Life Forevermore

Good morning friends, it is wonderful to be in the Lord’s house on this Resurrection Sunday! I missed you all last week. Just a few announcements before we begin.

Beginning this May we will be moving our mid-week service to a small group format. Instead of doing a mini-Sunday service on Wednesday evening, we will be meeting at our home for a time of fellowship and a brief bible study. Small groups will be a a time for people to share with others what the Lord has been doing in your lives. We will pray for each others needs and just enjoy some time with each other outside of the church setting. . Expect to hear more about that as time draws near

Also, we will be having our annual business meeting on May 19th…it will take place right after the service, so plan on sticking around for a few minutes after service that week. Please mark it on your calendars and do your best to be here, if at all possible. It’s during my stewardship series, so I’m sure you will all be here anyway.

Also, just so you know, the elders and I have already put on the calendar 2 events…one early summer and the other early fall. Again, you will hear more about that as time approaches. That is all of the announcements I can think of....let’s go ahead and pray.

PRAY

Introduction

A man took a vacation to Israel with his wife and mother-in-law. During their time in the Holy Land, his mother-in-law unexpectedly passed away. The following day, the husband met with the local undertaker to discuss funeral plans.

“In cases like these, there are a couple of options to choose from,” the undertaker explained. “You can ship the body home for $5,000, or you can bury her in the Holy Land for just $150.” The man took a minute to think about it, and then announced his decision to ship her home.

The undertaker, intrigued by his decision, said, “That’s an interesting choice. Can I ask why would you pay $5,000 to ship your mother-in-law home, when you can easily bury her here for $150?” The man promptly replied, “About 2,000 years ago, a man died and was buried here. Three days later he rose from the dead, and I can’t take that chance!”

Today we celebrate the resurrection of our savior and Lord, Jesus. Have you ever wondered why Easter is not celebrated at the same time every year. For example, Christians celebrate Christmas on December 25th (regardless of what day December 25th falls on). It is because of a decision made a very, very long time ago during (what is called) the Council of Nicaea, which took place in 325 AD. It was during this meeting that the leaders decreed that Christ’s Resurrection should be observed on the first Sunday following the first full moon after the spring equinox (March 21). Easter, therefore, can fall on any Sunday between March 22 and April 25. This is why the week changes from year to year…a little history lesson there…that was for free.

It is such an honor to preach to you this morning…this is our 3rd Easter together, imagine that! It was my original plan to preach on Isaiah 53 today, but about a week and a half ago the Lord laid something different on my heart.

Today, we are going to be looking at the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 28. The obligatory thing that every pastor must say on Resurrection Sunday is This morning we are going to approach the story of the resurrection a bit differently!

Truth is, I’m not sure I am clever enough to come up with a different way…but we’ll give it a shot.

Let’s turn in our Bibles this morning to the Gospel of Matthew chapter 28…and just hold it there for a moment while I set the scene.

Imagine in your mind, you were alive back in Ancient Israel…you were at the foot of the cross while Jesus was being crucified, along with Jesus’ Mother, Mary, her sister in law, Mary of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. You hear Jesus as He raises His head towards heaven, in perhaps the loneliest moment ever felt, and asks why His Father has forsaken Him....as He takes the sin of the world onto His own shoulders....then, You watch Him die…you observe the sky darkening and a massive earthquake that shakes the Temple. You watch as the Roman Soldiers cut the ropes that hold the cross upright, and it falls to the earth with a mighty thud, Jesus’s lifeless body just lays there…He is not breathing, he is not moving…He is dead. All of his closest friends, his disciples have abandoned him…and watch from a distance, at best.

This is not what was supposed to happen! This man was supposed to free the people of Israel from Roman control, he was supposed to be a King...

Then, you follow the ladies as they escort the body of Jesus to His tomb, given to them by a wealthy man, Joseph of Arrhythmia. As was custom for that time, you watch the ladies prepare Jesus body for burial…then wrap His body in cloth and place Jesus in the cavernous tomb, carved out of the side of a hill. You are unable to finish, as the Sabbath is approaching. You watch the Roman Soldiers then use a large lever to slowly roll a large round stone, taller than everyone there, over the opening of the tomb…and that was that.

