We can turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Matthew, Matthew's gospel, chapter 28, as we consider the wonderful theme that he is in fact risen. Our blessed redeemer lived for us, he died for us, and he was raised again for us on the third day. Paul summarizes the Christian gospel in Romans 4.25. He says that Jesus was delivered up because of our offenses, and he was raised for our justification.
So this morning we're going to look at the empty tomb and the risen Lord in Matthew 28, verses 1 to 10. And then God willing tonight, we'll notice the responses to that resurrection in verses 11 to 20. So I'll read the entirety of the chapter. And then, as I said, our focus will be verses 1 to 10 this morning.
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 as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men.
But 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. Our gracious God and Holy Father, we thank you for this privilege to gather together in your house on your day with your people.
We pray now that the Holy Spirit would guide us as we consider that empty tomb, as we consider the fact that we serve a risen Christ, a risen Lord, One who has accomplished salvation for all that the Father has given to Him. We look forward to His return again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and our earnest plea is that everybody here would be fit and ready for that day. God be merciful to save sinners, open their hearts, show them the glory of the Savior, show them that there is a fountain open for sin and uncleanness. And for your people, may you cause us to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Savior.
May you cause us to grow in our love and our gratitude toward him for what he has done on our behalf. Do forgive us now for all sin and all transgression and all unrighteousness. Cleanse us in that precious blood of the Lamb. And we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.
Well,
Introduction
as we look at this particular passage of scripture, it is in fact historical. There was a group of people in the 20th century, the early part of the 20th century, they were called Neo or New Orthodox. They were basically liberal in their approach to theology. They denied the supernatural.
They denied the miraculous. They denied those things that make up much of our Bible. They basically said, it really doesn't matter whether the event took place. It's what we get as a result of it.
It's our feeling. It's our religious experience. Well, that's absolutely contrary to what we find in Scripture. I think Machen, who wrote against that group of people, had it better when he said that, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified dead and buried.
That is history. He says, He loved me and gave Himself for me. That is doctrine. In other words, the doctrine of the Christian faith is grounded in the historical reality that Jesus, the Word, became flesh, that He came into this world, that He lived for us, that He died for us, and that He was raised again the third day for us.
So we need both history and the doctrine. We need the doctrine, but it's grounded in history. And so as we approach this particular passage, it records for us something indeed miraculous, the resurrection of the Son of God from the grave. So
Discovery of the Empty Tomb
I want to look first at the discovery of the empty tomb in verses 1 to 8, and then secondly, the appearance of the risen Lord in verses 9 and 10. Technically, what we find described in verses 1 to 8 is not the resurrection of our Lord Jesus. That had already taken place. What the angel rather declares, or what the angel rather shows them, is the empty tomb.
That tomb that he, in fact, had left as a result of that resurrection. So as we look first at the discovery of the empty tomb, we'll notice the arrival at the tomb, verse 1, the descent of the angel in verses 2 to 4, and then thirdly, the commission given to the women in verses 5 to 8. But
Arrival at the Tomb
notice first in terms of the arrival at the tomb in verse 1. 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. As one commentator says, the literal dawning of a new day signals a new period in history. So we have that record now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn.
And of course, the first day of the week is the Lord's Day. It is the day that the people of God gather together in the house of God to declare the Word of God for the edification of the saints and the calling of sinners to repentance and faith. Now, notice specifically the two Marys that are mentioned, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary that came to see the tomb. When we look at the parallel passages, we learn that it was to anoint the body of our Lord Jesus with spices.
Now, the Marys are identified at the crucifixion of our Lord in chapter 27, verse 56. They're also present at the burial of our Lord in chapter 27, verse 61. Now that's intriguing because the disciples departed from him. The disciples deserted him.
We see the faithfulness of these women. I'm not going to exalt women over men or do any odd thing like that, but it is intriguing that the women are here and that the women function as witnesses. And you need to remember that if this narrative was manufactured, these particular details would be left out. In other words, the testimony of a woman in the first century meant just about nothing.
I don't mean to offend any of you sisters, but that's just the way it was. So that the gospel narratives put in things like women were witnesses. When it tells us in verse 11 in our particular narrative that some doubted, this is not craftsmanship on the part of a narrative writer that is about trying to produce a fraud. Rather, He is telling us the truth, given by inspiration of God the Holy Spirit.
