4/8/07 Matthew 28:1-10
In the name of Jesus, the only Savior of any religion who died and yet still lives, dear Christian friends,
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Could there be a more glorious day than this? What about the first day of creation, when simply by saying “let there be” God began forming this world out of nothing? Or how about the fourth day of creation, when God again used just his spoken word to create the lights above – the sun, moon, and stars? Were those days more glorious than this one? Not at all! As glorious as all the days of creation may have been, still this world and everything in it will one day fade away. But this day is different! This day will always shine brightly. Brighter than even the Last Day, the day on which Christ himself will come back with all the angels to raise up all the dead for final judgment? Is this day even more glorious than the Last Day of judgment? In every way! If it wasn’t for today, the Last Day would only be filled with terror and dread, for we would have no Savior and instead be forced to hear God’s thunderous voice proclaim, “Depart from me, you sinful creatures, cursed to spend all eternity in the place prepared for the devil and his angels!” No, this day, the day of our Lord’s resurrection, is the most glorious day of all. It’s more glorious than your birthday, your wedding day, the day when your child was born, even the day of your death when you’ll experience your own entrance into glory. How come? Because this is the day that changed everything! This is the day we cry out, “Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!” This is the day in which the glory hidden on the cross reaches its peak.
But once again this morning we’ll see what we’ve been noticing all during this Lenten season. Every step of the way during Lent there was glory, but that glory was hidden. And even today, on this the most glorious day of all time and eternity, the glory of Christ is hidden.
“It Is Hidden Even in the Savior’s Triumph”
Did you notice that when we read St. Matthew’s account earlier this morning? Who appears as glorious in that report? It isn’t Jesus (v 2), “There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.” It’s an angel! God sends down one of his heavenly messengers who knocks open the grave and takes a seat on the throne that blocked its opening. Where is Jesus? His work is already done, and it was done hidden from sight. On Easter Sunday his body and soul were reunited in the grave. No one saw it. On Easter Sunday the risen Lord descended into hell – not to suffer (that was already finished on the cross), but to proclaim on the devil’s own turf his great victory over sin and death. No one on earth heard the shrieks of rage and howls of anguish of the demons that day. This, too, was hidden. Then, before the angel even reached the sealed tomb, Jesus let himself out. But again, the glory was hidden. The only one who comes across as glorious in Matthew’s report is the angel who rolled away the stone to let the world know that the tomb was empty. We’re told (v 3), “His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.” And the visible effect of that glorious angel was hard to miss (v 4), “The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.” So much for those tough soldiers who were trained to stare death in the face! They were no match for the glory of this angel. Stunned and terrified, they fell to the ground “like dead men.”
By the time the women arrived at the tomb, the soldiers must have recovered and composed themselves enough to run into the city to tell the chief priests what had happened. But the angel stuck around. As the Lord’s messenger, he had news to deliver. The women came with plans to anoint their Lord’s dead body and thereby finish the funeral that had been left unfinished on Good Friday. But they had two surprises awaiting them when they got there. First, the tomb was open – someone had rolled the stone away! Then they met the “stone-roller” whose glorious appearance frightened them as well. But even more glorious than the angel’s appearance was the message he had for these women that day (vv 5-8), “The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are 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. Then 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.” Now I have told you.’” “You’re looking for Jesus? You won’t find him here in the house of the dead, because he’s alive! Remember? He told you he would rise. Go and see for yourselves! But be quick about it, because you need to tell the disciples about what happened. Remind them that he’ll see them in Galilee, just as he told them.”
Are you a bit disappointed that the angel seems to be “outshining” our Lord in this account? After all, wouldn’t it be more fitting to have our Savior sitting there on the rock with his face shining like the sun and his garments white as the light? Shouldn’t we be expecting somewhat of a repeat of what the disciples saw up on the Mount of Transfiguration, or maybe a glimpse of the glory we’ll witness when Jesus returns for us on Judgment Day?
Don’t be disappointed, because the Lord’s glory is there, but it’s hidden even in his triumph. Notice how his glory is hidden as he appears to these women who are described as “afraid yet filled with joy” (v 8). “Suddenly Jesus met them. ‘Greetings,’ he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him” (v 9). If the glorious appearance of the angel had knocked soldiers off their feet and brought fear into the hearts of these women, imagine what the Lord’s resurrected glory would have done to them! They would have been frozen with terror and died of fright right on the spot! Jesus didn’t appear to them to make them even more afraid. He came to bring them joy! He came to make them happy! Jesus had no reason to flaunt his glory. He didn’t need to impress anyone. The next time he comes, on the Last Day, will be the time for him to display his glory and majesty. But now it was enough for him simply to let these women be the first to know that he truly was alive.
