Easter Sunday 2025

Prayer

Turn to Matthew 28

Pray for: The family of Carol Hipson as they mourn her passing.

Pray for: The family of Don Beckner as they mourn his passing.

Intro

If you were to look at your life, what would you say was the most significant, important event in it?

Some of you might have a lot of life to review, some not so much.

But if you were to think of a moment in your life that was the most important,

one that ultimately changed it the most forever, what would it be?

Maybe it was the day you were married.

Maybe it was the day you brought home your first child.

Maybe it was the moment you met a lifelong friend.

Graduating from your program.

Starting at your job.

Maybe yours is when you first put your faith in Jesus Christ.

But perhaps yours is not so happy as these,

Maybe it was receiving a diagnosis.

Going through a divorce,

losing a loved one.

Lives

There are some events that fundamentally, for better or for worse, completely change the course of our lives.

They can become so much a part of our lives,

that we really can’t even imagine what life would be like

if they had not taken place.

History

This kind of thing happens in history as well.

There are a few historical events that have so fundamentally shaped the course of history,

that we can’t even imagine what life would have become,

had they not taken place.

One event that I mentioned in the sermon a few weeks ago was 9/11.

Those of you who remember it, will remember how everyone said, “the world will never be the same.”

And it did change lots of things.

Those romantic movies where someone runs right up to the airport gate,

to confess their undying love to someone getting on a plane,

all of a sudden made no sense.

But there is one historical event, that has fundamentally changed everything.

This event changes peoples lives completely,

and it has changed the course of history.

It has even changed eternity.

Context

It was the day after the Sabbath.

Just two days before Jesus had been crucified,

killed publicly on a Roman cross.

His body had been laid in a garden tomb.

The tomb had been sealed with a large stone,

and guards had been placed by the chief priests to patrol the entrance.

Jesus disciples were in hiding, mourning the suffering and death of their Rabbi and friend.

Exposition

The Scene at the Tomb (vv. 1-4)

Matthew 24 picks up the story at this point.

we read in v. 1,

Matthew 28:1 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.

The women that Matthew mentions here are part of a group of women,

who were disciples of Jesus and were witnesses to his crucifixion,

And now that the sabbath was over, they were going to the tomb in which Jesus’ body was placed,

to embalm his body with spices as the Gospel of Mark tells us.

The Sorrow of the Disciples

I don’t want us to miss the mood of this scene.

The women who were walking to the tomb were preparing themselves,

to embalm the lifeless body of a loved one.

In our own day and age funeral homes take care of this for us, preparing bodies for final burial.

But back then, and for most of human history, this was a deeply personal and sorrowful process.

With tears they would have had to remove the linen clothes placed on his body.

clean the wounds left by the nails they had seen driven into his hands and feet,

the gash left by the spear they had seen thrust in his side.

They would then carefully anoint the whole of his body with the spices they bought,

and wrap him up again in grave clothes,

to leave him in the tomb, never to see his form again.

This is what the women were preparing themselves for as they walked towards the garden.

This same sort cloud of grief surrounds us all when death takes those who are closest to us.

The sadness that death brings is something that we feel deep within our souls,

and it is something that hangs in the atmosphere of every place we go.

That is the mood that followed women in their solemn procession towards the tomb.

But what awaited them there,

was the last thing they could ever expect.

“And Behold”

Starting in v. 2 we read these words, “And behold.”

Matthew 28:2–4 ESV

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.

The women may not have seen all of this take place,

they may have just happened upon the aftermath.

Nevertheless, the guards had fainted as though dead,

the stone had been rolled away,

and the tomb - was empty!

The Angel’s Message (vv. 5-7)

I don’t know how long the women stood there,

taking in all that glorious chaos,

but eventually the Angel broke the silence.

vv. 5-7 says,

Matthew 28:5–7 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. 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.”

Witness

The angel invites these witnesses to Jesus’ excruciating death on the cross,

to now witness his empty tomb!

To see for themselves that he is not there!

Witness of the Women

This is actually a very powerful confirmation of truth of the account of the resurrection recorded in the Gospels.

At the time the Gospels were written, a woman’s testimony was not considered as valuable as a man’s.

A woman’s testimony may not have even been considered as binding in a court of law.

