Easter Sunday 2025 C Joh 20,1-19

Brothers and sisters, Jesus’ resurrection is, without a doubt, a demonstration of God’s power. Today, I do not want to dwell on how God did it. We know that the resurrection of a dead body is incomprehensible and impossible from a rational point of view. We can only marvel and remain standing in silent amazement at how God works. Furthermore, we can rejoice that the power of death does not have the last word. We can let the peace and certainty pervade us that just as God acted in the case of his beloved only-begotten Son, he will one day act in the case of us.

I want to reflect on, above all, the reactions that Jesus’ resurrection has provoked among people. This unique event in history divides people basically into two groups. Unbelievers and believers.

Let’s look at how the evangelist Matthew describes the reaction of unbelievers to the event of Jesus’ resurrection. The guards before him were trembling with fear. They remained dead. For the unbelieving man, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is a terror, a calamity, an unmitigated disaster. Why? Simply because the “Judge” is alive. If we have not accepted Him as Savior, or rejected Him as Savior, what can we expect from Him as “Judge” from a human point of view? That He would be gracious to us? That He would have mercy on us?

We see the Roman guards of the tomb, trembling with fear and remaining as dead – an accurate illustration of what awaits the unbeliever when he meets the risen Christ – fear… We may not like to hear it, but it is the truth.

And whether that is why the unbelieving man tries to keep Jesus “dead”, to keep Him in the grave. After all, the dead will no longer admonish us, the dead cannot and will not prove to us that we have misunderstood anything. The unbeliever would rather invent a fairy tale about how Jesus was stolen at night from the tomb guarded by professionals by His amateurish, frightened, and determined disciples, who waited until the Roman guards were peacefully asleep and then began to announce everywhere that He had risen from the dead… How sad and pathetic it is when one cannot look the truth in the face!

And what is the reaction to the resurrection of believers? There appears to be awe. It is a mixture of wonder and awe at the mystery of the resurrection. Awe is a typical human reaction to something unknown. The awe of the believer, however, is different from the fear experienced by unbelievers. The German religionist Otto describes this difference very nicely when he speaks of the mysterious tremendous and the mysterious fascias. The mystery is the fear of a God who is inscrutable and unreadable, who can hurt us and punish us.

On the other hand, there is the mysterious fascination. This is a fear that, at the same time, attracts us, fascinates us, and fills us with joy and inner peace. Hence, also among the women we read, they went quickly from the tomb, and with fear and great joy they ran to tell his disciples. For believers, then, this is joy.

This joy cannot remain only in the private sphere. It must be shared. It needs to be proclaimed, to be spread. The women of the Gospel understand this and act: they run to tell his disciples. Let us run too! Let us proclaim to our neighbors that Jesus is alive! Let us proclaim this good news of the Gospel to all those who grieve and mourn! To those who are depressed in life! Let us proclaim that there is still hope for man. Dear brothers and sisters, the resurrection of Jesus not only shook the earth at that time, but also.. Where are we in all this? For me, today is the day of Jesus Christ’s resurrection, a day of joy and gratitude. For in the risen Christ I recognize my personal Redeemer, and I know that my eternal salvation is sure. I wish you joy, appreciation, and assurance of salvation today.