[The following is a manuscript of my meditation delivered at our 7:00 AM Easter Sunrise Service on the 1st of April, 2018.]
Hear the words of the Apostle Matthew, in the 28th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 1 through 10…
1 Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. 3 His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 4 And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.
5 But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7 And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”
8 So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.
9 And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”
--Matthew 28:1-10 (NKJV)
Let us pray… Father God, this morning we can rejoice, for You have resurrected our Lord Jesus! You raised Him bodily from the grave so that He could defeat death. And You and Jesus did it all just for us! Your Son suffered, and You had to stand by and watch, just so we might enjoy everlasting life in paradise with You both… if we only believe in Him and follow His voice. We believe, Lord Jesus. We believe that You are the one true Son of God, and we believe that You rose bodily from the grave. We are here this morning to celebrate that glorious day. Bless us Lord, and help us to better serve You and to never falter in our belief and faith. In Your sweet name, Christ Jesus we pray. Amen.
Try for a moment to imagine what it must have been like for the followers of Jesus. Their teacher, their leader, the one they had walked with for three years, the one they called Master and even Messiah, now dead and buried. He didn’t even put up a fight! He let Himself be arrested, beaten, and nailed to a cross where He took His last breath.
And now these two women, both named Mary, came to His tomb to anoint His body, to show their love and grief, to say their last good-byes. You know their emotional state must have been very fragile. I’m sure the tears welled up and flowed, sobs barely contained, any semblance of control threatening to shatter at any moment.
And what do they find when they come to the grave? The stone sealing the tomb rolled away and an angel of the Lord sitting on it! The armed men assigned to guard the tomb stood off to the side trembling in fear, afraid to budge even an inch.
How would any of us react to this? What would our first thoughts be? The angel tried calming the women by saying, “Do not be afraid”, but I doubt if it worked. The angel knew why they had come and told them to see for themselves that their Lord was no longer in the grave but had risen from the dead, just like He said He would!
The women reacted the way I think we would, with mixed emotions of fear and great joy. Fear, because of what they see, this magnificent angel calmly sitting on the huge boulder with two armed men quaking at his feet. Yet great joy at seeing their Master is no longer in the grave, at the good news that He has defeated death, risen from the dead, walked away from the tomb, and is waiting to see them all again! So they head off to tell the other disciples and who should they see but their newly risen Lord! “Rejoice!”, He tells them. “Do not be afraid… Rejoice!”
Rejoice, for Christ is not dead! Rejoice, for His body is not still in a grave somewhere! Rejoice, because He proved to all the world that He is indeed the divine Son of God, the God who resurrected Him in His body by the power of His most Holy Spirit! Rejoice, because He promised that we would also be resurrected to be with Him and God our Father forever if we only believe!
Do not be afraid… Rejoice! For Jesus lives! Christ our Lord is risen today! Alleluia! Amen.
Let us pray… Lord Jesus Christ, Savior, Redeemer, Master… We stand before Your empty grave, we see the stone rolled away, we hear the angel’s words, and we are in awe, too amazed to believe what our eyes and ears tell us. And then You speak: “Rejoice!” And all we can think to do is to sing Alleluias and worship you. You sacrificed all for us, You died for us, You were buried for us. You bore no sin of Your own so You carried all the sins of the world to the grave and left them there. You shed every last drop of Your precious blood just so we might be washed clean when we stand in judgment before our Father God.
We praise You, Lord Jesus, and we thank You! Words alone could never convey just how thankful we are, so we give You our hearts in gratitude. We give You our lives – take and use them as You will. In Your glorious name, Lord Jesus, we pray.
And now, Father God, hear us as we pray to You as Your Son Jesus taught us… Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
Try for a moment to imagine what it must have been like for the followers of Jesus. Their teacher, their leader, the one they had walked with for three years, the one they called Master and even Messiah, now dead and buried. He didn’t even put up a fight! He let Himself be arrested, beaten, and nailed to a cross where He took His last breath.
And now these two women, both named Mary, came to His tomb to anoint His body, to show their love and grief, to say their last good-byes. You know their emotional state must have been very fragile. I’m sure the tears welled up and flowed, sobs barely contained, any semblance of control threatening to shatter at any moment.
And what do they find when they come to the grave? The stone sealing the tomb rolled away and an angel of the Lord sitting on it! The armed men assigned to guard the tomb stood off to the side trembling in fear, afraid to budge even an inch.
How would any of us react to this? What would our first thoughts be? The angel tried calming the women by saying, “Do not be afraid”, but I doubt if it worked. The angel knew why they had come and told them to see for themselves that their Lord was no longer in the grave but had risen from the dead, just like He said He would!
The women reacted the way I think we would, with mixed emotions of fear and great joy. Fear, because of what they see, this magnificent angel calmly sitting on the huge boulder with two armed men quaking at his feet. Yet great joy at seeing their Master is no longer in the grave, at the good news that He has defeated death, risen from the dead, walked away from the tomb, and is waiting to see them all again! So they head off to tell the other disciples and who should they see but their newly risen Lord! “Rejoice!”, He tells them. “Do not be afraid… Rejoice!”
Rejoice, for Christ is not dead! Rejoice, for His body is not still in a grave somewhere! Rejoice, because He proved to all the world that He is indeed the divine Son of God, the God who resurrected Him in His body by the power of His most Holy Spirit! Rejoice, because He promised that we would also be resurrected to be with Him and God our Father forever if we only believe!
Do not be afraid… Rejoice! For Jesus lives! Christ our Lord is risen today! Alleluia! Amen.
Let us pray… Lord Jesus Christ, Savior, Redeemer, Master… We stand before Your empty grave, we see the stone rolled away, we hear the angel’s words, and we are in awe, too amazed to believe what our eyes and ears tell us. And then You speak: “Rejoice!” And all we can think to do is to sing Alleluias and worship you. You sacrificed all for us, You died for us, You were buried for us. You bore no sin of Your own so You carried all the sins of the world to the grave and left them there. You shed every last drop of Your precious blood just so we might be washed clean when we stand in judgment before our Father God.
We praise You, Lord Jesus, and we thank You! Words alone could never convey just how thankful we are, so we give You our hearts in gratitude. We give You our lives – take and use them as You will. In Your glorious name, Lord Jesus, we pray.
And now, Father God, hear us as we pray to You as Your Son Jesus taught us… Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
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