The Tomb is Empty. So What? (Easter 2026)

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And so if you're willing and you're able, here at Vintage Church, we stand for the reading of God's Word because we believe that the Word of God was given to us, was breathed out by God to equip us, encourage us, empower us, so that we can encounter the living God through his word, and that our lives would never be the same. And so this morning we're gonna read verses 22 to 39. This is actually the first sermon after Jesus rose from the dead. And the Apostle Peter stands up 50 days later, after the empty tomb, and he addresses the people in verse 22. This is what he says. Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know, this Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. Amen to that. Verse 25, for David says concerning him, I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken, therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced. My flesh also will dwell in hope, for you will not abandon my soul to Hades the grave. But let your holy one see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life. You will make full of gladness with your presence. Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and in his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades in the grave, nor did his flesh seek corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit. He has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him, both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified. Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart. And they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, Brothers, what shall we do? And Peter said to them, Repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself. Would you pray with me this morning? Father, we ask in the name of Jesus that you would give us a spirit of wisdom and revelation to know Jesus better. We want to know the power of his resurrection. And so would you grace us this morning with your presence? We thank you that you have conquered sin, death, the grave, our enemies. Jesus Christ, you are both Lord and God. And for that we are so very thankful. We pray all this in Jesus' name. All God's people said, You may be seated. Thank you. I don't know if you're the type of person that when you experience something great, or when you have some information that you have to share, you say, you know what? That's me. You know what? Like some, you know what? This is the first Easter Sunday I've ever not worn a suit. I feel a little underdressed in jeans, just to be a little honest. Or I could say, you know what? Um, maybe you saw this on Facebook, maybe you didn't know that my traditional pre-resurrection day meal is at In N Out Burger. God bless. In N Out Burger, animal style, no pickles, fries, well dust, coke, amazing. And it's on purpose because Jesus was in and out of that grave. Or, you know what? Um, first time for everything. This morning, I was out at Lodi Lake around 6 a.m. Can I get that picture up? For a sunrise service. It was amazing. There was about four to five hundred people from different churches in Lodi worshiping Jesus. And did you know, no what? Um actually one of the pastors here at Lodi Community Church, a pastor by the name of Jim Harvey, actually initiated that with some other pastors way back when. And so Lodi Community Church, but in church, we actually have some heritage there, and so I would love for us to be there next year. So Pastor Jason, the pattern, a friend of the house, was there just like butter in his sermon. It was good. It was good. Um, I was like getting filled up this morning, and so you know, Peter having experienced the resurrection, having experienced the risen Christ himself, restorative love. You guys know the story, right? He didn't do so well under pressure during the crucifixion and the trial of Jesus. And so Peter was a little ashamed, and yet here it is. Something changed. Let's just say that. Something changed. So Peter is the one that we were reading that sermon, standing up in the front of a crowd in Jerusalem. Something had changed. And the very first thing that he says is, you know what? And he gives us some facts about the gospel. And so he gives us four facts about the gospel that he wants these people to know. And it's right there out of the text. So if you have your Bible still open, you can just read along with me. But look at verse 22. It says, Men of Israel hear these words. In other words, know what? Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him. You know what? You saw him. The people that day, he was saying, You saw him. This was only 50 days after the resurrection and the empty tomb. And he is confronting the religious leaders of the day and really the crowds in Jerusalem, and he's saying, You saw him, you saw him heal the sick, you saw him raise Lazarus from the dead, and you have seen the chaos that has erupted since Jesus was crucified on that good Friday and has since risen from the dead on that Easter Sunday. You have seen him, and maybe you like me weren't there that first Pentecost when he sent you to the crowd. You saw him, but I just give you a little bit of what you have seen. You have seen God transform lives. And if you haven't, just stick around for a little bit. Our God is able. Let's just do a little test here. Who has been healed by the Lord? Physically healed? Who has been brought out of addiction by the Lord? Who has seen some form of reconciliation or restoration of relationships from the Lord? You are eyewitnesses. You have seen the risen Lord at work. And so the next fact that Peter says is God planned it. This wasn't a surprise to the Almighty. It's right there in verse 23. It says, This Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God. The Bible says that Jesus was the Lamb God slain before the foundation of the world. In other words, this wasn't plan B. Jesus wasn't an afterthought. He was the thought. God knew that we were going to fall short of the glory of God. God knew that we would choose to reject him. And yet he all along had decided in his infinite sovereign wisdom to do something that would arrest the hearts of men and women and captivate their imagination and win their hearts back. Because they had given their hearts to the things of the world, bless their things. And so in that moment, he says this God demonstrates his love for us and is that when we were far from him, Christ died for the ungodly. And if we ever need a reason for us to know that God loves us, all we must do is look at the cross and the empty tomb. Again, there's this other fact that Peter wants them to know. He says, You crucify and kill by the hands of lawless men. Yes, God is sovereign, but men are responsible. And they took the creator of the universe and they murdered him. And at some level, you might be saying, Well, I'm glad I'm not in that number, and I have that over my you know resume. You kill God. But in that moment, we all share in the crime. For it was our sin that put Jesus on the cross. And so one fact this morning that we have to wrestle with, all of us, is that at some level, even though it was God's definite plan, we put Jesus on the cross. But there is another fact that's even more amazing. In verse 24, it says, God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. And that is a glorious truth this morning. That the sinless, suffering Savior who went to the cross and paid for our sin, the Bible says the wages of sin is death. So if Jesus Christ died and he was sinless, then whose sin put him to death? And yet, because of his great love, because of his willingness to go to the cross and die in our place for our sin, on the third day, God the Father raises his amount, raises him up, vindicating. I heard one pastor say it this way the check was written for our sin on Good Friday, but it was cash, cleared the bank on Easter Sunday. And that's good news. And so Peter starts by saying, you need to know the facts. And then you know, we're gonna work it through an outline this morning. And so it's the first is know what. The next kind of point is for what? Like, why did Jesus die? For what? For what reason did Jesus die? What happened as of the result of Jesus' death and resurrection? And if you look at verse 29 to 33, in the very end in verse 32, it says, This Jesus, God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, here it is, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. It was for a purpose that Jesus Christ died and was resurrected, and then some 40 days later ascended to the right hand of the Father and then poured out the Holy Spirit. It was God's intent all along to reconcile, to reconnect with humanity. It was God's desire in the Garden of Eden in the very beginning of the story to walk with us, to dwell with us. But his we would have this relationship that would be cultivated, and then without that relationship, we would live fruitful and flourishing lives that ultimately make him known. Our vernacular, our language here in the church, make Jesus irresistible. But we were to live such fruitful and flourishing lives because of our connection and abiding in Christ. Our lives would be a glorious display of how good God is. And yet, we fell short of the glory of God. But then Jesus comes and he does what we couldn't do, and then he pays for the price, then he raises from the dead, and then he sends the Holy Spirit, God Himself, to live in us, the church. And with that, the empty tomb means that there is a new King of the world. Amen. King Jesus, he is sitting at the right hand of the Father, which is a place of prominence and position. It means power. He is the king. And this is Jesus in Matthew 28, verse 18 and 20, but it says, Now all authority in heaven and earth has been given to me so that we're go and make