And so the women come to anoint the body. Salome is also present, and possibly other women also. The consistent testimony of the women at the cross, at the burial, and here at the resurrection, again, is significant from an apologetic standpoint. Fakes would not have included this detail.
Now
Descent of the Angel
notice, secondly, the descent of the angel in verses 2 to 4. As I said, Jesus has already risen. Jesus is not in the tomb. The angel's purpose is to display that fact to the Marys that have come to the tomb to anoint his body with spices.
Notice in the first place this earthquake that obtains. Verse 2 says, and behold, there was a great earthquake. Notice in verse 2 that it goes on to say, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven. I think that's explanatory.
This wasn't just some natural phenomena. It wasn't just a shifting of plates. It wasn't just something that happens in nature from time to time, where there's this sort of an earthquake. No, the earthquake is connected to the descent of this particular angel.
And so what we have here is an earthquake that attends the circumstances of the resurrection of our blessed Savior. We see that an earthquake accompanied the crucifixion, if you look back to chapter 27, specifically at verse 51. chapter 27 at verse 51. Notice, then behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earthquake and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened. And then dropping down to verse 54, so when the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, truly, this was the Son of God.
Again, they didn't interpret it as natural phenomena. Oh, we live on a particular fault line. We live in a particular area that is renowned for earthquakes. It may have been, and it could have been, but here, specifically, they understand that it's a supernatural attendant upon the crucifixion of the Savior, and here, specifically, at the resurrection of the Savior.
There is this earthquake that happens. As Gil says, 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. Or Spurgeon, when he 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.
And so this supernatural phenomena attends to the resurrection of our Lord. Now then, notice the descent of the angel. I've already mentioned this explanatory form. It says in verse 2b, 4, an angel of the Lord descended from heaven.
It wasn't a natural earthquake. It was supernatural in terms of God's application. The young man in this, I'm sorry, the young man in the parallel in Mark 16, 5 is no doubt the angel. We have two referred to that are two men in shining garments in Luke 24 4.
Again, a reference to angels. And because Luke mentions two and Matthew mentions one, that's not evidence of a contradiction. A contradiction would be two and not two. If there are two, then there are certainly one.
And what Matthew does is record the one who speaks to these particular women to display in fact that Jesus had risen from the dead. We have a presence or rather the presence of an angel in the incarnation according to chapter 1 verse 20 and then 24 as well in chapter 2 verse 13 and 219. So the incarnation of our Lord and at the resurrection of our Lord it's attended by these angelic beings. Again, why?
Because it's announcing something that hadn't been seen before. It's announcing something most glorious. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory.
The glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. These things were glorious. And as a result, the angels attended in order to declare and demonstrate and magnify the excellence and the power and the majesty of God Most High. This is a celebratory time.
This is a wonderful event. The angel is going to announce that he has risen. This ought to punctuate Christian worship. We don't just remember the Lord's resurrection on one Sunday out of the year.
Every Sunday we come together is an announcement that He has risen. Every Sunday we gather together ought to be marked by joy. It ought to be marked by celebration. We ought to imbibe something of David in the Psalms.
When he said, I was glad when they said unto me, let us go to the house of the Lord. Why is that? Because our Christ came. He assumed our humanity.
He lived on our behalf. He died in our place and he was raised again the third day. And that he is always present with his people by his spirit. That he always lives to make intercession for us.
And that he is our advocate with the father, even Jesus Christ the righteous. In other words, Christian worship ought to be a celebration. Christian worship ought to be joyful. Christian worship ought to be that mindset.
You'll notice when the ladies run from the scene here, they have fear and great joy. It's not great fear and some joy. It's fear because that's consistent with being in the presence of God Most High, but it's great joy. Do we have great joy at the recognition that our Savior reigns?
That our Savior is enthroned at the right hand of God Almighty? Can we with great joy say Christ is King? Can we with great joy say that He loved me and He gave Himself for me? Can we with great joy identify the blessed privilege that is ours, that He calls us brethren?
You'll notice the instructions that the angels give are imitated by the instruction that Jesus gives. with this particular difference. Jesus says, go tell my brethren. That's enough to put a smile on the hardest of faces when we gather together for Lord's Day worship. He is not ashamed to call us brethren.
