to Matthew chapter 28. Matthew 28, I'll begin reading in verse 1, and then our focus this morning will be verses 1 to 10, but I will read the whole chapter.

Scripture Reading

Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men.

The angel answered and said to the women, do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead.

And indeed, he is going before you into Galilee. There you will see him. Behold, I have told you. So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to bring his disciples word.

And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them saying, rejoice. So they came and held him by the feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, do not be afraid, go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee and there they will see me. Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened.

When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers saying, tell them, his disciples came at night and stole him away while we slept. And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will appease him and make you secure. So they took the money and did as they were instructed. And this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.

Then the 11 disciples went away into Galilee to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. When they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and spoke to them saying, all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.

And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen. Well, let us pray.

Opening Prayer

Our Father in heaven, we thank you for the written word. We thank you for the gospel according to Matthew and for its subject matter, even the life and the death and the resurrection of our beloved Lord. How we thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ. How we thank you that you made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

We thank you for the fact that you have, in grace, saved us, that you have given us the graces of faith and repentance so that we may close with Christ, that you have caused us to see that He is altogether lovely and chief among 10,000. And our desire is that sinners everywhere would see this, they would hear the truth, and by the grace of God would believe that truth. Be merciful to those in our midst that do not confess faith in Christ. We pray that today would be the day of salvation. that as we behold this empty tomb, we would see a risen Savior, a glorious and a triumphant Lord, and that sinners would be drawn unto Him by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Do forgive us now for our sins and transgressions, and help us to receive with thankful hearts the Word of God. And may you send the Holy Spirit to do this work, to illumine our minds and our hearts, for apart from Christ we can do nothing. So we pray for the ministry and the power and the aid of the Holy Spirit, and we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Introduction

Well, the various gospel writers, or all four gospel accounts, contain the narrative of the resurrection. There are some differences, not contradictions, but some differences that can be harmonized. My purpose this morning is not to try and harmonize, but to deal with Matthew's gospel as we find it, of course, referring to a couple of the other gospels along the way. But instead of, or not necessarily instead of, but perhaps it's a bit misleading, to look at this section under the resurrection of Jesus.

We don't know, other than the third day, when he actually was raised. What we find with these women is a discovery of the empty tomb. And then we see the appearance of the risen Lord. So we know that he was raised from the dead.

When the angel rolls away the stone, I don't believe it's to let Jesus out, but rather it's to let the women in, so that they may investigate and see. The angel doesn't say, now, just believe what I have to say. Don't go in there. Don't examine.

No, he invites them. Come and see. Christianity has nothing to fear. The empty tomb has nothing to fear.

We invite all comers to investigate the glorious truth that Christ lived, that he died, that he was raised the third day. And the best proof of that is what we find here in chapter 28, the sublimity of the statement, Jesus met them. I mean, just think about that for a moment. Jesus met that.

The Jesus they had seen brutally crucified. The Jesus they had seen placed into the tomb. The Jesus they had seen rejected by their countrymen. The Jesus they had seen rejected by the religious leaders.

Jesus met that. As I've often stressed, as we've gone through the study of this particular section, everybody confirmed that Jesus was dead. Everybody affirmed that Jesus had, in fact, really died. And then we read, Jesus met them.

Discovery of the Empty Tomb

So we'll look at, first, the discovery of the empty tomb in verses 1 to 8, and then, secondly, the appearance of the risen Lord. Now, when I said this doesn't record for us the resurrection of Jesus, it most certainly does. But I mean, we don't know the exact point. Again, the stone wasn't rolled away so Jesus could exit.

The stone was rolled away so that the women could investigate. But let's look at this discovery of the empty tomb.

The Women's Arrival at the Tomb

Notice the arrival of the women at the tomb on the first day of the week. Now, after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn. One commentator says, the literal dawning of a new day signals a new period of history. And this is precisely why we observe the Lord's Day.

This is precisely why, from the creation to the death and resurrection of our Lord, the Sabbath was on the seventh day. But from the resurrection of our Lord until He comes again in glory, that Sabbath is on the first day. He has hallowed it. He has sanctified it.

He has rested on that particular day. The theology of Hebrews 4 indicates the reason for the day change, and it's connected. to what Christ has accomplished. Now it doesn't indicate why the women went to the tomb. The other authors tell us that they went to anoint the body.

And with reference to the presence of the women, notice who is there. According to verse 1, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. Mark tells us that Salome was also present with them, and Luke 24.10 indicates there were most likely other women. But the emphasis here, I think, by Matthew is for this reason.

This Mary Magdalene and this Mary, the mother of Joseph and James, these Marys had been present at the crucifixion. according to chapter 26, verse 56. They had been present at the burial according to chapter 27, verse 61. And then we see them present here very specifically at the discovery of the tomb.

The Descent of the Angel

Now notice the descent of this angel. Verses 2 to 4, it's a very intriguing section. I think the young man of Mark 16 and the two men of Luke 24 is the angel. Some would say, well, Luke has two and Matthew has one.

Well, if there were two in Luke, there was certainly one in Matthew. And most likely, Matthew records the one who speaks to them, specifically concerning the resurrection of Jesus. You need to appreciate that. Some people think that this is a contradiction.

Luke mentions two, Matthew mentions one. That's a contradiction. It's absolutely not a contradiction. A contradiction would be two and not two.

A contradiction would be two, and it wasn't the case that there was two. That's contradictory. But if there are two people in this room, we can certainly affirm there's one person in this room. Again, the reason is probably theological.

It's probably with reference to the emphasis. The author here, Matthew, speaks concerning the angel that spoke concerning the resurrection. But notice, this is attended by an earthquake. Verse 2, And behold, there was a great earthquake.

