Matthew 28:1-10 - He is Risen!

Let's turn to the Gospel of Matthew, first book of the Christian New Testament.

We're working through this book and we're in the final chapter of Matthew today.

Matthew chapter 28.

Matthew 28 · chapter mention

If you are using the Pew Bible, you'll find that on page 885.

Matthew 28.

Our passage this morning covers the first ten verses of this chapter.

So I'm going to read it for us, Matthew chapter 28, verses 1 through 10.

Matthew 28:1–10

This is God's word.

After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to view the tomb.

There was a violent earthquake, because an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and approached the tomb.

He rolled back the stone and was sitting on it.

His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow.

The guards were so shaken by fear of him that they became like dead men.

The angel told the women, Don't be afraid, because I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified.

He is not here, for he has risen, just as he said, Come and see the place where he lay.

Then go quickly and tell his disciples he has risen from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee.

You will see him there.

Listen, I have told you.

So departing quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, they ran to tell his disciples the news.

Just then Jesus met them and said, Greetings.

They came up, took hold of his feet, and worshipped him.

Then Jesus told them, Do not be afraid.

Go and tell my brothers to leave for Galilee, and they will see me there.

Let's look briefly again to the Lord.

Father, we come to you acknowledging that this is this is your word, it's a living word.

We thank you today that we can speak to one another through psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.

We can sing our praises to you, and yet we also acknowledge that you are the God who speaks to us.

And so please be gracious to us to speak through your word this morning as we listen.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

Despite accepting the biblical accounts of Jesus' resurrection, many Americans see little connection with their daily lives.

That's the kind of provocative opening sentence of an article that was published in 2023 based on a survey by Lifeway, sponsored by Legioner Ministry.

So they ask a lot of questions.

And one of the things that they discovered in this particular survey, and they asked 3,000 people, so this is not a small survey, even Gallup surveys usually survey less people than that.

But according to that survey of Americans that they put out, two-thirds of US adults say that the biblical accounts of the resurrection of Jesus are accurate and true.

Two-thirds.

But 60% of people also say that religious belief is a matter of personal opinion, not objective truth.

So it's kind of hard to like fit that together.

And there's a growing number of people that say God is really unconcerned with our day-to-day decisions and lives.

So one author, kind of trying to look at that data and summarize it, said this that that survey exposes the danger of cultural Christianity, the vague ascent to Christian beliefs, without any evidence of real faith in Christ.

Today we're going to see that the resurrection has dramatic implications for the world and for our lives.

The resurrection is life-changing.

I'm not going to spend time today arguing for the resurrection.

There are great books on that.

Bonner mentioned one last week, Case for Christ.

But Matthew doesn't really do that here in our passage.

He just announces the resurrection.

He is risen.

That's the title this morning.

He is risen.

But especially for those of us who would say, yes, I believe in the resurrection, but then are we understanding the significance of it?

And what I want to do this morning is bring to you five things that the resurrection brings.

So take us through this text with five things that the resurrection brings.

First, the resurrection of Jesus brings an inaugurated creation.

Now that's kind of a big word.

What do I mean by that?

Well, something's inaugurated, it's begun, it's started, the celebration is here, but it's not yet fully complete.

And Jesus, in his rising from the grave, he inaugurates a creation, a new creation.

Now we haven't seen the final creation yet.

That's coming when he returns again, but it really has begun.

Why do I say that?

Look at verse number one.

After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary went to view the tomb.

All right, Jesus rose on Sunday.

What does that to do with his creation?

Well, the text mentions Sabbath.

It's actually used two different times in the original language here, this concept of a Sabbath.

And that concept first presents itself back in the pages of Genesis when God created the world in six days, and then he rested on the seventh day.

So we've got this original account of creation followed by a Sabbath.

And we still have that pattern today of six days and then a seventh day, seven-day weeks.

He made that pattern more explicit with the Jews under the old covenant, work six days and then rest on the seventh day.

So the text tells us Jesus is resurrected after the Sabbath.

So a whole week has transpired.

The Sabbath was the sixth day of the week.

