The Victory of the King
Notes
Transcript
Based on SRVCC 56 Matthew’s View of THE KING (Continued) The Victory of the King
Matthew 28:1-15
Scene 1: Easter show, the stone is rolled away & guards faint scene.
Have you ever been to a stage show, a musical, a play which had this incredible stand out scene?
A scene that truly moved you and those around you.
Something so well done that you forgot for the moment that it was just acting.
I remember one such time, it was early in Toni’s and my relationship.
We were at the Suncorp Piazza at Southbank and there was an Easter play on.
This was a sell out event which played for several days and had been going for a number of years.
The venue was packed and the sound and lighting set up was enormous.
Now the play followed the normal Passion play scenes and it was all so well done.
In one scene there were Roman soldiers standing up every aisle.
There were animals and children.
And then there was the resurrection scene.
The crew had built a rocky outcrop and in it was a cave.
At the end of the crucifixion scene Jesus was carried from the cross and placed in this cave and the stone rolled across the entrance.
Guards had been posted in front of it.
You could feel the sorrow and distress of the situation.
Then there was silence.
That sort of silence that tells you the audience has really got it.
Then this huge rumbling came through the speakers.
Powerful enough that you could feel it.
This shimmering white glow could be seen inside the cave.
And an angel appeared in front of the cave.
Now I had heard stories about the guy who played the angel.
But seeing him in real life, that was incredible.
This huge muscle bound hulk of a man.
In pure white linen robes.
Olive skin glistening.
He stood in front of the guards with a menacing look as if to say I am about to rip your legs off and beat you around the head with them.
The guards fell as if dead on the spot.
He walked over to the stone at the entrance to the cave and in one huge heave, half rolled half threw it to the side.
The rolling thunder got louder and louder the blinding white light from inside the cave brighter and brighter.
And Jesus stepped out of the cave.
The crowd broke into cheers.
Scene 2: In real life the scene would have been much more awesome.
Matthew 28:1-4 describe it for us.
1 Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to visit the tomb. 2 Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it. 3 His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. 4 The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint.
Now I have heard the boom of an earthquake, but didn’t feel it.
And I have experienced a mild earthquake in the Solomon Islands.
Where we felt a jolt and nothing more
But a large earthquake is a different thing, I am told it is incredibly unnerving to have the ground move beneath you.
I have never actually seen an angel.
But I am told that it is an incredible experience.
To have both happen together.
Wow!
The guards were hard men.
Almost certainly they were Roman soldiers assigned to the service of the religious leaders.
For temple guards would have not feared death for losing the body.
Now just to make sure we understand how awesome this scene was.
Have a think about the life of a soldier in those days.
It was incredibly tough.
You walked everywhere.
You carried your weapons.
The climate was harsh.
The training and discipline had no compassion.
Executing people by crucifixion was all in a day’s work.
We find that these hard harsh men were so terrified they fainted.
This was an incredibly terrifying experience.
One that you certainly did not forget or doubt.
Scene 3: Yet amazingly there were still some who refused to believe, even though they had the evidence of the guards that this was the Messiah - Matthew 28:11-15.
The guards experienced the earthquake, as did the entire region.
They saw the angel and how he moved the stone away and then sat on it.
Obviously this was the work of God.
Some of them reported all of this to the religious leaders.
Who had heard Jesus’ testimony.
Who had seen his miracles.
Who had witnessed the supernatural events of the crucifixion.
Events such as the darkness.
The earthquake.
The tearing of the temple curtain.
And now they hear firsthand of another supernatural event.
An event clearly predicted by Jesus.
And they hear it from Romans.
Yet still they refuse to believe.
Look at Matthew 28:12
12 A meeting with the elders was called, and they decided to give the soldiers a large bribe.
They called a meeting.
In the face of overwhelming evidence.
Those who lead Israel.
Those who had been taught the Scriptures from birth.
Those who knew every precept,
Every command.
Every word
Devised what they knew to be a lie in order to explain away an act of God.
Scene 4: Victory is won, salvation is sure. Accept it as the women did, or reject it despite the clear evidence as the religious leaders did.
Jesus has been raised from the dead.
The angels said to the women.
“He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen.”
No one at that time would make up such a story and have women as the first witnesses.
Their testimony wasn’t listened to back then.
The fact it is included by the gospel writers just adds to the authenticity of their account.
You just wouldn’t say it unless it was true.
In fact the testimony of women in the west is only listened to today because of the teachings of Jesus and his follower Paul that tell us that women are of equal value.
If it wasn’t for Jesus and Paul we can be sure that men would still be in charge ....... of everything, everywhere.
So let’s listen to the testimony of these women.
Matthew records these events because the women saw them and told him what happened.
It wasn’t the disciples that saw the risen Jesus first.
It was the Women.
They saw and they believed.
They were expecting a dead man.
They found a risen King.
Now let’s make sure we get the significance of this.
All four Gospel writers hint that there was a group of women.
We do know that Mary Magdalene and Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus were the main players.
But there was also Joanna the wife of Chuza, who was the steward of King Herod Antipas.
Salome, who was possibly the sister of Jesus’ mother Mary.
We also believe that Salome was the mother of James and John the sons of Zebedee therefore these two disciples were possibly cousins of Jesus.
And Susanna who we know nothing about.
Almost certainly there were others as well.
Now these women were part of Jesus’ group of disciples.
They provided for Jesus and his disciples from their own funds.
So some of them had some wealth at their disposal.
They had witnessed the crucifixion.
They had witnessed the burial.
They knew Jesus was dead.
In those times it was common to anoint a body with spices at burial in order to protect from odor and as a mark of respect for the departed.
But the quickness of Jesus’ trial and execution followed by the Sabbath had prevented them from carrying out this task.
So in obedience to the law they waited until the Sabbath was over and at first light, they came as a group prepared to carry out this sad duty.
Mark even tells us that they were wondering how the stone was going to be moved so that they could carry out this gruesome task.
So we have the testimony of women.
Women who were convinced that they were about to attend to a dead man.
And all four Gospel writers record this.
If you made it up you would never tell it like this, certainly not in those days and maybe not even today.
But they did.
Because it is an honest account.
He is risen from the dead!
Scene 5: The victory of our King, a source of hope in times of trouble.
Hope within despair, purpose in the face of futility, comfort in times of distress, reason is the face of unbelief.
When the darkness closes in and there seems to be no way forward.
When the future is not going to be all that you had once hoped for.
When the pain is just so deep that you think that you will never survive.
Or when you have just had enough of someone or something.
Please remember.
He is alive.
Death has been defeated.
Life eternal has been purchased.
Eternity with Christ means no more tears, no more pain.
It means Joy.
And that friends is worth believing in.
Hang onto that and there will always be something to celebrate.