You’ve Got An Invitation

Reading of the Word

Matthew 28:1–8 NASB 2020

Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the tomb. And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone, and sat upon it. And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. The guards shook from fear of him and became like dead men. And the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you to Galilee. There you will see Him; behold, I have told you.” And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to report to His disciples.

Prayer of Illumination

Risen Lord, On this day of resurrection and joy, we come with hearts full of wonder and hope. As we hear Your Word, may the light of Your risen presence break through every shadow in our lives. Open our minds to understand, our hearts to believe, and our lives to respond with faith. By the power of Your Holy Spirit, speak to us anew—so that we may leave this place not just as hearers, but as living witnesses of the risen Christ. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Introduction

Christ is risen! (echo: He is risen indeed!)

What an amazing day this is! The celebration of Jesus, who has been resurrected from the dead!

This was the culmination of the mission Jesus set out to accomplish. He set his sights on reconciling humanity to God, releasing us from the bondage of sin. Today, we celebrate his victory over death!

We are going to do a lot of celebrating today. I want to make sure that everyone can experience the joy of that celebration.

Illustration: Have you ever tried to hold a conversation with someone who assumed you knew what they were talking about, but you didn’t? It’s frustrating and confusing because you lack the full context, and the other person continues with the wrong assumptions.

Well, I want to make sure if you are a guest today, or just someone who is new to church, or just now becoming interested in Jesus, that you aren’t left behind today. So, let’s take a few moments and fill in some of the background to this story.

Jesus started his amazing mission with a clear message, announcing the arrival of the kingdom of God. In fact, the very first recorded sermon that Jesus preached at the beginning of his ministry was about the arrival of the kingdom of God.

Mark 1:15 NASB 2020

and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Jesus proclaimed this good news as he also made the radical claim to have the authority of his Heavenly Father. By demonstrating the truth of these claims, Jesus changed history 2,000 years ago and is still impacting us today.

His story began with a miraculous birth and was followed by a sinless life, filled with miraculous healings, and transformative teachings. He became the greatest prophet the world has ever known, who spoke with divine authority about

An Invitation to Enter the Kingdom of Heaven

The arrival of this kingdom brought radical teachings about love, mercy, righteousness, and justice. This kingdom was a spiritual realm where righteousness would prevail and the Father would rule and reign, and everything would be made right.

His claim to open the kingdom of heaven was supercharged by amazing miracles that only the divine Son of God could do. His outrageous claim to be the Son of God sent down from the Father would bring an abundant life to believers as they accepted his invitation to enter the kingdom of heaven.

The Jewish leaders were outraged by these claims of authority and jealous of the wild popularity of this rogue preacher. They began to look for ways to discredit him and ultimately to see him executed for what they considered blasphemy.

This desired execution was finally carried out on the Friday of what has become known as Passion Week, the week we just finished celebrating. The reason this is called Passion Week is because Jesus showed his passion for us by giving his life so that we might have forgiveness of our sins and be reconciled with God.

Passion Week was like the first two acts of a three-act play that demonstrated the story of God’s salvation plan as it unfolded and is still unfolding today.

Act One: Friday’s Death Sentence

Death seemed to have the final word on that Friday afternoon as Jesus was arrested, tried in a kangaroo court, beaten, and crucified.

It was a gruesome sight that we don’t like to dwell on, but I’ll fill in the most significant details.

The religious leaders arrested Jesus at night, seeking his execution. Since Roman law forbade them from carrying out capital punishment, they turned to Governor Pilate, forcing him into a political dilemma.

To them, Jesus was a blasphemer; to Pilate, just a harmless fanatic. Neither he nor King Herod wanted to deal with the controversy (Luke 23:7-11).

During Passover, Pilate offered to release a prisoner, expecting the crowd to choose Jesus. Instead, swayed by the Jewish leaders, they demanded Barabbas. Though Pilate protested, the mob persisted (Luke 23:22).

