RESPONDING TO THE RESURRECTION
MATTHEW 28
INTRODUCTION
- If you have a Bible, turn to Matthew 28.
- The date was around 33 A.D. The place was the city of Jerusalem in Israel. And the city had a certain “buzz” to it and was unusually full of people because the time to celebrate one of the biggest Jewish festivals had come. It was the middle of the month of Nisan: the first month in the festival year of the Jews, or the seventh month of the civil calendar – spring time.
- The celebration at hand was Passover, with the accompanying Feast of Unleavened Bread. Devout Jews from all over the Roman Empire had traveled many miles to be in Jerusalem for this special occasion. One of those Jews, was a rabbi or teacher known as Jesus of Nazareth.
- For about three years prior to this moment, this teacher had traveled around Israel proclaiming that the kingdom of God had come and called people to repentance. He began to show himself to be more than just a rabbi as he performed deeds no ordinary human could perform.
- The deeds started with turning water into wine at a wedding feast in a town called Cana. This feat was followed by various healings and exorcisms; and the miracles grew more spectacular as wind and waves were calmed and a dead man named Lazarus was called out of his tomb with a simple command.
- This miracle worker had claimed to be one with God the Father – making himself equal with God. One can understand why then, after three years, the religious leaders of the day were seeking an opportunity to get rid of this now very popular rabbi. It was blasphemous to claim to be God and to parade around performing tricks in order to get people to believe you. In their eyes, this blasphemer had to be stopped.
- And the Passover celebration that year provided them the opportunity they were looking for. Fortunately for them, the Passover would bring this Jesus right into Jerusalem. And would you believe it, one of his own followers had come to them and offered to betray him for a price.
- A few times before their plans to capture him had failed but this time it worked. They arrested Jesus and performed a mock trial under the cover of night and eventually got permission from the Roman governor Pilate to have him crucified.
- So this man who claimed to be the Son of God was beaten severely with a specialized whip containing multiple lashes with sharp pieces of bone and metal attached. And this was not a special punishment devised specifically for Jesus, it was a common punishment for criminals.
- Having been flogged and mocked through various means, Jesus was led out of the city and crucified along with two other criminals. Even while being humiliated by being nailed to a piece of wood and hung for the public to see, the signs that this man was who he said he was continued. The land grew dark, and the earth shook as he cried out and gave up his spirit.
- Then a man named Joseph received permission to prepare Jesus’ body for burial. He laid him in a rock-cut tomb and rolled a stone in front of the entrance. And the religious leaders brought soldiers to guard the tomb so that no more hoaxes would be accomplished by Jesus’ disciples.
- And that is where we pick up the story in Matthew chapter 28. Let’s read the conclusion; beginning at v.1.
Read Matthew 28:1-20
- This passage, as you know, is one of four accounts of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. All four gospels fittingly tell of this occurrence as it is one of the two events the Christian church is founded upon – the other being the crucifixion.
- The message of Christianity is the message of the cross and the subsequent empty tomb. Everything we believe rises or falls on the reality of those two events. As Paul wrote, “If Christ is not risen, our faith is futile.” It is useless. We might as well sleep in on Sundays.
- Certainly there is no other time of year when the resurrection of Christ is more talked about than this time of year. Yet with all of the chocolate bunnies and marshmallow peeps there is a danger that the true impact of the resurrection will go largely unnoticed. So I want to take this opportunity to briefly remind us of the importance of the resurrection; and draw out of our text this morning the different responses we observe to what happened on the Sunday morning after Jesus was crucified.
- As biblical Christians we believe that faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ for sin is the only way to inherit eternal life. This we believe because the Bible presents this truth. So how one responds to the resurrection; what one thinks about the resurrection is a matter of eternal life and death.
- A person cannot be saved; they cannot be forgiven of their sins by God without proper belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. So it’s important that we understand the different ways people respond to the account of Jesus’ resurrection and highlight the correct response. In our text this morning we will observe three different responses or reactions to the risen Christ.
- The first one is found in vv.1-10:
AWE-INSPIRED WORSHIP
- Matthew records that after the Sabbath, which was Saturday, as the dawn of Sunday morning was approaching, Mary Magdalene and a woman he calls “the other Mary” went to see the tomb. This other Mary was the wife of Clopas and the mother of one of the apostles: James the younger. The Gospel of Mark tells us that these women had bought spices and were intending to anoint Jesus’ body. But as we will soon find out, that won’t be possible.
