TITLE: THE WITNESS OF THE RESURRECTION

Focus: The witness of the risen Lord Jesus gives us hope and courage to face the future.

Function: To move the people to look for and embrace the risen Lord Jesus with their eyes of faith.

Text: Matthew 28:1-10

INTRODUCTION

            A number of years ago, I read a moving story about some pastors and a parish priest. They were friends, lived in the same town, and they would come together and explore the Scriptures together by dramatizing and acting out the stories in the Bible. In doing so, they often experienced the power of the Scripture in a fresh, new way. And they gained new insights in the Christian faith and in their own hearts.

            One day, these friends came together and they read the resurrection story of how the angel rolled the stone away, so that all could see that the tomb of Christ is empty, that the power of death is broken. One of the pastors played the role of the angel, the parish priest played the role of the stone, and some played the role of the women who had come to the tomb.

            When the angel/pastor entered the story, he walked up to the “stone,” the parish priest and began to push the priest. But the priest would not budge. He did not move over.

            So, his colleagues stopped their acting and asked him what was going on. The parish priest looked up to his colleagues; he had tears in his eyes, and he said: “Today, I can’t see my way through the resurrection.” Then he explained: “Last week, I buried a teenage girl in my parish; she had leukemia. Cancer snuffed out her young and vibrant life. This week, I gave the last rite to this girl’s mother. She, too, has died. Today, I have a hard time seeing my way through. My heart feels numb, like a stone. I can’t roll over that stone in my heart.”

            His colleagues recognized the man’s heart of stone, because like so many of us, they too have bumped into the powers of sin and death and they, too, know the power of unbelief,  caused in this case by grief. So, they surrounded their brother, prayed with him and they read and entered and lived the story again. And in doing so, they became witnesses of Christ’s resurrection.

THE TEXT

                Earlier, I asked you why the angel rolled the stone away. I will ask it again, and on the basis of the text, I will give some answers:

• The angel rolled the stone away, so that the women could witness that Jesus had risen from the dead. In their own strength, and with all these soldiers in front of the tomb, it’s very unlikely that these two women could have moved the stone away. God, then, sent his angel to help these women see the power of Christ’s resurrection.

• The angel rolled the stone away and said, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.” The women expect to find a corpse—the crucified body of Jesus. But the angel wants them to know that Jesus is no longer in the tomb; he is not here; he has risen. In order for these women to witness Jesus’ victory over death—they need to see the empty tomb. That’s why the angel rolled to stone away. Why? So that the women—and we today—may verify that the resurrection faith is based on historical fact. That tomb is empty!

• The angel rolled the stone away to make room for faith in the hearts of these women. These two Mary’s expected to find a body. Now they find an empty tomb. What to think of that? Well, the angel helps them by driving away their fear: “Do not be afraid.” And he helps them to come to grips with the realization that Jesus did NOT vaporize in space and thus disappear. No, the angel reminds them that the crucified body of Jesus is no longer in the tomb.             He reminds them that the crucified Jesus has risen.

      Also, the angel re-connects these women with the very words of Jesus spoken before he died, saying that he would rise from the dead. Thus the angel says: “He is not here; he has risen, just as Jesus said.” The angel of the Lord, then, is helping these women—and all Jesus’ followers—to come to grips with the resurrection of Christ. In doing so, the angel encourages these women to deepen their trust or faith in the risen Christ. “Here, witness the evidence of the resurrection. Christ is risen indeed!”

I love what happens next. As the angel instructs the women to go to the disciples and tell them the good news, Matthew (the gospel writer) tells us that “…the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.” I try to imagine what that must have felt like: on the one hand—afraid; on the other—filled with joy. There they go, one leg forward—driven by joy; the other leg dragging by fear. Imagine what must have gone through their heads!

            And that’s when the risen Lord Jesus shows up. First an angel; now the Lord himself! First, good news and hope to drive their fear and unbelief away. Now the Lord himself, so that they can witness the resurrected Lord Jesus for themselves. And again these soothing words, first spoken by the angel; now by Jesus himself: “Do not be afraid.” Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

            Jesus’ presence witnesses to his resurrection; his physical, crucified, but now resurrected and glorified body demonstrates to us that he is the “firstborn of the dead.” He is the hope of the entire world. He is the hope of fathers and mothers who weep at the gravesites of their loved ones; he is the hope of all who long for victory over sin and death. He is the hope of the world today.

            Decages ago, doctors told Henry Zylstra, a devout Christian scholar in English literature, that he had terminal cancer. He had only a few more weeks to live. Henry and his wife went to the local cemetery near Toronto, Canada, to buy a burial plot. As they were walking along, climbing a slight hill, Henry stopped near a large oak tree, overlooking the area. And he said: “This is a nice place to wait for the resurrection, when Jesus comes again.”

Morbid? Oh no, Henry saw with the eyes of faith. Knowing the risen Savior, having served him all his life, Henry faced the future with hope and confidence. Christ is the firstborn of the dead; all who put their faith and trust in him—on this Easter Sunday, and always—shall follow after Jesus: life forever more.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.