People of the Resurrection

Matthew 28:1–10 NIV

1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. 2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. 5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” 8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

The story of Jesus seems to come full circle here. A story that begins with an angel’s declaration to a young woman named Mary ends with an angel’s declaration of the resurrection of the Lord to two women named Mary—Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary” (likely the sister of Lazarus and Martha). Both angels bring greetings to not be afraid in moments of tremendous fear. Both also bring the important message that God is up to something extraordinary. Ultimately, both times it is a message of Immanuel: God is with us.

We don’t tend to think of Immanuel as an Easter promise, but it is as appropriate in these Easter texts as in any. When the women are crying at the tomb, they long and hope for God to hear their cries. They hope God has not abandoned them. They watched him die a gruesome death. They know they are likely targets now, having been seen in close relationship with Jesus. Fear, grief, hopelessness, and despair intermingle at the tomb. When the women show up on the third day, they don’t anticipate resurrection. They don’t anticipate the way their world will be completely transformed, but it’s safe to say they longed for it.

And it’s still a message for us. We still see the traumas in our world, the violence, the pain, the devastation of illness and death. We can enter into this space on Easter Sunday with the cry for Immanuel to draw near. On the verge of hopelessness, in the midst of despair, we wonder, Does Christ hear us? Does Christ see us? Is God here with us? If we are open and willing to look beyond the grave, we will find that he is here with us because he is risen!

The Third Day

Third days are important throughout Scripture.

God rescues Isaac from the altar of sacrifice on the third day, providing a ram in his place (Genesis 22:1–14).

God reveals himself to God’s people on Mount Sinai on the third day, reminding them who provides and who keeps promises (Exodus 19:1–15).

God heals and restores on the third day (2 Kings 20:1–11).

Jonah is in the great fish for three days (Jonah 1:17). This one is especially important because, when Jesus says in Matthew that he is going to give the sign of Jonah, he is indicating his own third-day resurrection.

Matthew and John both emphasize that it was early in the morning. Since these Jewish women wouldn’t go to prepare a body on the Sabbath, the implication is that they are arriving as soon as they are allowed by religious law.

In John 20:19, we are told it is evening of the first day of the week when the disciples are locked together in a room, which means Jesus’s appearance to the women at the tomb in the morning and to the disciples in the locked room in the evening occur on the same day. We can make multiple inferences from these details.

The women risk their lives and safety by going to the tomb.

The disciples keep the doors locked “for fear of the Jewish leaders.” Their fears are warranted, yet the two women risked their safety to visit the tomb while the rest of the disciples stayed safely behind locked doors.

Looking for Jesus in the Wrong Place

Jesus told his disciples repeatedly that he was going to rise again.

Matthew 16:4

Matthew 16:4ii NIV

4 A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus then left them and went away.

Matthew 16:21

Matthew 16:21iii NIV

21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

Matthew 17:22–23

Matthew 17:22–23 NIV

22 When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. 23 They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life.” And the disciples were filled with grief.

The disciples never seemed to understand what Jesus meant.

The women were present at the crucifixion.

Matthew 27:55–56

Matthew 27:55–56ii NIV

55 Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs.

John 19:25

John 19:25c NIV

25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.

Some of those present at the crucifixion very likely were also present for Jesus’s raising of Lazarus from the dead. Watching someone whom you know has the power to raise the dead back to life, die themselves, would be very confusing indeed. This is another case of the disciples not seeming to fully understand what Jesus is doing.

Throughout the Matthew and John narratives, the disciples don’t seem to get it.

Some think Jesus is in the process of raising up a violent political revolution. Some scholars even believe this was a motivating factor in Judas’s betrayal— that he thought Jesus was moving too slowly and that getting him arrested would get the ball rolling on the hostile takeover of the Roman Empire.

Others are looking for salvation in some other way.

