and now he's alive
changing people.
And you're going to see it as a series
of surprises.
And after we're done walking through that,
I'm going to summarize it
and then I'm going to say,
here's some things to think about
on your way out.
So let's walk through Luke's account
in Luke 24.
Danielle read a good chunk of it.
She read through verse 7.
I'm going to walk you through chapter 24
verses 1 through 12.
In your Black Pew Bible,
I think it's page 1051
or pretty close to that.
Luke 24.
So here's how we're going to walk through.
We're going to see first a scene
that should not surprise you.
And then we're going to move to another scene
where it's a tomb surprise.
Wait on it.
And then an angelic surprise.
Wait on it.
And then a people surprise.
A series of surprises that culminate.
It's all about Jesus is alive.
So 24.1, we read,
but on the first day of the week
at early dawn,
they went to the tomb
taking the spices they had prepared.
Who is this they?
Well, Luke tells us.
Look at verse 10.
Now it was Mary Magdalene
and Joanna
and Mary the mother of James
and the other women
with them
who went back to the apostles.
They're on their way to the tomb.
And the reason why
they're on the way to the tomb
is hinted at
because they're carrying spices.
They're burial spices.
So here's what has happened.
Jesus died on a Friday.
And then came Saturday,
which for the Jews at the time
is called the Sabbath.
It's the last day of the week.
Nobody worked on the Sabbath.
And then came Sunday,
the first day of the week.
And so Jesus was crucified on a Friday.
These women didn't have time
to prepare their body.
They couldn't prepare his body
for burial
because it was a kind of a work.
So they had to wait out the Sabbath.
And then first thing on Sunday morning,
they're back to the tomb
in order to prepare his body.
But here's what you need to know
about these women.
These women
have been traveling with Jesus.
They're from Galilee.
Some of them have been
with Jesus for three years.
They had witnessed his miracles.
They had heard his teaching.
They had experienced him personally.
They knew the sound of his voice.
They themselves were helped
fund his itinerant ministry.
They were committed.
And so these are the same women
who just days before
had watched Jesus be crucified.
They watched him die.
They watched his body
be taken down from the cross.
And they watched,
chapter 23, verse 55,
Luke is very specific.
They see where his body was laid.
They saw the tomb.
They know where he's at.
And so these women
are going to the tomb.
And it shouldn't surprise you
that these women
are grieving.
And not just grieving,
their hope has been crushed.
Because this was the guy
just a week before
Jesus was welcomed into Jerusalem
to crowds singing his praises
like he's a returning king.
They were thinking,
this is the Messiah,
the Christ,
the long-awaited one.
But now their hopes
have been crushed.
It's all changed.
He's dead.
And so maybe
you know what it's like
to have the very thing
that you were banking
all your hopes on
pulled right out
from underneath you.
That's what these women
are experiencing.
So it's no surprise here.
These women are grieving.
They're crushed.
It's hopeless.
They're just going to do
what they need to do
to prepare his body.
They're fully expecting
to find the dead body of Jesus
where they had left it
on Friday.
So no surprise here.
Now we start entering
the surprises
with verse 2.
And what we first run into
are some tomb surprises.
You ready for this?
Look at verse 2.
And they found the stone
rolled away.
So they walk up
to where the tomb was.
And remember,
they knew where it was,
2355.
And the stone
had been rolled away
in front of the entrance
of the tomb.
It would have been
hundreds of pounds.
The only way to move
a stone like that
is by rolling it downhill
or by levering it.
And what it was for
was to block
the entrance of the tomb
so no animals
could get inside,
so no grave robbers
could get in there.
And so they walk up
in surprise.
The stones rolled away.
Here's how they were feeling.
Just imagine you go home
after the service today
and whether it's a house
or an apartment,
you left your house
with a front door lock
and you come to your house.
Front door is wide open.
Surprise!
That's a sample
of how they're feeling
right now.
What's going on?
It's an alarming surprise.
And then we have
another surprise
in verse 3.
Not only is this tomb open,
they go into the tomb
and they do not find
the body of the Lord Jesus.
It's an open
and empty tomb.
Which is even more surprising
than it being open.
