The Purpose of the Story: Resurrection Day

Call to Worship

Song: Christ the Lord is Risen Today( He is not Dead)

Announcements

Focus on the Cross & Death

Song: How Deep the Father’s Love for Us

Song: When I surveyed the Wondrous Cross

Meditation

This morning’s celebration we are going through three stages as we reflect upon the Easter Story.

We are in the reflection of The Cross and the Death our second will be on the tomb, and we will end with the greatest story, true story of Christ rising and defeating death.

But first, I want to walk you through and focus on the Cross and His Death

The Crowds

On Friday we had the opportunity as believers in Merritt to come and focus on the willingness of the suffering servant to come to the cross.

As we begin our first of three meditation, it is amazing to see the response of the crowd. That very crowd that a week earlier where shouting Hosanna, were now rallying to have him crucified. Let’s look at the Word

Matthew 27:21–23 ESV

21 The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” 22 Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!” 23 And he said, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”

They shouted all the more. The very people who were praising God had no turned their praises to curses.

The followers of Christ

What happened to the followers of Christ? They had scattered when he was arrested, Peter had denied Christ and had gone away in the most agonizing shame. Knowing that he too had deserted His master.

Matthew tells us

Matthew 27:55–56 ESV

55 There were also many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, 56 among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

The disciples had fled but standing in the distance were the women who were active in the life of Christ. Mary, that same Mary who would have anointed Jesus was able to be near the event.

Jesus’ mother stood by her son.

As God stood by and watched in agony of his only son being crucified for us, Mary, the mother of Jesus has to watch as well.

Mary, the young girl who was approached by an angel to do the impossible. To be the mother of the messiah. Every Jewish girl’s dream was being fulfilled, yet now at the foot of the cross she watched in sorrow as her gift from God was being crucified for her sins. For our sins.

She must have reflected on the many times he was growing up, the time he was at the temple and she knew then that he was destined for something she couldn’t bear.

She was there when he cried out,

Matthew 27:46 ESV

46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

The very words taken from the Ps 22. She would know those scriptures. Written by King David as he was fleeing for his life. Written during a low time in the King’s life as he awaited his crowing moment as Saul was hunting him down to kill him. David’s cry to God was out of desperation. Hoping that his prayers would reach the father’s ear and rescue him. David’s trust was in the father and he rested in that assurance.

Christ uttered those words knowing that God was in control. Knowing that this act must continue for the redemption of the world was at work that First Easter weekend.

An author I know penned these words on reflections of the silence over the first Easter weekend.

We, ourselves, go through our suffering much like Mary did as pictured here.

Trials enter our life and we wrestle with God over His promises.

We beseech the throne of heaven.

We grapple with our finite knowledge against an infinite God with divine wisdom. It is not that we do not believe the promises of God, but we do not see them fulfilled in the way that we expect. Sometimes we begin to doubt our understanding of God’s word and His promises. The voice that we thought was God’s leading seems to have disappeared and in its place, there is doubt.

We ask God why He has forsaken us, if He has forgotten

His covenant-keeping character.

In fact, nothing seems to make any sense at all. Maybe it seems like our very faith has been shaken to the core. There are times when we may feel overwhelmed and even defeated.

The burial of Christ was a silent time. God did not speak for three days. God, for the moment may appear to be silent. But just because He does not speak, does not mean that He is not there.

He was there in silence…waiting for the right time to fully reveal His plan.

During our difficult hour, silence is what seems to accompany us. He may appear to be distant, standing back as an uninterested party.

But the duration in the tomb resulted in the power of the resurrection. The time of silence ended with the glory of God being revealed in the resurrected body of Christ.

It is only in the darkness that the Light can truly shine. God does not turn away from our questions and fears; He remains there the entire time allowing us to experience the burial of these fears.

We must not forget the burial during this Easter season. We know that we must appreciate the suffering of Christ so as to realize the magnitude of His death in our stead.

The resurrection is the basis of the power that we Christians have to live the abundant life that Christ talked about during His time on earth.