He's in the midst of the assembly. He walks amongst the lampstands. He is near us. He is with us.
And we ever have his blessed presence among us. It is most wondrous. Now notice what we find here is
The Stone Rolled Away
the removal of the stone, verse 2c. Notice, he came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat on it. As I said, this does not describe the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, but the demonstration of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. The angel doesn't roll the stone back so that Jesus can exit the tomb.
The angel rolls the stone back so that the Marys can investigate the tomb. The angel wants to demonstrate and declare what has already transpired in the life of the Word made flesh. And as well, notice that the angel sits on this particular stone. I think this marks triumph.
I think it marks victory. I think it marks a defiant angel, not defiant to God, but to hell and to the onslaught of Satan. Listen to Matthew Henry. There he sat, defying all the powers of hell to roll the stone to the grave again.
This is victory. And then notice the angel is described in verse 3 in a manner consistent with other descriptions of heavenly beings. God the Father, as well our Lord Jesus Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration in Matthew 17. But notice in verse 3, his countenance was like lightning and his clothing as white as snow.
This was no ordinary being. This was an angelic being who had been in the presence of God and has now come to announce and to declare and to demonstrate and to show forth the resurrection of the Word made flesh. And then notice, in contrast to this particular scene, you have the fear of the guards in verse 4. Now think about this, these guards who were no strangers to violence, these guards who were no stranger to tumults, these guards who were no strangers to mixing it up with the rabble, in other words, these were tough men.
And they'd been given a relatively simple task, guard the tomb of a dead man. Don't know that it could get easier, right? How difficult could it be to guard the tomb of a dead man? That's as simple as it can be.
Again, these men that had been conditioned, these men that were warriors, these men that had in fact seen a battle. Notice in verse four, the guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men. The angel didn't speak to them. The angel didn't scream at them.
The angel didn't yell at them. It's his simple presence that promotes in them this fear and this shaking or quaking. Notice this provides the background for what we'll later see tonight in verse 13, saying, tell them his disciples came at night and stole him away while we slept. Intriguing.
How would they know what had happened when they slept? We'll look at that in some more detail tonight. But you notice this is a fraudulent explanation that the Jews construct at the resurrection of our Lord. It's sort of an anti-Great Commission before we see the believers' Great Commission.
But back to our specific text. The guards shook for fear of Him and became like dead men. The men charged with guarding a dead man are now like dead men subsequent to the resurrection of the one who had been dead. As John Calvin says, 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.
Like it was from the father to raise the son from the dead. And then
Commission Given to the Women
that brings us to this commission given to the women in verses 5 to 8. Notice the angel now speaks to them. Doesn't speak to the guards. The guards are simply fearful being in the presence of this empty tomb and this angel that is sitting upon the stone.
But note first he gives them a word of encouragement and then a word of instruction. The word of encouragement in verse five, the angel answered and said to the women, do not be afraid. How many times does that come in the Bible? Somebody here probably knows the answer.
I don't, but I know it's a lot. I think I read somewhere where it was 365 times. That wouldn't surprise me. The implication was one for each day of the year.
That would surprise me. But suffice to say, that's repeated often in Scripture. Do not be afraid. See, this is God's purpose and plan for us in this present evil age.
It's not to cure the evil age completely. It's not to vanquish all the godless. Now, that comes at the day of judgment. That comes when there's a consummation of all things.
But God's Word never promises us in this present evil age a life free from affliction, a life free from distress, a life free from disease, a life free from remaining sin, a life free from people sinning against us. It never promises that. But what it does exhort us in the midst of this is to not be afraid. Why do you think that is?
Because the tomb is empty. The one that was in the tomb now is enthroned at the right hand of God Most High. Understanding that Christ is King has a remedial effect upon the people of God. It should hopefully hedge us in.
It should hopefully keep us from that kind of fearfulness and that trepidation which paralyzes Christian witness in a godless world. The king is enthroned. What does that mean for his faithful people here on earth? To not be afraid.
Don't walk around constantly cowering. Don't walk around constantly with your head down. Don't walk around with this constant foreboding that any moment the enemies of the Lord are going to seize you and throw you in the gulag. Now brethren, they might, they probably will if what we've seen to be the case continues to be the case, but we're not supposed to be fearful.
We're not to be afraid. That's an admonition that comes so many times in scripture and it comes to these women. 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. He says, those who seek Jesus need not fear.
