Living Waters of Grace for April 2nd, 2026

This is Living Waters of Grace, the teaching ministry of Lewis

Harold, assistant pastor of Calvary Chapel of Westmoreland

County in Greensburg, PA. Now here's Pastor Lewis as he

continues teaching through God's Word.

And then in verse 5 he says what the Angel answered and said to

the women, do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who

was crucified. And then verse 6 is probably my

favorite verse. The Angel said he is not here,

for he is risen as he said. Don't forget that part, as he

said. As he said, this is an important

phrase in the Bible for so many of us.

As we say doesn't mean much. Our yes isn't yes and our no

isn't no. We flip flop a lot with our

words and commitments. The Bible provides plenty of

details for things that were predicted to happen, and the

death and resurrection of Jesus is the most pivotal in all of

history. But as he said, it's a phrase

that confirms the words spoken by the prophets.

Today, you'll learn from Pastor Lewis just how much you can

trust in the Word of God. Now here's Pastor Lewis in the

Gospel of Matthew chapter 28 with today's edition of Living

Matthew 28 · chapter mention

Waters of Grace. I would ask if you would turn in

your bodies please to the book of Matthew and we're going to

look at the 28th chapter there beginning at verse one.

One of the reasons why we have decided to play this particular

rap song that Case and his wrote is because it kind of depicts

exactly what it was that my life was about before I knew Christ

and, and how I celebrated Easter.

And I want to say this, and I'm going to say this right at the

top. Many people call it Easter.

Many people call it Resurrection day.

We're not more holy. People call it one or the other.

The one who calls it resurrection Day is no more holy

or righteous than the one who calls it Easter.

OK, that's not the point. The point is, where's the heart?

Where's the heart if your heart prioritizes what happened that

day, The fact that our Lord and Savior walked out of that tomb

and we don't know what He walked.

Maybe He levitated out of it. I don't know.

I wasn't there. But we do know that He did rise

Sunday morning. And because He lives, we live.

That's the important thing about the resurrection.

It's not whether you call it Easter or whether you call it

Resurrection Day. I just want to make that clear

right from the top. So when someone says Happy

Easter to me and I say happy Resurrection Day back, I'm not

trying to be more righteous than you and I'm not saying that

you're more righteous than me. But it's the heart behind the

reason why we celebrate that makes this day so special.

That's what separates us from the world.

And as long as we have that in mind, doesn't matter what we

call it, long as we know that this is the day that we

commemorate and celebrate the day that our Lord and Savior was

risen, just as he said. Amen.

So, yeah, Well, but, but for many years, that was me.

I, I, I celebrated Easter because of what it gave me,

because of what this day gave me.

See, when I was young, and maybe many of you can relate to it,

but when I was young, we celebrated Easter.

And that meant a new suit, a new pair of shoes and lots of candy.

And that was every year. That was every year I could look

forward to getting a new suit. Every year.

My mom would give me a new suit every year because Easter had to

go to church and have on an Easter suit and everybody else

had on one. So we went to church and we were

looking at what everybody else was wearing and everybody's

suits and everybody's shoes. Oh more, that looks nice.

That looks nice. How much can I was running

around trying to get all the Reese's peanut butter cups I can

find and everybody's baskets. But that's what it meant to me.

That's what it meant to me. But now being in Christ Jesus,

it means so much more. And that's what we want to talk

about this morning. You see the resurrection of

Jesus Christ. It's a historical as well as a

fulfilled prophecy. It provides a lot of things for

us. First of all, it provides the

fact that it is fulfilled. It does fulfill the Old

Testament prophecy and the proof that Jesus Christ is the

Messiah. Secondly, it's hope for our own

resurrection one day. Just to look at a couple verses

concerning that, I'd like to look at Romans first of all,

chapter 6 and yeah, chapter 6 and verses 8 and 9, and I'll

just read it just basically says now we have died with Christ, we

believe that we shall also live with him knowing that Christ,

having been raised from the dead, dies no more.

Second Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 14 says, knowing that he

2 Corinthians 4 · chapter mention

who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise up, raise us up

with Jesus and will present us with you.

And then in first Peter gives us another encouragement.

First Peter chapter 1 and verse 3 says blessed be the God and

1 Peter 1 · chapter mention

Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his abundant

mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the

resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

So his resurrection is hope for us that we too will be

resurrected one day. But I also want to mention that

it wasn't like when he resurrected.

