Text: Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. (Matthew 28:9)
“Greetings” is a wonderful word in that it projects a warm gracious or pleasant feeling of friendship and love. Usually when someone greets you, they are happy to see you and this is reflected in the greeting or welcome. In another sense, they are complimenting you for your arrival.
We greet relatives and friends when they come to visit us. We are happy to share time with them and we try to make them feel at home. We could greet them at the airport, at our front door, at the super market, at church or any number of other places. The main point is that we are happy to see them, so our greeting is positive.
Did you ever think about the greeting you get when you visit a cemetery? What type of greeting could we get at a cemetery? Maybe you never thought about it before, but there are greetings in a cemetery.
I remember when I was a young boy living in the hills of Southern Ohio where coal-mining was a big business. We didn’t have any material possessions, but we had a lot of love in our family. We didn’t have many places to go nor did we really have good transportation to go anywhere far away. I remember one place we visited quite often. I never really thought about it, but now I understand a little bit more.
Throughout the year, and especially on holidays, our family would visit the cemetery. Dad would trim the grass or weeds around the graves of relatives and mom would put fresh flowers in a vase at the base of the tombstone. It is interesting now that I think about it, that we visited in the morning hours. I didn’t give it too much thought, but now I am thinking about it.
In the morning it was quiet beneath the trees, the sun had just come up and there was a sense of peace. I remember the greeting we received from the squirrels as they scampered through the trees and over the ground. They didn’t talk to us of course, but it seemed like they were happy and full of life.
Then I remember the rustling of the leaves brought about by the soft gentle breeze. In the fall of the years, the leaves were going through various color changes and the ones that dropped to the ground would crunch beneath your feet as you moved about. As the leaves floated down through the air and as they crackled beneath your feet, there was a sense of welcome as if they did this because we were present.
Next, I remember hearing the chirping of the birds as they communicated with one another. I remember seeing robins, cardinals, sparrows, blue-jays and other kinds of birds fly from tree to tree. Some of them were singing or whistling beautiful melodies. Their chirping and singing were sounds of joy and happiness that made us feel as though they were extending their greetings to us.
On Decoration Day or Memorial Day, we were always at the cemetery very early because there would be a parade coming through. The music and drum cadence was a greeting that uplifted our spirits, brought us to attention and reminded us that there were many people buried here who gave their lives so that we might be able to share these moments of greeting with those in our presence.
Everyday we are greeted by someone. In fact God greets us every morning as we open our eyes to see all the things around us that He has provided. As we sit on the patio drinking our coffee, we are greeted by His creation. We are greeted by the rising sun giving us a brand new day to enjoy and appreciate.
On the Thursday before the Crucifixion took place, Jesus celebrated Passover with His disciples in the Upper Room and instituted the Last Supper. A little while later, He prayed and agonized in the Garden of Gethsemane. Within a short time, the betrayer and soldiers approached Jesus and arrested Him.
He went through a very quick trial during the night, was disowned by Peter and deserted by all the others. “Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head.
“They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. ‘Hail, king of the Jews!’ they said. Then they spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. After they mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him” (Matthew 27:27-31).
They took him to a place called Golgotha and there nailed Him to a wooden cross which was then raised up between two thieves who were being crucified. “Above his head they placed the written charge against him: “THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS”. He shed His blood upon the Cross that was situated between two thieves.
Before Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea was given permission by Pilate to remove the body of Jesus and place it in a tomb. Jesus’ body was placed in a new tomb that was carved out of rock and sealed by a large stone.
It is now the first day of the week and Sabbath has passed. Three days have passed since Jesus’ quick nighttime trial and the words “Crucify Him!” were heard. “…at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb” (Matthew 28:1).
These women were present at the Crucifixion. “They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs” (Matthew 27:55). These women showed love and appreciation for Jesus. Just as you and I visit the grave of our loved one or loved ones, these women did the same. There is really nothing we can do when we visit a grave, but it is an indication we are paying our respects and I believe that was the intention of the women.
Jesus tomb was being guarded by soldiers so that no one would steal the body. The chief priests and the Pharisees remembered Jesus words: “After three days I will rise again” (Matthew 27:63). Pilate gave permission to secure the tomb. He said, “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how” (Matthew 27:65).
Very early in the morning, the sun was in the process of coming up as the women were on their way to the tomb with spices they had prepared. It was their intention to anoint Jesus’ body. They were going to anoint Jesus’ body to show their respect, appreciation, deep devotion and love to their Lord and Savior.
The spices the women were bringing to the tomb were similar to us taking flowers to a grave site this day. We take flowers and leave them at the grave to show our love and respect for our deceased love one. As the women walked to the tomb carrying the spices, they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” (Mark 16:3).
As they neared the tomb, “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” (Matthew 28:2). It is interesting that Matthew talks about one angel, but Luke speaks of two men or angels while Mark speaks of a young man dressed in a white robe (Mark 16:5) while John doesn’t mention the angels. It really doesn’t make any difference how many angels were present. The fact is the stone was rolled back.
Did you ever ask yourself why the stone was rolled back? Was it rolled back so that Jesus could walk out? The answer is “No!” The reason the stone was rolled back was to give people a chance to go inside or look inside the tomb and see that Jesus was not there.
Matthew tells us, “His (the angel’s) appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow” (Matthew 28:3). The angel was a glorious being. The prophet Daniel talks about such a glorious man. Daniel says, “His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in color, and the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude” (Daniel 10:6).
