Resurrection Sunday 2023

Getting The Story Straight

Text: Matthew 28:10-15

Matthew 28:10–15 NKJV

Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.” Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.” So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.

Have you ever known people who always manage to get their facts twisted?

Somehow, despite their best efforts they never seem to come out right!

Those are the kind of people that have serious problems sticking to what they know.

If they describe an event, they feel compelled to add a little flavor and color to it to make it interesting.

Sometimes they add a few details.

Often they leave out many.

When they finish with even a very simple account of an event, it has become very complex.

These kinds of people have problems, getting the story straight.

While some make mistakes and get the story wrong, there are others who deliberately twist the story.

These persons intentionally begin “misinformation” campaigns to deceive others the culprit behind misinformation campaigns is Satan.

He inspires people to intentionally lie to achieve what he describes as a higher, loftier goal.

In our personal lives, Satan does the same.

He mounts a massive misinformation campaign against every believer.

His job is to lower our self-esteem, kill our spirit, dampen our enthusiasm and thwart our every effort at personal achievement.

He begins with us personally and then goes to our friends and associates.

The end result is we begin to believe what we hear.

When that happens, he has succeeded in side tracking another Saint from the godly path.

This text focuses on the effort of the Jewish religious leaders to spread a false story about the resurrection of Christ.

After his death, Christ was buried in Joseph’s new tomb, where he stayed for three days as he prophesied.

However, on the first day of the week he arose from the dead and walked from the tomb despite the fact that a huge stone blocked the doorway.

The absence of his body from the tomb sent shock waves throughout the religious leadership.

It was their greatest fear, that another person would be seen living after having been reported dead.

The death of Lazarus and his resurrection caused them many problems.

Jesus raised him from the dead and they knew they would only increase his followers.

They were so disturbed that they attempted to kill Lazarus again, to stop the ground swell of support Jesus was receiving.

A little girl had been raised too.

That sparked great interest.

They took great pains that Jesus’ followers would not be encouraged by the disappearance of his body and lay claim to his own resurrection of the dead.

They insisted that the large stone that would block the doorway of the tomb would bear the official Roman seal to keep anyone from removing his body and claiming that he had risen.

In addition, for the course of the three days that he predicted they insisted upon guards for the tomb.

It must have seemed ridiculous to the soldiers.

With all of their other duties to perform they were being called upon to guard a tomb from people who were so frightened that they hid in crowds and stayed back a distance to avoid association.

It must have been humorous to them to stand watch over a tomb, cut from a rock, protected by a rock and sealed with the Roman official seal.

Yet, this was their task.

When an angel appeared and rolled the stone away, the soldiers were amazed.

When they reported what they saw to the religious leaders they were given huge amounts of money to tell the story another way.

It had to appear that the disciples had stolen the body.

They could conjure any reasonable fabrication if necessary, but they were not to tell the truth.

There was a large amount of money given to the soldiers for advancing that which they knew to be a lie.

The priests promised to protect them from the sword of Pilate because their lives would be in danger.

They did not consider that while they had influence with Pilate, their bad deed would get nowhere before the sword of God’s justice. .

They gave them a story to tell but it was one that was riddled with inconsistencies.

Had the soldiers been all asleep, they could not have known what passed.

If any had been awake, they would have roused the others and prevented the removal; and certainly if they had been asleep, they never would have dared to confess it; while the Jewish rulers would have been the first to call for their punishment.

Again, had there been any truth in the report, the rulers would have prosecuted the apostles with severity for it.

The whole account shows that the story was entirely false. And we must not charge such things to the weakness of the understanding, but to the wickedness of the heart.

God left them to expose their own course.

The great argument to prove Christ to be the Son of God, is his resurrection; and none could have more convincing proofs of the truth of that than these soldiers; yet they took bribes to hinder others from believing. .

The scribes and Pharisees wanted a story told but they didn’t want it told straight!

What they tried to hide a host of witnesses would not conceal.

Jesus was alive!

He had been seen by many!

Despite the lies that are being told about that resurrection morning, the story has been told straight and the world now knows who is truly King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

Twisted Stories

Today there are millions of people who are frustrated because they are the victims of twisted stories told on them in their neighborhoods, by jealous people, family members and even friends.

Whatever the reason these stories are told, they have the net effect of destroying individual morale and optimism.

Most of us readily see how twisted stories can destroy our lives, but on a spiritual level, Satan has some twisted stories that he disseminates on every believer.

They can have effect of destroying a believer’s hope and faith in God.

SATAN TELLS TROUBLED BELIEVERS THAT GOD HAS FORSAKEN THEM.

Believers who are experiencing difficulties are often frustrated.

As each attempt to side step a problem leads to another problem, Satan starts to tell the story.

The truth of the matter is that at the moment we are enduring a difficult time.

We’re having a set back.

We’re not moving at the pace that we desire.

