Matthew 28:1-10 | "He Is Not Here" [Easter Sunday]
[Easter] • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 35:30
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· 1,108 viewsSunday, April 4, 2021. Matthew 28:1-10 | “He Is Not Here" [Easter Sunday]. We are not told the details of how Jesus was raised from the dead. We are only told that He was! In this way, the Scriptures keep before us what is most important. Easter is not a new beginning, but another confirmation that Jesus is who He says He is, doing what He said He would do!
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I. Reading of Scripture
I. Reading of Scripture
1 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.
2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.
3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow.
4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men.
5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.
6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.
7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.”
8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.
9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him.
10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”
This is God’s Word, Amen.
Pray
II. Introduction
II. Introduction
A. Introduction to Theme
A. Introduction to Theme
We are gathered around God’s Word on this Easter Sunday because of an event called the “Resurrection.”
Jesus who was crucified, is now raised from the dead, and is alive!
It is a very well known event to us - but is it?
How did this resurrection happen!?
When did it happen?
What was it like?....
When the body of the Lord was filled with breath again?
When the eyes of the Lord were opened again?
When His heart started beating again?
Was He raised in the tomb, like Lazarus? Or was He raptured out of the darkness in the twinkling of an eye?
What was the first thing Jesus did after he was raised?
Did He pray? Did He sing? Did He give thanks? Did He praise?
The events of Jesus’ Last Supper, betrayal, trial and crucifixion are given to us in great detail. We are even told words Jesus spoke on the cross!
But what were the first words Jesus spoke after the resurrection?
We can only imagine.
I like to imagine that he answered the centurion.
Matthew tells us there was a Roman centurion keeping watch over Jesus as he died. A man a part of Jesus’ crucifixion.
And when Jesus cried out with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, the earth shook and rocks were split.
And the centurion, even as Jesus breathed His last, was filled with awe and said:
“Truly this was the Son of God!” (Mt 27:54)
I like to imagine that when Jesus was raised, he answered the centurion’s claim and said as his first words, a resounding and authoritative:
I AM!
But we don’t know what Jesus may have said when He was first raised. In fact, there are many details that we are simply not told about the resurrection event itself.
If we came to church with an expectation that we would hear how this event happened, I’m afraid we will leave disappointed. Because,
We are not told HOW Jesus was raised from the dead.
None of the Bible’s resurrection accounts tell us the details of how it happened.
We are just told THAT it happened!
For our good, God keeps before us what is most important so that we might receive in faith what is most important.
I wonder if this is why church services on Easter are so well attended? Because people want to hear, and hear again — if this event really did happen? Was Jesus really raised? Is this Jesus really alive?
To which we proclaim —
HE IS!
You checked in last year — Is He alive? He is.
You check in this year — Is He alive? He is.
You check in tomorrow — Is He alive? He is.
9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.
10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.
11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
The invitation of Easter Sunday, in view of the Resurrection event, is not that we would continue to imagine and inquire year after year, what may have been or what could have been concerning the details that are not given, but that all who hear would receive and believe what is given for the obedience of the faith with our lives.
B. Introduction to Text
B. Introduction to Text
May God give us eyes to see what He has revealed for us to see.
In this text, there are four moments that we are told to “Behold.”
These are the important revelations about the Resurrection event.
Four moments draw our minds away from speculations and imaginations about Easter and invite us to experience Easter as it was first experienced by those who were present that morning.
III. Exposition
III. Exposition
The text begins in
A. 28:1
A. 28:1
1 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.
It is the dawn of the first day of the week.
The Sabbath was Saturday.
The first day of the week is Sunday.
This is why we call Sunday “The Lord’s Day.”
Two women go to see the tomb.
Mary Magdalene is named, and the other Mary is identified in Matthew 27:56 as the mother of James and Joseph.
Matthew does not tell us much more about these women. In his Gospel account, Matthew does not tell us the testimony of Mary Magdalene, but Oh does she has a testimony! Jesus had cast out of her seven demons (Luke 8:2). Jesus had healed her, and she was a follower of Jesus.
While Matthew doesn’t tell us her story, he does tell us something very important about Mary Magdalene and following Jesus.
She was present in the end.
After all the disciples had left Jesus and fled (Matthew 26:56), Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were present, looking on from a distance when Jesus died on the cross (Mt 27:55-56).
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were present, when Jesus’ body was laid in Joseph of Arimathea’s own tomb, and the entrance of the tomb was closed with a great stone.
61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.
Thank God, for women who follow Jesus! Thank God for patient women who wait on Jesus! Thank God for enduring women, who follow Jesus, even from a distance. Thank God for ministering women, who serve Jesus.
Even today, when they have husbands who do not believe or lead in the family. Even today, when they have churches that don’t publically value their worth. Even when they are told by some that they need to be silent. Yet there they are there, present when it matters most.
There is a fierce debate about whether or not women can or should preach. What is often overlooked in that debate and shouldn’t be, women, is the preaching of your presence.
Your presence speaks volumes. Your presence is noticed.
It was because these women were present, they were the first to proclaim the resurrection to the disciples.
Why? Because the men who had followed Jesus had fled.
But the women were there, watching, and waiting and very soon would be worshiping Him.
1 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.
These women arrived with a purpose. They had expectations for what they would find. “They went to see the tomb.” That word “SEE” is a very important and repeated word throughout this account.
“They came to see the tomb.”
But the tomb was not yet ready for its showing. The tomb was not what they were meant to see.
Verse 2 gives us our first “BEHOLD” statement. The first thing we are to “Behold” and give our attention to as we experience Easter together.
B. 28:2
B. 28:2
2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it.
Behold, a great earthquake!
Behold, a great earthquake!
This is a sight to behold!
This is an unexpected event that is meant draw attention to an act of God!
There was a great earthquake!
It shook last when Jesus died on the cross. That was an important moment.
It shakes again as this angel of the Lord descends from heaven, rolls back the stone, and sits upon it.
Over the last 12 weeks, we have preached through the Sermon on the Mount.
And that sermon, that teaching of Jesus, began with an introduction. Setting the scene for us. Telling us of the posture of Jesus, the disciples, and crowds.
What did Jesus do when he went up the mountain, right before he began to teach?
“He sat down” (5:1).
It is a posture of authority. To say — stay here. Focus here. Look here. This is what is important.
The angel of the Lord rolled back the stone and sat on it. That’s where we are supposed to look.
Not at the tomb, but at the angel of the Lord seated on the stone.
At this point, we must decide what we are to focus upon. The empty tomb? A dark void cut in stone? Or the seated angel.
And the text further draws our attention to the angel.
Notice how the text describes him. —
C. 28:3-4
C. 28:3-4
3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow.
This means, the text is looking at the angel, not the tomb.
The text doesn’t say “Behold the tomb entrance was rectangular, approximately 3 feet wide by five foot tall, dark in color, with a nice ray of sunlight shining into the mysterious abyss...”
What tombs are we staring at? What things consume our attention that cannot bring us any life?
Why are so many people staring at the tomb, waiting to see if Jesus will walk out so that they might then believe? They’ll be staring for a long time. Year after year. Because Jesus is not there!
Even the guards at the tomb see the angel.
4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men.
This encounter with the heavenly being has caused great fear. It foreshadows the day in which we ALL will see, not an angel, but Jesus Himself enthroned in glory!
And without the confession of Christ as Lord upon your lips, and without the belief of His resurrection in your heart - you too will fall as these dead men in light of His glory.
Two groups of people experience this angelic event. The women, and the guards. And both respond differently.
In the same way, every one of us who hear these words today, will experience the resurrection event.
28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice
29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.
To experience the resurrection as one who is unredeemed, unsaved, lost and living in sin, and enjoying sin — to experience this event without Jesus means that it will not be a miracle for you. The miracle will be hidden from you. Because you will be like dead men. Dead men cannot see.
