Easter Equals Evangelism and Discipleship

Imagine if you will, that you have just buried one of your dearest friends. The person buried was probably the most enjoyable person with whom you ever spent time. Plus, this person died at such a young age. You felt there was so much more ahead in this individual’s life. Sadly, it was not to be.

Now you go to pay your respects and reflect for awhile what has taken place. The thoughts go racing through your mind from every direction, covering every topic. You just can’t seem to even pray any more. You feel completely numb from all that has recently took place. You’re practically just going through the motions on autopilot.

This was probably what many of the followers of Jesus Christ were experiencing many years ago. This was especially true for those who were the closest to Jesus. It causes us to wonder what that first Easter morning might have been like. After all, anyone who had a pulse knew how Jesus had made such a difference in so many lives. Maybe they even wondered if they would be able to keep serving the Lord with Jesus gone. Some may have even questioned if they even wanted to do so.

Church, I submit to you:

Easter morning should motivate the Christian to a lifestyle of evangelism and discipleship.

An Attitude of Immediate Obedience - 28.1-10

Matthew 28:1–10 (NASB95)

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.” 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.”

Two of the ladies, who were both named Mary, went to the tomb. When they arrived, they were amazed by what they saw. Now I have to remind us that whenever God has a spectacular announcement to make, there’s usually an angel there to deliver it. We can also gather that the guards who were on duty probably fainted dead away, seeing that they had seen and experienced more than they had bargained for in their soldier duties. We can almost imagine their nervous breakdown at that point, shutting down their bodies for a faint nap.

Then we see the angel give the classic angel greeting: Do not be afraid. But he doesn’t stop, but states the reason. He reminds them that Jesus, being God, has kept His Word. In other words, Jesus said He would rise from the dead and that is exactly what has taken place. Need proof? There is no longer any physical body in the tomb. He even invites the women into the tomb to check out what he said.

But the angel doesn’t stop with the report to them. He provides that sense of urgency that these ladies needed: Go quickly. Why? It would make sense that the disciples needed to hear this news as soon as possible. But what to say? He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him.

What a message of hope for these women to be carrying. They obeyed immediately. I love the phrase in verse 8 that describes their emotional state: they had fear and great joy. That pretty well describes my emotions every time I share the Gospel story.

Yet that’s not the end of the story for these women. Before they got to the disciples, they were met by Jesus. And we see that they worshiped Him. Then Jesus also encourages them to keep on going with their assignment to tell the disciples to go to Galilee.

We do indeed serve a risen Savior, so we don’t have to be afraid. My friends, it is good to spend time worshiping our Lord. But while doing so, we need to be up and about the task which we have been assigned, which is to proclaim Jesus to the world. Many believers find themselves rejoicing over our risen Savior, yet are quite comfortable just relaxing in the comfort and knowledge of their own salvation. Many of us need to be prodded to obey and go tell others about our risen Savior. After all, we have all the evidence we need in the Bible, so let’s go quickly.

Now I’m not sure I agree with the philosophy that we have to wait until we have earned the right to be heard. After all, these were women whom the angel told to go and tell. They were culturally not well received as to sharing spiritual matters. In fact, the culture strongly suggested that women were not to be trusted. They weren’t the religious leaders, nor were they even the male disciples. Yet, they immediately obeyed; that’s impressive. And they went, even though they were scared.

Another thing which I find noteworthy is that these women when face-to-face with the risen Christ, stopped and took time to worship Him. However, they didn’t spend the rest of their lives bowed down and worshipping Christ. When He said to get up and go on with their mission, they did just that. Worship can be a time of stillness and adoration. Worship can also be done in the midst of actively serving.

An Attitude of Deceitfulness - 28.11-15

Matthew 28:11–15 (NASB95)

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.

While the women were obediently on their way to the disciples, the guards knew they had to face the music; most likely a dirge was playing in their minds. They knew their necks were literally on the line as they went back and reported to the chief priests. It should be puzzling to us as to why these soldiers went to the priests instead of to their commanders, as they should have done. It is most likely because they knew that there was corruption with the religious leaders.

The dishonesty continued as the religious leaders got together and cooked up a scheme to attempt to cover up the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Those corrupt priests actually bribed the soldiers with a large sum of money and gave them instructions to lie. Now that certainly doesn’t sound like anything a true servant of the Lord would do. The lie was that the soldiers were to confess to falling asleep and allowing the disciples to kidnap the body of Jesus. If the governor would not believe the story, the religious leaders guaranteed that they themselves would defend the soldiers and appease the governor.

