Sunrise Service

Matthew 28 ESV

1 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.” 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. 16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 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, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

The glory of God is so great that even the angels that he has created and have been in his presence are able to make the earth quake. This angel comes and rolls back the stone and just the residual glory of being in God’s presence gives these angels the appearance of lightning and this pure white look. When Moses was in the presence of the LORD and he came down from the mountain his face was so bright that he had to veil his face because it was hurting the eyes of those around him. Being in the presence of God is something that is so spectacular that the Bible tells us you never forget it. This angel, this messenger of God comes and these men fall as if they were dead. To the women he says do not be afraid. That’s an empty statement; He has just caused an earthquake, his appearance is this shining brightness, and he has just caused these guards to fall as if they were dead, and he says to the women do no be afraid.

Not only are these women caught up in the frenzy of this glorious moment, the greatest thing they would witness is seeing the empty tomb. The tomb is empty because Jesus did everything that he said he was going to do. The most glorious thing these women witnessed was not the angel but the risen savior. They departed with fear and great joy. Why fear? As we have seen with the guards coming into the presence of even an angel is so grand that it strikes fear. The angels often appear with the statement do not fear; or even if we look at those who came into the presence of God. Every one of them was filled with such great fear that even death was too easy. They felt undone, they felt as if they were being ripped apart. So here are these women who have been in the presence of this angel and are filled with both fear and joy and they are running to meet Jesus.

These women and the disciples they told are at the feet of Jesus and we see one of the greatest pictures of what it means to love Christ and follow him; to throw yourself at the feet of Christ and cry out for what a wonderful savior he is and plead nothing but his own righteousness and worship him. Then he tells them the same thing, “Do not be afraid.” This terrifying encounter of the risen God. This moment of reverence and awe the most natural thing is fear. Imagine the glory of the angel and now imagine the glory of the risen savior who has just taken away the sins of the world. The risen savior who has undone the works of Satan, destroyed death, canceled sin, and reconciled us to God; the most natural thing is to be afraid. This glory far outweighs that of any angel. There is only one logical response for fallen men ensnared in sinful flesh to do when they encounter something so glorious; be afraid. And he says to them, “Do not be afraid.”

Even after all this Jesus tells them the greatest news, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. God in the flesh, the risen savior has control over everything and he tell us to go. Go baptizing, teaching, and instructing others to keep his commands. In some movies they kind of romanticize this and make it seem as if Jesus is slowly ascending into heaven as he is giving this command. I would like to think that these disciples who are still in the presence of God are still filled with this holy fear. When Jesus gives them this command its not like they are doing it because they are afraid of what would happen if they don’t, but they are compelled by this amazing love to go and do everything that Christ has commanded. Still, he gives another great promise, “I will be with you to the very end”.