Easter Sunday: Three Glorious Homilies
Notes
Transcript
Homily 1. The Reality of the Resurrection (28:1-10)
Homily 1. The Reality of the Resurrection (28:1-10)
As a church cleric, poet, and remarkable hymnodist of the nineteenth century (1808-1889), Horatius Bonar wrote the hymn “Christ For Us.” Let me read just part of this hymn.
On merit not my own I stand; On doings which I have not done,
Merit beyond what I can claim, Doings more perfect than my own.
Upon a life I have not lived, Upon a death I did not die,
Another’s life, another’s death, I stake my whole eternity.
Not on the tears which I have shed; Not on the sorrows I have known,
Another’s tears, another’s griefs, On them I rest, on them alone.
Jesus, O Son of God, I build On what Thy cross has done for me;
There both my death and life I read, My guilt, my pardon there I see…
O fulness of the eternal grace, O wonders past all wondering!
Here in the hall of love and song, We sing the praises of our King.[1]
Like Horatius, like the women at the tomb, like the disciples, we rejoice today because of the resurrection. At the very core of our faith and our salvation lies this one primary event – the Resurrection.
Why were Jesus’ disciples there? As was just read, Matthew unfolds for us the reason for the disciple’s presence at the tomb. (1) They had come to anoint Jesus one last time. (2) Potentially, they desired to spend a little bit more time with the Master they so dearly cherished. (3) Maybe the possibility of the resurrection rested in their minds. However, Mark indicates, in his gospel, that they asked one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” (Mk 16:3), which seems to indicate they were not necessarily expecting the tomb to be empty.
Why were Jesus’ disciples afraid and joyous? Matthew reveals (28:8) the disciples quickly departed the tomb and experienced both fear and joy. Why? (1) Even to this day, the places where we bury our dead carry an ominous sense. (2) An angel of God who had made the roman soldiers fear and become like dead men spoke to them. (3) The risen Christ spoke to them. (4) The Master which they had loved, had walked along side of for years, through whom they had experienced true forgiveness, had placed all their hope in – had just died – but now, had truly risen. He was back! Not surprising, the disciples experienced mixed emotions on that most precious of days.
But consider your emotions regarding the resurrection. When we think of the resurrection, fear is probably not the emotion stirred. I am sure we experience joy but probably not fear. We did not physically walk with Christ for three years, watch him die, mourn his death, and then have an emotional upheaval as we learned of his resurrection. Throughout our lives our relationship with Christ has always been the same. We walk with Him spiritually. He rules our lives through His Word, the Holy Spirit, and prayer. That relationship has never been dramatically altered in our life. So, then our emotions concerning the resurrection differ from the disciples. We are not thankful so much that Jesus Christ is back with us physically. Our joy is much more about what the resurrection accomplished.
We rejoice the resurrection made possible our new birth. In his first epistle, Peter praises God because “he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3). Paul writes in his letter to the Ephesians of how our eyes were enlightened to hope and salvation through God’s great power that worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead (Eph 1:18-20).
We rejoice the resurrection made possible our declaration of righteousness. Paul wrote in Romans concerning how Christ was delivered up for our trespasses and was raised for our justification (Rom 4:25). By means of the resurrection, God acknowledged the effectiveness of Christ’s sacrificial work on the cross. Jesus no longer needed to remain in a state of death because his work of accomplishing righteousness had been completed. “There was no penalty left to pay for sin, no more wrath of God to bear, no more guilt or liability of punishment – all had been completely paid for, and no guilt remained.”[2] In completing the work, Jesus’ work allows God to look on us and declare us righteous.
We rejoice the resurrection provides motivation for our present spiritual walk. Or at least should provide motivation for our spiritual walk. Paul outlines the logic for such motivation in his letter to the Romans. (1) Christ died and now lives. We have died in Christ and now live in him. (2) Since Christ raised from the dead, sin no longer has dominion over him. (3) Therefore, we should consider ourselves dead to sin and not allow sin to “reign in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions” (Rom 6:8-12). The resurrection assures you that you have power over sin because Christ ultimately defeated sin in his resurrection.
Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.
We rejoice the resurrection made possible our future resurrection. Paul encourages the Corinthians in his second letter that they may know “that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence” (2 Cor 4:14).