Now there was an earthquake that accompanied the crucifixion, according to chapter 27, verse 51 and verse 54. And here there is an earthquake that accompanies the resurrection. John Gill giving various reasons for this ends by saying, and it was a symbol and token of the presence and majesty of Christ at whose rising as at his death the earth shook and trembled. It's a good way to consider this.

And then Spurgeon in his typical Spurgeonic sort of poetic way says, when the king awoke from the sleep of death, he shook the world. The bedchamber in which he rested for a little while trembled. as the heavenly hero arose from his couch. I quite like that. That's a beautiful description of this earthquake.

But notice, as we continue in verse 2, Matthew indicates for us that this earthquake wasn't due to natural phenomena. They weren't on a fault line. It wasn't a shift of the seismic plates. It wasn't anything to do with the natural order.

But it's connected to the descent of this angel. This is explanatory. Behold, there was a great earthquake. Why?

For an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat on it." Again, I believe this is the young man of Mark 16, 5, and this is the two men in Luke 24, 4. Not literally, one man is two, but they're speaking about these angelic beings who attended the resurrection site of our Lord Jesus Christ. And it's intriguing in Matthew's Gospel as well. Not that there's no other references to angels, but there is a reference to an angel speaking with reference to the Incarnation, and we see angels speaking with reference to the Resurrection.

So at the beginning of our Lord's ministry, at the end or the beginning of the new phase of His ministry, we see this angelic presence instructing the people of God concerning the majesty and the glory and the excellence of the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice, it says, the angel of the Lord descended from heaven and he came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat on it. Again, I don't think it's to let Jesus out, but so that persons can get in, they can investigate, which the women do. Again, the other gospel writers evidence that for us, Peter and John enter into the tomb.

So it was open for investigation. It's a scientific method right here. Oh, you Christians just believe everything on faith. Yeah, but it's a faith rooted in objective data.

You understand that? We're not believing some made-up fairy tale. We're not believing in the existence of unicorns because we really wish there were unicorns. We're believing in the God who has revealed himself in his inspired, infallible, and inerrant Word.

We're believing the data concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, who actually did live, who was actually crucified, and who was actually raised from the dead. We are believing objective truth. It isn't some myth or mystery or some cunningly devised fable. We are believing the reality as it's revealed to us in the scriptures of both the Old and the New Testaments.

So he rolls back the stone from the door and then notice he sat on it. This is an intriguing picture, isn't it? He sat on the stone. Why?

I think it's somewhat indicative of or expressive of triumph. Victory. Remember this angel, and it goes on to describe how he's clothed. And the way that he's clothed is representative or signifies heavenly beings.

We see this sort of a description in Daniel 7 with reference to the ancient of days. We see it in Daniel 10 with reference to the one who gave Daniel a particular vision. And we see it even of Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, Matthew 17, this blazing white garment. This angelic being sits upon the stone as a representative of heaven itself that no one will ever again place a stone over a tomb that contains the son of God most high.

Matthew Henry said, there he sat, defying all the powers of hell to roll the stone to the grave again. I think that's how we ought to understand it. Triumph, victory, glory, majesty, excellence. And if that of the angel who is the servant to testify concerning Christ, then what of the Christ himself?

What of this one who appears to these women in verses 9 and 10? What of this one who is heaven's darling, heaven's gem? If He, this angel, is triumphant or expresses heaven's triumph, the fact that our risen Lord is our risen Lord is expressive of His triumph and His victory and His power and His dominion over the grave. This is a man who was raised from the dead.

This is a man who raised himself. Now, I know it's ascribed to all three persons of the Trinity. There are instances where Christ specifically says, I will raise it up, or I will raise up. according to John 10. It's a glorious, wonderful situation.

Now note the response of the guards. Verse 4, the guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men. The word earthquake is where we get the word, it's a Greek word, where we get the word seismic. You know what the Greek word for earthquake is?

Seismic. Seismos. It's interesting because these guards, they quake. They have their own seismic sort of episode at this particular juncture or this particular time.

It certainly gives the background for the lie that we'll see in verses 11 to 15, when the chief priests bribed the guards with a great deal of money. They weren't sleeping. They were terrified. They weren't snoozing.

They were quaking like dead men. That's what the text specifies concerning this. And notice, the angel doesn't say anything to the guards. The angel, other than sitting upon the top of the stone, doesn't threaten to turn them into chickens or donkeys or anything like that.

He doesn't do anything like that. They're just terrified at this particular spectacle. But it is intriguing that these are Roman soldiers that no doubt saw their skirmishes. A young man today could conceivably join the military and not ever see any sort of altercation or any sort of action whatsoever.

Not so true in this particular context. Roman soldiers were always fighting, there were always tumults, there were always trials, there were always difficulties. Calvin makes this observation concerning the fear of these soldiers. The soldiers who were accustomed to tumults were terrified and were so completely overwhelmed by alarm that they fell down like men who were almost dead, but no power was exerted to raise them from that condition.

You see the irony? These soldiers are given a task, one task, guard this dead body. Not only do they not do that, but the body that was dead is now alive. And they themselves have quaked themselves into a fearful state where they are almost like dead men.

The irony is just pleasantly sweet at this particular point. But they are fearful concerning this situation.

The Angel's Commission to the Women

Now note the commission the angel gives to the women. He first encourages them, do not be afraid. Why would he say that? because they were probably afraid. They come to investigate the tomb, or rather to come to anoint the body.

The stone is rolled away, and there is the angel sitting upon the stone. I would probably be a bit scared of that. I don't know about you. You're all macho.

It's a Sunday morning. Everybody's full of vigor and energy, and if you saw such a thing, you wouldn't be afraid. I think most people would at least be, to some degree, a bit afraid. And it's intriguing, because both Angel and Jesus encourage the women with, do not fear.

