Sermon for April 9, 2023 – Easter

Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 • Jeremiah 31:1-6 • Acts 10:34-43 • Matthew 28:1-10

This week’s theme is celebration of restoration. The call to worship Psalm invites us into thanksgiving to celebrate the Lord’s victory over the enemy and the restoration of the rejected. The Old Testament reading from Jeremiah anticipates God’s work of restoration for Israel, delivering her from her many troubles and restoring her to a life of rest and rejoicing. The reading from Acts shares Peter’s words that celebrate the redemption Jesus has brought through his resurrection. The Gospel reading from Matthew retells the account of the first Easter with visits to the empty tomb.

Jesus Christ Is Risen

Matthew 28:1-10 (NRSV)

On this day of Easter, we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus our Lord by looking at Matthew’s account of the resurrection. Matthew’s version makes it clear he wanted to establish the truth that Jesus Christ is risen. The resurrection is not a myth, but a fact of all facts. The reality of all things is established forevermore because of what happened on this particular Sunday morning. When we embrace this truth, we will come to see all things in a whole new light.

Let’s begin this unbelievable true story.

After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. (Matthew 28:1 NRSV)

This story begins with newness. It is after the Sabbath, the very beginning of a new week. The dawning light begins to show us that God has done something brand new in the Resurrection of the Lord. And we are introduced to two ladies, both named Mary, who will help us see the truth of what has happened. Matthew leaves out one of the ladies that appear in John’s account to set up a parallel. He is going to have the two Marys stand in juxtaposition to two guards, each set representing a response to Jesus and the truth of the gospel. Consider this; the two ladies and the two guards in the story appear at Jesus’ tomb. Both see an angel. Both experience fear. Both leave the tomb to inform others of what just happened. And both are told what to say. But note the contrast; the women tell the truth while the guards are told to lie. With that Matthew has put before us the question of who are we going to believe? Do we believe the two ladies who have nothing to gain by deceiving anyone, or the two guards who were paid handsomely by those who wanted to protect their power. We must decide!

The ladies do not know at this point that Jesus has been raised. We are told that they are returning to “see the tomb.” We can relate to this experience by these two ladies as we sometimes return to our various tombs that have left us grieving. We come to revisit our resentment and anoint our anger, perfuming our pain and using the ointment of bitterness and unforgiveness in hopes of preserving what was lost. Sometimes our tombs are thrust back upon us by no choice of our own. In whatever way we find ourselves keeping vigil of past tombs we find that God has a message for us. And it’s a message that is earth shattering. Take note of how the message is set up.

And suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord, descending from heaven, came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him the guards shook and became like dead men. (Matthew 28:2-4 NRSV)

Matthew has included some details here that prepare us to sit up and listen. The message that the angel is going to deliver comes with some extraordinary build up. First, there is “a great earthquake” that occurs because an angel of the Lord is “descending from heaven.” Whatever is about to be shared with these two women is introduced as a message that will shake up the world. Maybe we have not personally experienced being in a literal earthquake, but I’m sure many of us have experienced times in our lives when it seemed the world was being shaken and tossed about. We may often attribute this shake-up as being initiated from some person, group, or nation pulling strings and pushing buttons. But another picture emerges here. Is it not the inbreaking of the Kingdom that shakes the world to its core. Is not God’s word the most disruptive force that invades our physical domain?

This image is repeated in other ways throughout the Bible. Stories like Jesus casting out demons for example. When Jesus commanded a demon to leave, the possessed individual went into convulsions. Jesus’ death was accompanied by an earthquake, and Jesus’ return portrayed in the book of Revelation includes a mighty earthquake beyond compare. The image conveys that when God breaks in, all hell breaks loose. We should expect no less with the announcement the angel is about to deliver.

Before this angel utters a word, he dramatically sends a message by rolling back the large stone of the tomb and sitting on it. In addition, his appearance was blinding. This is what I call making an entrance. It certainly got the attention of the two guards as they “shook and became like dead men” out of fear. That’s an interesting twist on the scene. The two guards who end up lying about Jesus being raised to life, are pictured as becoming dead. Another contrast! The message that comes to us about Jesus is a message of life. To reject it is to reject life itself.