disciples of all nations. Jesus Christ is the new king of the world. And what this also means is that there is a new world, a new creation. In 2 Corinthians, Paul writes it this way: he says, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. And what does this mean? Is that we can endure suffering, we can overcome sin. We can have hope even in the face of the most evil times, because he has given us an entire new creation. A new world, a new way to look at the world, a new way to engage in the world. This is bonus, but I'll read it for you. So it's not on the screen, it's bonus, but in 2 Corinthians, it's just so good. I gotta share it with you this morning. He says, For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this that one has died for all, and therefore all have died, and he died for all that those who live might no longer live for themselves. Listen, but for him who for their sake died and was raised. Listen to verse 16. From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. In other words, because of what Jesus did, we don't look at things the same way anymore. We don't look at our neighbor, we don't look at the world, we don't look at things through the flesh. He says, even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away, and behold, the new has come. And all this is from God who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. That is amazing. He is a new king, and the empty tomb means that we have a new world, and this is even more amazing that the empty tomb means that we have a new name. We have a new identity, we have a new future. You know, I was doing an exercise one time with a group of pastors, and it was asking, you know, what's significant? What's like ultimate in Lodi? And we were thinking about it. I'm like, names are kind of important in Lodi. Families are kind of important in Lodi, intergenerational wealth, that kind of thing. Oh, so-and-so, that's their last name. Well, did you know that sometimes you might feel like, well, I'm never going to be a somebody in Lodi because you know, my name is this, no one knows my name. Here's the thing about the gospel because of the empty tomb, we all have a new name. And what I learned this morning, which was so encouraging for my brother Pastor Jason, did you know that after the resurrection, it was the first time that Jesus addresses his disciples and he says, instead of my father, he says, our father. And it was at that moment the plan of redemption was in full effect, and now we are brothers and sisters, and our older brother is now king of the world, and our father is so good. So we have a new name, that means we have a new family, like I described, and you know what that also means, and another thing that I think is kind of important, maybe to those that Lord I is that we have a new legacy. A new legacy. This isn't just for us, and we'll get there in just a little bit when we get to the end of the text, but it's that this is just for you, it's for your children's children. You may not have the best legacy and the best family growing up or second, third generation, but the truth is it's because of the cross and because of the empty tomb, you can start today and create a new legacy that is for your children and for your children's children. That's the power of the empty tomb. That's the power that raised Christ from the dead. He can change lives today. This isn't just some hope that when you go to heaven, you're gonna be with all your loved ones forever. That's cool, but that's not the power of the resurrection. The power of the resurrection has saved us from the penalty of sin, it is saving us from the power of sin, and it will one day, yes, save us from the presence of sin, and that will be truly a glorious day. So I talked a little bit about know what, for what, and now it's like so what? Maybe some of you are going, okay, cool story. I believe in Jesus, I'm American, I'm a Christian, that's just how it works, right? Like yes. No, so what, so what? What really matters here? And here's the big idea this morning. If the tomb is empty, everything changes. If the tomb is empty, everything changes. And if the tomb is not empty, if it was just a myth made up, then nothing changes. Paul says it this way in 1 Corinthians 15, 17, and 19. He says, Listen, if Christ has not been raped, your faith is futile, it's empty, and you are still in your sins. If Jesus Christ did not get out of that tomb, you are still in your sins. And then it continues, then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. Those loved ones that you were hoping to spend eternity with, if Christ did not get them out of that grave, you have no hope of being with your loved ones forever. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. If Jesus Christ did not raise from the dead, why are we here? There's brunch, there's coffee blankets at home that we can sleep in with. It must.

unknown 20:49

C.

