So as we come to the end of our Lenten journey, though it is the beginning of everything it
seems, I always find it funny that pastors, they stress over their sermon for Easter Sunday.
Maybe it's because statistically we see more people and for a lot of you that are here,
maybe for the first time we are so thankful that you're here and for a lot of pastors
they put pressure on themselves for kind of Christmas and Easter and pastors minds don't
get in there too much because it's chaos, but it's kind of the Super Bowls of the church
which I think is kind of utterly ridiculous to think about it that way, but for a lot
of us these are kind of the high points of the church calendar and pastors they put this
undue stress, in my opinion, this is just me, that just read the story. The story itself
the story of the gospel is the greatest story ever told and why pastors feel the need to
try to gift wrap that, I have absolutely no idea. Now this doesn't mean that I'm just
going to read the story or you're all going to go home, you don't get out that easy. Alright,
I do have a couple things I want to talk about because there are aspects of the story that
I think are intentional for us to dive into because for being honest we have an opportunity
to let Easter come and go just like it can every year. I say this in the season of Advent
as well that that time, that preparation before Jesus is born for a lot of us in church it
can just, excuse me, it can become just kind of ho hum, but think about that for a second,
that Christ conquering the grave can become ho hum. And maybe you're like what does ho
hum mean? Fair enough, it could just be the everyday. Friends, it's not. Like stop and
think for a second that Jesus died, he rose again to conquer death itself that you and
I and those that believe in Christ one day will be in glory forever and ever amen. That
is not everyday. That is not just another day that ends in why and why we would engage
it that way, I have no idea. And so there's so much from just this one chapter that we
can pull from in Matthew 28 that the resurrected king gives us something today and it's the
third song we sang in the opening set. It is a gift of hope. And I think hope is a profound
gift that we are given through the person of Jesus Christ because every other person,
place or thing that we can put our hope in ultimately will lead to disappointment. And
the world wants you to put hope in all sorts of things, mainly yourself. But I think what
the gospel does, what Matthew 28 shows us this morning is that hope in ourselves devoid
of Jesus is in fact no hope at all. It's actually a death sentence. And for some of us we might
not like that because we might have this thing that we struggle with called an ego, right?
And again I'm looking in the mirror when I say that and the Lord has given me excellent
people in my life that are very willing to pop that ego bubble the minute they see it.
They're basically right here, right? A lot of them are right there. But then I also have
my ten elders, my eight deacons, right? I have my staff. And if we're being honest,
most of the people at Munster Church have a pin ready to go to pop that if ever need
be and I appreciate that. And some of you do that with emails and it feels good. But
understand that if we put that ego to the test, that we can do it, that we know it,
we've climbed the ladder, we've done all the things, we know everything, none of that
pales in comparison to what we're celebrating today. Because no matter how good you are,
no matter how deep the study you've done or how successful you've been in life or business
or financially, none of it matters in the end. The Bible makes it very clear to put
your hope in all of that and I'll just say it, junk. That junk fades. The hope that we
have this morning, the hope that you will have tomorrow, the hope you're going to have
on July 17th of 2030 is the hope that we have in Jesus Christ. That is the gift of Easter,
is that hope. So we're going to start with the first seven verses of Matthew 28. Now
after the Sabbath toward the dawn of the first day, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went
to see the tomb and behold there was a great earthquake for an angel of the Lord descended
from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning
and his clothing white as snow. For the fear of him the guards trembled and they became
like dead men. But the angel said to the woman, do not be afraid for I know that you seek
Jesus who was crucified. He is not here for he has risen as he said. Come, see the place
where he lay. Then go quickly and tell the disciples that he has risen from the dead
and behold he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him. See, I have told you.
Put yourselves in the Mary's position. They were going to continue kind of a death ritual
and all of a sudden something drastically changes. First there was the earthquake and
there upon arrival there is an angel sitting on the stone. It has been rolled away. If
you are one of the Mary's, what are you thinking? If you are new to Munster Church, I like to
ask questions and we like to have a little bit of a dialogue and I will wait if no one
wants to answer. If you are one of the Mary's, what are you thinking? What? What did you
do with him? Someone stole him. Sure. Confusion? Absolutely. Shock? Fear? How? Awe? Insert,
I am looking for a specific answer and none of you have gotten it so far. Cue the rolling
of the eyes. Reina, you got something? What would you think? You go quiet and you turn
to mom. I get it. Anyone else? What about? Sure. What about? Oh, that is what he meant.