Whole week has transpired.

It's the seventh day of the week, excuse me.

Whole week has transpired.

And now it's the start of a new week.

It's the eighth day of the old week.

It's the first day of the new week, but it's after this whole week has passed and the Sabbath has come.

So it's the eighth day.

Now, why do I say that?

Well, there's some significant events that happen in the Bible on the eighth day.

Leviticus 23, 36.

Excuse me.

On the eighth day, you were to hold a sacred assembly before the Lord.

Nehemiah 8:18.

Nehemiah 8:18

Ezra read out of the book of the law of God every day, from the first day to the last, the Israelites celebrated the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly according to the ordinance.

So there's a pattern of having these assemblies of renewed worship on the eighth day.

Children were circumcised on the eighth day.

A new week, a new life, a new beginning, a new covenant relationship.

Jesus himself was circumcised on the eighth day.

So Jesus could have been raised on the second day or the fifth day, but he's raised on the first day of the week, which is the dawn of a new week and a new creation in God's plan.

Revelation 1 tells us that Jesus is the faithful and true witness.

And then in Revelation 3:14, there's a message for the church in Laodicea.

Revelation 3:14

This is what the Amen says, the faithful and true witness describing Jesus.

And then it calls him the beginning of God's creation.

Kind of a strange thing to say about Jesus.

He was not created in time right before Adam and Eve or right after Adam and Eve.

He existed eternally as the Son of God from eternity past.

But he is the firstborn and faithful witness from the dead, who's the beginning of God's new creation work.

That's why Paul can say, if anyone is in Christ, he is new creation.

The old is passed away, the new has come.

I am tired of sin in my heart.

But the new creation is here.

We're still wrestling with effects of the old creation, but the new creation has dawned in Jesus Christ.

So take comfort today that the buds are already in bloom.

If you belong to Christ, you too are part of the new creation.

The resurrection brings an inaugurated creation.

Second, the resurrection of Jesus brings a powerful king.

One of the characters we find in this passage is an angel.

You find the angel first in verse number two.

There was a violent earthquake because an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and approached the tomb.

He rolled back the stone and was sitting on it.

There was a violent earthquake because an angel came.

Most people estimate that the stones that were covering these kind of tombs would have weighed at least one ton.

The book of Mark calls this stone very large.

And the angel just casually rolls it back and sits on it.

Angels are divine warriors.

They're sent out in behalf of their king.

They're not chubby, they don't wear diapers in the Bible, they are divine warriors.

The Lord has his army of angels and he rules.

And the angel is here to show these Roman soldiers, to show the Roman soldiers, there's a new sheriff in town, and his name is Jesus Christ.

In verse 4, the guards are so shaken with fear, they become like dead men.

Do you hear the irony?

Jesus is supposed to be the dead man that they're watching over.

But now these these strong guards who are obviously trained not to cower in fear, they're so fearful that they become as the dead ones.

They're overwhelmed at the sight of the king's messenger and the sight of his great might.

Last week, Banu mentioned a defeated power.

Look back up to chapter 27 for a moment.

Verse 65, just to bring us back in with what we were looking at just last week, you have a guard of soldiers, Pilate told them.

Go and make it, that is the tomb, as secure as you know how.

They went and secured the tomb by setting a seal on the stone and placing the guards.

Now, I think professional soldiers at risk of their own lives would well know how to make a tomb secure.

The issue was not that they were somehow overwhelmed by a ragtag band of disillusioned fishermen, as that that were even possible.

No, it didn't take the disciples, it just took one angel to release the stone.

It says the tomb was sealed.

We hear that, and we sometimes think that, okay, there's like this small stone, and they have some kind of like super glue they put around it to make sure like you just can't get into it, and maybe to keep the smell inside.

That's not really what's going on here.

There would have been most likely some kind of impressionable clay that would have had the imprint of the Roman imperial guard.

It was a government sort of stamp.

It might have even been kind of hanging from the tomb on a rope, but it was a seal to say, hey, this stone, this tomb is in charge of the Roman government.

And if you mess with this stone, you're messing with the Roman government.

