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Easter Sunday

April 21st 2019

~ Robbing The Reaper ~

Introduction In his small yet provocative article titled “Easter in an age of Terror…”

author (Craig Barnes) writes the following statement:

“People flood churches on Easter because they know they are

going to hear good news. But Easter is also terrifying news.

And here’s why…

According to Mark's Gospel, early on a Sunday morning Mary

Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome (sarla-may)

made their way to a tomb to anoint the dead body of Christ. Mark

tells us that these women had earlier watched the crucifixion of

Jesus "from a distance" (Mark 15:40). When it was all over, they

saw Joseph of Arimathea pull the dead body off the cross, wrap it

in a linen cloth, lay it in a tomb hewn out of a rock, and then roll

the stone over the door of the tomb. They watched it all from a

distance…” X2

And this…(from a distance) is our favourite perspective on death –

we do all we can to keep our distance from death. We try to stay

healthy, we attempt to work out, we watch what we eat, and we're

careful. So very careful… and it’s all a way of keeping death at

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bay. But occasionally death catches up to someone you love, and

then, like these women, you know that you have to go and see death

up close!

Friends, Easter is good News! Easter is Good News because Easter is the

glorious announcement of the resurrection of the Son of God from the

dead for our sins and to the glory of God!

But Easter brothers and sisters, is terrifying news because Easter serves

as (one pastor has said) a yearly sobering reminder of the realities of

death!

Have you ever thought about that?!?!

Every year, Christians come together on Easter Sunday to sing songs, eat

food, pray prayers, and listen to a message that reminds them that one day

they too will face the realities of death and stand before a holy God!

So let me ask you this:

Why are you here today?

Why are you here today on Easter Sunday?

See I suspect that most people are here today because you, like me

(assumed) that you would hear a message of Hope… you, like me

assumed that you would hear a message of life…that, you like me

assumed that you would hear Good News…

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And although these topics are indeed present in our service, we cannot

help but address the terrifying news that we most like to avoid and to

view from a distance!!!

In order to confront the message of Easter; we must confront the

reality of death! X2

And so here in our passage today we’re going to see that:

The resurrection of Christ defeats the fear of death X2

And we’re going to see this in 2 parts:

Verses 1-7 – Terrifying fear

And

Verses 8-10 – Joyful Fear

(1-4) And so if you have your bibles, please look with me at the Gospel of

Matthew, chapter 28… beginning in verse 1 Matthew writes this:

After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary

Magdalene and the other Mary went to view the tomb.

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It’s Sunday (the first day of the week) and these women have heavy

hearts…

There is darkness in the land, the sun is beginning to rise on the city, and

Matthew tells us that these women are now coming early on a Sunday

morning to view the tomb…

Mark tells us why, Mark 16 verse 1:

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of

James, and Salome (sarla-may) bought spices, so that they could

go and anoint Jesus!

Friends, these women were not coming to say “hello” to Jesus Christ,

these women were coming to say “goodbye” to Jesus Christ!

In the ancient world, you don’t anoint a living person with spices… you

anoint dead people because dead people smell really bad!!! These women

were coming to anoint Jesus in His tomb because in their minds, His

body was going to stinketh (as the King James would have it)…

And so immediately (from the perspective of the Gospels) we can see that

these women (these devoted followers of Christ) did NOT expect that

Jesus Christ was going to rise from the dead!

They had seen His crucifixion, they had seen the body being wrapped;

they had seen the tomb being closed, they had watched it all from a

distance!!! But now here on this depressing Sunday morning they were

coming to the tomb early to finish off the funeral!

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It’s Sunday and these women have heavy hearts…

Their tears are unceasing…

Their hearts are broken…

Their hopes are shattered…

And their pain is overwhelming…

And Mark Gospel describes the conversation on the way:

Who will roll away the stone for us?!?!

Who is going to open up the tomb for us anoint our beloved Christ?!?!

These women certainly were not able to open the tomb themselves… the

Roman soldiers standing on guard certainly were not going to allow the

women inside… the disciples of Christ are nowhere to be seen…

And so they ask themselves: what are we to do?!?!

How are we going to get in?!?!

