"Taken By Surprise"

The people of England were waiting for news about the outcome of the battle of Waterloo. In this battle, the British army under the command of the Duke of Wellington, was fighting the French army under the command of Napoleon. A series of stations, each one in sight of the next, had been set up to send visible coded messages from the battlefield in Belgium back to England.

Finally the message arrived" Wellington defeated….." But as the message was being spelled out, a sudden blanket of fog obscured the signals. The people of England were heartbroken. Their commander and his army had apparently been defeated.

The reason for the sad news though, was because the fog had interrupted the sending of the coded message. The complete message had not been received. The message was supposed to say: "Wellington defeated Napoleon at Waterloo." Later, when the fog cleared, the full message was communicated. The outcome of the battle was the exact opposite of what everyone had originally thought. Wellington and the British had not lost the battle at all. They had won!

On Good Friday, the message from the cross appeared to say: "Jesus Christ defeated…." His lifeless body was laid in the tomb. His followers returned to the place they were staying filled with grief and hopelessness. It seemed that the enemy Satan had won the most decisive victory in all of human history.

But Easter Sunday brought the rest of the story. The full message, revealed on Easter Sunday, is: "Jesus Christ defeated Satan at Calvary!" The resurrection of Christ shows who the true victor is. And just as the whole British nation shared in Wellington’s victory over Napoleon, so all Christians share in Jesus’ victory over death and the devil.

Oddly though, Christ’s victory came as a surprise, even to his closest followers. No one ever expected Jesus to come out of that tomb alive. His companions thought that they had seen the last of him, that Friday afternoon, as his lifeless body hung on the cross. Our text records their reactions of surprise and disbelief.

The first people to be surprised were the women who went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared to anoint Jesus’ dead body. They expected Jesus to be dead. They thought that if they could talk the guards into opening the tomb so they could do what they wanted to do, all they would find inside would be Jesus’ lifeless body. Instead, when they got there, the stone was already rolled away and Jesus’ body was gone.

Verse 4 of our text says that they were "perplexed" about this. I guess "perplexed" is probably a good way to describe their reaction. They didn’t expect an empty tomb. They probably had no idea what to do now.

And it wasn’t only the women who were surprised on that Sunday morning. The apostles were surprised as well. The women returned from the tomb and told the eleven and all the rest what the angels had said, but their words seemed like an idle tale, and the disciples did not believe them.

The fact that Jesus rose from the dead took everyone by surprise. But the followers of Jesus shouldn’t have been surprised. Jesus told them beforehand what was going to happen. The angels try to drive home that point when they remind them of Jesus’ words; that the Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.

In one sense the angels are surprised. They’re surprised by the surprise of the women. They’re surprised that the women didn’t see Jesus’ resurrection coming. The angels ask, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? Don’t you remember that Jesus said he would rise from the dead?" Jesus had predicted his death, and he had predicted his resurrection, so there should have been no surprise that he was alive.

At first glance, it appeared that the devil and death had won. In the battle of the ages, the fallen prince of darkness had done all he could do to bring the Prince of Peace under his power. When Jesus died, it appeared that he had

Yet, in what appeared to be a victory for the enemy, God brings about a surprise. While in the very grasp of death, God’s Messiah overcomes death. The victim is suddenly the victor. In the face of seeming defeat, God pulls off a victory – the victory of the ages. He who was dead is alive again. But short was their triumph; the Savior arose, and death hell and Satan, he vanquished, his foes. The conquering Lord lifts his banner on high; he lives, yes, He lives, and will nevermore die.

Weeks after Jesus’ resurrection, the apostle Peter declared the victory to the very ones who had crucified Christ and watched him die. In that first Pentecost sermon, Peter said; "God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him." The apostle Paul says God "disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him." From his struggle with Satan, Jesus emerged triumphant with dominion over death. In Revelation 1:18, John hears Jesus speak the words; "I am the living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades."

Perhaps the biggest surprise of all – and the most wonderful surprise – is the fact that through faith, God’s victory is our victory too. Jesus himself promised "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die."

Christ’s death and resurrection are not only his story. They are our story as well. This is because in the mind of God, every believer shares complete identity with Christ in his death and resurrection. Death no longer has ultimate power over us because we have been raised with Jesus through faith. We are no longer slaves to sin and satan – since the penalty for our sin – the penalty of death – has been paid by Jesus.

When Jesus conquered the forces of darkness, he left them disarmed and paralyzed. Because he snatched the keys of death and hell from the devil, and burst forth from that dark abyss, you and I share in that victory. "O, where is your sting death? We fear you no more. Christ rose, and now open is fair Eden’s door. For all our transgressions His blood does atone; redeemed and forgiven, we now are His own."

On June 18^th, 1815, when the fog lifted, the people of England received the full message from the battlefield. "Wellington defeated Napoleon at Waterloo!" Wellington’s victory over Napoleon brought victory to all British citizens. So also when the fog of surprise and doubt had cleared on that first Easter Sunday, the message of the empty tomb was clear: "Jesus Christ has defeated sin, death, hell and Satan." As a result, Christ’s conquest now brings victory to all of God’s people. He brings victory to you!

If you ever get a chance to tour the Holy Land, there is a part of the trip where you can visit three very important tombs is a single day. The first is that of King David. That area stays crowded with Jewish pilgrims, many of whom are weeping and wailing over what are supposedly the remains of what they consider to be the most important king of Israel. This tomb is occupied.

Next, you can visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. This is believed to be the place where Jesus’ lifeless body was laid. Of course, the tomb is empty. Instead of weeping and wailing, Christians at this site often sing joyful hymns of praise. The third tomb is the tomb of Lazarus. This tomb is also empty, because Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.

I guess what is striking about visiting those tombs is that you see Jews grieving over a great leader of their religion. But his tomb remains occupied. The tombs of founders of other religions, like Muhammad remain occupied. They remain dead.

But Jesus Christ has an empty tomb. Of all the leaders of the world’s religions, Christ alone has risen from the grave. More then that, he has the power to raise others from death as well. That’s why Lazarus’ tomb is empty. Christ alone has conquered death. And He has done this, not only for himself, but for us. What difference does Jesus’ empty tomb make? Simply that our tombs will one day be empty too! Amen.