And the angel messes with it.

He uses it for his own personal barka lounger.

He has no problem opening that stone right up.

Christ is the risen king.

There's no power in heaven or in earth, no military might, no government or leader or political party that can unseat him from his throne.

This is just one of his messengers.

That's how powerful he is as the king.

If we truly believe that the angel is not caring about some earthly verdict or what the soldiers might do, the angel is coming with a heavenly verdict.

Christ the King is risen.

If we really believe that, how could it not affect our lives?

How could we not be struck by recognizing that it's the edicts of King Jesus that matter most in the world?

It's not the edicts of this leader or that party.

It's what our Lord says that counts most.

And that does mean if you're not this morning submitting to King Jesus, that you're in big trouble.

You can pride yourself that, well, I'm I'm a righteous citizen.

I've never even been to jail.

I'm I'm good in the eyes of the government.

But what about in the eyes of the one who has flaming fire and knows the secret thoughts of our hearts?

We must submit to him.

And then the other side of that is if we're if we're submitted to Jesus, if we've turned from our own sins, we're trusting in his work alone, then there's there's nothing for us to fear.

Well, didn't this very Roman government kill many of the early disciples?

Yes, they did.

And those disciples received a better resurrection.

Don't fear the one who has power over our bodies, fear the one who has power over our souls, the Lord Himself.

As Jesus himself said to Pilate, you would have no authority, no power unless it was granted to you from above.

Our King is reigning.

Fierce may be the conflict, strong may be the foe, but the king's own army none can overthrow.

Round his standard ranging, victory is secure, for his truth unchanging makes the triumph sure.

Joyfully enlisting by thy grace divine, we are on the Lord's side.

Savior, we are thine.

The resurrection of Jesus brings an inaugurated creation, it brings a powerful king.

Third, the resurrection of Jesus brings great joy.

Verse number eight.

So departing from the tomb with fear and great joy.

There's a lot of fear in this passage.

Verse 4, the guards are shaken with fear.

Verse 5, the angel tells the women not to be afraid.

Verse 8, the women do depart with fear.

Verse number 10, Jesus says, Don't be afraid.

But even though they depart with fear, they depart with great joy.

Notice that adjective.

Fear they have, but their joy is great.

Their joy outstrips their fear.

I do want to talk about fear for a little bit, though, because it's the fear that sets the stage for the joy.

You might wonder if the women are just not listening to the angel.

Because the angel tells them don't fear, but then they depart with fear.

So they just ignore the angel, or did their minds not quite work in line with their faith?

I don't think that's what's going on.

You can tell they are striving to listen to the angel because in verse 7, the angel says, go quickly and tell his disciples he has risen.

And then in verse eight, they do leave quickly to tell the disciples the news.

So they're seeking to be obedient.

But you know, there's different kinds of fear, different shades of fear.

I think we understand this.

The guards are not even described as having any joy whatsoever.

They're just, they're just quaking with terrified fear.

But the women have some kind of great joy that's mingled with their fear, even as they leave the scene.

One thing to keep in mind is that it's just fearful to see an angel.

Remember when the angels came to announce to the shepherds the good news of Jesus' birth?

First thing they say is, don't fear.

Well, that's a good message.

Why would they be fearful?

When you see a divine warrior like that, your first inclination might be to think you're about to die.

It's a terrifying thing.

So there's kind of a natural rush of adrenaline that's probably there.

But the guards aren't described as followers of Jesus in the way that the women are.

The women have been following him ever since Galilee.

And they're the ones that are enabled to leave with great joy.

What brings the women this great joy is that Christ is fulfilling his word.

We see that in verse number six.

God himself, as we just step back and think about this resurrection event, God Himself is the one who interprets the resurrection.

It's not left for us to decide what the meaning and significance of it is.

The whole life and ministry of Jesus Christ is under God's direction.

And it's Christ Himself who said he came to give his life a ransom for many.

So that part of the good news of the gospel message is brought to us through the resurrection.

And we'll come to the message in just a moment.

