Turn, if you would, to Matthew chapter 28.
Matthew 28 is where we'll be for part of our time this morning.
It is found on page 835 if you're using one of our Bibles
there in front of you in an attempt to get us out by noon.
I cut out like a third of my sermon last night, like
literally cut out a third of my sermon because it was going to
be pushing 75 minutes just for my sermon.
So yeah, hopefully what the Lord has laid on my heart this
morning, this week, will resonate and make sense as we go
through this this morning. the Enlightenment began in the 17th
century and it it focused on knowledge and understanding.
It was driven by thinkers like Voltaire, Isaac Newton, Thomas
Hobbes, Jean Jacques Rousseau, Rene Descartes, Immanuel Kant,
Ben Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson.
The thoughts and ideas of these men contributed to an era of
revolutions the world over of course, the American Revolution,
the French, Spanish, German, Italian, Greek Revolutions to
name a few. It's generally understood that
the Enlightenment began in the year 1637 with the publication
of Rene Descartes Discourse on the Method.
This writing yielded 2 concepts that would significantly shape
the movement. First, the Latin phrase cogito
ergo sum, I think therefore I am, and secondly, a philosophy
of skepticism in regards to new ideas.
Descartes called for systematically disbelieving
everything unless there was a well founded reason for
accepting that thing as truth. A prevailing quality of the
Enlightenment was that everything could be explained
through natural means. So when you take Descartes
critical perspective and the movement's tendency to explain
everything through rationality and reason, then it would be
preposterous to consider something like the resurrection
as historical fact. It goes against the laws of
nature. the Enlightenment couldn't address issues related
to the supernatural. This morning we'll look at our
passage briefly, and then we'll dive deeper into the miracle of
the resurrection. If you're able, would you stand
as we read from Matthew chapter 28 verses one through 10?
Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the
week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went 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 and sat on it.
His appearance was like lightning in his clothing, white
as snow. And for fear of him the guards
trembled and became like dead men.
But the Angel said to the women, Do not be afraid, for I know
that you seek Jesus, who is crucified.
He is not here, for he has risen as he said, Come see the place
where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his
disciples that he has risen from the dead.
And behold, he's going before you to Galilee.
There you will see him. See, I have told you.
So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great
joy, and ran to tell his disciples.
And behold, Jesus met them and said greetings, and they came up
and took hold of his feet and worshipped him.
Then Jesus said to them, do not be afraid.
Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see
me. You may be seated.
So first as we begin, let's consider this occasion.
It was the first day of the week, and this was Sunday that
it was the first day of the week.
And I know you think, well, obviously the first day of the
week is Sunday, right? There's been long discussion
about what day of the week Jesus was actually crucified on.
Was he really crucified on Friday as church history is
held, or, or was he crucified on a different day?
There is an argument out there that that Jesus was actually
crucified on Wednesday. It maintains that he entered
Jerusalem on Sunday, then was in the temple on Monday and
Tuesday, and then he was arrested and then crucified on
Wednesday. And those who hold to this
position do so out of a need for Jesus to have been in the tomb
for a full three days, a full 72 hours.
In Matthew 12 we read about one of Jesus many interactions with
the scribes and Pharisees. They asked for a sign and Jesus
scolded them looking for a sign to prove who he was.
He said no sign would be given to them except the sign of the
prophet Jonah. Then the rest of his response in
verse 40 reads for justice. Jonah was 3 days and three
nights in the belly of the great fish.
So will the Son of Man be 3 days and three nights in the heart of
the earth? The argument is that in order
for Jesus to rise on Sunday and he must be in the grave
Wednesday evening. I would say it's very difficult
to arrive at this position because of a number of reasons,
but Scripture clearly tells us that Jesus died on the day of
preparation. The day of preparation is
Friday. Friday was a day to prepare for
the Sabbath. So it tells us Jesus died on the
day of preparation. Also, we need to understand
that, you see, the Jewish reckoning of a day didn't mean a
full 24 hours. For Jews, any part of the day
counted as a day. Thus, when Jesus said he'd be in
the grave for three days, being in the grave part of three days
was entirely plausible. Friday was the first day,
Saturday was the 2nd, and Sunday, of course, the third
day. Now that the Sabbath was over,
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary who's probably Jesus aunt,
I might add, there's like by some accounts, there's something
like 4-5 or or 6 Marys in in the New Testament that you have that
you have to track in the Gospels.
Some will say 6, some will say 4 with some of those repeated.