Yielding to pressure, Pilate washed his hands of responsibility and allowed the crucifixion. Jesus’ death was confirmed when a soldier pierced his side, releasing blood and water.

It was Friday. Evil had triumphed. Political power had prevailed once again as politics won over justice. Jesus was dead and the political threat had been removed. The radical movement he had started was defeated. Game over . . . back to normal, or was it?

It was certainly the end of Jesus’s life, but was it the end of his story? It was Friday but don’t forget that “Sunday was a’coming.”

Act Two: Sunday’s Surprise

All four gospel witness accounts testify to the life of Jesus that did not end with his death. There’s one more act that reverses death and starts the multiplication of the movement he began.

If you go to any local cemetery, you will see grave markers that contain two important dates. The first is the date of birth and the second is the date of death. However, if there had been a grave marker on the tomb where Jesus’s body was laid, there would have been three dates.

Date of birth, date of death, and date of resurrection!

Death was not the final act of the story of Jesus! Even though Jesus was dead and buried, the religious leaders had heard Jesus make an outlandish prediction that he would rise from the dead on the third day after his death. So, the religious leaders made an unusual request to Pilate. They asked that a Roman guard be stationed at the tomb of Jesus so that his disciples could not come and steal his body and fake a resurrection (Matthew 27:62-66).

Can you imagine how those Roman soldiers must have felt about being assigned to guard a dead man in a tomb? They were professionals who were used to serious assignments; now they were relegated to guarding a dead man’s tomb? Unknowingly, this protective guard played a very important role in the story of Jesus because these guards became the unwitting witnesses to the fact that the body was not stolen but resurrected!

Early that Sunday morning, the miraculous resurrection of Jesus from the dead was witnessed by these credible guards who reported this fact to their authorities. But, when the religious leaders found out about it, they paid the guards hush money to spread a coverup story of the disciples stealing the body (Matthew 28:11-15).

The problem with this coverup story was that Jesus’s resurrected body was openly walking around alive for 40 days as witnessed by more than 500 people! Too many witnesses to discount. The finality of death was reversed.

In Act Two, Jesus defeated death by his resurrection, and he now holds the keys of death and Hades (Revelation 1:17-18). But these first two acts were not the end of the story of Jesus, because he continues to work through a third act today!

Act Three: Invitations Sent Out

Act Three was the commissioning that Jesus gave to his disciples to spread the invitation for all to enter the kingdom of heaven through belief in Jesus, who is the gate to the kingdom.

Jesus proclaimed himself as the only gate to the kingdom of heaven in John 10:9

John 10:9 NASB 2020

I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.

Jesus was and is “The way” to enter the kingdom of heaven. This invitation was initially given by Jesus to a group of twelve disciples.

A Simple Invitation

It was a simple invitation to follow Jesus.

Matthew 4:19 NASB 2020

And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of people.”

This invitation to follow Jesus was first given to twelve individuals. He promised them that he would teach them how to “fish for people.”

Fishing was the trade of several of his first disciples, so they understood the analogy. Jesus was inviting them to leave their craft and learn how to fish for people. Think about this invitation. It was an invitation from Jesus, the Son of God, who had come down to earth to give this invitation to twelve people to follow him and learn how to become fishers of people.

The kingdom of heaven was being opened, and they were invited to enter and spend eternity with Jesus in this kingdom. Sometimes we receive invitations to events that we are not interested in attending, but what if you received an invitation from Jesus to enter his eternal kingdom?!

The good news is that you have already received this invitation! It’s the invitation to come and follow Jesus into this kingdom. After you accept this invitation, he wants to empower you to offer invitations to others—a type of fishing!

Let’s think about this concept of fishing for people. Does it mean to trap them? Does it mean to drag them in against their will? No. That would violate the freewill nature of his invitation to all.

Romans 10:13 NASB 2020

for “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

His invitation is to everyone. He selects everyone because his will is that everyone would respond and be saved.

2 Peter 3:9 NASB 2020

The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.

But, sadly, not everyone responds to his call.