But that's what brings us great joy to know that God is fulfilling his word, and this word is a word of good news for those of us who know him.

If sin has been paid for and it's complete, what awestruck joy that should bring into our souls as we meditate on the resurrection.

Resurrection.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

And that's what these women really have here.

It's a deep awe and reverence for God as they leave.

But it's it's surrounded by this superabounding joy, a weighty joy.

That's the best kind of joy.

Do you want joy in your life today?

Then you can't say, well, the resurrection happened a long time ago.

I don't know the significance of it.

No.

That's the very pathway to joy.

And let me hasten to add that those who are trusting in Christ, those who think about the resurrection, this doesn't mean that we'll never ever feel any sadness.

When a loved one dies, it's natural to feel sadness.

When you're let go from a job, it's natural to feel a sense of disappointment.

When you receive difficult news, when your body hurts, you're not going to be leaping for joy every moment.

But where do you go?

The resurrection is where we go for joy.

If you're watching for three hours every night this TV station criticize this person, and then or this TV station criticizing this person, if you're doing that for three hours a day, and then you spend three seconds thanking God for the food and for Jesus, and you wonder, why do I feel so agitated?

Why is there so little joy in my life?

Well, you you have part of a clue right there.

We need to give our hearts and our minds and our souls to reminding ourselves Jesus is risen.

God uses his word to spur our faith, a faith that grabs hold of these realities.

The woman in our passage, as Matthew describes it here, they haven't yet met Jesus.

They will meet him, but based on the word of the angel, based on God's word, their faith grabs hold of that and they leave with great joy.

Let your faith grab hold of God's word and just rest there and settle there.

That brings us to the fourth thing this morning, the resurrection brings.

So it brings an inaugurated creation, it brings a powerful king, it brings great joy.

The resurrection of Jesus also brings an urgent message.

In verse number seven, the women are told to go quickly and tell those disciples that he's risen.

And in verse number eight, they do depart quickly and run to tell the disciples the news.

Brothers and sisters, this is a message for all of us to bring.

These are just ordinary women.

They don't get as much airtime in the book of Acts and in the Gospels as the 12 disciples do, but they're actually presented in some ways in a better light.

Judas betrays Jesus, Peter denies him.

Here are these faithful women who have followed him from Galilee, and they're still there.

They're the first ones that are at the tomb.

They're the ones that get to be the first witnesses of his resurrection.

Just ordinary people, but they have an urgent message to give.

We too have that urgent message to give.

Don't say this morning, well, I can't preach like Pastor Doug.

I'm not really a verbal person.

No.

Freely give what you have received.

Share.

Tell.

Verse number seven, they're told to go and tell his disciples he is risen.

We should never tire of telling one another the basic truths of the Bible.

Every truth in the Bible, but even just those, those, those big points of God's creation, of the fall, but then particularly of Christ, who is the Son of God and Son of Man who came into the world and lived a perfect life and who died and has risen again.

We shouldn't tire of telling each other that.

He needed to hear that.

Who's a person that's this week that's maybe a little discouraged, a little fearful, that you can come and and and grab a hold of them and say, The tomb is empty.

Christ is risen.

You can't tell his disciples the good news if you're not with his disciples.

These women are running to share the message with the disciples.

Are we running?

Are we eager to be with God's people?

That's one of the reasons why church is so important.

This is the very best place, not the only place, but it's the best place each week to come and celebrate together all that Christ has done and remind one another of these truths.

Jesus said, Destroy this temple, and in three days I'll raise it up, speaking of the temple of his body.

And we too are the body of Christ.

We're living stones stacked on the cornerstone and foundation of Jesus Christ.

That's what the church is, this new temple, this body of Christ.

So come weekly, be ready to celebrate and give to one another.

You know, there's it's it's an amazing thing.

There's even more joy when you experience an event together.

I mean, that's why football starting today, and I hope the attendance doesn't drop in half when we go back to our noon service.

Because this is even better than football.

But there's a reason why people gather in massive stadiums when they could have nice TV viewing.

There's something about that group celebration of an event.

Friends, the resurrection is world and history altering.

