The Message Of Easter

Speaking of Christ, Lewis Sperry Chafer wrote this, “His complete humanity is clearly set forth, yet of Him it is as clearly disclosed that He is equal with the Father and the Spirit. To Him are given the titles of Jehovah, Redeemer, and Savior, and He is invested with every attribute belonging to Deity. He is the greatest theme of prophecy; about Him things are written which could not be true of any angel or man. Because of His claim to be what He is, He died under the charge of blasphemy. He bore the sins of the world in a sacrificial death, and, because of that accomplishment, He forgave sin and for His sake alone sin is forgiven to the end of the world. He arose from the dead, thus sealing His every claim to Deity. He is now seated on the Father’s throne and all power is given unto Him both in heaven and on earth. He is declared to be the Creator of all things visible and invisible, the source of eternal life, the object of worship both by angels and men. He will yet raise the dead and, as Judge, determine the future estate of all created beings.” Christ is our subject, Christ our object, and Christ our daily sustenance.

vv. 57-66 Burial and Sealing - Possible title: Opposition to the resurrection.

vv. 57-61 Burial

v. 57

The use of also here is interesting. Is it referring to other rich people? Or just an indication that he was a disciple but distinct from the twelve?

What do we know about this guy? He is rich, from Arimathea, his name is Joseph so he is Hebrew, and he is a disciple of Jesus.

v. 58

He isn’t afraid to approach the governor and ask for the body of someone recently crucified and condemned by the religious leaders.

It makes you wonder what these same religious leaders thought of him taking the body and giving Jesus a proper funeral.

Given – ἀποδίδωμι apodidōmi repay; pay back. To be granted – to be or become one’s possession, whether physically or abstractly. KJV has “delivered”. Joseph became responsible for the body of Jesus. Was he held accountable at all for its disappearance?

v. 59

This makes it sound like Joseph did the work himself. I suppose, since he was well off, he could have had servants do it. But it seems that he wanted to do the honors himself.

The cloth wrapping is important because it will come up later.

Clean. Why the emphasis?

v. 60

Laid – τίθημι tithēmi put; place; lay. To put (place) – to move and set into a certain place or abstract location. Joseph was very intentional in how he handled the body of Jesus. He carefully and lovingly placed the body in his own tomb.

Large – μέγας megas great; loud. Large – above average in size, number, quantity, magnitude, or extent. This is a mega stone.

Joseph places Jesus in his own new tomb that was carved from rock probably at great expense. He places Jesus inside after having wrapped the body. He rolls a large stone over the opening and leaves.

There is a lot of self-sacrifice present in this man.

v. 61

Mary and Mary sit opposite the tomb. Elsewhere we are told they followed Joseph and marked the place. Here we find courage.

vv. 62-66

v. 62

Next day. Would this make it Pentecost? They are willing to gather with a heathen on Pentecost to try and prevent their Messiah from rising!

Day of Preparation – παρασκευή paraskeuē day of preparation. Day of preparation – Friday considered as the day to prepare (for Sabbath or a festival). Whether it is Pentecost or not, it is certainly the Sabbath.

v. 63

They call Him a deceiver when they recruited false witnesses against Him!

While He was still alive. How causally they refer to the death of our Lord!

It has always interested me how they remember His claim when the disciples seem not to.

This sets the stage for what is coming. Jesus knew He was going to rise. That was always the plan! His resurrection demonstrates that He was who He claimed to be. He is God manifested in flesh! The Messiah! The second person of the trinity.

v. 64

Command is an imperative. The religious leaders are giving the governor a command as they seek for him to command the security of the tomb.

They again refer to deception here implying that Jesus’ was leading a life of deceit. However, they never state what His deceit was. This is a political tactic. Implications without really saying anything. They do this because it would be impossible to deny the life and ministry of Christ. They couldn’t disprove His miracles or anything.

Whether or not they were really worried about the disciples stealing a body we may never know. Regardless, they accomplished their goal of having Pilate seal the tomb.

vv. 1-10

v. 65

Pilate grants their request to seal the tomb. This is important because it gives them governmental authority. The seal being spoken of is basically Pilates symbol of authority being placed in evidence at the tomb so all would know that to break in would be a death sentence. Pilate gives them a guard of soldiers and tells them to secure it as well as they are able.

v. 66

They leave Pilate’s presence and travel to the tomb.

Sealing – σφραγίζω sphragizō seal; seal up. To seal – to fasten with or as if with a seal. They put his seal on the stone and set a guard. The soldiers they were given are posted at the tomb to prevent anyone taking Jesus’ body.

It is important here to note several hindrances to the resurrection. First, the grave clothes. Second, the tomb. Third, the stone. Fourth, the guard.

Grave clothes - packed with spices. Weighing close to 100lbs. The tomb - cold. Carved out of rock. The stone - heavy. Possibly 2 tons. The guard - professional soldiers guarding on pain of death.

vv. 1-10 Resurrection appearance. Poss. title: Fearless desire for Christ.

vv. 1-4

v. 1

This does seem to suggest that the religious leaders went to Pilate on the Sabbath.

On Sunday, Mary and Mary come to see the tomb. They are not just wanting to look at it. Other passages indicate they were going to anoint the body.