So,
in verse 4,
we read,
while they were perplexed
about this,
it was confusing to them.
You'd be confused too.
You're coming to the tomb
because the one
that you'd set your hope on
has died.
You just want to
put spices on his body
and give an honorable death,
burial,
and you walk up
and all of a sudden
the thing's open
and there's no body inside.
Where's the body?
Who took the body?
And why would anybody
take his body?
The tomb surprise
is a confusing surprise.
surprise.
And if you were there,
you would have been
as confused
as they were as well.
And then something happens.
More surprises.
An angelic surprise.
And this angelic surprise
is a surprising appearance
as well as a surprising question
as well as a surprising connection.
So look at the surprising appearance.
Verse 4,
While they were perplexed about this,
behold,
two men in dazzling apparel
stood by them.
It's a surprising appearance
of two angels.
And you know they're angels
because of their dazzling apparel.
They were shining.
This word dazzle
is the same word
that describes Jesus'
radiant glory
at his transfiguration.
They were radiating light.
And notice,
they're radiating light
next to these women
in the tomb.
Literally,
they are bringing light
into the dark tomb.
They're bringing clarity
to their confusion.
Angels,
when they come on the scene,
they make announcements.
We see that in the gospel of Luke
that the birth of Jesus
is announced by angels
at the beginning of the book.
And here at the end
of the gospel of Luke,
we have angels
announcing his resurrection.
And so,
we have the surprise appearance
of these angels
and the women.
They're afraid
and they bow their eyes.
they don't want to look.
They don't want to look.
And now,
there's this surprise question
and announcement.
Look at verse 5.
They say,
and as they were frightened
and bowed their face
to the ground,
the men,
the angels said to them,
why do you seek
the living among the dead?
Why do you seek
the living among the dead?
Here's how to think about it.
They're kind of like,
duh.
What are you doing here?
Why do you think
Jesus would be here?
Why are you seeking
the living one
in a cemetery?
It's a surprising question.
And they go on to say,
he's not here,
but has risen.
He's alive.
In the original language
that this was written in,
that verb has risen,
scholars call it
a divine passive.
And here's what that means.
These angels are saying
that God has raised him
from the dead.
And so for their questions
about who stole his body,
these angels are saying,
nobody stole his body.
God raised him
from the dead.
These angels are kind of
like saying,
hey, let's just set
the record straight
so there's no confusion.
He's not here.
Dead people are in tombs.
He's not dead.
He's alive.
And if that were not,
there's now this
surprising connection.
And we see that
in verse 6.
He is not here,
but has risen.
You see the word remember?
Remember how he told you
while he was still in Galilee
that the Son of Man
must be delivered
into the hands of sinful men.
and be crucified
and on the third day,
rise.
It's a really important connection
that they're making here.
These angels are saying,
duh, he's not here.
He's risen.
Like he said he would be.
He's fulfilling the divine must.
These angels are making a connection
between what Jesus foretold
and what Jesus has fulfilled.
He foretold.
He foretold
that he was going to die.
And not just that,
he foretold
where he would die.
He foretold
who would kill him.
He foretold
how he would be killed.
And not just that,
he foretold
not that he would just die,
but that he would be raised.
And not just raised,
he foretold
when he would be raised
on the third day.
What do you think it means
when angels
quote you?
Because this is what
these angels are doing.
Do you remember what he said?
And they basically
quote him verbatim
from
Luke 9 and Luke 18
where Jesus foretells
his death and resurrection.
What does that mean?
That means that his word
is all authoritative.
And what these angels
are showing us
is that Jesus,
what Jesus foretold
about himself,
he has fulfilled.
In 922 and 1831,
he does foretell
where he's going to die
and who's going to kill him
and how he's going to die.
And he also foretells
that he's going to be raised
and when he will be raised.
And what the angels
are saying here in 24-7
is it's been fulfilled.
Remember?
It's happened.
It's a very specific fulfillment.
Let me give you
some perspective on this.
Back in the day,
this guy named Joe Namath
who was a quarterback,
he publicly guaranteed
that his underdog
New York Jets
would upset
the juggernaut
Baltimore Colts
in the 1969 Super Bowl.
