He Is Risen!

Fake news. Who's heard of fake news? We've all heard of fake news. It's the intentional spinning or misinforming of people using news outlets and social media. It's really just kind of a propaganda deal.

In 2016, there was this whopper fake news headline. This is what it was. Obama signs executive order banning the pledge of allegiance in schools nationwide. According to BuzzFeed, there was about 2.2 million people on Facebook that shared it, commented, and reacted to it.

But factcheck.org revealed that it was not true. That the site that sent it out was a satirical news site that was kind of pretending to be ABC News. Fake news. False news.

You know, we live in a time where skepticism is on the rise. There are headlines in your news feed that you see them on TV and one of the questions you first ask is, is that real? Is it true? Can I buy this?

Today, all across our nation and the world, there is a headline on church marquees, on web pages. It's even in your bulletin this morning. Here's the headline.

He is risen. The question I want to ask this morning is, is that fake news or is that real news?

He is risen. He is risen. If it's fake news, it's a bunch of hogwash and you reject it. But if it's real news, if it's true, it's good news. And not only should you accept it, you should commit yourself to it.

So this morning, we're going to ask the question, is the bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead?

Is that spin? Is that fake news? Is that misinformation?

Or is that real, true, and accurate news? And depending on how you answer that, there will be some significant implications.

So this morning, I want to walk with you through a biblical account.

I want to clarify the biblical account of the resurrection of Jesus so we all know what the news is.

And then I want to help you to consider the claim that that little passage is making.

It is a phenomenal claim.

And then let's chew on the implications together and then I'm going to call you to choose to make a commitment.

He is risen.

Fake news or real news?

So in order to clarify the biblical account, I need you to open up your Bibles.

So if you would open up your Bibles to Matthew 28, here's how your Bible works.

There are basically two sections of your Bible.

There's the Old Testament, which describes God's gracious relationship with His people before Jesus.

And then there's the New Testament, which describes God's gracious relationship with His new people after Jesus,

anticipating the second coming of Jesus.

So there's two sections of your Bible.

Your Bible's broken into books.

There's 66 books.

And one book is then broken into chapters.

Those chapters are further broken down to verses.

And it's all helped you to find your way around the Bible.

And so if you would open up to your New Testament, it's the first book of your New Testament.

It's the Gospel of Matthew.

And I want you to turn to the last chapter of Matthew, Matthew chapter 28.

Matthew 28 · chapter mention

And we're going to look at verses 1 through 10.

Dave read them earlier.

And what we're going to do is basically walk through the biblical account so we're all on the same page of what the Bible says.

But before we get to Matthew 28, let me just give you a little background.

What happens in Matthew 28, 1 through 10, happens on a Sunday, the first day of the week.

But there's some really important things that happened that Thursday and Friday leading up to the first Easter.

In Matthew 26 and 27, Jesus is arrested.

And he's brought to trial.

And he goes before two groups of people.

He goes before a bunch of Jews called the Sanhedrin.

And they find him guilty of blasphemy.

They send him to Pilate.

Pilate was the Roman authority who had the authority to put someone to death.

And there was all sorts of pressure put on Pilate to crucify Jesus.

He capitulates, washes his hands, hands him over to the guards and says, crucify him.

The guards take him.

They mock him.

And eventually, they lead him to Golgotha, the place of the skull, which is known as Calvary, where they crucify him.

It's a brutal way to die.

And while he's being crucified, he's being mocked.

And after about 3 p.m. Good Friday afternoon, he breathes his last and yields up his spirit.

And there's amazing things happen.

There's an earthquake, among other things.

And then, Joseph of Arimathea requests from Pilate, hey, I'll take his body.

I'll bury him in my tomb.

The new tomb that it meant for me.

I'm going to put Jesus in it.

Do you know who was there?

Where Mary Magdalene and this other Mary, the two Marys, were there watching where the body of Jesus was placed.

You can see that in Matthew 27, 61.

So that happened all on Friday.

Saturday comes around, and the Jewish establishment goes to Pilate, and he says,

hey, can you give us a Roman guard, please?

We want to guard the tomb.

Why?

Why?

They weren't afraid that, they didn't think that Jesus would be raised from the dead.

They were thinking that the disciples would steal the body in order to do a little fake news spin of their own.

And so Pilate says, you've got your own guard from the temple.

You can set that up.

So there's a guard stationed on Saturday, and all of a sudden, here we are Sunday morning.

