"Because He's not there"-Resurrection Sunday message

Matthew 28:1-8

Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came 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 from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.

But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”

So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.

Using irony as an introduction, the two Mary’s had most likely went to the tomb to visit a dead messiah ,but instead received news of a risen Lord.

This is a prime example of how things often go with our godly interactions, not according to plan...but always according to His will.

Interesting note about our Lord’s resurrection, the angel only rolled the stone away to show that Jesus wasn’t in the tomb. He didn’t roll it away to let Jesus out, Jesus didn’t need help then and He doesn’t need it now.

If the messiah needed help He could have called for it during the accusations, He could have called for it before the flogging, and He most certainly could have dispatched them while on the cross..but He didn’t. Marvel God’s people, at the unequivocal love of the lamb!

An observation about the angel that rolled the stone away…

Matthew’s gospel reports that the angel rolled the stone away and sat on top of it giving a visualization a glorious posture at what had taken place. Can you imagine to radiance?

Oh how blessed was that angel to be given the duty of relaying that message to the two Mary’s!

Another thing to make note of is the magnificent awe and glory in which emanates from God’s angelic hosts. The splendor that they are full of from being in the presence of God.

Most, if not all, of the times that people in Scripture had encountered an angel they needed to be reminded to “fear not”.

This is quite fascinating when you consider that angels showed themselves primarily to those that actually believed in their existence.

Why were they so shocked? One would expect that a ‘believer’ wouldn’t be so rattled by such a thing…but indeed we should be.

1 John 3:2 puts things in perspective for us by stating.

Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

Out of all the powerful things that took place in this event I am sometimes stuck on just three words that the angel said to the women…. “…as He said”

This proves just how much we need to be reminded to truly trust & rely on what God has undoubtedly already told us.

We tend to become obsessed with receiving a ‘new word or fresh revelation’, or what ‘the spirit is saying now’ when more times than not Christ has already given us next steps.

The burning question to the believer is indeed this? What are you waiting for?

We see a pattern in the new testament and even in the old demonstrating the tendency we have as followers of God to turn away from, forget, and even doubt what God has spoken. We when read the word why don’t we see the correlation to our very own behaviors ? Why don’t we take notice to struggles of our founders of faith?

This is an undeniable fact, yet we continue to make attempts to go off of hunches, urges, or feelings that mascaraed themselves as being spirit-led decisions.

We also find ourselves over-spiritualizing issues that are many cases easily addressed by mere obedience and better effort.

Let’s go to the Garden of Gethsemane for more insight on this Turn to Matthew 26:40,41

“Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

There aren’t many occasions in scripture where we get a sense of anger and disappointment from Jesus but I have always viewed this interaction with the disciples as one of those moments.

I also love that there wasn’t any excuse recorded of the disciples response to Jesus’ rebuke. We can only imagine some things that possibly could have been said like “Lord, we’re tired, we’re hungry,” or the number one billboard christian excuse “the enemy doesn’t want me to (fill in the blank)”

Granted, the enemy is out to discredit and destroy the witness of the church, but he can’t single-handedly stop us from being accountable. That’s on us!

Stop giving the accuser so much power, he isn’t omni-anything! He’s a created being just like you!

We must routinely ask ourselves…

How do we regularly miss the instructional effort needed that Jesus exemplifies in the scriptures?

We tend to find ourselves confused by our own misinterpretations.

On the one hand we say, “well I’m human and he was Jesus so it is what it is” yet when it comes to personal gain and pursuits we quickly remind on-lookers that Jesus said “greater works shall you do”. Do you see the flaw in our function?

Why do we seemingly attempt to work our faith like it’s some kind of magic?

Speaking of magic, on Resurrection Sunday of all times, there is even a lesson to be learned in the world’s practice of it.

The success of the trick relies totally on the success of the diversion, remember that. Since we know that the enemy is also a trickster, manipulator, and a liar we would be wise to be privy to his techniques.

Stop thinking that he will tempt you with something that obviously bad. Here lies another danger to the body by entertaining things that attempt to stop what must take place.

The ugly, the hurtful, the hard, unpopular, the tougher, the rough…

The “get behind me satan” moment Jesus had with Peter is always a fan favorite but we tend to forget that it was solely about the fulfillment of God’s will. Not the purchase of products, not the job opportunity, not networking opportunity.

Just like getting out of a tomb, Jesus doesn’t need help on His end!

Yahsua Hamashiah was never on a mission to flex His divinity, he was however seeking to save that which was lost!

Getting back to the encounter at the tomb, I find it absolutely inspiring that the risen savior died, rose, and actually went right back to work!

Let me say that again in just case you your phone or computer froze.

After being resurrected He immediately went back to work…after literally dying!!!

Let that sink in saints!

When we think about being christ-like are we really leaning in on the things Jesus demonstrated? Or are we so entranced by the performing of miracles that we miss the work ethic. There are so many more things that he should us in the text. Let us run from the superficial, escape from the carnal that we may be used!

To be honest, we struggle with getting motivated to go back to our places of employment after hanging out on the weekend, let alone go back to work after a resurrection, Lord help us!

He easily could have just risen and went directly back to Heaven, yet He remained concerned about the mission and the marching orders that were given to His followers. Look at that example of leadership, also christ-like!

Not to mention being lied on by religious leaders…

Not to mention being viciously beaten two days prior to the tomb…

Not to mention being spat on mocked, and ridiculed on His way to Golgotha…

But yet we struggle with just having conversations with people about these events, not even having lived through them ourselves! How patient is our Father with such unappreciative children?