Verses 2-4 Well…Matthew tells us that God already had this covered…verse 2:

There was a violent earthquake, because an angel of the Lord

descended from heaven and approached the tomb. He rolled back

the stone and was sitting on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning,

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and his clothing was as white as snow. 4 The guards were so

shaken by fear of him that they became like dead men.

Earthquake In the bible, an earthquake is often seen as an announcement event!

Matthew has already recorded an earthquake when they crucified Jesus

on the cross, and now here in Chapter 28 Matthew records a second great

earthquake at the resurrection of Jesus Christ!

The earth, which trembled with sorrow at the Death of its Maker, now

leaps for joy at the resurrection of His return!

Even creation celebrates this glorious Day!

Dead men And note the immediate effect that this earthquake has on the Roman

soldiers! Verse 4:

“The guards were so shaken by fear of him (fear of the angel) that

they became like dead men…”

How humorous this scene must have looked, as all of heaven roars with

heavenly laughter as those who were assigned to guard the dead body of

Christ, have now themselves become like…dead men!!!

This is 1st century stand up comedy at its finest!

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On top of this…the word Matthew uses for the men shaking in fear, is the

same word used for the earthquake back in verse 2; these men were

literally quaking at the quake of the angel!

The angel is there for the women but almost in passing these Roman soldiers are mentioned once in verse 4

and then for the rest of our passage…never again…almost instantly

these Roman soldiers become…irrelevant… pointless to the narrative…

The angel says nothing to these men because the angel is NOT there for

them!

The angel is NOT there for the Roman soldiers… he’s there for the

women…

The angel is there to comfort the women and to announce the Gospel!

God comforts the broken Friends, how often do we believe that God is distant in our suffering?!?!

What mercy does God shows to us in our greatest time of grief…

Just when we think that God is distant; our loving Father gives comfort to

those who mourn… hope to those who suffer; and peace to the broken-

hearted…

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I love the bible See as you begin to read the pages of the bible, and if you actually spend

enough time in this book you begin to see that the bible doesn’t try to

hide the reality of death, the bible doesn’t try to hide the reality of

life…the bible doesn’t hide the reality of suffering…

Because the bible confronts us with truth!

The bible speaks clearly upon the reality of death; clearly upon the reality

of life; the reality of sin, the reality of pain, the reality of suffering…

because the bible is God’s very Word, and the bible is truth!

And it’s amazing how relevant you will find the words of God in the

greatest trials of your life…

Verse 5:

“The angel told the women, “Do NOT be afraid, because I know

you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here. For

he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he

lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has risen from the

dead and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; you will see

him there.’ Listen, I have told you…”

Fear NOT Now friends, I want you to picture this scene for just a moment...

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As they approach the tomb of Christ, they feel this violent earthquake

shake the ground beneath their feet… they see a pile of limp Roman

soldiers scattered throughout the tombs… they see a rolled away stone

from a tomb where a dead man has just been lying… and now… they see

the biggest, brightest heavenly angel (described as a weird combination

of snow and lightning) sitting on top of a dead man’s grave…

And the very first words to come out of this angel’s mouth is:

Do not be afraid!

Calm down!

It’s okay!

Like No!!! Everything is NOT okay!!! There are literally lifeless bodies

lying on the ground in a place built for the dead, you my friend are from

another world! I don’t know where Jesus is… Everything is NOT

okay!!!

One does not simply experience a violent earthquake to NOT fear!

One does not simply stumble upon a pile of lifeless soldiers to NOT fear!

One does not see an open grave of a dead man… and think to themselves;

hey…just relax…

And one does not simply stare into the presence of an angel of God and

think to themselves: well this is normal… I just need to calm down…

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No no no…I’m gonna need a little bit more from you Mr. Angel than

simply saying these words; fear not!!!

Jesus Christ drives out our fear Friends these women had every reason to be afraid!

They had every reason to be afraid of every event single that has just

occurred!!!

So why did these women not faint at the sight of this heavenly being?!?!

Verse 5:

Fear not, because I know that you seek Christ!

Do not be afraid… for those who are seeking Jesus… are safe…

Friends, the Gospel is the only message that can drive out the fear of

death and bring hope to a human heart!

The Good News of the resurrection is the only message that can comfort

human souls in a time of grief!