What about? Okay. This is exactly how it was supposed to go. But you would be terrified.
That is interesting. Why? There was a lot in that sentence. Angels are intergalactic
from the, oh interdimensional, sorry. They are energetic. Everything Nick just said.
I think that level of terror I think would be great. Not great as in, oh I am glad I
have it but great as in big. But I submit, angel aside, intergalactic from the force
or whatever, Star Wars, you were saying, what if you just had relief? This is, Jesus said
he was going to do this. Jesus said I am going to build this down, three days later I am
going to rise back up again. That the disciples knew all of this and isn't it funny the disciples
in this account aren't the ones that go see the body, cowards. What is interesting, complete
side note for biblical skeptics, one of the things I love about this in Matthew is that
this is one very clear reason why I and I know many of you, hopefully all of you, believe
the Bible to be true because anybody that was going to lie about this account, they
would never have used females in the account. Culturally that would have been a no-no and
would have been an immediate disregard to whatever you were saying. So again, just total
side note, one of the reasons why I know the Bible is true is this account. That these
women come and they engage with an angel and they see something miraculous. The angel says
do not be afraid, talking about the terror that Nick was talking about, because I think
the angel knows how people engage angels. We don't, but angels would. The understanding
that they are terrified. So when we are terrified, when we have a kid that comes into our room
in the middle of the night, and if I am being honest they go to carry side because they
are not going to get a lot of comfort from dad. The comfort is going to be go back to
bed. But when they go to mom they want to be comforted. That when we are scared we want
to be comforted. Even when we are older and we try to think we don't get scared about
things anymore, one of the greatest things that my wife does in my life is when I get
all anxious and terrified about something, her presence just calms me. That we look for
calm, we look for peace in the midst of terror. And that is what the angel does. I know you
are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, he has risen. What if the angel
would have just stopped there? Okay, alright, he's not risen. Okay, I engage that. But I
think there is something so profound with those next four words. Just as he said. So
let's put that in context to our lives. That let's go six months from now, right, I am
not going to do the math, but it will be the fall. And all of a sudden you get news that
absolutely terrifies you. Or something happens in your family or in your life or in your
job or whatever that devastates you and ultimately just brings fear into your life. The truth
of those four words can help you in that time. Just as he said. Because one thing that we
should trust about the person of Jesus is that Jesus doesn't use words for no reason.
That Jesus' words have been, always will be intentional for our lives. Jesus is doing
Jesus things. And when we struggle with that, that's not because of Jesus, that is because
of us. That is because we at times don't want to take him at his word. I will be with you
always till the very end of the age. When you pass through the waters, I will be with
you. The waves will not overtake you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be
burned. The flames shall not subdue you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel,
our Savior. Yet we still get gripped by fear and doubt. And so this Easter hope that I,
my hope and my prayer is we can keep going is that all of this happened just as he said.
We saw that on Monday, Thursday. That he had set intentionally this entire thing, very
intentional of the groom going to be with the bride, proposing, drinking that cup together
and going to prepare a place. If some of you are like, what are you talking about? Go watch
the Monday, Thursday service. That all of this was intentional. Because he's intentional
about you trusting in him as your hope. Your hope in the midst of insert whatever here
that when life is going great, he is your hope. When life is going not great, he is
your hope because he is doing things A, we can't do and B, just as he said he would do.