Spurgeon says, let the soldiers tremble. Let them lie as if dead through fright. But fear not ye, for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. Those who seek Jesus need not fear.

Isn't that beautiful? Those who seek Jesus need not fear. Now note, after he encourages them or comforts them, he now instructs them or explains to them. He first acknowledges the reason for their presence.

They're not there to see the tomb of any other man. They're there to see the tomb of the Lord Jesus. He as well confirms that Jesus had died. I've mentioned that idea, that attack upon the resurrected.

Well, he wasn't really dead. The swoon theory. He was injured. He went into a coma-like state, and it was then that he was deposited into the tomb.

Everybody else, everybody contemporary with the situation, everybody connected to the situation, all testified that he was dead. The soldiers who murdered him. The pilot, the governor, gave the order. He verified it was his own centurion.

The religious leaders knew that he was dead because they said, while he was alive, he said this, everybody confirms and affirms that Jesus was dead, including this angelic being. Notice he is not, I'm sorry, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. Now the angel announces the resurrection.

He Is Risen: The Resurrection Announced

He is not here for he is risen. Isn't that what we hang our souls on? Isn't that the basis upon which we have everlasting life? Now, encompassing not only the resurrection itself, but everything leading up to it.

Life, death, resurrection. You see, if there was no he is risen connected to the Lord Jesus Christ, he would have been a martyr, a valiant martyr, a noble martyr, a martyr who fought to the very end, but ultimately the grave contained him. He is not a martyr, He is a Savior. He is not a martyr, He is our Lord.

He is not simply a martyr, that ultimately means testifier or witness, and He did do that. He is the Redeemer of God's elect. He is risen is one of the most glorious things that has ever been said concerning anyone else. And we are the blessed recipients of that truth by God's grace.

He is not here for he is risen. And then the angel reminds them of his often repeated assertions. The Lord's often repeated assertions. Notice what he says.

He is not here for he is risen as he said. You see what that empty tomb does as well? Not only affirms and confirms everything Jesus predicted or prophesied concerning his own resurrection, he does it in Matthew 12, he does it in Matthew 16, he does it in Matthew 17, he does it in Matthew 20, and he does it again in Matthew chapter 26. On those several occasions, Jesus announces that he will be raised from the dead, that he will exit the tomb.

Now whether everybody received that and believed it and affirmed it and lived in light of that, that's not the point. That empty tomb not only underscores the reality that all those predictions or prophecies concerning his resurrection were true, but it also validates everything he says. It seems to me it's very difficult for persons to try to pick and choose the Jesus they want. You know, we like this about Jesus, but we don't like this so much.

We like that Jesus is always gentle, meek, and mild, but this wrath of the Lamb thing that we see over here in Revelation 6, that just doesn't fit with our sort of conception of who Jesus is. Do you realize that your conception of who Jesus is matters not one bit to anybody but you? It matters what God's word says. We're not to be subjectivists.

We're not to be relativists. We're not to be those who are shopping at the buffet. Well, I like this, but I don't like this. I like that, but I don't like this.

If Christ announces by prophetic word that he's going to be raised from the dead, and he is raised from the dead on the third day, as he said, then we have to take everything what he said to heart. No picking and no choosing. But it's intriguing because the verb form used here in verses six and seven, with reference to him being raised, it's what's called a passive verb. I don't wanna confuse the adults, the kids would probably track with all this, no problem.

But it's a passive verb. That means that the subject is being acted upon. An active verb would be as if I hit the wall. A passive verb is the wall hit me.

Jesus was acted upon. Again, he has power, authority to take up his life again, according to John 10. The resurrection is ascribed to Jesus as the Son of God, but it's ascribed to persons of the triune God. And here, specifically, what we see is the Father.

He was raised from the dead. And I think we ought to appreciate there's more going on with this particular use of the verbal form than just the historical affirmation, but the theological beauty. He was raised by the Father. Why?

Because he did what the Father gave him to do. He was raised by the Father. Why? Because Jesus came into this world, sinners to save.

He was raised by the Father. Why? Because Jesus always did what was pleasing to the Father. He always obeyed the Father.

He laid down His life in obedience or compliance to the Father's plan and purpose and cause. And as a result of that, Christ offered up a perfect sacrifice for the glory of the Father and for the good of His people for whom it was made. In other words, Christ accomplished everything the Father had given Him. So what does the Father do?

The Father raises Him from the dead. The Father, according to Ephesians chapter 1, puts Him at His right hand. Therefore He has exalted Him. Philippians 2, He has given Him a name which is above every name.

Brethren, I think we ought to take our cue from the Father on how we ought to esteem the Son. We say we are Christians. We say we are Christ followers. We say we are devoted to the second person of the triune God.

That's our identity. That's our identification. If anybody were to ask you, how do you identify? You say, I'm of Christ.

Well, brethren, how does the Father view Christ? The Father is so pleased with what Christ does, He raises Him from the dead. The Father is so pleased with what Christ does, He puts Him at His right hand. The Father is so pleased with Christ that He gives Him absolute, universal dominion over all things, both in this age and in the age to come.

That's what the Father views with reference to our Lord Jesus. This passive use of the verb in verses 6 and 7 point to the divine purpose for Christ. God the Father raised Him from the dead. The Father raised Jesus, Chamberlain says, from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit, thereby honoring His beloved Son, lauding His obedience unto death, and ratifying the new covenant established by His atoning sacrifice.

So the angel acknowledges the reason for their presence. He confirms that Jesus had died. He announces the resurrection with He is risen. And he reminds them of the many times that Jesus had said that he would be raised the third day.

