Welcome and Announcements

Greetings — No. 366

He Lives — No. 368

Derek: We are here today to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead. But before we come to the Resurrection we must first come to the cross, for it was there that wrath and mercy would meet. The cross was foreseen by Isaiah when he wrote:

Isaiah 53:4–6 NKJV

Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 53:10–12 NIV84

Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Let’s reflect on the cross of suffering as we sing together

When I Survey — No. 321

Let’s continue in our reflection on the cross as we sing the song on the screen:

How Deep the Father’s Love For us

How deep the Father’s love for us, how vast beyond all measure that He should give His only Son to make a wretch His treasure. How great the pain of searing loss. the father turns His face away as wounds which mare the Chosen One bring many sons to glory.

that He should give His only Son to make a wretch His treasure. How great the pain of searing loss. the father turns His face away as wounds which mare the Chosen One bring many sons to glory.

How great the pain of searing loss. the father turns His face away as wounds which mare the Chosen One bring many sons to glory.

as wounds which mare the Chosen One bring many sons to glory.

Behold the Man upon the cross, my sin upon His shoulders. Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice call out among the scoffers. It was my sin that held Him there until it was accomplished; His dying breath has brought me life. I know that it is finished.

Ashame

I will not boast in anything: no gifts, no pow’r, no wisdom. But I will boast in Jesus Christ: His death and resurrection. Why should I gain from His reward? I cannot give an answer. But this I know with all my heart: His wounds have paid my ransom.

Derek and John — In Christ Alone

Being the eternal God of the ages, Jesus understood that suffering, anguish, and death were the price He would have to pay in order to redeem a people as His own precious possession. And so He endured the cross, while despising its shame. After Jesus endured the full extent of the wrath of God, He cried out in a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.

Joseph of Arimathea, a devout follower, took Jesus’ body from the Romans and placed it in an empty tomb which he had recently had prepared for himself. Some of the women who had belonged to the followers of Jesus, namely Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, as well as Salome, the mother of the sons of Zebedee, observed the place where Jesus was buried.

Thankfully, the story does not end there. Because Jesus’ own prediction that He would rise from the dead would be fulfilled on the First Day of the Week. In the words of a preacher of old: “It may be Friday, but Sunday is a coming!” Let’s continue in our worship as we sing these two great Resurrection hymns:

Let’s continue in our worship as we sing these two great hymns:

Christ Arose — #357

Christ the Lord is Risen Today — #367

Because of Christ’s death and resurrection we who have place our faith in Him have a new life in Him. Paul wrote in

Romans 6:4–7 NASB95PARA

Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.

Because of this wonderful truth, for those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior should live this new life in a way that reflects our union with Him.

Let’s stand as we sing together

May the Mind

May the mind of Christ, my Savior, Live in me from day to day, By His love and pow’r controlling, All I do and say.

Live in me from day to day,

By His love and pow’r controlling,

All I do and say.

May the Word of God dwell richly In my life from hour to hour, So that all may see I triumph Only through His pow’r.

In my life from hour to hour,

So that all may see I triumph

Only through His pow’r.

May the love of Jesus fill me As the waters fill the sea; Him exalting, self abasing — This is victory.

As the waters fill the sea;

Him exalting, self abasing —

This is victory.

May the peace of God my Father Rule my life in everything, That I may be calm to comfort Sick and sorrowing.

Rule my life in everything,

That I may be calm to comfort

Sick and sorrowing.

May I run the race before me, Strong and brave to face the foe, Looking only unto Jesus As I onward go.

Strong and brave to face the foe,

Looking only unto Jesus

As I onward go.

May His beauty rest upon me As I seek the lost to win; And may they forget the channel, Seeing only Him.

As I seek the lost to win;

And may they forget the channel,

Seeing only Him.

May the mind of Christ, my Savior, Live in me from day to day, By His love and pow’r controlling, All I do and say; all I do and say.

Live in me from day to day,

By His love and pow’r controlling,

Offering: Special Music: Pastor Phil — A Love Story

All I do and say; all I do and say.

The Message

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The Mystery of the Empty Tomb

I wonder if there is anyone else here today who enjoys reading a good mystery? I love the “Who-Done-It?” genre of novels. As a child I cut my teeth on Encyclopedia Brown Mysteries, then moved on to the Bobbsey Twins Mysteries. And then it was the Hardy Boys Mysteries. I loved those so much that I was still reading them in high school! As an adult I eventually started reading Agatha Christie, the queen of “Who-Done-It?” As a matter of fact, I am re-reading one of her novels at this time. It has probably been more than twenty years since I read this particular novel and I don’t remember who-done-it, and so I am enjoying it as if reading it for the first time.

