Easter 2026 - Matthew 28:1-20

Let me add my word of welcome. If you're a visitor here, if this is your first time here, you are very, very welcome indeed. Don't rush away, we'd love to get to know you.

If you've got a Bible near you, I'd love you to turn with me to page 835. Grab one of the Bibles, page 835, and in Matthew 28. Matthew chapter 28.

Matthew 28 · chapter mention

There are days which turn everything upside down. There are days which turn everything upside down, where nothing is the same ever again.

Your birth, for the people who were around, your parents, probably turned everything upside down.

Nothing was the same in your family ever again. You were born.

Marriages. Two people walk into a church. They walk in two single people. They leave joined together in marriage.

Their lives are turned upside down. Nothing is the same ever again.

A diagnosis from the doctor. I know life is turned upside down.

A death.

And a tragedy.

And life is turned upside down.

And Matthew's point in the last chapter of his gospel

is that the resurrection of Jesus Christ

turns everything upside down.

And when Jesus walked out of the grave

on that first Easter Sunday,

nothing is the same ever again.

It's a huge reversal

in the world.

Somebody walks back from death.

And Matthew shows us

that in this chapter

by showing us those reversals

in the life of everyone that the resurrection

touches.

The resurrection of Jesus

shatters for all time

people going back to normal.

Of business as usual.

And Matthew's interest

is not in the mechanics

of how it happened.

In fact, we're not told how it happened.

We are told that it's a miracle.

But we're told of the massive impact

it has on four different types of people.

And so what I want to do

is just walk you through this chapter

and see

the reversals,

the upheaval,

the wonderful change

that the resurrection brings.

First,

in

the women.

Look at verse 1

of Matthew chapter 28.

Matthew 28 · chapter mention

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.

They don't know that a guard

has been posted.

They don't know

how they're going to roll the stone away,

how they're going to get access to the body.

But they are in for a huge surprise.

When they discover the guards

lying on the ground,

trembling.

And the stone guarding the tomb

has been rolled away.

And even worse,

there's an angel

sitting on the stone.

And he's no ordinary messenger.

This is an angel

who has come from God.

Look at verse 5.

The angel said to the women,

Do not be afraid.

For I know that you seek Jesus

who was crucified.

He's not here,

for he is risen.

As he said,

come and see the place

where he lay.

And then go quickly

and tell his disciples

that he's risen from the dead.

And behold,

he's going before you to Galilee

and there you will see him.

The angel is clear

that the stone covering the tomb

has been rolled away

not to let Jesus out,

but to let the women see in.

And we are not left to guess

what it means.

The angel tells you

exactly what it means.

He says, doesn't he,

Jesus who was crucified,

who was killed,

is now risen.

He says it twice.

You're at the right tomb.

This was Jesus' tomb.

And he was dead.

But he's no longer dead.

And he's risen from the dead.

It's not reincarnation.

Jesus has risen from the dead.

And it is impossible

for you and I

in those simple words

to grasp the enormous transformation

that has taken place.

For the first time

in all of history,

the iron grip of death

has been broken

from the inside out.

Somebody has gone through death

and come out the other side

and shown that he's stronger.

The angel says

that Jesus

has defeated death.

Recently,

I read of a Muslim student,

a Muslim student in Africa

who had become a Christian.

And when his friends

asked him

why that is,

why he'd become a Christian,

this is what he said.

He said,

well, it's like this.

Suppose you're going down a road

and the road forks

in two different directions

and you do not know

which way to go.

And there at the fork

are two men.

One dead

and one alive.

Who would you ask

for directions?

There is a man

who has come back

from the dead

who has walked

out of the grave.

And as the women

race off

to tell the disciples,

their imaginations

are running

ahead of them.

You can imagine

they're completely

discombobulated

and they meet

the risen Lord Jesus.

Verse 9,

can you see it?

He met them.

Verse 9,

Jesus met them

and said,

greetings.

And they came up

and took hold

of his feet

and worshipped him.

And then Jesus said to them,

do not be afraid.

Again,

second time we're told it,

do not be afraid.

Go and tell my brothers

to go to Galilee

and there they will see me.