And then he invites them, invites them to examine the tomb. Think about this. Again, I think throughout the gospel narratives, throughout the various accounts, there's all these sorts of things that are there to shut the mouths of gainsayers. You know, somebody's going to come along in church history not long after this event and say, well, you know, they stole the body away.

Well, Matthew includes that, both the plot in chapter 27 and the actual execution of that plot in chapter 28. Some will say, well, you know, the angel didn't let them go in and see the tomb. Just trust me on this. You don't need to look behind that.

You don't need to go in there. He says, come and see. Come and see where he lay. Again, Christianity has nothing to hide.

You young people need to get this because as we live, as we move, as we have our being in an increasingly secular culture, the object of absolute disdain is objective truth. You can believe anything you want as long as you don't tell somebody it's actually true. You can believe anything you want as long as you don't insist that it's the only truth. You can believe anything you want.

You can be anything you want in terms of your own identity or whatever. But when you say, I'm a Christian and I believe that I speak the words of truth and reason. I get that from Paul before Festus. Remember when Paul is testifying and Festus says, much learning is driving you mad, Paul.

What does Paul say? I'm not mad, most noble Festus, but speak the words of truth and reason. On the one hand, we esteem Paul for doing that. Wow, he's speaking the words of truth and reason.

On the other hand, we need to esteem Paul for what he's doing by implication. Everyone who doesn't speak as I do, everyone who doesn't believe as I do, everyone who doesn't hold to the Christian faith as I do, is not speaking the words of truth and reason. You see, this positive affirmation that Christianity is true and reasonable is an indictment against the spirit of the age, and they don't want that. You young people need to gird yourselves up in the truth of Holy Scripture.

The sorts of muddled thinking, the sorts of confusion, the sorts of inability that perhaps you've seen evidence in some of the superiors in the midst. I don't mean superior in rank, but in age. You gotta step it up. We're coming up on times where things that used to be locked down, like male and female, that's not locked down anymore.

If you can't lock down that, then everything's up for grabs. And it certainly won't do for young people. On the modern university campus, well, I think the Bible says. I heard it preached before.

I think it's, you know, these authors, brethren, weren't doing apologetics in the first place, but they were doing apologetics. They were heading off at the past the cables of men. They were heading off at the past the modern university scene. They were heading off the past those people that say, well, it's a cunningly devised fable, it's myth, it's just an illusion.

The angel himself, they say, well, we don't believe in angels. Various persons saw these beings. The angel says, come and investigate. Come and see where he lay.

The very details presented to us in the gospel records. Some suggest, well, the friends of Jesus stole his body away. They were too timid to identify with him. Where are they up to this point?

Presently, they're hiding in a room, according to John's gospel, without Thomas, just because they're afraid of the Jews. You don't get the impression that these were shotgun-wielding, bandolero-wearing dudes that had big beards and ate meat all the time and busted bodies out of the tomb. You see just the opposite in the Gospel record. You see just the contrary with reference to the disciples.

Some say, well, his enemy stole his body. Why? Why would they want to give any truck to the idea that he was raised from the dead? Well, it was grave robbers.

There were laws specifying that there was severe punishment for grave robbers in the Roman Empire. What grave robber is going to take the clothes off of a body and carry around a dead, naked body? And in John 20, verses 6 and 7, they see the cloth that was wrapped around his head, again, not the shroud of Turin, but they see that folded and laid down on the bench there in the tomb. Now, I don't know what the ethics of grave robbers are, but I can't imagine they're tidy after they ravage a grave.

All right, you take that, you take that, and fold the garments before we leave. See, I think that embedded in the narrative, It's the sort of ammunition that the people of God today need to be armed with so we don't kowtow to an increasingly secular age that says, well, there's no such things as angels. There's no such things as God. There's no such thing as a resurrection from the dead.

The Bible says. Thus saith the Lord, needs to be, again, recovered by the church in the face of, well, it's not even science is proven anymore. It's my feelings warrant or my commitments or my this or my that. We're not even in the age anymore where science is proven.

No, it's every man is, you know, every man does what's right in his own eyes. You want to identify as a three-year-old girl? Go ahead. Who am I to question that?

You wanna identify as a 50-year-old man? Go ahead, who am I to question? But does it ever dawn on anybody, but you're not a three-year-old girl. That doesn't matter anymore.

And see, the people of God that can't give answers from the scriptures, who can't speak the words of truth and reason, are gonna be chewed up and spit out in the modern climate. Pay attention to narrative. Pay attention to detail. Pay attention to what the authors are doing in the texts that we read.

Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

Women as Apostles to the Apostles

Now notice the specific word of instruction in verse 7. The women become the apostles to the apostles. Don't they? Talk about the dignity of women in this passage.

And even that detail. If somebody was going to fake a gospel record, if somebody was going to fake a resurrection story, the last person they would use as the first witness would be women. They just would never do that. Josephus in his antiquities indicates the value of women in a courtroom.

I don't mean to offend you ladies, I don't mean to upset you, but this is what Josephus wrote in this particular context. But let not the testimony of women be admitted on account of the levity and boldness of their sex. So if in a context where women testimony was basically null and void, If you were going to fake this, wouldn't you have the first ones to discover the tomb, men? Wouldn't you have it be a man?

And, you know, just backing up a bit in the narrative, if you're going to fake this, would you have the man that's going to, at least for a time, be recognized as the leader of the church after Jesus is risen and exalted back on high, deny Jesus? You'd clean that up too, wouldn't you? You would tend to clean up the narrative if it didn't advance your particular purpose. The fact that there are differences, which I announced at the beginning, that can be harmonized, but some of it is a bit tricky, that's another evidence.

