Dear Christian friends:

We have gathered here today to look back to the events of that first Easter day. We have gathered here to celebrate and thank God. God has given us this happy, wonderful day. He wants us to have great joy in it. He also wants us to have hope for a wonderful future.

Hope is a wonderful thing. Without hope we despair and have only fear and sadness. But with hope for the future we are brave and happy and have peace in our hearts. Even in time of trouble, sickness and death, if we have hope, we can be brave, without fear and be happy.

Our text tells us about such a wonderful hope. It is


Our Easter hope is not something that we dream or invent in our minds. Often people dream or invent their own hope about the future. We hear people say: "I hope I will have a good trip." "I hope I will not get sick. People hope, hope, hope and they cross their fingers. Some even put a rabbit's foot in their back pocket or nail a horseshoe on the lintel of their door. Their hope is based on dreams, wishes and desires. Sometimes they get what they hoped for, but often they never get it. Then they are disappointed, despair or become angry. Sometimes they even curse God. Sometimes people base their hopes on hard work and money they save in the bank.

Our Easter hope is not like that. Our hope is established on strong basis. Therefore our hope will really happen. It can't fail. Our hope is based on Jesus' arising from death, on what happened on that first Easter morning.

In our text St. Paul writes, "Now Christ did rise from death." "Now," that first Easter day Jesus arose from death. We have heard the good news again from God's angel at the open tomb: "Fear not, you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here. He is risen as He said; come, see the place where the Lord lay."

Our Easter hope is not a dream or wish like the hopes of men. Our Easter hope comes from God's Word and is established on the strong basis, Jesus' arising from death. The Holy Spirit of God gives us our Easter hope.

That is a strong foundation. Nobody can destroy our Easter hope. Jesus said, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My Word shall not pass away."

Our Easter hope is established on a strong foundation, God's Word about Jesus' resurrection. But what is that hope? We hope for what?

Our Easter hope is that we, like Jesus, shall arise from death and live forever in heaven's glory. In our text Paul writes, "Christ did arise from death. He is the first of those sleeping in their graves to arise." Jesus is the first one to arise from death. There will be a second, and a third, and a fourth, etc. All who believe in Jesus and accept His salvation, that He earned by His suffering and death upon the cross, will arise from death when Jesus comes again in glory. That is our wonderful Easter hope.

Notice, Paul says that those in the graves "are sleeping." Like Jesus, Paul uses the word "SLEEP" for death. When someone goes to sleep at night he is not afraid. Why? He has hopes that in the morning he will arise, to see the sunrise of a new day.

So, we Christians should not fear death. We should think of death as a sleep, a "blessed sleep from which none ever wakes to weep."

When Jesus heard that His friend, Lazarus of Bethany, had died, He said to His disciples, "Our friend, Lazarus sleeps, but I go to awaken him."

Four days later Jesus arrived in Bethany and called to the dead man, "Lazarus, come out!" And Lazarus awoke and arose and walked out of his tomb with the burial clothes still wrapped around him. (John 11:11-45)

Jesus has shown His power to call the dead to awake and live, and He Himself arose on Easter morning. Therefore, our Easter hope is that in death we sleep and rest, but our Lord will come to awaken us to arise new and healthy in body to see and enjoy the glorious sunrise of the eternal day.

This is our wonderful Easter hope. So I say to you today: Give up your vain hopes in earthly things. Don't hope in a rabbit's foot or a horseshoe or the stars. Don't let the false promises of money and pleasure deceive you. Don't base your hope on things of this world. Establish your hope on the strong foundation of Jesus Christ who died for your sins, and then arose for your forgiveness.

Live now for Jesus and serve Him with eagerness and joy! You will not be disappointed. All your hopes in Jesus will happen exactly, even better than you can now think or dream.

Amen.

"My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus blood and righteous;
No merit of my own I claim
But wholly lean on Jesus' name.
On Christ the solid rock I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.
(My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less,
LSB 575 hymn)