Jesus meets them,

this terrifying figure

who's come back

from the dead

and he greets them

in the most

ordinary way possible.

he says,

hi,

hello.

If he was Australian

he'd have said,

g'day.

If he was Welsh

he'd say,

shammai.

It's just the normal

greetings.

And they take hold

of his feet

and they worship him.

Why is that important?

This is not a ghost.

It's not a hallucination.

It's not an apparition.

It is real.

It is tangible.

It is bodily.

They grab hold

of his feet.

It is a physical resurrection.

resurrection.

He's not really,

merely resuscitated

back to life.

When Lazarus,

earlier on in the Gospels,

rose from the grave,

they didn't worship him,

did they?

But they worshiped Jesus.

No, this is a risen

Lord Jesus,

raised physically

from the dead

with feet you can

hold on to.

And Jesus encourages

the women,

don't fear.

And he gives them

the same job

that the angels

gave them.

Go and tell.

Because their world

has turned upside

down.

Two days ago,

those women

had been at the cross.

You see that

at the end of Matthew 27.

We're told about them.

They stand

observing the cross

and observing Jesus

being buried

and they are powerless

and they are weak

and they are helpless.

They are the most

powerless people

in the story.

And on that

resurrection morning,

they go to anoint

a dead body.

Their hopes

have been shattered.

The bottom

has fallen out

of their world

and now,

by verse 10

of chapter 28,

these women

are center stage.

Their hopes

that have been shattered

have been literally

raised to life.

Their fears

have been transformed

into confidence.

They are the first

witnesses

of the risen Lord Jesus.

It is a complete

reversal for the women.

Their lives

are turned upside down

and it is based

on the fact

that Jesus

has risen

from the dead.

Fearful,

grieving,

hopes dashed,

powerless.

Is that you

this morning?

You've come here

this morning.

Your world

is falling apart.

Outwardly,

everything might seem

great,

but you don't know

how you're going

to go on.

Your hopes

are dashed

and there's a message

to you from the

resurrection this morning.

Jesus says

your life

can be transformed.

Your world

can be turned

upside down.

The second group

are the guards.

The soldiers.

I think you've got

to have real sympathy

for these guards.

It's a routine exercise.

You can imagine it.

What have you got to do?

What's the job

for tonight?

You've got to go

and keep a dead body dead.

That's all you've got to do.

Just stand guard

outside the tomb.

There's a massive rock

outside the entrance.

They had sealed it

with whatever

they could find.

These guards,

they are the picture,

aren't they,

of authority

and power in the story.

They're the ones

in control.

They are the winners.

They've defeated

this kind of insurrectionist.

They are the ones

with the weapons.

They are the ones

with the capability.

They're the ones

in command.

These are the guys

in control.

Look at verse 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 he sat on it.

His appearance

was like lightning

and his clothing

as white as snow.

I don't know

what you think of

when you think of angels.

You might think of little kids

in a nativity concert,

you know,

wearing sheets

with little wings attached.

Angels are talked of

really positively,

aren't they,

in our culture.

Sophie Burnham wrote this

in a little book of angels.

Angels always bring us

a calm and peaceful serenity

that descends sweetly

over you.

Their message is

always don't worry,

things are working out perfectly,

you're going to like this.

It's nothing like

the Bible's angels.

Look at this angel.

This angel in verse 2,

he brings a splintering earthquake,

he tosses the stone

to one side

and then he comes

and he rests on it.

It's a lovely picture.

Here is a picture of death,

a symbol

of the closed door of death.

The security of the grave

and the only respect

that the angel pays to it

is to sit in it.

I grew up with two elder brothers.

Next elder brother

is eight years older than me

and occasionally we would fight

and we would wrestle

and how do you know

that you would won the wrestle?

How do you know

that you would won the wrestle

against your brother?

What does the victor do?

He sits on the loser,

doesn't he?

And so my brothers

would sit on me

until you say,

I give up,

I give up.

And here's this glorious picture,

isn't it?

It's like he's sitting on death.

The angel,

that's the respect

that he pays for it.

He's defeated death.