That's a great implication from this statement of the angel to these women. He says, or the angel answered and said to the women, do not be afraid for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. The angel acknowledges the reason for their presence. In the parallel in Luke, he says, why do you seek the living among the dead?
Notice that the angel confirms what the Jews are going to try to deny. The angel confirms what Muslims will ultimately deny, that Jesus did die. That the one who went into the grave dead came out of the grave alive. Notice the affirmation.
It's intriguing. The Muslims basically teach what's called the swoon theory. And the swoon theory is that Jesus was not really dead. Maybe mostly dead, but not really dead.
And then he went into the tomb and because he wasn't really dead, he was able to be revived back to life and then come out of the tomb. So what's the implication in Muslim theology? The resurrection is a hoax. It didn't really happen.
It didn't really obtain because Jesus didn't really die. You see, Pontius Pilate affirmed his death. The soldiers who were used to inflicting death upon others affirmed his death. The angel affirms his death.
The apostles affirmed his death. Everybody affirmed his death who didn't have an axe to grind with it in principle. It is those who have an axe to grind with it in principle that will deny it. So the angel affirms the death of our Lord Jesus.
He as well announces the resurrection. Look at verse six, he is not here, for he is risen. Now again, this is not something commonplace. When the women come to the tomb, it's to anoint the body, as was the custom for people that had died.
They're not expecting this. Even though he had said it on many occasions, it was still nevertheless difficult for them to get their minds wrapped around. So the angel announces it, for he has risen. But then he says at the end there, as he said, Remember how many times Jesus told his disciples that he must die, that he must be raised again?
He does it in Matthew 16, he does it in Matthew 17, and he does it in Matthew 20. He does it throughout his earthly ministry. He says he must go to Jerusalem, he must be tried at the hands of wicked men, he must be crucified, and he must be raised again. So the angel is locating this in its larger biblical narrative.
This isn't surprising. This shouldn't cause you to go, I can't believe this is happening. This is precisely as he said. This is precisely as Psalm 16 said.
This is precisely as Psalm 22 implies. This is precisely as Psalm 53 says. This is precisely what the Old Testament expectation was in terms of the Messiah. He would be the son of God.
He would assume our humanity. He would lay down his life for us and he would be raised again the third day. And the angel reminds them of this blessed fact. The angel applies this to the resurrection scene that these ladies are looking at.
The angel reminds them of his oft repeated assertions as he said. And then notice before we leave the angel and the ladies here, The angel invites them to engage in the scientific method. Look at the end of verse 6. Why does the angel do that?
Why doesn't he just say, well, you know, just take my word for it. I'm an angelic being. I'm here on a divine dispatch, and I'm here to attest to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, but you don't need to go into the tomb. You just need to trust me and take my word for it.
Brethren, do you notice along the way, when you consider the resurrection narratives and the gospel records, how there are so many details given? Why do you think that is? Well, I don't know. Perhaps there would be those who would question it.
There would be those who doubted it. There would be those who denied it. There would be those who would suggest things like, well, grave robbers went in and stole the body. It's intriguing.
In John's narrative, we've got the cloths that were wrapped around our Lord Jesus are folded neatly in a pile. What grave robber would do that? Go in and steal a body and, oh wait, Billy, before we leave, I wanna fold these clothes and put them into a neat little pile before we leave. That's just not rational.
The gospel writers under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit give us these sorts of details so that it is unquestionable. It is undeniable. If the tomb still contains the Savior, then we are dead in our sins. The apostle launches this apologetic in 1 Corinthians 15.
If Jesus has not been raised, then we are of most men, or of all men, the most to be pitied. There's nothing to hang our hats on religiously. This idea of the neo-orthodox, well, it really doesn't matter if Jesus raised from the dead. What really matters is the feeling I get at the thought of it.
Well, what kind of a feeling do you get at the thought of a fraud? What kind of a feeling do you get at the thought of deception? What kind of a feeling do you get at the thought of a lie? Hopefully, frustration and outrage and denial of the one who perpetrated the fraud or the deception.
But not so with Christianity, the same one who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, lived for us, he was crucified for us, and he was raised again the third day for us. And that is obvious and conspicuous here in the gospel records with all of the details. The angel says, come, see the place where the Lord lay. Come and investigate, come and engage your senses.
