EASTER! | April 5th, 2026 | Justin Huibregtse

Easter Sunday Sermon

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Be here this morning. I am Justin. I'm the associate pastor here. And we have the best opportunity to share with you just exactly what is going on here at East Ridge. And that's the resurrection. It's what we're here to celebrate today, here at Eastridge. And you know, this uh the series that we're on right now is called The Road to Easter, and we're concluding today, but we started this weeks ago. We started this uh three weeks ago with talking about Jesus setting his face toward Jerusalem, where he was saying, I am going to go to my suffering. I know what God put me on this earth to do. So I am setting my face to go towards him, to go towards that sacrifice, to go towards the mission. Then two weeks ago, we talked about Lazarus being raised from the dead and why that is so important. And that he was, you know, Jesus was gaining fame uh for doing something that he was taken away from the glory that the Pharisees wanted. And so it was controversial, but it was amazing to see that. And then last week we talked about Palm Sunday and when he was approaching the city, that he would one day, after being magnified and saying, Hosanna, please help us. The king is here, that we seem crucifying. And we are concluding this message, this series, on Easter with the resurrection. And, you know, throughout this whole time when we've been reading through the book of Luke and the book of John and this whole series, I've learned a little bit about myself is that I don't love surprises. Okay? I just I just don't. And you know, some of the reason uh that you might, if you're on our social media, I got pranked this week uh with a snake that was uh underneath our boardroom table. So that was that was really fun, but I was also been spooked by some of the kids uh when I come in here for for for worship, uh, they they scare me and I go, uh it's something I I don't really like. So there, you know, there's some people that just love what's going on. And I'm like, that sounds stressful. Not not for me. I want the details, I want to know what's going on, uh, I want to know what food looks like before I order it. So that's why I love cereal, is because what's on the box is what you get. That's that's that's it. Um if I go to a restaurant, I want a picture uh of what I'm gonna eat from the menu. And and I've read reviews, I've seen pictures, I've been emotionally prepared for it. Uh because surprises can go either way. Like this one time I I purchased a jacket online and I was like, you know what? That would be really great to wear to church. I could I could do that. And when I got it, it looked like it had been through a small accident. And I'm just like, well, this is not the same thing. And life can feel like that sometimes, where you expect one thing, but you get another. You hope for one outcome, but you get something completely different. Life rarely turns out the way that we expect. But Easter is better than we could ever imagine. And if you were there on that first Easter morning, it would have felt like that because no one, not a single person, was expecting a resurrection. Nobody. When the women went to the tomb that morning, they weren't expecting a miracle. They were expecting death. They were carrying the spices to continue the burial process. In their minds, the story was over. It was done. And if we're honest, many of us live like that as well. We believe in Jesus, but we still carry around expectations of complete defeat. We expect things not to change. We expect people not to change. We expect ourselves never to change. We carry hope, but quietly prepare for disappointment. It's the saying that you prepare for the worst, but hope for the best. You know, we carry hope in our heads, but prepare for defeat in our hearts. Because life has taught us that sometimes things stay broken. I'm not just talking about repairable broken, where you can just put a band-aid on it or put some tape or glue on it and it's fixed. I'm talking about completely shattered and torn up, broken. And that is exactly what our sin does when we fall short of the glory of God, when we make mistakes that are that are sinful, and it makes our relationship with God that began perfectly in the garden, completely unreparable, that we're separated completely. We can't do anything about it. But Easter, Easter interrupts that assumption. And it began on Thursday night. Jesus gathered with his disciples for what we call the Last Supper. He breaks bread and says, This is my body. He lifts up the cup and says, This is my blood. He knows what's coming, and he gives himself away. This photo was taken from our Monday, Thursday service this last week. Later that night in the garden, Jesus prays in anguish, not my will, but yours be done. He is arrested, betrayed, and completely abandoned. By Friday morning, Jesus is beaten, mocked, and nailed to a cross. And he hangs there. As he hangs there, he does not curse. He forgives. He doesn't resist, he redeems, it is finished. Not the end of his life, but the completion of his mission. The sin of the world paid for. The debt of humanity cancelled. And then silence. Saturday comes. The tomb is sealed. Hopes feel buried. Everything seems lost. And then we get into the morning. We're going to be in Luke 24, starting in verse 1. But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. But when they went in, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. 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. And they remembered his words. And returning from the tomb, they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary, the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles. But these words seemed to them an idle tale. And they did not believe them. But Peter rose and ran to the tomb. Stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves, and he went home, marveling at what had happened. On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they arrive at the tomb. And immediately something is different. They found the stone rolled away. There were supposed to be guards that were guarding this tomb. No guards. Stone rolled away. The guards probably left in fear because they would be, uh they would not have been allowed to let their guard down. They'd probably be killed for that. So there's no guards. The stone is rolled away. And the stone isn't just slightly moved, completely rolled away. Then they step inside, and the body is gone. Confusion, shock, fear, and then two angels appear. Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here. He has risen. Everything changes in that moment. Because Jesus didn't die. Death is defeated. He defeated death. The tomb is empty. It is completely empty because Jesus finished what he came to do. Death had a moment. But Jesus has the victory. And here's why that matters for us. Because resurrection is not just an event, it is an invitation. The Bible tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Every one of us. We've all fallen short. We've all chosen our own way. We've all carried sin. But God responded not with complete rejection, but with love. It says in Romans 10, I'm sorry, Romans 5, starting in verse 8, but God shows his love for us. That while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since therefore we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God, that wrath that we deserve. For while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son. Much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. That's grace. Grace is getting what you don't deserve. We don't deserve forgiveness, but we get it. We don't deserve a new life, but we receive it. We don't deserve a restored relationship with God the Father, but that is what we are given through grace and mercy. Mercy is not getting what you deserve. Judgment, separation, condemnation. We deserved all of it. And at the cross, Jesus took our place. And at the resurrection, God proved it worked. The cross paid the price. The resurrection proves the victory. The cross is the payment for our sin. The resurrection is the deed, it's the receipt, it's the proof that what God sent Jesus to do on this earth proved victorious. Because if Jesus stayed in the grave, we'd still be stuck in our sin. But he didn't. Very good. You know how to say it. He has risen indeed. And that means grace is real. That mercy is available, and that love has the final word. The entire life of Jesus shows his love. His life proves his love never fails. It is just. Who need to hear that hope is real. Who need to know that the story, their story, is not over. You don't clean yourself up to come to Jesus. You come to Jesus to be made new. Salvation isn't about trying harder, it's about trusting fully. The empty tomb demands a personal response. And that personal response starts with prayer. God, something's different. The resurrection is real. We need to understand what this means. What now? God, help me. Help us. And then you say, Jesus, I believe. Jesus, I trust you. Jesus, I receive your grace. And then you trust. You trust God. You trust in the Savior. You trust to move towards Him. You trust to join in the community that is pushing you towards Him by reading scriptures together, by worshiping together, by telling others who he is, by praying to Him. Because imagine this: a church full of people who actually believe the tomb is empty, as sure as the sun rises every single day. People who live with joy. People who live with hope, who live with confidence. Not because life is easy, because, amen, it is not. But because Jesus is alive. We don't just believe in the resurrection. We live from it. And imagine the impact. If we carried the gospel into our homes, into our workplaces, into our conversations, for people who feel stuck, for people who feel lost, people who feel like it's too late. They suddenly encounter hope. Because of Jesus. Because the stone was rolled away. Because the grave is empty. Because death didn't win. Grace wins. Mercy wins. Love wins. The story of Jesus didn't end in the grave. And neither does yours. And that is the message of Easter. He is risen. You still got it. Great job. And because he lives, everything can change. My friends, this is the moment where words almost feel too small because this is what the rest of the entire church year, the church, all of Christianity is based off of. This resurrection. Because how do you fully explain this? To most of us, this doesn't make any sense at all. The Son of God came near, took our sin, our flaws, our everything, carried our shame. And he walked to a cross. And then walked out of a grave. And when you really begin to see it, when you really begin to feel it, when you really begin to feel that truth in your heart, in the depth of your heart, something rises up in you. Wonder. Gratitude. Thankfulness. Amazement. Where you can't help but keep it inside of you. You need to tell other people about what he has done for you. That forgiveness that is real. The love that is real. The grace, the mercy that is real. Because he didn't have to. Jesus didn't have to take those on. He chose to. And the love that held Jesus on the cross is the same love that calls us by name today. And now we don't just stand at an empty tomb. We stand in awe. Just like Peter did. And marvel. In awe of a Savior who would come near to us. In awe of a king who would lay his life down. In awe of a risen Lord who now reigns in glory. Because the grave is empty. The throne is occupied, and Jesus is alive. So we lift our hearts, we lift our voices, and we declare together all glory belongs to Him. All honor belongs to Him. All praises belong to Jesus. If Jesus walked out of the grave, there's nothing in your life that is beyond his power. Let's pray. Father, we come before you today in awe. In awe of your grace. In awe of your mercy, in awe of your love. Jesus, we marvel that you would come to this earth for us. That you would take our place. That you would carry our sin to the cross. And then rise again in victory. Lord, we don't just want to understand that truth. We want to live in it. Let our hearts never grow cold to it. Let our lives reflect it. Let our worship rise from it. Jesus, you are worthy. Worthy of our praise. Worthy of our surrender. Worthy of our lives. We recognize you today not just as Savior, but as a king. King over death. King over sin. King over our lives. And so we lift you high. We join with heaven. We join with the voices of those who have gone before us and we declare, all hail King Jesus. All hail the Lord of heaven and earth. All glory to the one who gave everything for us. As we leave this place, help us carry the hope of the resurrection into the world. Let us be people marked by joy. Marked by grace. Marked by love. Because Jesus is alive. And we pray all of this in the powerful, risen, reigning name of Jesus. Amen.