"The Resurrection" Matthew 28 Jun 8 2025
God With Us - Discovering the Gospel of Matthew • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Intro and Scripture
Intro and Scripture
[In terms of ratios, let's start with the number of weeks to chapters:
49 weeks / 28 chapters = approximately 1.75 weeks per chapter.
For the ratio of number of verses, Matthew contains a total of 1,071 verses. So, over 49 weeks, you’d have covered:
1,071 verses / 49 weeks = approximately 22 verses per week.
So, on average, you’ve been exploring about 1.75 chapters and 22 verses of Matthew each week]
Good morning
This is it!
We’ve come to the end of the Gospel of Matthew
49 weeks of studying Matthew - nearly a solid year
We started coming to Charter on April 7, 2024 - we started with Matt 1
We are now in the last chapter of Matt - in Chapter 28
The Resurrection of Jesus
The Guard’s Report
The Great Commission
Quick announcement - I’ll be taking a quick break
We won’t be here next week, on Father’s Day
We will return the following week - June 22
And we’ll start a new Bible series
Every aspect of the Christian’s faith depends on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ
Our salvation rests on the fact that Jesus died on a cross and was raised from the dead
No other religion has a resurrected leader
All other religious founders died and are still dead
Recently, we studied several chapters in Matthew - the anguish of Jesus as he was led to the cross
And now we’ve come to the part where the Father has raised him from the dead
It’s all over
He’s now ascended into heaven
We have every reason to have our hope in him
Jesus humbled himself and came to this world - then he anguished before, and during the cross - all to save us from an eternity of anguish
Jesus came in the likeness of man - who was created in the likeness of God
He came like us - a perfect one of us - in order to be the perfect Lamb sacrifice -
God, who came to be a perfect one of us - came and rescued us
We were once enemies of God - and God came to be with us - on a rescue mission to save us
The purpose and the hope of every believer all rests on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ
I want to read two passages on what Paul said about this -
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures
That is why his faith [Abraham’s] was “counted to him as righteousness.” But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.
(Pray...)
The Resurrection
The Resurrection
Chapter 28 immediately begins with the resurrection narrative
Let’s take a look at it
Starting in verse 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. 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. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.
I want to pause for just a moment
There is nothing here that suggests that neither the earthquake, nor the angel who rolled back the the stone, occurred in order to release Jesus from the tomb
The stone was rolled back in order that the first witnesses - the “first responders,” if you will - were allowed access to enter the empty tomb
In the Gospel of John - there is a scene, following the Resurrection - where the disciples are gathered in a room
And the Bible says they had the doors locked because they were still confused and afraid of the Jews
And then Jesus suddenly appears before them
It didn’t matter how securely locked that door was
When he rose from the grave, Jesus rose bodily - and in his glorified body, he walked straight through that stone
He needed no help from an angel to do it
The angel rolled it back for us - so we could see that it was empty
There is plenty of scriptural evidence to show that he wasn’t just a spirit - it was Jesus in the flesh - it was Jesus in his glorified body
It is a hope for us - that we will someday be raised from the dead in bodily form - in our new glorified bodies just like Jesus
Bodies that can enjoy eating food and posses the ability to walk through walls as the gospels strongly suggest
Imagine - Jesus will forever be among us in his glorified body - as we will be in glorified bodies
Jesus will walk among us, eat with us, share stories with us, and delight us forever and ever
Our theme for the past 49 weeks as we’ve studied Matthew is “God With Us”
And he will be with us forever
He will rule over us as King of kings and Lord of lords in his forever kingdom
And the scars on his body - the nail marks on his hands and feet - his pierced side - and the stripes on his back - will be visible to us for all eternity
Verse 6 -
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.” So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”
Report of the Guard
Report of the Guard
Then we switch to this narrative about the guards of the tomb
Verse 11 -
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.
The Great Commission
The Great Commission
And now we come to the last section of Matthew
The Great Commission
Beginning at verse 16 -
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. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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.”
This is known as the Great Commission
Jesus, who has been given all authority on heaven on earth - is giving, not just to the disciples, he has given all of us this charge
To go and make disciples
It’s the only command in the Bible from the Lord, that I can find - where he commands all of us to “make” something
He commands us to make disciples of all nations
Comma - “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit...”
Comma - “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”
That’s the Great Commission
Make disciples of all nations
Baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
And teach them to observe all he has commanded us
Let me ask - what are we teaching them?
To observe everything Jesus has commanded us - right?
That English verb, “observe” is found in most Bible translations
Some Bibles render it as: “follow”, or “obey”, or “keep” what I have commanded you
The Greek form of that verb means to “observe,” or “conform”
It means you keep it and protect it
It’s deeper than merely sitting back and watching something
It means to observe closely to the point that you now conform to what you’re observing
It’s not a passive form of observing something - it’s the complete opposite
We don’t merely watch Jesus - we carefully observe him, and start becoming like him
It means to be studying God’s word every day - to be praying every day - and to not neglect meeting together in church
Imagine a little boy who observes what his daddy does - he’s near his dad all the time
He watches him closely - how he treats mommy - how he treats others - how he works on the car - how he fixes things around the house - how he responds to the challenges of life
The little boy observes his daddy so closely, he eventually grows up to conform to who daddy is
Let me ask - Does the little boy need a list of rules written down so he knows what to do?
Or because he follows his dad so closely, that those rules are now written on his heart?
This is what it’s like to be a disciple of Jesus
We observe him so closely, we end up conforming to who he is
It is a much higher form than just obeying a set of rules
When we conform to who Jesus is, we’re not only just obeying him - we’re walking closely with him
Obedience now comes naturally
We want to obey Jesus and we desire to obey him, because we are becoming like him
And then we teach others to do the same
Close
Close
We don’t have the narrative of Jesus ascending to heaven in Matthew
But it is found in Mark, Luke, and Acts
I want to leave you with a passage on who Jesus is, who now sits on his throne in heaven
Jesus walked in humility while on Earth
Psalms 8 says, “Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor.”
The book of Hebrews quotes this Psalm of David and adds, “You made him for a little while lower than the angels.”
As we’ve studied Jesus in Matthew, we’ve looked at the life of the Son of God as he lived humbly on Earth - with us
But he has been exalted by the Father
I want to close by reading this passage in Philippians -
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
This is the Jesus we worship now - and will worship for all eternity
But for now, we must obey and conform to all that Jesus has commanded us
We can’t obey Jesus without trusting him - and we can’t trust him without obeying him
We need to trust and obey
Did you know - it’s possible to be unhappy while you are in Jesus?
Some of the most miserable people on earth - are Christians, true Christians - who are going through a time in their life, trying to find happiness through disobedience
Don’t walk in disobedience
Come back to the Lord - obey him - conform your life to him
Just like the hymn teaches us:
When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still
And for all who will trust and obey
Trust and obey, for there's no other way
To be happy in Jesus, than to trust and obey
(Hymn...)
Communion
Communion
(Pick one…)
Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
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, 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.” 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.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he com
