Resurrection Changes Everything

 April 9 2023

Matthew 28:1-18

         The Lord is risen! The Lord is risen, indeed! Yes, indeed our Lord, Jesus is risen and he lives and reigns forever more, praise be to God! What a wonderful day to worship and exult Jesus, the one that death could not hold, the one who lives for all eternity! This Jesus, who died a cruel death being nailed to a crossbeam and hoisted from the earth, this same Jesus who was laid in a tomb and who had been there for three days, this Jesus is alive! Yet as much as we might want to focus upon this risen Jesus, our scripture seems to point us to how the risen Jesus deeply affected our world, and the people who encountered him. We are to ask ourselves just what was it about the resurrection of Jesus that caused the whole earth to shake, that caused the guards at the tomb to shake and become as dead when it happened.We have to ask ourselves just what was it about the resurrection of Jesus that moved the elders and the leaders of Judaea to concoct a story about the eyewitness account of sleeping security guards all rather than to simply believe the truth which confronted them.

         The clues to perceiving just what happened there on that morning when resurrection power was released upon our world are strewn everywhere about Matthews account. He writes that it happened on the Sabbath, the day of rest, the day which pointed to a time when all shall, every day, rest in the certainty of the promises of God, that time of the new age which is to come. Yet it was not just the Sabbath but we are told that it was the dawn of the first day of the week, a description which echoes the creation story which also begins with the breaking of the dawn upon a new week. It was at this time that Mary Magdalene and Mary went to see the tomb, to put fresh spices upon the lifeless body of Jesus. Or so they thought, for when they were just about to enter the tomb, the world was shaken. As happens so often with Matthew, suddenly an angel, a messenger of God, descended from heaven. There is to be no doubt for us that his heavenly being has come from above where our Heavenly Father resides. This heavenly being opened up the tomb, rolling away the stone. Then we are told that the angel sat upon the stone as to appear to rest after his work. This one from heaven shone with the glory of God, the glory which shined from Jesus at his Transfiguration. This was the glorious shining that also filled the Temple and we are left wondering if this too points to a new temple bursting forth upon the scene. The ones of heaven terrified those of earth, the guards shaking as the earth had been shaken, and they fell and became as dead. And then this angel, spoke, saying to the women, “Do not be afraid.” After all that had just happened, yes, now, do not be afraid. The angel then told the women that he understood that they had come seeking Jesus who had been crucified. This Jesus, the angel continued, he is not here, for he is risen. Come into the tomb and see for yourself the place where he had laid. And once you see that Jesus is indeed not to be found here among the dead, go and tell those who followed him that Jesus has indeed risen from the dead. Tell them that Jesus is going before them to Galilee; it is there that you will see him.

         So, the women departed quickly from a tomb where they had an encounter with an angel and yes, they did so with fear. Yet, they also went from the tomb with great joy as the news of what the angel had told them began to sink in. They ran as fast as they could to find the disciples of Jesus because they had great news to tell them. Suddenly, as they were on the way, Jesus was there, and with great joy, he wished them a good morning. And when they had gotten their bearings, they came and knelt down at his feet, and grasping hold of this one that they loved, they kissed his feet and worshipped him. This act of reverence displayed to the risen Jesus was no scandal because they knew, in ways they could not yet explain, that this risen one was indeed their Lord and their God.

         Well, as the women continued on their way after their encounter with Jesus, we are told that some of the guards who were part of the tomb detail, went and spoke to the chief priests. Here we see, in a few brief paragraphs, two very different reactions to the resurrection of Jesus. For where the women who had encountered Jesus knelt down and worshipped him, the chief priests who had heard of the resurrection of Jesus conspired to tell a grand lie to explain it all away. Of course, they had to sell this lie, giving a rather sizable amount of money to the soldiers so that they might spread this false tale of how it was the disciples themselves who came by night and stole the body of Jesus while the guards were asleep. Apparently, sleeping people are the best people to get to corroborate a story. And if we had any wonder why the leaders would quickly concoct such a mess of fiction as they had, we are told that this would be a story that would satisfy the governor’s ears. You see, all they needed was some story that would keep the higher authorities of Rome from coming down to Judaea to investigate why people had suddenly began to speak of a man who had come back from the dead. They just wanted every thing to remain as the status quo, and a simple lie would ensure that it stayed that way.