This angel descended from heaven just as he and the other angel had done before. Angels frequently came to announce something about Jesus or to serve Him in some way. When Jesus was born, an angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds and said, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10, 11). This angel greeted the shepherd with this wonderful news.
While Jesus was agonizing in the Garden of Gethsemane just prior to His arrest, “An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him” (Luke 22:43). This was a time Jesus was expressing His true feelings to His Father. He was not trying to get out of the mission His Father presented Him with, but He knew the events that lay ahead.
He knew of His betrayal, His arrest and all the mistreatment He would suffer through the night, but the greatest event facing Him was the Cross. He thought of the terrible pain and agony He would endure upon the Cross, but what really bothered Him was the fact that He would have to suffer total separation from His Father in order to die and pay the sin penalty for each and every one of us. An angel descended from heaven to give him strength to endure.
After Jesus was tempted the third time by Satan, “…angels came and ministered to Him” (Matthew 4:11). God’s messengers, the angels, have ministered to people throughout time.
The psalmist said, “The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them” (Psalm 23:7). An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:20).
I want you to see and to understand that angels are God’s messengers. They are real. They have appeared before many people throughout the years delivering messages sent forth by Almighty God.
The soldiers guarding the tomb where Jesus was buried heard violent earthquake. This was a greeting from the angel who descended from heaven with the mission to roll the stone back away from the entrance to the tomb. The soldiers were so frightened they “…became like dead men” (Matthew 28:4).
Jesus mission upon the earth was to pay our sin debt, a debt that none of us could ever satisfy. He took all sins; past, present and future with Him to the Cross. When He died and was placed in the tomb, He carried those sins with Him. That stone was rolled in to block the entrance to the tomb indicating sealing our sins inside with Jesus.
Divine justice was satisfied when the angel descended and used the power given by God to break the seal indicating that death and darkness are still under God’s control. After the angel rolled back the stone, he sat upon it defying the powers of darkness to replace the stone. The angel was a guard sitting upon the stone waiting for the women to come, so he could give them an account of what took place.
The angel greeted the women with good news. He said to them “Do not be afraid, for I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified” (Matthew 28:5). The women were seeking or looking for Jesus, but they were afraid. That is what happens many times today. People are looking for help because they are hurting or because they are in need. Some are afraid to call upon Jesus for various reasons.
Maybe they consider themselves unworthy because of their past life. Some have not taken time to really get to know Him. Others have placed material possessions between them and Jesus. We should never be afraid to call upon Him. We do not have to look for Him because He is merely a breath away.
Then the angel said to the women, “He is not here; he has risen, just as he said” (Matthew 28:6). Jesus is not dead. He is alive! There are some people who do not understand or who do not believe the resurrection. There are those people who think that His body was stolen and He really is dead. We know He is alive and He is with us every moment of our life.
The angel than said to the women, “Come and see the place where he lay” (Matthew 28:6). The women witnessed the crucifixion. They knew Jesus had died. They also knew Joseph laid him in this tomb. Now they wanted to see him so that they could put the spices on His body. The angel invited them to go into the tomb and look for themselves. The women found the tomb to be empty. That tomb is empty this very day, because He lives!
Jesus had risen! The resurrection is a historical fact. He is risen! We communicate with Him spiritually by faith and in His Word.
The angel then said to the women, “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” (Matthew 28:7).
“So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. ‘Greetings,’ he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me’” (Matthew 28:8-10).
When Jesus used the word “brothers” it is thought He was referring to His disciples. Remember, His disciples deserted Him just as did everyone else. They had disowned Him, but fortunately He did not disown them. Jesus wanted them to know that He was alive. Knowing this fact, the relationship between Him and the disciples would form a bond stronger than any previous bond.
Jesus was giving the disciples a chance to see Him in Galilee. It is a fact the disciples did not follow the directions given the women. They did not go to Galilee immediately. Instead, they stayed behind closed doors because they feared the religious leaders.
John recorded these words: “On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, as Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord” (John 20:19, 20).
The Resurrection had taken place. This was an event that was new. It had never happened before. When something is new or quite different, people have a tendency to try to justify the event by making up a story that sounds possible and probable.
Some of the guards who were present at the tomb went into town and told the chief priests the events as they unfolded. Here is where human nature takes over. “When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, ‘You are to say, His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep’” (Matthew 28:12, 13).
This seemed like a believable story. It was a story that sounded true. That story spread like wild-fire among the Jews and many of the Jews hold to that story this very day.
Conclusion:
What does the empty tomb mean to you? Does it mean anything? Is it just an event that we celebrate each year? It is really a historical fact?
The Resurrection is the basis for the Christian faith. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God, their life and every life after that changed. Death entered the picture. God’s plan was to redeem man and restore righteousness.
“The righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood” (Romans 3:22-25).
We, Christians, give Jesus our sins and in return He replaces our unrighteousness with righteousness and forgiveness. Paul records these words for all people: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
When we place our trust in Jesus, obey His word and invite Him to come and take first place in our heart, He takes our sin and in return gives us righteousness. He took our sins; past, present and future to the Cross. He gives us righteousness when we accept Him as our personal Lord and Savior.
The hymn writer Mrs. H. M. Hall wrote these words: “Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe; Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.”
The Resurrection is Jesus’ promise to us of victory over death and over the grave. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die…” (John 11:25, 26).
The empty tomb should tell us that immortality is real and life is endless. Jesus said, “I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades” (Revelation 1:18).
The Good News to each of us is: “He is not here; he has risen…” (Matthew 28:3).
One day we will be greeted by Jesus with the words, “Welcome home!”
Amen.