This is something even more precious for us to get together and celebrate.

And that's what we do each Lord's Day.

That's how we gather on the first day of the week, the Lord's Day, because it's a resurrection Sunday.

And there's one sense in which every single Sunday should be a resurrection celebration.

Now, as urgent and important as that message is, it should not only stay within the church.

Yes, we should tell one another, but we want that message to be spreading out from us.

We get a hint of that here in our passage, but it's really a compelling hint.

Verse number seven, take a look there.

The angel says that Christ is going ahead of them to Galilee.

Then in verse 10, Jesus tells them to instruct the brothers to leave for Galilee and they will see him there.

Why Galilee?

Wouldn't you think they'd go back to Jerusalem?

Isn't that kind of the main place?

That's what they're going to be in the book of Acts.

Why Galilee?

It's not the only time Christ has mentioned Galilee.

If you just turn back to Matthew 26, a couple chapters, verse 32 of Matthew 26.

Jesus tells his disciples, After I have risen, I will go ahead of you to Galilee.

So in Matthew 28, Jesus is simply reiterating that he's going to fulfill what he had said back in Matthew 26.

The angel brings that up, and then Christ himself brings that up.

But we're still maybe curious, well, okay, why Galilee is this first impulse after the resurrection event?

Turn all the way back to Matthew 4.

Hold your finger here in Matthew 28, but go all the way back to Matthew 4.

We hit this quite a long time ago on Sunday morning.

But look at Matthew 4.

And in verse number 12, we're told that Jesus withdrew into the region of Galilee.

He's been tempted by Satan in the wilderness.

And as he begins his public ministry, one of the first places he goes is Galilee.

Now look at verse 14.

I'll read a few verses.

Matthew 4, verse 14.

Matthew 4:14

This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah.

And for those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.

From then on, Jesus began to preach, repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near.

So in the coming of Christ, the kingdom of heaven has come near, it's arrived, it's dawned, it's inaugurated creation.

But it's not only Jewish people who live in darkness and need the light of Christ.

It's all kinds of people.

So Jesus goes to Galilee of the Gentiles.

That's well north of Jerusalem.

In the Old Testament, it's Jerusalem's enemies who come from the north to attack them.

But it's all kinds of people who are sinful and who need the love and redemption of Christ.

And it's all kinds of people who will receive that.

So Jesus goes to Galilee of the Gentiles.

And now He is tells his people, go to Galilee.

Because it's not just Jews like them, it's Gentiles and all kinds of people that need to hear that urgent message.

Where I've gone, you're going to go.

And I'm going ahead of you.

We're on the Lord's side.

We're part of his team.

And be encouraged this morning that Christ goes ahead of us.

Now, he went ahead of them with his true resurrection body to Galilee.

He didn't stay there.

He ascended to heaven, but he sent out his spirit.

And we're going to come in Matthew.

You can turn back to Matthew 28.

We'll come shortly to the end of Matthew 28.

So even this instruction to go ahead into Galilee anticipates what he's going to say to them as he leaves the great commission, go into all the worlds and preach the gospel with a promise.

I'm with you always, to the very end of the age.

Whether we go to Galilee of the Gentiles or Tylau of Cebaru or Valley Stream of Nassau County, he's with us.

He's with us in canoes.

He's with us at street fair.

Our Lord is with us.

And I do want to make a special appeal here for these dark places that haven't really yet seen the light of Christ, for places where Christ hasn't been named, where there is no outpost of a gospel church that's been established.

How are we marshalling our resources?

That would include our finances, but talking about our time, our prayer, our support, our attention.

How are we marshalling our resources so that these dark places, yes, Galilee, but then the ends of the earth, can hear this urgent message?

Who's gonna pray more?

Who among us would say, you know, I want to go with that urgent message to a dark place that hasn't had the light of Christ?

The Lamb is worthy.

And that brings us to the very final point this morning.

The resurrection of Jesus brings wholehearted worship.

These women run from the tomb to tell the disciples Jesus meets them in verse number nine.

So look at that in chapter 28 of Matthew, verse number nine.