The Gospel is the only announcement that is able to bring a human soul

from fear and trembling to joy and wonder…

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And so here in our text; the Good News of the Gospel begins with the

glorious announcement of fear not!!! Do NOT be afraid because I know

that you are seeking Christ!

All those who seek Jesus are safe!

Come and see And then… The Good comes in verse 6!

He is not here. For he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the

place where He lay.

Firstly I want us to note the fact that the stone was not rolled away to let

Jesus out, it was to let the women in… I want you to notice that the angel

invites the women into the tomb, rather than to let Jesus out of the

tomb…

Jesus is NOT there at this point! We don’t know where He is, but we do

know He’s not there…

How do we know that He’s not there?

Verse 6:

He is not here…

Pretty sure He’s not there…

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So we know that the angel rolled away the stone to allow these women to

come and see the empty tomb! Which is why he invites them in… I’ve

rolled this stone away so come and see where He lay…

God’s Word Secondly, I want us to note the authority in which the resurrection of

Christ is firmly fixed and established…

Verse 6 – He is not here; He has risen, just as He said!

Friends, what is it that grounds the resurrection of Christ in historical

fact, and objective truth?!?!

What is the ground on which our faith in Christ and in His resurrection

ultimately rests?

Many evidences God has given the Church many historical evidences for the resurrection

of Christ, so that we can know the truth; believe the truth, and proclaim

the truth!

But what is it, that verifies the truth of the resurrection in the first

place?!?!

The behavior Like…is our faith based upon the behaviour of the disciples?

They are at this point in history hiding away like cowards in a locked

room in Jerusalem for fear of the Jews?!?!

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But then later on in the book of Acts, these same Apostles are being

boldly slaughtered for Christ; killed for the sake of the Gospel; and

persecuted for preaching the message of the resurrection!

And so is our faith based upon the fact that there was this dramatic

change in the behaviour of the disciples?

That all of a sudden after the resurrection they became these mighty men

of God!?!?

Eyewitness Accounts Is our faith based upon the fact that over 500 people saw Jesus after He

was raised from the dead like Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:

He appeared to Cephas then to the Twelve. 6 Then he appeared to

over five hundred brothers and sisters at one time most of whom

are still alive…”

And so is our faith based upon the eyewitness accounts of the resurrected

Christ?!?!

Empty Tomb Or perhaps (you think to yourself) that our faith is based upon the empty

tomb; the women went in to see the tomb, but the tomb was completely

empty!

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Just As He Said Friends, God has given the Church many historical evidences for the

resurrection of Christ, so that we can know the truth; believe the truth,

and proclaim the truth, and love the truth!

And yet! These evidences, (as wonderful and as marvelous as they truly

are)…they are not what ultimately grounds our hope and our trust in

the resurrection of Christ!!!

See I want to suggest (brothers and sisters) that our ultimate hope and

grounds for trusting in the message of the Gospel! Our ultimate authority

for holding to the resurrection of Christ is found right here in verse 6:

Just. As. He. Said!

The greatest sign that we have for the resurrection of Christ; are the

words of Christ Himself!

Christ had been saying this the whole time:

I will die and I will rise again!

God is always faithful to keep His promises…

God is always faithful to fulfill His Word!

God is always faithful to what He has promised…

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His Word is the only proof we need!

Because God’s Word is truth, and because God’s Word is THE

STANDARD for truth; by His Word we see everything else!

You don’t define God Now the reason why this matters is because you and I live in a day where

people want to define God for God!

They don’t want to take God at His Word… like these women…

They actually want to define God in their own image, according to their

own likeness…

And so you’ll actually meet people in the world that come to you and say:

“Well to me, God is like this… or I don’t think God is like that… or I just

think Christianity is more like this… or I don’t think the God that I love

would say that…”

On and on they will go…because they don’t like God defining God!

But the problem with all of this is… is the bible… You don’t get to

define God!!! God does!

God is not affected by our opinions of Him!

He’s God! And He defines Himself!

He has spoken… Just as He said!

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And our opinions about God and what He is like… they don’t matter!

God has defined Himself; He has defined the resurrection; He has spoken

in His Word and you and I don’t get to define God for God!