And I don't know about you, but that is great. As someone who struggles with anxiety, as
someone who struggles with the thoughts of the mind or if you're like me, the voices
of the mind, having that peace that Jesus is like Jim, I got you. Yet sometimes we want
that I got you to be defined our way. Because for some of us that I got you means well then
I'm never going to get sick. Well then I'm never going to lose a loved one or I'm never
going to lose a job or I'm never going to have marital issues or I'm never going to
have a job. We put this laundry list of things that go okay God if you really want to love
me the way that I actually want you to love me, it's going to be this way. That's not
what he said. So if we're going to be people of the book, then we got to go back to what
Jesus said. I am the way, the truth, the life. If he is all of that, then why not follow
the way, why not speak the truth, and why not live the life? Because there's still a
war going on inside of all of us. Because we don't get that yet. We get just enough
as Paul says, let dimly in a mirror. Because that hope takes faith. You can't have the
hope of Christ without faith in Christ. It doesn't make any sense. So the angel says
this thing, just as he said, and we have the tomb, it's not just a simple of defeat but
a declaration of victory. It signifies the fulfillment of Jesus' promise. Again I say
it all the time. This isn't like Jesus wasn't taking a chance on this. Jesus wasn't going
the cross, rolling the dice saying, I hope I get out of the tomb on Sunday. No. He wants
you to know he loves you, he's done this for you, and what he asks, and here's the rub,
is for you to follow him. That's what he's asking all of us today. But guess what? That's
what he asks from you 17 weeks from now, or 30 years from now, or whenever it is, is that
you put your trust and hope in him. Because we have a job to do. Matthew 28, 8 through
10. So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear, right, and great joy, and ran to
tell his disciples. I'm going to stop there. Little side note. If you're a disciple right
now, how are you feeling? What? Important, embarrassed, oh those collided, lost, confused,
shamed, scared, fear but a different kind of fear, absolutely. And then these women
show up. They run and they tell his disciples, and behold Jesus meets them and says greetings.
And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them,
do not be afraid, go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee and there they will see me.
So not only, right, does the angel speak comfort to them, but now the angel gives them a job
to do. And you are a woman in this time that you are going to go and you're going to spread
a message. These are women that have been with him, seeing him do all of the Jesus things.
And now the angel says go and tell the disciples what you have seen. How do you think that
conversation is going to go? I have a feeling there are going to be some disciples that
are going to go, woman please, I have no, how? Like I guarantee you there would have
been some, and we know Thomas probably would, would have doubted what they said. Like no,
you went to the wrong tomb. Or no, that wasn't an angel. We know, Peter probably would have
put his foot in his mouth, he was good at that. That those understand, but these women
had a job to do. These women were the first ever missionaries of the gospel. Whoa, hang
on. Where is that theology in our CRC polity? Oh, it's there. Because the gospel is what?
What is the gospel? Jesse, what's the gospel? Huh? Word of the Lord is, right, but the gospel
is, just say Easter. Easter, right. It's today, right? That he conquers death and then we're
supposed to do something with it. That sharing the evangelism is going and telling the story
of Easter. The women were supposed to go to the disciples who were in hiding and say,
he's not here. He has risen just as he said. But then I love, and this is, if you've ever
had a moment in your life where you just feel like the Lord has just given you that little
extra of, that little extra love. There's a great book called When the Lord Winks. There
are times in my life I just feel and go, Jim, just remember, I got you. That's what I see
here when Jesus meets them. I've always wondered why. On the list of like four million questions
that I have for Jesus when I get up there, this is in there. I don't know where it is
ranked, but the angel told them, why did you need to meet with them first? And I think
it was to encourage them in the way. The angel tells them, and Jesus pretty much says the
exact same thing. I wonder why. And we don't necessarily have answers to it. I'm sure there
are theologians that have dug deep into all of those things, but Jesus then says to them
again, do not be afraid. Why in the world for lunch and a conversation with Pastor Jim,
yes, even some of you that we'll see again at Christmas, you can still call it in. Why
do you think he says do not be afraid? Why does he double down on what the angel says?
Because what? His appearance is different. Okay, you don't get lunch for that, but that's
a good answer. To hang on, hang on, the reassure person. To reassure them what? Of what? No,
you don't get it just like Nikki. These are good answers. Don't get me wrong, good answers.
To reassure that he arose. Okay, we're in the parking lot, but you're paying. What's
going to happen from now on? What? To reassure them when they tell about Jesus, you're right,
the waitress has come. We're about to order. Okay, then you're good. Then there's water
for you. Thank you. Thank you, Colin. I think it's to reassure them the next road is going
to be really hard. That you are going to be put to death for the story you are about to
tell. I think it makes perfect sense why they go and tell the disciples, and then as we
see in the coming of Pentecost and the church, I think Jesus doubles down on our fear because
of what this is going to do. He's conquered sin and death. Heaven is now, there's been
an atonement made, our relationship with God is now restored, but the message has to get
out. Jesus has already said, I need to go back to the Father, so the Spirit comes, and
the Spirit comes to reassure us to go and share the gospel. Do not fear because hell
on earth is going to come your way. Though Satan loses in the end, because of today,
he's going to try extra hard in your life, in the life of the church, in the life of
the believer. He doesn't have to try very hard to a non-believer, but he has to because
of Easter, he has to try hard. The good news of Christ's victory in the world at times
terrifies us because it means we have a job to do, because we have a story to tell. We
have to give testimony to the risen Savior, and the world is going to do nothing with
it. The world is going to say, prove it. The world is going to say, how can that ever happen?
