..“Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ (Matthew 27:63)
SCRIPTURE READINGS
HYMNS FOR THE DAY
- Hymn “All You Works of God, Bless the Lord” (LSB 930)
- Hymn of Praise “Good Christian Friends, Rejoice and Sing” (LSB 475)
- Closing Hymn “Were You There” (LSB 456)
Easter vigil (saturday)
Sermon Starter
Nothing could be more natural than seeking revenge against one who has wronged you. Even the youngest
child’s untrained sense of fairness demands payback. God’s children, however, are not to submit to human
thinking but to the Word of God. What do the Scriptures say about our desire for revenge? When King David’s
enemies rose against him, the Holy Spirit inspired him to pray in Psalm 41:10: “But You, O Lord, be gracious to
me, and raise me up, that I may repay them!” David prays for vengeance, and God ordains vengeance. Yet the
Scriptures also tell us not to “resist the one who is evil” (Matthew 5:39). What are we to make of this paradox?
As with all matters of the faith, we must look to our Lord’s crucifixion for the answer. For only by the cross is
God gracious to you; only at the cross does He demand payment for every injustice.
Collect of the Day
O God, creator of heaven and earth, grant that as the crucified body of Your dear Son was laid in the tomb and
rested on this holy Sabbath, so we may await with Him the coming of the third day, and rise with Him to
newness of life, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.