THE TRIUMPH OF GOD THROUGH THE

RESURRECTION OF JESUS

Matthew 27:57—28:15

INTRODUCTION

Late on that Friday afternoon, the mangled body of Jesus is taken down from the cross and laid in a tomb cut from rock. A stone is rolled across the door of the tomb, shutting out all light. There his body lay in the blackness of death. His voice silenced, his eyes blind, his ears deaf, and his body motionless. Sitting forlorn, outside the tomb are two women, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, watching as Jesus is laid in the dark tomb while they remain in the land of the living. I’m not sure that it is possible for us to imagine, the kind of despair, of hopelessness that has come to the disciples of Jesus. I’m not sure that most of us can appreciate the finality of death as we sit here full of life. Some of us have tasted this level of despair as we’ve watched loved ones die, as our marriages have dissolved, as our children have gone astray, as disease and accident has brought long lasting suffering. However, the blackness that has enveloped this group of people who only days earlier were dreaming of God’s kingdom coming to earth is hard to describe. That’s not even to mention the deepest darkness that Jesus himself has endured in the physical suffering, the unrelenting mockery and the abandonment of God.

The conditions that exist for Jesus and those who followed him at this burial are well described in the OT. Consider these two examples. Psalm 88:3-8 says, “…my soul is full of trouble and my life draws near the grave. I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am like a man without strength. I am set apart with the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more, who are cut off from your care. You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths. Your wrath lies heavily upon me; you have overwhelmed me with all your waves. You have taken from me my closest friends and have made me repulsive to them. I am confined and cannot escape…” Lamentations 3:1-6 says, “I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than light; indeed, he has turned his hand against me again and again, all day long. He has made my skin and my flesh grow old and has broken my bones. He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship. He has made me dwell in darkness like those long dead.”

As these writers say and as we have seen many times throughout Matthew’s gospel, God is the one who has brought about this suffering. He is the one who has brought about this state of affairs. Everyone knows there is no escape from death. You cannot experience God’s kingdom on earth when God’s king lies dead in the grave. God has eliminated, in the death and burial of Jesus, all human hope so that he can display the glory of his salvation. God has crushed every glimmer of hope so that he can give real hope. Each of the gospel writers records the events of the resurrection in a slightly different manner. Some of the events are common to them all, but each of them record events that the others don’t mention. In doing this, each one is trying to emphasize something significant about the resurrection of Jesus. Matthew emphasizes the presence of Mary Magdelene and the “other Mary” watching Jesus die, watching him be buried and then coming to see the tomb. They represent us, coming to see what God is going to do about the death of his Son. We are not told anything about how they feel until after the resurrection. They are merely witnesses of the events until they see the angel and suddenly they become participants. So it is with us. I want us to look at these events to see what God is doing but more importantly, as we see, I want us to participate in the salvation that the resurrection of Jesus achieves.

MAIN POINT

In raising Jesus from the dead, God…

I. Displays his approval of his Son and his work on the cross (vv. 57-61 & 2-7)

I have asked hundreds of people while sharing the gospel of Christ with them, “What difference would it make if Jesus Christ was not raised from the dead?” If Jesus did not rise from the dead, it would mean that his enemies were right. He is a deceiver, a liar, just as the chief priests say in v. 63. He is a nothing and a nobody, worse he is a blasphemer for he called himself God. He is not the Son of God. He is not the Savior of the world. If he is not raised from the dead then he is merely dust and cannot save anyone because he could not save himself. All who profess to believe in him are fools and sitting here this morning is a complete waste of time. Matthew emphasizes, by the way he tells the story that the resurrection is first, God’s vindication of his Son. The resurrection is God’s stamp of approval upon the person and the work of Jesus. God raising Jesus from the dead without any human agent involved, displays God’s love for his Son, God’s endorsement of all that he said and did and God’s accepting the sacrifice of his Son in the place of all those who trust him. I want you to see the various ways that Matthew shows how God glorifies Jesus in the resurrection.