But we miss the burial. It is unless we bury our doubts, our fears, and ourselves that God can truly work in our hearts and empower us.

God is waiting there in the silence. He has His hand upon yours, waiting.

Take hold of that silence and rest in it. He is not waiting because He is hesitant, or fearful, or cruel. He is waiting because He knows the best time to release you into the power of His resurrection. Mourning has turned to joy!

I wanted today to take a few moments and reflect on the cross and his death.

It is Easter and without those reflections, we cannot see the true picture of the resurrection.

Mourning has turned into Joy,

This morning we call all say

Christ has risen, He has risen indeed.

Pastor Josh

Children’s Moment

Focus on the Tomb

Song: Alas and Did my Saviour Bleed

Song: You are my All and All

Meditation

To begin our meditation of the Tomb, I would like to read a poem reflecting on the tomb and its meaning.

Out of the Grey

Grey.

After the funeral and before our lives go on.

Before the awful realization settles like dust on our shoulders…

That we will forget his face.. his smile.. the way he made us laugh..

His puzzling words…this…King…disguise.

Grey

All cried out. Not energy left, even to mourn.

But none either for moving on with life.. now however small.

So the women decide to do…something…

Anything to keep from sitting in that dark house.

Early, in the space between darkness and day,

They bring spices, the women, to the graveyard.

Spices. Tokens of devotion.

Some…small gauntlet thrown down toward the stench of death.

But there, by the grave, lit by morning’s first rays.

Or by what? Some great thought of God?

There, either lit, or themselves in light,

Stand two messengers.

Out of the grey,

Their message: Graveyards are for Deadmen.

And he is not dead.

You will find him elsewhere, very much alive.

And all returned to them then

His Face, his Laugh, his voice.

He himself. Alive!

This King, disguised no more. Jesus.

The Guards

As we continue on the reflection of the tomb, we realize that Christ has now died. He has been placed in a tomb. The followers of Christ have scattered as He himself has predicted. They are reflecting on the past few years and now the days seem to be travelling at a record slow pace. What shall we do next? We thought we were following a messiah that would triumph over our enemies. He would deliver us from the bondage of the Romans and once again restore us.

The tomb is a place of sadness. It’s a place of finality. The story appears by all purposes to be over. But wait, something might happen. Christ’s message these past few years begins to sink in.

His words, we see, are starting to make their way back into the minds of the people. Do you remember who first realized that Christ was going to rise from the Dead? Let’s look at Matthews account to see who was first listed.

Matthew 27:62–66 ESV

62 The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate 63 and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ 64 Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” 65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.

It was the religious leaders of the time, the very ones who plotted and by their own understanding had succeeded on destroying this movement.

The had the messiah crucified. He was now dead, but wait, his influence was great.

He had thousands of people lining the streets shouting hosanna. Their passion and zeal may arise again. We need to do something about this. We need to get ahead of the potential plot.

Remember his words, they remembered. They remembered because it was so offensive to them when Christ stated it. He would rise again. Death could not hold him. Three days and he would be back.

They must do something and so they did. Think about this for a moment.

The Chief priest and pharisees once again used the Roman system to do their dirty work. They used the oppressors of their time to kill Jesus and now they were asking them to guard the tomb.

Seal the tomb, and post a roman guard. A guard, militarily trained to stand watch and make sure what was predicted couldn’t be done. The tomb was now sealed and guarded.

The Women

The second focus on the tomb will be that of the women. They felt compelled to go to the grave after the allotted “3 day period”. You see the Jewish belief and custom about death was nested around three days. Although they knew the body had died, their was a belief that it took three days for the spirit to leave. That first Sunday morning gave them adequate time to prove that Christ had truly died. He wasn’t faking death, he wasn’t asleep, he had died.

With the women heading to the tomb, their intention was to see Christ’s body lying in the tomb.

To our surprise, the followers of Christ, the women that were his faithful followers hadn’t truly believed that He was going to rise.

They were coming to a grave to adorn their master with burial spices and perfume. They didn’t understand his words. They were not real to them.