And this is where we're going to pick up in Matthew 28, verse 1.

Matthew 28:1

We read this.

Early Sunday morning.

Toward the dawn of the first day of the week.

Now remember, the Jewish Sabbath was a Saturday, so the first day of the week was Sunday.

So Matthew's being very clear about when this is happening.

The two Marys who witnessed where Jesus was buried, they're going back to the tomb.

They're going back to the tomb we learned from the other Gospels to prepare his body for burial.

And as they're going, in verse 2, there's another earthquake.

There's the first earthquake when Jesus died, which would have gotten your attention.

And then there's this earthquake, another earthquake.

All of creation is making a statement about what has happened.

And lo and behold, at the same time of this earthquake, an angel of the Lord descends.

This isn't the first appearance of angels in the book of Matthew.

There are angels all over the place in chapters 1 and 2, announcing Jesus' birth.

And then angels appear again in Matthew 4, after Jesus is tempted.

After he does that, nobody else could do.

And that is, sustain the temptations of the devil himself.

And he was ministered to by angels.

Well, here is this angel who rolls away the huge stone blocking the tomb.

And my imagination runs wild.

There is this angel sitting on the stone in front of the empty tomb.

And my question is, what pose is he in?

Is he in like the classic senior picture pose?

You know, kind of like this?

Is he on the stone with his legs crossed?

Kind of like arms back waiting?

We don't know.

But his hands aren't ringing.

He's not saying, where did Jesus go?

He's there to declare.

He's there to announce.

He's there to make known something.

In 28.3, Matthew is very clear about the appearance of this angel.

He was bright as lightning.

White, bright and white.

Mary and Mary would be like, you're not from around here, are you?

Everybody would have known that this guy's not from around here.

Well, in verse 4, we see what happens to the guard.

It's like angel taser beam.

This angel shows up in bright and white, sitting on the stone,

and the Roman guard assigned by Pilate.

They drop like dead men.

They've been immobilized by angelic glory.

But not the Marys.

The angel says to them, don't be afraid, in verse 5.

Don't be afraid, for I know you seek Jesus who was crucified.

Even the angel recognized that Jesus was dead on the cross.

In 28.6, the angel says,

He's not here.

He's not in the tomb.

Which makes us ask the question,

Well, where is He?

And then the angel says,

For He is risen.

The first to announce the resurrection of Jesus is an angel.

From heaven.

He's not here, for He is risen.

And then we read,

He says, as He said.

Jesus said,

He was going to be crucified,

and three days later,

be raised.

He says it three times leading up to coming into Jerusalem,

all throughout the Gospel of Matthew.

That's why the Pharisees had a guard set around the tomb.

They knew it too.

He's not here,

for He is risen,

as He said.

You see,

Jesus fulfills His word.

He is unstoppable.

Not only could this Roman guard not stop Him,

death could not stop Him.

And so,

the angel says to the Mary,

See for yourselves,

the tomb is empty,

meaning there's no body.

28.7,

the angel tells the Marys

to go and tell the disciples

that Jesus is risen from the dead,

and that the risen Christ would meet them up in Galilee.

That's where Jesus did most of His ministry.

Capernaum,

which is in Galilee,

would have been 80 miles due north of Jerusalem,

as the crow flies.

So,

this angel said,

the risen Christ is going to meet the disciples up there.

In 28.8,

we read that the Marys quickly leave the tomb,

it's empty,

and that they kind of basically run out of there

with a mixture of fear and joy.

Do you see that?

In verse 8,

we read,

so they departed quickly from the tomb

with fear and great joy.

We have a word for that mix of fear and joy.

It's the word awe.

Being in awe of something.

Amazement.

It's the sense of,

could it be something bigger than yourself

that at the one point you're feeling,

this is huge,

and it's really exciting.

And so,

there is mounting excitement in the two Marys.

And as they're going in verse 9,

we read about an appearance.

Surprise!

The risen Jesus meets them on the way.

We read this,

and behold,

Jesus met them and said,

greetings.

And that word greetings,

it's more than just,

hey,

what's up ladies?

It is this,

it is good to see you.

What a joy to see you.

Joy to you.

That's the greeting.

And the two Marys came up,

and they took hold of his feet

and worshiped him.

Did you read that?

Took hold of his feet?

Did you hear that?

Do you know what that means?

Do you know what it means

to take hold of someone's feet?

