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April 20, 2014

Broken Seal

Preacher: Rev. Jack Meehan Series: Lent 2014: Restored in Christ Category: Biblical Scripture: Matthew 27:62–28:10

The Resurrection of Our Lord – Easter Sunday
April 20, 2014
Matthew 27:62-Matthew 28:10

Restored in Christ: "Broken Seal”

So, how many of you have already gotten into the Easter candy? Hmm… just as I thought. Here are some Easter candy stats: we Americans spend $2.1 billion each year on Easter candy, which comes to 7 billion pounds of sweet stuff. That’s 16 billion jelly beans, 700 million marshmallow Peeps, and 90 million chocolate Easter bunnies (http://www.factmonster.com/spot/eastercandy1.html). That’s a whole lot of candy! We just sort of take it for granted that our Easter goodies will be all wrapped up and sealed, right? Or when we go to the grocery store or the pharmacy or any one of a number of places, the products that we purchase will be properly sealed. Nobody is going to buy candy if the packaging is messed up, just like nobody is going to buy milk if the seal is broken, or get a bottle of vitamins if the lid’s been opened. We want to be sure that the contents of what’s inside have not been tampered with, and if they have, we don’t want them. In fact, if by chance we happen to bring home something that has been tampered with, not only are we not going to touch it, but we’re very likely to take it back to the store and ask for a refund. We don’t want things that could be contaminated by who knows what. That seal on so many things we buy is mighty important. Other things can be sealed as well – things like court records and legal proceedings. Often, a court order is required to open a record that has been sealed, and this is not always easily done.

On this Easter Sunday as we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection, we’re thankful for a seal that was broken – the tomb of Jesus! Matthew’s Gospel records how the religious leaders of Jerusalem petitioned Pontius Pilate, Roman governor of Palestine, to have Jesus’ tomb sealed. Now this wasn’t some kind of air-tight, hermetically sealed thing. In all likelihood, the seal was simply some kind of cord or roping that was secured with clay at either end of the big millstone that marked the tomb’s entrance. The seal may also have included an imprint of the governor’s order or his initials. It signaled that any tampering with this secure area would be a crime against the Roman Empire – something not to be taken lightly. Matthew’s account of this is unique to his Gospel as we heard it read:

The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered
before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard (Matthew 27:62-66).

Easter celebrates Jesus’ victory over sin, death and the grave. Matthew’s account of Jesus’ resurrection tells how a great earthquake occurred on Easter morning as an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and rolled back the stone from the tomb (seal and all!), and then sat on it (Matthew 28:1-10). The guards stationed at the tomb became like dead men. All of this was not to let Christ out of the tomb, but to allow his disciples into the tomb so they could see for themselves that it was empty. Man’s vain attempt to keep the risen Lord inside the tomb is ridiculous to the point of being laughable. As one Easter hymn puts it:

Vain the stone, the watch, the seal; Christ has burst the gates of hell.
Death in vain forbids his rise; Christ has opened paradise (Lutheran Book of Worship 130, st. 3)

The message of the angel and of the risen Lord Jesus himself is the same: “Do not be afraid, but go and tell…” (Matthew 28:5, 7, 10). No doubt the women who were the first witnesses of Jesus’ resurrection on that Easter morning were afraid of many things: what all of this meant, what would happen next, who would believe them, etc. Truth is, we’re afraid of many things also: afraid of our past or our future, afraid of making mistakes, afraid of circumstances in life that haunt us or hold us captive, afraid of the truth, afraid of not having enough, afraid of not being in control, afraid of growing old, afraid of what happens when I die. We can get sealed up in our fears just like being sealed up in the grave, where no life can enter in. What Jesus said to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, he says to you today: “Do not be afraid.” This isn’t just talk or idle words. They come from the very One who suffered and died on the cross as payment for all our sins. They come from the very One who is able to deliver us from the fears that hold us captive and that prevent us from living that full and abundant life which he came to bring (John 10:10). They come from the very One who is risen from the dead, who lives and reigns to all eternity. They come from the very One who loves us with an everlasting love and who has conquered our ultimate fear – death itself. All of this means that because of Jesus’ victory over sin, death and hell no matter what happens in this life, our future is secure, and this sets us free. “Do not be afraid.” The question for us now is this: will we release our fears to Jesus? Will we turn them over to him who tells us, “Do not be afraid?” Will we put our trust in this crucified and risen Jesus?

The noted historian, Paul Maier, writes in the closing paragraph of his book, First Easter: The True and Unfamiliar Story:

“The defeat of death in renewed life, then, is the message of the first Easter, and of every celebration in the years since. Easter is the only festival that looks in two  directions at the same time: back into history to fathom what happened in the week that changed the world, and forward into the future with the assurance that people who die will rise again. Small wonder that it was the earliest festival to be celebrated by the church, or that its message is as young as tomorrow” (New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1973, p. 122).

We worship a risen Savior! As we rejoice in Jesus’ Easter victory, our lips may need to be unsealed – just like Jesus’ tomb was – so that we can speak and share with others this amazing good news. There are people all around us who think Easter is just about the jelly beans, the Peeps, and the chocolate bunnies. For whatever reason, they do not know the real meaning of Easter – that Jesus who suffered and died on the cross is now risen from the dead. We worship and serve a living Lord! How will people hear and know about all of this except through Jesus’ people – through you and me? May our crucified and risen Savior who burst from the sealed tomb now unseal our lips to proclaim with our lips and our lives: “Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!” Amen.

other sermons in this series

Apr 17

2014

Broken Bread

Preacher: Pastor Braun Campbell Scripture: Matthew 26:17–26:30 Series: Lent 2014: Restored in Christ

Apr 13

2014

Broken Majesty

Preacher: Pastor Braun Campbell Scripture: Matthew 27:11–27:66 Series: Lent 2014: Restored in Christ

Apr 6

2014

Broken Hearts

Preacher: Rev. Jack Meehan Scripture: Luke 11:17–11:53 Series: Lent 2014: Restored in Christ