We can only image the surprise they were arrived at the tomb to find an empty tomb. The questions that were running through their mind would be from, “what is happening” to “What now?” We look back at this story know the outcome, yet image their thoughts that first moment they saw the empty grave.

Did they immediately understand they are now serving a risen Christ. That the many words that were mentioned by Christ leading up to the moment are now true? If they fully understood the unfolding events, why then did the Angel need to be there to explain the resurrection?

Luke 24:4–8 ESV

4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. 5 And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” 8 And they remembered his words,

At that moment they had the Ahh moment. Their faces turned from fear to excitement.

Christ has risen he has risen indeed!

Worship team, come.

You see Life was about to change that very first Resurrection Sunday for the women. Life changed that resurrection Sunday for us.

As we begin to celebrate the resurrection. Let’s stand and sing a couple of songs that will draw us to the cross. The time in history that changed our relationship with our Father.

Focus on the Resurrection

Song: The Wonder of the Cross

Song: My Jesus I love thee

Final Meditation

The guards

I would like to begin this reflection on the resurrection by looking at the guards. Think about that for a moment. They were the first to see the Risen Christ exit the grave. Matthew gives a picture and overview of their account.

Matthew 27:65–66 ESV

65 Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.

Matthew 28:2–4 ESV

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.

The guards were the first people to see the risen Christ.

An earthquake, an Angel, and the body that they were guarding now walking out of the tomb. It’s no surprise they stood like dead men. I wonder what was going through their mind. Did the risen Lord walk right by them as they stood in utter fear for their lives? The passage then goes on to describe that the guards, just some of them, went to the high priest and shared their story.

They weren’t there to share the good news, rather to say, we need to cover our jobs, help us. They weren’t shouting, He is risen, they were in fear for their lives. How sad it is that they were the first witness this miraculous event, only to turn away from the wonderful news. The complete opposite from the first women at the tomb.

The disciples

Next, the disciples. Did the disciples believe the moment they first heard the good news? Can you image the women running up to them and proclaiming, Christ is risen… their response wasn’t he has risen indeed. No, their first response was…I got to check this out for myself.. I am going to run to the grave and see for myself. Doubt at first, but then belief.

When they arrived at the grave the tomb was empty. It wasn’t until later that Jesus appeared to them.

Let me read for you a scene.

Luke 24:36–39 ESV

36 As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” 37 But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. 38 And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”

Luke 24:45–49 ESV

45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

Stay in the city, what? The most exciting news in their life had just happened and they have to stay and what for something better. Life had changed for them. From that moment on, their attitude changed, their hearts changed. They went from doubt to belief. An unchangeable and unmovable belief in a risen lord. They had reason to celebrate, If they had been singing the hymnals we sing, they would have gone from Alas and did my saviour bleed, to Christ the Lord has risen today?

That is why we began the service with that song. Today is the day that we come and celebrate with excitement that we serve a risen saviour. This excitement is not just for today but every day. You see we come every Sunday knowing that we serve a risen saviour.

Our Response

As the worship team returns to the stage and prepares to lead us with the songs of response, I want us to read together this responsive reading.

Responsive Reading

Pastor:

Lord Jesus, we have not, like the women in the graveyard, seen you with our own eyes.

People:

But with eyes of faith we believe that you have risen from the Dead.

Pastor:

And, Lord Jesus , a heart that has truly seen you cannot refrain from praise.

People:

Receive now the words of our confidence in you, our words of praise.

Pastor:

We believe that you are the Son of the Living God.

People:

We believe that you are the lamb, who was slain for our sin.

Pastor:

We believe that all blessing and glory and honor and power belong to you.

People:

We believe, Lord Jesus, that you have overcome death itself and that you reign in glory a the right hand of the Father.

Pastor:

Your Kingdom is within us, and among us, and it will have no end.

People: The Lord is risen!

Pastor:

Christ is Risen!

People:

He is Risen indeed!

Worship team come forward.

We are ending this service, a service of celebration about the risen Lord.

On Friday, we left out some of the verses of this song, but today, we will triumphantly sing all these verse,

Stand with us as we Sing

Song: Living Hope