Introduction:
I. Even after his death, the Pharisee’s were concerned.
A. Matthew 27, verses 63 and 64 read, “...’Sir, we remember that when He was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I am to rise again.’ 64 ‘Therefore, give orders for the grave to be made secure until the third day, otherwise His disciples may come and steal Him away and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.’”
B. Two things we need to know about the fear of the Pharisee’s,
1. One, the disciples were hiding in Jerusalem, in fear that they would suffer the same fate as Jesus, therefore the Pharisee’s fears were without warrant.
2. Two; grave robbing was a capitol offense, and again, the disciples were not quite ready to give their lives in order to perpetuate a myth; therefore the Pharisee’s fears were unnecessary.
C. Personally I believe the Pharisee’s greatest fear was not that the body of Christ would be stolen, but that they had at least a bit of fear that Jesus might actually rise from the dead.
D. If a guard was posted, they could at least keep him sealed in the grave, but then if the cross didn’t kill him, how could they believe a tomb could hold him.
II. Matthew wrote in chapter 28, verse 15 that a rumor of Christ body being stolen still circulates to “this day”, because for the audience to which Matthew wrote his gospel, that was the rumor.
III. That rumor was false then, and is still false today, but today there is a new rumor that some are trying to start.
A. Some three weeks or so ago, the Discovery Channel aired an expose attempting to prove that the body of Christ was still in a tomb, “to this very day.”
B. But the rumor that the body of Christ had been stolen was false then, and is false today,
C. Just as well, the rumor that Christ is still in a tomb was false then, and it is still false today.
IV. For “He is risen! He is risen indeed!!”
V. On that special day, Jesus had a surprise for the world, and it began with the guards at the tomb..
The Guards (Matt. 28:1-4)
1 Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave. 2 And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from the heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. 3 And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 4 The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men.”
I. Actually, the guards probably never got the chance to see Jesus alive,
A. All they got to experience was seeing a stone rolled away from the tomb by an angel of the Lord.
B. And notice, these guards seem not to be afraid of the earthquake, but rather verse 4 states that they “became like dead men” for fear of the angel.
II. One thing I really wonder is just what Pilate believed.
A. The Pharisee’s approached Pilate to ask for a guard at the tomb.
B. In retrospect, Pilate’s response seems almost funny.
1. In verse 65 of chapter 27, Pilates’ response is, “You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you know how.”
2. It’s almost as if he was saying,
a. “Look. Didn’t you hear what this Jesus said; “I will rise again.”
b. But go, do you best to contain him, if you can.”
III. The Pharisee’s left guards, and sealed the tomb; “We’ll make sure this Jesus stays dead.”
A. He may have raised Lazarus from the dead, but he can’t raise himself.
B. But on resurrection day, God had a surprise for the guards, and for the Pharisee’s.
IV. A man that seemed to be dead, rose again,
V. While men that seemed to be alive, became as dead men.
A. These guards probably thought they had pulled some light duty, just watch over the tomb of a dead man.
B. What a surprise it must have been to see an Angel of the Lord roll the stone away.
VI. What really strikes me as interesting in Matthew’s account of the resurrection is who the first people are to give testimony that Jesus was not longer in the tomb.
A. It was not the disciples, who we can say, should have been the first to know the truth.
B. Although probably a close second, it probably was not the ladies that had followed and cared for Christ, and probably often heard Christ tell of his resurrection.
C. No, the first people to testify concerning the open tomb were non-believing, non-interested, and quite possibly never believing temple guards, who had the job of insuring that Jesus stayed put.
D. What a surprise that the first people to give testimony of the risen Christ, may well not be in heaven today.
VII. But on this day, one surprise would not be enough.
The Women (Mark 16:1-7)
I. Women had no legal standing in Israel.
A. Therefore the testimony of women was essentially worthless in a court of law, and in the court of public opinion.
B. Is it really that surprising then that God would allow women to be the first of Christ’ followers to discover that He had risen.
1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might come and anoint Him. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. 3 They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone from the entrance of the tomb?” 4 Looking up they saw that the stone had been rolled away, although it was extremely large. 5 Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed. 6 And he said to them, “Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him. 7 But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you.’”
I. Mark 15 states that there was a group of women that had observed the crucifixion of Christ from a distance. (15:40-41)
A. Of that group, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome came back to anoint the body of Christ.
B. Understand; they came back to anoint the body of Christ,
1. The body, because they had seen him die,
2. The body, because they had seen him placed in a tomb.
3. They had seen a stone rolled across the entrance,
4. They knew Jesus was dead.
II. Why anoint the body?
A. Not as a form of embalming, for embalming was not practiced by Jews.
B. We can only assume that they wished to honor the death of their teacher.
III. How did they plan to get into the tomb?
A. They didn’t have a plan, so their actions were a bit illogical, but then
B. Sometimes when we are devoted to something or someone, we are compelled to beyond what logic implies.
IV. Mark’s point here is that these women, as well as the other disciples of Christ, even though Jesus had said, I will meet you in Galilee (14:28), they never expected that Jesus would actually rise again.
V. But on this morning, these ladies were in for a surprise,
A. They would not need to roll the stone away, for an angel had already accomplished that act, not to let Jesus out, but to allow them to witness the fact that the tomb was empty.
B. Rather than anoint the dead body of Christ, these women are given the charge of being the first to testify to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, although verse 8 states that they were to afraid to say anything to anyone.
