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24/4/2011 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. 2 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. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. 5 The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then 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." 8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."
Reports this week are emerging of unexplained bright lights in the skies of Siberai, followed by the discovery of what could be the dead body of an extra terrestrial being. Is it true or an April fool's hoax?
What does today's gospel tell us about the resurrection of Jesus?
True resurrection.
Jesus was not in the tomb, despite it being guarded. The stone was rolled away so people could see in, not so Jesus could get out. We know this because in his resurrected state he appeared at will to the disciples in locked buildings.
Resurrection also true because of the testimony of the angel.
Jesus would go to Galilee and be seen by his brothers, over 500 people saw the risen Jesus, 1 Cor. 15.6.
The resurrection also fulfilled the promises of Jesus, v6 "just as he said." ( see Matt. 12:40; 16:21; 17:9, 23). He kept telling the disciples that he would be killed and raised to life on the third day.
It also fulfilled the scriptures that pointed to the resurrection, e.g Daniel 12.2
Bodily resurrection, they held him. The resurrection was not wishful thinking. It was not just that the memory of Jesus lived on in his disciples. He ate fish, offered his scarred body for inspection to Thomas. He wasn't resuscitated and he wasn't just a spirit or ghost.
Our response.
Not to be afraid.
The women were afraid.
First because there was an violent earthquake, and then a dazzling angel who had rolled back the tomb. This caused battle hardened guards to faint!
Secondly, they were afraid because they were rushing from the tomb and were suddenly confronted by the risen Jesus.
We should not be afraid but trust in God who is greater than everything, even people of violence, like the guards. God is greater even than death, he is the author of life.
To have joy.
Even though they were afraid they were filled with joy, too. We may have other emotions in us, but we can always have joy. Nor a false happiness but coming from a secure, enduring knowledge that we are loved by God and that we have a relationship with him that will not be broken by death.
Worship him.
"They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him".
They now knew with certainty that He was the risen Messiah, the divine Son of God. Adoration and praise were the only proper responses to His presence. They did what every person, unbeliever as well as believer, will do one day. When Jesus comes again, "every knee [will] bow… and… every tongue [will] confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:10-11).
We worship on a Sunday as a celebration that it was on that day that God raised Jesus from the dead. However, we are called to worship Jesus in the world every day with our whole lives dedicated to him, as well as worshipping him together on a Sunday in church.
Have hope.
For them it was the promise of a fuller encounter with the risen Jesus in Galilee. Why did Jesus tell his followers he would meet with them in Galilee?
Galilee was a despised area and Jesus came primarily to despised, rejected people see 4.15f. Also, many of his followers came from the area and would be returning there after the Passover. Galilee was also associated with Gentiles, non-Jews, and soon the gospel would spread beyond the Jewish people. This is relevant for us, today, because we are not Jews and the good news of Jesus is for us and everyone, too! This theme is picked up later in this Chapter 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
We have this hope for ourselves. The promise that Jesus will be with us always. Nothing can separate us from Jesus, even death. This is the Easter message. We can look forward to receiving perfect, resurrection bodies like his, and to being with God, worshipping him and serving him forever in paradise.
Go and tell, v 7 & 10.
Last month the Knebworth telephone exchange was upgraded to be able to supply the internet three times faster, up to 24Mbps. I told some people about this because, to access this, your Internet Service Provider needs to upgrade your account and you must have a modern router. We have to respond to this good news!
If the angel had not told the women, they wouldn't have known what was happening, that Jesus had risen, and what they had to do. This was to tell the disciples to go to Galilee where he would meet them.
Jesus also told the women to tell the disciples to go to Galilee.
Just before he ascended, as we have just heard from verse 19, Jesus told the disciples to go and make disciples.
Christianity has got to involve going and telling. It has depended upon this for nearly two thousand years! It is good news. The way to God has been opened, like the stone rolled from the entrance to the tomb. Death has been defeated. Everyone and anyone can have know God now and forever!
One of the ways that we have witnessed to out local community is the large white cross that has stood outside our church with over one hundred names of people who believe that Jesus died and rose again for them. There have been encouraging reactions from people walking past. Others have written offensive words on it. This is no surprise. We have a God who has entered into this world, to draw alongside people and to experience rejection, pain, death and resurrection. This is the good news of Easter that we are to go and tell the world about. After the prayers we are going to go our and decorate the horizontal bar of the cross with coloured ribbons as way of proclaiming to those passing the good news of Easter Sunday.
