4/5/2026: Easter Sunday

WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?

Life is full of either/or moments. Some of them are of little long-term consequence. I will have either the chicken or the fish. Some of them matter more. I will accept the new job offer or keep my current job. One either/or moment is life-changing for every human being. Either Jesus is still dead, or Jesus rose from the dead. Jesus claimed he would rise from the dead. “The Son of Man must suffer many things. . . be killed and after three days rise again” (Mark 8:31). So if Jesus remains dead, he is both a failure and a fraud. If Christ has not been raised, we are still in our sin.

But Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! It makes all the difference! He lives! The season of Easter is a 50-day celebration of that fact.

HE LIVES TO TAKE ME FROM DEATH TO LIFE

A dead Jesus would do no one any good. But a resurrected Jesus? That would change everything; that would make Easter the most important event that has ever happened. Today God wants us to know with certainty that Jesus lives. Because if Jesus lives, then so will his believers. God had told his Church what was going to happen. Jesus told his disciples what would transpire in Jerusalem. The disciples were slow to believe the Easter truth. But God ensured that his people had witnesses to proclaim that Jesus lives again. He suffered and died according to Scripture (Second Reading), he fulfilled the sign of Jonah (First Reading), and it was attested to by angels (Gospel).

Christ is risen indeed! Mankind is redeemed! Jesus has removed the fear of eternal death. Jesus has transformed physical death. It is not punitive. For the believer, it is the pathway into Paradise. Jesus has made us spiritually alive by giving us faith in his resurrection. Jesus lives! So, in every possible way, Jesus takes us from death to life.

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!  God bless your worship.

Pastor Mueller preaches on Matthew 28:1-10…“The Reunion of the Redeemed”

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