Again we see courage. They were willing to face the guards and the seal to honor the body of Jesus.

v. 2

Great – μέγας megas great; loud. Great – remarkable or out of the ordinary in degree, magnitude, or effect. This was a very large earthquake.

We are given the reason for the earthquake here. An angel (messenger of God) came down from heaven and rolled the stone away. After rolling it away, he sits on it. This angel is not worried about breaking the seal. He is obeying God not men. Angel = masculine noun.

v. 3

His. Angels are always referred to as masculine.

Countenance – eἰδέα eidea appearance. Appearance – outward or visible aspect of a person or thing. His visible appearance was like lightening, bright and shining.

His clothing was white as snow. This symbolism usually denotes purity and holiness.

v. 4

These hardened professional soldiers trembled with fear of the angel, to the point that they seem to have become immobilized. Such is the effect of the angel’s appearance and arrival. Mankind is no match even for an angel, much less for God Himself.

vv. 5-10

v. 5

The women have nothing to fear. This almost seems to imply that the guards are right to be afraid. When we are seeking Jesus, we have nothing to fear! Do not be afraid, I know you seek Jesus.

Seek – ζητέω zēteō desire; seek; look for. To seek – to try to get or reach something one desires. Are we seeking Jesus? Not just any Jesus, but the Jesus who was crucified? When He is the One that we seek and we are actively seeking Him, we have nothing to fear!

v. 6

Jesus is risen! He is no longer in the tomb! You can look at where He lay in the past but He is no longer there! The angel calls Him the Lord. Christ rose just as He said. This was always the plan. Redemption requires a sacrifice. yet because He is God, Christ rose . He conquered death, He demonstrated His Divinity. He is alive!

v. 7

The first activity is to go quickly and tell of Jesus’ resurrection. He goes before His disciples, they will see Him in Galilee.

Going before – προάγω proagō precede; go before. To precede – to move ahead (of others) in time or space; often implying the resulting arrival before others. Christ goes before us. Wherever we go, He is already there.

The disciples will see Jesus. They will be given evidence for His resurrection. This all comes on the word of an angel.

v. 8

Fear and joy. Fear because of the awesome power of God. The power to raise the dead! Joy because Christ is risen! Joy because they will see Him again! This ought to be our attitude as well. Fear because of the awesome power, majesty, and glory of God. Yet joy because we are His, bought and paid for by the blood of Christ!

They run to tell the disciples. There is to be an urgency in announcing the resurrection of our Lord!

To bring – ἀπαγγέλλω apaggellō report; announce; tell. To bring back message – to inform someone of someone else’s message; sometimes without any definite idea of the message’s source. They have news! They have a message from the Lord! That is what we have. We have news! We have a message from Christ Himself!

v. 9

They are headed to meet the disciples in fear and joy and they meet Jesus. His first word is to rejoice! This is a fitting response to an encounter with the resurrected Lord. They take Him by the feet and worship Him. Rejoicing, humility, and worship. That is what the believer does with Jesus. Jesus meets with us as we are walking in obedience to Him. These women are on their way, doing what He has commanded through the angel, it is then that He meets when them. Obedience puts us in a position to encounter Jesus and worship Him. The disobedient do not have this opportunity.

Held – κρατέω krateō seize; arrest. To take hold (grip) – to have or hold in one’s hands or grip. There is a fierce note of possession and desire here. Possibly due to their need to be assured it is Him and He has really risen.

Worshiped – προσκυνέω proskyneō worship. To worship (prostrate) – to prostrate oneself in the presence of the divine or supernatural as a sign of deference and worship. He is worthy. Worship is ascribing worth to God. This takes humility and a recognition of all that He is.

Jesus receives their worship.

v. 10

Jesus, as the angel had earlier, bids them not to be afraid. Not only is there nothing to fear when we are seeking Jesus, there is nothing to fear when we have found Him! Jesus repeats the instruction given by the angel. Basically, Jesus tells them nothing the angel had not told them. So, why appear to them? This is Jesus’ love for these women! Because of their faith and courage, they get to be the first to see the risen Lord! The disciples forsook Him and fled, these women went to the Cross and the tomb seeking opportunity to honor Jesus.

Jesus rewards faithfulness with opportunities to bring Him greater glory through our worship and praise.

Do not be afraid, go and tell.

In light of His resurrection, His glory, and His immanent return; develop a fearless and relentless desire for Christ!

vv. 11-15 The guards instructed by the religious leaders.

v. 11

As the women are leaving Jesus to go tell the disciples, some of the guards previously immobilized by the angel’s appearance, go to tell the chief priests.

They are reporting the events that befell them. They couldn’t be having a shared delusion. What they said must have actually taken place.

v. 12

There can be no denial of the willful deception of these religious leaders. They first deceive themselves. This is the same thing many do today. The evidence is all there. It is blatantly obvious who Jesus is and what He has done, yet still they refuse to believe. This self-deception leads to a willing and intentional deception of others. They even enlist these guards to help spread their deception! How blinded people can be to the truth! All around us we see willing blindness and the dissemination of lies to keep others blind as well.

vv. 16-20 Jesus’ appearance and commission.

Ephesians 4:11–16 NKJV

And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

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