- Then Matthew jumps to the scene at the tomb. The women have not yet arrived. They were still on their way as indicated in v.1. Mark tells us that as they were on their way to the tomb they were wondering how they would get the stone rolled away from the entrance. And by the time they got there these next few verses had already taken place.
- There was, according to v.2, a great earthquake; because an angel of the Lord had descended to the site of the tomb. With this earthquake he rolled away the stone that was sealed at the entrance. But there was no one inside.
- At the sight of this angel, whose appearance was like lightning and whose clothes were white like snow, the guards assigned to protect the tomb from intruders were horrified. They froze in place. And when the women arrived and found the stone rolled away; and themselves saw the angels; I say angels because Luke and John tell us that two were there when they arrived, they saw that the tomb was empty.
- And after looking closely to see that Jesus’ body was indeed not there, they were given instruction to hurry and tell the other disciples about what had happened. And as they were running with great fear and yet great joy a man meets them on the road saying “Greetings.”.
- It was Jesus. They had just seen the empty tomb; and were on their way to tell everyone that angels from God had told them that their beloved teacher had risen from the dead; and there he stood right in front of them. Now what does Matthew say they did?
- Notice the latter part of v.9: And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him.
- This is the first response we see in this passage and it is the proper response. Why is it the proper response? Because of what the resurrection shows us about who Jesus is. The resurrection shows us that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross fully satisfied the wrath of a holy God on behalf of anyone who would believe.
- And not only that, it shows us that Christ himself is God. Ephesians chapter 2 says that God raised him [Christ] from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
- And Peter proclaimed in the book of Acts that God raised him [Jesus] up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.
- Why was it not possible for Jesus to be held by death? Because he was and is God. In fact in John chapter 10 he told his disciples: “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
- No human being has the authority to lay down their life and then take it up again. Some people have given their life for a cause, but they don’t have the ability to raise themselves up from the dead. This is the kind of power Jesus had, because as the Son of God, the second person of the triune Godhead, he had received that authority from the Father.
- So the resurrection shows us that the Father was satisfied with the Son’s sacrifice; and that the Son is co-equal with the Father as God. Since these things are true, the women got it right. They worshiped Jesus when they saw that he was resurrected from the dead.
- Make no mistake about what was going on here. The Jews knew that no one or nothing was to be worshiped other than God. The very first of the Ten Commandments told them: You shall have no other gods before me. And Jesus was crucified, why? Because he claimed to be the Son of God, making himself equal with God; and you didn’t mess around with God place.
- They were, rightly so, intensely monotheistic; meaning they believed in only one God. So for the women to worship Jesus meant they saw him as God. They knew he was, as he claimed, the Son of God. And this was a correct assessment.
- But not everyone got it right. In fact, some responses were the exact opposite of the reaction the women had. Look again at vv.11-15: While they were going [the women], behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.
- The women responded with awe-inspired worship, here the Jewish religious leaders respond with:
HARD-HEARTED RESISTANCE
- Some of the soldiers went to tell the religious leaders what had happened. They went to tell the religious leaders and not the Roman authorities because they probably would have been executed for failing to secure their assignment.
- Now when the religious leaders hear the report of the soldiers, how do they respond? But running to the tomb and seeing if these things were true? By finding the disciples to see if Jesus was with them? No. They devised a lie and paid the soldiers to tell it.
- The truth did not matter to them. All they cared about was their religious authority. And if this man they called a pretender proved to be who he said he was their power would be lost. Their hearts were hard to the miracle that had just been accomplished among them. They had no interest in worshiping Jesus as God as the women did.
- So the text says they came up with this story: Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ This is just one of the many theories that have been developed to deny the actual, physical resurrection of Christ. You could call it the theft theory.
- Another theory that has received some attention is the swoon theory. The swoon theory goes like this: Jesus did not actually die on the cross but fell into a deep coma. He was then taken down, placed in the grave, and while in the grave the cool conditions and burial spices revived him. He then unwrapped himself and somehow escaped the tomb.
