The Resurrected King

Introduction

Have you ever received a piece of news that changed your life? No one prepared you. No one gave you a warning. You were just hit with news out of nowhere that changed your life. Good or bad. Maybe it was a surprise job offer. Perhaps it was a pregnancy announcement. Maybe it was news of the death of a close connection or family member. Something that altered the course of your life.

Let's travel back 2000 years to Jerusalem. On Friday, Jesus was crucified and died. He was buried in a tomb. He was dead. We will now see a few people receive news that will change their lives. Please turn with me to Matthew 28.

Matthew 28

ESV

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. 9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, "Greetings!" And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me." 11 While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. 12 And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers 13 and said, "Tell people, 'His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.' 14 And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble." 15 So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day. 16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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."

This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Let's pray:

Father, as we approach your Word on this Easter Sunday, we do so with the full knowledge of its efficacy and truth. We confess that we often don't trust your Word enough; we don't view it as sufficient for all that we need. Help us today to see your Word as enough. Lord, as we look at the Resurrected King today, we ask that the Holy Spirit illumine the truths of your Word to change us from the inside out. Guide us into the knowledge of your Word and the wisdom of walking in your ways. Now, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my Rock, and my Redeemer. Amen.

Good news. We like good news. The historic term for good news is very important in the Christian faith. The Greek for good news is 'euangellion.' That morphed into evangel, which we now refer to as 'gospel.' The good news of Jesus Christ's death, burial, and resurrection. Our passage shows the reaction of some different people to this good news, the best good news (I've stolen that term from our children's equipping class curriculum) that they could receive: Their King, Jesus, was no longer dead but was resurrected and living. And he was there to change their lives. So, my main point this morning is that any encounter with the resurrected King Jesus is life-changing. Just like receiving that news that changed the course of your life, having an encounter with the resurrected King changes the course of your life. Looking at the text, we will see that the Resurrected King inspires praise from his followers, elicits rage from his enemies, and entrusts his message to his disciples. Underlying all of that is this: Jesus will change your life. He came to earth as man, lived a life of perfect obedience, died a death reserved for sinners, rose again victorious over death, is seated at the right hand of God the Father now, and will return one day. The truth of that gospel message requires a response from you. Think about that as we move through this passage.

I. The Resurrected King Inspires Praise from His Followers

Let's first take a look at verses 1-10. We are nearing sunrise on Sunday morning, and two women head to the tomb where Jesus had been laid. It's worth noting that they were probably going out to mourn at the tomb. It's also worth noting that the Romans were good at killing people. There are theories upon theories abounding that Jesus was simply passed out or in some intermediate state. That's just simply not true. We have faithful, credible eyewitnesses to both his death and his burial. The Romans specialized in killing people. Jesus was dead.

Now, as was customary, the women head out to mourn the dead and check on Jesus's body. Luke's account says that they were bringing spices to perfume the corpse to mask the smell of death. In Mark's account, they wonder how the stone might be removed so that they could help prepare the body of Jesus.

As they approach, an earthquake happens, and they are met with an angel from the Lord. Now, something miraculous occurs whenever an angel breaks from the supernatural into the natural order. Biblical, true angels are not Christmas tree toppers. They are not what you might see in the decor section of your local Christian bookstore. This angel has an appearance like lightning and clothing as white as snow—superhuman strength, too, as we are told since he rolls the stone back and sits on it. And the burly Roman guards sent by Pilate himself pass out as dead men for fear of this angel.

But this angel is a deliverer of good news: "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen." Angels are messengers if we remember. At Jesus's birth, angels appeared, bringing glad tidings of great joy for a baby who was the long-awaited Messiah born in Bethlehem. Now, an angel again appears, heralding glad tidings of great joy: That same baby who had grown up in perfect obedience and had given his life on Friday was no longer dead in the tomb but was risen! Good news! Gospel!

But this wasn't the first time Jesus's followers heard about his resurrection. Look: The angel finishes those glad tidings in a peculiar way: "as he said." He had told them that he was going to rise again. Time after time, he predicted not only his death and burial but also his resurrection. The angel brought good news but not new news. Jesus was making good on the promise he had made repeatedly throughout his life and ministry.

The angels proved this to them by showing them the place where he lay. His body wasn't there, so it was unnecessary to perfume or prepare it. The stench of death was gone. His heart was beating once more, and air filled his lungs. The tomb was empty. A miracle of all miracles had happened.