My favourite food is blue? So like if I come to you and ask:

“Hey what’s your favourite food…? What do you like eat most?”

And you said: “my favourite food is blue…”

And I said “Bro that ain’t food, that’s a colour…”

And you said: “no no no it’s a food, blue is actually a food…” and all of

your mates are like yeah his favourite food is blue… and the whole world

says;

“Yeah! His favourite food is blue!”

Now listen! That makes you crazy; that doesn’t make you right!

And so if the whole world says:

The resurrection didn’t happen, Jesus didn’t really rise from the

dead; Christianity is false, and God is just a myth…

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At the end of the day…it doesn’t matter! It doesn’t matter because God

defines Himself!!!

God defines reality, not us!

Now let’s be honest: it’s sad… it demonstrates how deceptive sin really

is… it demonstrates the lack of rationality that people use when they

come to Scripture, or the resurrection…but at the end of the day, these

opinions about God, about the tomb, about Jesus, about the resurrection;

they don’t matter!

Because the resurrection really, historically, objectively, truly, actually

happened in real time, and in real history!

You cannot X2 out-wish the resurrection of Christ… it is just as He said!

God is NOT defined by our definitions of God; Christianity is NOT based

upon the mere opinions of man; and the resurrection doesn’t hinge upon

anything outside of verse 6:

Just as He said!

So when you come to the bible, and you read its pages… you (my

friends) are being met with the very words, the very weight, and the very

wisdom of God Himself!

And the greatest witness we have for the truth of the resurrection is right

here in verse 6:

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Just as He said! X2

God is faithful to keep His promises to us!

Go and tell And because God has said it, and because God has fulfilled it… you and I

are to go and tell it!

Verse 7:

“Go quickly and tell His disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead and

indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; you will see him there.’

Listen, I have told you…”

Joyful fear And this leads us into our second point here this morning:

A Joyful Fear

Have a look at verse 8:

So, departing quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, they

ran to tell his disciples the news. Just then Jesus met them and

said, “Greetings!” They came up, took hold of His feet, and

worshiped Him. Then Jesus told them, “Do not be afraid. Go and

tell my brothers to leave for Galilee, and they will see me there.”

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Memorial Tombs Just last year I had the privilege of going over to America for a 3-week

holiday with my wife Salli and with her Auntie and Uncle who live there.

And when we were over there, in almost every city we visited we went on

a guided tour learning and hearing about the history of the place, and

specifically the leaders of the cities in which we visited…

Now perhaps the 2 most memorable tours we went on over there was the

tour of the city of Boston Massachusetts and the tour of the city of

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania…

Boston In Boston we saw many gravesites and memorial grounds of past men

who were being honoured for shaping the history of America; some

were governors, some were statesmen, some puritans, and some I had

never even heard of…

Philadelphia In Philadelphia I managed to witness the final resting place for Benjamin

Franklin, one of the foremost Founding Fathers in American history…

Everywhere in the world And of course you can do this almost anywhere you go in the world…

You can go to the Mosque in Medina and see there the tomb of

Mohammed the Prophet…

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You can head over to Graceland in Memphis Tennessee and see the

gravesite of Elvis Presley…

You can go over to Ephesus and see the Basilica of Saint John who wrote

one of the 4 Gospels…

Or perhaps you wanna go to the city of Moscow and see the embalmed

body of Vladimir Lenin; the first Soviet leader of Russia…

See when people love a leader and someone to look up to, they want

them to be remembered…The first thing people do in honour of a leader

is build something; a shrine; a temple; a palace… but as one preacher

has noted they never built a shrine for Jesus… they never built a shrine

for Jesus because almost overnight, the tomb of Christ

becomes…irrelevant…

Now isn’t that interesting… almost overnight, the grieving stops, the

tears cease, and the lamenting is over because Jesus isn’t there anymore!

Fear and great joy! These women did not stick around to mourn His death… or to build a

shrine… but immediately following the Good News they departed

quickly from the tomb!

Whatever terrifying fear of death these women had back at that tomb is

now quickly and swiftly replaced with joy!

Great joy! But still mixed with a little bit of fear… Matthew tells us!

