He Is Risen Let The Feast Begin Isa 25

Easter Dawn, The Resurrection of our Lord                 20-April-2025
Sermon Text: Isaiah 25:6-9
Sermon Theme: “He Is Risen! Let The Feast Begin!” I. The Feast Of Victory Is Prepared FOR YOU! (Vs.6) II. He Feeds You His Life and Immortality! (Vs.7-8) III. He Gathers You Into The Fortress of Salvation! (Vs.9) by Rev. Nathan J. Rusert

I.N.R.I. “Alleluia! Christ is risen. He is risen indeed.” In the funeral liturgy we speak this words at the end of committing the mortal remains of loved ones into the earth at the cemetery. We hear our pastor speak; “Alleluia! Let us go forth in peace, in the name of the Lord.” We respond: “Amen.” “This is most certainly true!” Do we believe it or just say it?
    After the cemetery often we return to the church fellowship hall for funeral food. Funeral food in the upper midwest was scalloped potatoes and ham; green beans; fresh homemade french bread; red strawberry jello with whipped cream and pretzels on top; sheet cake with delicious cream cheese frosting. Maybe you picture funeral food as fried chicken; mashed potatoes and gravy. Every area defines funeral food according to their own local customs and appetites. The fact remains - if you are eating funeral food someone close to you has died.
      Sharing a common meal with mourners is to bear one another’s burdens fulfilling Christ’s law of love. Sadly as funerals are redressed as celebrations of life, moved out of sanctuaries into sterile funeral homes - less and less families return from the cemetery to gather with their congregation to mourn. The world seeks to deny death’s reality, pain, and loss to families, communities, and congregations. We hear that the funeral is for the living. This may be true, but it isn’t to deny the cold hard reality of death and the grief it garners. It is a call for the living to repent and believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ! 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, (4) and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,...
      Eating together isn’t about having a free lunch or consuming calories. We eat together to share life. Live’s joys, griefs, triumphs, trials, settling disputes, and rejoicing in reconciliation are all done at table. The food we eat supplies nutrients to our bodies, but it also trumpets our own demise. After a day it passes out of our bodies as decay are refuse. 1 Timothy 6:7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. God the Holy Spirit teaches us reality through Paul’s pen adding, 1 Timothy 6:8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.
Content? Happy? Living with decaying food in our gut while moth’s chew on the best of our clothing? If you think on it..it is enough to make us cry out with the wisest man of old: Ecclesiastes 1:2-4 "Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher; "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." (3) What profit has a man from all his labor In which he toils under the sun? (4) One generation passes away, and another generation comes; But the earth abides forever.” What’s the use? If life is only eating, drinking, clothing our dying bodies to make merry to die tomorrow - what’s the point?
    Women make their way to the cemetery. They bought their funeral spices when night fell on Saturday. The Sabbath ended markets opened, but it was too dark to finish the funeral for their Rabbi on that night. For three days they ate the funeral food of sorrow and grief. They longed to finish the funeral, before the sun rises they begin making their way to His grave to finish His funeral - the final anointing of Jesus’ dead decaying corpse. They were eyewitnesses of His suffering, death, and burial.
    Looking up they are shocked! Instead of funeral food the tomb is empty. Mary Magdalene assumes desecration and grave robbing by enemies - running to tell Peter and John. Those two apostles run to find it empty as Magdalene reported with the grave clothes in place as they had wrapped the Master’s body and His head wrapped neatly folded and laid on a shelf. It wasn’t a scene of desecration but of rising from death and forever laying aside the decaying grave clothes of our fallen world.
        Mary returns. Weeps. Jesus sends angelic preachers of the resurrection to comfort her. She doesn’t listen. He draws near in His crucified and risen flesh to comfort her with His presence. The Gardener has made all things new with His holy precious blood and His innocent suffering and death. He feeds us now on the Tree of Life! Rejoice! “He Is Risen! Let The Feast Begin!” I. The Feast Of Victory Is Prepared FOR YOU! (Vs.6) II. He Feeds You His Life and Immortality! (Vs.7-8) III. He Gathers You Into The Fortress of Salvation! (Vs.9)
I. Seven centuries before Easter broke the Lord God revealed its reality to the prophet Isaiah by His Spirit. The mount of Jerusalem and its Temple would be destroyed by the Babylonians. There is only one saving God and Lord. Men pervert reality inventing idol after idol. God isn’t an imagination of men. He is the Creator of all that exists. He is the Author of all language. He is the Writer of all human history. Nothing is hidden from His eyes. He knows you! He knows all the days written in His book concerning you.
