Alive!

To me That he’s alive If I can get to that place yeah, I can I’ve never been to Jerusalem never saw the empty tomb Seems reasonable to me, but the more personal question that has implications Can I be bold and say for the rest of your life? Or no, that’s not even accurate. How about for all of eternity? Is what does that mean to me? The tomb was empty.

What does it mean to me? I want you to locate Matthew chapter 28 There’s four gospels if you’re new to the Bible Matthew Mark Luke and John and they all report on this epic day of the resurrection of Jesus Matthew 28 is the first of those gospels and I Want this morning for us to take it in once again? So as you find your way there if you didn’t bring a Bible you can use your app if you’ve got that or there’s a Iraq in front

of you pull out the Bible Matthew chapter 28 and it reads like this after the Sabbath had dawn on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb There was a violent earthquake for an angel the Lord came down from heaven and going to the tomb rolled back the stone and sat on it His appearance was like lightning and his clothes were whitest and No, the guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like

dead men The angel said to the women do not be afraid For I know that you are here looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here. He has risen Just as he said Come and see the place where he lay and then go quickly and tell his disciples He has risen from the dead and he’s going ahead of you into Galilee There you will see him now.

I have told you so the women hurried away from the tomb afraid yet filled with joy and ran to tell the disciples Suddenly Jesus met them Greetings Should you imagine that moment? Greetings? He said they came to him clasped his feet which says they fell to the ground and Worshiped him and then Jesus said to them do not be afraid go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee and there they will see me There’s the news But here’s the reality had you heard that news that day Friday for you was still very fresh It’s memory horrible One of those you want to try to expunge from your mind, but you know it’s there and it’s never going to go away. You were there and you were witness to something terrible and awful. And your mind was filled with images that just won’t leave you.

It’s correct to say you’re scarred from it. It’s just two days earlier. And it’s probably what we would say today where seeds of PTSD are planted. Traumatic stress disorder. It happened to them that day.

No wonder every account of the resurrection, every one of the four begins with a description of grief. They all do. It’s not, wow, let’s get up and go. He said he’s going to come back. It’s they went to the grave and they went sad.

Warners come to a fresh grave. You’ve been there. Barely able to breathe. The loss they feel is very often suffocating in a place like that. And if you’ve been to such a place, you also know why they came.

Whether it’s a few days later or years later, they come to kind of be quiet and to be alone with their memories and to sit there in a sort of a pausing contemplative moment. Don’t they? Isn’t that what we do? And if we listen close enough, we almost hear the voice of the person that has left this life. They’re gone.

We wish like crazy. We’d do anything for them to come back. You know what that feeling’s like. And they came to think and they came to remember feeling close to this person that they loved. And just a few days earlier, they loved him all the way to the end.

And now he’s gone. The words used at the dawn of that very first Sunday to describe people’s hearts. I stitched them together from all four gospels. Listen to this list. It’ll stand out.

It’s impressive to hear this list. Fear, shaken, troubled, terrified, trembling, tearful, and sad. Each of the four gospel writers furnished language to help us peer into this unbelievably difficult scene that was still fresh in the hearts of these people. It’s the stuff of loss in grief, I tell you. But it was worse for them than on almost any grave side I’ve ever been to.

You say, why is that? Because they come there with this grief and they discover that the grave has been disturbed. They see instead of a stone rolled in place, it’s removed. There’s this sudden shock. The seal that had been placed on the tomb had been broken.

Somebody had messed with this sight. Was on the minds immediately. Think about it. You just went, oh, no. And I’m assuming, I think it’s probably a fairly reasonable assumption that their gasp was not a hopeful gasp.

It was like, who took him? Where is he? Why would you do that? Haven’t we been through enough? You know how those thoughts would go, right?

Instead of coming to a sealed shut up tomb to sit and think and ponder, they come to a tomb that’s open and empty. Matthew calls attention to the presence of guards. Will you see that again in verse four? There are guards at this point in the telling of the story and they’ve been placed there at the tomb on Friday for a purpose. To see that nothing happens to this dead guy as they thought of him.