Can you see there's a little play

on the words

in verses 2 and 3?

The word tremble.

So what happens

in verse 2,

can you see

there's an earthquake,

there's a great earthquake.

And then in verse 4,

can you see what happens

to the guards?

They quake.

They tremble.

The guards experience

the same word for earthquake.

The guards have

their own private earthquake

as they see the angel

and the angel

comes to announce

that Jesus is risen

and the rocks

quake

before him.

And those

whose job it was

to keep Jesus

from rising,

they quake as well.

All they had to do

was to keep

a dead man dead

and with all their power

and all their skill,

they couldn't do it.

And instead,

Matthew says,

can you see the play

on words,

they became like,

what did they become like?

Dead men.

They became like dead men

because the one

who was dead

is now alive.

What's happened?

Their world has been

turned upside down.

And the living

and the powerful ones

become like dead men

because the dead one

has been raised

from the dead.

And the resurrection,

it brings about

a complete reversal.

It brings about

a complete reversal

in the values

of our world.

What we think of

as the great human powers

are ultimately

utterly powerless.

Death,

so powerful,

is now transformed

into life.

We don't have time

to look at it,

but if you look

at verses 11 to 15,

there's a remarkable

contrast between

the joy

and the thrill

and the obedience

of the women

and the way

that the guards

reluctantly go

to the chief priests

and tell them

what's happened.

And the response

of the priests,

the response

of the authorities

is to do whatever

they can to cover it up.

And I think

it's a wonderful

little story

because it shows

you and I

that the resurrection

faces us

with this fundamental

choice of

are you going

to be like the women

who fall at Jesus'

feet and worship him

or are you going

to be like the guards

and the authorities

who hold on

to the illusion

of their own power

and your own control

and kid yourself

that you're going

to keep in control.

And one is the way

of deception

and death

and the other

is the way of life.

The resurrection

of Jesus

turns everything

upside down.

And so for the

control freak

this morning

for the person

who's buttoned down

everything in their life

writes endless lists

because they can't bear

being out of control

who has to be in charge

who wants to keep

their life

exactly the way

they want it

and they've planned

out their life

for the next 10, 5, 10, 15, 20 years

there's a message

from the resurrection

and the message is

you're not in control

and sooner or later

you will discover

that life is in control

so stop pretending

and recognize

the one who is

Lord of all.

Not only for the women

and for the guards

but thirdly

most importantly

the third person

that the resurrection

brings this reversal for

is the Lord Jesus himself.

Twice the angel tells you

Jesus has been raised.