      Judah’s hope was never to be in themselves. It wasn’t Abraham’s bloodline that saved them - it was Abraham’s faith! Listen! Galatians 3:16 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, "And to seeds," as of many, but as of one, "AND TO YOUR SEED," who is Christ..... Galatians 3:7-9 Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. (8) And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, "In you all the nations shall be blessed." (9) So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham. On that Mountain where Jerusalem would be built - Moriah - later called Zion. Abraham saw Jesus’ day as the Lord called him to enact what God the Father would sacrifice to save humanity. Isaac didn’t die - Jesus did for Abraham, Isaac, for all sinners - me and you included. Where death seemed to be Isaac’s end a feast of life broke! The Lamb/ The Ram with a thorn encircled brow died instead. His roasted offered flesh became the meat of rejoicing - for in the mount of the Lord it is provided!
    Hear! (Vs.6) Isaiah sees the ongoing feast of Easter on Mount Zion! In a physical place, in the fulness of time God did all for your salvation. Galatians 4:4-5 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, (5) to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. The King spares no expense! Picture the best, tender, and fattest prime ribs - melt in your mouth goodness. Sip vintage wine well aged to perfection - and then filtered with robust sweetness. Poured by your Lord into a cup that never empties flowing that it runs over!
    We sang this feasting song of Zion in our liturgy, ‘This is the feast of victory for our Lord!” Revelation 5:12-13 saying with a loud voice: "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!" (13) And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: "Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!" Blessed are you! Called to the marriage feast of the Lamb in His Kingdom of Life! He has prepared all FOR YOU!
II.   The Feast of Christ Jesus on the Mountain of His Church - True Zion - is filled with His Life and Immortality! (Vs.7-8) What dark covering is cast over all people? Satan the fallen angel blinds our human thinking and feelings with the LIE! The Lie that there is no God. The Lie that we can find God on our own! The Lie that we are good enough on our own without God. The LIE we love to tell self - “we have no sin” “I’m OK; You’re OK!” Then death swallows us up and we pretend to celebrate life. Pretend that death is a friend - not the last fierce enemy we must face. Will you face it on your own in darkness? Or will you hear - and stand in the Light of the Living One! Your Brother - the Victor over death and hell. The One holding the keys of death and hell!
      On Mount Zion - Golgatha - Calvary - the place of the skull - Life is Triumphant! Satan’s lies cease - Jesus is the Truth! The world’s fantasy ends death is swallowed up - Jesus is the Life! Our fleshly deceit and wisdom is exposed as foolishness - Jesus is the Way - the Only Way to the Father - in our flesh and blood!
  Hear the Holy Spirit! 2 Timothy 1:8-10 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, (9) who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, (10) but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,. The Lord has spoken! Jesus speaks peace! Easter absolution! You are forgiven! Jesus speaks life! Baptismal victory! Your are immortal in Him - wrapped in His shining robe of righteousness! The Day will dawn - God the Holy Spirit will bring your baptism to its full completion. We confess, On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true.
III. Rejoice! Magdalene didn’t find Jesus. The despairing disciples on the road to Emmaus didn’t find Jesus. The cowering apostles behind locked doors didn’t find Jesus! He found them! He came to them in His risen flesh! He spoke His Spirit filled word of new life, hope, and peace into their ears.
      You don’t find Jesus! He has found you! That is why you are here this morning. Hear Him! (Vs.9) Confess with the Church from Adam onward! This is our God! He saves us! The mighty God humbles Himself to be my Brother - to shoulder my sin- healing me by His stripes! This is my Lord - Yahweh- He sought out my lost father Adam - He made a promise - He kept it! He sought out me - His promise is certain!
        Today, feast on the food of immortality - Jesus is here! He feeds you His living body and blood! He has redeemed you body and soul! Because He lives you live forever! Feast! He wraps His arm around you as you feast with all the living whose bodies you have laid in the grave! We will be glad in the midst of our tears - we will rejoice in His salvation!“Alleluia! Christ is risen. He is risen indeed.” “Alleluia! Let us go forth in peace, in the name of the Lord.” Amen!