What do you think men would do, a Matthew, a Mark, a Luke, and a John, that were going to fabricate a resurrection story of the Lord Jesus? They would meet in the equivalent of their fellowship hall or of their study. They'd open up, they'd brew some coffee, they'd get out their notepads or their iPads or whatever pads they had, and they would collude. They would clean.

They would smoothen out. They would fix it. Well, if we have these disagreements, well, let's shore that up. The very differences themselves are an evidence to the veracity of it.

Fakes fake it well. The truth has nothing to hide. You see, all of this taken into consideration by the people of God. Notice, the women become the apostles to the apostles to declare the truth of the resurrection.

The women are to tell the apostles to go to Galilee in order to see Jesus. Go back to chapter 26, verse 32, another announcement where Jesus would be raised. I mentioned this one earlier. Notice in verse 32 of Matthew 26.

But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee. Why Galilee? What's so special about Galilee? Why does Jesus want them to meet him in Galilee?

Why does Matthew's gospel end in Galilee? Isn't Jerusalem better? In Jerusalem, the political and religious capital of the world or of the country at that particular time, you know, some suppose it's because of how apostate Jerusalem had been. This is another sign or indicator that Jesus is leaving their house desolate.

He's going to go to Galilee. Others suppose that it has something to do with his beginning of his ministry. He starts in Galilee, according to Matthew chapter 4. And a prophecy from Isaiah the prophet, chapter 9, is applied to that particular beginning of ministry.

And it's called Galilee of the Gentiles. So I think that this Galilee has to do something with what we find in the actual Great Commission. He's in Galilee of the Gentiles to send out his people on a worldwide mission. In other words, the Christian faith is not confined to the physical, literal descendants of Abraham.

The Christian faith goes out to the spiritual descendants of Abraham, men from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. or in the verbiage used by our Lord, go therefore and make disciples of all the nations. Galilee of the Gentiles is a most fitting place to launch a worldwide mission to men from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation. But Jesus had already told them, after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee. The angel rehearses this with the women.

And France says, now the corollary of his going ahead is spelled out. When they get to Galilee, they will see him, not just an empty tomb, but a living Jesus. Now, look at the women. What do they do?

They do what a lot of Christians today don't do, they obeyed. Well, you know, my time, I've got to go fold laundry. Just go. When an angelic being tells you to go find disciples and tell them that their Lord is risen and to meet him in Galilee, you just do it.

You don't go fold laundry first or, you know, split the Adam. You just do what you're supposed to do. But an intriguing statement here in verse eight. Notice, so they went out quickly, not just compliance, but quick compliance, from the tomb with fear and great joy.

Fear and great joy. You meet people sometimes, they say, you know, you talk about being a God-fearing Christian, and that just sounds miserable. What good could there be in this fearing God? Well, you know as well as I, much of the Old Testament, or many references in the Old Testament, fear of God is just another description for believer.

The fear of God is just another description for a Christian, and you know, obviously, the Old Covenant scenario. But I think the point that we need to stress or emphasize here is that fear and joy, and notice it's not great fear, it's fear, it's great joy. These are not enemies in the Christian life. These are not foes in the Christian life.

One only needs to ask themselves, when I stand in the presence of the God of heaven and earth, or better when I bow in the presence of the God of heaven and earth, or best when I fall on my face before the God of heaven and earth. What kind of a disposition ought to characterize my heart? Jokes, levity, frivolity, fear. It's intriguing that when the angels get this view in Isaiah 6, these six-winged seraphim, with two, they fly, with two, they cover their feet, and with two, they cover their face.

You see, no one in the Bible runs into the presence of the Holy One of Israel and puts their arm around him and says, how you doing, buddy? It's a modern conception. We have lost the fear of God. We have lost reverence in the presence of the Holy One of Israel.

John Murray well described the fear of God as the soul of godliness. I quite like that. Fear and great joy are friends in the Christian heart. Fear and great joy are companions in the Christian heart.

We learn this from King David in the second Psalm. He says, serve Yahweh with fear and rejoice with trembling. I would suggest that if we don't know these twin concepts in our heart, we better learn them, we better discover them, we better seek them, because these are things that characterize the blood-bought children of God. We come into the presence of the High King of Heaven, and it's not for joke time, it's not for casual time, it's not for chat time, it's to be in the presence of the God of Heaven and Earth time.

One of the reasons why, just personally, probably you'll be offended, but I really can't stomach preachers with hands in their pockets. The United States Air Force, they said, if you put your hands in your pockets, you're gonna get in trouble. Most airmen, at least in my day, sewed their pockets together so they wouldn't be tempted to put their hands in their pockets. You're doing that in the presence of an earthly commander and men who represent the God of heaven and earth, ambassadors for heaven, are going to stand behind pulpits with hands in pockets, giving chats?

We're with God. We're in the presence of the Holy One. You know what's fitting? Fear and great joy.

I would suggest the great joy is facilitated by the fear. We need both in our service to God. Serve Yahweh with fear and rejoice with trembling.

Appearance of the Risen Lord

Now, let's look secondly at the appearance of the risen Lord, verses nine to 10. They have an extraordinary sight. And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them saying, rejoice. Behold, Jesus met them.

Again, they had seen him brutally crucified. They had seen him executed at the hands of Roman soldiers. They had seen him placed in the tomb. I don't think that you and I can fully enter into what that may have been like.

Imagine that. You were one of the women that saw this brutality take place and of one that you loved. Why are they at the cross? Why are they at the tomb?

And why are they discovering this? Because they love Jesus. They were devoted to Jesus. Look at that beautiful relationship Jesus bore with these women.

