Text: Matthew 28:1-7, Title: Angelic Instruction, Date/Place: NRBC, 3/23/08, AM
A. Opening illustration: The Call to Worship had just been pronounced starting Easter Sunday Morning service in an East Texas church. The choir started its processional, singing "Up from the Grave He Arose" as they marched in perfect step down the center aisle to the front of the church. The last lady was wearing shoes with very slender heels. Without a thought for her fancy heels, she marched toward the grating that covered that hot air register in the middle of the aisle. Suddenly the heel of one shoe sank into the hole in the register grate. In a flash she realized her predicament. Not wishing to hold up the whole processional, without missing a step, she slipped her foot out of her shoe and continued marching down the aisle. There wasn’t a hitch. The processional moved with clock-like precision. The first man after her spotted the situation and without losing a step, reached down and pulled up her shoe, but the entire grate came with it! Surprised, but still singing, the man kept on going down the aisle, holding in his hand the grate with the shoe attached. Everything still moved like clockwork. Still in tune and still in step, the next man in line stepped into the open register and disappeared from sight. The service took on a special meaning that Sunday, for just as the choir ended with "Alleluia! Christ arose!" a voice was heard under the church shouting…"I hope all of you are out of the way ‘cause I’m coming out now!" The little girl closest to the aisle shouted, "Come on, Jesus! We’ll stay out of the way."
B. Background to passage: The Passover Seder would have been eaten on Thursday night if you were from Galilee, and Friday night if you were from Jerusalem. Jesus and the disciples after eating the Passover, sang a hymn and retired to the Garden of Gethsemane for prayer, betrayal, and arrest. After a lengthy trial on Thurs night/Fri morning, the Sanhedrin convened at Pilate’s house about 6 AM to demand Jesus’ execution, which they eventually got. Jesus was crucified on Friday at 9 AM, and died six hours later after three hours of darkness about 3 PM. His body was taken down, hastily prepared for burial, and entombed on Friday evening before sunset by Joseph and Nicodemus. Now the women noted the burial site, and were returning on Sunday, the first day of the week, after the Sabbath on Saturday (which they could not touch the body), in order to complete the burial process and anoint Jesus with oils and spices. All instructions given were under the assumption that the disciples of Jesus had committed their lives unto him.
C. Main thought: In the text, the Angel gives three instructions to the women at the tomb on Sunday morning about what the Resurrection does for them and for mankind.
A. The Resurrection Destroys Fear (v. 5)
1. The first words out of the angel’s mouth to the women were “don’t be afraid.” The hardened soldiers passed out from fear after the earthquake and the sight of the angel. And by the way, this was the common reaction to angels in scripture, and the common first phrase too. But even though this phrase is very much tied to the situation, it had far reaching implications. Remember that it wasn’t too often that dead people rose, and if a person saw a person that they knew was dead, they would naturally be afraid.
2. Rom 8:31-39, Gen 15:1, Num 14:9, Deut 33:29, Ps 27:1-3, 46:1-3, Isa 43:1-3, 50:7-9, Hab 3:17-19
3. Illustration: Finally, he dove into the river, swam beneath the surface until he emerged on the other side. He raised a triumphant fist into the air. He had entered the water & escaped. It was then that the Indians broke into a cheer & followed him across. Isn’t that what Jesus did? He entered the river of death & came out on the other side so that we might no longer fear death, but find eternal life in Him. Bobby is a small 4th grader who somehow caught the unwanted attention of a bully in the 6th grade. One day, the bully said, “After school I’m gonna beat you to a pulp.” With no apparent fear, Bobby simply said, “Ok,” and went on his way. What the bully didn’t know is that Bobby’s 11th grade brother picks him up every day after school. Bobby wasn’t scared because he knew who’d be with him…but even if…
4. For us the resurrection destroys fear in many ways. We have to fear death no more, because Jesus went through it and beat it. In fact, it destroys all kinds of fears. We fear death, but we also fear other unknowns—tomorrow, financial ruin, failing health, divorce, rejection, loneliness, other people, crime, for our children and grandchildren, for our country, for our church, for our city. But the death and resurrection of Jesus teaches two things supremely, God is in absolute control of all of life and he loves us enough to sacrifice his only son on our behalf. Nothing can stop Him, thwart Him, slow Him down, restrain Him, or keep Him from doing all that He pleases. And his tender mercies endure forever, to all generations, unto a thousand generations for those who love God and keep His commands. The resurrection is a reminder to you this morning that even when the worst possible thing that you can think of happens in your life, God is still majestically sovereign, and loves you with an everlasting love. And if you have been born again, always is working things out to His glory and your good. Always!
B. The Resurrection Demands Decisions (v. 6)
1. The next thing that the angel said was to “come and see.” These women didn’t come expecting resurrection, the disciples didn’t expect a resurrection, in fact, most of them didn’t really believe the first reports, and were confused by the tomb. The angel wanted them to see the empty tomb. He wanted them to believe. He wanted them to make a decision. He wanted them to renew their faith, strengthen their resolve, and heighten their commitment. It is one of those circumstances in life that doesn’t allow us to abstain.