And then he delivered on it.
They actually won.
Jesus
has publicly guaranteed
in Luke 9
and Luke 18,
he's publicly guaranteed
where he would die,
Jerusalem,
by whom he would die,
sinful men,
the way he would die
by crucifixion,
and that he would be raised
on the third day.
It's one thing
for Joe Namath
to get lucky
and win a Super Bowl.
It's another thing
for Jesus Christ
to foretell his death
and resurrection
and then to fulfill that
according to God's loving plan
to rescue sinners.
That's what this is all about.
Jesus' death
and resurrection
was a must.
It was a must
for skeptics
and for searchers
and for pragmatists
and for the guilt-ridden
to rescue us
it is a surprising connection.
The words Jesus foretold
have been fulfilled.
Now, if Jesus was right
about his own death,
if what he said
was right about his own death
and his own resurrection,
it begs the question,
what else did he talk about?
Well, did you know
he talked about
the nature of man?
He talked about
men and women
enjoying food.
He talked about
men and women
being in relationship
with each other.
He also talked about
that at the core,
men and women
have a sin problem.
There is this well
within us
that bubbles up
things like
sexual immorality,
like envy,
like hatred.
In Mark chapter 7,
Jesus is very clear.
What defiles
a man and a woman
is what comes
from inside of you.
Our hearts
are sinful
at their core
and out of our
sinful hearts
we commit sins.
sins.
They defile us
before God,
says Jesus,
and that defilement
before God
has a judgment
on it.
We read elsewhere
that the wages
of sin
is death.
Our sin
deserves
death
according to
our Bibles,
which reminds me
something else
about Jesus' death.
death.
He foretold
where He would die,
by whom He would die,
and how He would die.
He also told us
why He would die.
In the Gospel of Mark,
Jesus says,
I came
not to be served,
but to serve
and to give my life
as a ransom
for many.
You see,
the death
that Jesus died
isn't just
a historical event,
it accomplished
something.
Recently,
there was a woman
and her guy
that were taken
hostage in Africa,
and someone
paid a ransom payment
and they got rescued.
They were released.
A ransom payment
is a payment
that liberates
captives
from slavery.
And when Jesus
talks about
His life,
His death
as a ransom,
His death
liberates
sinners
from the
slavery
of sin
and frees
them
so that they
can experience
the fullness
of life
in obedience
to God.
Another way
of thinking
about it
is like this.
Jesus' death
payment
was for sin.
Jesus'
resurrection
was the
declaration
that that payment
has been received
and accepted.
Jesus'
word
proves true.
true.
And what
these angels
are doing
is,
it's not just
surprising
that they
showed up,
it's not just
surprising
that they
say,
hey,
why are you
looking for
the living
among the
dead?
What's amazing
is that they're
making this
connection
between what
Jesus foretold
and what
He's fulfilled.
the resurrection
is declaring
that God's
plan has
been accomplished.
Let's look
at the last
surprise.
The people
surprise.
It's in
verses 8
through 12
and I won't
be long,
I just want
to point
some things
out to you.
In verse
8,
the women,
they hear
what these
angels say,
they've just
quoted Jesus,
they've made
the connection,
verse 8,
and they
remembered
Jesus'
words.
Back in
the gospel
of Luke,
when Jesus
foretells
His death
and resurrection,
Luke is
very clear
to say,
the disciples
didn't get it
at all.
They didn't
understand what
He was saying.
And what we
have right now
is these
women are
understanding
what Jesus
has said.
He truly
did die for
sin,
He truly
was raised
from the
dead.
The empty
tomb is
the fulfillment
of what
He said
must happen.
And so
their conclusion
in verse
8,
something's
dawning in
their hearts.
He's alive.
And in
verse 9,
they return
to the upper
room where
the disciples
were and
they tell
them everything.
They tell
them about
the empty
tomb,
they tell
them about
the two
angels,
they tell
them about
the connection
they made
or the
fulfillment
of Jesus'
words.
They say,
He's alive.
They haven't
even seen
Jesus.
They know
He's alive.
There's a
change going
on here.
The people's
surprise is a
surprising change.
