Culver Community Church

Pastor Chris Sweeney

Sermon Notes

June 16, 2019

Matthew 28:1-10 After the End! (Part 1)

{vs. 1} While this may be the most mundane part of this narrative it is none the less important because it gives us a date/time stamp and hints at the purpose of the women.  This is what we call Sunday morning - the Jews would describe it as the first day after the Sabbath (the days were not named).  This idea is found twice in the Greek which reads “Long after the Sabbath, as it was dawning towards day one after the Sabbath”.  Now let me ask you – “When did this take place?”  It is early Sunday morning and the women are headed to see (to view or be a spectator) of the tomb.  Notice they did not expect to see angels, guards or a resurrected Jesus – only to see the scene at the tomb!  You might ask why this one detail (the date) is so important – simply put because Jesus said so!  Jesus had said He would rise from the grave on the third day.  It was repeated all through His ministry that He would rise on the third day.  Jesus had said it many times and we have many recorded, surely not every time He said it but get ready, here they come - Matthew 12:40; Matthew 16:21; Matthew 17:23; Matthew 20:19; Matthew 27:64; Mark 9:31; Mark 10:34; Luke 9:22; Luke 18:33; Luke 24:7, 21 & 46; John 2:19!  The religious leaders had heard this, sadly better than Jesus’ followers and the disciples, that’s why they had the tomb sealed for how long – 3 days!

The other gospels tell us that it is still dark but about to dawn and that there are more than these two main characters who have decided to go to the garden tomb.  Matthew focuses on these two because Mary M and the other Mary are the same two seen sitting across from the tomb in verse 61 of the previous chapter – this again is to help verify the obvious, they went to the correct tomb!  Mark adds Salome, the mother of James and John and the wife of Zebedee (16:1). Luke adds Joanna, the wife of Chuza who was a steward of Herod (24:10).  John only mentions Mary Magdalene but uses the plural pronoun "we" to refer to the women.

Next, we see their motive: to look at the tomb.  Why?  If you remember a time when you have lost a dearly loved one – you know why, because of love.  Now they didn’t just come to be near the deceased, they also had a mission on their mind – to express that love.  The only way that they had left to show this depth of emotion was to act upon it – what could they do, Jesus was dead (and I do mean was!)  Thinking about everything that had happened, they are left with the last image – the rushed preparation and entombment of Jesus.  They must have thought we can do better!  Realize, that Joseph’s tomb was extravagant, an unused rich man’s tomb having all the bells and whistles and Nicodemas did not skimp on the spices (70 pounds – that’s a lot of frankincense, lavender and other potpourri!)  That being said – they could do better, nothing is too good for the One we love!  Their mission was not to see a resurrection; their purpose was to anoint a corpse.  They came with a sense of urgency (because of the love) but also because the Jews believed that the spirit of the deceased lingered until the fourth day – when the unembalmed body began to decay or as Martha (Lazarus’ sister) so delicately put it in John 11 “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”  This was day three - - - time was almost up!

{vs. 2-4} Now back at the tomb – Matthew shifts our focus from the women’s committee coming to put flowers (spices) on the body to the scene at the tomb.  While they were still in route, again early in the morning on the third day (Sunday, resurrection Sunday morning) – an earthquake and an angel end the silence!  In the Greek it is “AND BEHOLD a severe earthquake …” – this ‘and behold’ was used to shock, to catch attention, to draw our minds’ eyes to something that is extraordinary.  It is used in scripture of Jesus’ star, angels, whole herds of swine throwing themselves off cliffs, lepers who come near people, women with issues of blood who fight through the crowds to touch Jesus’ hem, etc. etc.

The Roman guard didn’t need Matthew’s “AND BEHOLD” – they were plenty shocked!  Remember they had been at the tomb for about a day, doing one of the easiest assignments in their career – basically having a vacation day, camping out with the entire unit.  They had been deployed on the Sabbath and upon arriving, investigated the scene – because you don’t stake your life on what is behind a stone, sealing and guarding it if you’re not sure (certain beyond any doubt) that the body is there!  Now, in the quiet of the morning as the sun was about to come up, out of nowhere – another violent earthquake (at least the second in three days) and the text makes a cause and effect relationship between the angel coming down and the earthquake with the word ‘for’ (because, due to) – a violent earthquake for an angel came down.