Wait! Let’s think about that. If those soldiers weren’t the temple police, which seems unlikely if they had to report to the governor, then they are, in fact, trained Roman soldiers. As such, they knew that if they fell asleep on their watch, they would most likely be executed. Plus, the world is supposed to believe that the disciples, who were just common men, had the stealth and skills of espionage officials and could outmaneuver those soldiers. Seriously??? Remember that those disciples are the same ones who had turned tail and ran when the soldiers arrested Jesus. Does anyone believe that they’re now able to confront those soldiers? What strength was there to quietly move a stone away from the mouth of the cave? And how did they sneak in and remove Jesus’ body, leaving behind a neat and orderly burial cloth?

I’m with you; it makes no sense. In fact, none of Satan’s lies ever make any sense. Unfortunately, people are gullible and will choose to believe his lies. In fact, when Matthew wrote this, the Jewish people actually believed this story to be true. We might wonder how that would be possible. Sadly, the Jewish people believed whatever their religious leaders said. Yet, all they had to do was to look at the Scriptures. Then, simply look at the lifestyles of the religious leaders. Just knowing how the religious leaders made rules for the people to follow, yet did not follow those same rules for themselves should have given them a clue.

My friends, it is the same today. People are quite willing to believe a lie. They are not willing to believe the miraculous, even when the miraculous makes more sense. Even those we might consider to be loyal and upright can sometimes be bought if the price is right.

An Attitude of Outreach - 28.16-20

Matthew 28:16–20 (NASB95)

But the eleven disciples proceeded to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

This last section of today’s passage is what I consider the heartbeat of the call upon the Christian’s life. We see here, the remaining eleven disciples going to where Jesus had instructed them to go. They didn’t just hang around moping and suggesting this to be impossible. Dismissing this resurrection idea as a cockeyed optimism would have been perfectly normal. Listening to the women, then doing what they said, was not normal. Nevertheless, they went in obedience.

And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him. Yes, some still had their doubts, but the other gospels make it clear that eventually all of them believed.

Then we hear Jesus’ famous words. He reminds them that He has all authority in heaven and on earth. Because His crucifixion met God’s stringent requirements, God had resurrected Him from the dead. The Father was pleased and satisfied with the payment which Christ had made for sin. Now Jesus lets them know that God had given Him complete authority.

Then Jesus gives a very simple, yet difficult commandment: go and make disciples of all nations. GO! You and I cannot stay in our comfort zones any longer. We cannot expect the unsaved to come to us. The Bible tells us to Go! Go and win people to Jesus Christ. Go and share the message that Jesus died for sinners. Go and let people know that Jesus will make a brand-new person of them if they will confess their sins and accept Him as their Savior.

Then follow up and help them in their walk of obedience. Help them to make a public profession of their faith by baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Follow up and help them to grow and to mature and to become more like Christ each day. . . . teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

Plus, realize that none of this is done by ourselves or in our own power. Christ has promised to be with you always, to the very end of the age.

This is some very powerful, heady stuff Jesus is saying. But it’s more than just good ammunition for Scripture memorization. It is more than just good theology. This is a requirement that Jesus makes of all Christians. We are to GO!

Now I realize that there are some who believe that the pastor should preach the salvation message every Sunday. Actually, this is not what the Bible requires, nor is it what the Bible calls a pastor to do. The Bible very clearly tells every Christian to go. The New Testament is clear that the gathered church is the gathering of Christians. Now, we recognize that not everyone who gathers in a church is a true believer. So, if we are aware of this fact, then what are we doing to make disciples of them?

You see, Jesus provided all the power and authority that each of us needs to GO and make disciples. Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, will enable each of us to instruct people to follow Christ in obedience. Jesus has promised that His presence will be with us always.

Conclusion

Rather than looking for someone else to do what Christ has called us to do, let’s personally and immediately obey just as the women who first went to the tomb.

Rather than follow the example of the soldiers and chief priests of that day, we must take a stand and refuse to compromise under the guise of a false peace based on untruths.

Rather than hoping and praying that individuals with come to our church to get saved, we need to be obedient and go out and win the lost. At the very least, go out and invite others to come to church, where they can experience what it means to be saved and to hear God’s Word in music, the message and from Christians like you and me. And when a person does get saved, they need to come to the church and grow and mature and learn how to be obedient to the commands of our Lord.

Easter morning should motivate the Christian to a lifestyle of evangelism and discipleship.