An empty tomb. Matthew 28.

Introduction

Good morning church and welcome to Easter Sunday as we reflect on the resurrection of Jesus and how God’s message of salvation was made manifest.

As you think onto your life what moments crawl to the top of the list as the most important or most formational of all time. Like if we were to take away these, says, 3 moments your life would look nothing like it does today?

Perhaps your time in the military? Your Wedding? The birth of your first grandchild or when you got your dream job?

For Arthur Medina it was learning that his mother wasn’t actually his mother and his brother was actually his father which led him to run away from home at the age of 15 and soon living on the streets in Houston where he stole cars to make a living.

This led to one night where the carjacking went wrong and and left a man dead. At 17 years old he was given life in prison.

soon after another inmate tried to assault him and he nearly killed the man in response which added 119 years to his sentence including 15 years in solitary confinement. He commented that the only way you can survive in that kind of environment was to be as violent as possible and make sure everyone knew it.

Not exactly what you would think would be a formative or life changing time, right?

Yet it was during a meeting with a prosecutor that Arthur’s life was changed. He asked him a simple question to Arthur, “Do you believe in God?”

Out of nowhere he responded to his own surprise, “Yes I do.”

The prosecutor asked him, “then why don’t you get to know him?”

In that time of solitary he had nothing to do but read the Bible and so he did. After a while he found himself at a crossroads. Will i keep going down this path or choose God’s path.

So in 2003 when he was released from solitary confinement he b-lined to the prison chaplain and got enrolled in bible classes in college where he couldn’t get enough.

5 Years later he stood before a parole board who couldn’t believe the amount of change in his life. He simply responded “Ma’am, I now believe in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.”

In 2011 he was released from prison and is active as a father, in his church, and still helps with prison fellowship to help those struggling in prisons.

Tension

Arthur had his life remade in the image of Christ and he was unrecognizable to the man who went into prison because he realized that only Jesus can make what was once dead in sin, come alive again.

Today as we gather as a church to hear a familiar story, my hope is that you might see it again with fresh eyes, hear its truth with open ears, and understand what Arthur did with a ready heart. We read this morning from Matthew 28 verse 1.

Truth

Matthew 28:1–20 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.”

Prayer

Exposition

Jesus was dead. He had been killed cruely and unjustly by those in power

Remember when I asked you to think in on your life and the parts that were most formative to it? I want you to remember back to when you first heard and understood the death of Jesus on the cross. When you first heard and understood the gravity of the son of God bearing the punishment of your sin upon himself. Injustice and justice poured out in the same cup as Jesus paid for a crime he didn’t commit but for one that I did.

The gravity can be troubling and upsetting but also so sobering. As we think of the reality of Easter its a celebration around a death. The death of the son of God for sinners. Put another way the murder of the most innocent man in history so that criminals could be set free.

As we gather today to celebrate Easter it is important that we remind ourselves of the sacrifice poured out on Calvary for us.

Jesus willingly endured pain, and punishment on our behalf, ultimately to his own death.

Astonishingly, beaten, broken, exhausted, and victimize Jesus was nailed to the cross and still prayed for those that were complicit in his murder, that God would forgive their ignorance.

“Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do.”

And what a truth that is.

How many of us in this room have commited some of the most vile acts in our lives because we didn’t fully understand or really get the consequences of what we have done. Or because, In the moment we were only think about ourselves or our desires, not caring about the ripples that come out of those decisions. Rarely do our bad decisions only affect us. We all know how ignorant we’ve been in the past and Jesus knows too.

Yet, as I have told many teenagers through my years in student ministry, “Just because you didn’t mean for it to go down like this, doesn’t mean you didn’t do what you did.”

Scripture speaks of the violation of God’s laws as sin. The willful breaking of God’s rules, known or unknown, puts you and I firmly and truly in the category of “sinner.” Those who choose themselves and their own ways over God’s plan.