SPEAKER_00 20:49

S. Lewis said it this way Christianity, if false, is of no importance. If true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important. I think you should just sit with that a little bit this morning. It is either of infinite importance and it demands our entire life, or it's nothing, and we should never come back to church. The one thing that it cannot be is moderately important, and so you should take a moment and consider how has your life been radically changed by the resurrection? And if it's just a eh, maybe this morning you would take a moment to consider what Paul and the scriptures are saying. Because if the tomb is empty, everything must change. And this is why in Acts 17 30 to 31 it says this it says the times of ignorance, God will. Overlooked. There was a time where it was like they're ignorant. They don't really know about Jesus. They don't really know about the gospel. I'll overlook that. But now it says, this is after the resurrection, this is in the book of Acts. It says, but now he commands all people. Do you guys want to participate a little bit? Say all people with me. He commands all people everywhere to repent. Because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed. And of this he has given assurance to all. Catch it? By raising him from the dead. And what does that mean for every single one of us this morning? Every single one of us will stand before the resurrected King, Jesus of Nazareth, and give an account of what we did with the empty temple. Every single soul will stand before Jesus, and he has given us this assurance by what? Raising him from the dead. So this is why the Apostle Paul or the Apostle Peter in Acts 2.36, getting back to our text, he summarizes his Pentecost sermon with this. He says, Therefore, know for certain. Did you know that this morning? You can know for certain. Not only because the word of God tells you that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, but there is credible evidence. I mean, all you have to do is think about those disciples. There's actually a hilarious skit done by the Babylon V. And it's got Peter. He's like, hey guys, I got an amazing plan. Let's go and steal the body of Jesus from the tomb. How are we going to get this stone away? I don't know, but we'll do it. How are we going to invite off the Roman guards? I don't know. Because they're guarding that stone with this with their very lives. We'll figure it out. Okay, what's the next plan? Then here it is, guys. We'll tell everybody that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. And they're like, John is like going, this is okay. And then and then what's next? Do we get power? Do we get money? Do we get position? No! Everyone's gonna hate us. We're all gonna die. And John, you're gonna get oil and oil. Good plan, right? It makes no sense. None whatsoever. Even Peter's sermon is testimony this morning of the resurrection power of Christ because a coward is not courageous. That's the power of the gospel. And so Peter says, therefore, know for certain that God has made him, Jesus, both Lord and Christ. This Jesus whom you crucify. Again, I so this morning, we all have to wrestle with the empty tomb. We all have to do a good check this morning to evaluate where we are at. Do we see it as infinitely important or not important at all? But it cannot be. Please don't leave this place and come back to next Easter and it be moderately important to you. It cannot be. So now what? We talked about know what, for what, so what? Now what? Peter tells us right here in the text. He says, the first thing, isn't it? It says that they were cut to the heart. And that's the Holy Spirit. You see, logically, we might get there a little bit, but what we really need is the Holy Spirit to cut us to the heart and go, What will you do with the Savior? What will you do with the Son of mine? He suffered in your place and three days later took hell down, punching Satan in the teeth as is on his way out. Right? What are you gonna do with the Savior? Because the empty tomb demands a response. I'll say that one again. The empty tomb demands a response. And there are three responses that Peter gives us in the text. The only response is to first repent and believe the gospel. What does it mean to repent? I know some of you, you see those guys on the street corner, you're like, ah, that's kind of scary. Here's what repent means. Think differently. And because you think differently, change the way you act. Think differently. In other words, you were the king of the world before the resurrection. Now Jesus is saying, I'm the king of the world, think differently. Right? That's what it means too repent. It means I've been thinking I'm God. I've been thinking I'm Lord. I've been thinking I'm the boss. I'm sorry. I repent. You're the king of the world. You're God, you're Christ, not me. I can't get out of the tomb on my own. Right? That's what it means to repent. It's to believe the gospel, it's to believe that Jesus Christ actually did die for your sins, but he actually did get out of the grave. In a few moments, we're going to be baptizing a few people. And I'm going to ask them a couple questions. I'm going to say, do you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead? And they can say yes. Do you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord? And they're going to say yes. And they'll say, by the confession of your faith, I'm going to now baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. What are they saying? They're saying he's Lord and He's Christ. And I want to be on Team Jesus. That's what it means to be baptized. So they repent, they believe, and that's the next response Peter says in the text. To be baptized. If you have not been baptized and you're on Team Jesus, don't put it off any longer. If you can't do it today, get baptized at baptized