Grace Baptist Church, Nokomis, IL.

Text:

The resurrection of Christ is perhaps the most awe-inspiring event in all of history. It ought to cause us to praise God every time we think of it. The hymn “He Lives” was actually written out of frustration with liberal Christianity that states that it doesn’t matter whether Jesus physically rose from the grave or not. But Christ did truly raise from the dead! We ought all be convinced that Christ lives because it will have a major impact on how we live.

“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, and 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 was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.’ ” (Mat 28:1-6)

Try to imagine the emotions that the women were feeling that morning. They were expecting to find the body of Jesus in the tomb. The gospel of Mark clarifies that they wanted to anoint His body with burial spices. Mark’s gospel also tells us that they wondered how they would roll the stone away. But when they arrived, the found that the stone had already been rolled away, and an angel sat upon it.

Imagine the emotions that they must have felt. They were full of sorrow that their Lord had died. They were full of confusion because they no longer knew what to think of their Friend. They were full of wonder when they arrived at the tomb. But the angels invoked another emotion in them.

The presence of angels and the reality of Christ’s resurrection causes all people to fear God (v. 2-5). There are two responses of fear mentioned in this text. The guards feared. The women feared. But both responses include fear.

We ought to fear God, knowing that He is God and Master of all things. But praise God that He is also a God of love. Don’t forget what happened just days before the resurrection. Christ died for us! Christ also rose for us. We, too, will have victory over the grave! And we will live with our Savior forever! Because of the resurrection, we have a sure hope of our own salvation. But we must be convinced of it.

The angel invited the women to see where Jesus once laid (v. 6). He wasn’t there! He had risen! God invites all people to discover this as well, to peer into and see the empty tomb. Christianity hinges on whether or not Jesus rose from the dead. Once a person is convinced of the resurrection of Jesus, they have no choice but to follow Him.

There’s more evidence that Jesus truly rose than for any other event in (ancient?) history. His body wasn’t in the tomb. He didn’t merely swoon, and then walk out of the tomb after he had rested. The executioner presiding over the crucifixion was convinced that Jesus was dead. Besides, Jesus wouldn’t have been able to roll the stone away in the condition He would have been in. Jesus had died.

The disciples were transformed from pathetic, fearful, nobodies to bold witnesses for Christ. Only the resurrection of Jesus can explain this transformation. The rumor started by the Jewish priests was that the disciples of Jesus stole his body from the tomb. The guards would have prevented that. This doesn’t even make sense with the kind of lives the disciples lived afterward. They wouldn’t have suffered persecution for a lie. They wouldn’t have died knowing that they had lied about Christ’s resurrection. No, the disciples had seen the living Christ with their own eyes. In fact, according to 1 Corinthians 15:6 more than 500 other witnesses had also seen the living Jesus after His resurrection. The resurrection changed them.

Remember the resurrection often. It will fuel your Christian life. It will take away your doubt about reality. It will cause you to have a reverent fear of God, who is powerful enough to bring back the dead, yet loves you and walks with you day by day.