O Grave, Where Is Thy Victory?

 

[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered at Pilgrim Reformed Church on Easter Sunday morning, the 20th of April, 2025.  Our service this morning included the observance of Holy Communion.  A recording of our service should be available on our YouTube streaming channel: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams.]

Family, the prophet Hosea implores us to, "Come, and let us return to the Lord; for He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up.  After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight."  (Hosea 6:1-2 (NKJV))

“On the third day He will raise us up.”  Through Hosea, God promised to raise us up on the third day so that we may live with Him, live in His sight.  This is exactly what He did for His Son Jesus, as a sign to us, a reminder of His promise.  Today we celebrate that third day, and Jesus’ victory over the grave.

Since today is such a special day, I thought I’d let God bring His own message this morning.  With just a few comments thrown in here and there, we’ll hear God speak through His word, His scripture, written by the men He inspired, His Son’s apostles.  And we’ll begin with a former tax collector’s reporting of the weekend we have been reliving these last few days, starting Friday evening right before sunset.

So please listen and follow along as the Apostle Matthew relates the events of that first Easter weekend, as recorded in chapter 27 verse 57 through chapter 28 verse 15 of his Gospel account, and I’ll be reading mostly from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible this morning, with the very last scripture being from the older King James Version…

27:57 Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. 58 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him. 59 When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed. 61 And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb.

62 On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, 63 saying, “Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise.’ 64 Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead.’ So the last deception will be worse than the first.”

65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.

28:1 Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. 3 His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 4 And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.

5 But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7 And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”

8 So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.

9 And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

11 Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. 12 When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, 13 saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’ 14 And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.” 15 So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.

--Matthew 27:57-28:15 (NKJV)

Let us pray…  Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Your Christ to free us from the bonds of sin!  Jesus came to offer salvation to all the world because You love us all.  And He commands us to go and make disciples of all the world.  Sadly, Father, not everyone believes in Jesus as Your Son and accepts Him as their Lord.  Please help us reach out to the non-believers of the world, sharing the Good News and showing Your love.  Help us spread the message that Jesus has risen from the dead and lives again.  And please forgive us when we hesitate to do Your will and as our Lord Jesus commands us.

Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand Your message today.  Thank You for raising Jesus from the dead to show that we too will be raised to eternal life if we just follow Him.  Help us keep the joy of His resurrection in our heart and our actions as we go about each day doing Your will.  This we pray in the precious name of Your Son, Christ Jesus our Lord.   Amen.

Thomas a Kempis, in his work, The Imitation of Christ, wrote, in words to the effect, that we ought to so order ourselves, in all our thoughts and actions, as if today we were about to die. We should labor now to live in a manner that at the hour of our death we may rather rejoice than fear.

We who believe have no reason to fear death.  As Warren Wiersbe noted in his book The Wycliffe Handbook of Preaching and Preachers, "Death is not extinguishing the light from the Christian; it is putting out the lamp because the dawn has come."

The Apostle John describes Jesus as the True Light that shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it.  We have that Light within us, and it cannot be extinguished.  Jesus has come and brought with Him a new dawn.

In our first scripture reading, Matthew mentions the day following the Day of Preparation.  The “Day of Preparation” was Friday, when folks would get all the food cooked and everything that needed to be done before the Sabbath began at sunset, since the Israelites considered a day to start and end at sunset.  So the day following the Day of Preparation would be Saturday, the Sabbath, when no work is allowed.  But I guess plotting and scheming was allowed.  Apparently it was OK for the chief priests and Pharisees to ask Pilate for a guard, and then to assign a guard themselves and secure the tomb stone.  After the resurrection, those very guards took a bribe to spread the lie that the disciples came in the night and took the body of Jesus, a lie that is still repeated from time to time today.

Now we’re all familiar with the resurrection story, how the Mary’s went to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus, but upon arriving found the huge stone rolled away and the tomb empty.  An angel was there to greet them, to let them know Jesus had risen from the grave, just as He’d promised, and to relay the message that all Jesus’ followers should go to Galilee where they will see Him.  And then Jesus Himself appeared to the ladies as they were on their way to tell the others what had happened.

Yes, we all know the resurrection story.  It is central to our faith in that it proves Jesus to truly be the all powerful Son of God, as well as assuring us of the promise of our own resurrection to new life.  But this wasn’t the first time the grave was denied.

There are three recorded instances of Jesus raising someone from the dead.  The first was in the city of Nain, as the only son of a widow was being carried out of the city for burial.  Please listen to what the Apostle Luke reported of this event in verses 13 through 15 of the 7th chapter of his Gospel account…

13 When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” 15 So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother.

--Luke 7:13-15 (NKJV)

Luke says that Jesus had compassion on this woman.  As a widow, she had no husband to see to her needs, and so depended on her children for sustenance, or in this case, her only son.  With her son now dead too, she had no one to help her, no one to provide for her.  So Jesus gave her another chance at life by giving her son new life, defeating death.

The next came in Capernaum, when the twelve year old daughter of Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, became deathly ill.  Please listen to how the Apostle Mark recorded this in verses 22 through 24 and verses 41 and 42 of the 5th chapter of his Gospel account…

22 And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name. And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet 23 and begged Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.” 24 So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.