So 4 to 6 Marys. Mary was obviously a very common
name. So Mary Magdalene and the other
Mary, who's probably Jesus's aunt went along with some other
women to anoint Jesus body. Now it's important that we not
gloss over this verse. Jesus ministry was constantly
subverting the societal norms and especially in relation to
women. He had women followers and they
like the men. Men would sit in the temple at
at the feet of their rabbi and listen, but Jesus, his followers
were able to sit at his feet. And this meant not only men but
also women, something that was not normally done in the 1st
century. Jewish women weren't even
allowed to testify in court. The historian Josephus tells us
that even the witness of multiple women was not
permissible in court because of the levity and boldness of their
sex. In the 2nd century, Kelsis, a
critic of Christianity, mocked the notion that Mary Magdalene
was a witness to the resurrection because he claimed
she was a hysterical female deluded by sorcery.
Jesus resurrection was first revealed to women when they
arrived at Jesus tomb. There was another earthquake.
There had been an earthquake on Friday when Jesus died in the in
the temple curtain was torn and now here was another one
signaling this profound moment in history.
An Angel arrived with the earthquake.
Or perhaps the earthquake happened because the Angel
arrived and it The Angel rolls back the stone and he he it
takes a seat. I imagine the appearance of this
Angel to be otherworldly, like you're looking at this ball of
light or or something like that, the type of thing that would be
so bright to outshine the sun. The tomb had been made secure
because the Pharisees wanting to make sure that that's this group
of Jesus followers didn't gain any more traction.
They they went to pilots and asked him to make the tomb
secure. So Pilate made the tomb secure
not by having a lock or or chains on it, but by putting his
own seal on it, something that could easily be physically
broken. But breaking his seal was
something you did not do because if you broke it, you would
probably meet your death. But the Angel, the Angel has
more authority than pilots. So the Angel broke the seal.
Now the guards were terrified at seeing the Angel.
These guards were terrified to seeing the Angel.
I love this scene because these guards, these aren't just the
wimpy type people just hey, don't do that.
No, these are the baddest, toughest men around.
So they're the ones who've been placed there to guard the tomb.
But when the Angel appears, they are terrified.
They are completely terrified. They're they're traumatized by
by what they saw. They trembles.
So then we have the proclamation of the Angel.
What is it that the Angel says? Verses 5 through 8?
The Angel said to the women, Do not be afraid, for I know that
you see Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for He has risen
as he said. Come, see the place where he
lay. Then go quickly and tell his
disciples that He has risen from the dead.
And behold, He is going before you to Galilee.
There you will see him. See, I have told you so they
departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy and ran
to tell his disciples. The Angel had an announcement,
which is often what angels did. That was their role, to
primarily to make announcements. The Angel said the same thing
that we've heard at the beginning of the Jesus
narrative. The Angel says don't be afraid.
These were the same words that were spoken to Zechariah, to
Mary, to Joseph and to the shepherds when an Angel appeared
to them. Apparently seeing an Angel is
such an awesome as in awe and fear inducing sight that when
they reveal themselves in their natural angelic form, the
response is fear. So the Angel has an announcement
for them and he says he came to bring them good news.
He's not here. He's risen just as he said.
He's risen just as he said just before Jesus and the disciples
headed towards Jerusalem for the triumphal entry.
He told them point blank, he says, see, we're going up to
Jerusalem and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the
chief priest. He's literally telling them this
is what's going to happen. I, I think they were like tuning
him out, like they were just not hearing this is what's going to
happen. See, the Son of Man will be
turned over to the chief priests and scribes and they'll condemn
him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be
crucified. And he will be raised on the
third day is what Jesus said. He literally says he would be
crucified and raised on the third day.
Now put yourself in these women's sandals.
Date arrived hoping to be able to anoint Jesus body before it
got to the 4th day and it started to smell really bad.
That was that was their intent right?
And, and it was lost on them that Jesus would actually be
resurrected. He literally said he'd be raised
on the third day. And, and they didn't really have
a means for understanding that, though.
I mean, technically they had a category for this kind of
statement. After all, Jesus had literally
raised Lazarus back to life just six weeks earlier.
But still, Jesus followers just didn't quite get it when he told
them that on the third day he would be raised from the dead.
See, it's hard to move our minds out of the realm of the natural,
the natural world and into the realm of the supernatural.
Especially when the beloved leader of your movement dies,
it's entirely and completely natural and normal to believe
that the person is dead and not coming back.