God’s endorsement of Christ begins with his burial. Matthew is careful to point out that Jesus is buried in a manner fitting a king. His body is not left to rot upon the cross, which was the most common thing to happen to crucified people. He is buried in a new tomb, cut from rock, by a wealthy man. Matthew is the only one to mention the wealth of Joseph of Arimathea. He does so in order to draw our attention to Isaiah 53 which says in part: “For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death , though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days… after the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life…” The appearance of this wealthy man openly identifying with the crucified Christ out of nowhere can only be explained by the work of God. While the disciples cower in fear and despair, this man risks his life to openly honor and show his loyalty to the Son of God. By doing this, he points all who have eyes to see the hand of God fulfilling the words of the prophets. For those who know the words of the prophet, anticipation builds because we know that “after the suffering of his soul he will see the light of life.”

In verses 2-3 God announces the resurrection to the watching women and to the pagan guards by sending an angel and an earthquake. As I mentioned last week, earthquakes, throughout the OT accompany God’s coming to save his people, even as we heard from Psalm 18. When God shows up to save his people and destroy his enemies the earth itself trembles. Creation shudders in horror and trembles with excitement when the creator shows up. The angel has come to do a work and to convey a message. First, he removes the stone from the door of the tomb. He doesn’t do this to let Jesus out of the tomb. He does it let the witnesses into the tomb. Jesus does not come out of the tomb in a mortal body, but in a glorified body. His body, while physical is also spiritual. He has already left the tomb when the rock is removed. The brightness of the angel’s appearance confirms that he has come directly from heaven, from the presence of the glorious Creator God. He sits on the stone to represent God’s power over death. Nothing is too difficult for God, not even the resurrection of a dead man.

Notice his words to the women. First, he identifies Jesus as “the one who has been crucified.” Do you see how the angel begins what the church has continued for 2000 years? He names Christ as the crucified one. Thus, he shows that the resurrection is first of all God’s endorsement of the death of his Son. The book of Revelation repeatedly emphasizes the fact that Jesus’ reputation in heaven is due to the fact of this crucifixion for sin. Everywhere the NT emphasizes that God exalts Christ to his right hand because he suffered this brutal death. Christ is great because of his willing death on our behalf. He appears in heaven as the lamb that has been slain. He stands in the presence of God with the scars upon his hands and side to intercede for his people. This is who we are looking for. We must have a crucified Savior if we are going to know God. The resurrection confirms that our greatest problem is our own sin and our greatest need is to find a way to escape the punishment due to us for our sins. Like the women, we are looking for Jesus, the one who has been crucified on our behalf. He is alive and now lives in the presence of God forever to intercede for us. There will never be a time in all of eternity where you and I will not need this living Jesus who has been crucified to stand before God to remind the Father that he, Jesus, has bore his wrath against our sins. God raises Christ from the dead and seats him at his right hand to demonstrate that Christ’s death is the acceptable sacrifice for our sins.

The other way the resurrection displays the Father’s glorifying the Son is in the fact that Jesus told his disciples that he was going to be raised from the dead at least 6 times that we know of. The angel tells the women he is not here, he is risen, just as he told you . The resurrection confirms that the word of Jesus is the truth. He is not a liar or an imposter. We know that all he says is true because God raised him from the dead, which he said would happen.

Finally, notice that God displays his approval of the Son by the resurrection in the worship of the women in v. 9. This is extremely significant in light of something Jesus himself said back in Matthew 4. Responding to one of Satan’s temptations Jesus quoted Deut. 6:13, “Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.” Worship is to be reserved for God alone. Yet, here we see these women worshipping the resurrected Jesus. They are holding onto the physical feet of a glorified man and offering him the worship that is due to God alone. Jesus does not tell them to stop. Jesus is the eternal Son of God, the second person of the Trinity and worthy of the entire honor that is due to God alone. The crucified and resurrected Christ is worthy of our worship. By recording the worship of these women of the glorified Christ, we are given a glimpse into heaven and into the glory that God the Father bestows upon God the Son because of his willing death on the cross.