Often mysteries are filled with suspense, intrigue, conspiracy and a whole lot of other stuff. Some of the more suspenseful books I’ve read, such as the works of current author Steven James, can be so suspenseful that they affect my sleep in a negative manner. (And by now your probably wondering if I wrote this message after a poor night’s rest!). My general approach to reading a mystery is to start at the beginning and read straight through (in short snippets, anyway). That is because I want to be surprised by the ending. But my dear mother-in-law has a different approach than I do — she reads the last chapter first so that she will know how things will work out. One may argue that I am taking a chapter from her book today, because we are jumping ahead to the end of the Gospel of Matthew. Please turn to .

We have been systematically going through the Gospel of Matthew, and last week we arrived in just in time to look at the Triumphal Entry on the Day in which it is celebrated — Palm Sunday. But in order to get from Palm Sunday on one Sunday to Easter on the next Sunday, we have to skip over about a quarter of this gospel account. Don’t worry, we will go back and pick up where we left off. But for today, we are jumping ahead and looking at THE MYSTERY OF THE EMPTY TOMB. Because most, if not all of us, are very familiar with the story of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, there will not be a lot of suspense for us today. But there will be both intrigue and conspiracy! Our rather large text is book-ended by attempts from the religious leaders of Israel to quash the followers of Jesus. And the middle sections are are filled with the empty tomb.

Over the course of our study of the Gospel of Matthew we have seen three times in which Jesus predicted His death and resurrection. And the main point of today’s passage is that Jesus’ predictions came true. As the angel said to the women who came to the grave in Luke’s account: “Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen!”

As we consider this passage this morning we are going to look first at the tomb being secured, then at the empty tomb, and finally at the response to the empty tomb.

The Tomb is Secured

Look with me at .

Matthew 27:62–66 NASB95PARA

Now on the next day, the day after the preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate, and said, “Sir, we remember that when He was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I am to rise again.’ Therefore, give orders for the grave to be made secure until the third day, otherwise His disciples may come and steal Him away and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.” Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you know how.” And they went and made the grave secure, and along with the guard they set a seal on the stone.

One thing is for sure, though the twelve and those most closely associated with Jesus did not fully grasp what Jesus had predicted concerning His resurrection from the dead, the chief priests and Pharisees did.

Notice that these men referred to Jesus as “that deceiver” in verse 63. Was Jesus really a fraud? Was He really a deceiver? No; absolutely not! Satan is the deceiver, for that is what his name means. He was a liar from the beginning, and he is the father of lies. But these religious leaders of Israel had been duped by Satan into believing that Jesus was his agent.

Pilate went along with their requests and ordered that the tomb, which already had been closed by a heavy rock, be sealed and guarded by Roman soldiers. Leon Morris stated this:

The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel according to Matthew 3. The Burial, 27:57–66

They had the stone sealed and they had the guard, so from their point of view all was well. They had neatly defeated any attempt the disciples might make to empty the tomb and to start stories of a resurrection.

But in doing this they did more than they knew. They ensured that there could be no nonsense about disciples stealing the body when in due course Jesus did rise from the dead. The precautions of his enemies would underline the truth of his resurrection.

The Tomb is Empty

Look with me at .

Matthew’s inspired account provides us with several witnesses to the empty tomb.

Matthew 28:1–7 NASB95PARA

Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave. And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.”

The Angelic Witness

Notice the description of the angel in verses 2-3.

He was sent from God

He was powerful enough to move a mighty rock

His appearance was dazzling

The Witness of the Guards

They were scared beyond belief (or into belief?)

They were paralyzed with fear

The Witness of the Women

The prominence of women in the Gospel story

The devotion of the women to Christ

The instruction to the women

Let’s turn our attention now to

The Women’s Response to the Empty Tomb

Look with me at .

