Easter Sunday

Introduction: When I was working my way through seminary many years ago now, there was professor who was beloved. Beyond the idea that he was a great teacher and genuinely cared for his students, he was also known for something else.

If you were taking a test in his class and you didn’t know the answer, you could seemingly always put “The Resurrection” and he would give you partial credit by connecting scripture to the resurrection.

Who killed Goliath? The Resurrection because David is a type for Christ and Goliath probably wouldn’t be included.

This professor impressed upon me that our entire faith comes down to this day and the question….”Did Jesus really rise from the dead?”

Easter which means dawn…Resurrection Sunday.

One of the earliest known declarations of the Resurrection comes not more than 20 years after the crucifixion of Jesus, from the Apostle Paul who wrote the Corinthian Church

1 Corinthians 15:3–8 ESV

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, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.

Today we celebrate even though Jesus was dead and buried, that death had no lasting power over Him and on the 3rd day, he rose from the dead.

Because if Jesus was still in the tomb, then all of this is meaningless.

But if He is risen! It calls for celebration.

Transition to the Text: Turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew 28:1-20. When we think about the Gospel of Matthew it is widely believed that Matthew’s entire purpose for writing his Gospel was to prove to his readers that Jesus is the promised king in the line of David.

He tells us that Jesus is born in the line of David through Joseph. The sermon on the mount is all about what the true King’s kingdom is like as well as what is expected of the king’s subjects.

And at the end of everything, when Jesus is crucified, dead, and buried, Matthew tells us what comes next.

Throughout the OT, the Jewish people struggled with how the Messiah’s reign would last forever and he would also die on behalf of the people? The gospels have a great answer to this question.

The Ressurection!

The cross was not the end.

The tomb was not the end.

And get this….

Introduce:

Big Idea: The RESURRECTION was just the BEGINNING.

Read: Matthew 28:1-20

Matthew 28:1–20 ESV

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. 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.” 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. 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.”

Big Idea: The RESURRECTION was just the BEGINNING.

1. The RESURRECTION leads to great JOY for those who BELIEVE. (Matthew 28:1-10)

Explanation: The Sabbath was on Saturday from sundown friday night to sundown saturday night. It was a time of complete rest for the people of Israel. And it was on the sabbath that Jesus lay in the tomb.

Sunday morning comes and Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary” who is probably lazarus’ sister go to the tomb to finish preparing the body because everything was rushed Friday night to get ready for the sabbath. And probably they wanted to say goodbye one last time.

But when they arrived, there was a great earthquake and an angel of the Lord descended and rolled back the stone and sat on it.

We are told what he looked like.

And the guards passed out from fear and the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid.”

This is a common comfort throughout scripture when an angel appears to someone favored by God.

That angel brought a message to believe.

Matthew 28:6 ESV

He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.

That angel also gave them a mission to receive.

Matthew 28:7 ESV

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.”

And look what they did, they obeyed with fear and great joy.

Now let’s be clear this is not the same type of fear that caused the guards to pass out. This is the type of fear where your joy is so great that you fear if someone pinches you you might wake up and find out it was all a dream.

This is the type of fear that worried that they joy is mistaken. This is the type of fear that hopes against all hope that the unbelievable is true.

And there fear is quickly assuaged. Because Jesus meets them, probably for the purpose of dealing with that fear.

Because with the resurrection there is no need or place for fear.

Matthew 28:9 ESV

And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him.

These women get it. They know what happened. And now they know who this is. This person who they loved as their rabbi, they realize is their God. Probably a part of them always knew it. but not it is confirmed.

So they worship Him! Because He is worthy of their worship. Their joy has overflowed to worship because they believe.

Illustration:

Application: Do you believe that Jesus rose from the dead? Because if you do, what in the world do you have to be afraid of?

So what if the world hates you because of your faith? So what if the world wants to silence you because of what you believe? So what if the world things you’re a little crazy? They thought Jesus was crazy too!

Embrace the joy of the resurrection this Easter as you believe!

Because the alternative is…

2. The RESURRECTION leads to FEAR for those who DOUBT. (Matthew 28:11-15)

Explanation: Now we’ve already seen what sheer terror will do to you. But those soldiers didn’t doubt. They were like people who realize the truth and they think it’s too late.

The truth is, it wasn’t too late for them. They saw the same evidence the women saw but rather than believe, they are still doubting. Perhaps they are doubting that they can be included after what they had done in participating in the crucifixion of Jesus.

Perhaps they are doubting what their eyes saw and have convinced themselves that this was a trick put on by the disciples.

What we know is how, at least some of them responded. They went into the city and told the chief priests all that had happened.

They told them about the angel and the stone being rolled away. They freely admitted that they passed out from fear.

They even knew what their punishment would likely be…death.

But what is crazy is that the chief priests and the elders got together and weighing all the evidence still are filled with doubts about the legitimacy of everything that had taken place.

They paid the solders off to say, his disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.

