The Risen One Matthew 27:57-28:10

A simple invitation can change your life. As a teenager, my church family walked through a hard season. The church was splitting, people I loved were at odds with each other, and it felt like the ground underneath me was giving way. I didn’t really know what I wanted to do or where I wanted to go, but I knew I was hurting and something had to change. At a summer football workout, two friends invited me to go to a youth camp the following week. I accepted the invitation, and it changed everything.

Once at a wedding, I was walking around the reception visiting old friends. One wanted to introduce me to a girl that might be a good match for me. I accepted the invitation, and it changed everything.

A few weeks ago, I received a text from a friend, reminding me that an invitation from me to attend a pizza party at church was the first step on his road to faith. He messaged me from southeast Asia where he is one of our IMB missionaries. He accepted an invitation, and it changed everything.

-The Resurrection is an Invitation to a New Life

An invitation to...

I. Identify with Jesus vv. 57-61

When we pick up our story, Jesus has died and Joseph of Arimathea has a decision to make

He is caught between two worlds: He is both a powerful member of the Sanhedrin and a secret follower of Jesus

These two truths are seemingly completely at odds with each other! How will he respond?

Joseph goes public as a follower of Jesus in spite of...

Political Danger- this will put him in opposition to Pilate

Practical Damage- this will cause him to be an outsider to the other members of the Sanhedrin

Personal Doubt- this happens even though he does not know that Jesus will rise from the dead

Joseph buries Jesus in his own tomb

On the one hand, this continues his personal identification with Jesus

On the other, it is a powerful picture of what is really taking place; Joseph is able to identify with Jesus because Jesus has identified with Joseph! He took his place

Joseph understands the finality of death

Rolling the stone over the entrance to the tomb is not a way of making Jesus’s exit more dramatic

It is a statement of fact: He is dead and dead people stay dead. It is a recognition of the finality of death

If we are going to celebrate a resurrection, we have to be honest about death and about our own spiritual death

We have not just been rescued from drowning, we were dead in our sins and He raised us to new life!

Ephesians 2:4–9

[4] But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, [5] even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—[6] and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, [7] so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. [8] For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, [9] not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (ESV)

II. Stop Believing Lies about Jesus vv. 62-66

Next, we see an interplay between the priests, the Pharisees, and Pilate that displays 3 ironies:

They claim that Jesus is an imposter, but they are filled with lies and hypocrisy

This is exactly where some of you are today: You live with the constant conviction that Jesus must be an impostor and that these things could not be true

However, your skepticism is a mask to cover your own heart. You deny Christ out of a misplaced attempt at self-justification!

They believe that they can control the power of Jesus

Surely, they can keep a dead man buried! However, their fear is a reminder that they have some doubt

Perhaps they are afraid of the fame of Jesus spreading due to a theft, but I think they might have lived in fear of a Resurrection

If He is who He says He is and He is able to do what He said He would do, then everything is in question

They are not friends of God; they have lived in opposition to Him

They remember the promise of Resurrection and the disciples don’t

The Sanhedrin remembers His promise and they tremble in fear

The disciples fail to remember and they tremble in fear

All of this is critically important, wherever you are:

Some of us today need to discover the truth about Jesus, stop living a lie, and stop trying to overcome the power of Jesus

Some of us need to recover our faith in Jesus and remember that He makes dead things live. We are a people who believe in the power of God to bring life out of death!

Ezekiel 37:2–3

[2] And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. [3] And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.” (ESV)

God responds with His Word, His Spirit, and His power and dry bones spring to life and a mighty army replaces a valley of dry bones. We all need to remember that He has this kind of Resurrection power!

III. Commit to Follow Jesus vv. 1-10

In the final scene of today’s passage, we see a group of women approach the tomb of Jesus

This is an act of love and of mourning, to preserve the body of Jesus

However, they are invited to see and experience much more

There are three invitations they hear:

Come and See

The women are confronted by an angel who tells them: “He is not here, for He is risen”, then invites them to come and see the empty tomb

They are invited to weigh the evidence and consider what has happened before they believe; evidence exists today for the Resurrection of Jesus:

The testimony of the Church in both history and experience

The testimony of the Scripture in both Old and New Testaments

The testimony of the Holy Spirit in your heart

Believe and Receive

They respond to what they have seen with faith, and they go to tell the disciples what they have seen

Before they can get there, they receive something beyond their imagination: they see Jesus and are able to speak with Him, touch Him, and be comforted by Him

However, faith precedes sight

Go and Tell

Finally, they complete their mission, they leave Jesus and they go to tell the disciples the good news

They continue in obedience, in which the new direction of their lives is determined by a living Savior

It turns out that Resurrection life is an entirely different kind of life, but it is a life only found in the person and pursuit of Christ

Matthew 4:19

[19] And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (ESV)

Robert Kirkpatrick had some good news and some bad news. The good news: he had been extended a written invitation to a dinner with President Bush in Washington, DC. The invite and letter were signed by Vice President Cheney himself. It is not every day you receive an invitation like that. On the other hand, it was a fund-raising dinner and cost would be $2500 a plate. You might think that was the bad news. Not in this case.

The bad news: When Kirkpatrick received the invite in 2001, he was just beginning a three year stint at the Belmont Correctional Institution eastern Ohio. He was serving time for drug possession and attempt escape. In the day of computer generated mailing lists, such mistakes happen all the time.

Kirkpatrick was philosophical about the invitation. He told reporters, "I’m going to tell him that I’d be happy to attend, but he’s going to have to pull some strings to get me there." John Bacon (from staff and wire reports), "Guess Who’s Not Coming to a Bush Dinner," USA Today (6-5-02) p. 3A)

That’s exactly what Jesus did: He issued an invitation and He made it possible for you to follow.

You can:

-Connect to God

-Connect in Community

-Connect to Kingdom Purpose