Now what are you supposed to do? The last few years of your life have been dedicated to following this man. You watched as He did amazing miracles and set people free from lifelong bondage, sickness, and disease. You listened to His words as He taught:

Matthew 5:3–5 ““Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the humble, for they will inherit the earth.”

It is now Sunday, no longer the Sabbath, so you are headed back to Jesus to finish what you began on Friday... anointing His body for final burial. After all, on the Sabbath, which was Saturday, no work could be done.

As you are headed back to the tomb a massive earthquake trembles the earth beneath your feet. Possibly it reminds you of the earthquake, right after Jesus died. When you arrive, immediately you notice that things are not right. Roman soldiers are laying on the ground…could they be dead? The big stone that covered the tomb has been moved and a being sits on top of the stone…he looks human, but he is clothed in brilliant white garments and it’s though electricity is flowing all around Him. Naturally, this scares you. What is going on? Where is Jesus, what has happened?

And this is where we pick up our story in the book of Matthew, verses 2-8, which I will read in its entirety.

Matthew 28:2–8 “There was a violent earthquake, because an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and approached the tomb. He rolled back the stone and was sitting on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards were so shaken by fear of him that they became like dead men. The angel told the women, “Don’t be afraid, because I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here. For he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; you will see him there.’ Listen, I have told you.” So, departing quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, they ran to tell his disciples the news.”

Imagine the elation, the fear, and the excitement of the ladies, as they ran from the tomb to tell the disciples that Jesus was has risen. Although it would have been impossible for the people back then to realize, that fateful morning, the world would forever be changed…not just for the ladies at the tomb, or the Roman soldiers, or Jesus’ disciples, but for the entire human race.

It wouldn’t be too long after this that the disciples would receive their mandate from Jesus, as He would go on to appear to hundreds of people, over the course of the next 40 days.

We don’t often talk about the Angel in this story…after all, the angel is doing exactly what Angels do…they are God’s messengers. That fateful morning at Jesus’s tomb, the message of the Angel was special and the message that He brought was unique, compared to other messages throughout scripture. This morning, I want to highlight a few aspects of this special and unique Angelic Message, on what was the first Resurrection Sunday.

That morning, the angel’s words spoke directly to some of the obstacles that stood in the way of the ladies seeing the full truth of what was taking place at the empty tomb .

We are going to start off this morning by talking about some of these obstacles

I. The Removal of Obstacles

A. Obstacle One: He Rolled the Stone (Verse 2)

Matthew 28:2

“There was a violent earthquake, because an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and approached the tomb. He rolled back the stone and was sitting on it.”

If you have ever read the various Gospel accounts, each of them teach us different aspects of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The book of Mark fills in some additional details of this what was going on the morning the ladies were going back to the tomb.

Mark 16:2–3 “Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they went to the tomb at sunrise. They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance to the tomb for us?””

To us, this might not make a lot of sense. After all, once we bury a person, we do not go back to be with the person again, other than simply paying our respects. The ladies had been interrupted by the Sabbath, apparently they could not finish the job…so, they were headed back to the grave, but they were concerned about who was going to roll the heavy stone away, so they could have access to Jesus’ body. Turns out, they wouldn’t have to worry about that. You see, the stone represented the finality of death. Once the stone was in place, it signaled: Jesus is gone forever. Thanks be to the Lord, the first obstacle was removed.

B. Obstacle 2: He removed the Roman soldiers (V. 3-4)

“His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards were so shaken by fear of him that they became like dead men.”

Back in chapter 27 of Matthew, we are told that the chief priest and the pharisees, who knew that Jesus predicted that he would rise again in 3 days, were concerned about Jesus’s body being stolen by His disciples…this is why the Roman guards were posted at Jesus’ tomb. Not only that, but they put a wax seal on the tomb, making sure they would know if someone moved it. These soldiers stood as an obstacle…but were swiftly removed by the angel of the Lord...

So, not only did the Lord remove the stone, and the roman soldiers, but He also removed the third obstacle:

C. Obstacle 3: The angel reminded Jesus’ followers (vs. 5-7)

Matthew 28:5–7 “The angel told the women, “Don’t be afraid, because I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here. For he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; you will see him there.’ Listen, I have told you.””