So the Angel called these women to come see the place where
where Jesus was laid and and after a brief exchange with
them, gave them a command. The command was to go tell the
disciples and then head to Galilee.
Go tell the disciples and then head to Galilee.
Tell, tell the disciples that he's risen from the dead, and
then and then go to Galilee to meet him there.
These women. It was these women who were
given the task of conveying the news to the disciples.
God used women to bring a message of hope to the rest of
the disciples. And now we look at the King's
personal appearance to these women and behold, Jesus met them
and he said greetings, and they came up and took hold of his
feet and worshipped him. That Jesus said to them, do not
be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to
Galilee and there they will see me as the women.
They they'd left the tomb. They're on their way.
On their way Jesus met them. And the Greek word used here is
very informal. It's along the lines of hello.
And it was just the, an ordinary, completely ordinary
greeting that they would use in the marketplace and among
travelers on the road. There's nothing personal about
it. This, this was a momentous
occasion. And Jesus is just like, hey,
how's it going? Like he's just like, this is
normal for him. This, this is how he works.
This informal greeting elicits worship of the king.
This informal greeting elicits worship of the King.
The women dropped to their knees.
They grabbed his feet and worshipped him.
They now had absolute certainty that he was risen.
They weren't just taking the angels word for it.
They actually saw and touched Jesus glorified body.
The only proper response at that moment was adoration and praise
of the one who had just conquered death.
They did what every single person will one day do, just in
that as as Austin read that passage from Philippians 2,
every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is
Lord. That is what these women did
upon immediately seeing him. Jesus then gave them the same
directive, basically, that the Angel had given them.
He said He reiterates the command to go.
He reiterated the command to go. The the Angel had had said tell
the disciples. The Angel specifically calls out
the disciples. But here Jesus slightly augments
the command and he says, tell my brothers to go to Galilee and
there they will see me. The women were supposed to tell
more than just the disciples. They were to tell a larger group
of brethren who were who were also followers of Jesus, just
not part of the original 12 who would now become eleven.
Most of Jesus followers had dispersed and we're now
dejected, but nonetheless, Jesus still claimed them as his
brothers, his followers. The women went on their way with
great joy and having witnessed the risen Christ and now tasked
with telling others about it. However, there was hesitancy and
endowed at the women's words. Peter and John immediately ran
to the tomb to verify the accuracy of what they've been
told in the first cross country race in history.
The text tells us Peter starts out first.
Oh, but was he the first one to get there?
No, John outran him. Thomas refused even to believe
he he needed evidence that Jesus had been resurrected in John
2025. We read of his response.
Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails and place my
finger into the marks of the nails, place my hand into his
side, I will never believe to call him doubting.
Thomas seems to be putting it mildly.
He needed proof that Jesus had been resurrected.
In our next few moments, I want to look at some of the proofs or
evidences of the resurrection first of all.
This may go without saying, but resurrection requires
crucifixion. To be resurrected he first had
to die. Jesus crucifixion is attested to
in numerous independent sources both from Christian and non
Christian 1st century authors. A couple of those are Josephus
and and Tacitus. They both speak to Jesus, him
being crucified, and then to the notion that that he had been
resurrected. Now, I have to say, if you
wanted to start a religious movement, you don't start with
crucifixion. Crucifixion was a stumbling
block to the Jews that they were absolutely repulsed by
crucifixion. This Roman means of torture.
They believe those hung on a tree were cursed by God.
Second, for the Gentiles, who was absolutely repulsive to
worship someone who died such a dishonorable death.
And this type of death was normally reserved for the worst
of criminals. But Jesus actually died on a
cross. He didn't merely seem to die or
appear to die as our Muslim friends would would tell us.
No, Jesus actually died on the cross.
Another proof is the disciples had eyewitness experiences.
The disciples had eyewitness experiences.
There are numerous independent texts attesting to the disciples
eyewitness accounts and experiences, scholar Reginald
Fuller writes. It is clear that the disciples
had real experiences characterized as appearances or
visions of the risen Jesus. Whether these are explained
naturally or supernaturally, this experience is a fact upon
which both believer and unbeliever may agree.
Some 20 years after Jesus death, Paul wrote in First Corinthians
15 verses 3 and 4. Fry delivered to you as the
first importance what I also received, that Christ died for
our sins in accordance with the scriptures.
