Do You Know the Risen Christ?

Alright, well, it's Resurrection Sunday.

We've been celebrating what happened long ago that day in song.

We heard the story read, and we want to take some time just to think about what this means for us this morning.

So if you have your Bible, you can open it up to Matthew 28, verse 1.

Matthew 28:1

We're going to be looking at the story from Matthew's Gospel where we heard from earlier.

Matthew 28, verse 1.

Matthew 28:1

And as we come to that wonderful Resurrection Sunday morning, we can't help but remember what's led up to this moment.

And yet, where do we even start?

This is all part of a greater story, the story of Jesus.

And that's even part of an even bigger story, the story of our world, the story of God.

But let's remember for a moment what happened just the week leading up to all this.

Jesus has come into Jerusalem.

Jesus, the great miracle worker.

Jesus, the healer.

Jesus, the one who has been teaching massive crowds and with such authority.

He's come riding into Jerusalem just a week before all this to shouts of Hosanna.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Blessed is the King of Israel.

It's been a week of excitement and anticipation.

Just over three years before all this, almost nobody knew who this man was.

And now here he comes riding into the capital city of Israel in the manner of a king.

With a massive crowd of people all around him.

And people have gathered from all over to mark the Passover celebration here in Jerusalem.

And the spotlight, the attention of everyone is on this man, Jesus.

Up until now, he's been a highly polarizing figure.

And it seems that every time Jesus has come up to Jerusalem for another festival in the years leading up to this,

all kinds of exciting things have been happening.

There's been healings.

He's done signs, miracles.

There's been heated debate between this rabbi who hails from Galilee and the Jewish religious leaders.

And for some time now, Jesus has come to be on the wanted list of the religious leaders.

And many in Jerusalem know it.

Many people believe that Jesus is the King, the Messiah, the Christ that God promised long ago.

And if not that, they believe he's a prophet.

Even some believe he's the ultimate prophet sent from God.

But at the same time, many do not believe this about Jesus.

Some think of him as a great trickster, a deceiver, or even a crazy person.

And all week long, Jesus has been going to the temple courts and teaching the people.

And the crowd there has been hanging on his every word.

The religious leaders have been doing everything that they can to challenge him,

to discredit him, to humiliate him, to trick him or trap him in his words.

But nothing has worked.

And then, eventually, finally, the evening of the Jewish Passover came.

And Jesus came to celebrate the Passover with his disciples.

That very night, under the cover of darkness,

Judas led a group of men out to where Jesus was.

And they arrested Jesus and his disciples scattered.

Jesus was put through a couple sham trials.

He was falsely accused.

He was beaten.

He was mocked.

He was handed over to Pilate, the Roman governor, the next day.

The religious leaders stirred up the people in Jerusalem to demand Jesus' execution,

even though he was found innocent by Pilate.

And Pilate wanted to calm the crowd.

So he handed Jesus over to be crucified.

Jesus was nailed to a cross and left to die.

After Jesus had been executed, a man named Joseph, who was a member of the Jewish council,

he went and got permission to take Jesus' body down from the cross and bury it.

So he prepared the body and he buried Jesus in his own new tomb.

He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance.

And then the chief priests and the Pharisees went and got permission from Pilate to secure the tomb.

They put a seal on it and they posted a guard at the entrance.

They wanted to ensure that Jesus' body remained undisturbed.

They remembered what Jesus had said while he was teaching,

that he would be killed and then be raised on the third day.

And they didn't want to take any chances, so they put a few extra measures in place.

Let's read what happened next from Matthew 28, verse 1.

Matthew 28:1

After the Sabbath, at dawn, on the first day of the week,

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

These two women loved Jesus.

They were some of the many close followers of Jesus.

Why would they go back to his tomb?

We don't know their exact thoughts,

but we know that they loved Jesus deeply and that they believed in him.

Everything that had just happened to Jesus was probably very fresh in their minds,

playing over and over again like a horrific nightmare.