Homily 2. The Rejection of the Resurrection (28:11-15)
Homily 2. The Rejection of the Resurrection (28:11-15)
The battle for the historical reality of the resurrection started immediately. The religious leaders knew that if the resurrection were presented as plausible in the minds of other people, they would have a real problem. If Jesus rose from the dead, the religious leaders were in trouble. Therefore, they immediately made up an excuse. Matthew alone records the chief priests command to the soldiers to make up an excuse, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep’” (Matt 28:13).
Is it possible that the guards were asleep? Potentially, but incredibly unlikely. Pilate tells the religious leaders in Matthew 27:65, "You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you know how."
These were either the guards at the Fortress of Antonio connected to the temple mount or the guards who had been assigned the duty of Christ’s beating, crucifixion and burial. These were Roman guards who would be killed if anything happened during their watch. They likely would have been killed for falling asleep while on duty. It’s highly unlikely that all of them fell asleep and missed everything.
If they were asleep, how did they know it was the disciples that took the body? In addition, how would they have rolled the stone away without waking up any of the guards?
Well maybe they weren’t really asleep, but the disciples overpowered them and took the body. Is it possible that the disciples could overwhelm the Roman guards so that they could steal the body of Jesus? Once again, highly unlikely. Remember that the disciples at this point are all hiding out in the upper room out of fear. What would have possessed them to go to the tomb, overpower the Roman guards, roll the stone away and take the body of Jesus and hide it? And then, all hold to this lie to the point of death? Can you imagine all the disciples continuing to hold to this story to the point of death if they all knew it was a lie?
Excuses denying the resurrection. Since the resurrection, skeptics have offered many explanations for denial. [3]
1. They went to the wrong tomb. The women and following disciples went to the wrong tomb and concluded that Jesus must have risen. Set aside the fact that the women had already been to the tomb earlier, if this were the case, the correct tomb would have still been covered by the stone and the soldiers would still be guarding it. All of this would have been very provable by the elders.
2. Jesus swooned and later revived. Proponents argue Jesus did not truly die on the cross and in the cool of the tomb was revived. For this to happen, he not only would have had to revive from the immense beating, crucifixion and being sliced open (as well consider both the Roman soldiers and Pilate made sure he was dead), Jesus would have had to revive so significantly that he had the power to role the sealed stone from inside the tomb, and fight off the Roman guards.
3. Someone impersonated Jesus. This rationale comes from scenarios such as Mary, in John 20:14, not immediately recognizing Jesus or the two disciples on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24 not recognizing him. True, within each of these moments, these individuals, for a moment, did not recognize Jesus. Afterall, Jesus possessed a resurrected body. However, this impersonation could not have lasted long for a few reasons. (1) Some of the disciples were already struggling to believe and it would have been even harder to convince them if the person wasn’t really Jesus. (2) The disciples had walked with him for 3 years and would have figured this out. (3) No impersonator would have been able to reproduce Christ’s wounds. (4) Finally, this imposter would have had to perform actual miracles.
4. The resurrection was spiritual not physical. Jesus’ actual body stayed in the grave, but his spirit was resurrected. The problem with this is that the actual body would have still been in the grave and the elders and Roman soldiers would have had no need to make up their story. As well, the witnesses to the resurrection ate and drank with him. They touched his hands and side – all pointing to a physical resurrection.
Reasons for rejecting the resurrection. Why do people reject the resurrection?[4] (1) In embracing a form of rationalism, some may simply reject the resurrection because there is no way to conform it to our human reason. The resurrection is supernatural and miraculous which conflicts with our demand to be able to understand everything. (2) Due to unbelief, some fail to embrace the resurrection not so much from an active rejection but instead a failure or refusal to even consider the possibility. (3) Prompted by indifference, others consider the resurrection to carry no practical meaning to life and thereby don’t care whether there was a resurrection. They don’t necessarily reject the resurrection. They just don’t care. (4) Filled with hostility, others engage the topic of the resurrection more actively. Their hostility displays increased emotional passion in a way unlike indifference or unbelief. Those hostile to the resurrection become angry and potentially attack what they would consider to be the delusion of Christianity.
Why such a response to the resurrection? Accepting the resurrection demands logical and biblical ramifications. If Jesus resurrected, the rest of Christianity (and what one may deem the baggage of Christianity) may very well be true and must be wrestled with and potentially accepted. If Jesus rose, then Jesus does possess power and may be God – a conclusion which would demand a decision to follow or not.
Our reality if the resurrection is false. Let us consider this from the alternate perspective. If those who deny the resurrection are correct, what does that mean for us? Paul succinctly answers this question in 1 Corinthians. “[I]f Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Cor 15:16–19).