         So, there are the basic facts of what Matthew records on that first Easter Sunday but we have to ask just what are we really supposed to take away from this account? Just what was so earth shaking about this resurrection of Jesus? To fully understand the power of the resurrection we must not separate what happened at the tomb from what happened at the cross. We are told in the twenty-seventh chapter of Matthew that when Jesus had yielded up his spirit upon the cross that the curtain in the temple had been torn in two and the earth shook. How in awe we must be that the death of Jesus shakes the earth and the rising of Jesus shakes the earth, once again. The curtain in the Temple is what separated the most sacred of places, the holy of Holies, from the rest of the Temple. In to that place of terrifying holiness, the high priest would go once a year, to make atonement for the sins of the people of Israel. This was a time of sheer awe and terror as the high priest entered into the awesome holy presence of God with blood to cleanse the sins that stood in the way of God’s relationship with his people. Yet now, this barrier, which prevented such holiness to come in contact with what was impure, had been torn in two. The evidence speaks to the fact that with the death of Jesus the terror which was caused by entering into the holy presence of God was gone. The once-for-all offering of Jesus was the blood offering, the very mercy seat upon which his blood paid the price for the world’s redemption. The opening of the Holy of Holies spoke of a new era that had come upon the earth and this was confirmed by the open tomb. As Matthew tells us, that morning when the angel appeared was the dawn of the first day of the week, which speaks of the dawning of a new creation which began when our Lord was resurrected. The age which had now dawned through the death of Jesus and his rising again is one of profound forgiveness. This forgiveness springs forth from the holy love of God, the love which loves us in our failures, a love which loves us when we were his very enemies, is still, a love which refuses to let us go, to write us off, a love which is willing to take upon himself our judgment so that in exchange we might experience mercy. This is why the veil was torn, why the Holy of Holies was opened because God has done, in the dying and rising of Jesus, all that was necessary to deal with sin. As Jesus spoke it in his prayer, “Forgive us our debt…”. God’s reaction to our violence done against him was for him to offer forgiveness, to bring healing into a relationship which has been torn apart by our own refusal to do his will.

         This new age of forgiveness brought about by God is an age of freedom because the forgiveness was a payment of a debt that we could not pay, a debt which enslaved us until all was paid for us upon the cross. So, now with the rising of Jesus from the dead we have been set free. The life of Jesus cries out that no longer must sin and death be the last word because they have been conquered, and those who were enslaved in fear because of sin, because of death, they are now free. No longer does the Law need to restrain us or restrict us to keep those who were bound by sin from utterly destroying ourselves; no, now we are free to do all that we were created to do, to bear the image of the God who created us.

         So, as God has forgiven our debts, so now, we are called to follow in his way, and forgive the debts of those who harm us and we are to do so in the extravagant and lavish ways that God has first forgiven us. The cross with all of its excess of love, this is what now defines the new life that has been set free from the power of death and sin. Can you feel the ground shake as we realize just what has happened in the death of Jesus, and in the resurrection of Jesus from the grave?All is forgiven! We have been set free! Now is the new age when the holy love of God reigns, a holy love which offers forgiveness so that a new relationship can be had and a new life, together, can be ours!

         You see, what the blood of Jesus also did was to ratify the new covenant that God makes with us. The forgiveness of God opens the way for us to have a life bound to God so that his eternal life might be ours as well. This new covenant is written upon our hearts, so that we can experience it as a prayer, a prayer which begins with a cry to our Father. The life of eternal love which Jesus has always experienced has now been given to us. To be the children of our Heavenly Father we are called to make the world know that our Heavenly Father loves with a holy love. To be children of our Heavenly Father means that we will live as if his kingdom is here as well as coming more and more in its fullness. This means that we will rest in the security of our Father’s arms. As his children we will be always seeking to pull things together not tear things apart. This means that we will treat people as those whom our Heavenly Father treasures.We will not let our lusts and desires tear apart what our Heavenly Father is putting together. It means that we will at last be people of integrity, safe to be who we are in union with our Father. And this life with our Heavenly Father means that we will give as he has given to us not worrying about giving too much but knowing that our Father will supply all we need. What will keep us living this life of the new covenant is that we will treasure our Heavenly Father above all else.

