[The following is a manuscript of my message delivered on Easter Sunday, Resurrection Day, the 9th of April, 2023, at Pilgrim Reformed Church. Our YouTube streaming channel is:
https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams.]
Thursday night our Lord Jesus was arrested and taken to trial in the temple before the Jewish religious leadership. Friday morning the high priests handed Jesus over to the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. Even though Pilate found no guilt in Jesus, no reason to put Him to death, he was eventually left with no other option than to have the Son of Man crucified.
During the Passover celebration, an unblemished lamb is sacrificed in memory of the original Passover and subsequent Exodus. This Passover, the one true Spotless Lamb was sacrificed for the many. Jesus died there on the cross, hanging between two thieves, and His body was laid in a new and unused tomb. And then came the Sabbath, and all was quiet.
But now it’s Sunday, the first day of the week, and the third day of the crucifixion – Friday, Saturday, Sunday. What was it Jesus had said about “the third day”? What did He say was supposed to happen? Does anyone remember?
Let’s step back to that Sunday morning so long ago, as the sun’s first rays streak the eastern sky. Please listen and follow along to how the Apostle Matthew describes an amazing discovery and it’s aftereffects, in the 28th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 1 through 15, and I’ll be reading this from the New King James Version of our Holy Bible…
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.”11 Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. 12 When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, 13 saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’ 14 And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.” 15 So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.
--Matthew 28:1-15 (NKJV)
Let us pray… Father God, thank You for raising Your Son Jesus from the dead! By His resurrection, He conquered death. And by this we have Your promise of our own resurrection at the end of the age. Thank You, Father, for so great a gift! Father, please forgive us when we forget the tremendous price that Jesus had to pay for our freedom. Forgive us when we fail to realize that we were bought by His sacrifice, and we are now His. Please help us serve Jesus in all we do as we interact with others in our daily walk. And Father, please protect us from Satan and from those who are so willing to carry out his evil works. Please keep us strong in our faith, of one mind and one purpose in our love, worship, and service, and healthy and safe through these trying times.
Speak to us now, Father, that we might hear Your voice through Your Spirit within us and better understand the message You have for us this day. Point out to us those times when we are willing to deny the truth for the sake of expediency. Help us stay true to You and Jesus. This we pray in the glorious name of Christ Jesus, our risen Lord. Amen.
Jesus said, "By your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Matthew 12:37) In May of 1990, the "Spokesman Review", a major news source in the Northwest, reported the following:
Cable television mogul Ted Turner criticized fundamentalist Christianity and said Jesus probably would "be sick at His stomach" over the way His ideas have been "twisted," the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Turner made his remarks Friday evening at a banquet in Orlando, Fla., where he was given an award by the American Humanist Association for his work on behalf of the environment and world peace. Turner said he had a strict Christian upbringing and at one time considered becoming a missionary. "I was saved seven or eight times," the newspaper quoted him as saying. But he said he became disenchanted with Christianity after his sister died, despite his prayers. Turner said the more he strayed from his faith, "the better I felt."
I have to wonder why a person would feel they might need to be saved "seven or eight times". Are they unsure of their salvation, or unsure of God's promises, or did they just never really give themselves fully to Christ?
But there is a deeper concern with Turner's words. He said that the further from the faith he strayed, the better he felt. I think that pretty well describes the world today, a world that is more infatuated with feeling good than with living and doing right.
Many people have lost a sister, or a mother or father or brother or husband or wife or any other loved one. And they may have been angry with God for a while. But they didn't stray from God, they didn't throw away their faith, not those who were truly followers of Christ and believers in His promise. So again I have to wonder… was Turner really a Christian in the first place? Did the Holy Spirit ever take up residence in his heart? Or had he sold out to popular opinion? What price did he accept for his professed disbelief? What cost will he yet pay?
The Apostle John, in his 1st letter to the early church, warns us: "Dear children, this world’s last hour has come. You have heard about the Antichrist who is coming — the one who is against Christ — and already many such persons have appeared. This makes us all the more certain that the end of the world is near. These “against-Christ” people used to be members of our churches, but they never really belonged with us or else they would have stayed. When they left us it proved that they were not of us at all. But you are not like that, for the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you know the truth." (1 John 2:18-20 (TLB))
This describes Mr. Turner, and all those of his ilk who want to pick and choose which parts of the Bible they hold as truth and which parts are subject to their interpretation. If we truly accept the Bible as the inerrant, inspired word of God, then we know that everything it contains is truth – not only the parts that soothe us and ensure us and make us happy, but also the parts that step on our toes and convict us of our sinful nature and our disobedience toward God. To deny parts of the Bible is to deny God’s word.