As I spoked about this earlier, imagine being there that morning and seeing all of these things going on…trying to wrap your mind around what your eyes are perceiving. The angel of the Lord was gently reminding the ladies of the words of Jesus…and for possibly the first time, they were realizing what Jesus words actually meant.

The third obstacle is unbelief or a lack of faith.

The third obstacle is the greatest obstacle of all…both back then and still today. A lack of faith or unbelief is still a major barrier for many people when it comes to God and His word. If we are honest with ourselves, we can hardly judge Jesus’ followers though; most of us would have reacted the exact same when the angel announced that Jesus had risen from the dead. We will discuss this more in just a bit.

II. Important Reminders

The angels words not only helped remove the unbelief of the followers of Christ back then, but even today, these angelic words, sent straight from the Father point us towards the unique message of the cross. These words remind us of: 1. The Past

2. The Promise

3. The Plan

Let’s take a look at each of these.

A. The Past (Vs. 5)

Matthew 28:5 “The angel told the women, “Don’t be afraid, because I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified.”

Of course, all of Jesus’ followers were Jewish…this means that they grew up hearing about the one who would eventually come and free Israel from those who oppress her. Today, we have the benefit of hindsight, but imagine that you were around back then…the only scriptures you have is the Septuagint.

Septuagint: The Koine Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament

Additionally, all you had learned about the Messiah was filtered through the lens of Jewish tradition, passed down by the scribes and Pharisees. The disciples would have probably known of the famous Isaiah chapter 53, which talks about the Suffering servant-which suggests that this servant will die for the sins of others

Isaiah 53:6 “We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the Lord has punished him for the iniquity of us all.”

Here is the thing though, prior to the death and resurrection of Christ, the disciples and those around Jesus would not have viewed Isaiah 53 as a prophetic text that talks about the Messiah. How do we know that? Because of an interaction between Peter and Jesus. You might recall that in Matthew 16, Peter openly admitted that Jesus was the long awaited Messiah…so, we know that Peter (at least) recognised Christ as the Messiah. However, when it came time for the Lord to be handed over to the authorities and die, had other ideas.

Matthew 16:22 “Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, “Oh no, Lord! This will never happen to you!””

This is one of those moments in a person’s life that does not age well…about like a slice of cheese on the Arizona sidewalk in the middle of Summer. I can just see the original disciples sitting around 15 years later…when Matthew looks at Peter and says…you remember the time when you yelled at Jesus for saying that He was going to die....great job.

Peter’s understanding of who the Messiah was supposed to be did not involve death, whatsoever. Despite these inaccurate understandings of who and what the Messiah was going to be, the angel’s words that morning would have reminded the followers of Christ was no ordinary man and that the long awaited and long promised Messiah had arrived.

B. The Promise (vs. 6)

Matthew 28:6 “He is not here. For he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.”

As the ladies were standing at the empty tomb of Christ, the angel told the ladies to come and see for themselves that Jesus is no longer in the grave…just as He promised. The angel’s words reminds us not only of the past, but also Jesus promise, that he would rise on the third day.

Matthew 12:38–40 “Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” He answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish three days and three nights, so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.”

Here in Matthew 12, Jesus is responding to the Jewish leaders. These men wanted Jesus to “perform” for them. This is problematic for a couple of reasons. First, these men were probably trying to trap Jesus into doing or saying something that they could use to accuse him of wrong-doing. The second reason this is problematic is because Jesus knew that even the most amazing miracle would not make a difference. Jesus knew their hearts were hard…as a result, Jesus responded to this request by using the well known story of Jonah to predict that He will die and be raised from the dead in 3 days. The crowd would have been very familiar with the story of Jonah.

Now, to be fair, Jesus’ response in Matthew 12 could be understood to mean something else, especially at the time. However, there are 3 other times in the book of Matthew where Jesus does not use any metaphors or stories…He makes it as plain as possible. In fact, Jesus does this 3 times. Once in chapter 16, (this is where Peter takes Jesus aside to “rebuke” Him…which I read earlier; again in chapter 17, then once more in Matthew Chapter 20.

Matthew 17:22–23 “As they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus told them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised up.” And they were deeply distressed.”

