Jump Start # 1567

Matthew 28:6-7 “He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.”

Sunday is the Easter holiday. It’s the one day that the world tips it’s hat to Jesus. Time Magazine runs it’s religious cover story each year at this time. TV shows and movies will be about Jesus this weekend. The rest of the year, these media outlets ignore Jesus and especially what He said, but here at Easter, they find religion. Remembering the resurrection wasn’t a once a year event for the first Christians. Every Sunday marked that event. Every Sunday was a time when they remembered the death and the resurrection. Every Sunday at communion, the greatest event was remembered. The resurrection was always before those early disciples. The resurrection of Jesus filled the sermons of those early preachers. The resurrection was God’s proof that Jesus was the Son of God.

Our verse today, taken from that early Sunday morning, when the women gathered to the tomb of Jesus. They brought spices to anoint the body. They fully expected to find the body. They even wondered how they would move the stone away. They were unaware of Pilate’s seal on the grave and the Roman guards watching over it. The morning began with an earthquake, which is not unusual in that area. They came in the dark and found the stone rolled out of the way. There they met an angel. He had a message for them. Our verse is the words of that angel.

Notice several things from these two verses:

1. The angel declares what has happen. He’s not here. He is risen. No one stole the body. The Romans do not have him. The Jews do not have him. The apostles do not have him. Twice the angel says, “He has risen.”

2. The angel offers the women a chance to see for themselves. He says, “Come, see the place where He was lying.” That would be a bit scary. It’s still dark. The inside of the tomb would be even darker. It’s a place where there has been a dead body. Now it’s gone. An angel is speaking to you. None of this is what the women were expecting.

3. You will be given proof. The empty tomb didn’t necessarily mean that Jesus rose. Someone could have taken Him. But when the angel states, “You will see Him,” that’s it. That’s the proof. This will not be rumors that are spread. This is not ideas that some have come up with. You will see. You’ll see that He has risen. This will remove all doubt. He will be where you can see Him. You can talk to Him. You can touch Him. It won’t be a photograph. It won’t be someone’s shady story. You’ll see. You’ll know.

4. Faith ought to make you know this. The angel said, “just as He said.” He had said over and over that He was going to be killed and raised on the third day. He knew exactly when, “three days.” He had told them that often. He knew. They heard. Faith in His words would have made them understand this.

5. This was Heaven’s declaration, “Behold, I have told you.” This wasn’t the words of some person but from an angel. Just as angels had made a declaration at His birth, they are making a declaration at His death. Make no mistake, this is a message sent from Heaven. God wanted them to know what had happened. The first people to see the empty tomb were women, not the witnesses we’d expect, if man was writing this story. The word of women didn’t mean much back then. These women go and tell the disciples. They were not believed. Later, two men who had walked with Jesus to Emmaus, came and told the disciples. They were not believed either. Finally, Jesus appears. Now, all fear is gone. Hope rises. Up from the grave He arose!

This story has been repeated and told over and over for two thousand years. This story has been told from cities to villages. It has been told in households and preached from pulpits. Jesus lives. Jesus has risen from the dead. Jesus defeated Satan. Christ wins!

The risen Savior means the Bible is true. It means we can be forgiven. It means we can live on after we die. It means that there is no “The End” to our story. It means we too shall be raised someday. It means Heaven is possible.

We bow our knees, not because it’s Easter Sunday, but because it’s any Sunday, to remember a Savior that  came out on a Sunday morning. Sunday is the best day of the week. Sunday is the day that we gather to praise our God. Sunday is the day that we remember the cross. We remember that it was our sins that led Him to the cross. Sunday is the day we remember that the grave opened up and Christ arose. Sunday is the day that we remember Jesus reigns today from Heaven.

Things are just different on Sundays. Don’t lose the specialness of Sunday to sports and shopping. Remember it as the day we honor, thank and praise our God. Our hearts ought to burst with joy as we think about our Lord.

Don’t you wish every day was Sunday!

Roger