The Rev. Herbert G. Hand
Faith Anglican Church
Easter
March 22 & 23, 2008
Title:
Spread the Good News: Jesus is Risen from the Dead
Text: Matthew 28:1-10
I.
Easter in
Easter is
such a wonderful time of year.
The
forsythia is blooming.
The
tulips are starting to open up.
The
church is decorated with these lovely Easter Lilies.
Little
girls are twirling around in their Easter dresses.
Over and
over again, children tear around the yard looking for Easter eggs.
The
Lenten fast is over:
Chocolate bunnies.
Marshmallow chicks.
Jelly beans.
Malted milk balls.
Today, we
come to church with confidence and joy of Jesus’ resurrection.
II.
A Depressing First Easter Morning
On that
first Easter morning, Mary Magdalene did not go to the tomb with joy and
confidence.
Even
though the evidence of Spring was all around her, she
had nothing to be happy about.
Mary had
been infested with demons. Luke chapter eight tells us that Jesus had
cast seven demons out of her:
Jesus had restored her sanity.
Jesus had given her hope.
Jesus had given her eternal life.
She knew
Jesus was dead. She had seen Him die.
She was
there when they flogged him within an inch of his life.
She had seen his flesh torn from his bloody back.
She was
there when they nailed Him to the cross.
She had seen Him gasping for breath on that torturous
tree.
She was
there when he breathed His last breath.
She had heard Him cry out his last words,
“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”
Luke
23:46 (NIV)
She was
there when they thrust that spear into His side, and up into His heart.
She had seen the blood and water gush from his side.
She was
there when they laid Him in Joseph of Arimathea’s
tomb.
She had seen them seal the tomb with that giant stone.
There was
no doubt in her mind that Jesus was dead.
She did
not come to find the resurrected Christ.
She came
weeping. She came hopeless.
She came
for the grim task of disinterring his body, so they could properly prepare it
burial.
She knew
that she would have to relive all those terrible memories, as they anointed and
washed his broken and blood encrusted body.
She
brought spices to reduce the stench of his rapidly decomposing body (Mark 16).
There she
was:
With tears streaming down her
checks.
Shuffling along...
In the depths of despair.
As she
arrived at the tomb, there before her were those callous murdering Romans – the
very men who had nailed her Jesus to the hard wood of the cross.
III. The Angel’s Good News
In the
midst of her agony, a brilliant light flashed before her, as an angel caused
“...a violent earthquake..[as he] rolled back the
stone [at Jesus’ tomb].”
The 4,000
pound stone had been rolled away. Jesus’ tomb was open.
http://holylandphotos.org/browse.asp?s=1,2,6,27,72&img=ICSHMD20
http://www.riverpower.org/resurrection.htm
There
before her, sitting on top of that giant stone, was an
mighty angel, whose “appearance was like lightning.”
The
soldiers were terrified:
Like those who came to arrest Jesus on the night of His
betrayal, the power of God went forth knocking them to the ground (John 18:6).
But
instead of stunning them for a few seconds, these soldiers, “became like dead
men” (Matthew 28:4). They were totally unconscious.
Mary
Magdalene was shook up. She was amazed and frightened. But she
stood. She stood before the angel.
5The angel said...
“Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for
Jesus, who was crucified.
6He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place
where he lay.
Matthew 28:5-6 (NIV)
The
Empty Tomb
When they
looked in the tomb, they did not find Jesus’ body, but surprisingly they found
his linen grave clothes (John 20).
Linen
cloth was very expensive in those day:
If thieves had broken into the tomb, they would have left
the body and taken the linen.
If someone had wanted to steal his body, they would have
quickly carried it away in the linen.
No one
would have taken the body and left the linen.
The linen
grave clothes were left lying like an empty cocoon.
At the
moment of Jesus’ resurrection, he had passed through his linen grave clothes,
leaving a collapsed mummy-like husk of cloth.
He Has
Risen, Just as He Said
The words
of the angel echoed in her mind,
6He is not here; he has risen, just
as he said...
Matthew 28:6 (NIV)
As she
stood there in His tomb, she may have recalled the words of Jesus.
From John
chapter ten, Jesus had said,
18No one takes...[my life] from me, but I lay
it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take
it up again....”
John
10:18 (NIV)
From
Matthew chapter 17, Jesus had said,
22... “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. 23They
will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life.”...
Matthew
17:22-23 (NIV)
From John
chapter two, Jesus told the Jews,
19...“Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”
John
2:19 (NIV)
From
Matthew chapter 12, Jesus said,
40For as Jonah was three days and
three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days
and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Matthew 12:40 (NIV)
After three days, Jonah came up from his watery grave, to
spread God’s Word to the Gentiles in
After
three days, Jesus came up his grave, opening the gospel to “every tribe and
language and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9).
Possibly
she remembered the Old Testament prophecies foretelling Jesus’ resurrection:
Isaiah 53, which was written 700 years before Christ,
vividly foretells Jesus’ death, then verse 10, says,
10...though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his
offspring and prolong his days...
Isaiah
53:10 (NIV)
Psalm 16 says,
10because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your
Holy One see decay.
Psalm
16:10 (NIV)
Mary’s
despair turn to delight!
Her hopelessness
to happiness!
Her
weeping to wonder!
Just
moments earlier, there was no doubt in her mind that Jesus was dead.
But now,
there was no doubt in her mind:
That Jesus had defeated death.
That Jesus had conquered Satan.
That Jesus was alive!
On June
18, 1815 at the
The French were under the command of Napoleon.
The British, the Dutch, and the Germans were under the
command of the Duke of Wellington.
The
people of
One of
their signal stations was on the
Late in
the day a message was received, letter by letter:
“W‑E‑L‑L‑I‑N‑G‑T‑O‑N—D‑E‑F‑E‑A‑T‑E‑D.”
Just at
that moment a thick English fog rolled in.
The news
of their defeat quickly spread throughout the city and the countryside.
The
people thought they had lost the war.
Then
suddenly the fog lifted, and the remainder of the message could be read.
The
message had four words, not two. The complete message was:
“W‑E‑L‑L‑I‑N‑G‑T‑O‑N—D-E‑F‑E‑A‑T‑E‑D—T‑H‑E—E‑N‑
E‑M‑Y!”
James S. Hewett,
Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) pp. 165‑166.
Their
sorrow turned to joy. Their defeat to victory!
When
Jesus was laid in the tomb on Good Friday word spread quickly of his
defeat. Even his closest most loyal disciples had lost all hope.
On Easter
morning the fog lifted. The tomb was empty and Jesus was alive.
The
Blooming Thorns
This week
I read a story about a priest, who many many years
ago, found a thorny branch on Good Friday, then twisted it around to resembled a crown of thorns.
He placed
this symbol of Christ’s crucifixion on the altar in his chapel.
Early on
Easter morning he remembered what he had done.
Feeling a
crown of thorns was not appropriate for Easter Sunday, he hurried into the
church to clear it away before the congregation came.
But when
he went into the church, he found the thorny branches blossoming with beautiful
roses.
James S. Hewett,
Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) pp. 164‑165.
That
thorny symbol of Jesus’ suffering and death, had
become a fragrant symbol of Jesus’ life and victory.
IV.
Go Quickly and Tell...
What do
you do with the great good news that Jesus has risen from the dead?
Immediately,
the angel commanded Mary,
7...go quickly and tell his disciples...
Matthew
28:7 (NIV)
8So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled
with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.
Matthew 28:8 (NIV)
When you
have great good news, you can’t help but share it:
When parents have their first child:
They take pictures. They send pictures.
They tell their friends. They tell their
family. They tell strangers.
They’re so excited! They’re so proud of their
beautiful little baby.
When grandparents have their first grandchild:
Watch out!
Like the bumper sticker says, “Let me tell you about my
grandchild,” and they will if you like it or not!
When young children get an A on a test:
They’re so excited!
That test won’t get crumpled up and thrown away.
No, that test is proudly displayed for all to see.
Like Mary Magdalene, when you grasp the great good new of
Jesus’ resurrection, you can’t help but run to tell others:
Jesus is real! Jesus is alive!
He has defeated death, the evil one, and the power of sin!
He has given me new and eternal life!
Jesus has given my life meaning and purpose!
V.
Conclusion
How did
Mary Magdalene respond to the great good news of Jesus’ resurrection?
First belief.
Then joy.
Finally proclamation.
Even
before Mary saw Jesus in his resurrected glory, she believed He had risen from
the dead.
The she
was ecstatic with joy over the good news.
Finally
she couldn’t keep quiet:
She told the tale.
She reported the resurrection.
She gossiped the gospel.