The shouts of the crowd,

Jesus' appearance after his beatings,

the cries of pain as the nails were pounded in,

the utter shame and humiliation of it all

as he hung there, dying in agony on the cross,

the taunts and the mocking of those who passed by and saw him,

and even his words which he spoke in those last hours and moments before he died.

Even though they had seen him buried,

these women were probably still going through the full range of emotions.

Grief,

shock,

anger,

deep loss.

They were mourning.

Mark tells us that they had bought some spices so that they might go and anoint Jesus' body.

Matthew here tells us simply that they went to see the tomb.

And they went early in the morning,

at dawn.

verse 2.

There was a violent earthquake,

for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven.

And going to the tomb,

he rolled back the stone and sat on it.

His appearance was like lightning,

and his clothes were white as snow.

The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

Can you imagine this moment for the women?

Their hearts must have been pounding.

Their eyes must have been wide as can be.

Matthew says there was a violent earthquake,

a great earthquake.

Not just a little rumble in the ground,

but a great earthquake.

And the cause of this earthquake was the angel.

For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven.

Or because an angel of the Lord came down from heaven.

This is where some of those superhero movies are so helpful to my imagination.

You know those superheroes that fly,

and sometimes they just make their entrance,

they come shooting down from the sky,

and the ground beneath their feet crumbles,

and it sends a tremor out in all directions.

I imagine it may be something like that.

This meteorite streaking down from the heavens

and impacting the earth.

What an awesome thing it would have been to see.

They felt the ground shake,

and as they approach the tomb,

they find that the stone has been rolled away,

and they see this angel.

They describe his appearance as like lightning,

which probably means that he was nearly blinding in his appearance,

so bright that their eyes could barely take him in.

His clothes, white as snow,

purest white that they'd ever seen.

And the women weren't the only ones who saw the angel.

The guards witnessed all this too.

Matthew says in verse 4,

The guards were so afraid of him

that they shook or trembled

and became like dead men.

You can just imagine them

terrified, in shock,

their hands shaking,

utterly paralyzed with fear,

unable to move a muscle

in the presence of this awesome angelic being.

And then,

verse 5,

the angel speaks

to these women.

The angel said to the women,

Do not be afraid,

for I know that you are looking for Jesus

who was crucified.

The first thing he tells them is,

Do not be afraid.

Probably the women in that moment

felt a lot like the guards felt in that moment.

But the angel assures them,

You guys are in no danger.

And then the angel tells them

that he knows why they have come.

You're looking for Jesus.

You're looking for the one who is crucified.

You won't find him here,

says the angel.

He is not here.

He is risen.

We can only imagine

the shock of the women

as they try to process all of this.

Like,

What is,

what's happening here?

What are you saying?

What do you mean he's not here?

We saw him laid right there

in the tomb.

He is risen?

What do you mean he's risen?

Like,

risen to heaven,

or

risen back to life

and walking around?

I don't know what they were thinking.

But I know that if I had been there,

I would have had all kinds of questions

just swirling through my mind

in that moment.

My emotions would probably

just be all over the place,

looking for a place to land.

How do I respond to all this?

The angel says,

Come,

and see the place

where he lay.

Take a good look in here.

You'll see.

He's not here.

And then,

the angel gives them

an assignment.

Verse 7.

Says,

Go quickly

and tell

his disciples

he has risen

from the dead

and is going ahead of you

into Galilee.

There you will see him.

Now,

I have told you.

At this point,

it becomes,

it should be clear

to the women

what kind of risen

the angel is talking about.

The angel says it right there.

Risen from the dead.

Kind of risen.

Like,

you and the disciples

are going to see him

walking around

bodily,

over in Galilee.

Kind of risen.

This isn't just

a spiritual resurrection.

This is a human body

back to life

kind of resurrection.

Go,

tell his disciples

that he's alive.

Verse 8.

So the women

hurried away

from the tomb,

afraid,

yet filled with joy,

and ran

to tell his disciples.

This translation

is probably

a little bit flat.

More literally.

