Message delivered March 27, 2005 - Easter Sunday at Smith Hill UMC, Carley Brook Charge.

Scripture:

The Holy Bible, New International Version

Matt. 28: (NIV)

1After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

2There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.

3His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.

4The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

5The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.

6He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.

7Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

8So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

9Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him.

10Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

Message:

Christ our Lord is risen today!

Most of us sitting here today believe or at least want to believe the resurrection story.  There are many other people who do not.  They think of it as a myth or fairy tale that was invented to hold power over Christian people.  This was just something the early church made up so they could hold control over their people.

Now part of this is true.  The early church and many churches even today still want to hold control over their congregation.  By controlling them, they can make more money and have more power.  They can coerce the people and lay guilt on them so that they will give more and more in their offering, claiming it to be for the glory of God.

But I am here to tell you that a church is not about money.  A church is a place where we can all come and share in the word of God and celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  What greater gift can we share than this?  Money can’t buy that feeling.

I love to watch documentary-type programs on television that try to trace the truth of the Bible, often with the goal of disproving the word of God.  What we finally find out in the end is that they make more and more discoveries that back up every word we read in the Gospels. 

I have read many books where the author’s goal was to show that the Bible and the notion of God and the birth and the death and the resurrection of Jesus are all false.  But their research led them the opposite way and their heart finally showed them that there is a God and that there was a man named Jesus who walked the earth some 2000 years ago and that this man was crucified and arose from the grave.

In our Scripture this morning, Matthew mentions that Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to visit the tomb where Jesus had been buried.  Matthew is the only one of the Gospels that mentions this other Mary at the tomb at this time although in the books of John, Mark and Luke she is also mentioned.  So, I did a little research and found out that this other Mary was the wife of Cleophas.  She was the mother of two of the disciples, James and Simon.  Many believe she was the sister of Mary the mother of Jesus. 

According to the book of John, this other Mary was at the crucifixion along with Mary the mother of Jesus and Mary Magdalene.  Matthew talks of this other Mary and Mary Magdalene being at the tomb the night of the crucifixion.  The book of Mark tells us that Mary Magdalene and this other Mary watched where Jesus was placed in the tomb.  And in the book of Luke we are told that this other Mary was one of the people who had a vision of angels telling her that Jesus was alive.

Now the thing that has always struck me about the story of the resurrection is the constant mention of the women visiting the grave.  Jesus told his disciples that He would rise up from the dead in three days.  He told them a number of times that he would defeat death.  But there is never any mention of Peter, James, John and the rest ever visiting the grave.  Not even on the third day when they should have expected some great miracle.  They were too afraid for their own lives to venture out or even to make mention of Jesus. It was Mary and Mary and Mary that went again and again to visit the grave of their Lord.

I’d like you to journey back in time with me and live the words of Matthew that we just heard.  Imagine you are standing behind these two faithful servants and watching.  They just arrived at the grave with spices to anoint the dead and buried Jesus.  They were wondering how they would move the huge rock that covered the entrance of the tomb.  As you approach the tomb, the earth begins to tremble and you hear a dull roll like thunder in the distance.  Then quickly the earth begins to rumble and shake violently and rocks begin to fall around you.  The roar becomes deafening.  Then suddenly there’s a flash of light brighter than lightning.  And out of the light there appears an angel floating down out of heaven. The angel is clothed in a brilliant white cloth.  He moves the huge stone away from the mouth of the tomb.

There are soldiers there guarding the tomb and they are so frightened that they fall to the ground like dead men, trembling and covering their eyes.

Then after all this chaos and noise, the angel speaks softly and quietly and says simply “Don’t be afraid” and he says that Jesus is no longer in the tomb.  The angel tells Mary and Mary that Jesus has risen from the dead.  Then the angel invites them to enter the tomb where they saw Jesus laid just a few short days ago.

Can you imagine what these two must have been thinking?  They both saw Jesus crucified.   They both saw Him put into this tomb.  They both saw the massive stone rolled in front of the opening just a few days ago.  And they both saw the Roman guards placed outside the tomb to watch for anything that might happen and to make sure that no one stole the body during the night.  They knew that Jesus had died; they knew that Jesus had been buried.  Now, they both were finding out that Jesus had risen from the dead.  The angel had told them and asked them to witness the empty tomb.

Can you imagine the range of emotions that these two women went through in the space of a few short minutes?  Undoubtedly they were mourning and went to the tomb with sadness and felt a great sense of loss.  Then the ground shook violently and they would have feared for their very lives.  They did not know what was going on.  They were probably preparing themselves to die right there where their Lord lay dead.  Then there was amazement and wonder at the sight of the angel.  There was probably some doubt as the angel said that Jesus had risen from the dead.  They would have gone into the tomb a little fearful of what they would see.

I’m sure it took a few moments before the whole of what had happened began to sink in. 

They had to have been a little puzzled by now.  But when everything began to come clear in their minds, can you imagine the utter joy that these two women felt?  The man that they had worshipped and followed for the last few years was suddenly not dead any more.  He was risen.  He was alive.

Then the angel told them to hurry and go tell the disciples what they had seen.  So they hurried away, still a little frightened but filled with an uncontrollable joy.  And on their way, they met with Jesus.

Any doubts they may have had were now gone.  Here He stood in front of them, alive.  The Scripture says, “They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him.”  I think Matthew may have understated this scene just a little.  If you have been taking this journey with me, just imagine what you would have done at that moment.  There He is, standing in front of you.  He was dead and now He is alive.  What would you have done?  How would you have felt?  How do you feel now, knowing that Jesus died for your sins, then arose from the grave so that you would have a chance for eternal life and peace with Him in heaven?

That’s the feeling we should have every Easter.  Jesus died for us.  Then he beat death and rose up again, overcoming the sin of the world.  He makes the same promise for us.  We will die.  Then we will rise up again and take a trip to be with Him and His father for all of eternity.  There is a price for that trip.  We have to believe in Him.  We have to believe that He died for us.  We have to believe that he rose again just so that we can live forever with Him in heaven.  That’s a much lower price than He paid for us.  Our ticket is cheap compared to His cost.

So, that’s the feeling we should have every Easter.  As a matter of fact, that’s the feeling we should have every day.  We should be filled with uncontrollable joy just like Mary and Mary.  We should take comfort in knowing that whatever happens to us here on earth, our Easter will come when we too will rise from the dead and have eternal peace and joy with our Father and Savior.  That’s the feeling we should have. 

Happy Easter.              Amen.