The angel gives them a mission: Go tell the disciples. They do this, and then we see their encounter with the resurrected King Jesus. The man who was once dead was now alive, and they beheld him with their own eyes. And I want us to look at their first reaction: They bow to his feet and worship him. Worship. Adoration. That's what filled their heart when they encountered the resurrected King Jesus. In this moment, they were gripped by the fact of his resurrection. They were gripped with the reality of his salvation. They knew without a doubt that all the things he had claimed in his teaching, the miracles he had performed, and all the prophecies he had made were right and good and for them! This glorious King was not dead; no, he was alive! And in the light of all that glory, all that truth, all that beauty, their first and most natural reaction was to worship. This worship was an overflow.

We've had a lot of flooding here in Northeast Arkansas this month. A lot. When a levee breaks by a river, we have this thing called overflow, right? And once it starts, it's tough to stop. Overflow is hard to control. In the presence of the resurrected King, Mary and Mary had an overflow: it was an overflow of praise. When confronted with the reality of who Jesus was and what he had just done, their only reaction was pure worship.

Is that the case with you? Those who follow Christ will know that it is. The moment we experience Christ in salvation, we desire to worship him. The resurrected King inspires the praise of his followers.

What does this look like?

It's not only expressed on Sunday morning. An encounter with the Resurrected King inspires praise as a lifestyle, not merely an event. In other words, it changes how we think about everything. Our lives are now a "living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship," as Paul would put it. This overflow of praise and devotion affects everything we do for the rest of our days.

It inspires us to do great things for God. We will see more about that in point 3.

An overflow of praise because of an encounter with Jesus also puts us at odds with those who do not follow him. We view everything that we do for Christ as worship. We serve as a result of worship. We share the gospel because we believe it to be an act of worship. We meet together in local churches to worship outwardly. It's not so for those who are not God's covenant people. This brings us to the second reaction to the resurrected King.

II. The Resurrected King Elicits Rage from His Enemies

Upon rising from their shocked stupor, the guards head into the city to tell the chief priests. They had woken up to a stone rolled away and an empty tomb. Their one job was to guard the tomb, and now the tomb was standing open, and there was no body within it. And this was enraging to the Pharisees and chief priests. It's the gospels' theme for the day's elite to carry out what was prophesied in Psalm 2: The kings of earth set themselves, and the rules take counsel together against the LORD and against his Anointed..." They thought they had defeated Jesus and his purposes by crucifying him. And now they had knowledge that he had risen from the dead. It's a firsthand account, actually. But the pursuit of earthly power and deception is great. See, the guards were actually evangelists. They were bringing good news. Whether they believed it or not, they communicated the fact of the resurrection, which is good news. One's feelings about the gospel do not determine its goodness. In fact, their lust for power overruled their hearts. They are enraged instead of responding in faith to this good news of Christ's resurrection. They become filled with deceit and devise a plan to try and cover up the resurrection.

These men were supposed to have recognized the coming Messiah. They were the ones who were supposed to be so familiar with the prophecies and writings of the Old Testament that they would never have missed the coming of the Messiah. They saw him. They heard his sermons. They listened to him teach. They witnessed miracle after miracle. And now they have the most significant proof of his Kingship and divinity: He had risen from the dead. But what is their reaction? Rage and taking counsel together against the LORD.

To those who are not in the faith, Jesus will always enrage. I know there are many today who claim to love Jesus but do not love Christianity. Or maybe they say that Jesus is one of many teachers they follow. Or perhaps they are spiritual but not religious. But none of that makes sense in God's economy. If you do not believe that Jesus rose from the dead and is, therefore, THE Way, THE Truth, and THE Life, then you do not love Jesus. You may love the idea of a good teacher from 2000 years ago. But it's not the same teacher that we know as Jesus. Failure to have faith in the Resurrected King is a declaration of war against him. There's no middle ground. This passage shows the clear in and out of the gospel. The women, and later the disciples, believed in the risen Christ. And they worshiped and obeyed him. This was their response in faith. But the guards and the chief priests — though presented with the same evidence — denied him and declared war against him.

Everyone can be bought with a price. These guards were persuaded with a physical bribe. The chief priests were bought with the price of a lust of power. But those who responded in faith were bought with a different price: Their souls were purchased by the blood that Christ spilled on Good Friday. By his blood, they had redemption and salvation. By his wounds, they were healed: Healed from faithlessness and all the rage against God that it elicits.

Make no mistake: there is no halfway in the Kingdom of the Resurrected King. You are at war with God if you are not counted among the faithful. However, today, you can be reconciled to God. You have now heard songs about the Resurrected Jesus, heard prayers to and in praise of the Resurrected Jesus, and have now heard the Bible's truth detailing the resurrection of Jesus. Stop taking counsel against the Lord and against his Anointed — Jesus — and be reconciled to him today. Repent of your sin, believe in this Resurrected King as your Savior, and fall at his feet in worship.

