The Gospel According to Matthew - Easter

Well, Jesus is risen. He's risen indeed. Good

morning. Welcome to the house. My name is Gregg

Hampton. I'm one of the pastors here. If we've

never met before, this is your last chance for

a while. This Wednesday, I begin a three -month

sabbatical, so you literally won't see me for

a little while. So I want to make sure that you

get the chance to meet one of the pastors or

one of the team leaders. Really, anybody with

a lanyard, you know that there's someone that

serves here. So we have Pastor Jen, we have Pastor

Marissa, and I didn't think you were going to

be here, Pastor Marissa. I was going to say,

please keep Marissa and her family in your prayers

as her father is still at the hospital in Iowa

City. But he's making some improvements. Yeah.

You said that he was moving his leg. Amazing.

Yeah. I came out to Iowa City to visit them the

other day, and they had a whole corner of, what

did you call it? Yeah, your settlement. Yeah,

they have a couch and a couple of those chairs

that lay flat, and they had started in different

spots, and as different people left, they were

like, all right, we got that. So they're expanding.

It's beautiful. And I know that he can tell.

I know he can tell that you're with them. a new

series called The Gospel According to Matthew.

And then if you look real close, it says in the

Bible. We all know someone named Matthew. This

one's the Matthew in the Bible. I know that probably

didn't need to be explained, but I thought it

was funny, so I put it on there. So that is a

joke that you're going to have to live with for

the next three months. You're welcome. Consider

it a parting gift. Just about every year, we

walk through one of the Gospels, because no matter

how many times you read the Gospels, you will

always learn something new about Jesus. You cannot

talk about Jesus too much, and a church cannot

talk about Jesus too much. So we're just going

to jump right in. If you'll grab your Bibles,

we're going to be in Matthew, Matthew chapter

Matthew 28 · chapter mention

28. Matthew is the first book of what's called

the New Testament or the Second Testament. It

goes Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, so you know where

you are in the neighborhood. If you don't have

a Bible, we have blue Bibles on the tables. They're

out on the bookshelf in the lobby. Feel free

to take one of those home. It is not stealing.

We give you permission. If you need a Bible,

take a Bible. Otherwise, if you have a smartphone,

you can download really any version of the Bible

that you'd like from one of the digital app stores.

When we read the scriptures in the context of

the sermon, we have a tradition of just giving

it our full attention. You can do that, whatever

makes the most sense to you. This is how I give

my full attention. If you would like to, you

are also welcome to stand with me as you are

able as we read these scriptures. Matthew 28,

starting in verse 1, it says this. After the

Sabbath at dawn on the first day of the week,

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look

at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake for

an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and

going to the tomb, 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. The angel said to the woman, do

not be afraid for I know that you are looking

for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here.

He is risen. Just as he said, come and see the

place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell

the disciples he is risen from the dead and is

going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will

see him. Now I have told you. So the woman hurried

away from the tomb, afraid, yet filled with joy,

and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly, Jesus

met them. Greetings, he said. They came to him,

clasped his feet, and worshipped him. Then Jesus

said to them, do not be afraid. Go and tell my

brothers to go to Galilee. There they will see

me. Let us pray. God of every tribe, every tongue,

every color, every nation, we thank you for the

scriptures that they have persisted throughout

the millennia. We still have them to read and

to consider and to learn from. And I pray that

whatever you have for us today, that it would

stick. would become a part of the framework of

our faith, that our faith would become stronger

as we become more like your son, Jesus. Amen.

Thanks, everyone. You can have a seat. Okay,

so first of all, in all four Gospels, it is always

the women that are at the tomb first. It is always

women that make the initial discovery that Jesus

is risen, see Jesus first, meet Jesus first,

that are asked to spread the word of his resurrection

first. So turn to someone and say, thank God

for women. But why are they there? Why is it

the women that are there? Well, for at least

two reasons. First, is to anoint his body for

his long -term burial, and second is to mourn

his death. In their cultural context, they did

not embalm a body the way that we do now. If

you were being buried, you were being buried

with all the stuff that was already inside of

your body, and so there was going to be a period

that was going to emit a lot of unpleasant odors.

The primary combatant and preparation for those

orders were spices, things like myrrh and resins.

