“COME & SEE! GO & TELL!” Matthew 28:1-7
FBCF – 4/20/25
Jon Daniels
INTRO – 2 things we’ve been praying about for today:
That those who are here today who have never truly trusted in Christ alone for their salvation will be blown away by the love, GRACE, & mercy of God & be saved today.
- Those who are relying on their good works
- Those who are counting on their family’s spiritual heritage
- Those who are relying on their baptism or
- Those who are counting on their religious activities
Man, woman, boy, or girl – it’s my prayer that you would trust the risen Savior, Jesus Christ, to save you today! You can call out to Him right now & He will save you!
That those who know Christ will also be blown away by the love of God in a fresh, new way & renew their passion for living for Him.
- Those whose fire for Jesus has been dying down
- Those whose commitment to Jesus has been slipping
- Those whose obedience to Jesus has been faltering
- Those who are walking faithfully w/ Jesus right now
Man, woman, boy, or girl – it’s my prayer that you will fall in love w/ Jesus again today, that you won’t be satisfied w/ just a status quo commitment to Him, that you’ll spend the rest of your life worshiping, serving, & glorifying Him in every way.
EXPLANATION – Matthew 28:1-7
APPLICATION – It’s all about Jesus! So, come & see:
“COME & SEE”
THE CROSS – A Cruel Cross
The terror of the cross – Jesus in Garden of Gethsemane – Prayed 3 times, “Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me.” The cup was the cup of suffering & the wrath of God that was about to be poured on Jesus for the sins of all mankind.” In this blood-producing prayer, we see the humanity of Jesus on full display. He knew what awaited Him – the terror of a Roman crucifixion - & His flesh was recoiling from it.
The Persians created crucifixion, but the Romans perfected it as a slow, painful, gruesome, humiliating means of execution. In fact, our English word “excruciating” comes from the word “crucifixion.” Although it was an approved, frequent means of execution by the Romans, even some of their own leaders knew how horrible it was. Roman statesman Cicero described it as “a most cruel & disgusting punishment.”
The torture of the cross – Jesus knew of the terror of the cross. And He knew of the torture of the cross. The Romans knew just how to make the torture as intense as possible.
- They knew how to scourge the person
- They made Him carry cross – 100 lb crossbeam
- They perfected the nails/spikes (7 in long – 3/8 in diameter)…where to drive them in wrists & feet/ankles for maximum pain…how to ensure that wrists would dislocate, then elbows, then shoulders (Ps. 22:14 – “…all my bones are out of joint.”)
The truth of the cross – Jesus died – PERIOD! Bible teacher J. Vernon McGee letter from listener: “Our preacher said that on Easter Jesus just swooned on the cross & the disciples nursed Him back to health. What do you think?” Reply: “Dear sister, beat your preacher w/ a leather whip. Nail him to a cross. Hang him in the sun for 6 hours. Run a spear through his heart. Embalm him. Put him in an airless tomb for 3 days. Then see what happens.” (https://gracequotes.org/?s=easter)
Jesus didn’t swoon or faint or black out. He died. His heart stopped pumping…lungs stopped breathing…brain stopped functioning. He died – He was killed, slain, executed, deceased.
Common sense supports that truth. The raw brutality of the moment speaks to that truth. But I’d rather rely on the truth of Scripture:
- Mark 15:37 – “And Jesus uttered a loud cry & breathed His last.”
- Luke 23:46 – “Then Jesus, calling out w/ a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into your hand I commit my spirit!’ And having said this, He breathed His last.”
- Acts 2:23 – Peter: “…this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan & foreknowledge of God, you crucified & killed by the hands of lawless men.”
- Acts 7:52 – Stephen: “Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered…”
- Acts 13:28-29 – Paul – “And though they found in him no guilt worthy of death, they asked Pilate to have him executed. And when they had carried out all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb.”
- Romans 5:8 – “But God demonstrates His own love for in that while we were yet sinner, Christ died for us.”
- 1 Corinthians 15:3 – “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins…”
- 1 Thessalonians 4:14 – “…we believe that Jesus died & rose again…”
THE TOMB – A Borrowed Tomb – It was a borrowed tomb b/c He only needed it for the weekend. He wasn’t going to stay there. But come & see this tomb.
It belonged to a personal friend – Matthew 28:57-60 – Joseph of Arimathea – a “disciple” – not one of the 12 apostles, but a follower of Jesus, a student of Jesus. If you’re a follower of Jesus, then you’re a friend of Jesus. John 15:14 – “You are my friends if you do what I command.” Crazy thing is that Joseph was a member of the Sanhedrin, the religious leaders who called for Jesus’ crucifixion. But something had happened to Joseph! He had encountered Jesus in a real way & his life was changed forever. Same thing happens to us today!
- Are you a personal friend of Jesus?
His tomb was a prophecy fulfilled – Another thing we know about Joseph was that he was rich. Isaiah 53:9 – “He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave.” (NLT) Joseph probably had no idea in the days before Jesus’ crucifixion that he would have the opportunity to honor Jesus’ body & fulfill OT prophecy. Just shows us that God has a plan & in His timing He will fulfill it!
- He’s got a plan for YOUR life, too!
Here’s the greatest part of that borrowed tomb: What was normally a place of final rest became a place of freedom! Normally, a body of a dead person would lie in a tomb or grave & decay. Genesis 3:19 – “…you are made from dust & to dust you will return.” (NLT) The 2 Marys were going to see that place of final rest (v. 1). But there was no dust in that tomb…no decay in that tomb…There was victory in that tomb! There was freedom in that tomb!
- Victory over sin…over Satan
- Freedom from death…from hell
How do we know? Come & see…
THE STONE – A Large Stone - Why come & see this great, very large, very big, immense, massive stone?
The stone was moved! – There’s not stone large enough to hold Jesus in! There is no seal permanent enough to hold Jesus in! There are no guards big & bad enough to hold Jesus in! When it was time for Jesus to come out, He was coming out! When God turned to that angel & said, “Go, move that stone!”, the stone was going to get moved! Why? Because…
The Savior is alive! – He didn’t just wake up. He didn’t just perk up. He didn’t just sit up. He got up! He stood up! He spoke up! Why? B/c He was & is alive! He is the risen, reigning, ruling Savior – the all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving King of kings & Lord of lords – the ONLY one who is worthy of all worship, worthy of all glory, worthy of all honor – the Prince of Peace, the Great I Am, the glorious Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world – the Son of God, the Son of Man, the Shepherd of His sheep, the soon-returning King – He’s our Messiah, our Mediator, our Master – He is…
- Christ the Lord
- Christ the Redeemer
- Christ the Way, the Truth, & the Life
- Christ the Good Shepherd
- Christ the Bread of Life
- Christ the Living Water
- Christ the Light of the World
- Christ the Friend of Sinners
He loves you passionately – He knows you intimately – He wants to save you eternally - & He will walk w/ you personally. B/c…
Our salvation is for real & is available for anyone!
So “GO & TELL!” – That Jesus is alive! That He is your Savior! That you are living for Him!
UNLESS YOU’RE NOT!
- NOT saved
- NOT living for Him
If you can’t say that He’s your Savior – if you can’t say that you are living for Him, let’s go back to the very first things I said in this sermon.
- Give your life to Jesus!
- Come back to Jesus!