Now the angel is ready to speak. But his words are directed to the women. Dead men have no ears to hear. May we have our ears open to hear the message of the angel today.

But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has been raised from the dead, and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.’ This is my message for you.” (Matthew 28:5-7 NRSV)

What he says to them, and to us today, is not a message of condemnation as we return to keep vigil over the tombs of our losses. Rather he speaks to their truest center. He says, “I know that you are looking for Jesus.” Even in our vigil keeping, our resentment and anger, deep down we are searching for Jesus. We are looking for life, the life we were made for. All our pain, suffering, and loss speaks to our souls that something is out of place. We know at some level we are not made for death. We are looking for life, which can only fully be found in Jesus.

But Jesus, “who was crucified,” is not to be found in tombs. The angel tells the ladies that “he is not here, for he has been raised.” Then the angel invites the ladies to observe the tomb so they can see that Jesus is not there.

He didn’t roll that stone away for nothing. It was an invitation to explore the unbelievable. “Come, see the place where he lay,” the angel says. That’s past tense. As we find ourselves keeping vigil over our tombs may we receive such a message that reminds us that Jesus was not contained by death, and our losses are restored in him. When we receive this message, we can hear the angel’s command to “go quickly and tell his disciples.” Knowing our life is restored in Jesus empowers us to “go quickly” from our tombs of death. Our feet are enlivened with hope.

As we are on our way, we take upon our lips the message given to us, “He has been raised from the dead.” That’s the message the angel gives us to share. In addition, the angel tells the ladies to let the disciples know that Jesus “is going ahead of you to Galilee” where they will see him. When our brothers and sisters are struggling to move forward, we can remember what the angel has said: “Jesus is going ahead of you.” We do not move into the future alone and we do not need to fear what awaits us because we know Jesus is already there. What comfort we can give one another in our journey of faith to know that Jesus has gone ahead of us!

So they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers and sisters to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” (Matthew 28:8-10 NRSV)

The ladies represent the response of receiving the Gospel and living according to it. They “quickly” run to carry out the mission they were given. Notice that as soon as the ladies respond in obedience, they are “suddenly” met by Jesus. Jesus interrupting their original mission can show us that he is more concerned about encountering us with himself than only having us carrying out an efficient and effective mission trip. Mission and ministry bring us to encounter the Good News himself as the person Jesus. As we live in faith, we will have our faith renewed. With only a simple “Greetings,” from Jesus, the ladies respond in worship. They have been found by the one they were looking for.

In their worship of Jesus, Matthew records the detail of the ladies embracing “his feet.” This reference is one of the reminders we are given that Jesus’ resurrection was a bodily resurrection. It seems Matthew is consistent throughout the story to emphasize this important point. The entire story is full of physicality. For example, the message that comes to the ladies is first a message that is felt. The earthquake announces the arrival of God’s messenger. Then the message is seen. This angel puts on a display of blazing lightning and shimmering garments. Then the message is heard as the “angel spoke to the women.” Matthew wants us to understand that Jesus is not resurrected as some ghost that can be spiritualized away. He comes back as resurrected flesh and blood. This imparts great dignity to being human with all its physicality. We do not treat our “humanness” as something that should be discarded in favor of something “more.” God’s creation of us, and his ultimate destiny for us, is to be fully human, which is given to us in his Son Jesus Christ.

Our story concludes with Jesus himself telling the ladies, and us, to go share the message with the other disciples. Only, he says, “Go and tell my brothers and sisters.” As we are encountered by Jesus, we will see all our relationships in terms of brothers and sisters, as Jesus has made us all adopted children of the Father. This is a message that we first receive, and then in response, go out and share with the whole world.

I hope this Easter Season will lift you up to experience more fully the new life the Father has for us in his Son Jesus. May we leave our empty tombs and meet Jesus as we share the message, “He has been raised from the dead.”

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