It wasn't like him just coming just being made alive again.

See back in in the Old Testament, there's different

times when we see that people were made alive.

Elijah, he brought the woman's son who had died, and she, you

know, he raised him from the dead.

Jesus even rose Lazarus from the dead, but they died again.

If they weren't resurrected, they were raised from the dead.

Jesus was resurrected. He was resurrected to new life.

His body was not the same. Now he's able to go through and

we'll get to that in a minute, but he's able to walk through

walls and appear. He was different because the

body that went in is not the same body that goes out.

We're we're, we may go in the ground with dishonor, but we're

raised in glory. We may go in the ground, a

natural body, but we're raised a spiritual body.

We may go in the ground, a weak body, but we're raised in power.

So it's not just him coming alive again.

He was resurrected and makes such a big difference.

So now let's go back to our let's go to our story.

So being that we have these two facts that it fulfills Old

Testament prophecy and and also the fact that it's hoped for our

own resurrection. The one thing that's important

that we look at now is, well, how should we live in light of

the resurrection? How does that impact the way we

live? Does it impact our life or is it

just something we look at? So it happened and we just keep

going. No, it has an impact on our

life. It has an impact on the how we

live going forward. We'll get into that.

But looking at verse chapter 28, starting at verse one, and I'll

just read down to verse 3 and then we'll go back and make

calm. He says this now after the 7th,

as the first day of the week began to dawn.

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb, and

behold, there was a great earthquake, for an Angel of the

Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone

from the door and sat on it. Just stop there for a second.

That's a mouthful. So we see that on Sunday

morning, which is the early Sunday morning, which is when

the two women decided that it was time for them to go when

they brought spices with them. They brought spices because they

were going to prepare the body. They were going to anoint the

body of Jesus. So they brought they came with

spices and they really expected to see a body there.

You know, it wasn't like they came thinking that it would be,

that it would not be there. They expected to see that body

there. So they brought these spices and

they obviously couldn't do it on the Sabbath, which was the day

before this, which was a Saturday.

They couldn't do it on the Sabbath.

So they waited until dawn of the Sunday morning, which is early

Sunday morning. But before they got there, the

Bible tells us that there was something epic that it happened

before they got there. Now, we don't know if it

happened late Saturday night or if it happened early Sunday

morning before they actually got there.

But what we know is something epic happened.

And when they got there, all they saw is that the door to the

tomb, the OR the stone that was in front of the tomb was

removed. That's all they saw.

They were wondering how are they going to remove that big stone

before they got there. That was a conversation they

were having and thinking, how are we going to remove this big

stone? We're not talking when it says a

stone. We're not talking about a

Pebble, we're talking about a boulder that they use to cover

and secure this tomb. So they're wondering, you know,

Mary and the other Mary and the other women that are with them,

how are we going to move this tomb?

Men can hardly move it. How are we going to do it?

But before they got there, God had already took care of that.

And he says it was a great earthquake.

And isn't amazing that earthquakes always somehow

accompany great things that happen in the Word of God?

When he was crucified, the Bible says there was a earthquake when

he was crucified. And the Bible says there was an

earthquake here at the resurrection.

So there was a great earthquake and the Angel of the Lord had

descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from

the door and sat on it. So this Angel came down from

heaven. And I don't believe that the

Angel got behind his boulder and pushed it.

I believe all he did was just part of him waved his hand or

something and, and the boater just moved.

I mean, we saw on the Old Testament that Moses, all he did

was put up his arms and he, he raised the staff that was in his

hand and the whole Red Sea divided.

So I can't imagine these angels having to put forth any labor to

move this stone. But the interesting thing is

what happens here in verse in verse 4.

Let's look at verse three first. He says His countenance was like

lightning. This is just the description of

the Angel. His countenance was like

lightning and His clothes as white as snow.

If you remember in the Transfiguration when they looked

at Christ, his face glowed. It was like white, the glory of

the Lord is so bright they could hardly look at him and he

appeared to have on white garments.

It also says that the same is in Revelation when John the Apostle

John first saw Jesus in Revelations and and it said that

he had on a white garment the purity of holiness, the purity

of godliness is what these things represent.

And this Angel was representing the purity and it says like

lightning. So he was also representing the

power of God. And in verse 4 says in the and

the guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men.