Be careful though: Those he saves, he also sends. And that brings us to our final point today.

III. The Resurrected King Entrusts His Message to His Disciples

The Resurrected King inspires praise from his followers, enrages his enemies, and entrusts his message to his disciples. Those who bow the knee to Christ in allegiance to his life-saving work on the cross will be commissioned and sent out. We get this from verses 16-20. Look at it with me.

The eleven disciples are directed to Galilee, where they had spent so much time with Jesus. Then, he appears to them, and there is a mixed reaction. Some worship, as Mary and Mary did earlier, but some doubt. We don't know which is which, and we aren't told how Jesus acted toward those two groups. He moves on and begins teaching and commissioning them. Let's take a look at what he said to them.

Matthew 28:18–20 "18 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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."

Now, we could preach an entire sermon series on those verses alone, going phrase by phrase. But we will not be doing that right now. I want to notice some things briefly. Jesus has just been raised from the dead. He is, without a doubt, the Son of God, the Savior, the Long-Awaited Messiah. As if there was any doubt if he was authoritative, he reminds them that he has now been given all authority. God the Father has granted his only-begotten and now resurrected Son all authority. What is his directive to his people with this unending and unlimited authority? He sends his disciples to take the gospel message to all nations. Why? Because Jesus has a heart for the nations and knows that those who follow him will also. Brothers and sisters, if you do not have a heart for the nations, I wonder if the good news of the gospel has gripped you. He wants to see people be made into worshipers of God all around the world. He knows these disciples will begin the movement to take the gospel to the nations.

Here's really what I want you to see today from this passage: An encounter with the resurrection King leads to faith. That faith overflows into pure, unadulterated worship. And the natural outflow from that worship is to go and tell someone the good news. We respond in faith; we overflow in worship, and we go and tell. Evangelism and missions are a direct and appropriate response to being changed into a worshiper of God by the salvation purchased for us on the cross. Evangelism and missions are the only way to live a life changed by the resurrected Jesus. In other words: The Great Commission isn't the great suggestion. If you are a Christian and have encountered the Risen Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, you, my friend, are sent to the nations. You are sent to make disciples in your context: at work, in class, in the neighborhood, at the ball fields, at the gym, in the dorms, at church, at the coffee shop, in your marriage, with your kids, period. Until Jesus returns in glory, that is what we will do. The call to worship is a call to live sent. That's why we planted this church. That's why we pray for the nations every single week. That's why we disciple each other. That's why we intentionally train young men called to pastor. That's why we gather each week. That's why we do everything! Because we have encountered the Lord Jesus Christ and he has died for us, saved us, and risen so that we can have eternal life. So we overflow with worship. Who wouldn't? And why wouldn't we want everyone in Walnut Ridge, on WBU's campus, in Pocahontas, in Bono, in Brookland, in Jonesboro, and Paragould to hear the good and life-changing news of Jesus?

Conclusion

Earlier, I argued that the gospel message of the Resurrected King Jesus demands a response from you. Will you be like the guard and the chief priests and go on rejecting him? You can see the folly in their actions, trying to undo what they can't undo. In this rejection, you will either be the one bribing or the one accepting the bribe. Both are a rejection of Christ. And both lead to eternity without him. For you, Good Friday isn't good because it shows that it wasn't for you that Christ suffered and died. You have heard the good news. I pray that you don't go on rejecting him. Repent and believe in Christ, receiving him in faith. He will make you his friend, though now you are his enemy. Please talk with me if you have questions about that.

You may have already received Christ today. If that's true, the gospel — the good news — has changed your life. You encountered the Resurrected King Jesus and came away believing in his salvation for your life. Here's the challenge then for you: Is your immediate reaction to his work in your life to bow to his feet and worship? When the women encountered Jesus, they bowed down and worshiped. When the disciples saw Jesus, they worshiped him. When God provides a way for you, do you worship him? All things in our life — and in the universe — redound to the glory of King Jesus. Are you giving him the praise he is due? Not just when you want to or when things are good, but in all things: Do you respond in worship to Christ? And then, fueled by that worship, do you go with the message that he has entrusted to you? For if he has saved you through the gospel, why would you not want others to experience that? Believer, he has sent you into the world with life-changing news. Go and tell them, remembering that he has sent you with divine authority and divine presence: The Holy Spirit. Go as an ambassador and worshiper of your Resurrected King and watch the power of the gospel change lives just as it has changed yours.

Let's pray.