Easter Sunday

Intro

Matthew 27:57–61 ESV

When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

Jesus is dead. There is no way around it. His disciples are in hiding. The to,b is prepared and He is laid in this grave.

You can see the mind of the enemy turning, if this was the Christ He said He would rise in three days. we must make sure that He doesn’t. The enemy then whispers to the religious leaders.

Slow down, rest, take a breath, and continue!

Jesus was buried in a Grave

He said He will rise, but we are so sure this is a scam that his disciples will surely have steal his body. Let us secure His tomb. Just for 3 days. He will be proven wrong and we can all move forward.

Pilot agrees, and has guards assigned to the tomb for three days.

Slow down, rest, take a breath, and continue!

Jesus walked out of the Grave

Matthew 28:1–6 ESV

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.

I love this, the angel comes rolls the stone back for Jesus, then he sits on it. shining like a star. terrifying the guards. they fall like dead men. So The Angel lets the guards pass out in fear, but to Mary and the women:

Matthew 28:5–6 ESV

But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.

Luke 24:5 ESV

And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?

He is not here, why are you seeking the living among the dead?

Jesus, had repeatedly told them that He would rise again. they didn’t understand it, because they were looking through human eyes.

Slow down, rest, take a breath, and continue!

why do we still return to the tomb?

2 Peter 2:22 ESV

What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”

Why do we return the tomb of our lives and expect to find Jesus?

Lets define tomb, our tomb is where we buried our old life.

Jesus comes and He resurrects our old life giving us new life in him.

But for many believers, we never leave the tomb.

we just remain in the memories of the past.

We hold on to the comfortable, maybe old relationships, old habits. we remain in the tomb, because the tomb is near the old life.

But the issue comes when Jesus moves on and we choose to stay. The joy of salvation dries up, new life begins to fade, and we move into a semi alive state. Where we are alive in Christ but we live like we are dead.

Jesus is alive, but i have all of these issues. all of these fears. We claim life is Jesus, but we cling to the past.

Slow down, rest, take a breath, and continue!

Jesus Conquered the Tomb

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.

Oh Death Where is your sting?

Too many, live in the grave when Jesus is calling you out.

Why do we return to the pain the hurt the agony, the grave, when Christ has set us free. Why do we expect to find freedom in a tomb?

The grave is meant to be a doorway, not a home.