That he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in
accordance with the scriptures. Now it's widely believed that
here Paul was reciting a very early Christian creed that was
already in circulation within just a few years of Jesus death.
This creed is what was delivered to Paul that Christ died for our
sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried,
that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the
scriptures. Paul then proceeded to say how
Jesus appeared to Peter, then he appeared to the 12500 people,
some of whom had already died, and James the apostles, and then
to Paul himself. So there were these
eyewitnesses, these eyewitness experiences.
Another proof of the resurrection is Jesus accepted
by his brothers James and Jude, who became leaders in the early
church. Jesus was accepted by his
brothers James and Jude, and they eventually became leaders
in the early church. Jesus family had initially been
quite skeptical of Jesus. They thought Jesus was crazy.
I was like, what do you do when your brother tells you that he's
the Messiah? Like it's hard, hard to hard to
swallow that right? But Mark 321 reads, when his
family heard it, they went out to seize him for they were
saying he is out of his mind. James and the rest of his family
were quite contrary to what Jesus was saying.
They didn't look. This of course didn't look good
for Jesus family. His family didn't like having
this guy that some people thought was crazy.
He claims to be the Messiah, but Mark records this embarrassing
fact because it was accurate because it was the truth.
Again, this isn't how you start a new movement and and gain
respect, but this was the reality of the situation.
After Jesus death, resurrection and personal appearances.
Though his family changed. They personally witnessed the
resurrected Jesus and placed their faith in him, and they
began to follow his teachings. And both James and Jude
ultimately become leaders, significant leaders in the early
church. And we have books from each of
them in our Bible now. Next, Paul, a persecutor of the
early church, was converted when Jesus appeared to him.
Paul, who had persecuted the early church, was converted when
Jesus personally appeared to him.
Jesus had appeared to Paul a major persecutor of the church
while he was traveling on the road to Damascus.
He was a Pharisee of Pharisees. That that means that he kept the
law so perfectly and he was so zealous for the law that he
persecuted Christians because he felt they were perverting the
law and and they were teaching that Jesus was the Messiah who'd
been foretold in the Hebrew Scriptures.
Paul's demeanor was described by Luke as breathing threats and
murder against the Christians. But that's not the end of the
story. Paul was transformed from
terrorizing the church to being a committed follower of Jesus
and martyr for his faith. Can you imagine having been the
first person that Paul comes to and Paul says, hey, I follow
Jesus now. No, no, no, no, no.
Closing that door, slamming it in his face.
But Paul had been changed so so Luke writes 3 times in the book
of Acts. Luke recounts Paul's conversion
and Paul's conversion was verified by that means.
Paul's conversion was verified by an early and independent
eyewitness who was also a doctor and whose word could be trusted.
The Paul was transformed by the power of Jesus.
Resurrection is without doubt, as he went from being a
celebrated leader among the Jewish elite to running for his
life because he was wanted dead by his former colleagues.
Paul had been radically transformed.
These facts all help us to see how much the followers of Jesus
changed. On Friday they were dejected and
and had lost all hope, but on Sunday everything changed.
It's important that when we're confronted with facts about
something that we consider the implications of those facts on
our life. In regards to the resurrection.
We ask why does this information matter?
How does the resurrection impact me?
Well first of all, without the resurrection, forgiveness of sin
would not be a reality. Without resurrection we would
not have forgiveness. If Jesus had died, then you
would have turned out to be just like all the other
self-proclaimed messiahs who had preceded him if he just stayed
in that grave. He wasn't the first to claim the
title Messiah, and he was not the last, but he was the only
one who got up out of that grave.
First Corinthians 15, verses 16 through 17, Paul writes if the
dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised.
That is, if there's no resurrection.
And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and
you are still in your sins. Paul saying that if Jesus wasn't
raised from the dead, then we are still in our sin.
Our freedom from sin hasn't been purchased and our faith would be
worthless if Paul if Jesus wasn't raised.
Therefore, resurrection is the guarantee that Christ payment
for our sin was sufficient and it was accepted by the Father
and that means our faith in Christ is of infinite value.
Resurrection is, let me repeat that resurrection is the
guarantee Christ's payment for our sin was sufficient and
accepted by the Father and our faith is of infinite value.
The second way Jesus resurrection impacts us is that
it gives us hope. It gives us hope, but not just
in this life but also in the future.
The message of the Scripture has always been a message of
resurrection hope. Death isn't the end for those
who belong to God. Rather, it's a doorway that
leads to eternity with God. Going back to First Corinthians
15, Paul, perhaps a bit tongue in cheek or sarcastic maybe
wrote in in First Corinthians 1519.
