What About the Resurrection of Jesus? | Matthew 28:1-15
Series: All!
Jesus has all authority,
So that all nations
Might pledge all allegiance to him.
Scripture: Matthew 28:1-15, Title: “What about the resurrection of Jesus?
Bottom line: The resurrection of Jesus shows us the power of God to change our lives.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
SERMON OUTLINE & NOTES
MAIN REFERENCES USED
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Discovery Bible Study process:
Retell the story in your own words.
Discovery the story
What does this story tell me about God?
What does this story tell me about people?
If this is really God’s word, what changes would I have to make in my life?
Who am I going to tell about this?
Final Questions (optional or in place of above)
What is God saying to you right now?
What are you going to do about it?
Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcast
Q. What do I want them to know?
A. That the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ really happened.
Q. Why do I want them to know it?
A. 1. Because it means that we can be resurrected too when we die and live forever with Jesus.
Because it means we don’t have to fear sin and death. The cross shows us the love of God. The resurrection the power of God.
Q. What do I want them to do about it?
A. Believe, worship, and obey Jesus.
Q. Why do I want them to do it?
A. So that they can live the life God created them to live in the first place.
Q. How can they begin to do this?
A. Like the women did: Believe Jesus, worship Jesus, and tell others about Jesus.
Introduction
Not a Mickey Mouse Religion
In 1998 when a little girl in Mablethorpe, England died of Batten's disease her graveside was marked by a simple cross. Soon afterward the local authorities asked her family to remove it due to a new local ordinance that stated "Crosses are discouraged, as excessive use of the supreme Christian symbol is undesir-able." In lieu of the cross, the family was allowed to erect a headstone with Mickey Mouse on it.?4 No joke.
The cross will always be an offense to the world. But let's not change the symbol from a cross to the head of a harmless make-believe mouse. Mickey Mouse couldn't save a fly or hurt one. But Jesus will come again in power to judge the living and the dead, and his judgment will be based on what you thought of this scene in Matthew. Is Christ crucified a stumbling block for you, or is Christ crucified your only hope of salvation? I pray that "that old rugged cross, so despised by the world" would have "a wondrous attraction" for you.25
Let’s start with the cross.
The Most Important Question in the World
“The brilliant professor of philosophy at London University, C.E.M. Joad, was not a Christian. He was asked on a radio programme, 'If you could meet any person from the past and ask them just one question, whom would you meet and what question would you ask? 'Professor Joad answered without hesitation: 'I would meet Jesus Christ and ask him *the most important question in the world* - "*Did you or did you not rise from the dead?*"'
“There came a day in Professor Joad's life when he assessed the evidence, encountered Jesus himself and wrote a book called, *Recovery of Belief*. If Jesus Christ is risen from the dead, this changes everything.
When the New Testament writers speak of God's love they point to the cross. When they speak of God's power they point to the resurrection. God's 'incomparably great power' was 'exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead' (Ephesians 1:19-20). The risen Jesus says to his disciples, 'All authority (*all power to rule*) in heaven and on earth has been given to me' (Matthew 28:18, AMP).
The resurrection means that the risen Jesus is present with you now. Jesus continues, 'I am with you always' (v.20).
The result of the resurrection is not only his power and his presence but also his provision.”
Bible in One Year 2023 with Nicky Gumbel: Day 45 • Devotional
SERMON OUTLINE & NOTES
Bottom line:
28:1 Faithful, courageous women continue to serve Jesus. Up early Sunday morning (Easter first sunrise service) they go trusting that God will make a way for them to get into the tomb.
28:2-4 “And behold” (implied in NIV) is Matthew’s way of saying, “Watch this!” Another earthquake but this one is caused by the angel moving the gigantic stone from the opening of the tomb. This “violent earthquake” might have been caused in part by the angel’s arrival. I imagine they are quite ticked off at humanity at this point. The appearance of this angels reminds me of the appearance of Christ at the mount of transfiguration. It’s funny to me that there is no dead Jesus there but that the guards become “like dead men” at the sight of the angels. They would have been terrifying to see.
28:5 Here we see the first of 3 commands by the angel to these courageous women. This first command is what angels have to tell every person they meet: “Don’t be afraid.” People realizing they were seeing angels assumed that what followed was death. Because angels are holy and we aren’t. Holiness does not put up with wickedness. Wrath and divine judgment are appropriate. But the angel’s job is to pass along his message from God.
Note that the angel confirms that Jesus was crucified. He died by asphyxiation (and more) on a Roman cross as he said he would.
28:6 He also rose from the dead as he said he would! And now the second command from the angel: “He has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.” Don’t take our word for it—come and see. Use your senses. He didn’t rise spiritually and his body is still here. No, he rose bodily/physically from the dead. And they are about to see that for themselves!
28:7 The third command is to, “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.’” They become the first evangelists post resurrection!
O’Donnell tells us that if you were trying to make this up, the last person you’d use as a witness would be a woman. The Jews wouldn’t even take their testimony about anything in a simple court of law. Yet here God provides the biblical “two witnesses” and makes them women. No man creating a myth would do this. Yet all four gospel writers share this.
28:8 The women hurry away afraid but in joyful obedience when they run into none other than Jesus himself! Another “And behold” to get our attention.
28:9 Jesus greets them cheerfully and so human-like. Their response is powerful and instructive:
They grab his human feet. They cling to him because they are ecstatic he’s really alive and there. Notice that when people draw ghosts, they never seem to have feet. (Think Casper or Ghostbusters) Here we have no ghost.
They bow with their faces to the ground in worship. They know he’s divine too. God in the flesh. God with us!