4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men.
That is why the angel did not speak to the guards. Because like dead men, they could see. They could not hear.
D. 28:5-6a
D. 28:5-6a
5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.
The messenger of the Lord descends, and he speaks first, words of comfort.
“Do not be afraid.”
The women have no reason to fear.
Brothers and Sisters, If you know the Lord and the Lord knows you, you have no reason to fear! You have no reason to dwell upon the things of death and stare at graves. You don’t need to spend your time looking at tombs. You are not like dead men who belong in them!
After speaking a word of comfort, the angel, the messenger of the Lord, then reveals the true intention of the women. He reveals what is in their hearts.
It is not that they have come to “see the tomb” but that they seek Jesus who was crucified.
Herein is the key question of life —
What are we seeking after?
They were not seeking the tomb.
They were seeking Jesus.
Jesus — the Son of God. The prophet, the priest, the king. The One who had touched them and made them whole. The One who had spoken about God’s Kingdom. The One they had followed to the end.
So many people don’t believe Jesus because they are not honestly seeking Him.
The word of the Lord spoken by the prophet Jeremiah ring true —
13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
So many people don’t believe Jesus because they are not honestly seeking Him, and so many people don’t find Jesus because they are looking for Him in the wrong places!
Listen to what the angel of the Lord then said:
6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.
“He is not here.”
Did you know, that you are most likely to share Jesus with other people in the same way that Jesus was shared with you?
If someone handed you a Gospel tract and shared with you a plan of salvation, and you believed and were saved because of that witness, then you are likely to order Gospel tracts and share plans of salvation so that others might be saved too in that same way.
If you were brought to Vacation Bible School as a child and heard about Jesus and were saved at Vacation Bible School, then you are likely the first to sign up to help lead Vacation Bible School every year.
If you were saved at an old time revival, when the choir sang old hymns and the evangelist preached and you walked down the aisle at the end of the sermon, your the one who demands that the church host revival services and sing old hymns because that’s how Christ was revealed to you — and that’s where you are looking for Him again.
You are looking for Jesus in the same places you found Him before. “He is not here.”
Jesus is not confined to a certain location any longer. The grave held him for a short time, but on the third day — the grave lost that power.
And if we are looking for Jesus in the place we last met Him, in the traditions of our fathers, in the rituals of our religion, we will grow old and tired of looking, only to discover that Jesus has left those things behind.
I’ve watched this week as many churches try to manufacture Easter. “Easter AT XYZ Church.” “Here are the things we offer. We have an EGGstravangza. We have an Easter bunny. We have a petting zoo. We have a picture booth. We have this and we have that. Great!”
As long as you know that this experience of Easter is not something that COMES to us. We go to it.
Easter transports us to where Jesus is. And it’s not by staring at an empty tomb.
Notice these important words:
6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.
“as he said.”
The angel reminds the woman of the words of Jesus.
Three times, Jesus had spoken of what would happen.
21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.
22 As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men,
23 and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” And they were greatly distressed.
18 “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death
19 and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”
Everything that is happening, is happening just “as he said.”
So once again —
Faith is not about seeing. It is about hearing, and believing what is heard.
But if you want confirmation that what Jesus said is true, then you can come and see.
The angel invites the women —
6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.
“Come, see the place where he lay.”
These invitations do not come out of order.
We must hear first, before we see.
If you do not believe what you hear about Jesus, from His Word, then you will not believe what you see.
I used to think Easter was a New Beginning.
We are a people of habit. And as a people of habit we return to our habits, no matter how hard we try not to.
The body - we can exercise. Put on muscle. Become very strong. But if we stop working out, eating right, sleeping right, then in time our body will return to what it used to be.
We may try to lose weight. And we may succeed. But eventually, our bodies will return to the weight it used to be.
The body has its own memory. And so does the soul.
We will always be fighting against what we once were.
That is why we crave new beginnings.