So even on Easter Sunday Jesus hides his glory. He appears to the women in the same humble form that they knew and recognized from before. Note how differently they reacted to the Savior than to the angel. No fear here! They run to Jesus, not away from him. They fall to their knees in worship, joyfully hanging on to his feet, trying to soak it all in. How they must have drenched the ground with their tears of gladness! Their Lord is risen! He is risen indeed! And he didn’t come back to terrify but to comfort and console. The work he declared finished on the cross truly was finished. Sin has all been paid for in full, covered in his blood. And now the day had come to proclaim the glory of his victory!
That glory is hidden, hidden in our Savior’s words. In just two short sentences he sums up the whole glory of Lent, of Easter, and of the gospel itself. He tells the women, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
“Do not be afraid.” Isn’t that what Good Friday and Easter are all about? The two go hand-in-hand. Without these two days, we’d be living with fear all around us. Along with Adam and Eve, we fell into sin and were separated from God. We, too, were staring death in the face, with a future in hell to follow. But then Jesus arrived, just as prophesied beginning already back in the Garden of Eden. And he did exactly what he said he would do. He went into battle for us on the cross, and he won! Easter Sunday proves it. Our sins are paid for. So don’t be afraid – he’s conquered hell. Don’t be afraid – he’s triumphed over the grave. Don’t be afraid!
Want even more proof? Look at what he says next, “Go and tell my brothers!” Isn’t that amazing! Jesus calls the disciples his brothers! These are the guys who fell asleep on him in Gethsemane. They were the ones who ran away like scared little bunnies when the soldiers came to arrest Jesus. Their spokesman Peter even denied knowing Jesus when the pressure was on. None of these guys deserved to have Jesus call them his brothers, did they? No, they didn’t. And neither do we, because we’re no better than they are. And yet here we have the glory of Lent and the glory of Easter. All the disciples’ sins – and all our sins – are gone, buried in Jesus’ grave. With our sins covered and hidden away, there’s nothing that keeps Jesus from calling us his brothers. That’s just another way for him to tell us, “Don’t be afraid.” Once again we’re brothers and sisters in Christ, redeemed by our Savior, reconciled to God, and back in his family – all because Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!
In love and consideration for us, our Lord continues to hide his glory. Since we are still sinful human beings, we are unable to witness our Savior in all his glory. That day will come, but not until we’re with him in heaven. In the meantime we’re directed to where we can catch a glimpse of his glory – we’re directed to his Word! Did you notice that Jesus revealed his glory in that way in the words before us this morning? Jesus gave his Word that he would rise from the dead. He tells the women to report the news to his disciples. He didn’t appear to them right away, because he wanted them to depend on his Word. He also tells the women to remind the disciples of what he had told them earlier, that he would meet them in Galilee. Again, he wants them to depend on his Word. In a short 40 days Jesus would be leaving them – at least, physically – when we would ascend into heaven. But he would still remain with them always, even if they couldn’t see him. That was his promise. And the disciples would have to learn all the more to rely on his promises. They would have to learn to rely on his Word.
It’s no different for us as his disciples today. Do you want to find the true glory of Easter? You’ve come to the right place! This is where his Word is proclaimed – the Word that drives out our fears by proclaiming to us that our sins are forgiven and our salvation is secure. We have no reason to be afraid. Yes, tomorrow will come and with it there will still be problems and temptations as well. But in his Word we hear Jesus say, “Don’t be afraid. I have died to pay for your sins, and now I’m alive again, just as I promised. And I promise that I’ll never leave you nor forsake you. Even though the grave may still lie ahead, don’t be afraid. I conquered death for you. And because I live, you also will live. You have my Word on it.”
So “let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Heb 10:25). Let us rejoice with David who proclaimed (Ps 122:1), “I rejoiced with those who said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the LORD.’” Jesus himself proclaims (Lk 11:28), “Blessed . . . are those who hear the word of God.” Just as he sent the disciples to Galilee to see him, so now our Lord sends us to his Word. Don’t make Easter one of the rare occasions you’re found here in God’s house. Don’t let your Bibles collect dust in your homes. Don’t let family devotions become something you talk about but never make time for. Listen to your Lord, and seek him in his Word. There we behold him with the eyes of faith. There we are called his brothers and sisters. There we see his glory – glory hidden in the cross, but glory that we will someday share with him for all eternity!
That’s his promise to you and to me. Believe it, for Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Hallelujah!
Amen
–Pastor Jonathan Rockhoff