Matthew 28:8–10 NASB95PARA

And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

Notice the two terms that Matthew uses to describe what these faithful ladies were experiencing: fear and great joy. Why do you think these women were fearful? Sometimes the term fear is used in reference to awe and reverence, but I do not believe that is how Matthew is using it on this occasion. My reasoning for this conclusion is that Jesus told them to stop being fearful. Our Lord would never have told them to stop being awed by the wonder of His resurrection, and the victory which it brought for His followers. He would never have told them to stop reverencing Him. He readily accepted their worship. Therefore, I conclude that is a reference to true fear. So again, why were they afraid? Perhaps sheds some light on this subject.

Mark 16:8 NASB95PARA

They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

It would seem that their fear may be the same fear that we have when it comes to being witnesses of the empty tomb! These women were obviously joyful about the fact that “death could not hold Him prey!” But they were fearful of obeying the twice spoken command to tell what they had seen. Perhaps it was fear of rejection or scorn. The sad truth is that even among Christians some scorn or ridicule their fellow believers for their zeal and such. Even though we have the evidence that would put to silence the naysayers and conspiracy theorists, still we don’t speak. We go into what I call “circle the wagon mode” instead of delivering the life saving message of the gospel to those who need to hear it the most.

Let’s look at

The Guard’s Response to the Empty Tomb

Look with me at .

Notice that it was apparently only some of the guard who were bribed by the chief priests to spread a false rumor regarding the resurrection of Jesus. These men, both the guards and the priests, knew the truth of the matter but they conspired together to lie, in an effort to quash the cult of the Nazarene. It was truly a conspiracy in every sense of the word!

Matthew 28:11–15 NASB95PARA

Now while they were on their way, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all that had happened. And when they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, and said, “You are to say, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’ And if this should come to the governor’s ears, we will win him over and keep you out of trouble.” And they took the money and did as they had been instructed; and this story was widely spread among the Jews, and is to this day.

Why would they lie about this magnificent event? Humanly speaking, the priesthood was dominated by men who belonged the sect of the Sadducee’s. The Sadducees did not believe in the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. Thus, affirming the resurrection of Jesus would destroy their own doctrine. And the sad truth is that most people would rather ignore the facts so they can continue in the wrongful doctrine.

Of course in the spiritual realm, these same men who claimed that Jesus was empowered by Satan, were being led by Satan themselves. To deny the resurrection of Jesus is the doctrine of the devil!

Today, people try harder than ever to deny to true meaning of Easter. Which shouldn’t surprise us since they have sought to deny the existence of God, period. If there is no God, then there is no sin. If there is no sin, then there is no need for a Savior. If there is no need of a Savior, then you might as well keep the holiday and make it all about the Easter Bunny and chocolate!

But there is ample witness to verify the resurrection of our Lord from the dead. Their witness would be readily affirmed in a court case. And since Jesus did rise from the dead, we need to respond appropriately.

For the unbeliever to respond appropriately means that they have to acknowledge the existence of a God to whom they are accountable. They have to acknowledge that they have sinned and offended this Holy God to whom they are accountable. They have to acknowledge that though there is no way from them to fix the problem of their sin in and of themselves, God provided a way. He put forward His own Son to bear their sins on the cross, and absorb the wrath of God that was intended for them. Finally, they have to acknowledge their faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus. If and when they do so they will be marvelously saved. They will be transferred from the domain of Satan and into the kingdom of Christ.

For the believer, we need to understand that Jesus’ resurrection from the dead gives us the power to say no to sin! We need to live our lives in a manner that is worthy of being called by the name of Christ. And as these precious women were commanded, so we too are commanded to stop fearing, and go and tell the world about the salvation that can only come through a right relationship to Jesus Christ.

The mystery of the empty tomb is not a who-done-it?! Humanly speaking the mystery if bound in the conspiracy against our Lord, and against His Anointed. But for me the real mystery is why the Lord of all the earth would care to feel my hurts? Why He would willing choose to die to save a wretch like me?

Have you embraced the mystery of the empty tomb?

Let’s pray.

Closing Song:

Because He Lives

No. 358

In Christ alone who took on flesh, Fullness of God in helpless babe. This gift of love and righteousness, Scorned by the one He came to save. Till on that cross, as Jesus died, The wrath of God was satisfied; For ev’ry sin on Him was laid. Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay, Light of the world by darkness slain; Then bursting forth in glorious day Up from the grave He rose again. And as He stands in victory Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me, For I am His and He is mine — Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death, This is the pow’r of Christ in me; From life’s first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny. No pow’r of hell, no scheme of man, Can ever pluck me from His hand; Till He returns or calls me home, Here in the pow’r of Christ I stand.