That is why we search for ways and times to start over.
And so Easter is often portrayed as a new beginning.
But —
Easter is not a new beginning. Easter is just another confirmation about what Jesus said and what Jesus did to confirm who He is — He is God’s Son!
(Luz).
Jesus never stopped being who He is. “Immanuel, God with us.” Jesus, the Savior.
Easter doesn’t give Jesus new life. Easter confirms that Jesus is the way, truth and life, just as He said!
Easter is not a time to renew your resolutions for the year and start over. Easter is a time to bow before Jesus, and confess Him as Lord, and believe that God raised Him from the dead, as we SEE and BEHOLD the activity of God!
The invitation to “Come, see the place where he lay” for the person of faith is an invitation not to go into the tomb and look, but to believe the words that the angel speaks — that it is empty! He has been raised!
So the woman can go in and see and ponder and muse in an empty void— or they can instead, receive the word of the angel by faith, believing Jesus is not there, and then hear and obey the word of the angel.
"Come, see the place where he lay...”
F. 28:7
F. 28:7
7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.”
Twice in this verse, verse 7, the word “Behold” appears.
“Behold, he is going before you...”
“Behold, he is going before you...”
And again, a second time, (translated as ‘See’ in our version),
“Behold...I have told you.”
“Behold...I have told you.”
We are to experience in Easter that Jesus is on the move! He is going ahead of us!
And we are to experience in Easter the word of the angel delivering the word of the Lord. “Behold I have told you.”
And now these women are commissioned to go and tell. To them is given the first proclamation of the resurrected Lord!
And that is the central message they are to give! Jesus is raised!
We preach Christ crucified, but because of Easter we ALSO preach Christ raised!
And as they tell this to his disciples, they give the disciples hope that there will be reconciliation.
After Peter’s denials, after the disciples deserting Jesus — He is going before them, and will reconcile them to Himself.
To anyone who has been running away from God, or who is just embarrassed by your disobedience to God — maybe you grew up in church, and know you need to be a part of a fellowship of believers, but you’ve been out so long you are ashamed to come back. Or you left causing damage and are ashamed to come back.
This Easter proclaims forgiveness, and reconciliation to you!
Because Jesus has gone before you.
What did the women do?
Did they go and look at where Jesus lay?
The text gives us no indication that they did.
Instead, —
G. 28:8
G. 28:8
8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.
They received the word that they heard, and with faith they obeyed.
“They departed quickly.”
With fear AND great joy.
H. 28:9-10
H. 28:9-10
And by their watching, and waiting, and now their obedience, they invite us to experience one more sight to Behold.
Behold…Jesus!
Behold…Jesus!
9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him.
10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”
The watching and waiting of the women, turned into worship as they saw Jesus.
And because of their obedience, the disciples would see Him too!
IV. Conclusion
IV. Conclusion
We have many questions about the details of the resurrection. But the answers are not given to be known. They are given to be experienced.
And we experience the resurrection by receiving God’s Word and obeying it.
A. Gospel Proclamation
A. Gospel Proclamation
sin
sin
God’s Word tells us ALL have sinned and fall short of God’s glory.
Sin very simply is believing our own word over God’s word.
righteousness
righteousness
And because of sin, we are unrighteous before God. We are like the guards, as dead men in light of the glory of God.
But Christ who was righteous, became sin for us on the cross, and Jesus dealt with our unrighteousness.
And by His grace He clothes us in His righteousness.
judgment
judgment
So that in the day of judgement, we may stand and receive His invitation to enter into His Kingdom.
C. Exhortation & Application
C. Exhortation & Application
The invitation of Easter Sunday, in view of the Resurrection event, is not that we would continue to imagine and inquire year after year, what may have been or what could have been concerning the details that are not given, but that all who hear would receive and believe what is given for the obedience of the faith with our lives.
The resurrection happened. But did you know, it happened for you? (Luther).
For all who believe, we share in Christ’s resurrection victory too.