There was no impurity, no wickedness, there was no, you know, wretchedness whatsoever. Children, when he needed one for an illustration, not that he needed, you know what I mean, a child come climb up into his lap. Sometimes I wish I was more like Jesus in that regard. He got along with people very well.

Children weren't afraid of him. I don't want to go near him. When he needed a child, they would come, flock to him. These women loved him.

They were devoted to him. They adored him. And now they've seen him with their eyes. Again, just try to jump in and imagine the scene.

Mary Magdalene, this one that in many respects is just esteemed above many, many others in the gospel narratives. She was forgiven much, so she certainly loved much. She and the Mary Mother of Joses and Solomon, again, probably others. They saw Christ.

He'd gone into the tomb, and now he was there standing before them. The sublimity of it, Jesus met them. The way Matthew records, almost just so matter of fact. If we were there, we'd say, Matthew, don't you wanna do the equivalent of blowing a horn here, or underline it, or boldface it?

I mean, it just sounds almost so casual. But then what Jesus says is just ordinary. I know it's translated here, rejoice, and that's a legit translation of the word, but it's the way that people greeted each other in Greek. It was the common parlance.

In fact, I think they still use this word, kairate. It means akin to our, hello, hi, The sublimity of it. One man makes some observations here that I'm not sure I agree with all of it, but he just points to the earthiness of Jesus. What would you and I say?

Ta-da! And you thought I couldn't do it, didn't you? Wouldn't we rub it in? Wouldn't we seek to dazzle?

Wouldn't we seek to shine? Jesus says, hello. Jesus met them and he says to them, kairate, hello, hi. Frantz says to say simply that Jesus met them when the last we saw of him was as a corpse sealed in a tomb is a masterly understatement.

And his greeting, kairate, or hello, is almost banal in its everyday familiarity. It's just so uncommon. in the sense that he doesn't seize upon it. I remember making this observation when we traced through the Samson narratives. How do most people see Samson?

This big, bumbling oaf. He's got muscles upon muscles, and every woman he sees, he just has to be with them. That's not the way Samson was. Four times in the Samson narratives, the Spirit of the Lord came upon him.

I don't know how many people in the Bible have that said of them four times. But one of the things that I brought out, maybe it was obscure, maybe it's not accurate, but I'm gonna throw it out there again anyway. When he kills the lion, what does he do? He doesn't tell anybody.

That's so contrary to us. We would tell everybody. It would be Facebook. It would be Instagram for the next five days.

This is me killing the lion from this angle. This is me killing the lion from that angle. This is me coming home and having told my mom I kill. Wouldn't we?

Same thing. No, ta-da. No, you fools didn't think I could do this. No.

Hello. What's their response? It's beautiful. It's glorious.

It's amazing. It's majestic. So they came and held him by the feet and worshiped him.

The Bodily Reality of the Risen Christ

What does this indicate to us? He's not a phantom. He's not an apparition. He's not a ghost.

He has feet. Davies and Allison, in their commentary, they seem to give evidence of knowing a lot. And they say that according to worldwide folklore concerning ghosts, ghosts never have feet. Now, I didn't have the time to verify worldwide folklore, I certainly didn't have the time to investigate feet on ghosts or not, but I don't think they're far off the beaten path with reference to the meaning here.

Because Jesus does this very thing in Luke's gospel. He shows them his physicality. He shows them that he is flesh, that he is bones. He cautions them against assuming that he is a phantom or that he is a ghost.

They've got a hold of his feet. He is real. After that instance in Luke 24, what do they do? They feed him fish and honeycomb.

Beautiful thing, our Lord that went into the tomb comes out of the tomb. Not certainly glorified, resurrected, you know, takes on this glorious dimension, but the Jesus that went into the tomb is the Jesus that came out of the tomb. Now, I really don't want to stretch this, but there might be an analogy here. I would affirm that feet are not essential to humanity.

In other words, if your feet are chopped off, you're still a human being. But it is intriguing, and I think, again, just by way of analogy, let's think of hypostatic union. They're holding him by the feet, and they're affording to him worship. He is true humanity.

He is true deity. He is God. He is man. He's got feet.

He is worthy to be worshiped and praised and glorified and honored. It's a beautiful thing.

Jesus Calls His Disciples Brethren

Now note the message of Jesus. Some have said, well, he says the same thing that the angel said. The angel said to the women, go tell the disciples to meet Jesus in Galilee. What does Jesus do?

Jesus says, go tell. my brethren, to meet me in Galilee." Same message, but we do err if we think it's exactly similar. The angel refers to the disciples as the disciples. Jesus refers to the disciples as my brethren. And I think there's a world of encouragement in this sort of statement.

Notice, it reiterates an emphasis in Matthew's gospel. Matthew 12, behold, your mother and your sisters, your brothers. No, those who do the will of my Father in heaven are my brothers and mothers and sisters. Matthew 23, when he cautions his disciples against calling men rabbi and teacher and the right reverend sir, he says, you're all brethren.

Jesus in the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 25, as the king of the nations, what you did or you didn't do, for the least of these, my brethren, you did or didn't do unto me. This underscores the special relationship between Jesus and his people. It's a beautiful statement in Hebrews 2. In fact, you can turn there for just a moment.

Hebrews chapter 2, it's a quote from Psalm 22, but let's look at the Hebrews 2 version. Hebrews 2.10. Actually, let's just look right at verse 12. saying, I will declare your name to my brethren. In the midst of the assembly, I will sing praise to you.

That's Psalm 22, 22, applied to our Lord Jesus Christ. And he says, I will declare your name to my brethren. In the midst of the assembly, I will sing praise to you. You actually meditate upon that verse.

It speaks wonderful things concerning public worship. Christ is in the midst of the assembly with his brethren. He's the choir leader. He's the choir director.

