The Resurrection of Our Lord

The Resurrection of Our Lord (A)

April 8, 2023

Text: Matt. 28:1-10

Alleluia!  Christ is risen!  He is risen, indeed!  Alleluia!

            It is earth shattering, right?  The death of God on a Roman cross for sinners, for the forgiveness of sins.  The resurrection of this Man, Jesus of Nazareth, who was dead, but now lives, bodily, and is declared to be what he has been from all eternity: The Son of God. 

            It is literally earth shattering.   That is what we read in the chapter previous to this morning’s Gospel, in Matthew 27.  When Jesus dies, the curtain of the Temple is torn in two from top to bottom, heaven to earth.  The earth quakes, the rocks split, and… what is going on over there in the cemetery?  The tombs are opened!  And there is activity inside.  A little confusion about whether it is time to get up.  And sure enough, the next morning, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, another earthquake, and an angel descending from heaven, rolling back the stone of Jesus’ tomb to show that it is empty!  Well, the saints think, must be time for us to come out, too.  So they do, and they go into the Holy City and appear to many.  Surprise!  See, they thought it was the Last Day already.

            Now, I’m convinced the angels in the various Gospel accounts of the resurrection are different angels.  Or, if not, perhaps they appear, now here, now there, in various positions to underscore the point that Jesus is no longer in the tomb.  The angel in last night’s reading from Mark was inside the tomb (16:5).  Pretty specific about his location.  On the right side.  Clearly eye-witness testimony.  Mark, or whoever told Mark, heard it from the women themselves.  Two men, angels, in dazzling apparel, greet the women in Luke (24:4).  And in John, as Mary Magdalene stands weeping outside the tomb, she stoops to look in and finds two angels sitting inside, one at the head, and one at the feet (John 20:12), and now we have the Ark of the Covenant, don’t we?

            But this angel in Matthew, he’s got an attitude, that one.  He’s a bit cheeky.  He sits there, smug, on top of the stone seal… you know, the one he’s just rolled away from the tomb, when the guards saw him and dropped to the ground, basically dead.  He just rolled it away and sat on it!  And I’m certain he’s sitting there now with his arms crossed, and a big grin, as if to say, “Ha!  You lose, death!  You lose, grave!  Jesus wins!  Just try keeping anybody in now.”  As it is written, “‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’  ‘O death, where is your victory?  O death, where is your sting?’” (1 Cor. 15:54-55; ESV). 

            Well, he may be smug.  But the angel is preaching, as angels are wont to do.  Angel, remember, simply means messenger.  Sometimes the word refers to majestic spiritual beings sent from God to protect us from harm and danger and direct our eyes to Jesus.  That is what it means here in our text.  Sometimes the word is used of pastors, believe it or not, as it is in the opening chapters of Revelation (2-3): “To the angel of the Church in”… Ephesus, Smyrna, wherever.  John is writing to the pastor of the congregation, who is to preach the content of the letter to his people.  And then, as we know, especially in the Old Testament, the word is often used of the Son of God Himself, the preincarnate Christ, the Angel of the LORD.  Angels preach a message from God.  That is what they are sent to do.  And this is no exception.

            What does he say in his sermon?  “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.  Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead” (Matt. 28:5-7).

            The angel is the first to preach it, and the preaching reverberates through the whole world, through the centuries, from generation to generation, right up to the present moment.  And every sermon since is an aftershock, just as powerful as that from the angel’s stone pulpit.  The Word goes out.  Jesus is no longer in the grave.  He is risen from the dead.  As He said!  Bodily.  The body crucified for you, for your forgiveness and redemption.  Still bearing the mortal scars.  Go and tell it.  Confess it.  Preach it. 

            You know what it does, this preaching?  It puts an everlasting crack through death.  A fissure that cannot be re-sealed.  I mean, the saints can’t help but tumble out of their graves and bear witness.  Because Jesus has blown a crater into Sheol.  There is no stopping it now. 

            And that is why the angel begins his sermon with the application: “Do not be afraid” (v. 5).  Beloved in the Lord, do not be afraid.  Christ Jesus is risen from the dead.  And that is the end of the death. 

            When you think about it, our fears, whatever they may be, are essentially iterations of the fear of death, and of eternal death in hell.  What is that you fear?  Sickness?  You are afraid that if you fall sick, you won’t recover; that, in fact, you will die.  But do not be afraid.  Christ Jesus, the One who cured all manner of sickness and disease and pain, is risen from the dead.  Whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life and perfect healing in the resurrection of all flesh. 

            Do you fear failure and rejection?  You are afraid that the value other sinners place on you is a reflection of your place in God’s esteem.  And what will that mean for the Day of Judgment?  But do not be afraid.  Christ Jesus, the One who receives sinners and eats with them, is risen from the dead.  What are you worth to God?  He answers with the blood of His only-begotten Son. 

            Do you fear financial problems, political instability, war, famine, plague, or pestilence?  You are afraid God will suddenly stop giving you each day your daily bread, that the eternal fountain of good will dry up without warning, and you’ll have to provide for your own needs, or die trying.  But do not be afraid.  Christ Jesus, the one who fed 5,000 men, plus women and children on five loaves and two fish, with twelve baskets full left over (Matt. 14:13-21)… and again, who fed 4,000 men plus woman and children on seven loaves of bread and a few small fish, with seven baskets full left over (15:32-39)… and who said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (4:4)… that One is risen from the dead.  Your Father knows what you need before you ask, and gives it to you for Jesus’ sake.  Even as he feeds you here with the Bread of life that is the crucified and risen body of Jesus.

            Do you fear your sins?  Satan?  Hell?  Do not be afraid.  Christ Jesus, the One who bore your sins, and the sins of the whole world, to the cross, and who died for them, is now risen from the dead.  Your debt to God is paid in full.  Satan can no longer accuse you.  In fact, the serpent’s head is crushed (Gen. 3:15).  And hell has no claim on you. 

            You see, whatever suffering you experience in this life (and you will, for awhile, for a short time)… even if things go wrong and you die… even if they kill you because you are a disciple of Jesus… you won’t stay dead.  In fact, you’ll never actually be dead in any real sense.  That is over, now that Christ is risen.  So do not be afraid.  “I am the resurrection and the life,” says Jesus.  “Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:25-26).

            Do you see how earth shattering it all is?  But Jesus doesn’t only have it preached to you by men and angels.  He Himself meets you, as He met the women.  And so there is the Supper.  The women came up to Him and took hold of His nail-pierced feet and worshipped Him (Matt. 28:9).  You come up to Him and take hold of His body and blood with your mouth and worship Him.  And in both cases, He, Himself, the Risen Lord, preaches to you: “Do not be afraid” (v. 10).  He takes the fear out of you.  And then He puts the courage into you: “go and tell,” He says.  Go and tell “my brothers” (v. 10).  And so we do.  We tell one another, and we tell the world, until the saints come tumbling out of the tombs for good.  It goes like this: Alleluia!  Christ is risen!  He is risen, indeed!  Alleluia!  That’s it.  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son X, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.