These women,
just minutes
before,
went to the
grave thinking
that they're
going to put
spices on a
dead body.
And now
they've just
left the
grave.
The burial
spices are
still in the
grave.
And now
they've left
announcing
He's alive.
Grieving to
joy,
hopelessness to
hope.
But it
doesn't end
with these
women.
There's a
chain reaction
going on
because in
verse 12,
Peter has
heard what
they said,
and it's not
surprising by the
way that the
guys kind of
first say,
kind of like,
whatever,
I don't think
what you're
saying is true.
You see that
in verse 11,
but these
words seem to
them the
apostles in
idle tale.
Not
surprising.
But Peter
thinks about
it.
And he
bolts.
Can you
imagine what's
going on in
Peter right
now?
I'm guessing
he was thinking
something like
this.
These women
come back,
they're all
excited,
they relay
the account,
and I'm
guessing something
like this starts
bubbling up in
him.
Is it true?
The last
time in the
gospel of
Luke that
we saw
Peter,
do you know
what he was
doing?
He was
weeping
bitterly.
And he was
weeping bitterly
because he had
just denied
Jesus three
times,
just like
Jesus said
he would.
And so
when he
hears this,
that the
tomb is
empty,
that Jesus
is alive,
just like
he said
he would
be,
could you
imagine what's
going on in
him?
Seriously?
Is it true?
He
hightails it
to the
tomb,
he goes
into the
tomb,
and he
doesn't see
Jesus,
the angels
aren't there,
all that he
sees are the
burial linen
cloths lying
by themselves,
and that's all
he needed.
He went home
marveling at
what had
happened.
Could you
imagine what it
would have been
like to be
Peter after
denying Jesus?
the shame,
the guilt,
the isolation,
and here
he's marveling.
Surprise!
He's alive,
changing people.
The empty
tomb is like
this catalyst
of change
that changes
people.
It starts
with these
women,
it goes
to Peter,
and then
we see
in Acts
this gospel
message of
Jesus who's
died and
been raised
from the
dead.
It starts
spreading to
Jerusalem,
to Judea,
to Samaria,
to the ends
of the earth,
and it's
landed in
Kenosha.
Jesus is
alive,
changing people
today.
If you read
the rest of
Luke 24,
you would read
a lot more
of the surprises
of Jesus.
There are some
things that he
does and says
in the rest
of Luke 24
that you're
just like,
he's amazing.
This is amazing.
So let me just
recap.
We started off
with no surprise.
These women
were grieving
and hope
fallen,
hope crushed.
And then there
was the tomb
surprise that
resulted in
confusion with
these women,
and then there's
the angelic
surprise where
clarity resulted.
the connection
to Jesus'
own words.
And then there's
the people
surprise,
changed lives.
Can it be
true?
Here's how you
can sum up
these 12
verses of
Luke 24.
You've already
heard it.
Jesus is
alive.
He's alive
today,
and he is
still changing
people.
He's changing
people from
people who are
hopeless to
people who are
hopeful,
for those who
are ashamed to
being marveling
and full of
happiness.
Hey, does this
news that
Jesus is alive,
does that
surprise you?
And if it
does, is that
a welcome
surprise or is
that an
unwelcome
surprise?
If you're a
skeptic in the
room, I'm
so glad you're
here, it's
not bad to
be a skeptic.
You're
thinking.
But let me
just put it to
you this way,
just by way
of suggestion.
Let's boil it
down.
If Jesus
wasn't raised
from the
dead, then
his words
prove
folly,
who
were terribly
mistaken.
Those of us
who banked
our lives on
him were
terribly
mistaken.
We acknowledge
that.
But if
Jesus truly
was raised
from the
dead, his
word is
proven true,
which means
there's no one
like him.
He's one of a
kind.
he was
either raised
from the
dead or
he wasn't.
And so if
you're a
skeptic in
the room,
I've got two
questions for
you.
The first
one is
this.
Could a
supernatural
explanation of
the empty
tomb actually
be the best
explanation for
the empty
tomb?
And then
second,
how do you
explain the
empty tomb?
How do you
explain the
empty tomb?