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Great joy mixed with some fear…

Now fear and joy are 2 emotions that seem rather strange when you put

them together Until!!! Every husband in here thinks back to his wedding

day…

Let me tell you that is a day of fear and GREAT JOY!!!

2 emotions that seem rather strange until every woman thinks back to her

first date… fear and great joy!

Until you think back to the time when you met a famous celebrity!

Or think back to the time when you first fell in love… fear and great joy

are 2 emotions that we know all too well!

And the bible says that these women had fear and great joy!

Departing quickly Secondly! Notice the immediate effect that the Gospel has on these

women… I love this!

So…Departing quickly from the tomb… they ran to tell the

disciples!

They didn’t walk to tell the disciples…they ran to tell the disciples!!!

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Not a culture of joggers Brothers and sisters, women in 1st century Palestine were not seen to be

a community of joggers!

This was NOT a culture dressed for running!

These women would have looked absolutely ridiculous as they ran down

the Jerusalem road with fear and great joy!!!

They would have looked Gumby; and they would’ve looked awkward;

and they would’ve looked weird; and they would’ve looked ridiculous…

And listen, they don’t care!

They don’t care because He has risen!

You know as well as I do.... that one cannot walk after hearing

something like this!

How does one walk when they hear the words:

He is NOT here! He has risen; He has risen from the dead!

Their hearts were so filled with the joy of the Gospel, that they were

willing to look like fools for Christ!

Friends, what kind joy does the Gospel bring to your heart here this

morning?!?!

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Does the Gospel bring you such joy that you are willing to look like a

fool for Christ?

Does the Gospel bring you such joy that you are willing to do crazy

things for Jesus?

These women did not care what they looked like! As they faithfully ran to

tell the Good News!

Greetings! (Verse 9) And while they were running… they could not have possibly anticipated

what came next!

Verse 9:

Just then! [Suddenly! Not gradually… suddenly!] Just then Jesus met

them and said, [and I love this] “Greetings!”

How you doing?

Greetings!

Now…The best part about all of this is that the expression that Jesus uses

here… was the most common way to say hello to someone in the first

century!

Like just a casual hello from Jesus!

He’s just defeated death!

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He has just defeated the grave!

He has just conquered sin!

He has just crushed Satan!

And the very first words that come out of the risen Lord Jesus, are the

words: Greetings!

Hello… how are you?

This is actually very kind of Jesus…

This is a very gentle move for Jesus to do… because Jesus could have

said so many things…

He could have said to them:

“You morons! Why did you waste all that money on spices? I told

you that I was going to rise!

He could have said to them:

Where are those cowards who crucified me to that tree! Let me show

them how the wrath of God works!

He could have said to them:

Why in the world are you women so slow to believe! Seriously why can’t

you just understand one simple truth that I say!

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Because let’s be honest… if this were us… we would not have said a

tender and simple: greetings…

Friends what kind of patience does Jesus show to us who are so slow to

believe…

What kind of mercy does Jesus display to the most heard-hearted

followers of Him…

What kind of grace does Jesus shows to those who are weak in faith…

How gentle… how gentle is our risen Christ to all of us in here who

continually doubt His goodness and His grace…

O my… Jesus loves us with a most patient kind of love…

Worship! And these women, when they see His body, and when they hear His

voice… they respond in the only appropriate way imaginable!

“They came up to Him…took hold of His feet… and they worship...”

Imagine every thought that is going on in their minds…

As they sit there weeping for joy at the feet of Jesus; tears streaming

down their face!

They think to themselves:

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It’s all true! X2

He’s really here! X2

They touched His feet!

They grasped His robe!

They heard His voice!

They saw His face!

He really rose!

It’s all true! X2

God is good! God is faithful! Death is defeated!

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!

O there is joy to be had in the resurrection of Christ my friends!

Do not be afraid And yet, once again they are told now…not by an angel… but by the Son

of God Himself:

“Do not be afraid…”

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From beginning to end…The Gospel is an announcement of fear NOT!

DO NOT FEAR! HE IS RISEN; AS HE SAID!

The Gospel is the only message that is able to wipe away our pain, and to

take away our fear!

The Gospel is the only thing that can melt a human hearts and bring us to

our knees in worship!

Conclusion Brothers and sisters, Easter is good News! Easter is Good News because

Easter is the glorious announcement that He is NOT here, for He has

risen, just as He said!

