SERIES: Easter At Grace City
TEXT: Matthew 28:1-15
MESSAGE: “Easter Sunday: Responding to the Resurrection”

“And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.” — 1 Corinthians 15:17

“Here we have Matthew’s story of the empty tomb… Mary Magdalene and the other Mary… had been there at the Cross… they had been there when he was laid in the tomb… and now they were receiving love’s reward; they were the first to know the joy of the Resurrection.” — William Barclay

What do we learn from today’s passage? Three points about responding to the resurrection. It moves us: (1) From fear to reassurance, (2) From death to resurrection, (3) From information to realization

1. From Fear to Reassurance (v. 1-5)

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 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. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.”

2. From Death to Resurrection (v. 6-7)

He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his 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.”

3. From information to realization (v. 8-10)

So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

“No one fact in the history of mankind… is proved by better and fuller evidence of every sort” than the fact that “Christ died and rose from the dead.” — Thomas Arnold

“In speaking of this desire for our own far off country, which we find in ourselves even now, I feel a certain shyness… I am trying to rip open the inconsolable secret in each one of you… These things… are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited.” — C. S. Lewis

TAKEAWAYS:

• 1) Where Do You Need the Reassurance of the Resurrection Today?
• 2) Has the Resurrection Moved From Information to a Realization?

“Death used to be an executioner, but the gospel has made him just a gardener.” — George Herbert