Paul was never one to shy away from just speaking the truth.
He says if in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are
of all people most to be pitied. That is, if our faith ends at
the grave, then what's what's the point in in that?
What's the point in faith? Faith is valuable.
The point being that faith is valuable both for this life and
for the next. The faith lifts up the
downtrodden. In the midst of Job's troubles,
having lost all his possessions, being left with a horrible wife
and friends who just basically gas lit him, Job wrote of his
hope. Job 1925 and 26 For I know that
my Redeemer lives. This is so early on in
scripture. This is very, very early.
Job doesn't actually fall where it falls in our Bibles.
Job actually is like ancient, ancient falls after somewhere
around after a Genesis 9. So he he he has this
understanding. He says I know my Redeemer lives
and and at the last he will stand upon the earth and after
my skin has been destroyed, that is after I have died yet in my
flesh, I shall see God. He's saying I will be
resurrected after I have died. I will be resurrected and I will
see God. Job's hope in the next life
enabled him to endure this life, the horrible life that that he
had lived for a season. So what have you done with the
resurrection? Have you pinned your life on the
truth of it, or have you simply ignored the resurrection
thinking, oh, that's good for them, but I don't believe in the
resurrection or I don't. I don't need that in my life.
You can have that. Jesus isn't like any other
person in all of history. He was there at the beginning of
creation. Indeed, He created it all The
sin broke into the world and humanity's relationship with God
was forever changed. But.
But God desires for our relationship with Him to be
restored back to fullness. Each of us is a Sinner, and the
fact we're sinners means we're deserving of eternal separation
from God. We violated His standards, and
try as we might, we'll never be good enough to earn our way into
His good graces. Fortunately, God provided the
free gift of grace through our Lord Jesus Christ.
There are three simple keys to receiving God's grace.
It's as simple as ABCA is for admits.
Admit that you are a Sinner and that you fall short of God's
standard. That is each and every one of
us. We are not perfect.
We can't completely live up to God's standards.
B is for believe. Place your faith in Jesus
Christ. Believe that He is God's Son,
that he died for your sins, and that God raised him from the
dead. Now it's important to say that
this isn't simply intellectual belief.
It's not just information to put away in in our minds, but this
belief is something that comes from our hearts.
It's an expression of sincerity and trust in who Jesus is and C
So A is admit, B is believe and C is confessed, confessed Jesus
as your Lord and Savior. That means that he has the
authority over your life and and that everything you do is
submitted to him as Savior. He's the only one who who can
rescue you from an eternity separated from God.
Romans 10/13 tells us everyone who calls on the name of the
Lord will be saved. If you call out to him, He'll
hear you and restore your relationship with him.
Descartes called for systematically disbelieving
everything unless there was a well founded reason for
accepting that thing as truth. This morning we've looked at a
number of reasons for accepting the resurrection as truth.
Jesus interrupted the natural processes of this world with his
miraculous resurrection, working outside of natural law and
understanding the light. the Enlightenment couldn't explain
how Jesus rose again back to life, never to die again.
But that's how our God works in miraculous, supernatural ways.
The resurrection is the central event of God's redemptive
history. It's the cornerstone of our
faith. And everything we are and have
and ever hope to be is predicated on the miraculous
reality of Christ's resurrection.
Let's bow our heads and close our eyes and the quietness of
this moment as we prepare to close.
If there is anyone in this place who is not yet placed your faith
in Jesus Christ, you've not yet stepped over that line of faith
and said and admitted that you are a Sinner, believed that
Jesus came into this world and died for us, then was
resurrected and ascended. You haven't yet confessed Him as
Lord and Savior. If you haven't yet done that, I
would love to talk with you. Set up an appointment to talk
about that to answer your questions.
See what it is that might be holding you back from stepping
over that line and saying, yes, Jesus is my Savior and I submit
everything I am to him. So if that's you this morning,
I'd love to talk with you after the service.
God, we thank you for the resurrection.
This this undeniable reality that Jesus came into this world,
He lived a perfect life, went to the cross to pay the penalty for
our sins, was resurrected and ascended, conquering death and
purchasing our freedom from sin. Thank you so much.
May we always walk in the reality of the truth that Jesus
was resurrected, that we now have fullness in you.
Thank you. It's in Jesus name we pray,
Amen.