If the accounts of the resurrection presented in the Gospels were made up,

if they were fiction meant to fool people into believing something that did not happen,

the writers would never have had made women the first witnesses to Jesus resurrection.

So the fact that the first witnesses of the empty tomb, and later of the risen Christ himself were women,

strengthens the case for the historical accuracy of the accounts of the resurrection in the Gospels.

Go and Tell

When you read about the resurrection in the other Gospels,

there are all sorts of other details given about the empty tomb.

One of my favourites is that John records in his Gospel that Jesus’ grave clothes were left in the tomb,

and not just left there, but they were folded up neatly.

Which is one I’m excited to use on my kids sometime:

“even Jesus took time to fold his clothes.”

But Matthew doesn’t include a ton of detail about the tomb, or even Jesus’ appearances to his disciples.

Matthew’s focus in his gospel, is the importance of the witnesses telling others about what they had seen.

This is why he angel instructs the women to “Go and tell”.

“Go and tell the other disciples that Jesus had risen from the dead.”

This is a theme throughout our passage.

The theme of going to tell what has been witnessed.

Go to Galilee

Finally the angel tells them that Jesus will meet the disciples in Galilee.

And so they leave the garden tomb running to where the other disciples are hiding.

Meeting Jesus (vv. 8-10)

Now just like I didn’t want us to miss the mood of the women as they approached the tomb,

I don’t want to skip over how the women left the tomb.

We read in v. 8,

Matthew 28:8 ESV

So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

Can you imagine what they were feeling in that moment?

Do you remember ever losing yourself in enthusiasm as a kid,

getting all keyed up, almost jumping out of your skin in excitement.

That’s how they were.

The women, who had tread solemnly as they approached the tomb,

were dashing from the tomb in great joy and fear!

And it is on the way, where Jesus presents himself to them - alive!

vv. 9 tell us,

Matthew 28:9 ESV

And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him.

They weren’t ready for this.

Jesus meets them on the road and simply says “Hello there.”

And they ran up to him fell at and took hold of his feet.

He was not a vision, he was not a ghost or a spirit,

he had bodily risen from the dead.

We aren’t told what they said, all we are told is that they worshipped him.

Their hearts pouring out love and thankfulness,

towards the one who moments earlier had been still as stone in the tomb.

But Jesus didn’t stay with them long,

instead he gives the women the same instructions as the angel gave them.

Go and tell!

We read in v. 10,

Matthew 28:10 ESV

Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

The Guard’s Story (vv. 11-15)

But the women were not the only ones with a story.

We read in vv. 11-15,

Matthew 28:11–15 ESV

While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.

Earlier on in his Gospel, Matthew tells us that just after Jesus’ crucifixion,

the chief priests had been worried that Jesus disciples would try to steal his body.

And so they made a request to the governor Pilate that the stone to be rolled in front of the entrance,

and a guard of soldiers set at the entrance to the garden tomb.

These were the guards who fainted as though dead when they saw the angel.

Since they had lost what they were ordered to guard, these soldiers were in big trouble.

Being caught sleeping on job,

and losing what they were meant to guard could carry with it a sentence of death.

And so the Chief priests, as they did with Judas who betrayed Jesus,

used money in order get their way.

They would pay off the guards, and pay off Pilate too if he gave them any trouble.

History tells us that the Chief priests had grown so rich through their corruption,

that the Romans had imposed term limits on how long a chief priest could rule the temple.

It didn’t end up mattering much because they just cycled the job between a couple members of a single family.

They could pay off Pilate if it came to it.

And so the story they spread became the Jews explanation for why the tomb was empty.

Motivations

They were stuck with the reality of an empty tomb,

so the guards were given a story.

they, like the women, were told to “Go and tell”.

But what motivated the soldiers was fear for their lives, and lust for money.

What motivated the women on the other hand was the glorious, miraculous event of Jesus’ resurrection!

He had done what was utterly impossible,

just as he said he would.

Jesus’ resurrection proved that Jesus is who he said he was,

The Son of God,

God in the flesh,

imbued with authority to forgive sins,

and bring life to those who are dead.

This is what motivated the women

Jesus the son of God, had defeated sin and death,

and was now alive.

