Easter in Four words Matthew 28:1-8
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Introduction:
Introduction:
Today is Easter Sunday and it’s come a little earlier in our calendar this year. Easter is one of those days that is packed full of purpose and yet, of all our holidays, perhaps it is the one whose purpose seems to get more and more distorted with every passing year.
All holidays have meaning behind them. Their purpose is the very reason we celebrate them.
For instance:
The purpose of Memorial Day is remembering the men and women who have died for our country.
The purpose of Mother’s Day is “Momma.”
The purpose of Father’s Day is “Daddy.”
The purpose of July 4th is the USA’s independence from England.
The purpose of Christmas is “Immanuel, God with us,” the birth of Jesus Christ.
The purpose of Good Friday is found in 2 Corinthians—Jesus died for our sins.
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
But, what about Easter? What is its’ purpose?
The Easter bunny.
New Easter clothes.
Easter eggs.
Easter baskets.
Easter dinner.
All of these things are well and good, nothing inherently wrong about them, but are any of them the purpose behind our celebration of Easter? No.
If these are not the purpose behind the observance of Easter, then what is?
Matthew 28:1-8 gives us that answer, lets read it together this morning. If you are using one of our church bibles, you can find that on page 784.
1 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.
2 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.
3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow.
4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men.
5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.
6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.
7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.”
8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.
There are four words that we are going to highlight together in this passage today that sum up for us the purpose behind Easter. These words are imperatives (commands) that reveal to us the purpose behind our celebration:
1.) The first word is “Come.” (v.6)
1.) The first word is “Come.” (v.6)
These women have come to a grave to finish the proper burial process of Jesus. You see he had died the night before the Jewish holy time of Passover and their was not adequate time to anoint Jesus body properly before it started. These women had been there on Friday when he was nailed to the cross. They had watched him suffer for six hours, breathe his last breath and die. They watched a Jesus lifeless body was removed from the cross and hastily placed in the grave. They were eyewitnesses to the Roman guards roll a massive stone over the tombs entrance in an effort to seal the body of Jesus inside.
Now, here they are, passover ended and they are ready to properly anoint the body of Jesus for burial. To give his body the love and attention they felt it deserved and while doing so, process their grief.
When they arrived at the grave, they found that the giant stone that had covered the entrance in the tomb and the soldiers guarding the tomb were gone.
Matthew fills in what had happened just prior to their arrival in v.2
2 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.
An earthquake caused by an angel descending, this angel has rolled the stone back from the tomb.
And then he spoke to the women.
6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.
There is our first word, “come”
A.) “Come” is an invitation.
This is not the first time an invitation has been given in the Bible.
The Bible is full of God inviting people to come to Him.
God invited the Israelites to come out of Egypt in the Old Testament through the leadership of Moses.
10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
God invited them many times in the Old Testament to turn and come to Him.
14 Return, O faithless children, declares the Lord; for I am your master; I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.
15 “ ‘And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.
Jesus made the same invitation to all of us.
28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
C. The purpose of Easter is to “Come”.
Come to the One who will give you rest.
Come to the One who died on the cross for you.
Come to the One who conquered sin and death, all for you.
Come to the One who can forgive.
Come to the One who can give you peace.
Come to the One who can give you eternal life.
Come to the One who was dead but now lives.
Come to Jesus!
2.) The second word is “See.” (v.6)
2.) The second word is “See.” (v.6)
6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.
A.) Looking vs. Seeing.
There is a big difference between “looking” at something “seeing” it.
To look at something is to to turn one's eyes toward something or in some direction. To glance or gaze at something.
We “look” at thousands and thousands of things every day. There are always things happening around us, out of the corner of our eye. They appear in our vision and somehow our brain processes them all.
We can “look” at something and never really see it.
To see something is to perceive, recognize and understand something. To ascertain and learn about something. To investigate and inquire with the eye.
Seeing is focusing our vision upon something for an extended period of time. Whatever we “see” has our attention and we grasp or comprehend it.
The angel wanted the women to “see”, to grasp and comprehend that the tomb was empty. Not just to take a passing glance inside but to investigate and know for sure that Christ body was no longer there.
B.) The purpose of Easter is to “See”.
God also wants us to “see” that the tomb is empty.
He wants us to grasp it and comprehend it.
There is no body in the tomb.
The body that was laid there and entombed on Friday is not there on Sunday. Jesus is alive!Our Savior is not a dead person buried in some hole somewhere over in the Middle East. Our Savior is alive and our Savior is well.
We are able to know Him today.
We are able to speak with Him today.
We are able to have a real relationship with Him today.
God wants you to “see” that this morning.
The One who died for you is now alive and desperately wants you to see Him for who he is, your one and only savior.
3.) The third word is “Go.” (v.7)
3.) The third word is “Go.” (v.7)
7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.”
A.) The angel wanted the women to understand what was going on.
He wanted them to see that the tomb was empty. He wanted them to understand that Jesus was no longer dead. He wanted them to grasp the fact that Jesus was alive. But, he didn’t want them to just stand there staring at an empty tomb.
Now that they understood Jesus was alive they were to go and tell the disciples that Jesus had risen from the grave.
B.) The purpose of Easter is to “Go”
Once we’ve seen the empty tomb and trusted Christ as Lord and Savior, there’s more to do.
We are to go!
We are to go and testify that the tomb is empty.
We are to go and witness to the fact that Jesus lives.
We are to go and call everyone to a Living Jesus who loves them and gave his life for them.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
4.) The fourth word is “Tell.” (v.7)
4.) The fourth word is “Tell.” (v.7)
7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.”
The angel tells the women to tell the disciples that the tomb was empty and Jesus had risen just as he said he would and that they would see him in Galilee.
A.) The purpose of Easter is to “tell.”
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
We are to tell people that Jesus is alive wherever we are.
There is no greater news that we can share, than to tell people that Jesus is the one and only true savior who is alive forever more and that because of his death, burial and resurrection he is able to save their souls.
20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
The entire purpose of Easter can be summed up into 4 words “Come and See” “Go and tell.”
Where are you this morning?
1. Are you approaching the empty tomb for the first time?
2. Come. See. Look. He’s alive!
3. Have you already been to the empty tomb?
4. Go. Tell. Let everyone know he’s alive!