But friends, Easter…

Easter is terrifying news because Easter serves as a yearly sobering

reminder of the realities of death!

So let me ask you again:

Why are you here today?

Why are you here today on Easter Sunday?

Why?!?! Because we prefer:

Good News over bad news…

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Weddings over funerals…

Birthdays over deaths…

Because our hearts know that death is NOT the way things ought to be!

The bible describes death as an enemy of this world!

Death is an enemy of this world and was never God’s intention for this

world!

The Gospel “Just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin,

and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned…”

And this is our natural state before God; the bible says that we are all

guilty rebels in His sight!

Each and everyone of us have broken His Holy standards, we have

broken His good commands, we have failed to honour Him, failed to love

Him with our heart, soul, mind, and strength…

That’s the bad news

You’re going die!

We just can’t get around that!

Each and everyone of us, myself included, we are all going to die!

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The bible says that sin brought death into the world, and because of sin,

we all must die and stand before God on the last day!

And because of this… if you die outside of a right relationship with

Christ, then you will die in your sin… you will die in your sin and stand

before God guilty and condemned for not trusting Christ!

But friends the Good News of the Gospel is right here in our passage this

morning: fear NOT, for He has risen from the dead!

He has risen from the dead so that you and I don’t have to taste the final

sting of death in hell!

Christ has borne our sin, He has suffered our curse, He has died our

death! And 3 days later He rose victoriously from the dead! He really

rose! So that life, and joy, and peace, and forgiveness are all found in

Him!

All of our sin laid upon the Son, and all of His righteousness laid upon

us!

So that if you trust in Christ, and Christ alone here today! You are seen as

absolutely guiltless!

All of that guilt, all of those lies, all of that lust, all of that pride, all of

that pain, all of that fear taken off your soul, and put onto Christ?

Why would anyone not come to the greatest King for forgiveness of their

sin!?!?

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Friends, Jesus loves all of you enough for me to stand here and plead with

you; come to Jesus… come to the risen Lord Jesus Christ and worship

Him for He has risen; He has died for our sins and He has been raised for

our justification!

Come and have all of your terrified fear of death taken away and

experience the joy of a relationship with the God who made your very

soul!

Your sins laid upon Christ, and Christ’s righteousness laid upon you!

And the only thing that you must do, is come to Jesus, and trust in His

death and resurrection in your place!

This is the Gospel!

This is the resurrection of Christ!

And this is Good News!

Let’s pray!

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Easter Sunday 2019

Matthew 28:1-10

Discussion Questions

[Read Matthew 28:1-10]

Main Point: The resurrection of Christ defeats the fear of death!

Q1. How should Christians view the message of Easter? How does the

world view the message of Easter?

Q2. (Read Mark 15:42; Luke 23:54; John 19:31; 42) Why did these

women pick Sunday (the day after the Sabbath) to anoint the dead body

of Jesus? What does this teach us about God’s providence?

Q3. Think back to a time when you lost someone you dearly loved. How

did you feel? How do you think these women felt when they had lost

their beloved Rabbi?

Q4. (Read Mark 16:1) Why does Mark mention that the women bought

spices, what is he trying to tell us?

Q5. How many times does Matthew mention the soldiers in verses 1-10?

Why is there such little mention of them?

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Q6. How comforting would the angel’s words in verse 5 “Don’t be

afraid…” have been to these women? What would you have needed to

not be afraid?

Q7. (Read verses 5-7) Why do you think these women didn’t faint in fear

like the soldiers did in verse 4? Does this teach us something significant

about those who seek Christ?

Q8. (Read Matthew 28:6 – then read Matthew 16:21; 17:22-23;

20:17-19) Why was it significant for the angel to mention that Jesus had

predicted His own death? What does this teach us about God? What does

this teach us about trusting God?

Q9. (Read verses 8-10) Have you ever had an experience that brought

about fear and great joy? Why did these women still have fear even after

they had see the empty tomb?

Q10. Why does Jesus seem so casual when He meets them to say

‘Hello!’?” What does this teach us about Jesus’ heart toward His weak

followers?

Q11. Why does Matthew mention that they took hold of His feet? Is this

significant? Is he trying to communicate anything?