This troublemaker, this deceiver as he became known in the early days. Imagine that? So a guard was sent there by Pilate. He was the Roman governor and Pilate was trying to keep control of the thing and he occupied power at the time. So he was concerned that the disciples might come maybe at night would be a natural time for them to do that and actually steal the body and make up some story that Jesus somehow is alive, right?

I don’t just want to tell you that. Back up to chapter 27, just look at verse 62 near the end. The next day, the one after preparation day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive, that deceiver said, after three days I will rise again.” So listen, give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day.

Otherwise, it’s going to happen, Pilate. The disciples are going to come and steal the body and tell everybody that he had raised from the dead and this last deception will be worse than the first. His response? Okay, take a guard and go make the tomb as secure as you know how and they went and they made the the tomb secure by putting a seal indicating that had been officially closed and shut tight and he posted a guard. So the guard stood watch the first night and the second night and then something happened.

An earthquake were told and angels proved too much for them to take. The women who had witnessed the same thing were told, the earthquake and the angels. They saw the exact, they got these hardened, I don’t know them personally, but let’s just imagine what the guards looked like. They’re not little people. They’re big and strong and imposing and definitely send a nonverbal message that says don’t mess.

How many have you been doing at US Embassy someplace in the world? Okay, when you walk into the embassy, did you just you just stroll in and go, “Hi, I’m American.” No, they’ve got US Marine Guard standing as you enter the place and they are perfectly capable of dismantling you if they need to, right? That’s the kind of guard here. And so what I’m trying to do is draw a contrast that really grabbed me when I read this again this year.

I was thinking about the contrast between the guards and the women. Verse four tells us that the guards were so afraid. Do you see how it worded that? Verse four, that they shook and were like dead men. What’s that mean?

They, they, they faded. They passed out. They’re like, huh. We’ll try that again. I mean, that’s what happens when you shake and then become like a dead person.

You hit the deck. They’re guards. Don’t forget that image. But then take it into the image of the women again who saw the same thing and experience the same shake of the earth and the angels are standing in front of them. They too were afraid as described with a very, but there’s a, there’s a, there’s a, there’s a further descriptor that goes on to describe the women that did not describe the guards.

Look down at verse eight. The women hurried away from the tomb, afraid, yet filled with joy. I don’t know what that looks like together like, I don’t know. Try, this is a little insight into the time I spend in God’s word. Sometimes when I’m trying to relive it again for myself and then share it with with you, I try to imagine being one of these women in that moment.

They too scared, spitless, but there’s something different. They were, they were like, oh, they’re filled with joy. We’re told. They heard from the angel. He is alive.

Verse six. And then it was confirmed to them with their very own eyes. Verse nine tells us when they encounter Jesus. Saying greeting and he has a few things to share with them. But I think it’s impossible for me to fully kind of capture the impact, but we’re told that they hurried and ran.

And then we’re told that they fell at his feet and worshiped. No question. This was way more, way, way more for those women than just, oh, it’s you. How cool. Right?

You getting that? So they were filled with great joy. When that happens, it’s like a breeze that comes over you. You’ve ever been depressed and then suddenly something you can’t even describe it, though they could. But this is a whiff of air comes over you or something just kind of lifts your spirits.

I was thinking of the Lion King movie. I did. I started thinking about, you know, that Simba, who’s the heir apparent to the throne that’s held by the Lion King Mufasa. Mufasa. Right?

And Mufasa’s got this son and the son is tricked by his evil uncle Scar into thinking that he was the cause of his father Mufasa’s death. And so Simba in a panic disappears. He takes off and he runs and runs and runs and he basically grows up away from the pride, from the Lion pride. And he’s kicking dirt clods and eating worms, frankly. ‘Cause he blew it.

Or at least he thinks he did. It was all made up by his evil uncle. But here’s where it all changes. The scene changes to Rafiki, who’s this wise baboon. Right?

The baboon. And Rafiki sitting there just sort of thinking man. And life had changed. Changed when Mufasa died. There’s no one to take his place.