“Fishing for people” involves two features:

1. Attraction

We must capture people’s attention by living in a way that reflects a better life through Christ. Often, the Holy Spirit works through us without us even realizing it. Our goal is to live so attractively that others notice we have something they lack.

An attractive life isn’t about perfection, wealth, or success. It’s about possessing divine strength, a deep peace, and a better attitude despite circumstances. Others may have more, but we have something greater—joy in suffering, patience in trials, and a hope that endures.

Living in God’s kingdom is the best way to live! Our peace, joy, love, and faith draw others in, showing them a life that money and status can’t buy. If your life isn’t radiating this difference, it’s time for renewal.

Ask God for revival! Seek the Spirit’s power and immerse yourself in His Word. Let His presence transform your heart, attitude, and relationships, making your life a testimony of His grace.

Perhaps on this resurrection Sunday, your spiritual life can get a resurrection!

You, living your best life, is the best advertisement for God’s kingdom and the best way to fish for people. Let’s live it and let’s show it to the world around us!

The next step in fishing for people is to . . .

2. Inform

Once people notice the difference in your life, they need to know your source—God’s invitation is for everyone. Following Jesus isn’t an exclusive club; it’s an open call to enter His kingdom.

We are the Invitation Givers—called to extend this invitation, just as Jesus commissioned His disciples: The Spirit within us transforms our lives, making our faith attractive to others.

Mark 16:15 NASB 2020

And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.

The Spirit within us transforms our lives, making our faith attractive to others. As they grow curious, we pray for opportunities to invite them in.

Over the next seven weekends, we will explore how Jesus extended His invitations and how we continue this mission today. This sermon series, Invitation, reminds us that we are still in Act Three of God’s story—an act that began on Pentecost and continues through us.

The book of Acts records the early church’s first 30 years, but the story isn’t over. The church is alive, and we are still spreading God’s invitation to the world. In a way, we are writing Acts 29, ensuring the message of Christ reaches every generation.

To Sum It Up: To follow Jesus is to share His love and invite others to walk with Him.

Conclusion

Please remember that Jesus’s invitation is always personal. It isn’t just for other people. You have received an invitation. I am telling you about it right now. God wants you to enter the kingdom of heaven! Today, right now, you can enter the kingdom of heaven!

There’s only one qualification. You have to admit that you need forgiveness from God through Jesus’s death on the cross.

Then you can enter through the gate by faith the same as (me and) everyone in the kingdom has entered. Then you too can experience a resurrection of a new life in Christ.

That is what it means to enter the gate of Jesus. Through believing in Jesus as your gate, you can enter the kingdom of heaven today and be reconciled to God.

This Is Your Invitation to Begin Again

Today, we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ—His victory over sin, death, and the grave! Easter is not just a historical event; it is an invitation to new life. Jesus died on the cross for our sins, but on the third day, He rose again, proving His power over death and offering us eternal life.

Romans 10:9 NASB 2020

that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;

No matter who you are or what your past looks like, God’s love is for you. He is calling you into a relationship with Him, a life of freedom, peace, and purpose.

If you have never accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, or if you need to recommit your life to Him today, this is your moment. Don’t let this Easter pass without responding to His love.

If you’re ready to give your life to Jesus, pray this prayer from your heart:

”Heavenly Father, I come to You today, knowing I need Your grace and mercy. I confess that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins and rose again so that I could have new life. Today, I turn from my old ways and surrender my life to You. Jesus, be my Lord and Savior. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit and help me to live for You every day. Thank You for saving me and giving me eternal life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Blessing and Sending

Charge: Go now in the joy of the resurrection! Live as people made new by the power of Christ’s victory over the grave. Let the hope of Easter fill your hearts, guide your steps, and shine through your lives. Proclaim with your words and actions: Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

Benediction: May the God of life, who raised Jesus from the dead, fill you with unshakable hope, deep peace, and resurrection joy. And may the blessing of God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit— be with you and remain with you always. Amen.