Matthew 28:1-10
A Fresh Start
Today over a billion people will celebrate Easter, even in the midst of a worldwide pandemic! People all over the globe will remember with excitement the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Why all the attention for an event that happened some 2,000 years ago? Why is Easter that big of a deal? Easter is important for lots of reasons, but I thought of three that come to mind from today’s scripture. First, Easter tells us ...
1. God keeps his promises. The angel reminded the women, in verse 6, “He has risen ... just as he said.” You see, Jesus predicted his death and his resurrection. And he didn’t do this just once or twice. He spent a lot of time preparing his disciples for what would happen that first Easter weekend. Matthew, one of his disciples, recorded for us in his gospel, in Matthew 16:21, “From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” If nothing else, the resurrection tells us that Jesus kept his promise.
Jason Emmanuel Petty once said, “Jesus wrote a check with his life but at the resurrection we all cheered because that means the check cleared.” A cleared check is a promise kept.
A cool verse is 2 Corinthians 1:20, which says, “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ.” For example, God promises to stay with us through thick and thin: And then Jesus tells his followers, “I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20). God promises to comfort us, and Jesus says, “My peace I give you” (John 14:27). God promises salvation from our sin, and scripture says, Jesus on the cross became sin on our behalf (2 Corinthians 5:21). God promises eternal life, and Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25), and then proves it on Easter! Easter shows us, God always keeps his promises.
This concept can change your prayer life. In praying scripture, you can ask God about things according to his own promises. For example, the Bible says to “start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it” (Proverbs 22:6). Maybe your child has departed from the faith, has drifted away from the Lord and from a loving church family. You can pray this prayer and ask God to rekindle a spiritual fire in your son’s or daughter’s heart. And as you do so, you are praying according to God’s promise, because God always keeps his promises. Easter also tells us,
2. God brings a fresh start. If Jesus can rise from the dead, then nothing is too hard for God to turn around. Think about Mary Magdalene. All four gospels name her as one of the first witnesses of the risen Lord. Who was this woman who was mentioned in the Bible more than most of the disciples? We don’t know a lot about her, but we know enough to say she was an unlikely hero. First, she was a woman, which back then would have forfeited her value as a witness in court. Sure enough, if you read the rest of the story, not even Jesus’ disciples believed her when she told them she had seen the risen Lord. And then, on top of being a woman, she had a reputation. Scripture says Jesus removed seven evil spirits from her (Luke 8:2). We don’t know what that means exactly, but it suggests something sub-par in her life before meeting Jesus. Yet, he gave her a fresh start, a brand-new life.
Jesus has been in the fresh start business ever since. And there’s a strong hint in today’s story that he is quite passionate about it. Remember how the two Mary’s left the angel to tell the disciples the good news as instructed? Someone met them on the way. It was Jesus himself! It’s like he couldn’t wait! He had to show up and fill their hearts with hope again! He did the same thing with the disciples. He couldn’t wait for them to arrive at Galilee. He appeared to them in Jerusalem. Jesus is passionate about fresh starts!
God keeps his promises, and God brings a fresh start. Lastly,
3. God speaks to those who listen. There were two groups of people at the empty tomb that first Easter morning: the guards and the women. The guards were terrified and shook up, to the point of death. The Bible records that, later, they recovered their composure enough to receive bribes from the Roman government, to institute a cover-up and say Jesus’ body was stolen (Matt. 28:13).
The other group was the women who had come to anoint Jesus’ body. With the Sabbath over, they arrived as early as possible, at first light, which meant they did their shopping in advance and set off at “0-dark-thirty” the next day. Their loyalty and devotion to Jesus motivated them to honor his body in death.
But they found a surprise. The stone had been rolled away, and an angel sat triumphantly on top of it. Now the angel didn’t open the tomb to let Jesus OUT; he opened it to let people IN! The angel said, “Come in and see.” Then he told them, “Go out and tell.” And their lives were forever changed as they met the risen Lord.
Think about the contrast between these two groups: One group listened; one didn’t. One acted as if dead; one was brought to life in the excitement of the day. What was the difference? The women came to honor the body of Jesus whereas the soldiers came to keep his body from being stolen. One group sought him out and one group tried to keep him in. One was ready to hear and believe; one was ready to be bribed and kept quiet. One group was forever changed. One group experienced no real change and never met the risen Christ.
God still speaks to those who listen. Those who believe are transformed. Those who choose not to believe find ways to ignore the truth and remain the same.
Some of you may have trusted him with your life many years ago, but today you may have realized you haven’t trusted him with anything in a very long time. Some of you watching today have never trusted him with your life. Some are struggling to trust God through these difficult times we’re now in. Wherever you are in your spiritual journey, please know this: Jesus loves you so much ... that he died for you, that “whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
Let me close with some words from one of my favorite writers, Max Lucado, from his book, “He Still Moves Stones.” Max summarizes God’s faithfulness with these words:
“Just when the womb gets too old for babies, Sarai gets pregnant. Just when the failure is too great for grace, David is pardoned. And just when the road is too dark for Mary and Mary, the angel glows and the Savior shows and the two women will never be the same.
The lesson? Three words. Don’t give up.
Is the trail dark? Don’t sit.
Is the road long? Don’t stop . . .
Is the night black? Don’t quit.
God is watching. For all you know right at this moment He may be telling the angel to move the stone.
The check may be in the mail....
The apology may be in the making.
The job contract may be on the desk.
Don’t quit. For if you do, you may miss the answer to your prayers.
God still sends angels. And God still moves stones.”
Let us pray: Heavenly Father, thank you for Easter. From the earliest moments of creation, you already had a plan to defeat sin and death forever, and that plan culminated with a cross at Calvary. Lord, thank you that you keep your promises. Thank you that you bring a fresh start. Thank you that you still speak to those who will listen, even in times like this. We need someone we can trust. We need a new beginning. We need to hear from you. We need your deliverance from this plague that is attacking our world. Help us to trust in your resurrection power to change our lives forever. Help someone to call on you for the very first time today, exchanging their sin for your forgiveness, made possible through Jesus’ sacrifice. We pray this in his name, amen.