Now these are guard. Now we don't know exactly how

many of these guards were there guarding this tomb.

We don't know exactly. The Bible doesn't say

specifically how many was there. The speculation is that there

were probably at least 4 because when they say of guard, it

represents at least 4, but it could be anywhere from four men

to about 16 men in a single guard.

So it wasn't clear exactly how many of these men the these

soldiers were there guarding this tomb.

But what we do know, and we know this from back in chapter 27,

and it says this in chapter 27, verse 64, starting verse 62, it

says on the next day, this is the next day after the

crucifixion which followed the day of preparation.

The chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to pilot,

saying, Sir, we remember while he was still alive, how the

deceiver said, after three days I will rise.

Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the 3rd

day, lest his disciples come by night and steal him away and say

to the people, He has risen from the dead.

So the last deception will be worse than the first 65 pilots

said to them, You have a guard, go go your way and make it as

secure as you know. So they went and made the tomb

secure, sealing the stone and setting the guard.

So these guards that the Pharisees were actually they had

access to were actually Roman soldiers.

Roman soldiers. I'm saying this for a reason,

because if you're talking about here, that these men over here

in verse 28, verse 4 where it says and the guards shook for

fear of him and became like dead men.

We're not talking about men who were like me, who won't even,

who won't even face a bear in the woods or won't even go

camping because of what I might see in the woods.

We're not talking about men like that.

We're talking about soldiers. We're talking about men who are

proven to be gladiators, men who will fight.

They they are, are strong men. They are proven valor men, men

who will go to battle. And at that particular time,

Rome was probably the best trained army in the world.

But when these men saw that Angel, the sight of that must

have been so terrifying to them that the Bible said they shook,

They shook. In fact, they were so afraid

that they became like dead men. And they became like dead men

because of the fear, because of the fear that they experienced.

Now this now this dead doesn't mean that they actually were

dead. Obviously they weren't dead

dead, but they were unconscious. And when you look at what it

means, like by dead men they're talking about, they were

incapacitated by overwhelming fear.

They were rendered helpless, rendered weak because of the

power, the display of power that they saw in God.

I can't imagine seeing that power and how would it impact us

standing in the power in the presence of God.

It's a fear that causes fainting and his Angel and these men did

faint in the presence of these of this Angel.

Now it also talked about that as well with Jesus when they went

to arrest him, when they asked who Jesus was and he says I am

Jesus. Bible says they felt like dead

man. They felt like dead man because

the power, the purity and the holiness of God is overwhelming.

It's overwhelming. And then in verse 5, he says

what the Angel answered and said to the women, Do not be afraid,

for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.

And then verse 6 is probably my favorite verse.

The Angel said he is not here for he is risen as he said.

Don't forget that part, as he said.

That part is important. We know that throughout the

Gospels that there have been many times when Jesus predicted

when he's speaking to his apostles and his disciples, when

he would tell the fact that he would go and he's going to be

betrayed. He's going to go to Jerusalem.

He's going to be betrayed, and he's going to suffer at the

hands of these wicked men. And that he's going to be

killed. Jesus.

Yeah, he's he's I'm going to be killed.

But on the third day, I'm going to rise again.

He said that to him a number of times, but that never really

sunk in for them. It never sunk into them, but he

said it so many times and he even said it to the Pharisees

when they talked about wanting to destroy Jesus.

Jesus said destroy this temple and I'll raise it up.

I'll raise it up in three days. Go ahead.

And they said they thinking he's talking physical.

So they said, wait a minute, it took 46 years to build a temple

and you are going to build it in three days.

But Jesus was talking about the temple of his own body.

He said, I will raise it up in three days.

So these angels, what they're saying here is epic.

It's so it's so important and it's so serious and it means so

much for us because it is as he said, as he said.

So if this wouldn't have been true, how could we have believed

anything else that he told us? So it was important that the

Angel specifically mentioned, as he said, if you have faith in

this, have faith in everything else that he said, boy, you got

a good, you got a bright future. It's going to be well for you

because he does what he says. Numbers tell us that God is.

He's not a man that he should lie.

If he says that he's going to do it, he's not a man that he

should lie. So then he talked about it.

He he goes even further than that.

He says he's not here. He is risen as he said, come

see, I actually have AI started wearing those.