First, “your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.” Of course, many who deny the resurrection also deny the existence of God. This verse assumes a just and holy God’s existence but acknowledges what would happen if Christ had not been raised. If God truly exists and he holds people accountable for their sins and their actions, but Jesus did not rise – we are still in our sins and without hope. You pointlessly hold ongoing hope in Christ if he did not rise from the dead. If Jesus did not rise from the dead, then he was not victorious over death and neither are you. If Jesus remained in the grave, you would as well remain in the grave, and furthermore death and eternal punishment would be your eternal prospect.
Second, not only are we left in our sins “those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.” Everyone you know who depended on Christ for their salvation was not truly saved but instead was lost and perished. Every old testament saint, all the disciples, apostles, new testament believers, up to the 21 century believers who have died – all of them have perished. Either they died, ceased to exist, and were deprived of that which they hoped for – or they have perished and are presently experiencing eternal torment and punishment right now. They expected to be saved due to their belief in Jesus Christ’s power through His resurrection but have been utterly disappointed.
Finally, “we are of all people most to be pitied.” Christianity would be a façade, a cruel joke, a travesty promising joy and life but offering pointless sacrifice and either emptiness or worse – damnation. As Christians, we would have no Savior, no gospel, no substance to our faith, no life. We would have spent our lives proclaiming a lie. Saints and martyrs throughout church history would have suffered and died for nothing.
So then, if the Resurrection is not true, we are still in our sins, all those who have already died have perished, and we are most pitiful group of people – if the Resurrection is not true. Yet Paul writes, “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead” (1 Cor 15:20–21).
Homily 3. The Results of the Resurrection (28:16-20)
Homily 3. The Results of the Resurrection (28:16-20)
Christ possesses great authority. Matthew reveals the doubt of some of the disciples – even amid their worship (28:17). Jesus responds to their doubt by revealing, due his resurrection, “all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (28:18). We find spread throughout the New Testament this principle similarly articulated. Peter encourages the suffering church that Jesus has gone into heaven “and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him” (1 Peter 3:22). On a couple of occasions Paul makes this same point. In Ephesians, Paul mentions God’s immense power, used in raising Christ from the dead. God then “seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come” (Eph 1:20–21). And again, in Philippians, Paul writes, “God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil 2:8–11).
Having established his authority, Jesus then makes an immense command, “go and make disciples.” Jesus, as the risen Christ and ruler over all things, possesses the right and authority to tell his people what to do.
Christ makes a great command. Jesus offers a straightforward and clear command, yet as well a mammoth command. “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matt 28:19).
Why does Jesus direct his people in this way? Due the results of Jesus’ death and resurrection, sin and death have been defeated and an announcement must be made and a call to decision must be heralded.
Up to this point, religious activity had been a foreshadowing of a future reality. Sacrifices offered a picture of something (someone) to come which would offer a better and permanent sacrifice. Up to this point God’s messages always included a future picture of a coming Messiah, a future glimmer of a more full and complete hope, a more complete sacrifice, a more effective priesthood, a better and more personal dwelling place, a more permanent home.
But now, the people of God no longer worship amid a theological or theoretical hope for a future payment of sins. The reality has occurred. Jesus actually and historically died and actually and physically rose from the dead. His real and sufficient sacrifice has been realized and the payment for our sins has been effectively paid.
You possess the hope that was offered. You possess the benefits of the complete sacrifice. You are priests and are joined together with the most effective and perfect high priest. Christ lives in you.
What a great message. We do not proclaim – someday the Messiah will come and bring freedom from sin. Instead, we proclaim – Christ has come and he effectively and permanently defeated sin. We call others to come to him.
The Great Commission. Historically, the church has appropriately labeled this command “the Great Commission” for good reason. (1) The command is great in its fulfilled reality. It is no longer a future hope but a present reality. (2) The command is great in its process. Discipleship is a long-term commitment. Jesus commands the church to “teach them all that I have commanded you.” It takes a bit of time to teach “all.” (3) The command is great in scope. Jesus calls the church to go and make disciples of all nations.”
Keener. As long as unreached people exist, we disobey the Great Commission by refusing to cross those boundaries. Given the explicitness of Jesus’ command, perhaps many use the lack of “call” to missions as an excuse; yet it may be that the Lord of the harvest has been calling us through the need of the world but we are not willing to hear. If Christ has already called his disciples to go, is it not possible that it is those of us who stay who need an explicit message from God?[5]
Christ offers great power. Easily, the church and individuals within the church would be overwhelmed by such a great commission. Appropriately, we may declare such a commission “impossible!” We would be right. Jesus prepares his people for this concern as he finishes his command with “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt 28:19–20).