Their lives had changed,

they had gone from sorrow to joy,

they had gone from the depths of despair, to filled with hope.

Jesus’ resurrection had completely changed their lives.

And this event would change absolutely everything!

The Meeting on the Mountain (vv. 16-17)

From this point in the story we skip ahead a few days.

The other Gospels give us more details,

about Jesus presenting himself to his disciples in the days after his resurrection.

But again Matthew’s focus in his account of the resurrection, is the importance of the witnesses telling others about what they had seen.

And so we read in vv. 16-17.

Matthew 28:16–17 ESV

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.

The disciples did what the angel, and Jesus himself instructed them to do.

Galilee was not close.

From Jerusalem where Jesus rose from the grave,

Galilee is around 150 km.

Which would have been at least three days walk to get there.

But just like he said, Jesus was waiting for them on the mountain, and they worshipped him.

Some Doubted

This group meeting in Galilee was probably a large group of Jesus disciples,

not just the Apostles.

In 1 Corinthians 15, the Apostle Paul says that the risen Christ “appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time.”

This may have been that instance.

But it’s interesting to note here that some doubted.

The resurrection, was such a miraculous and mind-blowing event,

that it was difficult for some to believe,

even after having seen the risen Christ with their own eyes. 

The Message that Brings Faith

This is actually something that we see throughout the scriptures.

Over and over again in the Old Testament, people witness God doing great and miraculous works,

but then they fall into faithlessness.

The same generation, that saw the plagues of Egypt,

and the red sea parted,

was the same generation that died in the desert because they didn’t believe God.

In the same way, many of the pharisees and teachers of the law,

saw Jesus do great and miraculous works before their very eyes.

And yet they did not believe in him.

Believe without Seeing

We often think that if we could only see something, then we would believe.

But the Christian faith doesn’t operate like that.

Some of these disciples on the mountain in Galilee had seen the risen Christ,

but doubt still clouded their hearts.

Seeing is no guarantee of belief.

Jesus himself says in John 20:29 “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

But how could someone believe in the resurrection of Jesus, if they had not seen it?

Well Romans 10:17 tells us that “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

Faith does not come from seeing but from hearing.

From hearing the “word of Christ”, the Gospel, the Good news.

This is the Gospel:

The news that Jesus died on the cross for sins,

and then rose from the dead.

And it is by hearing and believing the Gospel:

that a person is forgiven of their sin that Jesus died for,

and given eternal life that Jesus guaranteed through his resurrection.

The Great Commission (vv. 18-20)

But the only way people will hear and believe the gospel,

is if those who have believed “Go and Tell”!

This is what Jesus gathered his disciples on the mountain in Galilee to tell them.

All Authority

Our passage reads in v. 18.

Matthew 28:18 ESV

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Because of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection,

God the father gave his Son Jesus all authority; He is Lord of All.

Paul calls him in 1 Timothy 6:15 the, “only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords.”

Jesus is king of heaven, and therefore he has authority over heaven and the heavenly beings.

But Jesus authority does not end at the veil separating heaven and earth. All authority in heaven, and on earth, has been given to him. 

All people, all families,

all cities, all nations,

all the earth is under the authority of Christ.

Christ is Lord. Christ is Lord over them all. 

Go and Tell

And because he is Lord, because all authority has been given to him,

he gives this mission to his disciples

the mission to “Go and Tell:”

Jesus says in vv. 18-20:

Matthew 28:18–20 ESV

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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

He tells them to go and make disciples, just like themselves.

Disciples are made through proclaiming the Gospel.

In Mark’s account of the great commission in Mark 16:15 Jesus says, 

“Go into all the world and proclaim (go and tell) the gospel (the good news) to the whole creation.

All Nations

Just like the women were told by Jesus and the Angel, to go and tell.

Jesus tells his disciples to “go and tell”.

But this is the hard part: Jesus says to tell the world!

Telling all people everywhere that Jesus died for their sin, and he rose from the dead so that they might receive eternal life.

This is our mission as believers in Jesus Christ.

All disciples of Jesus, those who have put their faith in him, are called to go and tell!

The World Changed

See, the world changed fundamentally when Jesus rose from the dead.