I got a T-shirt that says come see.

I started to wear it, but he says come see.

So in other words, what he's saying is, look, I know you're

not going to just take my word for it, even though I'm an Angel

that that constantly stands before the Lord in heaven and

I've come down from heaven in order to do this feet.

But I'm not asking you to just take my word for that.

I want you to come see. So he, you know, he said, go see

and see the place where the Lord lie.

And then in verse 7 he says, and go, and go quickly and tell his

disciples that he is risen from the dead.

And indeed He is going before them into Galilee.

There you will see him. Behold, I have told you this

Angel, He, He's giving them an invitation now, an invitation to

come and validate what He just said.

So they go when they look in and they see, well, He's not there.

He's not there. I've never been to Israel.

I've never been to Jerusalem. I've never been to this tomb,

but I know many people who have my pastor have a Clark, you've

been to this tomb, correct? So and I know many people have

been there several times, several times.

So I want to ask a question because I know that when the

people that I asked when they were there at this tomb and they

said, well, you want to go over to Jerusalem, I said I don't

need to. You were there.

You said he wasn't in there. You said he wasn't there.

So I believe he wasn't there. The Bible says he wasn't there.

That's two witnesses. Pastor Clark, when you went to

Jerusalem, when you went to the tomb, when you looked in, was he

there? I have no reason to have to go.

My pastor said he wasn't there, He's not there, and indeed he is

going before you into Galilee. There you will see him.

Behold, I have told you. And he did.

He told him just that. Jesus told them on the last time

in the book of Matthew when he told him that he was going to be

killed and he was going to be buried and he was going to rise

again. He said, but I will go before

you in Galilee. If you go back to Matthew

Matthew 26 · chapter mention

chapter 26, which is a should be just a couple pages over and

verse 32 and I'm going to start reading here in verse 31.

Then Jesus said to them, all of you will be made to stumble

because of me this night. For it is written, I will strike

the shepherd, meaning that he was going to be stricken,

beaten, He's going to suffer and he's going to die, and the sheep

of the flock will be scattered. And that's exactly what they all

did when he was being beaten. They ran, they left them.

Even Peter who said that he wouldn't.

Verse 32 But after I have been raised, I will go before you to

Galilee. So just like the Angel said,

look just like he said, just like he told you, OK, he's going

to go before you into Galilee. So so far everything that Jesus

has said was going to happen is coming to be verse 8 and 9

Matthew do 10/2. He says so they went out quickly

from the tomb with fear and great joy and they ran to bring

his disciples word. So let's stop there for a

second. So they left with both fear and

joy. I I I can certainly understand

that and you just saw this Angel sitting on a the stone of this

tomb that it probably would have taken about 30 men plus a

machine to move of some type. But this Angel was there by

himself. But the other account actually

show that there were more than one Angel there.

We don't know exactly how many angels were there, but there

were more than one Angel. There was more than one Angel

there. Thanks for joining us today as

we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus here on Living Waters of

Grace. Pastor Lewis Harrell has been so

excited to share with us about the miracle of the resurrection

of Christ. The human race spent thousands

of years lost in sin before God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ,

to come be a perfect sacrifice for all mankind.

His blood is enough to atone for the sins of all mankind, and His

resurrection puts an end to death itself.

Our desire is to spread this good news of the Gospel to as

many people as possible, but we need your help to do so.

The first way you can help us is by sharing this program with a

friend. You can join us here on Grace FM

91.7 or they can TuneIn online at Grace Radio dot FM.

And as we continue to develop a new station that will reach many

more listeners, you can send financial gifts to Grace FMPO,

Box 716, Greensburg, PA 15601. If you're in Greensburg, we'd

also love to invite you to join us at Calvary Chapel

Westmoreland. We're located at 400 E

Pittsburgh St. Ste. 6B.

We meet on Sundays at 10:30 AM. If you're not able to visit us

in person, we encourage you to connect with us on the web at

calvarychapelonline.com. There you will find a link to

our Calvary Chapel Westmoreland mobile app or social media feeds

and the contact form so you can get connected with us or share a

prayer request with our team. We also live stream our services

every Sunday on our YouTube channel.

Well, we pray that you will be blessed as you go forth into

your week. Until next time, we'd like to

thank you for tuning into this special Easter edition of Living

Waters of Grace.