“Up from the Grave He Arose”

On Easter Sunday, March 31st, during the morning worship service, Pastor Mathew preached from Matthew 28:1-10, encouraging believers to fear not, for Christ is risen indeed. Christ’s resurrection is the greatest miracle ever, greater even than God’s creating the universe out of nothing. The resurrection was physical and bodily, not merely allegorical as unbelieving scholars assert. Fear not, Christians everywhere, Christ has triumphed (Col 2:15), and God is mocking all evil powers who oppose his rule (Ps 2:1-4). Today, God in mercy commands all people to repent and believe in the risen Lord Jesus Christ and so to be saved from the wrath of the Lamb.

After these introductory remarks, Pastor Mathew made the following points:

1. The Crucifixion and Burial. The Jewish and Roman authorities crucified the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Two members of the Jewish ruling council, the Sanhedrin, were secret disciples of Jesus – Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea. Joseph, a wealthy and powerful man, asked Pilate for Jesus’s body, and gave it a proper burial to fulfill Isaiah 53:9. Meanwhile, the Jewish rulers, believing Jesus to be a blasphemer and deceiver and remembering that he said he’d rise again on the third day, asked and were granted permission to have the stone outside the tomb sealed and soldiers placed on guard at the entrance.
2. The Resurrection. Jesus prophesied his resurrection from the dead several times (Matt 16:21; Matt 17:9, 22-23; Matt 26:32). He was emphatic about his own resurrection because it was the Divine decree for salvation (Luke 24:46-47). Jesus had to be killed, buried, and raised on the third day. Very early Sunday morning, after Christ’s death and burial, God sent his angels to the grave. They opened the tomb, but Christ had already risen. The Roman guards froze at the sight of the angels. These guards were given large amounts of money to say that Jesus’ disciples came and took his body away while they were sleeping. They knew the truth but they suppressed it. Correct reasoning cannot take place outside the revelation of Scripture.
3. The Result of the Resurrection: Fear Not. “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’” (Matt 28:5-6). Jesus tells us not to be afraid in Revelation 1:17-18. The wages of sin is death, so we fear death (Rom 6:23). All fear is the fear of death. We need a Savior to save us from the wrath of God, a Savior who is God-man, without sin, who obeys God perfectly, and dies in our place. Jesus took all our sins and gives us his righteousness freely. He has set us free from the fear of death (1 Pet 3:18; Heb 2:4; 2 Tim 1:9-10; 1 Cor 15: 54b-57; Rom 8:38; 2 Cor 5:8; Phil 1:23). We will be raised with a body like unto Christ’s glorious body. His resurrection guarantees our resurrection (2 Cor 4:14).
4. The Evidence of the Resurrection. The tomb was empty. Many witnesses saw the risen Jesus himself. They grasped his feet and worshiped him, they saw him, and heard him. The risen Jesus was with them for forty days, teaching, eating, and drinking (Acts 1:3). No one ever produced his dead body.
5. We Must Believe in the Report of Christ’s Resurrection. Jesus said to Thomas, “blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe” (1 Pet 1:8). We must believe the eye-witness reports. All Christ’s teachings must be considered true if he rose again. Christ has triumphed over all his enemies. If you do not believe the resurrection then you are afraid of death. Instead, believe the gospel – “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Rom 10:13).

You can listen to additional sermons by Pastor Mathew here, including past Holy Week sermons.