Sunday, April 5, 2026
Easter Sunday
Text: Matthew 28:1–10
Sermon Audio
As we gather… In Matthew’s Gospel alone do we read as much as we do about quaking and shaking. Herod was stirred up at the news of the birth of Christ (and all Jerusalem with him) (Matt 2:3). The news of Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem shook the whole city, so to speak (Matt 21:10). There was an earthquake at Jesus’ death (Matt 27:51), an earthquake that opened the tomb (Matt 28:2), and even the soldiers trembled (Matt 28:4). Indeed, the work of Jesus Christ moves mountains and turns things upside down. But at the resurrection of Christ, things are finally getting turned right side up. In His resurrection, the earth and all creaton rejoices because it knows that all things will be made right. Christ has overcome death. Christ has corrected oppression, and even the decay and chaos that marks the world as we know it will be fixed once Christ comes again in glory.
Grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
He is Risen! He is Risen indeed, Alleluia!
Today is a monumental day. It is a day that has shaken the roots of the culture to its core. The resurrection of Christ has made the earth quake and turned things upside down. CHRIST’S RESURRECTION SHAKES THE EARTH RIGHT SIDE UP.
Indeed, Matthew in his Gospel wants to point out the quaking that happens throughout the life of Jesus. The citizens of Jerusalem quaked when Jesus entered Jerusalem. At Jesus’ death, “the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.” At the tomb, “there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.” Indeed, we can relate to the shaking. I. Our lives seem shaky.
Our lives are shaken upside down when we hear news of wars, bombings, and shootings. Our lives are shaken upside down when the flow of trade affects our prices at the pump and sparks fears of a recession.
Our lives are shaken upside down when we hear of yet another loved one sick with a disease or we ourselves contract a new ailment. The earth quakes as the coffin or urn is placed into the ground, and we’re left above wishing we had one more day with our departed loved one.
Our lives are shaken when Christians seem to be the butt of every joke, and that it is quaint to think that a 1st century man could have risen from the dead. Christians—at least Christians who believe all this stuff—are sometimes considered the least of all.
Our lives are shaken when we wonder what we’re doing here in the first place. A place like Church is for the holier than thou, and those who can put on their Sunday best, not someone like me with hidden sins and debilitating doubts.
But in the midst of the rattling of all this uncertainty, we hear the rolling of the stone as the earthquake rolls the stone away. Jesus rises from the dead not to turn the world upside down, but to turn the world right side up. I want to share some good news with you today that CHRIST’S RESURRECTION SHAKES THE EARTH RIGHT SIDE UP.
Let’s unpack three aspects from our Gospel text. First, II. Christ’s resurrection shakes the alive dead and the dead alive.
When the angel rolls the stone away from the tomb we read, “And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men.” Literally, the guards quaked, they shook, they had an earthquake of their own! When Christ rose from the dead, it’s not only that good won, but Christ defeated evil.
There are many dangers and threats that seem all too real to us now. War brings about the fear of loved ones dying in combat. Terror attacks have become more prevalent in this political climate. Christ’s resurrection means war and terror no longer have the sting they carry.
Sickness and death occupy our thoughts and make us worry. Christ has put death to death and has given sickness a bad prognosis.
Those who seek to ridicule the Church—those who seem to be the lively, powerful, and influential—on this Easter day, they are shown to be no different than the tomb guards, shaking and temporary, as though dead men. Easter means Jesus has defeated evil.
But what’s more, the message of the angel rings out throughout history: “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.” Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed, Alleluia!
In a world of wars and destruction, Christ’s resurrection previews a new world where there is no more war, but only peace.
In a world of sickness and disease, Christ’s resurrection shows us a world where He will heal every illness, and cure every disease. Remember, Christian friend, Christ will heal every illness for those who believe in Him, if not in this life, in the life to come.
In a world of death, Christ’s resurrection means that you too will rise and those loved ones who have died in the faith will rise from the dead as though from slumber.
Second, III. Christ’s resurrection shakes the high low and the low high. The angel gives the women a command saying, “Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.”” It may feel as though we are unimportant in this life, Christians can sometimes feel like second class citizens, but we see in this passage how the lowly are raised up.
Remember, women in those days were not allowed to testify in court. Why have the first witnesses of the resurrection be women? Christ wants to use all people, even those the world may consider to be lowly, to do His work.
Just as sin first came to the woman Eve, so too, salvation and victory is reported to two women: Mary Magdalene and the other Mary. How important is the testimony and work of women in the church today! How many of us first heard of Jesus from a mother or grandmother or female Sunday school teacher? How often do ministers and lay church leaders come from humble backgrounds to make a big difference for the Gospel?
Indeed, not just the two women who first witnessed the resurrection, but the Lord used lowly disciples from humble backgrounds of fisher or tax collector to spread this Good News of salvation to the ends of the Earth. The high and mighty are brought down and in the resurrection, the lowly are raised up!
I recall a story of a little Jewish girl who went to a Lutheran parochial preschool, and she was so overjoyed of the story of Jesus dying and rising for her, that she shared it with her Jewish father, and this witness opened the father to the work of the Holy Spirit to believe in Jesus as the Messiah and this day he is a Lutheran pastor.
Dear Christian friend, it may seem Christians are the lowest of the low in our society and it’s easy to scoff at them, but that’s right where Jesus wants us to be so that He can raise us up through our Easter resurrection joy. No matter your station in life or how ridiculed or written off you may be, the Lord wants to use you to share this good news of Jesus’ resurrection with someone you know.
Finally, IV. Christ’s resurrection shakes disciples into brothers. The women go with joy from the tomb and then run into Jesus Himself. They take hold of His feet, proving that Jesus had a resurrected body that you could grab just as much as you could grab my feet. They then worship Him proving that Jesus is indeed God worthy of our worship. Jesus gives them this directive: “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”
Remember, the disciples’ world had shaken upside down on Good Friday when their master died. They had abandoned Him, denied Him, and let Him down. If you were in the disciples’ shoes, you’d be afraid that Christ would come back for vengeance.
But Jesus does not call His eleven followers His disciples or His servants, but His brothers. In the resurrection, Jesus welcomes the disciples back and even elevates them to peers. He loves them with a brotherly love!
As we gather here today, we come with baggage. Do I really belong here? Is it a mistake to be here today? If only you knew my doubts, my sins, and my failure. If only you knew what I really thought, then maybe you wouldn’t be so happy to see me.
But dear Christian friend, CHRIST’S RESURRECTION SHAKES THE EARTH RIGHT SIDE UP. And the right side up is that the Church is a place of joy for all people. It is a place where you belong. It is a place where through the waters of Holy Baptism, you and died with Christ and have risen again with Him. Through Holy Baptism, God becomes your Father and Christ becomes your brother.
You belong here, and Christ is present with us today to calm our fears, assuage our doubts, forgive our sins, and cover us with His holiness so that all our uncleanness has been removed and placed out of mind. Yes, the resurrection has shaken the foundations of the Earth, but the end result is a world that is made right, a world shaken back in place, a world in which life wins, the lowly are raised up, and that strangers become brothers and sisters. Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed, Alleluia!
The peace of God which passes all understanding guard and keep you in the true faith unto life everlasting. Amen.