Christ, Resurrected

Christ, Resurrected
Matthew 28:1-15
March 31, 2024

Every Easter we talk about the resurrection.  We gather on resurrection morning to read the story, be reminded of Christ’s life, rejoice in the good gift we have been given through His resurrection, and meditate on the essential nature of the resurrection.  For the believer in Christ, nothing is more important.  If He lives, we live, and if He is not alive, then we are of all people most to be pitied (1 Cor. 15:19).

So we rejoice in the resurrection, just like the disciples did on that first resurrection morning 2000 years ago.  Or maybe not.  On that Sunday morning, none of the Twelve was headed to the grave to see if it was empty.  The women who went were not looking for the open grave; they were wanting to put more anointing spices on the dead body of their Lord.  No one anticipated what happened — in spite of what Jesus had repeatedly prophesied (all from Matthew):

• “…for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (12:40)
• From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. (16:21)
• As they were coming down from the mountain [of transfiguration], Jesus commanded them, saying, “Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.” (17:9)
• And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men; and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.” And they were deeply grieved. (17:22-23)
• “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up.” (20:18-19)

They didn’t doubt because they hadn’t been told what was coming, but because the idea of the resurrection was so incredible and remarkable.  Like creation out of nothing and the incarnation, it was one of God’s singular events.  There had never been anything like it and it would never be repeated again (even our own coming resurrections are different because we won’t raise ourselves from the dead).

But once they saw the evidence of His resurrection, and saw the risen Christ — everything changed for Christ’s followers.  And likewise, when we observe and believe the resurrection account, everything changes for us as well.  It is the most transforming event in the history of the world.  While you are familiar with the story, this morning let’s look at it again from the pen of one of Jesus’ disciples, Matthew.

Christ is resurrected.  The grave is empty.  Life is full.

Because the tomb is empty, life has meaning.  There is nothing to fear and there is something (worthwhile) to do.  Let’s observe that the story of the resurrection is told by Matthew in three movements…

As we do that, we do well to recognize that the basic elements of Resurrection Sunday are told by all the Gospel writers:  they all emphasize the empty tomb revealing the risen Christ (Mt. 28:6; Mk. 16:6; Lk. 24:6; Jn 20:4-8).  But the gospel writers all emphasize different aspects of the story and different participants in the story.  Writing to a Jewish audience that was particularly interested in the workings of the religious system in Israel, Matthew alone tells the story of the guards and the attempted coverup of the resurrection.

Let’s see that story in three movements…

1. The Story of the Resurrection (vv. 1-10)
2. The Denial of the Resurrection (vv. 11-15)
3. The Implications of the Resurrection (vv. 5-7)

Download the rest of this sermon on Matthew 28:1-15.

The audio will be posted on the GBC website by Tuesday.