Come and see for yourselves that there is no longer a Lord Jesus in this place.
Word of Instruction to the Women
Not only does he give this word of encouragement in verses five and six, now notice the word of instruction in verse seven. 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. Go back to chapter 26, specifically at verse 32. Jesus predicts Peter's denial. And in verse 32, he says, but after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.
And that is precisely where Jesus goes. What's the significance of that? Well, it's where he started his earthly ministry. You can turn to Matthew 4.
Matthew chapter 4. We see the beginning or the commencement of Jesus' ministry in Matthew chapter 4. Specifically, we'll read at verse 12. Now, when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he departed to Galilee.
And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, and the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan." Note this next phrase, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and those who sat in the region in shadow of death, light has dawned. From that time, Jesus began to preach and to say, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. So that Jesus returns to Galilee and from that vantage point launches the Great Commission and says in the Great Commission, go therefore and make disciples of what? of all the nations.
It teaches us what we were taught to look for in Genesis 3.15. The seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent. What it teaches us in Noah's oracle, in Genesis chapter 9, that Japheth will come into the tents of Shem. What it teaches us in Genesis 12, and 13, and 15, and 17, with reference to the call of Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldeans.
What was the promise to Abraham? In him all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. Galilee is Galilee of the Gentiles. It's in the northern part of Israel.
That's where the non-Israelites would oftentimes come to live. And so what we find there, prophesied in Isaiah 9 and fulfilled here in Matthew 4, and returned in Matthew 28, shows us that the Gentiles will come to Israel's God through Israel's Messiah. Through the proclamation of the truth attended by the Spirit, we see the gospel going forth all over the earth. That's the significance of Galilee when the angel tells them to go there.
Now notice their response in verse 8. So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to bring his disciples word. It's beautiful. The women obey, right?
They sort of become the apostles to the apostles. The sent ones from the angel to go and declare this message to the disciples. And they do so, as I mentioned earlier, with fear and great joy. Those two concepts ought not to scare you.
It ought not to be, well, how can we be fearful and joyous? Because when we come into the presence of the divine majesty, fear is absolutely consistent. When we come into the presence of the Divine Majesty, joy is absolutely consistent. Remember the psalmist's admonition in Psalm 211, serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling.
This is consistent with true religion. When you come into the presence of the High and Holy One, When you, by God's grace, are cleansed from your sins, when you, by God's grace, have received that righteousness of Jesus, when you, by God's grace, are fit to come into His presence, there's going to be joy to be sure. But because He's the Creator and you're the creature, because He's divine and you're not, because he's glorious and wondrous and the one who inhabits eternity, there will be fear. We don't wander into the presence of God as if he's our fellow.
We don't wander into the presence of God as if he's just our buddy. We don't wander into the presence of God as if he is something or someone like us. He is always different. He will never not be different.
He is the infinite, glorious, eternal God, who made the world by the word of His power in the space of six days, and all very good. He is the God who governs all His creatures and all their actions. He is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, so that when we come into His presence, fear is absolutely consistent. Fear ought to be present in the churches of God today.
This isn't a rock concert. This isn't entertainment time. This isn't puppet hour. This is coming in to the presence of the God of heaven and earth.
There ought to be a fear. There ought to be a reverence. There ought to be a respect. There ought to be an esteem.
And all that mangled with great joy. It is truly in the presence of God that these concepts take root in the heart of God's people, by His grace and for His glory. Now notice, by way of a second head, we see the appearance of the risen Lord in verses 9 and 10.
Jesus Meets the Women
Note first His appearance in verse 9a, And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, Rejoice! How do you think that was? We read our Bibles, we get very familiar with it, and we never stop to sort of try and figure out or think through, what would that have been like? How would we have responded?
Jesus was their close friend. Jesus went about doing good. Jesus taught wonderful doctrine. Jesus engaged in miraculous displays of power.
And then Jesus was brought into what should have been the holy city of Jerusalem, but was apostate and reprobate. And instead of them saying, let's glorify, honor and praise and worship him, it was away with him, away with him, crucify him. So they had seen their friend, their master, their Lord treated with absolute contempt. treated in a way and in a manner that was absolutely disgusting. The crown of thorns, the cross upon which he was enthroned, all these things.