We’re all going down for the, this is bad. This is never going to get better. And then there’s this moment when he, when from a distance, this grown up now Simba breathes up. And this whiff of his scent makes its way to Rafiki, who’s sitting there, this baboon, just he’s supposed to be wise. Simba.

Simba. He’s alive. He’s alive. He’s alive. He’s alive.

Say it with me. Oh, all right. He’s going crazy because he was dead in Rafiki’s mind. But now he’s alive. He’s alive.

And that’s what we’re reading here. That’s exactly the image that hit me. When I think of these women, he’s dead. He’s gone. They’ve messed.

With his grave. They’ve taken my Savior’s body. How horrible can it get? That’s what the Gospels want us to see in the reaction of Mary Magdalene and the other women. He’s alive.

It’s joy. I can’t hold it back. How about your reaction today? Is it joy? Or let me take a stab.

Has this event become too familiar? Happens every year. You know the jokes. Some people that come to church twice a year, they just, they complain because, man, you guys are always talking about that birth of the baby and resurrection from the dead. Can’t you come up with something new?

You know, that kind of thing, right? I get it. Is this too familiar? For you to feel the joy of verse eight that the women felt? The joy that says he’s alive.

Didn’t see that one comment. Many years ago, my wife and I led groups of college students to Eastern Europe for summers of events. Evangelism was communist in those days behind the iron curtain that used to be called. We were in Eastern Europe, the nation I can tell you about today. We couldn’t talk about it.

In those days was Hungary. It was a puppet state of the Soviet Union and they were a occupied land by Soviet soldiers. They had been told for 40 years, four decades that God is dead. There is no God. The premier.

Gorbachev, and Chris Jeff, and others before him. We are the Lord. All the way back to Lenin and before. So they were told there’s this, this, this is the panacea of the, the weak religion is. You don’t have to believe that junk, it’s dumb.

Only fools believe that. But we went there and, and we, we made our way cautiously, carefully into a country where we knew it was not legal, but it was incredibly spiritual to be there and to be messengers of truth. And so we would, we would walk around daily and meet people. We would ask if they spoke English and if they spoke a little bit, we’d begin to share with them. Met a lot of not only Hungarian people, but Eastern Europeans, Germans and people from other countries.

We also went in, smuggled in a film of the Jesus film that was, it was known as based on the gospel of Luke, Matthew Mark Luke. And in this Jesus film, the story in four reels, so that dates me a little bit, but was, was played. We would invite these people three different nights, one night English, one night Hungarian, and one night German. And that covered most of the people we had met on a given week. We were there all summer.

So we’d invite them to our house, our Zeemer Fry where we rented this house and we rented a place big enough that could hold 20 or 30 needed guests to watch this film. And we were especially careful, but we would invite a room full of people that it was full every time we showed the Jesus film. But at the beginning, we would start the movie and then we Americans would sit back, sometimes we, I confessed you, would even play cards in the back. Because it was fascinating at first, but it was an old story to us. And so we’re just, we’re kind of watching these people for a little bit, but then paying more attention in the back of the room.

Enough attention so that we could switch a reel and put in reel two and reel three and so on. Later in the movie, when we’re just this side of dozing off, because again, we’d seen the movie, though it was in Hungarian. Suddenly, and I tell you this, we nearly fell out of our chairs. Because in that moment, at the crucifixion scene, there was this loud, I mean, loud, good reaction. It was enough to, it made you jump and think what just happened is something going on here.

And they began to scream, “Nam y’all, nam y’all.” I mean, you could see the crowd shaking their hands in this living room. “Nam y’all” means no good, no good. And I’m like, what’s no good, what’s no good? And it’s Jesus on a cross.

He had just in that scene in the movie after scurging. And nailing them to the cross, they lifted up to a thump. And it’s this horrible scene. And these people are saying, “Nam y’all.” Suddenly, we’re riveted.

And we watched with wrapped attention to the end of the movie. And a wonderful moment when this scene that we’re reading this morning played out in front of their eyes. And suddenly, suddenly, almost predictably, there were cheers, people were, “Hello, hello, hello, alive, alive, alive.” And we saw it again that year, like it’s supposed to be seen. One Sunday, shortly after that, we had a elderly woman.