And departing

quickly

from the tomb

with fear

and great joy,

they ran

to report

or announce

to his disciples.

Can you feel

the intensity

of this moment

for these women?

Matthew says

they ran.

And you have to know

that this wasn't

just your plain

Jane Joggers

run in the morning

kind of run.

No,

they ran,

it says,

with fear

and

great joy.

Probably the adrenaline

was still coursing

through their veins

from everything

that they just experienced

and just,

you know,

giving them

this explosive energy.

But it wasn't

all from fear.

It was also

from great joy.

Our Lord

is alive.

I can scarcely

imagine

what it must have

felt like.

But can you

imagine them

running?

There they are

running

excitedly

and then

verse 9.

Suddenly,

Jesus

met them.

Greetings,

he said.

This is a terrible

English translation.

In English,

the word greetings

is one of the most

formal greetings.

It's kind of a

subdued way

of saying hello.

It's like

the thing you would say

when you step up

to the podium

to make a speech.

in front of an audience.

No,

that's not right.

The word he uses

in even one of the

latest translations

of the Bible

puts it in there

right like this.

The word he uses

is actually,

literally,

rejoice.

And that

actually was

a common greeting

back then.

Not unlike

what we might mean

when we say

good morning to you,

a joyful day to you,

a happy day to you.

Rejoice.

But of course

we know that

in this moment,

this reunion

between Jesus

and these Marys,

Jesus probably

means this greeting

to the fullest

possible extent.

Rejoice.

This is a very

happy to see you

moment.

A reunion

of reunions.

Rejoice,

he said.

They came to him,

clasped his feet,

and worshipped him.

I love this.

They just

grab a hold

of his feet

and they won't

let go.

And they worshipped

him.

Very strong word.

They give him

praise

and glory.

Verse 10.

Then Jesus

said to them,

do not be afraid.

Go and tell

my brothers

to go to Galilee.

There

they will see me.

As I was

reflecting on

this week,

something in this

little phrase

just touched me

and it was the way

Jesus referred

to the other

disciples.

My brothers,

go and tell

my brothers.

this is Jesus

here,

the resurrected

king,

the Messiah,

the son of God,

God in human

flesh,

and the women

know their

rightful place

is at his feet

worshipping.

And yet,

how does he

refer to his

disciples?

My brothers.

My brothers.

I love that.

If I were

Peter

or any of the

other disciples

who had deserted

him that night,

I'm thinking,

I'm not worthy

to be called

your brother.

I'm not worthy

to be treated

as a brother,

as family.

You're our king.

You're the son

of God.

How can you

call me a

brother?

Yet,

that's what Jesus

refers to them

as,

my brothers.

And he doesn't

overstate the

truth of their

relationship.

What a joyful

and happy day

this was.

Jesus.

And this

that we've

just read

is just

the beginning

of the story.

Luke has

more to say.

John has

more to say

about all

that Jesus

did and

said after

he was raised

from the dead

up until the

time that he

was taken

into heaven.

This is the

story of

Resurrection

Sunday.

today.

Now,

what does

it mean

for us?

Well,

there's so

much to

say here

and I

don't think

I'm overstating

it to say

that Jesus

being raised

from the

dead means

everything

for us.

Where do we

even start?

The Apostle

Paul told the

Corinthians that

Jesus being

raised from

the dead is

so crucial.

It's so

critical that

if he hadn't

been raised

from the dead

we'd all be

lost.

we'd be

utterly hopeless.

We'd still

have our

guilt and

we'd be

stuck in

it forever.

We'd be

facing the

final judgment

of God

for our

sins with

no hope,

no pardon.

That Christ

was raised

from the

dead is

God's

declaration

that the

sacrifice

Jesus

offered was

accepted.

Mission

accomplished.

You and

I,

can be

forgiven,

were

forgiven.

Paul says

it like

this to

the church

at Rome.

Jesus

was delivered

over to

death for

our sins.

This is

Romans 4.25

and was

raised to

life for

our

justification.

