Sermón sin título (6)

Nueva Traducción Viviente Capítulo 28

Text: Matthew 28:1–9

28 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.” 1

Title: Empty Tombs

Introduction: Why are there so many believers who cling to the things of this life—and even to life itself? Why do so many people follow the prosperity gospel, seeking health, riches, and earthly well‑being? Because deep down they have not embraced the hope of the resurrection, the new life promised to us in Christ. Why do so many people reject the gospel and prefer to continue living in their trespasses and sins? Because they do not believe there is a resurrection of the dead and think this is the only life they will ever have. There are many people who believe in the life and death of Jesus, but not in His resurrection. It is possible that several here belong to that group. Some even desire to honor Jesus for giving His life to forgive their sins, but they do not see the resurrection as something tangible, real, and near.

Argument: Jesus rose from the dead. Terror and joy will come.

Matthew begins the end of his gospel by clearly and precisely declaring that Jesus rose from the dead. The implications of this truth are enormous and eternal. In Scripture we find clearly that at one point all tombs will open and be left empty—but there are only three categories.

1. The empty tomb of vindication. Jesus rose!

Scripture does not hide the lack of faith among Jesus’ followers before the arrival of the Holy Spirit (v.1). They went to see the tomb, to finish “preparing” the body.

The angel sits down (v.2)—a sign of victory.

He rolls the stone away (v.2)—not so Jesus could come out, but so the women could go in!

The guards fainted in terror (just at the angel!) (v.4).

The women receive words of encouragement (v.5). The guards did not even receive a word.

Interestingly, an angel announces the birth of Jesus, and an angel announces His resurrection.

“Do not be afraid”—the same words spoken to the shepherds on the night of His birth (ref. Luke 2:9–12).

The reason not to fear: Because you seek Jesus (the One announced in Luke 2!), the One who was crucified. Those who are not ashamed of the Slain Lamb will be comforted by the Glorified Lion.

The reason He is not in the tomb: Because He has risen.

An invitation and a commission (v.7):

Come and see!

Go and tell!

An encounter with the risen Christ (v.8–10):

“Greetings!”

They embraced Him and worshiped Him.

“Do not be afraid!”

Go and tell. It is from the encounter with the risen Christ that we can fulfill the commission given to us.

We said this is the empty tomb of vindication. See 1 Timothy 3:16.(16 Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory. 1

Applications:

Come and see!

Do not leave without having seen.

Make sure you truly have seen.

Christ not only rose—He ascended and reigns at the right hand of God.

2. The empty tomb of grace. Believers will rise

1 Thessalonians 4:13–18. 13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.1

Our resurrection will not be proof of our righteousness or obedience, but of the mercy and grace God has shown us.

We must encourage one another with this truth.

Sick? We will rise from the tomb.

In debt? We will rise from the tomb.

Abandoned by your family? We will rise…

Without a job? We will rise…

Without a spouse? We will rise…

Without children? We will rise…

No future here? We will rise…

About to die? We will rise…

3. The empty tomb of judgment. The wicked will rise

Several here may say: “So what if He rose? My life is still my life. The idea of abandoning my way of living just to be eternally with Jesus does not attract me.”

In that, you speak the truth—this is why you act just like the guards.

You get scared for a moment (some even cry during the sermon), but then you leave and continue as if the tomb were not empty.

You think of earthly benefits from Jesus’ resurrection, but you do not think of your eternal future (see Matthew 28:11–15:   (The Report of the Guard 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.)better marriage, financial advice, potential clients for your business, maybe a little miracle).

You believe that somehow your “good works” will be enough, even though you did not seek Jesus the Crucified One, but Jesus the One who multiplies bread and fish.

Others believe that in the end the only thing that matters is what you enjoy in this life, and that the punishment will simply be not entering heaven and remaining dead “resting” after this life.

But you are deceived. Your tomb will open! Revelation 20:11–13.   Judgment Before the Great White Throne 11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.1

Conclusion

There are only three types of empty tombs. In the first, only Christ could be.

All humanity will be divided into the other two. There is no purgatory; there are no tombs that will remain closed.

By nature we belong to the tombs of judgment, but in Jesus—the One who was crucified—we can take part in the tombs of grace!

Come and see! Confess that you deserve to be in the tomb of judgment, but trust in Jesus, who died as a sinner and was vindicated.