In Matthew’s account of what happened that Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James and Joses, went to the tomb where the body of Jesus had been laid late Friday afternoon. When they got there, the earth shook, for an angel of God had come down and rolled away the huge stone covering the entrance of the tomb. And then he just nonchalantly sat down on it. The guards that Pilate had posted there, at the Jewish High Priest’s insistence, stood off to the side, quivering in fear, afraid to move.
The angel knew why the Mary’s had come. He told them Jesus was no longer there, that He had risen from the grave just like He said He would. Oh, and He is going back up to Galilee – you can see Him there.
So the ladies turned to run back and tell the rest of the disciples what they had just seen and heard. They were a bit shaken and frightened, sure. Who wouldn’t be!? But they were also filled with great joy at knowing that Jesus had risen from the dead and would be with them again soon! Well, that came sooner than they might have expected, for the risen Jesus met them as they ran.
Apparently, once the Mary’s left the tomb, the angel also departed and returned to heaven, finally freeing up the guards to move. Matthew tells us that some of them - not all, but some – ran back to the city and reported to the chief priests what had just happened.
Now this is a little odd. First off, these guards were assigned by Pilate, they would have been Roman soldiers, subject to their ultimate commander in the region: Pilate. And only some of them ran back to the city. The rest must have been afraid of what would happen to them for not doing their assignment of making sure the body of Jesus was not taken or tampered with. And then, those that did go back, went to the Jewish chief priests and not to their commander! This is a huge breech of protocol and the chain of command, which just goes to show how afraid they were – of Pilate and of what they had just witnessed.
The priests understood the trouble the guards could get into, and the trouble the truth would stir up among the people if word got out, so they bribed the guards to repeat a fabrication: that Jesus’ followers had come in the night and taken the body while the guards slept. They paid off the guards with money, and with the promise that they would make it all right with Pilate. And Matthew tells us that even in the day when he authored his account, this lie was being told and believed. It’s my understanding that many Jews still think this true even today.
Now, absolutely the most wonderful message in our scripture reading is that Jesus conquered death, rose from the grave, and lives again. Which brings up a rather interesting point.
Reading Matthew’s account as written, the Mary’s witnessed the angel coming down from heaven and rolling the stone away from the entrance to the tomb before sitting on it like it was his personal throne. Since the angel said, “Come, see the place where the Lord lay”, to the ladies, we can be fairly sure they peeked inside and saw the tomb empty. And Matthew makes no mention of Jesus walking out when the stone was rolled away. Jesus was already gone while the tomb was still sealed. The angel said so: “You seek Jesus who was crucified; He is not here; for He is risen, as He said”.
The angel did not roll the stone away so that Jesus could walk out. The angel removed the stone so that we could look in! We, through our witnesses eyes, needed to see that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead. We needed the proof of the empty grave to show our Savior lives. We needed the truth of the empty grave to know Christ rose from the dead to renewed life so that we can believe in the promise that we, too, will receive new life eternal once this life ends.
But this truth is exactly what the chief priests of the Jews wanted to suppress. They wanted to bury this truth in that tomb, so much so that they paid the guards a huge sum just to spread their lie. The devil still wants this truth hidden, and goes to great lengths to do so, employing many willing people to spread his lies by dangling what they desire most in this world before their eyes. Even preachers, standing in the pulpits, do his bidding, twisting the truth, hiding the true message.
The Apostle Paul foresaw the day coming when preachers "sell out" to liberal ways and tell the people what they want to hear. And family, I think we can see that day has definitely come, now, today. Hear the warning that Paul wrote in his 2nd Letter to his young friend and protégé Timothy, in chapter 4 verses 1 through 5…
1 And so I solemnly urge you before God and before Christ Jesus — who will someday judge the living and the dead when He appears to set up His Kingdom — 2 to preach the Word of God urgently at all times, whenever you get the chance, in season and out, when it is convenient and when it is not. Correct and rebuke your people when they need it, encourage them to do right, and all the time be feeding them patiently with God’s Word.3 For there is going to come a time when people won’t listen to the truth but will go around looking for teachers who will tell them just what they want to hear. 4 They won’t listen to what the Bible says but will blithely follow their own misguided ideas.5 Stand steady, and don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Bring others to Christ. Leave nothing undone that you ought to do.
--2 Timothy 4:1-5 (TLB)
Too many people don’t want to hear the truth. It hurts them, bruises their egos. The truth tells them when they do something wrong and they don’t want to hear or even think they can do anything wrong. They would rather not believe the truth. They’ve been sold out by their preachers and leaders, and they’re selling themselves out by their disbelief. And the cost may well be eternal damnation.