 

In raising Jesus from the dead, God…

•  Displays his approval of Jesus and his work on the cross

•  And he…

II. Gives faith and joy to his people (vv. 5-10)

We know from the other gospel accounts that many other things transpired on this morning and in the days which followed. Many other disciples witnessed the resurrected Christ. However, Matthew concentrates on these women, Mary Magdelene and the “other Mary,” and upon what happened to them on this Sunday morning. He does not tell us anything about their state of mind or their intentions other than that they witnessed the crucifixion, the burial and were coming, at dawn on that Sunday morning to see the tomb where Jesus was laid. The only thing that is apparent from what Matthew records is that they did not believe in the resurrected Christ. They did not come to the tomb expecting to see a resurrection. They came looking for a dead Jesus. They did not remember his words that he would be raised from the dead.

Verse 8 shows us that God, by the testimony of the angel to the resurrected Christ has turned these unbelieving witnesses into women of faith. They believe what the angel says. They believe the words of Christ that he would be raised and would go ahead of them into Galilee. How do we know that they believe? We know it by their emotions and by their actions. Let’s look at their emotions first. The first thing to note is that the fear they felt is not the result of faith. The angel, when they see him in his brilliance, sitting on the rock, the tomb standing open and the guards scattered on the ground, like dead men, says to them, “Don’t you be afraid.” Then Jesus, in v.10 tells them, “Don’t be afraid.” The fear they are experiencing isn’t the fear of faith but the fear of unbelief, of superstition. We are to fear God, to fear his wrath against sin. As the writer to the Hebrews says, “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” However, this is not the fear they are experiencing. This is the fear of superstition. This fear is like the fear of the guards. They did not expect to see an angel. They did not expect to see the resurrected Christ. They did not believe the words of Jesus. Therefore, when they see the angel and they see Christ, they are afraid of them. Christians do not fear the crucified and resurrected Christ. He laid down his life for us. He calls us, as he says in v. 10, his brothers. We are members of his family by his gracious work and so we ought not fear him. The fear these women have is the lingering effect of their unbelief.

However, their joy is the fruit of the faith that has been born in their hearts. The crucified Christ is alive and so they are full of joy. True faith always produces joy. It is the nature of faith to generate joy. If your dad tells you that he has made reservations at one of the water park hotels up in Wisconsin Dells for the family for next weekend how are you going to feel? You believe what your dad says and you believe that going to the water park will make you happy and so you are full of joy. During the next week, if you get sick or if you are bummed out by having to do your homework all you have to do is to think about the fact that you are going to the water park and you’ll be happy. These women are told that the crucified Jesus is alive and that he is going to meet all the disciples in Galilee. They believe the word of the angel, they are delighted with the thought of being with Jesus, and so they are full of joy.

Notice that not only are they full of joy but they obey the word of the angel. They quickly go to tell the other disciples that Jesus is raised from the dead and that he will meet them in Galilee, just like he said. They obey God and go to bear witness to the resurrected Christ. As they are running from the tomb to the disciples to tell them what the angel said, Jesus himself approaches them. It’s just an awesome scene. The women are jogging along the path away from the tomb and barely notice this guy standing off to the side. As they get close, he steps into their path and says, “Good morning.” You can see them stop in their tracks to look at this stranger who has interrupted them in their important task. However, immediately they recognize that it is Jesus and they fall on their faces before him, seize his feet and worship him. Again, notice what faith does. Faith obeys the word of God. Faith bears witness to the resurrected Christ and faith worships Christ .