In other

words,

he was

raised to

life to

secure our

right standing

with God

in the

courts of

heaven.

That's what

his

resurrection

brings about

for us.

Jesus'

resurrection

means

everything

for us.

It means

that Jesus

was not

a false

prophet.

He predicted

his death

and his

resurrection

three days

later,

and exactly

what he

said

came true.

More than

that,

it means

that everything

Jesus said

was true.

Jesus

claimed to

be from

heaven.

He claimed

to be sent

from God.

God.

He claimed

to speak

to the

people

God's

very

words.

And so

the

resurrection

is the

ultimate

proof.

It's

God's

stamp

of

approval

that

yes,

he does

speak for

me.

He is

my

son.

He is

the

Christ.

He is

the king

that I

have

chosen

and

appointed.

He is

the way

and the

truth

and the

life.

So many

of the

promises

of Jesus

rest on

the

resurrection

of Jesus.

Think

back to

some of

the things

that Jesus

said that

we've been

looking at

in the

gospel of

John.

John 5

24,

very truly

I tell

you,

whoever

hears my

word and

believes

him who

sent me

has

eternal

life and

will not

be judged

but is

crossed

over from

death to

life.

Can

Jesus

give us

eternal

life if

he's still

in the

tomb?

No.

Jesus

goes on

in that

particular

conversation.

He talks

about how

it's been

given to

him to

judge all

people at

the final

judgment.

How can

he do

that if

he's still

in the

tomb?

He

can't.

he said

to them

that same

day that

there will

come a

day when

he will

call all

people out

of their

graves to

that moment

of judgment.

How can

he do

that if

he's still

in the

tomb?

None of

this can

be true

if Jesus

stayed

dead.

You

might

remember

Jesus'

conversation

with

Martha

after

Lazarus

had

died.

He said

to her,

I am

the

resurrection

and the

life.

The one

who believes

in me

will live

even though

they die.

These are

totally empty

words if

Jesus himself

was not

even raised

from the

dead.

I am

the

resurrection

and the

life.

Paul

doesn't

overstate

things when

he says

that if

Jesus

hadn't been

raised from

the dead,

then our

faith is

futile.

It's good

for nothing.

But Jesus

was raised

from the

dead,

just as

we heard.

And as

Paul makes

clear, if

Jesus has

been raised

from the

dead, then

we know

that the

way has

been opened

for us

to be

raised from

the dead

too.

For us

to have

the eternal

life that

Jesus promised

to everyone

who believes

in his

name.

And this

is wonderful.

This is

great news.

It means

that our

greatest

enemy,

death,

will not

prevail over

us at

the end.

Neither

will the

guilt that

we have

for our

sins.

Paul

traces this

out in

his letter

to the

Corinthians.

We won't

go into

all of

that,

but I

love how

he says

it.

He basically

says,

because of

Christ's

own victory

over death,

all of us

who are in

him can

take up a

taunt against

death itself.

Like,

na-na-na-boo-boo,

where,

oh,

death,

is your

victory?

Where,

oh,

death,

is your

sting?

It's gone.

We have

victory over

death itself

through Jesus

Christ,

our Lord.

The list

goes on.

We could

talk about

how Jesus

is in

heaven,

interceding

for us

right now.

God,

he wouldn't

be if

there was

no

resurrection.

We could

talk about

how the

promise was

given that

a son of

David would

come to

sit on

David's

throne

and rule

forever.

Could that

be fulfilled

without Jesus

rising from

the dead?

No.

The

resurrection

of Jesus

is everything.

It's the

foundation of

all that we

hope for

and long

for and

are waiting

for as

Christians.

It's the

foundation of

everything God

has promised

to his

people through

all generations.

But beyond

all this,

there is one

thing that

the resurrection

of Jesus

means for

each one of

us that's

even more

precious,

at least to

me,

than all the

rest.

You know,

I was watching

a thing with

my family

last night.

It's the

story of

Jesus done

in some

live theater.

And I got

thinking,

you know,

the disciples

had it really

good.