And again, he had told them he must be crucified, he must be raised from the dead. We might look at that and say, he's told you over and over and over again. Well, he tells us things over and over and over again through his word today, but we still don't always hear it. We still don't always comply.
We still don't always believe. So I think we should cut them a bit of slack in terms of the reality of the moment upon them. So here the ladies go to the tomb with these spices to anoint the body of Jesus. They there meet an angel.
The angel says, go, quickly, tell the disciples that he has risen. Tell the disciples that he has gone on to Galilee. Tell the disciples to meet him there because he's going to commission them to go therefore and make disciples of all the nations. So you go and do that.
So again, in their minds, in their hearts, they've got their mission. Notice again, verse 9a. And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them saying, rejoice. They had seen him brutally crucified.
They had seen him buried. Remember the ladies were there. Crucifixion, burial, and now resurrection. Now they hear him give what is a completely ordinary greeting.
He doesn't go, ta-da. He doesn't say, here I am, like I said. He doesn't rebuke them. He doesn't reprove them.
He essentially says to them, hello. Imagine you're raised from the dead. What's the first thing you're gonna say? Probably not, hello.
This is precisely what Jesus says to them. Rejoice, it is literally rejoice, but in that context, it was a common Greek greeting, akin to our hello or even hi. R.T. 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, hello, is almost banal in its everyday familiarity. In other words, what these ladies witness is absolutely astounding. It is extraordinary in the sense that they now see him, but it's rather ordinary in the way that he says to them, hello. Now notice the instruction, or rather the response of these ladies in verse 9b.
It says, so they came and held him by the feet and worshiped him. Now, I think this does two things for us. First, it instructs us that he's not a phantom. Turn, in fact, to Luke's gospel, Luke chapter 24.
And you might ask the question, well, who would ever say that Jesus was a phantom? Funny you should ask that, because there was a group that said that Jesus was, in fact, a phantom. It's called docetism. He only appeared to be a human.
Likely, there was some connection to sort of a Greek Gnostic theory that the physical wasn't good, it was inherently bad. The only good thing about a human was the inward, the internal, the spiritual, the soul. There might have been that Gnosticism that saw the physical as bad. And those Docetists said, no, it wasn't really a man, he just appeared to be a man.
Well, it's interesting, in our confession it says, Jesus, with the selfsame body that went into the tomb, is raised again from the tomb. We have that blessed fact, and we see it again in Luke's gospel. Notice in Luke 24, specifically at verse 38. He said to them, why are you troubled and why do doubts arise in your hearts?
Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Handle me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have. When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. But while they still did not believe for joy and marveled, he said to them, have you any food here?
So they gave him a piece of broiled fish and some honeycomb, and he took it and ate it in their presence. Again, details like this are given by the gospel writers under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to vacate any thought from your mind that this is a fake, that this is a fraud, that this is somehow a lie or it's deception. Rather, they are asserting to us the glorious reality that the Word who became flesh, who dwelt among us, died and was raised again the third day. And so the ladies here, as they come, they hold him by the feet, they worship him.
So it displays that he wasn't a phantom, but
Hypostatic Union Illustrated
it also illustrates something that we often call the hypostatic union of our Lord. Now, I don't want to confuse anybody here, but feet are not essential to humanity. You could get your feet cut off today and still be a human. It's just the way it is.
In philosophical language, feet are accidents. They're accidental properties. Not that you walk around and stumble on them, that they are accidents, but they are something that is not absolutely essential to the nature of man. But it does illustrate that the one who has feet The one who assumes our humanity is likewise worshipped and adored.
We can only make heads or tails of that based on the hypostatic union. The one person in two natures, truly man and truly God. They hold him by the feet and they worship him. It is a blessed display of the glory of the Word became flesh.
Again, you can have humanity without feet. I am not suggesting that the feet are essential to humanity, but it demonstrates or illustrates that principle that the one who came for us is two natures, both human and divine. And then
Message of the Risen Christ
that brings us finally to the message of Jesus. And as I said, it's very similar to what the angel gives the ladies in the previous section. Notice the word of encouragement in 10a. Do not be afraid.
He says the same thing that the angel said. And if you have to ask the question there, you're not thinking. What would be your response to standing in the presence of one you saw brutally crucified and is now standing before you? I think I'd be a little scared.