He is the worship leader when we gather together with one another. It's a beautiful thing, but the point here is that he calls them my brethren. Now, going back to Matthew 28, verse 10, go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see me. It reiterates an emphasis in Matthew's gospel.

It reflects the glory of the relationship between Christ and his people, and I would submit that it rehearses the great grace, the goodness, the kindness, and the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. When's the last time we have collectively seen the disciples? In 26, 56, when they forsook Him, when they abandoned Him, when they departed from Him. And then subsequent to that in chapter 26, Peter's in the courtyard and denies Him three times.

Brethren, if you ever compare this section with what we find in Mark, Mark 16, Jesus' instruction, go tell my disciples and Peter. Well, that's the angel. Go tell the disciples and Peter. Why and Peter?

Most scholars recognize, most Christians have known that Mark is dependent upon Peter. In other words, Mark's gospel is Peter's gospel. I would suggest that it was a series of lectures done by Peter in the city of Rome and Mark was the transcriber, the recorder, but you don't have to follow that. But if it's got Peter's fingerprints on it, why and Peter?

To emphasize this very point, the one who denied him is still his brother. And Peter's not left out in this narrative when we get to 2816. It's the 11 that gather. Brethren, Jesus is calling brethren, those who abandoned Him, those who forsook Him, and one who denied Him three times to a slave girl.

Do not think for a moment there isn't forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared. Do not think for a moment that 1 John 1, 9 is a fake. Do not think for a moment that the psalmist's argument in Psalm 25, 11 is crazy, where he says, pardon my iniquity, for it is great. Are you crazy?

You're going to plead for forgiveness because of how great your sin is? It's because of the greatness of my sin that I do plead for forgiveness. There is forgiveness with God. It is manifested in this two-word difference from the same instruction that the angelic being gave.

Go and tell, or go to Galilee, I'm sorry, go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee. John Calvin observes. He says, it is proper to remark the astonishing kindness of Christ in deigning to bestow the name of brethren on deserters who had basely forsaken him. So same instruction, go to them and tell them to go to Galilee, a little bit different nuance.

The angel says, disciples, Jesus says, my brethren. Now I'm not suggesting you go out and sin against Jesus and he'll keep calling, you know, just rest in the fact that he calls you my brethren. But when we do sin, John continues, we have an advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ, the righteous. Never forget that.

We are His brethren. When once we enter, by the grace of God, into that covenantal relationship with our Master and Redeemer, He doesn't let us go. You know how offensive the view is that true Christians can lose their salvation? You know what that means?

That Christ can lose one that He saves. Because if it were up to Christians, if it were up to us, if you could lose your salvation, you would most certainly lose it. No doubt. No doubt whatsoever.

The only reason why you're saved, why you continue saved is because of the master, because he's got us in the grip of his hand and no one can pluck us out. We are his brethren. And I think this last statement just reminds us what the glory of the gospel entails. Go to Galilee and there they will see me.

Isn't that the height of our Christianity? Certainly, we rejoice in the ordo salutis. We have been forgiven of our sins and justification. We are growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and sanctification.

But all that, not but, and all of that is heading toward glorification. You know what the chief boon of glorification is? It isn't, well, I'm going to have a resurrected body. You know, these old tired bones aren't going to weigh me down anymore.

We're gonna be with Jesus. Can't wait to get to heaven, because I hear it's, you know, big basketball court in the sky. Jesus is what heaven is. This is everything for us in our Christian life.

Go to Galilee, and there they will see me. That's the boon in our religion.

Application

Well, brethren, I think that we see a few things in the passage, a few things I already dealt with, so this shouldn't take long. First, the glory of the resurrection. It's a beautiful thing, isn't it? And you might have wondered this morning, we sang resurrection hymns, and it's not April.

Every Sunday is Resurrection Sunday. Every Sunday. We are tacitly announcing at our entrance upon this place of worship, He is risen! That's what we do.

Revolutionary. We worship a man who was dead and was raised the third day. Ryle said this, can't preach a sermon on the resurrection and not quote J.C. Ryle.

He says, it is the crowning proof that he has paid the debt which he undertook to pay on our behalf, won the battle which he fought to deliver us from hell, and is accepted as our surety and substitute by our Father in heaven. We have dealt briefly, or at least in some respect, with the apologetics of the resurrection. Everybody confirms his death. Everybody associated with the event at that time affirms that he was dead.

Man, angel. We could add to that list Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. Certainly as they collect the body of Jesus from Pilate, or Pilate's people, as they bury Jesus in Joseph's tomb, they would be able to determine whether or not he was dead. Some suggest the women went to the tomb for this very reason, that Jewish tradition specified that loved ones would go to the tomb for a period of three days after the fact to make sure they were really dead, that it wasn't an accident, that it wasn't a mistake, that, you know, beloved Aunt Betsy wasn't put in the grave when she wasn't actually dead.

Brethren, everybody testifies. Why isn't the 21st century, it's so easy to say, well, they didn't really die. He wasn't really dead. You know what's intriguing as well?

Luke, the beloved physician, how does he announce his gospel? He announces it in several ways, in verses 1 to 4, but one of the things that he says, essentially, is, you know what? I went out and talked to people. I took my notepad, I took my pen, I took my, you know, coffee or water, whatever, and I talked to people, I investigated.

I asked questions, I surveyed witnesses, I talked to people that were there, I used the scientific method. Luke was a beloved physician and a wonderful historian. He actually talked to the sources at the time. Brethren, if this was a fake, where are the enemy's testimonies to the contrary?