Regardless, they don’t seem to grasp that salvation and victory are going to come in an unusual way—through submission, sacrifice, death, and resurrection. So, instead of viewing Jesus’s crucifixion as fulfillment of God’s plan, they view it as the loss of hope.

In the same way Jesus did not leave the world in an expected way, he also didn’t enter it in the expected way either.

He was born into a messy situation with an unwed mother.

Those who heard about Jesus’s birth initially were outcasts, poor, a woman (Elizabeth), and gentiles (the Magi).

He continued to cross religious boundaries of clean and unclean.

He preached peace, compassion, mercy, and love when the prevailing thought was that Messiah would overtake oppressors by violent or powerful means.

He even entered into Jerusalem in ways that illustrated he was coming as a peaceful sacrifice instead of a conquering king.

Where Is He?

We see an empty tomb in both the Matthew and John texts, but Jesus isn’t far off. In John, Mary encounters Jesus in the garden. In Matthew, the women encounter him on the way to Galilee.

Jesus goes to where his disciples are. He approaches Mary. He meets the women on their way. He appears in the locked room. He appears a week later to Thomas specifically.

When they despair of hope, Jesus meets them where they are. He is present and shows up in the midst of his disciples’ grief and pain. All they have to do is look up and see him!

This is the Immanuel God—God with us—who has shown up to be present with us once again, this time not as an infant but as one who conquered sin and death. This time he is not in a state of vulnerability but has resurrection power.

The fear, doubt, and hopelessness of the disciples does not disqualify them from encountering the resurrected Christ. In spite of all his teachings and warnings about what was going to happen, Jesus doesn’t shame any of them for looking for him in the tomb, for hiding in a locked room, or for doubting the resurrection. He embraces all of them where they are, and their lives are transformed by his presence. They were commissioned to go out into the world in the power of the Holy Spirit, and they go.

God’s disciples were not forgotten or abandoned, and neither are we! God is still with us. The power of resurrection is still with us! We have hope no matter what we face. Even when we struggle, even when we doubt, even when we are afraid, we are also empowered by the Holy Spirit to carry the resurrection of Jesus into the world.

I want to ask you a question: if you drew a picture of Easter today, what would your picture look like? I'm really asking, what do you believe about Easter? How does your picture of Easter affect the way you deal with fearful feelings and thoughts? Do you believe Easter is about God imagining a joyful life for you, even when your world has been shaken? Do you believe the Easter story is calling you to trust in Jesus, refusing to remain in your fear because Jesus is alive and he is with you? What you believe about Easter has the power to change you. Did you know that joy is the default setting for the Christian life? While we all go through seasons of sorrow, the Bible encourages us to be “joyful in all circumstances,” not fearful.

Did you know that joy is the default setting for the Christian life? While we all go through trials and seasons of sorrow, Scripture encourages us to be “joyful in all circumstances,” not fearful.

God imagines a joyful life for all of us - let’s remember not to confuse happiness with joy. True joy can only come from God - happiness can fade based on life’s circumstances. Can you imagine the fearful yet joyful response of the women to hear that Jesus is alive!

God wants a joyful life for each and everyone of us. The bad news is that when our worlds are shaken we tend to tremble and start to focus on things outside of our joy in the Lord. Can you imagine what the reaction was to what the women saw that morning? I’m sure they were running, out of breath, confused, maybe even a bit of a panic attack as to what was happening. Our worlds will be shaken and we will begin to tremble at times.

Jesus invites us to know that he is alive and with us - no reason to remain in our fear. When we find ourselves in a place of fear, we need to be reminded that Jesus is right there with us whatever we are going through.

Recently, I listened to a sermon by Louie Giglio. He kept using this phrase, “You’re only 20 inches from mercy.” And finally, at the end of the sermon, he took a tape measure and put the end of the tape measure on the stage where he’s standing, and he marks it at 20 inches, the point of his kneecap. Then he said, “You can try to stand on your own. You can try to get through this dark season by yourself, in your own strength, or you can humbly fall 20 inches to your knees and humbly call out to God for help.”