VI. There is another important point in this passage. In verse 7, the commission is
A. Go and “tell His disciples and Peter...” Jesus is alive.
B. The disciples, including Peter were Jesus closest followers.
1. They had heard Jesus say more than once that he would rise again.
2. They had seen him heal the sick, give sight to the blind, even raise a man from the dead, and yet, they didn’t believe what Jesus had told them.
C. I suppose we shouldn’t be that surprised,
1. After all, Jesus had been on a cross,
2. He had been placed in a tomb,
3. There were plenty of witnesses to the fact that Jesus was definitely dead,
4. Every earthly indication was that Jesus was not going to meet them in Galilee, so why should they be traveling there to meet Him?
VII. Interesting isn’t it,
A. The first people to be surprised by the risen Christ were those charged with keeping the body in the tomb.
B. The second people to be surprised by the risen Christ were women, who had no legal standing in Israel, yet this second group of witnesses were sent with the message,
1. “Although you have not believed in Me,
2. “Although you have denied that you even knew Me.
3. “Although you have been disobedient, and rejected my teaching,
4. I love you still, and I can’t wait to see you again, just as I said I would.”
VIII. Surprise is also coming for two disciples.
The two disciples on the Emmaeus Road (Luke 24:13-35)
I. Wouldn’t we really expect that the first to discover Jesus alive would have been those closest to Him?
A. But the first to discover the empty tomb were only guards.
B. The second to discover the truth of Christ were only women,
C. Now the third are disciples, BUT, and to me this is important, NOT the future Apostolic leaders of the church of Jesus Christ.
II. The passage states that two disciples were headed from Jerusalem, toward Emmaus.
A. We don’t really know where Emmaus was, except that it was about 7 miles from Jerusalem.
B. Presumably, these two had traveled with Christ to Jerusalem ,and although not “THE disciples” were disciples of Christ.
1. Maybe they had been witnesses to the raising of Lazarus.
2. Maybe they had been among Christ followers for some time, just not the twelve,
III. Like so many other, these two were walking and recounting the events surrounding the death of Christ, when they are joined by a stranger.
A. Verse 16 states that they were “prevented” from recognizing this stranger as Christ.
B. The conversation continues, and they are quite surprised that this man did not know the events that had just taken place; verse 18, “...’Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem and unaware of the things which have happened here in these days?’”, but of course this stranger knew the events very well.
IV. Verses 25 and 26, Jesus chastises them for their unbelief,
V. Then verse 27 says that Jesus recounted the truth about Himself beginning with Moses and going all through the scriptures.
A. One would think that at some point, they would have realized that this was no normal man in their company.
B. But I think this passage makes another point,
1. Sometimes even when Christ is in our midst, even when we are reminded of the truth, even when we should know better, we may not recognize that Christ is at work, bring us to the truth.
2. Sometimes, God has an unexpected surprise for us, if we INVITE him to stay for a while.
VI. Interesting, isn’t it,
A. The first to know the truth about Christ, were bribed with money, the things of this world, into denying the truth that Jesus was alive..
B. The second to learn the truth about Christ, were initially to frightened to believe that Christ was really alive.
C. The third to learn that Jesus was alive, were initially blinded to the fact that He was right there in their midst, but when He had gone, they state in verse 32, “...’Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us...’”
VII. It makes me wonder how often I miss the voice of Christ speaking, even while he is right in my midst.
VIII. These disciples might have been blind for a while, but when they realized the truth that He truly is risen, their first act was to go and tell others about the risen savior. The disciples (John 20:19-23)
So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the holy Spirit. 23 “If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.”
I. The guards know; the women know, the distant disciples know, and now, at the end of the day, those closest to the ministry of Jesus, the Apostles find out.
A. “Peace be with you.
B. Surprise; I am alive.”
II. Why did Jesus wait until the end of the day to appear to the disciples? I don’t know.
III. Why did Jesus make his presence know to so many others, before finally coming to those that would be the most influential in the fledgling days of the church? I don’t know.
IV. I do know this though,
A. They were evidently the first recipients of the Holy Spirit. (vs. 22)
B. They were the first to be given the task of continuing the ministry that Christ had begun. (vs. 23)
V. When God created Adam, scripture says that “He breathed the breath of life into him.”
VI. In a very real way, the disciples were not yet alive.
A. They may not have believed that Jesus would live again, but evidently they did believe that they might well suffer his same fate.
B. In fact Christ had told them that “if they hate me, they will also hate you.” (Luke 21:17),
VII. These great men of God were hiding, fearful that they would also die, until Jesus breathed the life of the Holy Spirit into them.
A. Surprise; once receiving the Holy Spirit, you life will never be the same.
B. Most of them did eventually become martyr’s for Christ.
1. Men afraid to show their face, publically and proudly proclaimed the world of God.
2. Men fearful of what the world would do to them for be associates of Christ, boldly proclaimed that “He is alive. He is alive indeed. And He loved you enough to die so you could live.”
VIII. Surprise; in receiving the Holy Spirit, you receive the power to continue what I have begun.
Conclusion:
I. On this resurrection day, where do you stand in your relationship to Jesus Christ.
A. Are we like the guards; knowing the truth but allowing the things of this world to blind you?
B. Are we like the women; knowing the truth, but needing something more to encourage you to act on that truth?
C. Are we like the disciples who walked and talked with Christ; but sometimes missing the message.
D. Are we like the disciples; before they received the Holy Spirit; knowing the truth, but fearful to act.
II. Or are we like the Apostles; having received the Holy Spirit, and prepared to enter the world, regardless of the cost.
III. He is risen! He is risen indeed!