I think I'd have a bit of trepidation. I think I'd be trying to connect some dots metaphysically wondering, how is it that the one I saw go into the tomb dead is now standing before me? But of course, Jesus, as Jesus does throughout scripture, he calls his disciples to not fear. Do not fear.
And then he gives them a specific instruction, but with a bit of a difference, go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee and there they will see me. Notice again in verse seven, 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.
Same instruction, but with the personalized aspect of our Lord's relation to his people. Do not be afraid, go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee and there they will see me. This reiterates an emphasis in Matthew's gospel, that Jesus calls us brethren. Look at Matthew chapter 12, specifically at verses 45 and following, or 46 and following.
Matthew 12, 46, while he was still talking to the multitudes, behold, his mother and brother stood outside seeking to speak with him. Then one said to him, look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak with you. But he answered and said to the one who told him, who is my mother and who are my brothers? And he stretched out his hand toward his disciples and said, here are my mother and my brothers, for whosoever does the will of my father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.
Notice in chapter 23 in Matthew's gospel, again, a recurring emphasis. Matthew chapter 23, specifically at verse 8, but you do not be called rabbi, for one is your teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. He sees that, he admits that of them, and he also classifies himself in that relation in other places. Notice in 2540. 2540.
And the king will answer and say to them, Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these, my brethren, you did it to me. This reflects the glory of the relationship between Christ and his people. Turn to Hebrews chapter 2. Hebrews chapter 2.
It's a quotation from Psalm 22. But notice specifically its citation in Hebrews 2. Specifically at verse 11, for both he who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason he is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, I will declare your name to my brethren. In the midst of the assembly, I will sing praise to you.
Think about that. Christ is in the midst of the assembly, in vital union with his people, joining us in singing praise to God Most High. And he's not ashamed to call us brethren. Brethren, that's astounding.
There's times when we may be ashamed to call each other brethren. We get to know somebody intimately, we get to know them beyond sort of a surface level relationship, and we see their spots and their warts and their foibles and their sins and their problems, and we might try to pull back a little bit, but our blessed Christ is not ashamed to call us brethren. Go tell my brethren to meet there in Galilee. This as well rehearses the mercy of Christ the Lord.
Remember what the brethren did to him. Look back in chapter 26. Chapter 26. Specifically at verse 31, all of you will be made to stumble because of me this night.
Verse 34, assuredly I say to you that this night before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times. And then notice specifically in verse 56 at the end, then all the disciples forsook him and fled. Turn to Mark 16 for a parallel account to what we're looking at here in Matthew 28. I think this is interesting.
Mark 16. specifically at verse six. But he said to them, do not be alarmed. You see Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified. He is risen.
He is not here. See the place where they laid him, but go tell his disciples. Note those two next words and Peter. There is a world of comfort and encouragement in those two words and Peter.
The encouragement is not, go out and deny the Savior, because there's going to be forgiveness with Him. The encouragement is, if we do sin, we have an advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ the righteous. Notice how Peter is sort of separated, not separated from the disciple group, included among the disciple group, but specifically named. If you know anything about the early church and the terms of the gospel narratives, Luke and Paul were buddies.
So when Luke writes his gospel, the gospel according to Luke, he leans on the apostle Paul. Mark was close with Peter. So when Peter preaches and Mark records or Mark writes under the inspiration of the Spirit and leans on Peter, perhaps Peter wants to make sure that Mark indicates and Peter. Why is that significant? because the rooster did crow and because Peter did deny.
Peter denied the Lord Jesus, not to the emperor. Now, I'm not justifying that. We should stand fast, whether it be king or peasant. But I would understand it a little bit more if it was the emperor.
And he had his soldiers, and he had his cronies, and he had his military might. I could see it, again, not justifying or legitimizing it, but I could almost see it in the sense that, yeah, there was a great deal of pressure, great deal of fear, but it wasn't the emperor. It was a servant girl that Peter denies the master to. And so when Jesus includes Peter in the my brethren statement, it underscores the glory of Christ.
Calvin says it is proper to remark the astonishing kindness of Christ in deigning to bestow the name of brethren on deserters who had basically forsaken him. They may not have all deserted him to the servant girl like Peter does, but they all did desert him. They all left him. They forsook him.
And yet, post-resurrection, he doesn't meet them with a stick. He doesn't meet them with a rod. He doesn't meet them with buffeting. He meets them with words of grace and kindness and love.