Q12. Any other comments or questions?

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Application Questions

Q1. How often do you marvel and rejoice at the Gospel? What can you

do to improve this?

Q2. How often do you doubt the goodness of God in your life? What does

this passage teach us about doubting God’s goodness?

Q3. What opportunities have you had this Easter to share the Good News

of Jesus?

Q4. What hope does the resurrection of Christ give to us here today?

What hope does it give to us in the future? Should this change your view

of your current circumstances?

Q5. What evidence of the resurrection do you find most convincing, and

why? How could you use this evidence evangelistically?

Q6. Is there any doubt lingering in your heart regarding the resurrection

of Christ? Why?

Q7. Is there any fear residing in your heart regarding the resurrection of

Christ? Why?

Q8. Is there anyone in your life (who is not a Christian) that we can pray

for?

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EXTRA NOTES

The Gospel in every way! Friends the Good News of the Gospel is literally being communicated to these women

in every aspect imaginable!

They felt the power of the resurrection in verse 2; they see the messenger of the

resurrection in verse 5, and they hear the announcement of the resurrection in verse

6…

The Good News of the Gospel is being felt, and seen, and heard, and proclaimed in

every single way!

Jesus met them! Notice, the women did not meet Jesus; Jesus met them!

Jesus met them!

Jesus sought them!

Jesus was looking for them!

The women Now… isn’t it interesting!!! Isn’t it interesting that in all 4 Gospel accounts (that we

have in our bibles); it is the women of the day who are universally recognized as

being the very first witnesses to the resurrection of Christ, and being the first

messengers of the Gospel!

Isn’t that amazing!

In every single Gospel, the women are the first people to witness the rising of the Son

of God, and to proclaim the rising of the Son of God!

Now the reason why this is incredible is because the one category of people in the

Hebrew culture that were not listened to were women… and I don’t say that with any

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delight… but in the Hebrew culture women’s testimonies in the ancient world were

seen as utterly worthless in a court of law, then wouldn’t you think that universally

attesting to the women as being the very first witnesses of the resurrection would be a

bad idea…

Because if you are a new band religion, hoping to gain traction in a culture that rejects

the testimony of women, then these guys are some of the dumbest salesmen ever to

live in Jerusalem!

Matthew would never have said that women were the first witnesses unless women

actually were the first witnesses! Matthew would not have mentioned this unless it

were actually true!

Mary Magdalene And on top of this… it wasn’t just the women (as a whole) who are mentioned as the

first witnesses to Christ, but it is specifically Mary Magdalene in all 4 Gospels who is

universally chosen to be THE VERY FIRST WOMAN out of all women to view the

empty tomb…

Now we don’t know a whole lot about Mary; but we do know that Mary was as

common a name as John, Matthew or Paul is today... and her last name probably

indicates the place in which she was from; she was most likely from the town of

Magdala (a first century sea port on the shore of Galilee)…

And the one thing that we really know about Mary Magdalene was that in Luke

chapter 8, Jesus delivers this poor woman from not just 1, or 2, or 3, or 4, or 5, or 6,

but 7 demons who had possessed her body!

And one can only imagine how destructive and how debilitating 7 demons would be

to a person’s mental and physical body!

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And on top of this, Mary would have clearly been seen as the town crazy! 7 demons

in this lady and yet all 4 Gospel writers mention her as the very first witness!?!?

If these men were trying to start a new false religion, they would not have chosen

Mary Magdalene!!!

Like how does that conversation even go:

Hey John, Mark, Luke, get over here for a sec… who do you guys think would

be the most credible witness of the resurrection of Jesus… who are we just

gonna make up and say?!?!

Oh I know, a demonically possessed woman; 7 demons Mary, let’s pick her!

Death is not far from each one of us

One pastor has said that you cannot open your bible without being close to a

reference to death!

When one opens their bible randomly to a page, one can be sure that they are not far

from a reference to death… because the bible describes the truth about death; the

effects of death; the origin of death; the purpose of death; and the meaning of death…

All of it; the great earthquake; the Roman soldiers; the shifted stone; the heavenly

being; the empty tomb; all of it points to the one true reality that Jesus Christ has been

raised from the dead!