         Now, it seems as if we have gotten far off from the cross and the resurrection but not really. No, all of what has been said about the cross and the resurrection really began when Jesus died and three days later he arose from the grave. We have to consider what all of the ramifications are if we are to understand just why these two events are so earth shaking. You see, if this new age has come, an age of forgiveness and if we are indeed set free, redeemed by the blood of Jesus, and if now we are to live by the new covenant ratified by the very blood of Jesus, then just what must be the result when we find ourselves empowered by resurrection power? The answer is that we become peacemakers. We become people who can light up a world. We can bring into a world dominated by violence and hatred a peace that is beyond our world’s understanding. Can you understand how this really is an earth shaking event?

         As I meditated on the resurrection once again, I did so as news came that a gunman had entered a school in Nashville, Tennessee killing three children and three adults. After this tragic news came the statistics that as of the first of April there have already been over one hundred and twenty shootings and that the number one cause of death of children is gun related deaths. I wondered to myself just what does this most wondrous event that we call the resurrection of Jesus have to say to this most horrible and tragic happening in Tennessee. You see, all the world sees is that the way people know how to deal with each other is with violence. The people of this world have to be wondering, is there no other way for us as humanity to get along? The answer we can give to a world that is suffering from all of the hurt, pain and violence is that with the resurrection of Jesus we have entered into a new age of forgiveness. With the resurrection of Jesus we have been redeemed, we have been set free from the powers of sin and death. With the resurrection of Jesus we have been given the chance at a new life lived by a new covenant that was ratified by the blood of Jesus. But we cannot just speak to the world about this wondrous, glorious, earth shaking event we call the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. You see, our job is not to defend the truthfulness of the resurrection. Did you see the reaction of the women to this fabrication of lies that the chief priests conjured up? They could have cared less. They knew that the question that is most important is not, “Is the resurrection true?”, but rather, “Is the resurrection the truth that I live by?”.What those women that first day did upon encountering the risen Jesus is to drop to their knees and worship him as their Lord and God. Suddenly in that moment they knew, in some mysterious way, that the Jesus with whom they had spent the last three years following around the dusty roads of Judaea was the one true, living God. This God had bound his life with theirs in such a way that not even death could separate them. Can you begin to understand why Jesus was found to be worthy of their praise, their love and their life?

         The world needs people who have encountered the living Jesus and right there where he has found them, they will kneel and declare that Jesus is worthy. Here is the God who has forever united himself with us, who has taken on our flesh, who has taken upon himself the very violence of this world and who has experienced our death. This is the one our Heavenly Father has lifted up out of the grave and declared that this Jesus is worthy. This is the way that this new age of forgiveness has come to life right here in the midst of the old age. And the way that this new age of forgiveness is made a reality in our age is when upon encountering the living Jesus, we cry, “Worthy”. When we kneel before Jesus, when he is worthy of all of our praise because of what he has endured for us, this is when we will be willing to endure all for him. When we find Jesus worthy then we will be people who choose forgiveness over vengeance and violence. When we find Jesus worthy we will be people who live in the freedom of holy love instead of people who are bound to sin and death. If we find Jesus worthy then we will do all the new covenant asks us to be about, people making the name of our Father holy by living by holy love. We will declare the kingdom is here by being people who are at rest in the Father’s arms. We will make the will of our Father our will. We will give without measure for we know that our Father will supply without measure. We will forgive just as our Heavenly Father has forgiven us. And we will treasure our Heavenly Father and put our trust in him alone. And when we find Jesus worthy, and we live like Jesus is worthy, and the resurrection becomes the truth we live by, then a light will shine in the darkness because our life will shine forth with the peace that God first made with us upon the cross. And doesn’t our dark world need more light? So while the resurrection does give us a bright hope for tomorrow, it gives our world a means of much needed light for today. I hope and pray that you might encounter the risen Jesus and find him worthy of living your life in the pursuit of peace. Amen!