APRIL 5th, 2026 PASTOR DON PIEPER
EASTER SUNDAY 1 CORINTHIANS 15:1-8
A GOSPEL OF GRACE LUKE 24:1–12
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I love how, if you read about the resurrection from all four gospels, they each focus on various details while some details they all make sure to mention – like that women were the first witnesses of Jesus' resurrection, that they found his tomb standing open and vacant, that they were greeted there by mysterious angelic beings and that they arrived “very early on Sunday morning.” (Luke 24:1)
Matthew and Mark note that it was at sunrise and John adds that it was still dark. I bet it was! That's why I prefer to still be in bed at that time of day. I'm just saying. Being prone to insomnia, I'm not a morning guy. You know what the best part of waking up early is? Me neither. The only good part about it is that I get to eat again already. Otherwise, count me out. My friend's the snooze button.
My mom used to urge me to get up bright and early. “Look, mom,” I told her, “I can get up bright, or I can get up early – I can't do both!” I'm not that bright as it is!
Did you know studies show that owls are smarter than other birds? I mean, who wants to get the early worm? Whooo! I mean, Yuck! Being a night owl – now that sounds wise to me!
Still, in some ways, I guess I am a morning guy. Every morning,when I wake up, I'm mourning the fact that I'm no longer sleeping. I am pretty open minded, tho. I even have friend who's a morning guy...., but as far as I can tell, mornings come in three sizes: early, too early and way too early!
So when I read about these women showing up early, at sunrise no less, while it's still dark, I wonder WHY? What're they doing there so early? What is it that can't wait until a reasonable hour of the day? Luke doesn't leave us guessing: “They went to the tomb, taking the spices they'd prepared.” (Luke 24:1)
But why so early? Well, as Luke informs us as he concludes the previous chapter, “the women went home (on Friday) and prepared spices and ointments to anoint his body, but by the time they were finished the Sabbath had begun. So they rested.” (Luke 23:56)
According to strict custom of the day, no work could be done on the Sabbath, the day of rest, so they couldn't do it on Saturday. In hot Palestine, in a culture that did not embalm their dead, the body would've begun to decompose. What prompted Mary and her friends to go there so early? They were there to beat the heat & to perform a service of love, so that anyone who came to pay their last respects would be able to do so that day with the pungent smell of death nullified as best they could. They came early because that's what love motivates you to do – to honor and cherish the one you love!
The reason I bring up the women’s prominent role here isn't because they're early risers though, or are more inclined to stop and get directions.., or even their service of love – as true as all of that may be. Rather it’s because the fact that they were the first witnesses of the resurrection is evidence in and of itself of the historicity of Jesus’ resurrection! In a male-dominated world in which their credibility was subject to such scrutiny that women weren't allowed to receive a formal education, have any legal rights or give testimony in court, the fact that four men independently testified that women were the first key witnesses is extraordinary! As a result, Mary becomes the first apostle to the apostles!
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If Matthew, Mark, Luke and John had wanted to insure the credibility of their resurrection accounts they wouldn’t have cited women as the primary witnesses. It's a detail they could've easily glossed over and avoided outright. Paul, for example, avoids mentioning it, focusing on Peter instead. The women’s prominent role as key witnesses shows the gospel writers faithfully recorded what truly happened, no matter how awkward it was to them! I find it ironic that many voices in the church today say women shouldn't teach men when this whole Jesus movement would've never got off the ground if these brave, early-bird women hadn't instructed these sleepy headed dudes about the resurrection!
Then there’s the probing question: “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” (Luke 24:5) Those words have as much significance for our generation as they did for Mary and her friends. The question, in effect, asks why do we seek meaning in all the wrong places, why are we so inclined to settle for so much less than what Jesus offers? It's a question for the ages – for believers and non-believers, men and women, conservatives & liberals, law abiding citizens and scalawags alike.
In the second Pirates movie the scalawag, Rigetti, manages to get it right and wrong at the same time. Sitting in a rowboat he explains that since they're now mortal they need to take care of their immortal souls and that's why he's pretending to read a Bible. His pal retorts that he doesn't even know how to read. Rigetti responds: “You get credit for trying.” Admittedly, he’s on the right track by acknowledging his mortality and the needy state of his immortal soul, but he also thinks that one gets credit for trying, for doing certain religious things like reading the Bible, or pretending to.
But it’s not about doing one’s religious duty or keeping the rules. Jesus offers so much more than that. It’s about nurturing vertical and horizontal relationships. As one of you recently shared with me: ‘I used to go to church because of some inner sense of duty. But now it’s completely different. I sense the Spirit of Christ in this place, in these people. Now on Sundays I can’t wait to get here!’
(LCR worshipper)
The kingdom Jesus offers isn’t just some choice real estate in the after life but is a state of being in this life. What Jesus offers is not so much about getting into the spirit of the thing but letting His Spirit get into you, to heal you, to liberate you, to awaken you!
Connecting with Jesus through His Spirit is pretty much like that, like waking up. Something within you stirs, the eyes of your heart open and a new day, a new life opens up before you. Remember the old slogan for Folger’s Coffee? “The best part of waking up is Folger’s in your cup.” Well in this case, in a much deeper kind of way: The best part of waking up is Christ in your heart! Or in the words of French poet, Paul Valery: “The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up.”
(French poet, Paul Valery)
Why would we want to settle for anything less? Why look for the living among the dead?