However, Satan takes those known facts and twists them to mean that God has forsaken us.

In our moment of weakness he whispers in our ear that our struggle is over!

We are told repeatedly that we have failed. There is no hope! However, we should get the story straight!

While it is true that we may be in a slump, it is not true that we are defeated!

We have not been forsaken or left alone for Jesus promised us in Matthew 28, “And Lo I’ll be with you alway, even until the end of the earth.”

Matthew 28:18–20 NKJV

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

EVERY WEAK BELIEVER IS TOLD HE IS WITHOUT STRENGTH

There are times when even the most devout believer is weak.

In times of stress, frustration and doubt, believers, because they are human, can get weak.

Jesus had such a period when he was in the wilderness forty days and nights.

He was physically and mentally exhausted.

It was at this time that Satan carne to him with a twisted story of self satisfaction and vain glory.

It is easy to believe that we are failures if we listen to the story that is told.

It is repeated to us so often that some have begun to believe that story themselves.

They have simply given up trying.

However, every believer is reminded to get the story straight.

It is true that we often experience moments of weakness but we are not without a source of strength.

The Word of God reminds us that “they that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up on wings as eagles, they shall run and not get weary, walk and not faint!” Paul reminds us that even in my weakness, I am strong!

EVERY SINNER IS TOLD HE IS BEYOND SALVATION

· All men have sinned and fallen short of God’ s standards!

· That is an eternal truth.

· Satan adds a special twist to that story.

· He convinces every sinner that he is beyond salvation.

· A person who has been outside of the ark of safety for a long time is told that all is lost.

· Drunkards, gamblers, thieves, adulterers have been convinced that they have destroyed themselves with God and will forever be marked as “cons.”

· Yet, we only have to look at the woman at the well to learn that what we are hearing is only part of the story.

· Jesus met this woman who had five husbands and lived in adultery.

· It is true that she had a messed up life.

· However to get the story straight, we must look at what happened after she met Jesus, she ran through the city shouting “come see a man who told me all I’ve ever done.”

· There is no sinner who is willing to repent and turn to God who cannot be forgiven.

Get the story straight!

Finally brothers and sisters, we must consider that no matter how Satan tries to turn things around, we must help the world get the story straight!

When the story is straight those who are dispirited will be encouraged.

The disciples were all completely discouraged after the crucifixion.

They hid themselves like criminals and stayed away from the public view.

But when they heard the word, they were revived and rejuvenated.

When we get the story straight, we make sure that the world knows the true

meaning of that resurrection morning.

· It’s not about Easter bunnies, because Easter bunnies can’t raise a bowed down head! We got to get the story straight!

· It’s not about brightly colored eggs, because dyed eggs can’t wipe tears from my eyes! We got to get the story straight!

· It’s not about brand new clothes, because new clothes can make me look good on the outside, but they can’t save my soul! We got to get the story straight!

· It’s important to get the story straight because Satan can make you feel that you are on the losing side! But when we get the story straight, we understand that we serve a God that has guaranteed us that we’ll be on the winning side.

Can’t you hear Paul saying, in Romans 8:37

Romans 8:37 NKJV

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

Somebody saw you going through a hard time the other day as a tear fell from your eye.

· Tell them to wait before they tell the story, because David said, “weeping endureth but a night, but joy cometh in the morning!”

Somebody saw you wrestling with troubles and problems, tell them to wait before they run to the telephone, for I heard the Psalmist say, “For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of His tabernacle shall he hide me” no wonder the Song Writer wrote, “I’m so glad that trouble don’t last always!”

Somebody saw your enemies surrounding you and thought you were down for good, but I heard God tell David, “Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.”

When we get the story straight we begin to remember that we serve a God who

can take our:

MISFORTUNES and turn them into grand opportunities;

MINUTES OF PAIN and turn them into hours of joy;

DAY OF AGONY and turn it into years of ecstasy;

WEEPING EYES and turn them into warm smiles

SADNESS and turn it into gladness;

SET BACKS and turn them into step-ups!

When we tell the story, we’ve got to be sure we tell the story straight! We’ve got to tell the world that nearly 2,000 years ago that Jesus, the Lamb of God, gave his life that we might have a chance to everlasting life!

· When we tell the story, we must tell the world that he carried an old rugged cross up Golgotha’s hill!

· But even before the story was over somebody got it wrong! They started running through the city saying, he saved others but he can’t save himself. They couldn’t wait to get it straight!

Ø If they had waited, they would have seen him die!

Ø If they had waited, they would have seen him buried!

Ø If they had waited, they would have seen them roll the stone in front of the tomb!

Ø If they had waited, they would have been able to get the story straight!

Ø Early Sunday morning he arose from the grave!

Ø Those who want to pronounce your death burial tell them wait, God is not through with me yet!

When God gets through with me!

When God gets through we me …

I shall come forth as pure gold!

1 Corinthians 15:55–57 ESV

“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.