Jesus himself greets them, and the text tells us they came up, they took hold of his feet, and they worshiped him.

That's the proper instinct of faith to worship the resurrected Lord.

Before they go, before they share the message, before they eat whatever they needed to eat to sustain them, they're eager to worship their Christ.

The word worship is sometimes associated with kneeling down.

It's even translated that way sometimes in our Bibles.

And you can see here in our passage, they're worshiping him as they take hold of his feet.

That might strike us as a little unusual.

Some people suggest they didn't want him to leave that don't go anywhere, Jesus.

Well, the text doesn't tell us, they didn't say don't go anywhere.

Don't do that.

And there's one commentator who references an ancient uh inscription of King Cyrus, who said, as he talked about having other kings subjected to himself, they brought me their full tribute and kissed my feet.

The women are acknowledging, even with their posture, that Jesus is the true and great king.

They're acknowledging with their whole selves that they're submitted to him and committed to him.

But it's more than just a submission.

It is that they love him.

That's why they've been following him for such a period of distance and time.

They love their Lord and it delights their souls to see him and know him and worship him.

Psalm 29, 2.

Ascribe to the Lord the glory to his name.

Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.

Worship is ascribing glory to the Lord.

Matthew doesn't give us a detailed description of what of what worship is, but he gives us a picture, one picture of what worship is in these verses.

It's wholehearted, it's devoted.

He has real human feet.

He's really risen from the dead.

We worship Jesus, the Son of God.

We worship him as the true and perfect Adam, the true man, and we worship him because in God's mysterious providence, God and man are joined together in Christ.

There's the humility of the crucifixion, the power of resurrection life that could command one angel to bring an earthquake and the tomb opening.

He's got legions of angels at his disposal.

And that brings these women joy.

Their worship is a response to his presence and his word.

Normally in our service, we begin with God's word.

That's just a small way to remind ourselves.

Our worship is a response to his revelation.

Our worship is a response to not our own ideas about God, but our response to him graciously coming to us and greeting us through his word, just as he greets these women here.

And we say, Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly, come soon to receive your bride to yourself.

So we listen to God's word, praying that God would reveal himself to us, that he would tune our hearts to sing his praise.

Brothers and sisters, there's so much more we could say.

There's so much in Scripture about the resurrection, the significance of these events, the life and ministry of Christ.

But but take courage this morning.

That the resurrection is no mere trifling thing.

We sometimes think about Easter and we think, boy, that ham lunch is going to be something special.

I like ham as much as anybody, okay?

But that's that's there's something far more earth-splitting.

And I use that phrase intentionally about the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

There's something about his resurrection that changes the whole course of human history, that could bring in a new creation, that could bring in this powerful ruling king that would give us joy in our souls.

And if you don't have that joy, call out to him today.

This is an urgent message that we must share.

And we do that from a heart that overflows in worship.

So just a few moments, we're going to partake of the Lord's Supper.

Let this be a time of worship that stirs your heart towards then engaging with one another and the world around us.

Let's pray.

Lord, how we thank you today that we have good news to share.

We have joy in our souls, and we pray desperately for anyone today who is one of your children who doesn't have that light of joy as they would desire right now in their souls.

Lord, give them a sense of the risen Lord to renew their hearts, to make them whole.

For those that maybe are today in a land of real darkness, having maybe thought about the resurrection, perhaps even acknowledging it, but not knowing the Lord of glory, not grabbing hold of him and worshiping him, that they would want that, that they would be be coming to you in their hearts today.

Thank you, Father, that you reveal yourself to us how gracious you are, that you would lovingly greet us and scatter darkness and gloom, lovingly to meet us, and we know that you are indeed raised, Lord Jesus Christ.

You've given us something remarkably even more powerful than only your bodily presence.

You've given us the Spirit of Christ who reveals you to us, and in turn, through him, we know the Father.

So we pray, O Spirit of God, that you would carry the presence of our risen Lord with us throughout this day and this week until we come again next Resurrection Lord's Day, next Sunday, to celebrate our Savior yet again.

We ask these things in Jesus' name.

Amen.