2. Josh 24:15, Matt 6:24, 12:30, John 3:16-18,
3. Illustration: tell about the situation at Wedgewood Baptist Church in Texas, and all the people that were forced to make a decision about the situation, and the young boy who stood up and confronted the gunman. Bruce Larson said, “The events of Easter cannot be reduced to a creed or philosophy. We are not asked to believe the doctrine of the resurrection. We are asked to meet this person raised from the dead. In faith, we move from belief in a doctrine to a knowledge of a person. Ultimate truth is a person. We met him. He is alive”
4. Consistently we are called to decision about Christ. Everyone that was there on crucifixion day was forced to decide what they were to do with Jesus of Nazareth. Pilate, the Pharisees, the crowds, the soldiers. But there was no neutral ground. Even today, in the bible belt in which we live, many still think that no decision is just that, not a decision. But the opposite is true. Not to surrender to Jesus is to take up arms against Him. And we must be cautious lest we be misunderstood about decisions for Jesus. The bible speaks of receiving, believing, trusting, repenting, and committing as human actions that deliver salvation. If your decision for Christ was only a decision, and void of these other things; it was not biblical faith. If you have not sold the farm, left the family, relinquished all rights, followed hard after Jesus, taken up your cross to die to self, and been transformed into a new creature that is in love with Jesus, hungry for Jesus, surrendered to Jesus, be afraid. We are not called to choose Christ as though we were choosing what to have for breakfast, but as though we were proposing in marriage. There is definitely a decisional element to salvation, but external decisions or mental assents and without light shining in the darkness of our hearts and our inner eyes being opened to the beauty of Christ, and our desires being enflamed with passion for Him is not biblical salvation. This is why our church roles are filled with people who make decisions and commitments, but our sanctuaries are not filled with transformed lives overflowing with passionate worship. If you are here today, the dangerous message is the same one that Jesus gave the rich young ruler, “one thing you lack, sell what you have, give it to the poor, take up your cross, and follow me.” And now you are accountable to that message—that is what makes it dangerous. Everyone in here will make a decision, either afresh or anew to believe, trust, repent and follow the Christ of the empty tomb or not. Some will continue to hide in religion, some will ignore, some will forget, but some will surrender all to Him.
C. The Resurrection Defines the Mission (v. 7)
1. The third thing that the angel said was, “go and tell.” This again is a command that is very connected to the context, telling them to go and tell the disciples that “He is risen!” Their amazement is commanded to be translated into proclamation. The resurrection enlarges there mission from simply following to ministry of the furtherance of the gospel to the nations of the earth. This was to be the mission of the disciples as well. The first Christian sermon centers on the resurrection. The gospel has at its heart, the death and resurrection of Christ. And therefore, we are to be ambassadors of that message.
2. Matt 28:19-20, Mar 16:15, John 20:21, Acts 17:6,
3. Illustration: I read a recent magazine article about a pastor and his encounter with some unbelievers while having breakfast. Here is how he tells the story: “My wife and I were vacationing in Estes Park, Colorado, and had breakfast in a coffee shop. It was empty except for four men at another table. One was mocking Christianity; in particular, the resurrection of Christ. He went on and on about what a stupid teaching that was. I could feel the Lord asking me: ‘Are you going to let this go unchallenged?’ However I was thinking, But I don’t even know these guys. He’s bigger than me. He’s got cowboy boots on and looks tough. I was agitated and frightened about doing anything. But I knew I had to stand for Jesus. Finally, I told Susan to pray. I took my last drink of water and went over and challenged him. With probably a squeaky voice, I said, ‘I’ve been listening to you, and you don’t know what you’re talking about.’ I did my best to give him a flying rundown of the proofs for the resurrection. He was speechless, and I was half dead. I must have shaken for an hour after that. But I had to take a stand. We cannot remain anonymous in our faith forever. God has a way of flushing us out of our quiet little places, and when he does we must be ready to speak for him.”
4. One of the marks of a healthy church is that they know what the gospel is and they share it—Devers, White, Pirkle, etc. But one of the marks of a healthy Christian is the same thing—that they are sharing the good news of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection with others. Our mission in life to make much of the Famous One. To take up the banner of his life, death, and resurrection and exalt the fame of His name. Tell of reading in Isa 45 this week about the repetition that all peoples will know that I am the One True God and besides me there is no other. But that cannot happen without a human witness for faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word. And they cannot hear without someone proclaiming. And you will never be content and fulfilled in life if you are not engaging in the mission for which you were created. But the resurrection gives us the confidence to go and proclaim even if it costs us our lives, because death is not the end. It gives us the boldness to go and share Christ, even when we know that they will kill us. As a church and as individuals we must have a plan for sharing Christ. Do you have a plan? Do we have a plan? Have you taken the opp this week to use the resurrection as a jumping point? Don’t be afraid to clarify the demands of the gospel! Your neighbors must know, your families must know, your state must know, the nations of the earth must know. Pray for laborers to go to the harvest that will turn the world upside down like they did in the book of Acts.
A. Closing illustration: Professional golfer Paul Azinger was diagnosed with cancer at age 33.
He had just won a PGA championship and had ten tournament victories to his credit.
He wrote, "A genuine feeling of fear came over me. I could die from cancer. Then another reality hit me even harder. I’m going to die eventually anyway, whether from cancer or something else. It’s just a question of when. Everything I had accomplished in golf became meaningless to me. All I wanted to do was live."
Then he remembered something that Larry Moody, who teaches a Bible study on the tour, had said to him. "Zinger, we’re not in the land of the living going to the land of the dying. We’re in the land of the dying trying to get to the land of the living."
Golfer Paul Azinger recovered from chemotherapy and returned to the PGA tour. He’s done pretty well.
But that bout with cancer deepened his perspective. He wrote, "I’ve made a lot of money since I’ve been on the tour, and I’ve won a lot of tournaments, but that happiness is always temporary. The only way you will ever have true contentment is in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I’m not saying that nothing ever bothers me and I don’t have problems, but I feel like I’ve found the answer to the six-foot hole."
B. Recap
C. Invitation to commitment