Matthew 28:1-10 : Easter Day 2005
Introductory talk:
Get someone/a child to run with a helium pig balloon
Did you see that? A flying pig!
How many people here saw a flying pig? (Repeat run if necessary)
Get children to count how many admit to seeing it.
Do you know that some people think we are a bit odd. That believing in Jesus rising from the dead is like believing in pigs flying.
How many people do you think would convince a court that something had happened? Normally at least two witnesses.
In one of Paul's letters, I Corinthians (15), he refers to over 500 people who saw the risen Jesus. This letter was written about fifteen years after the resurrection happened, and most of the witnesses were still alive. This is just one of many reasons why we can be confident that, on that first Easter Sunday, Jesus did rise from the dead.
The adults will be looking at more evidence when we look at this again in a few moments.
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A man was arrested in Melbourne Australia for running down the street naked. The Police dropped the charges against him when they discovered he was running away from the mortuary where he had just been pronounced dead. (Guardian May 1997)
Some people would have been shocked to see naked man running down street, even more so if they had seen him get up off a mortuary slab !
Is this what happened to Jesus? As Christians we need to know the answer to the question,
Is the resurrection true ? If it is not true then the whole of the Christian faith falls apart.
Different theories have been put forward.
1) Jesus wasn't really dead, he had been unconscious on the cross and recovered in the cool of the tomb.
Firstly, Jesus did die on the cross. Soldiers were professional executioners, they didn't break Jesus legs because they knew a dead man when they saw one. They would have been executed if they had not killed him. When they put a sword in his side John records blood and water coming out. We now know that this separation occurs in someone who is dead.
If this wasn't enough, how did he in a weakened state get out of the heavy cloths and spices, roll the stone away, and sneak past the guards without being noticed? Then how did he convince the disciples that he had conquered death rather than escaped it ? How did he manage to appear and disappear at will if he still had his, now rather weakened human body ? Jesus was not resuscitated. He had been raised from the dead and the disciples preached resurrection, not resuscitation!.
2) Hallucinations. Yet 1 Cor. 15 tells of the risen Jesus appearing to over 500 people at the same time. Couldn't be hallucination, this happens to individuals.
3) The disciples thought that the spirit of Jesus lived on in their hearts and lives.
Typical 'liberal' stance because they cannot accept that such a thing can happen !
Yet, if this was so why did they proclaim that Jesus had defeated death and record stories of having a breakfast of fish with them ? Would a skeptic like Thomas have believed such a thing?
4) The Romans and/or the Jewish leaders had the body.
If they did, and the disciples started to claim that Jesus had risen, then all they had to do was to produce it. Relegating Jesus to the role of another failed revolutionary who would be soon forgotten. But they didn't. They couldn't.
5) The disciples had the body.
To get this they would have had to get past the guards who would face the death penalty if the body was stolen. Yet when we read of the disciples we discover that they didn't expect the resurrection. They didn't really understand Jesus' teaching about this until after it had happened. The resurrection and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit transformed them from frightened people hiding from the authorities to bold spokesmen who would face death for their belief in the risen Jesus.
Why would they die for a lie ? And, if it was a lie why would they make up a story that the risen Jesus was first seen by a woman ? In that culture a woman's testimony was not accepted in court because they were second class citizens. So who would invent such an account ?
6) Jesus rose from death and received a new, resurrection body.
There is further evidence for this:
a) The disciples
After the crucifixion and before the resurrection Jesus followers were afraid of the Roman authorities, disappointed and frustrated that he had not been the Messiah they had expected, and dispirited, so some of them even returned to their former homes and jobs. They were bereaved, after leaving their homes and families, following Jesus for three years, and getting to know him everything was gone.
They were surprised to find that Jesus had risen from the dead. They did not expect it. No-one was waiting by the tomb that first Easter Sunday expecting to meet with the risen Jesus. Mary thought he was a gardener!
Once they had met the risen Lord Jesus and been empowered by His Spirit they were progressed to being fearless. Proclaiming to the authorities that although they had killed Jesus God had raised him from death. They were excited about being part of God's plan to save the world and so they lived and spread the good news. They had joy, confidence, a certain hope. Their relationship with him had been restored, never to be broken again. All but one of them died for their belief in the resurrection, confident that they were destined for eternal life. Why would they do this if it were not true?
b) The first witnesses
Matthew records that the empty tomb was discovered by three women. This adds more authenticity to the resurrection accounts because the testimony of women was not accepted in this culture. If the resurrection accounts had been falsified no-one in their right mind would have had women as the first witnesses of the empty tomb.
c) The Scriptures
1 Corinthians 15:3b, Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures. 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.
Paul may have had in mind passages such as:
Psalm 16:8-11;
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, 10 because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
11 You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Isaiah 53:5-11;
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. 9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. 11 After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.
Many events involving the birth and death of Jesus were foretold in the Old Testament hundreds of years before they took place. Jesus had no control over the fulfilment of many of them. For example where he would be born, that he would be buried in the tomb of a rich man, verse 9 above.
The life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus and the coming of the Holy Spirit were God's plan to save people trapped by sin and death. A plan devised before creation, revealed in the Bible.
d) History and experience
Jesus is alive and for nearly two thousand years millions of people have claimed to have a personal relationship with the risen Jesus. Not only that, he gives his power to his followers by His Spirit. This gives them freedom from sin and fear of death, joy, hope, the motivation to live for God. Many of the revolutionary changes for good in society are due to the work of Christians throughout history.
e) God gives life
Many people believe in a creator God. We affirm this in the Creed. Job said, 1:21, "The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;"
God has the power to create, to give life. Therefore, why should someone not believe that he was able to transform the battered lifeless body of Christ into a new, perfect resurrection body?
We, too will receive resurrection bodies like his. 1 John 3:2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
Jesus came to ordinary folk. They were fallible human beings like us. With moments of fear, uncertainty, hopelessness, disappointment, frustration, stupidity, tiredness, lack of faith, and so on. But through the resurrection God transformed them, and, through their witness he has transformed the world.
This Easter God calls us once again to turn away from our old way of life where we rely on ourselves and the world. To turn to the Lord Jesus in his resurrection power. He can give new life to us and, because he is alive, we can know him as our friend, our Lord and our Saviour. We can be confident that our relationship with him will never be broken, and look to the final resurrection when all Christina, living and dead, will be united in glory with one another and with their Lord.
Easter Year A : Matthew 28:1-10
PRAY
Have you ever arranged to meet someone and they haven't turned up, or have been very late. Perhaps you were stood up by your date ! When I co-led a youth group in Norwich one of the other leaders, called Nick, was always late. We knew he couldn't be relied upon to come on time, even though he only lived about fifty yards from the church ! It became a running joke that we used to tell him that things were starting fifteen minutes earlier than they really were !
We will be looking at today's passage and the resurrection thinking about promises, proof and progression.
Promises
We couldn't trust Nick to turn up on time, even when he promised that he would. In contrast the courier Business Express has the motto, 'A promise isn't a promise until it is delivered'
The night before he was crucified Jesus told his disciples, 26:32 "But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee."
In today's passage the angels told the women, 28:7, "Then 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."
From verse 16-20 Matthew tells of this meeting which includes what we know as the Great Commission.
If someone keeps their promises this is because they have the power and the will to carry them out. I think Nick didn't really have the will, so he didn't have the power !
The resurrection shows that the words of Jesus were true. He had told his disciples that he would die for the sins of the world and be raised from death. He gave a foretaste of this when he raised Lazarus from the dead.
The final test about Jesus is whether his predictions about his death and resurrection came true. When we look at the evidence we have to conclude that this is the most reasonable explanation. If this were not so then Jesus would be a forgotten name in history, known only to a few academics who specialised in first century Judaism.
There was an empty tomb. It was the right tomb because the women had only been there two days earlier and the guards were outside it. There are three explanations for the empty tomb.
1) The body had been taken by the authorities.
If this was the case, why didn't they produce the body of Jesus when the disciples claimed he had risen from death ?
2) The body had been stolen by the disciples.
This was the story agreed by the religious leaders and the guards, verse 13. But how could the disciples, who were not expecting the resurrection, sneak past sleeping guards, roll away a large stone, unwrap the body and steal it ? Even if they had, the authorities would have executed the soldiers. This doesn't make sense, especially when you think that most of the disciples suffered and died for their belief that Jesus rose from the dead. How many people would die for something they knew to be a lie ?
3) Jesus swooned on the cross and recovered in the cool of the tomb.
This ignores the fact that Roman soldiers were trained executioners who were under threat of death if they failed. They were so used to identifying dead bodies that they didn't even break the legs of Jesus to hasten death and, when they pierced his side blood and water ran out. Medical evidence that someone has died.