If you're a
pragmatist and
you're thinking
about your
Sunday mornings
and how you
want to spend
them, you're
determining what
matters most and
how you want to
spend your time
and what you
want to get
done, my
question to you
would be this.
In light of
today's passage,
could it be that
you just haven't
realized what
your greatest
need is?
That Jesus
himself has
said that
the biggest
problem you
have is not
outside of
you, it's
inside of
you, that
you have
sin at the
core of
who you
are.
And the
good news
is that
God has
made the
most practical
solution to
that for
your biggest
problem by
sending Jesus
as a payment
for your
sin.
So pragmatically
speaking, it's
the best solution
to your biggest
problem.
And if he's
alive,
he doesn't
fit into
your schedule,
you fit into
his plan.
He's that
glorious.
If you're a
searcher, you've
just been moving
from one thing
to the next.
You're just
trying to scratch
the itch.
Do you remember
the angels'
question to the
women?
Are you
looking for
the living
among the
dead?
Are you
trying to
scratch the
itch through
your career,
through a
cause, through
your children,
by more and
more comfort?
Is that where
you're trying to
find life?
Among the
dead?
Doesn't give
life?
Maybe you're
here this
morning because
God has been
wanting you to
hear this.
maybe you
have been
searching not
for an it,
but for a
who.
Jesus, who
is alive
today and
can scratch
your itch.
For the guilt
ridden.
Jesus pays
his death,
paid for all
the sin and
guilt you
have
accumulated
and will
accumulate.
In fact,
he already
sees you for
who you are.
He sees
through the
walls, he
sees through
the layers of
protection,
and not only
does he see
through that and
see you as you
are in all of
your shame and
guilt, he's
able to
forgive you and
set you free
from your shame
and guilt.
And not just
able, he
wants to.
He wants to
set you free.
Jesus is alive
today and he
is changing
lives and he
can change
yours.
He's a
friend of
sinners.
If his
death is
God's way
of paying
for our
sin, then
his resurrection
is God's
announcement
that that
sin payment
has been
fully accepted
and it's
being offered
to you right
now.
Today, God
is offering
you full
forgiveness in
Jesus and
you don't
earn it, you
receive it as
a gift.
That's what
it is.
And for
those of you
in the room
who already
know Jesus
personally, you
hear the words
he is risen and
up from your
soul comes he's
risen indeed.
If you're a
doubting
Christian, you
find yourself
wondering, is
this all
true?
Let the
good news of
Easter Sunday
strengthen your
resolve.
He is
alive.
It is
all true.
He is our
living hope.
He is our
living confidence.
And if you
are a
self-condemning
Christian,
you sinned
this morning
against your
kids, you
sinned early
in the week
against someone
else and you
just keep on
replaying it
through your
mind again and
again and
again.
You, the
very one who
Jesus shed his
blood to ransom,
are condemning
yourself over and
over again.
You need to
remember that the
Jesus who died
for you is
alive for you and
he is interceding
right now according
to 1 John 2
one as your
advocate.
And as you
sin, he says,
done, paid,
my blood.
He is
alive
interceding for
you.
He is our
living hope.
He is our
living assurance
before the
Father.
God is
a quiet
Christian.
The thought of
speaking of
Jesus is scary
to you.
Do you
remember what
happened to the
women when they
remembered the
fulfillment of
Jesus' words?
They left the
grave and they
told those whom
they were closest
to that he is
alive.
the resurrection
is a catalyst to
evangelism.
To go tell that
he is alive, he
is risen.
You see, this is
good news.
It's not just good
news for you, it's
good news for your
neighbors.
It's not just good
news for your
neighbors, it's good
news for everyone
living in the city
of Kenosha.
This news is what
they need to hear.
It addresses their
greatest problem and
it's not just for our
city.
this news changes
the world.
You can't keep
silent about the
resurrection.
He's alive and he's
changing lives.
The resurrection of
Jesus, it's the
greatest surprise of
all.
And it's the most
welcome news of all
for sinners like you
and me.
So just one more
time.
He is risen.
God, thank you so
much for this
historic account of
the resurrection of
Jesus.
It does our heart
well to recall it.
Jesus, you are
alive.
Change our lives.
In your name we pray.
Amen.