This sin is a crime that demands a payment, a sentence, a debt. Scripture tells us in Romans 3:23 “23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” and in Romans 6:23 “23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” We all have sinned and all sin demands death. Yet the hope is filled in in the later part of the last verse. “But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Make no mistake church family, what put Jesus on that cross was not people in power, political struggle, picking the wrong fight with the wrong people. No, it was my sin. It was your sin. Jesus was put there through that pain because he knew there was no other way to pay off my debt. I couldn’t do it.

Many in our world today believe that simply being good enough in our lives where our good outweighs our bad is enough. Or that God wants us to put positivity into the world. Or maybe it hinges on leaving the world better than you found it. All of these can be good sentiments for way we choose to live our lives but sincerely, the scripture is so very clear that they can do nothing to earn salvation or to negate our sin. Few passages really paint the proper picture more than Romans 3.

Romans 3:9–20 ESV

9 What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, 10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” 13 “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” 14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 in their paths are ruin and misery, 17 and the way of peace they have not known.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” 19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

We have all gone our own way and even our best efforts are still stuck in sin. Or as Isaiah 64 puts it.

Isaiah 64:6 ESV

6 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

So, we find ourselves in the most bitter pickle ever. We are all sinners under a curse that we cannot fix ourselves. We can’t take away the debt and we can’t be good enough. So what do we do? The short and disturbing answer friends, is nothing. We can’t fix this problem.

the story is told of a young brother around 7 years old whose younger sister required a bone marrow transplant to survive. The family was all tested and extended family only to find that the only match suitable was this brother. They told him the situation and asked him if he would be willing to do this for his sister. He asked very maturely for a little bit to think about it. He went to his room and came back with tear stained eyes, “Let’s do it.” The doctors flew into action and within a couple days the surgery was set. His only request was that he could see his baby sister before the surgery. He went up to her before they took them both back and gave her a big kiss and hug. “I love you sis.” He got ready and the surgery went off without a hitch. As he came out of anesthesia and rose up in his bed he began asking about his sister with tears in his eyes, concerned as to why he was awake and if the procedure had saved her. His parents were finally able to put it together. He had thought the entire time that the surgery to claim his life so that his sister could live. While this story has never been confirmed it brings to mind what Hebrews 9:22 reminds us of.

Hebrews 9:22 ESV

22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

Sin demands payment. That payment is death. And God being good and just requires that payment. If a judge allowed criminals to go free without paying for their crimes he wouldn’t be a good judge right? So, God requires the outstanding penalty of sin to be paid in full. Which means we either pay the debt we owe or someone else does for us. But that someone has to be perfect or the payment isn’t permanent. For years and centuries the old Testament law required blood to be spilled as payment for sin but the animals offered up were only a band-aid on a broken spine. The cycle would always continue but never fix the problem.

Yet Christ’s love was so that he offered up his own life as payment for my sin and brokenness. And if you are in Christ, friend, you are brought into his grace as well. Not because you are good enough, not because you’ve earned it, not because God commuted your sentence, but because he took pity on you in love and took you debt upon himself. This is why Jesus willingly went to the cross and laid down his live as a ransom for us. Not because we loved him, but because he first loved us.

He was nailed to a cross, beaten and despised, rejected by those he meant to save and even while he was suffering greatly, his heart was set on asking God to forgive them for the sins they were committing.

So great is the love of God for sinners like you and I that He spent his last breaths to pay for our pardon. And then he breathed his last and gave up his spirit, and died.

But, that is not what we come today to celebrate. That sacrifice and death were meaningful and revolutionary in human history but would mean nothing except for Jesus didn’t stay in the grave, only just borrowed it.

Jesus resurrection proves 3 things for us here this morning. The first is...

The resurrection vindicates Jesus.

He wasn’t a failure of a staged coup or a rebellion. He wasn’t in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was exactly who he said He was. He was the Son of God, the long awaited Messiah who was sent to pay for the sins of the world. Despite the lies the religious leaders tried to spin the truth spread further and the news of what Christ had done for the people spread like wildfire. Jesus wasn’t a failure but the plan of God to rescue sinners was brought clearly into view in his death, burial, and yes his ressurection.

It demonstrates the gospel’s relationship with human beings and physicality.