Lord on May 24, Lord. Come the next week, I'll fire up the baptism tank. But let's not delay, right? Like be baptized. Why? Because you are identifying with the dead and risen Savior. My old life is dead in Christ, and now I'm raised to life and new life because of what Jesus has done and the empty tomb. So be baptized. Well, I'm not perfect. You know, I'm not a Christian that long, and you know, I still kind of sin. We all sin, man. It's the whole point is that your identity and your name is all in the grave and in the baptism waters, and you have a new name, a new hope, a new family, a new king named Jesus. And that's why we get baptized. Not because we're perfect, but because Jesus is perfect. And then the third response is to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, which is really to receive a relationship with God. The Holy Spirit is Yahweh, the Holy Spirit is God. And did you catch that? You don't have to earn it. You don't have to work your way up to have a relationship with God. You don't have to be like all prim and proper and speaking King James only English. Like that's not how you get a relationship with God. It's to receive the gift. So the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is the eternal life of Jesus Christ through our Lord. It's a gift freely given out of love. It cost Jesus everything on the cross. And yet he willingly died, and three days later rose from the dead so he could give you the gift of salvation, that he could give you the gift of eternal life, that he could give you the gift of a new name and a new identity and a new family and a new purpose. And then he would put the same power that raised Christ from the dead in you so that your life could be changed and your family could be changed. That's the power of the resurrection. So we've talked about know what, for what, so what, now what. Wait, what? That's my last point. Wait, what? Because it's a little crazy. Acts 2, 39. It's a little crazy. 2.39 says this. For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off. Everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself. Hey, what? Is this for me? Yes, it's for you. The same power that raised Christ from the dead. It's for you. To forgive. Power to overcome sin. Power to endure suffering. Power to have victory over the accuser of guilt, shame, and fear, the whole kit caboodle that the devil will throw at you. Yes, it's for you. But it's not just for you. Next slide. It's for your children. It's for your children. And some of you still have little children in your home, it's for your children. And some of you have kids that are outside of the home that aren't following the Lord and embrace your heart. It's still for your children. You have access to the throne of grace. You have access to the same power that raised Christ from the dead. It's for your children. And then it says, it's for those who are far off. And maybe you got dragged here this morning. And you're like, you don't know my story, Pastor. I'm way far from God. We're gonna be baptizing a few folks here this afternoon. They were far from God. There's no far from God when you're God. He's close to us all. He's God, He's everyone. So you might, and then you're like, well, I'm not perfect, I'm still struggling. Again, Jesus paid for your sins that you could be reconciled to God and forgiven, past, present, future sins, washed away by the blood of Jesus. And then as you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, he purifies and cleanses you so that you can have a connection with him and have the power to endure everyday life when it gets hard. Because we still live in a broken world until Jesus returns. And then lastly, it says it's for those. I love this verse. He says, Everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself. Everyone who Jesus says, I want you. So right now, the gospel is calling you. Jesus, the risen Savior. The book of Revelation says that he walks among his churches. Jesus is alive by his spirit. He's hopefully reaching out to you and he's saying, I want you. I'm calling you. Trust in me. Give me your life. I know it's broken. I know it's a little off, but hey, I'm a miracle worker. I literally died and got up three days later. I think I can work with you. It's for everyone that Jesus calls. So at the end of the day, we ask this question. So what? I'm what? So what? You're what? Jesus Christ didn't just raise from the dead to show off. He got it out of the grave to take hell down and to forgive your sins so that you can have a relationship with God and be with him forever and have purpose and meaning in this life: a new name, a new family, a new legacy. Jesus Christ died for you. He was raised for you. And he's coming again for you and all those who believe. So, in closing, the resurrection changes everything. Amen. The resurrection changes everything. And that day, some 3,000 people crossed over from death to life. And my hope in this room, there would be those who cross over from death to life. And it's not, well, let me work hard to get over. No, no, no. There's only the power of God that can make dead things alive. Christianity isn't like cleaning your life up and being a good person. That's not Christianity. Christianity doesn't make you a better person, it makes the dead person an alive person in Christ. So some of you have been sold a bill of goods. That's not true. That's not Christianity. Christianity is literally Jesus Christ did what you couldn't do. He died so that you could die to your old way of life, and then he rose on the third day so that you can have a new life in Christ. And then give you the Holy Spirit so that you have the power that raised Christ from the dead living in you. Okay, what? That's amazing. It's true. It is the most wait, whatever. Because the resurrection changes everything. Would you pray with me this morning?