They got to

walk with

Jesus while

he was here.

They got to

see his face.

They got to

see the

miracles that

he did with

their own

eyes.

They were

able to

touch him

and feel

him.

And he

was able to

touch them.

They had a

very tangible

relationship and

friendship with

Jesus that

was unique and

personal to

each one of

them.

the

resurrection of

Jesus means

that each

of their own

personal

relationships with

Jesus didn't

end the day

that Jesus

died.

Think about

that for a

moment.

What John

had with

Jesus,

the Apostle

John,

didn't end

when Jesus

died.

It continued

after Jesus

was raised.

That special

bond that

Peter had

with Jesus

continued

after Jesus

was raised.

that friendship

that Mary

Magdalene had

with Jesus

before he

died.

It didn't

end the day

of his

death.

That friendship

continued after

he was raised.

Now for all

of them and

for us,

having a

relationship

with Jesus

has changed.

When he

went back to

heaven,

in some

respects,

it became

almost like

a distance

relationship,

a relationship

that now

happens through

his spirit

that comes

to live

in us

when we

believe.

But there

is coming

a day

when Jesus

will return.

A day

when that

tangible,

physical,

visible

relationship

with Christ

will be

restored for

Peter

and John

and Mary

Magdalene

and for us

who believe

in him.

For all

of us who

have never

seen him

face to

face,

for all

of us

who have

never,

like they

did,

felt his

strong

embrace,

there is

coming a

day when

we too

will have

that kind

of relationship

with him.

We'll see

him with

our own

eyes,

face to

face,

we'll be

able to

touch him,

feel his

embrace,

we'll hear

from his

human lips

that yes,

he did

indeed hear

every single

prayer that

we prayed.

The

resurrection

of Jesus

is the

foundation

of all

that we

hope for

and long

for and

wait for

as Christians.

It's the

foundation

of our

salvation,

yes,

but to me

the most

precious thing

of all

is that it

means that

each of us

can personally

know Christ

himself today

because he's

alive.

We can have

that friendship

with him

today,

knowing that

one day

that distance

will be gone

and we

will have

his

continued

love and

friendship

forever

in person.

This is

what it's

all about.

Do you

remember what

Jesus prayed

on the

eve of

his death?

This is

what he

said to

his father,

John 17

3,

he said,

now this

is eternal

life,

that they,

my followers,

those you

have given

me,

that they

might know

you,

the only

true God

and

me,

Jesus

Christ,

whom you

have sent.

This is

what life,

life eternal,

life forever

is all about.

It's all about

knowing Jesus.

Jesus goes

on in his

prayer.

We won't

go into

all the

details.

He prays

not just

for his

immediate

disciples,

but also

for those

who will

believe in

him through

their

message.

He prays

that they

would be

unified

and be

one,

that he

would be

in them.

He says,

I want

those you

have given

me to

be with

me where

I am

and to

see my

glory,

the glory

you have

given me.

Do you

know that

Jesus longs

for that

kind of

personal

relationship

with you?

he prayed

for it

just before

he went

to the

cross.

A face

to face

see my

glory,

you

with me

where I

am

kind of

relationship.

He went

to the

cross

because he

desires that

kind of

relationship

with you

and with

me.

And if

he hadn't

been raised

from the

dead,

we could

never have

that with

him.

So that's

the thing

that I'm

celebrating

most today

because he

rose from

the grave

and is

alive today.

We can

know Jesus

Christ himself

personally,

deeply,

and one

day visibly

and tangibly

face to

face.

Let's

pray.

Amen.

Father in

heaven,

we give

you glory.

Lord Jesus,

we give

you glory

and we

worship

you today.

You are

our king,

we believe.

You are

the son

of God

and we

thank you

that you

have even

brought

yourself

down to

the level

of brother

and a

friend.

We love

you so

much and

we long

for that

day when

you will

come back

and you

will raise

us to

new life

with you

forever.

May that

day come

quickly.

In your

name,

amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.