The body would be cleaned, covered in spices,

and then wrapped tightly for burial. Now, in

the Gospel of John, it says that Nicodemus and

Joseph of Arimathea do this before he is buried

and placed in the tomb. It says that they used

75 pounds of myrrh, but the synoptic gospels,

Matthew, Mark, Luke, these are actually the earlier

gospels. They were written before John, and they

all described that that had not yet happened,

and that it was the women that were coming to

do that on Sunday morning. Now, there's a whole

sermon there about why John tells his stories

differently, but for now, I'll just say it is

more likely that it was Now why? For a couple

reasons. Primarily because it was typical for

the women to be the ones that prepared a family

member in this way or someone that was dear to

them. It was typical for the women to be the

ones that cared for the preparation of a body

for burial. Mark, the oldest gospel, and Luke,

the one written by a physician, both mention

that the women... had planned to prepare the

body that Sunday morning. And while the passage

that we read today in Matthew didn't mention

the spices, we actually know that Matthew is

essentially copying and plagiarizing Mark. And

so a lot of his homework is directly from Mark.

And so even though he leaves out the words about

the spices, he's telling the same story. But

the reason for them to be there is also... More

complicated than that. It's too simple to just

imply that they're only there because they're

the women. Women in the Gospels just had a way

of showing up places where the men were missing.

For instance, when you turn back the pages and

read about the crucifixion, you'll find that

the women that had followed Jesus were often

much closer to the action. Much closer to the

cross than any of the men. Again, only John explicitly

mentions any of the male disciples near the cross

with the women. And even then, he only mentions

one. Does anybody know who he mentions? Himself.

So why? Why aren't the men around? Not just at

the tomb, but at the cross. Do they not care?

Are they not mourning his death as well? Well,

the easy answer and true answer is that they're

afraid to get arrested. Jesus, their leader,

had been killed by capital punishment by the

ruling empire, and they were technically guilty

by association. The day of the crucifixion, Peter

had... denied knowing Jesus three different times

for fear of also being arrested. There were soldiers

at the cross. There were guards at the tomb.

And so one of the reasons they stayed away was

for fear of arrest. Okay, but then why would

the women go without fear of arrest? They were

followers as well, right? Has anyone heard of

patriarchy? Women and children, first century

Jerusalem, just weren't recognized as posing

the same political or spiritual threat as the

male disciples. And so they did have fear in

going just a little less. So the women are at

the tomb to prepare the body for burial. And

the women... are at the tomb because they were

less likely to be arrested. But then, I think

there's really one more reason that the male

disciples weren't there, and it might be the

biggest reason. In the end, it's really a reason

that they share with the women as well, but it's

expressed differently. They're not there because

they weren't expecting a resurrection. None of

them were. It did not matter that Jesus had promised

that he would be resurrected. Resurrection just

was not something any of his followers, even

the closest ones, had actually taken literally.

Do me a favor. Everyone say literally. And by

literally, I don't mean figuratively. You know

what I'm saying? Because some people are like,

literally. No, literally. They did not take him

literally. He told them and he showed them that

this was going to happen. In Luke, it says that

a funeral procession was coming out as he approached

the village gate. The young man who had died

was a widow's only son and a large crowd from

the village was with her. When the Lord saw her,

his heart overflowed with compassion. Don't cry,

he said. Then he walked over to the coffin and

touched it, and the barrier stopped. Young man,

he said, I tell you, get up. Then the dead boy

sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him

back to his mother. He showed them. How about

Lazarus? Martha says, if you had just been here

sooner, you could have saved him. He said, no,

he will rise. And she says, I know, he will rise

again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus

says, I am the resurrection and the life. She

says, yes, Lord, I believe. What did we talk

about last week? That you are the Messiah, the

Son of God who has come into the world. And then

he raised Lazarus from the dead, proving that

resurrection could happen now, not only later.

Then in Matthew 16. It says from that time on,

Jesus began to explain to his disciples, he must

be killed and on the third day raised to life.

Matthew 17, he said to him, the son of man is

going to be delivered into the hands of men.

They will kill him and on the third day he will

be raised to life. Matthew 20, we are going up

to Jerusalem and the son of man will be delivered.