I realize we live in a world where anxiety and fear are dominating people’s lives. Millions of dollars are spent annually in the medical field, trying to help us cope. But in the midst of everything we are facing, we come to church on Easter Sunday morning, and we hear the good news of resurrection and the words of Jesus, “Do not be afraid.” He imagines a joyful life for all of us, even when our world has been shaken, calling us not to remain in our fear.

We are people of the resurrection. Our entire week has been transformed because of the resurrection happening on the first day of the week. Our entire lives should be transformed by the resurrection because Christ has conquered sin and death. We no longer need to live without hope. We no longer need to reside in tombs of death. In our worst moments of grief, hopelessness, and fear we can be confident that Christ is with us—because he is risen! Immanuel isn’t a message only for Christmas. It’s the message of Easter too—that God hasn’t forgotten us. There is no distance that Jesus wouldn’t go to be with us, including surrendering to suffering and death. We are loved, we are not alone, and there is hope. Sin is defeated, and death is destroyed through the power of the resurrection. We are not alone because he is risen!

Pray

Communion

The Communion Supper, instituted by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is a sacrament, which proclaims His life, His sufferings, His sacrificial death, and resurrection, and the hope of His coming again. It shows forth the Lord’s death until His return.

The Supper is a means of grace in which Christ is present by the Spirit. It is to be received in reverent appreciation and gratefulness for the work of Christ.

All those who are truly repentant, forsaking their sins, and believing in Christ for salvation are invited to participate in the death and resurrection of Christ. We come to the table that we may be renewed in life and salvation and be made one by the Spirit.

In unity with the Church, we confess our faith: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. And so we pray:

PRAYER OF CONFESSION AND SUPPLICATION:

Holy God,

We gather at this, your table, in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, who by your Spirit was anointed to preach good news to the poor, proclaim release to the captives, set at liberty those who are oppressed. Christ healed the sick, fed the hungry, ate with sinners, and established the new covenant for forgiveness of sins. We live in the hope of His coming again.

On the night in which He was betrayed, He took bread, gave thanks, broke the bread, gave it to His disciples, and said: “This is my body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

Likewise, when the supper was over, He took the cup, gave thanks, gave it to His disciples, and said: “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in remembrance of me.” Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

And so, we gather as the Body of Christ to offer ourselves to you in praise and thanksgiving. Pour out your Holy Spirit on us and on these your gifts. Make them by the power of your Spirit to be for us the body and blood of Christ, that we may be for the world the Body of Christ, redeemed by His blood.

By your Spirit make us one in Christ, one with each other, and one in the ministry of Christ to all the world, until Christ comes in final victory. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.

EXPLAIN ELEMENTS

The body of our Lord Jesus Christ, broken for you, preserve you blameless, unto everlasting life. Eat this in remembrance that Christ died for you, and be thankful.

The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, shed for you, preserve you blameless unto everlasting life. Drink this in remembrance that Christ died for you, and be thankful.

CONCLUDING PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING AND COMMITMENT

Close with Glorious Day

A Prayer for Boldness to Proclaim the Easter Gospel

Father,  We are living in a day unlike anything we have ever seen before. Chaos, confusion, and turmoil has been stirring in the hearts of so many people.

We trust that justice belongs in Your hand, but we also trust that You have a great plan for us to see hearts transformed and lives changed.

Jesus, thank You for Your mercy that was displayed upon the cross that has given those who call upon Your name and trust in you for forgiveness and new life. We want to be a part of Your great redemptive plan in the earth.

Help us fix our eyes on Christ when we are tempted to only look at the problems around us. We are asking that You would give us the boldness to proclaim the only solution to what our world is experiencing and that is Your glorious Gospel! In Jesus’ Name, Amen. - Emily Massey

25 Easter Prayers - Blessings for Resurrection Sunday (christianity.com)