Easter Sunday
Exodus 15 (Introit)
April 20, 2025
Imagine yourself there on that day when the impossible became possible, when your greatest fears and sorrows were drowned away in light and life. Imagine experiencing the events leading up to the day, starting with the great march, following the Lord as He leads you and the crowd, like a mighty army, through the streets of the city.
Imagine Him leading you out of the great city and toward what, at first, appears to be certain catastrophe, only to discover that the Lord can do mighty deeds, even when death is knocking at the door.
Imagine the fear going through your bones as the high walls of darkness and despair loom over you, and every step you take seems more threatening the further you go. But then, as quickly as it started, it all comes crashing in. The sun shines bright once again and the enemy is washed away. You are truly free and cut off from Pharaoh’s hand of slavery forever.
Our introit today is the great Song of Moses and Israel that was sung after the Lord defeated Pharaoh and his armies in the mighty Red Sea. And in case you missed it, there is a whole lot of parallels between the great Exodus of God’s people from Egypt and our Lord’s exodus, where He set us free by His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead.
We start with sin. Sin is slavery. Sin is sure death and condemnation. And as with the slaves of Egypt so long ago, there is no escape from slavery. The Hebrew people could not set themselves free; they were forced to build Pharaoh’s cities and do whatever he wanted. Generations of men and women, born into a life of oppression without any hope of freedom. This describes humanity. Since sin entered the world, we are each born into its slavery. No hope of freedom, and the devil’s relentless threats, our own desires of the flesh, and the might of this sinful world keep us in sin on all sides.
Oh, we try to rationalize it. Like the Hebrew people, we might conclude that such is life. That since there is no way of getting away, we might as well find a way to enjoy our slavery. Eat, drink, make merry, embrace the sin that ties us down and pretend the devil’s not really there. Heh, when enslaved, do as the slaves, even if the slaves are all destined for eternal destruction.
But the Lord has come, and He has provided an escape, one that no pharaoh, no devil can overcome. God sent to the Hebrew slaves a man named Moses. He was sent to destroy Pharaoh’s grip on the people of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And his simple demand was: “Let my people go.”
But Pharaoh refused. Time again the Lord, through Moses, added to the plagues of Egypt, making the lives of the people there more and more miserable. And finally, after Pharaoh refused to set free the Hebrews, the Lord took the lives of all first-born males of Egypt, both man and beast, including Pharaoh’s own son. Pharaoh finally relented; he finally gave in and let God’s people go.
Tens of thousands of men, women, and children, along with the riches of Egypt, marching as one to the east, toward their new land. Only there was a huge and deep problem. The Red Sea stood between them and the land of Canaan, and Pharaoh went back on his word and pursued the Hebrews with his armies.
But the Lord used the Red Sea to teach us something vitally important about our salvation. That, even against all odds, with the devil and his demons and impassable roadblocks before us, the Lord will provide.
The Red Sea? No problem! God simply parts the waters of the sea so His people can pass through the walls of the sea in safety. And He crashes the sea back in, atop the wicked armies of Pharoah so that the enemy is no more. Simple, simple!
And the Lord does the same for each of His children who are born slaves to sin. Behind us Satan is chasing us down to draw us back to his wicked clutches, and before us lies an impossible barrier keeping us from paradise, the great sea of His holiness and righteousness which permits not one sinner into His presence. What are we to do?
Well, this is where the Lord works His greatest miracle. For by the power of water and the Word, we are born again and delivered from our enemy.
God sends a man named Jesus, but Jesus isn’t mere man, for He is conceived by the Holy Spirit, so He is the God-man. And Jesus comes to His people Israel and says to our oppressors, “Let my people go.” But the devil fights hard and has no interest in setting us free, so Jesus offers Himself up to God as a sacrifice for sins, the first born, Son of God, given for the world. His death has set us free.
And like the people of Moses, we receive the benefits of His death when we die to our old selves in the waters of Baptism, where the Lord leads us to the promised land while drowning Satan and his minions so that they have no power over us. By water and the Spirit, we are truly reborn.
Only the Lord doesn’t stop with simply setting us free. This would be enough, but not for our God and Savior. For on the third day, Jesus rises from the dead, so death itself is ripped of its power. Now, not only do we live in freedom, but we also live forever.
The people of Moses traversed the desert for 40 years. It was their journey to the promised land. We are now on our journey to the promised land, to the new heaven and new earth.
On their journey, the Hebrews far too often looked back and wanted to return to Egypt, they complained and questioned the Lord’s providence, and the Lord’s anger burned against them.
As we journey on as the people of God, may we reflect upon how those ancient people treated God and His messengers. It’s easy to complain, to grumble when things aren’t comfortable or easy. It’s easy to look back at how things were before God called us by name to be His people, and to wish we could go back to living lives sinfully and pursuing the desires of the flesh. It’s easy to say, “everyone else is doing it,” or “life was better back then,” or “what’s the big deal,” while allowing the desires of our flesh to oppress us, the sinful world to entice us, and the devil to lead us away from God and His church.
But the journey continues on and at the end is our great reward, the promised land, eternal life with our Lord and Savior who has died and is risen, Christ Jesus. There is simply nothing left for us in this world except for the work of God to love and serve the neighbor and draw sinners to repentance.
This is not our home! Yet we still struggle our whole short life to make this world as our forever home. Why? Because we still sin, and we still depend fully on God and His promises.
And so, we daily repent. We acknowledge our sin. We do not hide our sins and our short fallings behind excuses. The wages of sin is death, the soul that sins shall die, if you eat of the tree I have commanded you not to eat, you shall die. You see? You can rationalize your sinning, and you can do as the Hebrews and complain to God because you want to continue to sin and think His Word is oppressive to your lifestyle; you are just not going to win that argument. Instead, repent. Confess your sins. Psalm 32 says it: For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
You see? Our Lord doesn’t want you jumping through hoops to get to Him. He has instead come and has given His life for you, He is risen for you, and He will return on the Last Day to get you and take you to be with Him. Repent of your sins, trust in His saving work, and in His sure and unchanging promise of forgiveness, life, and salvation, don’t look back, don’t long for the old ways of Adam, don’t keep holding on to the old slavery of sin and death, but be free and eternal in the light of the mercy of God in Christ.
For Christ is risen! (…). And all the blessings and riches and glory are yours. In this world there is nothing but death and decay; in this world there is nothing but slavery and dark. But in Christ who has defeated this world, there is hope, there is peace, there is true – TRUE love, there is purpose…and there is forgiveness. Amen.