Jesus has a physical bodily resurrection and we will too. Gnostics of the time and even to a lesser extent today like to downplay the difference between the spiritual and the physical. As if what we do with our physical bodies doesn’t matter because the what we do in the body is evil and what we do in the spirit is good and eternal. Friends, hogwash. We are a spiritual and physical manifestation of the image of God. We are to honor him in mind, body, and spirit. Many tried to cry out that Jesus wasn’t resurrected bodily but showed up only as a spirit or a sort of divine hologram. Yet the word tells us that Jesus’ body still bared the scars of the cross. In this same way we can take hold of the promise that as Jesus was resurrected in the power and authority of the spirit of God we too will be resurrected with Him if we put our faith and trust fully in Him.

It shows us that this life is not all that there is.

There is a life beyond arthritis and bad backs. Our hope is not to survive until we are 90, our hope is a resurrection of a new heaven and a new Earth. God will redeem our bodies as we are resurrected in Christ yes, but it doesn't stop there.

The ultimate culmination of this promise is found wrapped up in Revelation 21:1-7

Revelation 21:1–7 ESV

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.

Landing

This is the Resurrection bought and paid for by the body and blood of Jesus Christ for you on the cross. Its the promise of salvation for you and all who will put their faith and trust in Him. You can know today, walking out of this room that you are saved from your sin, bound in this hope, and will share in his Resurrection. All you have to do is repent of your sin, turning from it and to him. Romans 10:10

Romans 10:10 ESV

10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

This is the gospel. Paid for by the Life of Jesus on your behalf. Secured by an empty tomb and a risen savior.

And as we continue in worship this morning, we want to participate in the Lord’s supper, an ordinance that symbolizes the sacrifice of the cross and points us towards the promise of the gospel.

Lord’s Supper

“For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.”

1 Corinthians 11:26

Every time we gather to take the Lord’s Supper together, we join a long chain of brothers and sisters who proclaimed the gospel in this same way through the ages. It’s a call to come back to the cross and remember that no matter what else could divide us, the cross of Christ is the cement that binds us together as brothers and sisters.

We are all most likely familiar with our call to the table and that it links us to these forebears of our faith but I would like us to focus on the promise found in this same text. “until he comes again.”

Here is an unmistakable pointer to the future, when Christ comes in glory to finish the establishment of God's kingdom. The language in 1 Corinthians paraphrases something Jesus said in the Last Supper: " 25 Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”" (Mark 14:25).

When we receive the bread and the cup, we are not only remembering God's salvation in the past and experiencing God's presence in the present. We are also looking to the future, when God will wipe away every tear and his kingdom will be complete. Thus, in a sense, the elements of Communion a beacon that illuminates the cross now and points to the promise of the Kingdom in the future.

So, we gather as brothers and sisters now. With symbols representing the body and blood of Christ as he was poured out on the cross for our sins. We gather to remember a pain-filled day of torture and death as the early church scattered in fear for their lives. We proclaim his victory over death as we remember the empty tomb and the stone that was rolled away. But…I want you to cling to the promise found in the word. One day, a stale cracker and grape juice will be a lost memory as your eyes meet that of the risen Christ who took your nails. One day you’ll get to sup with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and your eyes will get to behold his majesty and power. Can you imagine what that meal will be like?

PRAYER:

O Lord, what a marvelous hope you have given me . . . the hope of one day living in the fullness of your kingdom . . . the hope of one day being present with you and sharing in your meal in an altogether new way . . . the hope of celebrating with all your people, including my loved ones who are with you now . . . the hope of the world finally renewed . . . the hope of your shalom in all the earth.

Thank you, dear Lord, for adding a future dimension to your Supper. Even as we remember your past sacrifice and experience your presence in the moment, we are also blessed to think about your future and our hope made sight. Thank you for your sacrifice and for your love.

Amen.

Pass Bread

Pray for the bread

English Standard Version Chapter 11

23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

Pass Juice

Pray for Juice

Juice-

English Standard Version Chapter 11

25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Invitation.