Most of it were younger people, but we had this elderly woman come to our morning, Sunday morning gathering of worship in the room. She was Hungarian, she was about 130 years old or so. And just this dear widow’s might think, just fragile, frail, beautiful person. And she’s sitting there in a chair, we made a chair for her. And we began to worship together.

And she began to weep. And her, it wasn’t a loud weep, it was just streams of tears. And we thought, what happened? We don’t know. So we asked a translator and he says something to her and he reported back to us.

She says she knew God wasn’t dead. They tried to tell us he’s dead. For 40 years, we’ve been told all of that was made up, but we see he’s alive. He’s alive. Have you ever been to a graveside and noticed someone with great joy?

I do a lot of memorial services. And I have to tell you, the scene we’re reading in verse eight is not normal. It’s not likely that you’ve been to one where there was great joy either. It doesn’t fit the mood, I think, of such a place, right? I mean, it just doesn’t.

Unless, unless you found yourself face to face with the one who had died and is now alive. And unless you were again in the presence of one who you credit with changing your life, you’re a different woman today than you were before you met him. You were a different man today than you were before he called you by name. Mary was one of the women Luke’s gospel reports in chapter 8 verse 2 that she was one of the women who were cured of demons and diseases by Jesus. There were seven demons, these evil spirits that were cast out by Jesus in this dear woman.

And one author who followed closely the story of Mary Magdalene in the Gospels shares this insight. Listen to this. Jesus had changed her life. And she had followed him ever since. Wouldn’t you?

Man, he changed my life. I’m not going anywhere. Where else would I go? When he cast seven demons out of her, he freed her of untold torment. He had given her life and reasons to live.

He had given her worth and dignity. And now he was alive. So I say again, you’ll trust me that great joy doesn’t fit a cemetery at all unless the one who is dead is alive. So Mary ran to the disciples as she was instructed and Luke in his gospel gives a little lens about what that reception was like. And I’ll spare you the details.

You don’t need to turn there. But this one statement says a lot. The disciples did not believe her words because her words seemed to them like nonsense. Sad statement, if you ask me. Go tell my disciples, tell them to meet me up in Galilee and the reaction is push back.

I don’t know what the look of nonsense is on your face, but it’s sort of like incredulous, serious, you’ve gone mad. Yeah, right. That’s, that’s nonsense. The greatest event in human history and they fold their arms and wagged their head in disbelief. He has been telling this story forever.

By the way, that’s still true. True today. And the hearts of more than a few, maybe some in here. I don’t know. Some people hear what happened on that first Easter and they, and they, to use the Bible word, they dismiss it as nonsense.

Maybe you’re not that visible about it, but inside it’s like, really, this really happened. Some, but not all. The Bible tells us that there were two exceptions. Two disciples were told, who heard the news of the empty tomb, took off in a foot race to see for themselves. The news was reported and these two disciples, their names Peter and John.

I want you to see this scene and we’ll be done. Would you turn to the fourth gospel? I want you to see in John 20. Sometimes imagine a camera outside the tomb filming as this thing’s unfolding. Look at verse three.

So Peter and the other disciple, these are the two, started out for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there, but didn’t go in. Then Simon Peter just come mowing down. He came along behind him and went straight into the tomb.

He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place separate from the linen. And then this wonderful statement. Finally, the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went inside. And notice, he saw, and what?

And believed. And believed. What did these two disciples and Mary have in common has been on my mind? And I think they share something in common. They had been deeply transformed by Jesus, all three of them.

We’ve already talked about Mary being delivered from demons, but how about John? He is the disciple who referred to himself throughout his gospel as the disciple whom Jesus loved. Six times he said that. So impacted by Jesus was he that his introduction, “Hi, I’m John,” or without his name, “Hi, I’m the disciple that Jesus loved.” That’s huge.

That tells me that at a very deep sort of core level, Jesus had changed his life. And he was not afraid to tell anybody that news. Then of course, the other disciples is Peter. And though Peter failed badly just days before, wind the clock back to Matthew chapter 16, and you find, and I sat in that gathering with my friends recently, and we imagine Jesus that night asking that question, “Who do people say that I am?” And one by one, well, some people think you’re kind of like Elijah.