28:10 Jesus repeats the angel by telling them not to be afraid but instead to go and tell his brothers (not traitors) to meet up in Galilee (at the mountain they probably spent a lot of time at before) where they too will see him.
28:11 We go from a joyful scene of resurrection truth to a wicked plan of more deceit covering up the truth that they were trying to prevent. The irony is that everything they do just strengthens the case for the resurrection. Nicky Gumbel writes:
“The attempts of others to explain away the empty tomb began very early on (v.13). It was suggested that ‘his disciples… stole him away while [the soldiers] were asleep’ (v.13). Some people still postulate this explanation. But it does not fit the evidence:
The disciples were discouraged and frightened. Only the miracle of the resurrection could have transformed them.
They did not expect Jesus to rise from the dead. They had no motive to steal the body.
The tomb was heavily guarded (27:62–66).
They were not the only ones who saw Jesus. Many others saw him after the resurrection and interacted with him over a period of forty days (Acts 1:3; 1 Corinthians 15:6).
If the disciples did steal the body, their whole lives thereafter were based on a lie.”
28:12-15 So the guards go to the chief priests and report what happened. The truth, actually. Notice that they are not cross-examined. Everyone responds as if this is what actually happened. Damage control. Not challenging the guards that it didn’t happen. Just a cover up of the truth. Instead, they just pay off the guards so that they story they want out there comes from those who were there.
And some buy this even today despite the overwhelming evidence.
What are we supposed to do with the resurrection?
Conclusion
The apostle Paul writes that if the resurrection isn’t true, then we as Christians are to be pitied because all we believe is a lie. Everything rises and falls on the resurrection.
This is why atheists like Lee Strobel, reporter at the time of the Chicago Tribune, decided to prove it was a hoax. His wife had recently started following Christ. He could not deny the real change in her towards him and in life. Yet he couldn’t buy into this religious gobbledygook. So he interviewed bible scholars and asked them the most difficult questions like any investigative reporter would and should do. In the end, he was compelled to believe. He follows Jesus Christ now. He has written books. He now has a movie. All so that others can see that the overwhelming evidence that God became man so he could die for humanity’s sins.
“For God demonstrates his love for us in this, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
The cross shows us the love of God.
The resurrection the power of God.
So what are we supposed to do with the resurrection?
Look at how the women responded:
Believe it. They saw Jesus bodily and they fell at his feet in worship. They went from fear to joy to worshiping the one who conquered sin and death, shame and guilt, and hell itself.
How do we believe?
Repent = goes beyond just confessing (agreeing with God) to resolving to let God change by grace through faith.
Believe = Trusting that God can and will forgive sin in Jesus’ name.
Pray
NOTES
Nicky Gumbel notes
I have found that there is nothing greater in life than to experience the sense of the presence of the resurrected Jesus.
The risen Jesus commissions his followers to ‘go and make disciples of all nations’ (v.19a). This is our calling as individuals and as a church community. The vision statement of our church is ‘to play our part in the evangelisation of the nations, the revitalisation of the church and the transformation of society’. It is based on this command of Jesus.
Together with the command comes a promise: ‘I am with you always’ (v.20b). The resurrection isn’t just an historical fact or religious idea; it is a life-changing reality. God promises that as you go about fulfilling his commission, the presence of the resurrected Jesus goes with you.
When the women see the empty tomb the angel tells them, ‘He is not here; he has risen… you will see him’ (vv.6–7).
Filled with ‘great joy’ they ran to tell the disciples. As they did so, ‘Jesus met them’ (v.9). They experienced the presence of the risen Jesus (vv.8–10), ‘clasped his feet’ (v.9) and worshipped him as God (vv.9b,17a).
The attempts of others to explain away the empty tomb began very early on (v.13) and, in spite of all the evidence, not everyone believed (v.17b). It was suggested that ‘his disciples… stole him away while [the soldiers] were asleep’ (v.13). Some people still postulate this explanation. But it does not fit the evidence:
The disciples were discouraged and frightened. Only the miracle of the resurrection could have transformed them
They did not expect Jesus to rise from the dead. They had no motive to steal the body
The tomb was heavily guarded (27:62–66)
They were not the only ones who saw Jesus. Many others saw him after the resurrection and interacted with him over a period of forty days (Acts 1:3; 1 Corinthians 15:6)
If the disciples did steal the body, their whole lives thereafter were based on a lie. My friend Ian Walker, a Cambridge scientist, became a Christian because he could not believe that the disciples would have been willing to be tortured and put to death for something they would have known was not true.
It really is true. Jesus is risen. Death and burial are not the end. In Christ, you too will be raised from the dead.
It was women who were the first to be entrusted with the message of the resurrection. This is particularly noteworthy since women at the time were not considered valid witnesses in court…
Matthew’s Gospel starts by stating that Jesus is ‘God with us’ (Matthew 1:23). In the very last verse of the Gospel, Jesus affirms his eternal ongoing presence with all of his followers. To those who believe and obey Jesus’ command, he promises, ‘I am with you always’ (28:20b).
MAIN REFERENCES USED
“Preaching the Word” Commentary, Douglas Sean O’Donnell, Edited by Kent Hughes
“Matthew” by RC Sproul
“The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC)
“The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC)
“Exalting Jesus in Matthew” by David Platt (CCE)
Outline Bible, D Willmington
NIV Study Bible (NIVSB) https://www.biblica.com/resources/scholar-notes/niv-study-bible/
ESV Study Bible (ESVSB) https://www.esv.org
“The Bible in One Year 2023 with Nicky Gumbel” bible reading plan on YouVersion app
ChatGPT https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt