The Audacity Of Easter

The Audacity of Easter

Matthew 21:1-15

The first Easter did not get off to a very good start. The disciples were cowering behind locked doors for fear of the Jews. Peter had promised to be brave, but they all failed. All of the men had failed Him. There had not been time to finish preparing the body for burial because of the approaching Sabbath. At least, this is what the women thought. They took great risk being outside in the pre-dawn hours. But they came, nevertheless. They went out the gate of the city to the sepulcher of Jesus. We aren’t exactly sure of the number of them. We know that Nary Magdalene was one of them. Matthew, in this morning’s text adds another Mary. Luke adds others. What is important is that they went when the men stayed cowering behind locked doors. The women did not come expecting the resurrection. It must have been a very somber journey. They came to show proper respect for the dead body of Jesus. The words Jesus had repeatedly told them about his resurrection had not registered on them.

Before the women came, there was a great earthquake, and the stone which covered the tomb was rolled away. It says an angel in glistening white clothing had done this. It then said that the keepers of the tomb were terrified and became like dead men. The question is when did the keepers see this? Did they see this before the women arrived and fled? If so, were these soldiers the first witness to the resurrection? In both the Old Testament and New, it is recorded when one saw the LORD, they became weak and undone. The disciples fell into a deep sleep at the Mount of Transfiguration. Sleep is a metaphor of death. Isaiah was undone. Daniel and John both fell as dead. The keepers were like dead men when they saw this. It is ironic how the Jewish authorities gave the guards money to say that they fell asleep.

Soon after this, the women came to the tomb where they were confronted by the angel. They must have been both confused and terrified. The King James uses “Fear not” as the first words coming out of the angel’s mouth. The Greek more precisely renders it “Stop being afraid.” He continues by saying that the women had come to seek Jesus, that is His dead body. He then tells them that He was not there in the tomb. He had risen from the dead just as He had told them. He invited the women to look into the tomb and see for themselves.

I can only imagine the women being completely undone from what they had just witnessed. We read from the Gospel of John that it did not originally sink into Mary Magdalene’s mind that He had actually risen. She would later ask someone whom she presumed was the gardener where they had taken the body. She said that she would go retrieve it herself.

The angel commanded them to return to where the cowering men were and bring the good news of Jesus’s resurrection. On the way Jesus met them and greeted them. I tend to think that Mary Magdalen had stayed behind at the tomb while the other women went. This would harmonize the resurrection accounts considerably. These women immediately fell at Jesus’ feet and worshiped Him. He told them to tell the brothers that they should return to Galilee, which they would eventually do after several appearances around Jerusalem. All Israel was to know that Jesus is alive, then the entire world.

The rest of the passage is the greatest cover-up in history. The authorities did not want the word to get out. They tried to shut down Easter. The world is still trying to shut down Easter. Here we are at Easter, and the authorities are telling the Christians in many places that they cannot leave their homes for Easter services for fear of the Coronavirus. Christians are to remain behind the locked doors of their homes. Many are in great dread of this virus. Others have been threatened with jail and fines for attending services. In Greenville Mississippi, the mayor and police actually fined parishioners on church property $500 each for being in parked cars with the windows up listening to a sermon. We must remember that Christians have assembled for 2000 years on Easter and on other Sundays without interruption. They have been chased into the catacombs to escape persecution. They have suffered torture and death. Yet they still came together and worshiped. The services continued in times of war and peace. They continued to meet during the times of plague. They met in Chinese house churches and still meet there in threat to life to limb. The Christian faith is the most persecuted faith on earth. Should we let the threats and bullying of government officials stop us?