Some people think you’re a big deal prophet coming back to life. And then Jesus said, “I just looked at Peter making it exceedingly personal. Who do you say that I am?” And Peter’s answer was correct. You are the Messiah, the anointed sent one from God to save sinners.

This Easter I want to appeal to you to be the exception. To be like Mary Magdalene and the other women. Named another Mary, others are not, Salome is another one. Be the exception like John and like Peter. Can I just say it straight up?

Fold your arms no longer. If there’s part of that in you, say I’m going to stop that today. And don’t miss, don’t let this, don’t let the word nonsense be on your lips another day. Don’t watch another Jesus movie or listen to the Jesus story one more time without cheering the truth of Easter. He is not here.

He is alive, just as he said. I want to tell you something that happened while I was in Israel. I’m in a place that’s beyond cool. But while I was there about halfway through, I received news from Los Angeles that my uncle had passed away. He suffered a heart attack and was removed from life support the next day.

He was part of Grace Point. You’ve heard me over the years talk about Uncle Bob. He was more than an uncle, whatever that means. He was my mentor and model for so much. How many of you remember WWJD?

What would Jesus do? And I used to say that, but it wasn’t sometimes enough. Sometimes it still was like, I’m not sure what he would do. And Debbie and I adopted another expression, what would Uncle Bob do? That’s not replacing Jesus at all.

It’s simply appealing to somebody that has skin on and who we knew had already consulted Jesus, was living fully for Jesus. And that was Uncle Bob. He passed about halfway through our trip and they had a memorial and a graveside service. Service on Thursday and Friday that we were not able to be part of. But then I wrote my aunt and I had this thought as I woke up this morning again.

You know, the same God who said Lazarus arise is the same one who on this day long ago rose from the dead. And he’s the one who promised that Uncle Bob will rise again. Just like Lazarus and Jesus, Uncle Bob, and all who believe in Jesus will rise again. I told my aunt that I will preach with courage and confidence today. I can almost hear my Uncle Bob cheer.

I’m sure that Uncle Bob has started to understand the words of 1 Corinthians 13, which say very plainly, but they’re alive for me now. Now we see in a mirror dimly, but then we shall see face to face. Now we know in part, but then we shall fully know. He fully knows today. In Israel toward better understanding, but we still see through a mirror dimly.

But here’s the deal. 100% of everyone who turns to Jesus, as my Uncle Bob did, and as many of you have done, because you believe you will see no longer through mirrors dimly. No longer partially at the very best efforts of a preacher like today, but you will see face to face, the one who on a Friday shed his blood and on a Sunday, conquered death for you, for me. Amen. Let’s pray.

God today, we come as people who are this side of seeing face to face, where this side and therefore a bit myopic were a bit limited in our ability to see. I’m just humbled today by the privilege of telling it again, even the people like me that have believed it for a long time. It’s just like it’s new to me. I want to see it like my Hungarian friends saw it. I want to react every time I think about an empty tomb, not just as a historical fact that can be confirmed and all, but way more personal than that.

As a reality that you are the resurrection and the life, he who believes will live even if he dies, and he who lives and believes in me will never die. I’m here today, and you wanted to go beyond a story some time ago, being retold again yet another Easter. You can simply believe that’s the only way it begins for anybody you believe. Say Jesus, I don’t quite have all the details figured out, and I probably won’t. That’s okay.

I want to believe you because I need you, and I need you in lots of things in life, but I will never need you more than what happens when life ends. If you’ve never turned to Jesus, turn to him now and believe. My faith just whisper, I need you Jesus. Thanks for the really amazing thing you did. Make it real in my life, not just this morning, but starting this morning for the rest of my life, because I want to see you someday.

Forever God is the worship of our hearts and our gratitude and our souls forever grateful for what you did for us, Jesus. Let this song minister to your heart.

Transcript machine-generated from the sermon audio, so it may contain errors. 4,823 words.