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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, 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 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 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 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 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 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. 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. 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 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 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." 
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. 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.