We can’t even begin to imagine what waking up on that Sunday morning after the crucifixion was like for Mary Magdalene and Mary, Jesus’ mother. All of the turmoil of the trials, the terror of the cross, then the terrible waiting, while it all sunk in over the Sabbath. We have a name for it now – Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. During the shelling in Vietnam, soldiers saved lives and performed heroically. But once the battle was over and they were home, some lives were never the same.
The family members of those killed in the 911 attacks would be able to identify. Days after when the dust was still settling, they didn’t know what had become of their loved ones. Many streamed down to the site to see if maybe a wife or father was walking around dazed and confused. They hoped against hope, even put up posters with pictures. That hope gave way to despair for many.
Mary, Mary, and as Mark tells us Salome – mother of James and John – existed I’m sure in a nether-world for that Saturday and Saturday night. But what is so interesting is that the best they could have hoped for – a dream now totally destroyed – was not even close to the good that had already happened. It gives us hope that in the desperation of circumstances we find ourselves, Jesus is working a better good than we can ever hope or dream of – if we will but seek Him.
For these women, they arose early on Sunday to go see tomb – they’d been at the cross and saw where Joseph of Aramathea had laid His body.
28:1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
Their purpose was to anoint the body with spices and perfumes. The spices acted like bringing flowers to a graveside. The perfumes were used to cover the odor of a decomposing body. I like the courage here. The women would have known that a Roman guard was in place and the tomb had been sealed – yet such was their devotion – despite the grief, despite the pain, despite the fear Jesus meant more to them. How much does He mean to us?
We know from other gospels that they wondered on the way about how they were going to roll away the stone.
2 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. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
We don’t know if the earthquake was the cause of the stone rolling away, or the result of the angel rolling the stone – but it doesn’t really matter. The stone was rolled away – not so that Jesus could find escape from the tomb, but so that others could get in and see what had happened.
Notice the angel – bright light, super bright clothes – lightning – these are all ways angels are described. The women fought their fear to approach the tomb, the solders – battle hardened Roman soldiers – were so frightened by the angels that they fell over like dead men. So much for physical prowess in the face of the supernatural.
5 The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then 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.’ Now I have told you."
There must have been some trepidation on the part of the group – but the angels said "Don’t be afraid." Notice they didn’t say that to the soldiers. The women were looking for Jesus – and that’s the mission the angel addresses. If we are seeking Him, God will sometimes move heaven and earth to bring us to Him.
Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Earnestly seek the Lord Jesus, and you’ll find Him. Well, the women are told "He’s not here, He’s risen.
Luke and John gives us more details – how the women went into the tomb – and saw the clothes laying just as if they’d enveloped a body, and a head handkerchief lying just as if there’d been a head underneath – Jesus raised right through them, no grave robber could have left the clothes that way.
I like this because of the four messages given by the angel:
1. Don’t be afraid (God loves you and died for your sins)
2. He isn’t here (Jesus is alive and well)
3. Come and see (check out the evidence for Jesus for yourself)
4. Go and tell others what you’ve seen.
So the women go off – the angel never promised the next thing would happen. Perhaps Jesus waited to see their reaction, I don’t know. But next He appears to them.
8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."
This is very abbreviated version of the story – but I like it. I wonder if that’s the way it works with many of us – we hear the gospel message and Jesus waits to see how we will react. If it is scoffing, then perhaps we never see Him – but if it is fear mixed with joy – then He reveals Himself to us.
No, we won’t see the bodily risen Christ, but remember the verse from Hebrews? "without faith it is impossible to please God." When we approach Him with faith, 2 Corinthians 3:16 says that a veil is lifted, and we can begin to understand the true ramifications of the resurrection. Don’t expect people to "get" spiritual truth until they turn their hearts to Jesus.
So as the women take off, the focus switches to the soldiers:
11 While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened.
The penalty for a Roman guard who fell asleep on duty was death. It seems reasonable that these guards were assigned to the chief priests – that’s why they went to them instead of to Pilate. So after reporting Jesus’ disappearance, of course the chief priests realized they’d been wrong about Jesus and recognized them as the Messiah. No.
12 When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, 13 telling them, "You are to say, ’His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ 14 If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble." 15 So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day.
Isn’t it funny that the chief priests promulgated the exact lie they were trying to avoid by asking the tomb be sealed? Isn’t it amazing that they didn’t even consider for a moment that Jesus had actually fulfilled His word and rose from the dead? It’s incredible to me that when faced with obvious truth, those who are bent on rejecting Jesus will not turn around.
Some people will do or say anything as an excuse to avoid truly coming to grips with the resurrected Jesus. "His disciples came and took the body," they say. Or "Jesus must not have really died, but He swooned on the cross, then later gained consciousness and rolled away a huge stone from inside the tomb while not waking Roman soldiers standing guard outside and ran away." Right.
We avoid really dealing with the resurrection because it is the central focal point of Christianity. If Jesus rose then everything He said about us and about the way to heaven is true. Don’t avoid it – deal with it.
So, meanwhile the disciples have done as Jesus asked, and gone to Galilee.
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.
This is an abbreviated story, of course. Jesus actually made 11 different appearances after His resurrection – to Mary Magdalene, the other women, to Peter, to two travelers going to Emmaus, to the disciples without and then with Thomas (who is the one who "doubted"), to 7 disciples fishing, to a crowd of 500, to His brother James, and then to those who watched Him go back to heaven.
These were eyewitnesses. They weren’t dreaming, or deluded. The historic fact of the resurrection is hard to refute. Jesus’ body didn’t disappear, He didn’t reanimate in the tomb, He died and then was resurrected.
Now, if you remember, the theme of the book of Matthew is Jesus the King. So I think that’s why Matthew records only one brief statement of Jesus post-resurrection – and it’s this:
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
"All authority," Jesus says. The King has taken up His kingdom. And to His subjects He gives marching orders. Let’s look at the last three statements of Jesus:
I have authority
You have a mission
You are not alone
No more doubts about who Jesus is or that He is indeed God – ALL authority. That means authority over nature, authority over man, authority over Satan – and authority over the things that happen in your life. What does this mean? You’ve put your trust in the right person.
Secondly – we have a mission. "Make disciples." Our mission isn’t to see how much money we can make, how much power we can gain, how many possessions we can obtain or how popular or how smart we can get. Everything in our life needs to be influenced by this mission.
That doesn’t mean that you should drop everything and go to Kenya, unless that what God tells you to do. But it does mean that when your friend is hurting you share the hope of Jesus with them. It means that when you raising your kids you teach them the ways of the Lord. It means that you take young people under your wing and disciple them. Convert – disciple – teach. We tell people about Jesus, encourage them to give their lives fully to the Lord, then teach them about the character God wants to build in their lives.
Finally – "I will be with you always, even to the end of the age." What incredible words of hope. Jesus is about to leave – but He said that in leaving He would send someone else, really a part of Himself, His Holy Spirit. He’s with us – in the good times, and in the bad times. He’s with us in the crowd, He’s with us when we are lonely. He’s with us in the victories, and He’s with us in the defeats, when we’ve failed and don’t think we deserve His presence.
He’s even with us when we don’t feel His presence.
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