Do you know where you need to be

in order to take hold of someone's feet?

You need to be on the ground.

Prostrate.

They dropped in front of him.

They recognized him,

and they dropped in front of him.

Do you know the last time Matthew records

someone bowing at Jesus?

It's the Praetorian guards,

the Roman guards,

in Matthew 27,

when they're mocking him.

They bow down before him,

and they say,

Hail King of the Jews!

Ooh!

And here,

we have the Marys

paying homage

to the risen King.

the real King.

And they worship him.

That's a word reserved for God.

They're worshiping their God.

The risen Christ.

2810,

Jesus,

the risen Christ,

says to the Marys,

don't be afraid.

Wonderful words

from the risen King.

Go and tell your brothers,

my brothers,

he says.

Now,

that's an interesting way

to describe the disciples.

It should kind of call you back

to Matthew 12

when Jesus says,

Hey,

your family's here.

And he turns to his disciples

and says,

Here's my family,

those who do the will of my Father.

They're my brothers and sisters.

And so,

he's saying,

Hey,

I'm going to my brothers,

the ones who are doing

my Father's will.

They will see me.

So,

here's the summary

of the Bible's account

of the resurrection of Jesus.

He died on Good Friday.

He was crucified.

He was placed in Joseph's tomb

immediately after.

The Marys saw it.

A guard was assigned on Saturday.

Sunday,

the Marys go back to the tomb

in order to prepare the body.

There's this earthquake

and an angel sitting on the stone

moved away saying,

He's risen from the dead.

The Marys go into the tomb.

They see everything.

They go out to tell the disciples

and on their way,

they see and experience

the risen Jesus Himself.

They not just see Him,

they feel Him.

They grabbed His feet.

They not just felt Him,

they heard Him

talking to them.

They were in His presence.

If they were close enough,

they would have smelled

His resurrection breath.

And so what Matthew

is helping us to see here

is that these two women

are eyewitnesses

to the risen Jesus.

It's an account

of eyewitnesses

who experienced Christ Himself

after the death.

Is this account that we read

in Matthew 28, 1-10,

is this fake news

or is this real news?

Is this spin

or is this true?

We've clarified the account.

Let's now consider

the actual claim

being made here.

This account,

verses 1-10

and the other Gospel accounts,

it's claiming

that Jesus

not only really died,

but that He

was really raised bodily

from the dead.

that He's alive now.

Now you may object

and you may say,

you know what?

This resurrection business,

this is not natural.

Things like that

don't happen.

People dying

and three days later

are coming back

to life.

That doesn't happen.

It's not normal experience.

This doesn't conform

to the laws of science.

And I've got to say,

I totally,

wholeheartedly agree with you.

This is not normal.

This is not natural per se

that someone dies

and is raised from the dead.

That this is beyond

scientific explanation

because what we're reading here,

if it's true,

is supernatural.

Science is great.

It makes wonderful discoveries.

I'm an advocate of it.

It's a discovery

of God's creation.

But I'll tell you what,

there's some things

that science just becomes

like a sport coat

that's just too small to wear.

You just can't get it

over something.

And when we come

to the resurrection,

it's a supernatural miracle

of God.

It just doesn't fit over it well.

It doesn't explain

everything well.

It can't.

Science explains

natural causes and effects.

Not supernatural.

Supernatural.

Well, you may also object.

Well, this is a false account.

They made it up.

Ten of the twelve disciples

went to their death

proclaiming not only Jesus died,

but He was raised.

Including the guy

that wrote this Gospel,

Matthew,

also known as Levi.

Apparently,

church history says

He was in Ethiopia

when He got hacked to death

with an axe

proclaiming that Jesus is alive.

Would you die for life?

Another common objection,

and this is among

even Christians,

is that this resurrection

is not a real resurrection.

It is symbolism of rising hope.

The disciples really wanting

to believe it really bad.

There are churches in this town

that proclaim that.

And you know what?

It does not accord

with what the actual Bible says.

The historical accounts

of the life, death,

and resurrection of Jesus.

Sounds like fake news to me.

The Gospels point to

an actual bodily resurrection

from the dead.

Remember,

the Marys took hold

of the feet of Jesus

here in Matthew.

And Luke,

Jesus actually eats broiled fish

with His stunned disciples.

Can you imagine that?

In John 20,

Jesus is talking to Thomas.

This is the guy that says,

you know what?