The will of God

was not to leave him

in the grave

but to raise him

from the dead

and Matthew wants

to take his keeper

so look at verse 18

Jesus speaks after

being raised

from the dead

and he says this

he says

all authority

in heaven and earth

has been given to me

and the word authority

there is not just

naked power

but it is

Jesus saying

I have the right

to decide

I have the freedom

to act

I can act

with God's own authority

and now it is

Jesus' authority

because God has given it to him

and Jesus says

my authority

is unrestricted

and unqualified

it is unconditional

it is an authority

that extends

from the furthest

reaches of space

into the smallest

subatomic particle

it draws under its canopy

all men and women

and boys and girls

who have ever lived

and Jesus' authority

does not wax and wane

it does not diminish

over time

it doesn't weaken

with circumstances

no he says

all authority

in heaven and earth

has been given to me

it is an incredible claim

he is claiming

that he has authority

over angels

and archangels

demons

principalities

over might

over thrones

over governments

over the natural world

over the supernatural world

over the animals

over you

and over me

and he has the ability

and the freedom

and the right

and that is really important

because there is no area

there is no people

there is no culture

there is no single being

in all the universe

that lies outside

the authority

of Jesus Christ

you might not like it

but that doesn't change it

Jesus Christ

could not assert

with any more clarity

his absolute

faultless

consummate authority

and here is a man

who two days ago

was crucified

naked on a cross

who was put to death

who was mocked

and scorned

and now

he is risen from the dead

and he is saying

all authority is mine

and I think that is

the key point of the chapter

and so it is no wonder

is it that Jesus

received their worship

look at verse 9

in verse 9

they come up

and they take hold

of his feet

those women

and they worship him

and in verse 17

when they saw him

they worshipped him

and Jesus receives

their worship

he doesn't stop them

he doesn't say

no no I am just a good guy

I am not really

the son of God

Jesus is conscious

that the resurrection

brings a new moment

it is a new day

and this new moment

is marked by his

universal lordship

if there is any doubt

can you see that he

includes himself

in the name

of the single name

of God

he talks about

in the name of the

father

the son

and the holy spirit

this is how God

is known

and I think

that when we

understand this

we come to the

heart of Christianity

because when the

early Christians

preached the gospel

of the Lord Jesus

this is how they

preached it

they said

you rejected Jesus

as worthless

and irrelevant

you thought he

wasn't who he

said he was

you treated him

as worthless

and irrelevant

but God has

raised him from

the dead

and enthroned him

in heaven

where he is

Lord and Christ

and that I think

is the key

significance of the

gospel

yes it's true

that God loves you

very very much

and you are important

and God wants

your very best

for you

yes it is true

that Jesus came

and died an

atoning death

for your sins

that is true

but the way

that the New

Testament preaches

the gospel

it says

what you thought

of Jesus

is wrong

and actually

he is the exact

opposite of what

you thought

he is Lord

and God

and the proof

of that is the

resurrection

it's so bold

isn't it

what you think

is wrong

what you've done

is wrong

the one you've

crucified

now rules

heaven and earth

you could pick

half a dozen

sermons in the

book of Acts

and see this

and Matthew's

point in Matthew

28 is this

understand that

the resurrection

is a great

reversal

that Jesus

is alive

and he's

stronger than

death

and you and I

must bow before

him and worship

him

and God has

given him

all authority

in heaven

and on earth

and so we can

trust him

and we can

live for him

and we can

come under his

control

he is now

Lord and Christ

and that is the

great reversal

for Jesus

and so for some

of you that's

revolutionary

isn't it

that Jesus

is not who

you think he

is

in fact

as you

understand

something of

the great

reversal

and the

significance

of Jesus

Christ

you've got

to realise

like I did

I got it

all wrong

about him

it's why

we're running

this course

Christianity

Explored

we're going

to have three

weeks where

we look at

the teaching

of Jesus

you can

come with

any questions

and you can

come and look

at the evidence

of who he

says he is

and what he

did and what

he's done

for you

that he is

Lord and

Christ

so there's a

reversal in the

resurrection

for the women

and for the

guards and for

the Lord Jesus

but lastly

there's a reversal

for the

disciples

the followers

the followers

of Jesus

in the week

leading up

to the cross

what had

they done

they had

deserted him

they denied

him

they'd fled

from him

they were

scattered

from him

but they

gathered

together

through the

words of

these women

and the

point of

verses 16

to 20

is Jesus

wants to

spell out

what the

resurrection

means

for his

followers

and here's

the central

meaning of

the resurrection

that Jesus

has transferred

his mission

what he came

to do

to our

mission

as a church

that Jesus

continues as

the risen

and ascended

Lord

he continues

to call

disciples

like you

and I

from all

over the

world

and when he

says

that he's

been given

all authority

in heaven

and earth

the question

is

Jesus

what are

you going

to do

with that

authority

what are

you going

to do

with that

authority

and the

answer in

verse 18

is quite

shocking

isn't it

he says

to his

church

all authority

has been

given to

me

therefore

you go

and make

disciples

there's four

things in

verses 19

and 20

in our

English

Bible

really

it's

one word

that Jesus

is talking

about there

it's about

making

disciples

and it's

really important

that you and

I understand

what that

word means

on this

resurrection

morning

it's a

really precious

word

because the

word disciple

is another

word for

Christian

a disciple

first of all

is a

learner

when you

become a

follower of

the Lord

Jesus

you become

a lifelong

learner

none of us

no matter how

long we've

been disciples

have reached

a stage

where we've

arrived

where we've

got nothing

to learn

where we've

got nothing

to learn

following Jesus

ought to make

you more

curious as a

human being

following Jesus

means that you're

a learner

but the second

part of being a

disciple is of

being a follower

that is there is

a personal

attachment to

Jesus

it's not

learning for the

sake of learning

so the life of a

disciple is

different from

every other

kind of life

precisely because

our allegiance

is to Jesus

we love

him

and we

want to

know him

and we

want to

follow in

his ways

and so

becoming a

follower of

the Lord

Jesus

becoming a

disciple

becoming a

Christian

is not

essentially

primarily an

intellectual

assignment

it means

being willing

to open up

every area

of your life

to him

and this

chapter gives

us our job

as a church

that what

is our

church

all about

it is about

making disciples

people who are

followers and

learners of the

Lord Jesus

and it is to

call on you

this morning

to call on me

to change my

allegiance

to recognise

!

that the one

that I thought

was irrelevant

is Lord and

Christ

to call on you

to recognise

that Jesus

has all

authority

in heaven

and on

earth

and the

book finishes

with an

enormous

encouragement

from the

risen Jesus

the risen

Jesus

who

has all

authority

he says

can you

see it

I am

with you

to the

end

of the

age

Mark's

gospel

starts

with

Matthew's

gospel

starts

with Jesus

as Emmanuel

the baby

do you know

what the word

Emmanuel

the word

Emmanuel

means God

with us

that's why

Jesus came

he came

to be with

us

and as

we get to

the end

of the

gospel

can you see

what the

end of the

gospel

Jesus

message is

he is

with his

people

always

Jesus

came to

rescue

he came

to be

with you

he says

I am

deeply

invested

I am

promising

my

personal

companionship

every day

and so

it doesn't

matter what

your circumstances

are this

morning

it doesn't

matter whether

you feel

like it

or not

he is

with us

always

to the

end

of the

age

his

presence

is not

intermittent

in success

or in

failure

his presence

doesn't wax

and wane

in joy

or sorrow

in youth

or in

old age

he says

if you

will come

to me

I will

never

leave

you

and so

we began

this morning

didn't we

by thinking

of days

which turn

everything

upside down

of days

which change

everything

and the

resurrection

of the

Lord Jesus

Christ

is one

of those

days

but today

can be

one of

those days

you can

come

to the

Lord Jesus

with all

your

fears

and all

your

worries

and all

your

broken

and shattered

dreams

like the

women

and you

can come

with all

your

control

freakery

and you're

trying to

organise

life

and trying

to not

let anything

slip

and you

can bring

it all

to the

Lord Jesus

and you

can bring

your

brokenness

and your

rebellion

and your

ignoring

him

and treating

him like

an irrelevance

and not

realising

who he

is

and see

that he

is the

one

who lived

and died

for your

sins

but who

is wonderfully

risen from

the dead

and he

is now

Lord

and God

and he

is all

authority

and he

is worthy

of your

worship

and your

life

and you

today

can come

with all

your

hangups

and you

can put

your life

into the

hands of

the Lord

Jesus

Christ

and say

I want

to be

your

disciple

I want

to follow

the Lord

Jesus

I want

to be

a lifelong

learner

I don't

know

everything

there is

to know

but what

I do

know

is that

I need

you

Lord

and you

can ask

him

today

and if

you will

trust him

and if

you will

submit

yourself

to his

authority

he says

I can

forgive you

and you

can ask

him to

save you

and rescue

you

and you

can trust

him

and the

promise is

this that

he will

lead you

and he

will guide

you

and he

will be

with you

and so

you can

walk out

of this

building

knowing

that he

who has

all authority

in heaven

and earth

will be

with you

to the

end

of the

age

or you

can pretend

or you

can pretend

that the

resurrection

never really

happened

you can

pretend

that he

doesn't

have

all

authority

you can

pretend

that you're

in control

and you

can sort

yourself

out

how's that

working out

how is that

going

recognize

the reality

that there

was a day

when someone

walked out

of the grave

and he

is Lord

and God

and so

follow him

call out

to him

cry

into him

and you

will be

saved

let's

pause

for a moment

I'm going

to pray

let's

pause

in the

silence

you can

cry to

God

now

you can

pray to

him in

your

heart

God