The question hung in the musty air of the open tomb like a carrot on a string. The angels then reminded the women what Jesus had repeatedly said, that “the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.” (Luke 24:7)
Luke records Jesus saying that on at least three separate occasions, yet when the women recall all of this to the others, it's met with disbelief. The women’s words sounded like total nonsense, a fairy tale, like some old wives tale. Remember those? When I was young my mom told me that if I kept crossing my eyes, they'd get stuck that way. Nope, never happened. Here's another one: “Early to bed, early to rise, makes you healthy, wealthy and wise.” My son and his wife both get up painfully early but have had plenty of health issues and have not exactly struck it rich.
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For many today, Jesus’ resurrection seems just as far fetched as an old wives’ tale. Some think of it as little more than a fairy tale or myth – and by myth I don’t mean a female moth by the way, but a fabrication of the imagination. Peter was probably wondering if the women, in their grief, weren’t seeing what they wanted to see. And yet, he couldn’t deny their excitement and they couldn’t have hallucinated it either, as some claim, because at least a half a dozen or so of them have come back from the tomb reporting exactly the same thing, as will still others. So, being the independent thinker that he was, Peter and John leave behind their buddies and take off running to investigate for themselves.
What Peter discovers there catches him by surprise. First, just as they said, he finds the tomb standing wide open. The tomb had been sealed shut with a large boulder and a Roman guard posted outside. To find the tomb open was unsettling. After all, the chief priests had gone to the Roman governor and said: “Give the order for the tomb to be made secure, otherwise his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead.” (Matthew 27:64)
Second, what happened to the Roman guard? What would’ve caused these Roman soldiers, at the risk of losing their lives, to abandon their post? Something extraordinary was at work here!
Third, the tomb was not completely empty. “Stooping, Peter peered into the tomb and saw the empty linen burial wrappings and returned home wondering what had happened.” (Luke 24:12)
I bet he did! It didn't make any sense. If grave robbers had somehow gotten past the Roman guard, risked all the noise it would’ve made to roll back the huge stone, why in the world would they have left behind the only thing of value? What's more, why would anyone remove a bloody crucified body without keeping it wrapped in the linen covering it? No Jew would do this! It was considered unclean...! And the authorities definitely didn't want to risk stirring up a rumour of his resurrection.
Peter’s investigation led to his discovery that clearly something supernatural was at work here.
Luke goes on later this chapter to report that later that day: “the eleven and those with them were saying to one another, ‘It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon (Peter).”
(Luke 24:33-34)
I've used this pic before. It depicts Peter and John racing to the tomb. Their faces anxious. The words of the women are fresh in their ears. A couple of years ago we took our kids to Paris and visited an art museum there. At one point Melanie and I were walking around, taking it all in, when we came around a corner and came face to face with the original, lifesize painting. It took my breath away. I didn't realize the pic I'd used for my sermon was a work of art. What's more, the two of us were drawn in, captured by the emotion on the men's faces. They look breathless. There's a longing – a fear to hope that it might actually be true. Iis Jesus really alive? If so, this changes everything!
As the eleven & co. noted, Peter’s investigation led to his own personal encounter with Jesus. In his sequel...., Luke tells how this man who once denied he even knew Jesus, only to then doubt the testimony of the women concerning Jesus’ resurrection, who even reminded Peter that Jesus had predicted all this, goes on to become one of the most vocal witnesses of the resurrection. As Peter proclaims on Pentecost: “God raised Jesus from the dead and we are all witnesses of this!”
This changes everything! (Acts 2:32)
How is this possible? How does a man so full of bravado and doubt and fear go on to experience such transformation as to become one of the most vocal, courageous advocates for Jesus' kingdom building cause? For Peter, it began with an investigation. That's what more and more folks are doing through the Alpha course – a means by which people here and elsewhere are investigating who this Jesus really is and if it is still possible to experience his presence – not the living among the dead, but the living among the living!
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We'll be offering it to the community again in September. And here, on Sunday morning, we'll be exploring the explosive impact that Jesus' resurrection had on those who witnessed it, and then later, to those to whom they witnessed to, folks as it turns out, thanks to it being shared, includes you and I.
God sent Jesus to set us free from all that holds us back or lulls us to sleep, that we may come to not only know in our heads but experience in our hearts that He lives and that He loves us, not because of anything we've done, but simply because He loves us because He loves us because he loves us.
My friend, Rick, recently experienced this. He put it in writing so I could share it with you...:
“I went to the emergency room with severe abdominal pain and was told that my gallbladder was badly infected by stones and had to be removed, and that I had leukemia as result. On February 9th I was taken in to surgery. I was in a lot of pain as I drifted off to sleep. I remember suddenly feeling no pain, no concerns or anxiety as I had moments before. I suddenly became aware of this overwhelming feeling of love. It was so pure that no words can describe it. It was as if my body wasn't able to fully contain or process it's power. I've had the blessing of receiving and feeling the Holy Spirit before when I took Alpha but this was so much more. I was aware of his incredible powerful presence.”
As Rick and I sat in the back over there, and he tried to recount this experience to me, his eyes swelled with tears. I asked if he was okay and he said there was just so much joy, so much peace, that he's never felt loved like that. “It's given me a fresh perspective. This changes everything!”
Such was the conclusion of Peter & Mary. There was no body in the tomb because there was no longer a dead body to be found! As the women realized: “He isn't here! He is risen from the dead!”
(Luke 24:6)
And what's more, he's still at large! The resurrection story continues, even now! Join us in the weeks ahead as we continue to investigate, as did Peter and company, the mystery of the open tomb!
(Join us for an eight week video based series entitled Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer, starting Monday, April 27th, at 6:30 pm. The Alpha Course returns September 14th.)