Again, faith is not some strange thing that only operates in the realm of religion. What we observe these women doing is the normal way that people who believe anything behave. Think about our child who has been promised a trip to a water park in the Dells. Her heart is full of joy because she believes her dad is telling the truth and she believes going to a water park is a very good thing. Will she keep this news to herself? Will she not tell her siblings and all her friends at school and in the neighborhood? When her dad tells her that she must pack her own suitcase, will she not gladly do what she is told? Will she not thank her father and tell him that she loves him because of this promise? Everyone who believes promises acts as if the promises are true and will make them happy. We delight to say thank you to those who give us things we value. We hold those who are kind to us in high esteem and express our affection for them. This is what faith does. God is the one who gives us this faith in the crucified and resurrected Jesus by means of the resurrection.

I want you to notice one other thing that Jesus does to create faith in his people. He says to the women, “Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, there they will see me.” Do you notice that Jesus calls these cowards, these unbelieving deniers “brothers”? The disciples who all ran for their lives when Jesus was arrested are called brothers. Peter, who denied that he even knew Jesus, is called a brother. While they sit in the despair of unbelief he calls them brothers. This is even more astonishing when we remember the other time in Matthew when he called his disciples his brothers. It was back in Matthew 12. Jesus’ mom and biological half brothers had come to see him while he was teaching a crowd of people in someone’s house. He was told that his mother and brothers were standing outside and they wanted to speak with him. Jesus responded to this information by saying this, “‘Who is my mother and who are my brothers?’ Pointing to his disciples he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.’”

The despairing, fearing, cowardly, self-centered disciples are called by Jesus, “those who do the will of his Father in heaven.” How can he say this? He can say this because people do not become his brothers and sisters by their own efforts or by their own merit. These men are brothers because Jesus says they are brothers. He chooses them, they don’t choose him. He calls them brothers and then they do the will of God. The cause of their obedience, which we read about in the book of Acts, is due to the grace of God, not due to their own natural goodness. It is by the free, unmerited grace of God that humans become the brothers and sisters of the resurrected Christ. But, praise God, by his grace we are his brothers and sisters. The evidence that we are the family of Jesus is the evidence of faith, just like in these women. Our hearts are full of joy, we obey the word of God, we bear witness to the crucified and resurrected Christ and we worship him.

 

In raising Jesus from the dead, God…

•  Displays his approval of Jesus and his work on the cross

•  Gives faith and joy to his people

•  And he…

III. Laughs at his enemies (vv. 62-66, 4 &11-15)

Matthew is the only one of the gospel writers who records the discussion of the Jewish leaders with Pilate about Jesus’ claim to rise from the dead. Only Matthew records the sealing of the tomb and the posting of guards. Only Matthew records the terror of the guards. He only records the report by the guards to the religious leaders, their bribery and the false story that the guards spread. Why does Matthew report these things? One reason is that he is writing to a primarily Jewish audience who would have been familiar with this story to explain away the resurrection and so he is proving it is a lie. However, that is not the main reason he records these events. Matthew has gone to great pains throughout his gospel to show the connections between the life and death of Jesus to the words of the prophets. He is doing the same thing here.

Psalm 2:1-6 says, “Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One. ‘Let us break their chains,’ they say, ‘and throw off their fetters.’ The one enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. Then he rebukes them in his wrath, saying, ‘I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill.’” Verses 62-66 are a perfect description of rulers plotting in vain. The chief priests plot with Pilate to keep the Son of God in the grave. They voice their contempt for God’s Messiah, calling him a deceiver. They think to keep the body in the tomb by putting a string across the rock that covers the tomb with a lump of clay marked with the imperial Roman seal. They mean to frighten God with the threat of arousing the wrath of Rome if he dare break that seal. Then they station 4 to 12 fierce soldiers with swords and spears to fight off any attempt to steal the body.