John says, my little children, I write these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ the righteous. This passage demonstrates that. This passage confirms that.
This passage underscores to us that the messes that we make, and we make them. There is nevertheless an advocate at the right hand of the Father. There is nevertheless an intercessor for us. The reality of Psalm 130 is true.
If thou, Lord, shouldst mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared. the blessedness of our Savior, not to disown any of the disciples who had forsaken him. Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see me."
Application
In conclusion, we see the glory of the resurrection. That empty tomb, that announcement, he is risen, is unique in the history of man. There's been some great kings. There's been some great emperors.
There have been some great leaders. But guess what? They're all still in the ground. The Lord Jesus Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords.
Death had no dominion on him. He was not contained by the tomb, but He rose again as a fulfillment of the Scriptures, as a signification that He has accomplished the task for which the Father had given Him. He's declared to be the Son of God with power by the Spirit of holiness, and that empty tomb displays it. Listen to Ryle.
Ryle says it is the crowning proof that he has paid the debt which he undertook to pay on our behalf. He won the battle which he fought to deliver us from hell and is accepted as our surety and substitute by our Father in heaven. Modern commentary says chapter 28 verses 1 and following is the necessary ending to Matthew's story. Without the resurrection, Jesus' words are vacant and his opponents exonerated.
With it, Jesus is vindicated, his cause and authority confirmed, and his opponents disgraced. He's absolutely, positively right. Now, in terms of the fact of the resurrection, I don't want to bog us down with details. I'll just run quickly through the appearances.
He appeared first to the women who had left the tomb and then to Mary Magdalene. He appeared to Cleopas and the unnamed disciple on the road to Emmaus. He appeared to Peter sometime that same afternoon. He appeared to the 11, minus Thomas, on the 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 Galilee and prepared and ate breakfast with them. 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. He later appears to James as half-brother. He appears again to the 11 on the occasion of his ascension into heaven. He appeared to Saul of Tarsus sometime later.
Consider this reality appeared to individuals, 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 a mass hallucination. This is the record of history. The fact is that Christ lived, He was dead, He was buried, and He was raised again.
That's the historical reality. The blessed doctrinal truth of that is for us men and for our salvation. He was raised for our justification. All those who by God's grace look to Him in faith will not find a dead Savior.
They will find a resurrected Savior who died once and then was raised the third day, who now is enthroned at the right hand of the Father, where He always lives to make intercession for His people, where He functions as an advocate, and where He receives guilty sinners unto Himself. The glory of the gospel is not that we receive Jesus. The glory of the gospel is that He receives them. unto himself. And the instrument is faith.
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. I know that sounds too good to be true. I know it seems to be the case that we gotta, you know, deny ourselves. We gotta hurt ourselves.
We gotta be perfect in our works. We've gotta atone for all the messes that we've made. The very atonement that you and I need was provided by the One who went to the cross on our behalf. If you are not a believer here this morning, may I encourage you once again to look to Him in faith, to believe on Him, and to know the joy of salvation.
And as believers, may God mingle in our hearts fear and great joy as we consider and as we rehearse that empty tomb, as we join the early church and the church throughout its ages with that declaration that He is risen. May this indeed spur us on to love and good works, May this indeed spur us on to a lack of fear and trepidation in this world. Our King is enthroned. Our King will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.
Whatever trial, whatever hardship, whatever affliction that you and I face in this present evil age, it is going to be far surpassed by that eternal weight of glory that the Savior has for each of His blood-bought children. May God be glorified in our church, in our families, and in our lives. Well, let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Our gracious God and Holy Father, we thank you for that empty tomb. We thank you for the church's constant refrain that he is risen. We thank you that he sits enthroned at the right hand of the Father, and we do look forward again to his coming to judge the living and the dead. I pray for your blessing upon us.
I pray that we would be clothed in that righteousness, cleansed in his blood, ready to meet him on that day. Look with favor upon us as a local church. Cause us to be faithful in testimony to the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord. And may we always seek to make the main thing the main thing.
And we ask in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen. You can turn with me in your hymn books as we stand and sing 572, 572 singing praise to our triune God. Oh yeah of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
God, please go with us. Help us to keep the day. Help us to rejoice in you, our Savior. And we pray through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen. Will please be seated for a brief time of meditation.