Moreover, how could a weakened Jesus move a heavy stone, avoid the guards, and convince his disciples that he had conquered death ? An how would he enter a locked room?
4) Jesus rose from death and received a new, resurrection body, that had continuity with the old one. This is shown because Thomas recognised his wounded limbs, but it was not limited by time and space and is perfect, not subject to suffering, decay, or death.
We, too will receive resurrection bodies like his. 1 John 3:2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
The only promise that Jesus has to fulfil is his second coming when he shall come in power and glory to judge the living and the dead, taking those who truly follow him to be with God forever in paradise. The resurrection not only confirms that promise, but points to the final triumph of God over sin, death and Satan.
The angel referred to the resurrection when he said, 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.
The promises of Jesus were linked to the resurrection which was the proof of many things.
Proof.
In 1999 the body of George Mallory was discovered high on the slopes of Everest where it had been since 1924. It raised the question again, did Mallory and his companion Andrew Irving manage to conquer the summit, 29 years before Edmund Hillary ? We still don't know for certain. But if they had reached the summit and returned to tell the tale history would be different.
The resurrection of Jesus proves all the claims that he made about himself. This includes his teaching that he was God and would be offered as a sinless, sole, sacrifice for the sins of the world.
If these claims had been false then God would have left him in the tomb, dead. But God the Father raised Jesus from the dead. So the resurrection proved that Jesus self-sacrifice of himself on the cross had been accepted by God the Father. It is the 'Amen' to Jesus' claims.
C.S.Lewis wrote, " Jesus has forced open the door that had been locked since the death of the first man. He has met, fought and beaten the King of death. Everything is different because he has done so."
The resurrection is also proof that Jesus has mastery over sin, death and Satan. It can change us today, it can change our tomorrows.
( Promises, Proof and ) Progression
After the crucifixion and before the resurrection Jesus followers were afraid of the Roman authorities, disappointed and frustrated that he had not been the Messiah they had expected, and dispirited, so some of them even returned to their former homes and jobs. They were bereaved, after leaving their homes and families, following Jesus for three years, and getting to know him everything was gone.
Once they had met the risen Lord Jesus and been empowered by His Spirit they were progressed to being fearless. Proclaiming to the authorities that although they had killed Jesus God had raised him from death. They were excited about being part of God's plan to save the world and so they lived and spread the good news. They had joy, confidence, a certain hope. Their relationship with him had been restored, never to be broken again.
I could continue with my 'pr' words and say that they were profulgent, meaning radiant or shining forth. But I won't !
It is significant that Matthew records that Jesus told the disciples to meet him in Galilee. Galilee was in the unfashionable, even despised North of Israel. This is typified by Nathanael who said, 'Nazareth ! Can anything good come from there ?' ( John 1:46 ). It had been heavily influenced by Gentiles in the past and was seen as less religious and less pure than the South.
Yet it was in Galilee that Jesus exercised the majority of his earthly ministry, revealing who he was. Perhaps this was to avoid the condemnation of the religious leaders who were centred on Jerusalem in the South. When we read the gospels it is Galilee, the despised, irreligious area which welcomes Jesus. In contrast Jerusalem is a place of rejection and judgement.
Matthew records that the empty tomb was discovered by three women. This adds more authenticity to the resurrection accounts because the testimony of women was not accepted in this culture. If the resurrection accounts had been falsified no-one in their right mind would have had women as the first witnesses of the empty tomb.
The choice of Galilee and the choice of women witnesses are linked to the ministry that Jesus had. Not primarily to religious Jews but to irreligious sinners, some of whom were not Jews.
When Jesus speaks to his disciples in Galilee he makes it clear that the gosepl is for everyone and anyone... 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them inA the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Jesus came to ordinary folk. They were fallible human beings like us. With moments of fear, uncertainty, hopelessness, disappointment, frustration, stupidity, tiredness, lack of faith, and so on. But through the resurrection God transformed them, and, through their witness he has transformed the world.
This Easter God calls us once again to turn away from our old way of life where we rely on ourselves and the world. To turn to the Lord Jesus in his resurrection power. He can give new life to us and, because he is alive, we can know him as our friend, our Lord and our Saviour. Once we have done this we can be confident that our relationship with him will never be broken, and look to the final resurrection when all Christina, living and dead, will be united in glory with one another and with their Lord.