Biblical Illustrator. There is a touching fact related in the history of a Highland chief of the noble house of McGregor, who fell wounded by two balls at the battle of Prestonpans. Seeing their chief fall, the clan wavered, and gave the enemy an advantage. The old chieftain, beholding the effects of his disaster, raised himself up on his elbow, while the blood gushed in streams from his wounds, and cried aloud, “I am not dead, my children; I am looking at you, to see you do your duty.” These words revived the sinking courage of his brave Highlanders. There was a charm in the fact that they still fought under the eye of their chief. It roused them to put forth their mightiest energies, and they did all that human strength could do to turn and stem the dreadful tide of battle. And is there not a charm to you, O believer, in the fact that you contend in the battlefield of life under the eye of your Saviour? Wherever you are, however you are oppressed by foes, however exhausted by the stern strife with evil, the eye of Christ is fixed most lovingly upon you. (D. Wise.)[6]
Wonderfully, we don’t fight this battle with a king who is near death. We fight this battle with a King that is alive and is ruling over all heaven and earth and is present with us.
What does it mean that he is with us? This is more than “he is with us in our hearts” like we might say of someone that has passed away. By that sentiment, we mean to imply we will remember them and celebrate their life. Christ’s presence means much more than that. At the loss of a loved one, all the memories of a lifetime tend to flood single moments. All the best of past memories are heaped into the present. In those moments, their presence can be felt nearly as tangibly as their physical presence. However, those memories tend to fade and decay. We do what we can to cling to those memories and precious moments. “We protest to ourselves and to the world, that it will be as fresh as ever to the last day of our lives. But memory is only an effort of the human mind, while a presence is independent of it.”[7]
Christ’s presence is more than his legacy. True, our culture considers people’s legacies a way they can live on. And, truly, Jesus’ works throughout his life left a legacy. For 2,000 years disciples have devoted their very lives to Jesus. But, when Jesus tells us he will be with us, he means much more than a form of legacy.
Christ’s presence is more than the presence of His Word. While we learn much of Christ in His Word, and in one sense we do find him present there. This presence of Christ is more than His being present in His Word. We still can read the works of Caesar and Plato, and yet we would not say they are present with us in the same way that Christ is present with us.
So, then what does it mean that Christ will always be with us? Jesus further explains his presence with us as he discusses this topic with his disciples. He informs his disciples” I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you” (John 14:16–17).
What great encouragement in this truth! David Livingstone, prior to going back to Africa and in response to the honor of being given the degree of Doctor of Laws by the University of Glasgow, said, “I return with misgiving and with great gladness. For would you like me to tell you what supported me through all the years of exile among people whose language I could not understand, and whose attitude towards me was always uncertain and often hostile? It was this: ‘Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world!’ On these words I staked everything, and they never failed!”[8]
Footnotes
Footnotes
[1] Horatius Bonar, “Christ for Us,” in Communion Hymns (London: J. Nisbet & Co., 1881), 73–74. Charles Spurgeon quotes Bonar in his message titled, “If There Be No Resurrection.” Many people attribute the quote to Spurgeon from this sermon. However, Spurgeon was quoting Horatius Bonar. C. H. Spurgeon, “‘If There Be No Resurrection,—,’” in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, vol. 38 (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1892), 605.
[2] Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994), 615.
[3] Mark Copeland, “Alternatives to the Resurrection (28:11-15),” The Gospel of Matthew, (Executable Outlines, n.d.). Accessed March 31, 2021. http://executableoutlines.com/matt/mt28_11.htm. Mark Copeland offered seven reasons for rejecting the resurrection. I chose four to go in my notes.
[4] John MacArthur, “The Resurrection of Jesus Christ, Part 1,” (Grace to You, May 12, 1985). Accessed March 31, 2021. http://www.gty.org/resources/sermons/2401. John MacArthur offers these four broad ideas and further discussion on them in his message.
[5] Craig S. Keener, The IVP Commentary on Matthew, page 401.
[6] Joseph S. Exell, The Biblical Illustrator: Matthew (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1952), 687.
[7] Exell, The Biblical Illustrator: Matthew, 687.
[8] Paul Rees, Forward to Defeat of the Bird God, Zondervan, 1967. https://bible.org/illustration/matthew-2819-20