41 Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, “Talitha, cumi,” which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” 42 Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age. And they were overcome with great amazement.

--Mark 5:22-24, 41-42 (NKJV)

I left out the part in the middle when a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years touched the hem of Jesus’ robe and was healed.  Now, her ailment might have led to her death eventually, but at that point the grave was not yet denied another victim.

But she did manage to stop Jesus and delay him just long enough that the little girl died from her illness.  Had she not passed, Jesus would have simply healed her, as He had healed so many before.  But now He could raise her from the dead.  He could glorify God and prove to the very few witnesses just who He truly is.

The third resurrection is the best known, when Jesus raised His dear friend Lazarus from the dead.  Lazarus' sisters, Martha and Mary, were present that day, along with a crowd of mourners.  This is the same Mary who had anointed Jesus' feet with expensive oil, and dried them with her hair.  Please listen to what the Apostle John witnessed of this miracle, from verses 38 through 45 of the 11th chapter of his Gospel account…

38 Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”

Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.”

40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” 41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42 And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” 43 Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!” 44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Loose him, and let him go.”

45 Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him.

--John 11:38-45 (NKJV)

There is no such thing as a coincidence.  This was meant to look somewhat similar to what would soon happen with the Son of God, to prepare us.  Jesus was entombed for only two days, men weren’t required to roll the stone away, and as far as we know, Jesus didn’t just walk out of the tomb.  I wonder, though, if God didn’t shout, “Jesus, come forth, My Son!”

Three times Jesus brought the dead back to life.  Three times death was defeated and the grave denied.  Jesus, fully God while fully man, gave these three folks new life, brought their physical bodies back to life.  And then His Father God brought Him back to physical life after His sacrifice, to redeem us of our sin.

There’s one more passage I’d like to close with, one that speaks of life and death.  The Apostle Paul writes of the resurrected Christ and His defeat of our last enemy: death.  Hear what Paul said in his 1st letter to the church in Corinth, chapter 15, verses 54 through 57, and this from the King James Version of our Holy Bible…

54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

--1 Corinthians 15:54-57 (KJV)

We Christians, we followers of Christ, have no reason to fear death.  Jesus took away death’s sting and denied the grave its win over us.  And we believers all get to share in the great victory.  Through our Lord Jesus Christ, we will shed this corruptible shell and put on incorruption, the mortal being will pass away as we put on immortality.  Death is swallowed up in victory!  Our Lord Jesus lives!  Thanks be to God!

In just a few moments we will come to the table of our Lord to share His last meal with Him.  The Apostle Paul warns that we must be right with God before doing so.  Otherwise, we share the guilt of His execution, of His death, with those who committed the act.

Now is the time to get right with God.  If you are feeling convicted by the Holy Spirit, if you are weighed down by the guilt of disobedience, if you are holding a grudge against a fellow believer, if there is anything in your life that God would see as sinful, lay it all at the foot of our Lord’s cross, repent, and seek forgiveness.  Get right with God.

In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord, the Son of God, who came in the flesh to redeem us, who was raised from the dead into flesh and returned to heaven, and who is coming again to judge us all.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Almighty God, thank You for raising Your Son Jesus from the dead!  He gave up His mortal life to atone us of our sin so that we could always be with You, and then You resurrected Him in the body to show that we too will be resurrected in they body when our mortal life is finished.  You will give us a new, incorruptible body that will last for all eternity.  Thank You, Father, for such wonderful gifts, for having mercy on us.  Sometimes, Father, we don’t understand everything that has been saved for us in our Bible.  Sometimes we don’t understand because we don’t spend enough time in study and reflection.  Please forgive us these times, Father.  Help us better grasp all that Jesus taught us, and all that the prophets wrote about Him.  Give us greater insight and visibility into all You have promised.  And Father, guide us around any pitfalls in this life and strengthen our spirits to do Your will.  And please help us do a better job of sharing Jesus with others so that they too may be saved by Your mercy and His sacrifice.  

Father, please shield us from Satan as he attacks our faith, trying to make us his own.  Help us be better servants, glorifying You in all we do so that the world can see You in us, through our deeds, in how we live.  And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what the world throws at us or holds out before us.

Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…

Lord Jesus, on this day – the third day - so long ago You left an empty tomb behind as You were raised to renewed life by our Father God, just as You said You would be.  So many had trouble believing this, even those who walked with You.  So You showed Yourself to them, in the flesh, and we have their reports and witnessing so that we can believe.  Thank You, Jesus, for taking our sin upon Yourself, leaving our sin in the grave, and walking forth into a new day.  Please help us follow Your example and pattern our life after Yours.  Help us see through Your eyes.  Help us be more understanding, more merciful, more forgiving, remembering that we are all created in our Triune God’s image and that You came to save us all.  And Lord, please help us reach out to the non-believing world with the Gospel message, showing Your love through our love.  Give us the words to say, show us what to do to help bring the lost to You.

Lord Jesus, please shield our minds and our hearts from Satan’s lies and the world’s empty promises.  Guide us around all the devil’s traps and snares.  Help us see though his temptations and all the false teachings.  Help us fend off his attacks.  Please help us be faithful and true to You, putting all our trust in You, all our hope in You.  Heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another.  Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer.  This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior.  Amen.