I will not believe

until I put my finger

in His hands

and in His side.

And then Jesus shows up

and says,

oh, Thomas,

here, put your finger here

and put your finger here.

You know what Thomas does?

My Lord and my God!

This account makes a claim

that Jesus was crucified,

dead,

and buried,

and on the third day

He was raised bodily

from the dead.

Is it false news

or is it real news?

Let's look,

chew on the implications.

If this headline,

He is risen,

if that's fake news

that's been spinning

for 2,000 years,

if that's fake news,

then Christianity

as a whole

is a bunch of hogwash.

I'm not sure

what hogwash is.

I just know

that you don't want it.

I'm guessing

if you get a bucket

of hogwash,

you're just going

to throw it out.

And if Christianity

is built on fake news

of a fake resurrection,

it's hogwash.

Get rid of it.

If you knowingly

embrace something

that you don't believe

to be true,

you are lying to yourself.

And that's why

in 1 Corinthians 15,

the Apostle Paul,

talking about the resurrection,

talking about the resurrection

of Jesus,

and says,

hey, if this didn't happen,

Christians are to be pitied

above all people

because they're giving

their lives today

for a lie.

But chew on this.

If Jesus was actually risen,

if this is actually

real news

that it actually happened,

let's chew on those implications.

There are implications

to other things he said

because remember,

if Jesus said

he was going to be crucified

and three days later

raised from the dead,

if he was right on that,

what else did he say?

Let me tell you

some things he said.

He said that the greatest problem

every human being faces

is not outside of us,

but inside of us.

And it's not mutated genes

inside of us.

But this deep,

rebellious streak

in each of us

against God.

It's this rebellious streak

that goes like this.

God, I don't give a rip.

I'm going to do

what I want to do,

the way I want to do it,

when I want to do it,

how I want to do it.

The Bible calls that sin.

And each of us

has got that rebellious streak

in us.

According to Jesus.

And there are horrific consequences

to that.

According to Jesus.

Jesus reserves

some of his most stark language

for the eternal punishment

against that kind of rebellion.

He talks about it

as being cast out

into outer darkness

where there is

weeping and gnashing of teeth.

High consequences

to rebellion

against the living God.

So he said that.

But he also said

this.

He said that

he actually came

for rebels.

He came and became

one of us

in order to rescue

rebels.

In order to

go after the rebels

who are out

in the outer darkness

and bring them

into the light

of a banquet feast

with the living God.

He said we've got a problem

but he said

I've got a solution

and he goes on to say

let me tell you

what that solution

is going to be.

He said

I came not to be served

but to serve

and give my life

as a ransom

for many.

His death on the cross

that first good Friday

it was a ransom payment.

It was a ransom payment

for rebels

in order to bring them

from darkness

into light.

He gave his life

to pay the eternal punishment

for all those rebels

willing to believe

in him.

Now if he was right

about his own resurrection

could he be right

about your sinful condition

that you've got

a rebellion streak

in you against

the living God?

If he was right

about his own resurrection

could he also be right

of why he came?

He came on a mission

to rescue rebels.

Could he also be right

if he's right

about the resurrection

could he also be right

about what his death

accomplished?

that at 3 p.m.

that first good Friday

that when he gave up

his life

it was a ransom

for many.

So there's implications

if he was right

about his resurrection

what else did he say?

Is he right

about those two?

And now

what are the implications

about who he is?

The Bible talks

about this one

this Jesus

who's been raised

from the dead

purportedly

that he's Emmanuel

God with us

Merry Christmas!

God came

and walked among us

as a rescue mission

to become

a ransom payment.

He claimed

Jesus claimed

to be the one

who would usher

in a new kingdom

of God

a kingdom

not of political force

not of military might

but a kingdom

made up of

rescues

of rebels

rescued by his ransom

it's a kingdom

of grace

he claimed

to have been

to give all authority

on heaven

and earth

and so to come

into his kingdom

means you come

under his reign

because he has

all authority

to become a Christian

is to live

for Christ

and so that's

the big claim

of the resurrection

that this one

who has died

and was raised

he is

the

Christ

the Messiah

the King of kings

and Lord of lords

who has come

to establish

a kingdom

of rebels

turned

worshippers

and he speaks

today

he's alive

the risen Christ

just wasn't

risen in the Bible

the risen Christ

is alive

today

if he was truly

raised from the dead

he's living

he's reigning

he knows you

in and out

and he's inviting you

to come into

his kingdom

we've chewed on

the implications

if he was raised

from the dead

there are some

serious

far reaching

implications

for all of us

one of which is

to choose

choose

to whom

you're going

to commit

you see

you need

to choose

and you actually

need to choose

twice

here's what I mean

by that

the first choice

you need to make

the first decision

you need to make

is this

is this

he has risen

business

is that

fake news

or is that

real news

that's where

you need to start

if you think

that it's fake

news

it's hogwash

get rid of it

move on with your

day

enjoy the peeps

you know what I'm

talking about

but if it's

real news

then that means

it's true

it means

it happened

it means

he's alive

which means

you have a second

choice now

to make

the first choice

is that

Christianity

is true

Jesus is alive

and now you're

realizing I'm a

sinner

and I need a

ransom

but let's just

clarify something

because I think

people get stuck

here

simply agreeing

that the

resurrection account

is true

does not mean

you are a

Christian

it doesn't mean

you are a

follower of Jesus

hey I agree

with the Chicago

Bears

choosing to

let loose

Jay Coulter

whatever his

name is

but that

doesn't mean

I'm a Bears

fan

you smell it

when I'm

cooking

I agree

but I'm not

a fan

you may

agree

with what

Matthew 28

1-10

says

but that

doesn't make

you a

follower

of the

risen

king

so the

second

choice

you need

to make

is this

it's the

moving

from

intellectual

agreement

to active

faith

let me try

to illustrate

it

I'm sure

you notice

this

stool

to my

left

it's

sturdy

or so it

seems

it's made

of wood

a solid

wood

let me

ask you

this

question

do you

think

that

this

stool

to my

left

this

particular

stool

do you

think

that

can

hold

your

way

nod

if

you

think

it

can

hold

your

way

you

can

nod

shake

your

head

if

you

don't

think

it

you

can

it's

like

it's

not

a

spoof

it's

not

a

trick

here's

the

point

I'm

trying

to

make

just

because

you

can

believe

it

hold

its

way

doesn't

mean

you're

actively

trusting

in

it

right

now

does

it

you

may

intellectually

agree

oh yes

this

is

a

solid

stool

but

it's

not

until

you

sit

down

on

it

that

you

exercise

faith

that

you

put

your

trust

in

this

stool

there's

a lot

of

people

who

think

that

they

can

just

agree

with

the

Bible

and

everything

is

okay

when

in

fact

they

are

not

actively

trusting

in

the

risen

Christ

so

this

is

what

it

looks

like

it

goes

from

saying

yes

I

believe

that

Jesus

was

raised

from

the

dead

he

is

risen

he

is

risen

indeed

amen

yes

to

oh

risen

Christ

you

came

for

me

and

gave

your

life

as

a

ransom

and

now

I'm

going

to

live

my

life

for

you

joyfully

under

your

reign

see

the

difference

where

are

you

do

you

agree

are

you

actively

trusting

in

the

risen

Christ

have

you

cried

out

to

him

have

you

moved

from

a

simple

confession

to

a

believing

in

your

heart

that

God

raised

Christ

from

the

dead

this

morning

we've

asked

the

question

hey

is

the

resurrection

fake

news

or

real

news

and

the

Bible

says

it

is

real

news

I've

sought

to

kind

of

clarify

the

account

to

help

you

understand

the

claim

to

chew

on

the

implications

and

now

I've

urged

you

to

choose

to

commit

yourself

to

the

risen

Christ

what

are you

going to

do

choose

him

cry

out

to

him

if

this

news

is

real

news

it's

not

just

true

it

changes

everything

and

that's

why

it's

not

just

real

news

but

good

news

this

is

the

news

of

salvation

for

sinners

for

rebels

he

is

risen

he

is

risen

indeed

he

who

has

ears

hear

the

word

of

the

kingdom

let's

pray

risen

Christ

thank

you

so

much

that

you

are

a

God

that

is

alive

and

you

are

reigning

we

pray

that

you

would

take

this

news

and

plant

it

into

hearts

and

that

you

would

bring

about

a

yield

of

faith

and

fruitfulness

to

the

glory

of

your

name

Lord

Jesus

we

gladly

confess

to

you

you

are

our

risen

king

and

it's

to

you

to

whom

we

live

and

commit

our

lives

it's

in

your

name

we

pray

and

all

of

God's

people

said

Amen