He will be raised back to life. Not only did

he show them that it could happen, he told them

that it would happen explicitly. This is what

he told them multiple times, but they did not

take him literally. I wonder how many of us have

stopped believing in something Jesus has said

because we just can't take it literally. And

that way, we are like the men and the women that

followed Jesus first. Whether at the tomb or

in hiding, because that morning, they were not

just mourning the death of Jesus, they were saying

goodbye to their faith in Jesus. A double death,

a double funeral, one for Jesus, one for their

faith. Some of us are here today in that same

way. We have come to the tomb not expecting him

to do anything. Because we don't believe that

he's alive. What the women, what no one expected

and what I hope that you will find today is that

Jesus is alive. And if Jesus is alive, then your

faith can have new life. Hear me say it. Today

can be the dawning of a new faith. They were

there at dawn on the first day of the week. And

they saw something they never expected. Today

can be the dawn of the first day of the week.

And whatever. Whatever you think is in the way,

the soldiers, the guards, they're on the ground.

The stone, it's been rolled away. Whatever you

think is in the way has been removed. Nothing

is standing between Jesus and his beloved. Nothing

is standing between Jesus and you. And if you

can accept it, I know that I am not as bright

as lightning or dressed all in white like an

angel sitting on top of a stone. But let me fill

the role of the angel at the tomb telling you,

Jesus is not here in the tomb. He is now alive.

Jesus is not dead. He has risen just as he said.

Jesus is risen. He is risen indeed. Jesus is

risen. He is risen indeed. My prayer, my hope

for you today, men, women, people of every identity,

is that if you are here for the tradition of

Easter, because this is the culturally correct

thing to do, but you found your place thinking

he is dead. I hope that just like the women leaving

the tomb, running to go and tell the disciples

that whether you feel it or see it, that you

will be met by Jesus on your way. That maybe

before you leave this building, you will be met

by Jesus. Maybe before you get out of the parking

lot, you will be met by Jesus. Maybe before you

leave this place, you just need to say it in

your heart, God, I will give you another chance.

I will open my heart today to see you on the

way. I came here to prepare my death, my faith

for the burial of death. I came here today for

tradition. But I'm leaving here today looking

for you along the way. I'm in. My faith needs

new life. Meet me on the way. If you will, just

pray with me just for a second before I finish

this sermon. Just pray with me and be gentle

with your heart. Be kind to yourself. Be gentle

with where you are in your faith and what you

believe. And just take a moment, if you would,

say, my eyes will be open. Yeah. So I was looking

up the date, everybody. I was looking up the

date of... the most likely first Easter. I was

at Starbucks the other day, and I'm there all

the time at this particular Starbucks, and they

know I'm a pastor. And so they're like, oh, do

you have a busy weekend? And I said, yeah, I

went to a friend of mine, a bunch of their churches

did a Good Friday service together. I went to

that at noon, but I'm not nearly as busy as some

other pastors. They've got like Easter egg hunts

on Saturday and sunrise services on... And they're

like, oh, is this busier than Christmas? And

I was like, oh, yeah. Easter weekend is far busier

than Christmas for a church. And they're like,

oh, well, why? I was like, well, part of it is

because being a Christian is not just about whether

Jesus was born. It's that, like, all right, he

died at our hands saying that, okay, you can

be reconciled back to God, that all of your sins

are forgiven by him. And Sunday Easter is the

day that we believe that he came back to life.

And the other part of it is that, you know, Christmas,

the day is kind of made up. Like, we don't know

if that's the act. That's not the day that Jesus

was born. But you can actually go all the way

back and track when the first Easter would have

been. And they were like, oh, wow, no way. And

I was like, yeah, yeah. But I was looking it

up. And it was 1 ,993 years ago in the year 33

on Sunday, April 5th. Today is the 1994th Easter.

But it could be the first Easter for you. The

first Easter where you take him literally. Where

you decide this isn't a tradition, this isn't

a cultural concept. But Jesus is risen. He is

risen indeed. And I will open my eyes to see.

Amen? Let's pray. Jesus, we thank you for your

life, that you are alive, that you did not stay

in the tomb, that your life gives all of us life.

And I just pray today. And in my heart and the

hearts of each of us here, that we would see

you. That our faith would not dwindle and die.

That our faith would have new life because of

everything that you are and everything you've

done. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.