Sermon Easter Sunday – Main Service Text: Matthew 28:1-10

 Sermon Easter Sunday – Main Service

Text: Matthew 28:1-10

A blessed Easter to all of you! Today, we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. This is the greatest day in the Christian calendar, and it reminds us of the hope, forgiveness, and salvation that Christ has brought to us. As we gather together to celebrate this joyful day, let us remember the meaning of the resurrection and what it teaches us about our faith and our lives.

First and foremost, the resurrection proves that Jesus is the Son of God.  He was not just an ordinary man or a great prophet, but he was truly divine, and his resurrection testified to that fact.  The empty tomb was a powerful sign that Jesus had triumphed over the greatest of all enemies - death and sin, and that his sacrifice on the cross was not defeat but victory for us.

But the resurrection is not just about Jesus, it is also about us, because, as St Paul says in Romans chapter 6 - just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too will live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.  The resurrection means new life that we have through Christ. Just as Jesus rose from the dead, we too can rise from the deadness of our sins and be reborn in the likeness of Christ. We are forgiven, cleansed, and empowered to live a new life in Christ.

Today's gospel passage from Matthew tells us the story of how the women who had come to the tomb found it empty, and how they were met by an angel who proclaimed to them the good news that Jesus had risen from the dead. The women who discovered the empty tomb and heard the angel's message did not keep the news to themselves. They immediately went and told the disciples, who also encountered the risen Lord.  They too were commissioned to go and share the news of Jesus' resurrection with the world. As followers of Christ in today's world, we too are called to share this good news of the resurrection in a world that is desperately in need of Good News.

We are commissioned like the women and the disciples who were bold and unafraid to proclaim the truth of God's love and the hope of salvation that is made available through Jesus Christ. And as we hear in the Great Commission later in the chapter we are commissioned to go to all nations with this Good News. Now that might sound overwhelming but we have the promise of Jesus that he will be with us everywhere and at all times until the end of the age.

We live in a world that is in desperate need of hope and healing and we have the Good News for that – the Good News of Easter Day where Jesus is victorious over death – the worse the world can do to us. A world where fear, uncertainty, and division are prevalent.  But the good news of the resurrection calls us to courage and faith, knowing that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead can transform our lives and bring us hope and peace. So let us celebrate today the hope and joy that only the resurrection of Jesus brings us.

Let us be inspired to share this good news with all those around us, offering them the chance to experience the transforming power of God's love in their lives as we have received. May the risen Lord be with you always, and may his peace fill your hearts today and always. So, on this Easter Sunday, let us remember that the resurrection invites us to live for Christ, to spread his Gospel as Mary did and the Apostles. We are called to love our neighbors as ourselves.

And what better way to show love than to share with them the Good News of Easter to  bring them hope of eternal life in Heaven. And to forgive those who have wronged us, and to show kindness, mercy, and compassion to all people. So, let us celebrate the resurrection of Jesus with joy and gratitude, and let us be inspired by his example of love and service. Let us live each day as a witness to his resurrection.

Let us share the good news of salvation with all those we meet. And may God bless you abundantly, and may you have a blessed Easter with your friends and family. Amen.