What would it take for someone to deny the truth? The guards sold out the truth for a "large sum of money". Nowadays, people regularly and willingly sell out the truth for nothing more than to fit in, to not be looked at as foolish, to not be accused of being bigoted or discriminatory, to not be laughed at or scorned. They deny the truth to fit the mold of popular opinion or political correctness.
Some people will say that we Christians have no love in us, that God loves all people and we should, too. Well, God is love, but God is also truth and His word is truth. And yes, we should love all others, love them enough to not want to see them condemned to eternal pain and punishment.
The truth is that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. The truth is that He died upon a cross and was buried, but rose again from the dead on the third day. The truth is that there is no way to the Father, to heaven, except through Jesus the Son, believing in Him, following Him. The truth is that we will all answer to Him at our last.
Just as Paul warned, the time has come when people won’t listen to the truth, but instead will go around looking for teachers who will tell them just what they want to hear. This is not why Jesus died. This is not why God raised Him from the dead.
Family, we are in that time when God’s word is being vilified, made to sound harsh and unforgiving. We see it on the news, read it in our papers, hear some of our leaders telling us that what God says is sin is not only acceptable but should even be celebrated. The great prophet Isaiah spoke for God when he wrote, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!” (Isaiah 5:20-21 (NKJV)) It is crucial that we be able to discern what is good and what is evil, what is right and what is wrong.
By our belief in Jesus as our Lord, God gives His Holy Spirit to live within us and guide us. His Spirit will help us make the right decisions in life if we allow Him, if we listen to His still, small voice. And we have all we need in our Bible, if we would just spend more time reading and studying it. Our Bible is God’s word, given to inspired men and women to write down and save for us. And God’s word is the absolute truth. So if our Bible says something is sinful, pay no heed to those who proclaim it good. They are being misled and will mislead us if we let them. Their disbelief in the truth will be their undoing.
Jesus died so that, by our belief, we might live forever with God in paradise. He paid the price for our salvation. But there is also a price for disbelief, and it will be paid by those who refuse Jesus as Lord, who call good evil and evil good, who condone and celebrate sin. The price for disbelief is eternal damnation, everlasting pain and punishment, forever separated from God.
Let’s not allow others to make us pay again. Let’s maintain our faith, our belief in Jesus as God’s Christ, God’s Son. And let us continue to do good, to speak good, to stand up for good.
In a few minutes, we will share the bread and the cup, and then we’ll sing a hymn, just like Jesus and His friends did so long ago. By this Communion, we are all joined together with one another and with our Lord.
The Apostle Paul warns us not to come to this table until we are right with God. So please take this time to silently confess any wrongs to our Father God and seek His forgiveness. Remember what Jesus did for us, for you and for me. He died just for you, just for me, so that we might live.
In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Let us pray… Almighty God, thank You for providing us with the truth by divinely inspiring the men and women who penned the words in our Bible. Our Bible and Your Holy Spirit within us help us discern good from evil so that we can walk in righteousness, staying right in Your eyes. Thank You, Father God, for the wonderful gift of Your Spirit. Thank You for this great book of instruction, insight, and encouragement. Thank You for shining Your light on the truth, even if so many deny it. Forgive us, please Father, our moments of disbelief, when we fall prey to the lies and deceptions of Satan and his followers. Forgive us when we don’t conduct ourselves in a manner befitting the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, the name we bear. Please, loving Father, help us be more like Jesus. Help us be better followers of His example. And help us remain strong, faithful, and true to You in all things, no matter what the world throws at us or holds out before us.
Please hear us now, Father, as we pause for just a moment to speak to You through Your Spirit within us, promising to be more obedient to Your commands, and seeking Your help to do so…
Lord Jesus, today we celebrate that You conquered death so we might live. Yet with that celebration we remember the sacrifice that was required of You, the great price You paid on our behalf. You quietly withstood ridicule and torture, You endured the cruel cross, and You did it all just for us. Lord, please help us always remember, always celebrate, not just on this day but every day. Remind us of the great and horrendous price of disbelief so that we will remain steadfast in our faith. Help us endure what this world throws at us until the day when we stand before You and see Your beautiful face. And Jesus, please heal the hurts that separate and divide us one from another. Help us remain trusting and obedient no matter what we go through. Help us keep our focus on the things of heaven and the needs of others rather than on anything this life might offer. This we pray in Your blessed name, Christ Jesus our Lord and our Savior. Amen.
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