The question is do we grow antsy because He’s not there?

Let us turn to our bibles and reflect on a most fitting passage of scripture in light of the lamb (Pause for scripture finding)

Isaiah chapter 53:1-19

Who has believed our report?

And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,

And as a root out of dry ground.

He has no form or comeliness;

And when we see Him,

There is no beauty that we should desire Him.

He is despised and rejected by men,

A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;

He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

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.

He was oppressed and He was afflicted,

Yet He opened not His mouth;

He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,

And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,

So He opened not His mouth.

He was taken from prison and from judgment,

And who will declare His generation?

For He was cut off from the land of the living;

For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.

And they made His grave with the wicked—

But with the rich at His death,

Because He had done no violence,

Nor was any deceit in His mouth.

Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him;

He has put Him to grief.

When You make His soul an offering for sin,

He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,

And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.

He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.

By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,

For He shall bear their iniquities.

Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,

And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,

Because He poured out His soul unto death,

And He was numbered with the transgressors,

And He bore the sin of many,

And made intercession for the transgressors.

Fast forward to ministry of today’s world…at times we are confronted with the responses of the lost saying…

Yeah, I hear you christian

Speaking your words meant for encouragement, inviting us to gatherings, reciting phrases from the book you say that you love so much

Don’t waste your time with that savior sales pitch...because He’s not there.

Besides, if He is then why won’t he just show Himself to us....

Because He’s not there!

Many times we demonize those that respond to the invitation in this way,

but is not the apprehension warranted since from that vantage point He indeed is a distant stranger?

Listen saints of God, you don’t know whom you don’t know…

God made an interesting statement about vision and visibility in 2 Cor. 4:3,4 through the words of Paul…

“But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.

So why the surprise face when we are given such responses?

Why are we so torn up, appalled, and bent out of shape by the rejection?

Knowing full well that we too once looked through that very same scope or lens of life.

Why isn’t the response actually relatable to us?

The natural mind, in and off itself wants no parts of this because as far as it is concerned…He’s not there anyway!

To get the full context of what we know about that aforementioned inherited blindness lets read the beginning of God’s expression through the Apostle in 2 Cor. 4:1-3...

(Pause for scripture finding)

“Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.”

Because He’s not “there” we oftentimes forget that we are actually already in possession of the necessary tools for a divine matchmaking, per His heavenly request. Even non-religious science types and other thought leaders of the world know that opposites do indeed attract. And so it is with God’s love and desire to be reconciled, Him being holy and us being innately unholy a pulling towards or drawing occurs.

This ultra-magnetic beckoning is truly undeniable, even when man makes futile attempts to resist.

In the passage we read….

“This ministry”: which is our blessed responsibility meaning the response and the ability! Not to be confused with a burden, or a task, or routinely checking off some churchy chores!

“As we have received mercy”! - That is to say ‘Have you will fully grasped, wrapped your mind around, come to terms with, the most needed item that is stored in the manifold blessings of salvation? Living your life void of extending mercy to others after receiving it directly from God is utter ridiculousness and completely ungodly.

And of course, there’s the skeptic that so eagerly tries to remind us… “I’m telling you He’s not there Mr/Mrs believer, but you attempt to convince us that if we have this blind faith, some hope, a little trust and belief this will somehow all make sense one day?…We need help now! I hate to be the bearer of bad news to your “good news”but hey….He’s not there.

Besides, if He’s there as you claim then why is there so much hurt, harm, and danger out here? Does He not care to stop some of this?”

Along with those statements of doubt we also get called, or accused of the following…

Believing in the ‘Sweet bye and bye’ or ‘Pie in the Sky, trusting in antiquated religion, having spooky beliefs, relying on the white-mans religion, stories stolen from other religions, and so this list goes on……

All of which are totally false or unsubstantiated claims but absolutely true to those govern themselves by the very nature that Jesus died on behalf of!

To the defector of the faith making the proclamation that you walked away “because He’s not there”

Listen, for the omnipresent God, it actually is impossible for Him to be ‘there’ without being literally everywhere. Many people educate themselves on all of his creation yet attempt to deny Him ownership.

Your problems, your situations, your dealings are all connected to other things which makes it literally impossible for Him to not be aware of them.

So I ask, exactly how small do you perceive Him to be? Scripture states the contrary “to whom has the arm of the Lord waxed short?”

How limiting is your assessment of The One Who created all things?

Meanwhile back at the tomb…

As we reflect on the resurrection of our Lord, I can’t help but see the joy on the two Mary’s face when they realized what the empty tomb meant….because He’s not there!

Just as our sisters of the faith ran to tell the others let us also run and rejoice with gladness Because He’s not there!!!

That unprocessed trauma in your life doesn’t determine your path or your progress. Nor does it in any way define who He called you to be.

Because He’s not there…

That burden of bitterness cannot root itself in the fertile soil of your heart and prevent you from finding forgiveness.

Because He’s not there…

That feeling of worthlessness will be replaced by His divine appraisal of who you really are. Priceless in His sight willing that none perish!

Because He’s not there…

That struggle with sexual sin doesn’t seem to be so unbeatable after all.

Because He’s not there…

That inner hurt is stinging less and less each day.

Because He’s not there…

Those better decisions aren’t so hard to make as they once were.

Because He’s not there…

You have more than another chance, you now have an advocate making intercession on your behalf.

Because He’s not there…

That addiction that has totally convinced you that it’s not an addiction has been exposed for the lie that it is.

Because He’s not there…

I can be more social with my God than media.

Because He’s not there… I can die to myself, rise, and get to work for the Kingdom of God!!