All of what Jesus said about himself was proved by his resurrection,

he is the Son of God, he can forgive sins, he can give eternal life.

But this event did not only affect the life of one man,

this event effects the lives of all of mankind.

Jesus resurrection fundamentally changed everything!

A new hope had broken into the world.

A new way of living in this life, life in obedience to the king of Kings and the Lord of Lords Jesus Christ.

But not only a new way of living in this life,

a new expectation of eternal life beyond the grave.

This event changed everything!

Lives

No other event has changed more lives.

Look at the stories of people who encounter Jesus in the Bible, in the gospels or in the book of Acts.

Nobody is the same after they meet Jesus.

Ask anyone who has repented of their sin and believed in Jesus Christ for their salvation,

and they will tell you that he has completely changed their lives.

He takes people who have been enslaved to sin,

he forgives them completely,

and he gives them a brand new way of living in this life.

And he takes people who are doomed to die,

headed for an eternity in hell,

and gives them a sure hope for life beyond death,

resurrected to eternal life with Christ!

Faith in Christ is not merely some religion of personal fulfillment - though it is more fulfilling than you can imagine.

Faith in Christ is not some self-help program - though it completely changes your life.

It is a new way to be human:

saved from sin by Christ’s death on the cross,

and saved from death by Christ’s resurrection from the dead.

No other event has changed more lives.

History

And no other event in history has changed the world more.

You can see the results throughout history.

From obedience to the risen Christ,

pagans ceased from sacrificing their children to idols.

Vikings ceased from raiding and pillaging.

Slavery was abolished in parts of the world.

Sure there are people who have done horrible things in the name of Christ,

but none of those things was done in obedience to him.

It is only because of him that so many people, even those who don’t believe in him,

believe that love is the foundation of ethics.

That came from Jesus.

No other event has changed the world more, than the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Because the resurrection is a life changing, and world changing event.

An event that when heard, demands to be told.

Application

Invitation

The disciples were faithful in proclaiming this message,

this good news of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

And those who heard it from them, were faithful in proclaiming it to others.

This pattern of receiving the message, and proclaiming it to others

has continued through the last 2000 years since Jesus’ resurrection.

The Gospel has been brought across continents, and across centuries,

and God has brought it to you this morning.

You are hearing the same good news of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

So my question to you this morning is this: have you believed this good news?

Have you believed that Jesus died for your sin?

Think about all the evil that you have done in your life,

all the evil that you are going to do in your life.

He died for that, so that you could be forgiven of it.

You’ve heard it, have you believed it?

Have you believed that Jesus rose from the dead?

He rose from the dead proving that he had defeated death’s power.

In his resurrection, he guaranteed the resurrection of all who believe in him.

So that at his return,

we will

(like him)

walk out of our graves

to live with him forever.

You’ve heard it, have you believed it?

This is the Gospel, the good news,

that Romans 1 says “is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.”

Have you believed it?

If you have not, this is your chance.

Repent of your sin, turn from it, ask God to forgive you of it.

Believe that Jesus died for it, and you will receive complete forgiveness.

Believe that Jesus rose from the dead,

and you will receive eternal life in Christ.

Take time after the service and pray, and repent and believe.

If you would like help in doing that, or have questions,

I and some of the other pastors will be here at the front,

Or if you came with someone talk to them.

We would love to talk to you, pray with you, help you with any questions.

But don’t miss this opportunity to believe the good news you have heard:

That Christ who was crucified for your sin,

has been raised from the dead for your eternal life.

The Bible says in Romans 10:9

Romans 10:9 ESV

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Don’t put this off.

Forgiveness of sin, and eternal life is waiting for you.

Repent and believe in Jesus Christ.

Go and Tell

For those of us who have heard and believed.

Jesus commands us to go and tell!

The risen Christ has given us this mission!

Let’s be bold in proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus death and resurrection,

the Gospel that is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes!

It is a life changing, world changing reality,

let’s treat it like that!

So that we can be like the women at the empty tomb,

so that we can be like the disciples who witnessed the risen Christ.

So that we can see lives, and the world changed,

through the power of his resurrection.

Conclusion

Psalm 96:2–3 ESV

Tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!

Christ is risen!

Go and Tell!