Text: Luke 24:5-6 (KJV) “Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee.”
Resurrection Sunday.
The day everything changed. The day death blinked. The day empire lost. The day religion’s fear-fueled grip snapped like a brittle chain.
We’ve tamed it over the centuries. Turned it into pastels, egg hunts, and polite applause in safe pews.
But make no mistake: The resurrection wasn’t a feel-good story. It was an earthquake. A jailbreak. A revolution.
And if it doesn’t shake the ground under our feet today, then we’re missing the point.
Resurrection Is the End of Fear-Based Systems
Rome’s power was death. The temple’s leverage was exclusion.
Both believed they could control the people by controlling the fear of death.
Kill the leader. Silence the movement. Reinforce the system.
But when Jesus’ tomb cracked open, the foundation of fear cracked with it.
“He is not here: for he is risen, as he said.” (Matthew 28:6)
Jesus didn’t escape death. He detonated it from the inside.
And now? Every empire, every system, every ideology that trades in fear of death is living on borrowed time.
Resurrection is a death sentence—for death itself.
The Women at the Tomb: The First Witnesses to the Revolution
In all four Gospels, the first witnesses to the resurrection are women.
Not generals. Not priests. Not kings.
Women. Marginalized. Discounted. Disbelieved.
God entrusted the announcement of history’s greatest news not to the “qualified,” but to the overlooked.
“And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest.” (Luke 24:9)
And what did the disciples do? They didn’t believe them.
Resurrection Sunday confronts every system that says authority, credibility, and power belong to the few.
The kingdom belongs to those the world ignores.
The Resurrection Is Not an Escape Plan — It’s a New Creation
Somewhere along the way, modern Christianity twisted Easter into little more than a cosmic evacuation plan:
- Believe in Jesus.
- Get a ticket to heaven.
- Escape earth before it burns.
But that’s not the Gospel the early church preached.
The resurrection wasn’t about abandoning the world. It was about the renewal of the world.
- Bodies matter.
- Creation matters.
- Justice matters.
Jesus didn’t rise from the dead to show off power. He rose to launch a new creation where death, injustice, and empire no longer have the final say.
“Behold, I make all things new.” (Revelation 21:5)
Not “I make all new things.”
All things—this world, these bodies, these broken systems—renewed, reclaimed, resurrected.
The Empty Tomb Is a Public Declaration of Treason
When the women ran from the tomb to announce “He is risen,” they weren’t just sharing good news.
They were committing treason.
The official narrative was simple: Jesus was dead. Rome had won. The temple was safe.
To proclaim otherwise wasn’t just spiritual. It was political.
It was to declare:
- Rome’s justice failed.
- The temple’s hierarchy is obsolete.
- Caesar is not lord.
“Jesus Christ is Lord.” (Philippians 2:11)
In a world where “Caesar is Lord” was law, those four words were a death sentence.
Today, if “Jesus is Lord” only means “I prayed a prayer and go to heaven when I die,” we’ve domesticated it.
It should still shake thrones. Challenge systems. Turn the world upside down.
Resurrection Faith Isn’t Blind — It’s Defiant
The resurrection invites us into a defiant kind of faith.
- Faith that laughs at death’s threats.
- Faith that builds when destruction looms.
- Faith that forgives when vengeance seems easier.
- Faith that loves when hate is more convenient.
It’s not “blind” faith. It’s faith that stares the empire in the eye and refuses to bow.
The resurrection doesn’t require us to ignore the darkness. It demands we live like light anyway.
Because the light has already won.
The Disciples’ Fear — And the Spirit’s Fire
When the women reported the empty tomb, the disciples didn’t instantly become fearless champions.
They hid. They doubted. They locked doors.
Resurrection didn’t erase their fear. It confronted it.
Later, when the Spirit falls at Pentecost, we see the fruit:
- Peter, who once denied Christ, boldly proclaims Him.
- The same city that killed Jesus hears the unfiltered Gospel.
Resurrection faith doesn’t remove fear. It makes fear irrelevant.
Because if death has lost its sting, what’s left to be afraid of?
“O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:55)
The Empire’s Cover-Up — And the Resurrection’s Exposure
Even after the empty tomb, the authorities tried to spin the narrative.
“His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.” (Matthew 28:13)
Cover it up. Control the story. Protect the system.
Sound familiar?
Because empires always fear resurrection. They fear movements they can’t kill. They fear people who aren’t afraid to die.
The resurrection exposes every power structure built on fear, violence, and lies.
It forces the world to ask:
Who really holds the power here?
Not Rome. Not the temple. Not the crowd.
The risen King.
Resurrection Demands a New Allegiance
You can’t meet the risen Christ and stay neutral.
He demands everything:
- Your politics.
- Your possessions.
- Your priorities.
Resurrection isn’t a passive event to admire. It’s an invitation—and a command—to live as citizens of a new kingdom.
A kingdom where:
- Power is sacrifice.
- Wealth is generosity.
- Status is servanthood.
If we celebrate resurrection but still live by the rules of the old empire, we’ve missed it.
Resurrection doesn’t just save souls. It shatters allegiances.
What If We Really Believed He Rose?
Let’s be honest: Most modern Christians live like Jesus stayed in the grave.
- We cling to fear.
- We bow to convenience.
- We worship safety.
- We tolerate injustice.
Because if Jesus really rose—
- Our priorities would change.
- Our courage would ignite.
- Our love would be fearless.
- Our communities would be dangerous—to the powers of darkness.
The early church didn’t spread because of fancy buildings, political endorsements, or cultural influence.
They spread because they lived like resurrection was reality.
And it was contagious.
Even to the point of death.
Resurrection Is for the Here and Now
Eternal life doesn’t start “someday.”
It starts now.
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life.” (John 5:24)
Not “will have.” Hath. Present tense.
The same Spirit that raised Jesus lives in us.
Resurrection life isn’t about floating on clouds. It’s about:
- Loving enemies in a hate-soaked world.
- Feeding the hungry while the empire hoards.
- Healing the broken while religion builds bigger walls.
- Building tables when the world builds walls.
Resurrection life means we act like the new world has already begun—because in Christ, it has.
Live Like the Stone Is Already Rolled Away
The resurrection wasn’t the end of the story. It was the beginning.
The stone wasn’t rolled away so Jesus could get out. It was rolled away so we could get in—and see for ourselves that the old powers are broken.
- Death doesn’t win.
- Fear doesn’t rule.
- Hate doesn’t endure.
Life does.
Love does.
Jesus does.
So today, we don’t just remember an event. We live a revolution.
We live like death has no grip. We love like fear has no voice. We build like empire is already crumbling.
Because it is.
Christ is risen.
And nothing will ever be the same.
Amen.
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