As I said, Jesus makes it very clear what is going to happen. There is no question about what Jesus means by these words. Despite that, as you can see, Jesus followers were upset with the idea that He would die…it seems like that is all they heard is “I am going to die,” they did not hear or had such a hard time with the concept that Jesus’ followers needed reminded that death, hell, and the grave have no hold over the One who created the universe; they have no hold over the One that was sent to earth to reconcile humanity to the heavenly father. Death, Hell, and the grave are but a rest stop for the One who redeemed mankind from the curse of sin. Scripture goes on to tell us that those who follow Christ, also, no longer need to fear death.

Death is the last weapon of the tyrant; and the point of the resurrection, despite much misunderstanding, is that death has been defeated. Resurrection is not the re-description of death; it is its overthrow, and with that the overthrow of those whose power depends on it.

-N. T. Wright

It is the resurrection of Christ that allows life forevermore...

So, just as the Angel’s words served as a reminder of the past (how the Messiah was foretold in the O.T.) and the promise (that Jesus said He would die and rise again), these words also revealed the plan.

C. The Plan (vs. 6-7a)

Matthew 28:6–7a “He is not here. For he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead...

What is the plan, you may be asking…great question! Let’s talk about it!

As the women were standing there at the empty grave of Jesus, the angels told the ladies to do 2 things.

Come and See

Go and Tell

After reminding the women what Jesus said, He invited them to come and see…in other words, He invited them to witness the miracle with their own eyes, to gain first hand knowledge that Jesus had risen from the dead. His body was no longer in the grave. Scripture says that his grave clothes were folded neatly…had someone stolen the body, the grave clothes wouldn’t be there at all.

Then, after seeing for themselves, the angel told them to go and tell…to go quickly and tell. The angel wanted these ladies to spread the word that the Messiah had risen from the grave…it was now their job to spread the news…Jesus has risen! Again, imagine yourself there that morning. Imagine how excited you would be on the way back to speak to the disciples.

The resurrection of Jesus was the culmination of a plan that God had set in motion way back, thousands of years before, in the book of Genesis. Most of us know the story of Adam and Eve. 2 perfect, sinless beings, created by God. It was God’s design for Adam and Eve to fellowship with the Lord and to take care of the earth. However, as we know, Adam and Eve chose to sin…as a result, the human condition became corrupt and death was the result…both physical death, but also spiritual death, which is a permanent separation from our creator. This is why God sent His only son, to make a way for humanity to have a restored relationship with God.

The Grand Plan of Salvation!

At the empty grave that morning, as the angel was speaking to the women, He was letting them know that the death and resurrection of Christ was not an accident, it was a part of the grand plan of salvation for humankind....and this plan could only come to fruition through Christ, the second Adam....born perfect, yet was without sin when He died.

Let’s quickly wrap up.

This morning, we talked about 3 obstacles that were removed by the angel, the morning that Christ rose.

The angels words removed

1. The Stone

2. The Roman Soldiers

3. The Unbelief/Lack of faith

The angel’s words also reminds us of

1. The Past (The O.T. foretold of Christ)

2. The Promise (That Christ would rise from the dead)

3. The Plan (The grand plan of salvation)

As we meet here this morning…some 2000 years after the first Easter took place, the words of the Angel still ring true. We are still being invited to

Come and See

and once we experience the resurrected Lord for ourselves, our mandate is to

Go and Tell

Earlier on, I mentioned how the various gospel accounts describe what happned that morning a bit differently. I like how Luke tell the story…So, the women arrive at the grave of Jesus...

Luke 24:5–9 “So the women were terrified and bowed down to the ground. “Why are you looking for the living among the dead?” asked the men. “He is not here, but he has risen! Remember how he spoke to you when he was still in Galilee, saying, ‘It is necessary that the Son of Man be betrayed into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, and rise on the third day’And they remembered his words. Returning from the tomb, they reported all these things to the Eleven and to all the rest.”

I think verse 8 really sums up what we are talking about this morning...

“And they remembered His words.”

If anyone has never taken the time to “Go and see” for yourselves, please, don’t take my word for it…I am simply following the 2nd part of the Angel’s instructions…I am here telling you that you can have a personal relationship with your creator. I implore you to come and see that the Lord is good and take part in the promise of life forevermore!

PRAY