Because at the end of the day, Jesus did something nobody else has ever done, could ever do.
He rose from the dead. So these women get comforted by Jesus himself. Now there was
also a part of me that, and this is more the cynic in me, that if I was one of the Marys,
and the angel tells me to go do something, I'm not used to that. That's not the method
of teaching that you've gotten over the last three and a half years, and so I may choose
to just not do it. Again, that's just a part of me, but then Jesus comes to engage them,
to remind them, I got you. I love you. We're doing this together. But we see another kind
of response, and Matthew gives us this starting with verse 11, and I think this is all, to
me this is that curveball. While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into
the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when they had assembled
with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers
and said, tell people his disciples came by night and stole him away while we were sleeping.
And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.
So they took the money and did as they were directed, and this story has been spread among
Jews to this day. Maybe it's because I'm getting into the show suits and I want to be a lawyer.
If I'm being honest, I want to be Harvey Specter, but I won't be and that's okay. But the greatest
story of love ever written is being told to these women to go all the while Satan is trying
to craft a cover-up. That though there is life and truth and Jesus did the Jesus thing,
Satan's already day one, minute one, is going, ooh, no, no, no, no. We need to get the world
into chaos because the best way to start doubt is causing chaos. How do I know? Go watch
the Dark Knight Rises. Heath Ledger's character as Joker, an unbelievable picture of how Satan
uses chaos in the world. Because the minute chaos continues, and this is a slam on all
of us, the minute the chaos continues, doubt sets in. Well, life's just not going my way,
right? I lost the job, I'm not getting another one, I've apologized to my wife but she's
still mad, my relationship with my kid is toast even though I've said sorry for the
things I've done or insert whatever anguish or chaos you have and it doesn't end. We all
do it. Well, maybe Jesus isn't who he said he was. Yet we all know he is. And so what
does Satan use to try to cover up this story? He uses money, he uses authority, he uses
power, and he uses lies. Friends, you want to know how Satan's going to come into your
life and try to get you to doubt? Authority, money, power, and lies. I think I just described
the world, right? Tell me I'm wrong. I think that's exactly how Satan is going to try to
conquer what Jesus did, what Jesus has done, and what Jesus is continuing to do in my life
and in your life. And here's where I'm going to land the plane. Even in the face of overwhelming
evidence, the angel showed him evidence. The angel said, come look, Jesus, hey, I'm here,
I got you, don't be afraid. We're going to go tell the story. Jesus doesn't go up right
then and there, right? He appears to his disciples. We do the whole very awkward kind of interaction
between Jesus and Thomas where he says, hey, touch the holes in my hands and the hole in
my side, all of those things. But again, all of that was to reassure the disciples that,
hey, this happened. Jesus is like, believe me, I was there, it happened. To reassure
us that when the chaos of life comes, not if, but when, remember me. Remember I am here,
I am with you always. Even in the face of overwhelming evidence, some chose to reject
the truth. Just for a second, what would it look like if the temple believed that day?
What if the chief priests and the Sadducees, right, and the Pharisees said, oh, this was
the guy. How different would the world be shaped? That's a whole other sermon series
I'm probably never going to get to because it's conjecture. But understand that there
was evidence of life and people rejected it to continue on in death. So what does that
mean for us today? What does that mean for the next however many days, months, years
we have on this earth? I think Jesus is reminding us to be vigilant against the temptation to
deny the reality of Christ's resurrection as something we should be embracing as the
cornerstone of our faith. That if this is the cornerstone of our faith, then we have
hope every day. We have hope and hope to the fullest. That no matter what you're going
through, no matter what you've done, you have been forgiven or you seek forgiveness and
you're given the hope that whatever it is does not define you, but Jesus does. So as
we reflect on this resurrection story today, let us be filled with hope and renewed purpose
in that hope. The empty tomb stands as a testament to the power of God to overcome even the darkest
of our circumstances. So may we go forth from this place with confidence that our Savior
lives and may we boldly proclaim his victory to a world in need of his redeeming love.