Illustration: Have you ever been in a situation where something happens that you don’t know how to explain? And you start believing something because you tell yourself over and over again that it’s the truth?

Like you convince yourself.

We do this with worst case scenarios all the time. We lose all rationality and think the worst.

That’s what happened to these people. They were filled with doubt and that doubt made them afraid and their fear made them make a dumb decision.

Just lie about it.

And here’s what I think happened. They were the first to believe their own lie.

Because what other explanation was there?

An angel didn’t actually come down from heaven did he? Jesus didn’t really rise from the dead did He?

Certainly the most plausible explanation is that His disciples stole His body!

Application: This is why apologetics doesn’t always work. Because those guards saw the same thing that the women did and still came to a different conclusion.

Something was missing from those guards.

We call that word faith. They just didn’t have any.

And today we might be tempted to make the same mistake. We might doubt. Because how can we believe what we can’t see with our eyes? The guards saw it with their eyes and still didn’t believe it.

What if the the disciples did steal the body? What if they disciples really did make it all up?

Then you have created more problems that you can answer.

We are still talking about Jesus 2,000 years later. You may not know or believe what happened, but you can’t deny that something happened that changed the world.

There were 11 ordinary men, and more women who were alive at that time. We have 4 gospels that tell of their cowardice and don’t try to hide anything from us. There was nothing special about them and Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John tell us that.

10 of those 11 men were killed for their absolute confidence in Jesus as their resurrected Lord. At any time they could have renounced their faith and lived…but they never did. And this isn’t about faith, this is historical fact. These men died.

There is so much evidence even today, yet people are still blinded to the truth. And if they could have just opened their eyes they would have been saved.

So now their lives revolve around keeping a lie.

But there is another option…

3. The RESURRECTION leads to MEANING and PURPOSE for those who are SAVED. (Matthew 28:16-20)

Explanation: We don’t get the rest of the story in Matthew’s gospel. We don’t get the story of the disciples disbelief. We don’t get the Emmaus Road incident. We don’t get doubting Thomas. We don’t get the reinstatement of Peter of the banks of the sea of Galilee.

We are left to assume that the women went and told the disciples and after everything happened that happened, they found their way to obedience and returned to Galilee as Jesus commanded.

Jesus appears to them one final time.

Now we are told that most of them get it now. They understand what has happened and who this is. And like the women, they rightly worship him.

But then we get this odd caveat…but some doubted.

Our mind immediately goes to Thomas.

But doubt is not always bad. Even in the case of Thomas, Jesus never got upset with him.

John 20:27–28 ESV

Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”

Jesus invited Thomas’ doubts but it’s all about what we do with those doubts. Come get your evidence and believe.

The same is true of anyone today. There are really good reasons to believe in Jesus’ resurrection. Come get your evidence and believe.

But then Jesus gives them a job to do. He commissions them.

Matthew 28:18–20 ESV

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.”

And let’s be clear, this is not a new mission.

This is what Jesus has been doing for His entire earthly ministry. They are continuing the mission they have already been doing. He’s telling them that they will now be doing it without Him bodily present. But He promises that He will be with them Spiritually.

So what is their purpose?

Make disciples of all Nations.

Baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Teach them to observe everything that Jesus commanded them.

Illustration: We live in a world that says don’t push your religion on other people. Keep in secret, keep it safe.

People don’t believe the same things you do so you should respect their beliefs.

Jesus laughs at that mentality.

He says, ALL AUTHORITY IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH HAS BEEN GIVEN TO ME! In others words, every other religion is false and will lead a person straight to hell. So if you are good with that, then keep silent.

When we make disciples and convince them to believe in Jesus, we are offering them a solution to their greatest problem. One that they don’t even know about.

And we have the answer. Will we keep quiet because we want to respect their culture? Of course not!

Jesus said, “ALL NATIONS!”

Application: The disciples responded to the resurrection by believing and making it their life’s mission to bring the Gospel to as many people as possible.

They were all beaten, bruised, killed for that mission.

But every time they killed someone, the gospel message spread all the more and it captivated the people in the world.

And you are invited to respond in kind by doing the same.

So…

Response: How are you RESPONDING to the RESURRECTION and the EMPTY TOMB?

Summation:

Big Idea: The RESURRECTION was just the BEGINNING.

1. The RESURRECTION leads to great JOY for those who BELIEVE. (Matthew 28:1-10)

2. The RESURRECTION leads to FEAR for those who DOUBT. (Matthew 28:11-15)

3. The RESURRECTION leads to MEANING and PURPOSE for those who are SAVED. (Matthew 28:16-20)

Closing Illustration:

This morning I want to invite you to take a step, a leap or an Olympic long jump of faith. Wherever you are in your faith journey. And just believe.

If you are a follower of Jesus….may you live daily in light of Christ’s resurrected power.

But if you’re not ready, I invite you to begin a journey towards faith. Join us at North Hills weekly as we study God’s word. Ask your toughest questions and accept some reasonable answers.

What better place to begin than here on Easter Sunday.

Let’s pray.