- The flaws in such a theory are numerous. In fact the story is told of a lady who wrote in to a question and answer forum after hearing a puzzling sermon by a pastor. She wrote “Dear Sirs, Our preacher said on Easter, that Jesus just swooned on the cross and that the disciples nursed Him back to health. What do you think? Sincerely, A Bewildered Believer.” The response was this: “Dear Bewildered Believer, Beat your preacher with a cat-of-nine-tails with 39 heavy strokes, nail him to a cross; hang him in the sun for 6 hours; run a spear through his side; and then put him in a sealed tomb for 36 hours and see what happens.
- It is amazing what people will come up with to deny the resurrection. There are other theories as well. Perhaps the disciples were hallucinating when they saw Jesus. Maybe Jesus’ body never really entered the tomb. We could go on down the list. The bottom line is that hard-hearted unbelievers will think of anything to deny the resurrection.
- The story that the Jews concocted was not all that believable either. The guards were supposed to have slept through a group of men rolling a large stone away from a tomb entrance? That’s hard to imagine. Especially when they would have known that certain execution awaited them if they slept while on duty and allowed such a thing to happen.
- These same sorts of denials continue today. All of the textual and circumstantial evidence for Christ’s resurrection is ignored; not because it is not there, but because some people simply stubbornly refuse to believe such a thing could happen. And the surface reasons for such refusal are many.
- Some with a secular scientific perspective deny that anything supernatural occurs. Others of a more religious nature do not want to give such exclusive authority to one man or faith. But under the surface the underlying reason is sin. Because man is so entrenched in his sinfulness, it is his natural tendency to rebel against all the things of the true God.
- But there is one other response that we notice in our passage. And that is:
UNFOUNDED SKEPTICISM
- Notice vv.16-17: Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.
- This doubt could refer to Thomas who initially doubted the resurrection; or it could refer to other disciples aside from the eleven. Either way, look at what was happening here. It does not say that they doubted and then saw him and believed. It says that they saw him, and yet doubted. They could not believe their eyes.
- This wasn’t the hard-hearted resistance of the chief priests, but it wasn’t the awe-inspired worship of the women either. The gospel of John tells us that Thomas, one of the twelve disciples, refused to believe Christ had risen until he saw him; and not only saw him but placed his finger in the wounds.
- And this sort of thing continues today. Someone might say “If you can prove to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that Christ has been raised from the dead, then I will believe.” The reality is that we cannot prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Christ has been raised from the dead. We don’t have the benefit of looking at him right before our eyes and touching him.
- But the opposite is true as well. No one can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that he has not been raised. So what we have is the reliable testimony of Scripture and the evidence of history. What an individual does with that is the key.
- Jesus told Thomas after he expressed faith upon touching the Lord: “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
- It is faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, though we have never seen these things that justifies us before God. That’s what the writer of Hebrews meant when he wrote: Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. If we could prove it, we wouldn’t need faith.
- Paul wrote in Romans 8: For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
- So if you doubt that Christ is risen until someone proves it to you; you will doubt your whole life until you die and then you will know for sure. Then you will see Christ face to face. But then it will be too late as he will be your Judge and not your Savior.
- Thankfully, the disciples who initially doubted eventually believed. And they, along with the others, turned the world upside down with their conviction that Christ was alive.
CONCLUSION
- So we close with vv.18-20, the Great Commission: And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
- By virtue of my resurrection, Jesus says, I have been given authority over all things. So go and teach people to follow and obey me. So what kind of response is Jesus calling for here? Hard- hearted resistance or unfounded skepticism? Of course not. He is calling for awe-inspired worship and obedience.
- We could say it like this: Christ’s miraculous resurrection demands awe-inspired worship; and his supreme authority demands passionate obedience.
- His resurrection displayed that he is God and has authority over all; now we must respond by giving him the worship and devotion he deserves.
- So how have you, and how will you respond to the resurrection of Jesus Christ? Do not reject it. John MacArthur wrote that “Rejecting the resurrection is spiritual suicide.” How you respond to this event and the events surrounding it is the most important issue you will ever face.
- It is my prayer, as I know many of you have, that you embrace the resurrection and the cross with it; for the salvation of your soul and body. And if you have not responded with faith and worship, it is my desire that today would be the day when you say “I believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as payment for my sins.”
- Don’t let the message of the resurrection pass you by this Easter season. As Frank Getty said: “The message of Easter cannot be written in the past tense. It is a message for today and the days to come. It is God’s message which must re-echo through your lives.” May the power of the message of the resurrection indeed echo through your life throughout your lifetime.