This section was beyond a doubt given to Matthew by one of the soldiers!  Remember that Matthew was the tax collector, the one who was in with the soldiers – he worked with them for years.  Now get a sense of the shock that these men, battle-hardened soldiers had as they gave him this eye-witness account!  Imagine if you will, using Hollywood’s best special effects – the angel comes streaking out of the sky, with visual waves of compressed air and heat from friction encircling him as he enters the atmosphere and crashes to the ground with a huge shockwave creating this massive, violent earthquake!  Then, without stopping for a moment, not needing to recover from the landing or gather new strength - the angel turns to the very great stone and rolls it away, breaking the seal.  He then has the boldness to sit down right on top of it, right in front of the soldiers charged with enforcing that seal!  It’s as if he was challenging them – “What are you going to do about it?”

I’ll tell you what they did – they took in the sight – “His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.” and “The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.”  This is more than just fainting; it seems they had some sort of fit at his appearing!  Remember, this is ‘back in the day’ – they didn’t have Clorox bleach, back lighting or other special effects – he was like nothing they had ever seen before!  Instead of going to attack the violator of the seal, the one who opened the door that they were guarding – they all fell out and apparently stayed down for the count!  We don’t see or hear about them again until the women are on their way to tell the good news to the disciples – we’ll get back to them next time when we finish the book!

One thing that we need to remember – this impressive display was not just for the soldiers, no – more than that it was to open the tomb so that what had taken place could be seen.  That is why the tomb was opened – Jesus was already gone – He had been transformed, resurrected, renewed - - - and passed through the wrappings and potpourri and the cave walls!   Jesus went right out through the sealed tomb!  This makes Pilate’s words somewhat prophetic when he mockingly told the leaders "Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” (Matt. 27:65)  There was nothing anyone on Earth or in Hell could have done to seal Jesus in that tomb.  He has overcome!  He has conquered death and the grave and by His power, we too can be free from the curse of sin and the sting of death!

{vs. 5-6} Apparently the angel dials down the brilliance, the shock factor so that the women don’t drop to the ground like the guards.  However, we see a truth here that is noteworthy – the power of God, the resurrection and the gospel message is joy unspeakable to those who will believe and receive it but that same message is shocking and even abhorrent for those who are rejecting it!  The angel tells them (as they do throughout the Old Testament) Do not be afraid - another measure to try and keep them from falling out.  In a comforting way he tells them I know why you’re here – it’s all right; then he gives them the first declaration of the good news – “He is not here, He has risen”! 

There is a gentle reminder in the message; they should have known this would happen – “just as He said”.   The angel also reminds them that Jesus said He would go before them into Galilee after rising (Matt. 26:32 & Mark 14:28).  It’s truly amazing how much those who followed Jesus didn’t understand.  (The leaders of the Jews heard Jesus say He would rise again, but they were listening very closely to all that He said, in order to find fault and trap Him.)

He went on - and to be sure that you believe, come and see the proof to bolster your faith – He was laid there on that slab and now He is gone!  Come and see the place where He lay - the invitation, no command to see is rightly given to the same people who had watched Jesus’ body being laid to rest - so there is no possibility of a mistake!  The fact that there was no body is one of the greatest proofs – the Jewish leaders tried to find and discount the story, Rome tried and no one could point to a corpse and say “He has not risen.”  This also disproves those who want to make the resurrection a ‘spiritual one’ – in other words His body remained and His spirit rose - - - I don’t want or believe in that kind of resurrection for Jesus or for myself!  No one had moved or taken Him as Mary M. first thought!  She didn’t wait to see the Angel or hear the message but saw the open tomb and ran back into the city to tell the disciples what she has assumed – you know what they say about that!  However, she would come back to the tomb, to correct those erroneous first impressions! 

Except for the stone being tossed aside, the tomb was undisturbed!  In fact, John’s account takes the time to tell us that when he stooped down and looked inside that he saw the linen clothes lying there.  John further tells us that brash Peter went right in – He saw the clothes and the head covering still neatly wrapped!  I hope you understand how awesome this is – Jesus was not stolen because no one would take the time to extricate His body from the linen, potpourri and anointing goo (which would make a pasty kind of glue) - - - they would be in a hurry, trying to avoid the soldiers and they would take it all and run!  More than that, we have confirmation that Jesus did not need to have the tomb opened – because He went right through those clothes, not even unraveling the head napkin! 

These precious women were the last to leave the scene at the cross and the first to arrive Sunday morning.  That’s why God used them – because of their love, devotion and because they were there!  How many times do we wish and pray that God would do something in our lives – but If we want to be used by God; let’s start by ‘being there’, be a regular at Church, be regular in devotions and in prayer, love Him and be around those who love Him.  You and I can’t expect to be used by God – to see His hand at work, if we never get out of ourselves or leave the house!  Let’s step out and see what God will do!