Certainly if it was just so outlandish and it was so fake, why don't we have a Luke that was out there verifying and confirming and writing detailed records to show that it was a fake or it was a fraud. There's everything here for us to latch our faith onto. It's a beautiful thing. The confirmation of his resurrection by the angel and Jesus himself, and then subsequently, just to run through the appearance accounts in the New Testament.

He appeared first to the women who had left the tomb. He appeared to Cleopas and the unnamed disciple on the road to Emmaus. He then appeared to Peter sometime that same afternoon. He appeared to the eleven minus Thomas on that day of resurrection in the upper room.

He invited his disciples to touch him, and he ate broiled fish and honeycomb among them. He appeared a week later to his disciples. This time Thomas was present. He appeared to seven of his disciples by the Sea of Tiberias and prepared and ate breakfast with them," John 21.

He appeared to the 11 on a mountain of Galilee. This occasion could have possibly been the one when he also appeared to more than 500 people, according to 1 Corinthians 15. He appeared to James, his half-brother. He appeared again to the 11 on the occasion of his ascension into heaven.

And he appeared to Saul of Tarsus sometime later. Now, he appeared to individuals, he appeared to a pair of disciples, to small groups, to large assemblies, to women and to men, in public and private, at different times of the day, and both in Jerusalem and Galilee. This is not the testimony of mass hallucination. This is not the testimony of a mass hallucination.

It's too varied, it's too broad, it's too different, too wide. And you have Luke, the beloved physician, talking to people and writing these things down, verifying, confirming, affirming the things that he had heard and that he had taken on to investigate, to compose the Gospel of Luke. The recurring emphasis in the narrative on seeing. Come, see the place.

There you will see him, verse seven. There they will see me, verse 10. The fact that our Lord had feet, again, not essential to humanity, but certainly indicative of the fact that he wasn't a ghost, he wasn't a phantom, he wasn't an apparition, he wasn't the idea of Jesus, he wasn't the concept of what it might have been had the Savior arisen. He was Jesus with feet.

They grabbed onto those feet and they worshiped the man who owned those feet. It's a beautiful, wonderful thing. Tonight we'll consider a bit more concerning the theology of the resurrection, but suffice it to say it was the fulfillment of the promises made concerning him. As he said, not only what he said, but everything preceding that in the Psalms, in the prophets, the means by which glory is given to the Father.

Again, I think at times, when we are trained in some respects to think this way, what does it mean to me? What does it mean to God that Jesus does what Jesus does? It brings glory to the Father, and that ought to cause us to rejoice. It brings glory to the Son.

He was declared to be the Son of God with power. Romans chapter 1 and verse 4. It's the crowning proof, Ryle's terminology, that he has accomplished the mission the Father gave him. And finally, it is the truth without which we all die in our sins.

The Stakes of the Resurrection

Turn over to 1 Corinthians 15. 1 Corinthians 15, we end here on this sober note concerning the reality of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus. The larger context in chapter 15 is on the resurrection of the dead. In other words, believers are going to be raised from the dead. Verse 12, the apostle indicates for us how important this doctrine of the resurrection is.

Now, if Christ is preached that he has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? You see the logic. If Christ is raised, then? Believers are going to be raised.

Some were denying that, or perhaps suggesting that it had already occurred. Some sort of hyper-preterism in this first century context. But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty, and your faith is also empty.

Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up, if in fact the dead do not arise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile, you are still in your sins. You see how important this is?

There's no resurrection. If Jesus' tomb is still filled or full, then we have a nice martyrdom. We have akin to or equivalent to the Fox's Book of Martyrs. The fact is, if he has not risen, we are still in our sins.

The glory is, is that He is risen. The glory is, is that we have been forgiven. And the glory is, is that forgiveness of sins is preached to every creature under heaven. And all sinners everywhere are told, hopefully, pleaded with, to believe the gospel, to believe these truths, to believe what Paul specifies in the first part of chapter 15.

For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he was seen by Cephas, then by the Twelve. After that he was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that he was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all he was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time." believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, specifically death, burial, resurrection.

Well, life, death, burial, resurrection. Those are the facts of the Christian message. As we considered yesterday in our studies in Birkhoff, sinners are told to believe that gospel. And if they believe, they will be saved.

Beautiful thing, the forgiveness of sins. It's a beautiful thing to be able to say, my sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought. My sin, not in part, but the whole, is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord.

That's the best thing that we can say on this side of heaven, and it's because of what Christ has done. And by God's grace, one day, it's not Galilee, but it's the new Jerusalem where we will see him. Let's encourage our hearts with that thought because this world can be very discouraging. The sorrows and the pains and the troubles and the difficulties that are associated with life in this world can get believers down.

You know what gets them up? Is to look up. It's to look to the right hand, where Jesus Christ is, and to realize that one day in that new Jerusalem, we will see him as he is. Let us pray.

Closing Prayer

Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the hero, the champion of all scripture, even our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you for your grace and your mercy. We thank you for your loving kindness.

We thank you for the power displayed in the resurrection of our Lord. Bless and help us to internalize these truths, help us to live in light of them, and may it be the case that all over the earth today, as the gospel is preached, sinners would believe and be saved. Go with us now, we pray, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Let's stand and close by singing the doxology unto our triune God.

Scripture References

• Psalm 2; 22:22; 25:11
• Isaiah 6; 9
• Daniel 7; 10
• Matthew 4; 12; 16; 17; 20; 23; 25; 26:32; 26:56; 27:51; 27:54; 27:61; 28:1-10; 28:11-15; 28:16
• Mark 16:5
• Luke 24:4; 24:10
• John 10; 20:6-7; 21
• Romans 1:4
• 1 Corinthians 15:1-8; 15:12
• Ephesians 1
• Philippians 2
• Hebrews 2:10; 2:12; 4
• 1 John 1:9
• Revelation 6