Look at verse 4. God sends an angel and an earthquake. The angel throws the stone to the ground, breaking the frightening seal. He sits on the stone and these battle-hardened, ferocious warriors fall to the ground like dead men, due to their fear. The angel terrifies them. Most likely, these are some of the men who bowed before Christ in mockery, spit in his face, and hit him on the head. God turns the tables on these brutal men and laughs at them. At some point, they are able to pick themselves off the ground and flee for their lives, after seeing the empty tomb. After they are away from the tomb some of them stop running and begin to think about what they are going to do about their situation. It dawns upon them that they have a perfect way to make a ton of money. They know how much the religious leaders despise Jesus. They know how upset they will become once this story of the angel and the earthquake and the empty tomb gets out. They know that if they tell the story in public that the story will gain more credibility.

So the cunning soldiers go to the chief priests and report to them what they have seen for the purpose of blackmailing them. They report the angel, the earthquake, the angel telling the women that Jesus is risen from the dead and the empty tomb. Just like they knew, the religious leaders give them lots of silver to buy their false testimony. They pay the soldiers to tell people that they fell asleep and while they were sleeping, the disciples came and stole the body. This is the story that was being told among the inhabitants of Jerusalem for many years after the resurrection of Jesus.

Can’t you hear God laughing at his enemies? This story is ludicrous. You mean to tell me that a dozen peasants who all fled at the arrest of Jesus and have been hiding out in fear of being arrested dared to come to the tomb, into the very presence of the soldiers they feared, break the Roman seal and carried away a corpse? You mean to tell me that all of these soldiers, knowing that falling asleep at your post would mean death, fell asleep? If the disciples came while the soldiers slept, how do they know it was the disciples that stole the body? If they know it was the disciples then surely they have tracked these desperate criminals down, arrested them, and recovered the body? Surely, the rulers of the earth have plotted in vain. God laughs at man’s attempts to thwart his efforts to install his king on his holy hill. He mocks human wisdom, cunning and human strength. “No one can deliver from his hand, when he acts, who can reverse it?” What God did to these religious leaders and these soldiers he will one day do to all of his enemies. One day every knee will bow to the resurrected Christ in abject fear. One day all his enemies will fall at the feet of the crucified and resurrected Christ like dead men out of terror at this presence. God laughs at his enemies.

You must see one final thing in this story. The soldiers see the empty tomb. They know it is true that Jesus is raised from the dead. However, they don’t believe in the resurrected Christ. The religious leaders know that Jesus is raised from the dead but they do not believe in the resurrected Christ. The soldiers seek to use the resurrection to make themselves rich. The religious leaders seek to cover up the resurrection to preserve their power and prestige. They don’t believe because they don’t want to believe, not because there is no evidence to believe. If you are here this morning as one who does not believe in the crucified and resurrected Jesus, it is not because there is no evidence. The reason you don’t believe is that you don’t want to believe. Remember, when I use the word believe, I’m not just talking about assenting to some facts about Jesus. I’m talking about believing that this Christ saves all who come to him and believing that being saved by Jesus is the best thing that could happen to a human being. If you do not have this faith, it is because you love something other than God, just like the soldiers loved money and the leaders loved power. You believe something other than the gospel, not because it is more rational, more intellectual but because you are an enemy of God and no one can love what they hate. These soldiers and these leaders show how right it will be for God to destroy all his enemies forever in hell because his enemies have refused to believe what is obviously true because they hate him, not because he has not given them adequate reason to believe. Your refusal to believe in the resurrected Christ proves that you are no different than the brutal soldiers who tortured Christ or these religious hypocrites who pursued the Son of God to death.

Nevertheless, there is yet time. You are not yet dead. You can hear the voice of the angel and of Jesus telling you not to be afraid. You can still come to the resurrected Christ and embrace him as your Savior and your friend if you will turn from your sins and trust in the resurrected Savior who always lives to intercede for all those who love him with an undying love. So come to Christ. Love Christ. Trust Christ. Worship Christ. There is no one else like him. He alone is the one who has been crucified for your sins and raised to life to intercede for all who trust him forever.

 

In raising Jesus from the dead, God…

•  Displays his approval of Jesus and his work on the cross

•  Gives faith and joy to his people

•  Laughs at his enemies