Morning Message: From Death To Life

Bobservations' Column

Titled - "From Death to Life"
Written by: Pastor Bob Lawrenz

On the third day after His death on the cross, some of Jesus’ female followers reached the tomb, only to find it empty. Sadness hit Mary Magdelene in particular, and she asked the Gardener where Jesus’ body had been taken. She had already spoken to two men inside the tomb, and they just said, “He is not here.”

Among three of the Gospel accounts, there are varying reports of how many women came, and whom they were. But the common theme is that He was not in the tomb any longer. Witness reports can differ according to who is writing it. And interestingly, between Matthew, Mark, and Luke, none of them were even there as eyewitnesses of what the women discovered.

Even by today’s standards in the Middle East, the witness of a woman is worth only half as that of a man. As the ladies went to tell Peter and the other Apostles gathered together, they were not believed. Then we have John’s record of running to the tomb with Peter running close behind him. Then the two of them became witnesses of the empty tomb.

As it is used in the Old Testament, “The Angel of the Lord,” or of God, most always carries the implied presence of Deity. Whether we break it down to Father, or to Son, or to the Holy Spirit individually, it is understood that the fulness of the Trinity is present, for He is on God (John 14:16-26; Deuteronomy. 6:4). And being raised on the third day was surely no problem for Jesus, the physical expression of our God.

As Isaiah 54:5 says, “He was wounded for our transgressions… and with
His stripes we are healed.” The wounds Jesus received, from the crown of thorns, the scourging, the humiliation of being spat upon and paraded through the streets of Jerusalem, and finally being nailed to the cross… well those were all meant for our healing. Imagine! He endured all that for our healing!

“Jesus answered and said unto them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." - John 2:19

Bobservations' Column:  Audio Version

Sunday Morning Message:

Matthew 28:1-10 - "From Death to Life"

Summary/Additional Commentary & Definitions:

Jesus’ death and resurrection is the single most important event in the history of our faith. Without it, we would have no hope. When Jesus rose from the dead, He conquered death forever and completed God’s plan for restoring us to a right relationship with the Father. Praise God! As we look at Christ’s followers, we see two main responses to Christ’s work on the cross and His resurrection: worship and sharing the Good News.

For some, Easter is bereft of all but the secular meaning. For them, Easter is a time to dye eggs, hide them, and send children in search of them. It’s a time to recite the myth of the Easter bunny and allude to his continuing escapades. It’s a time of giving candy, taking pictures, eating Peeps, and feasting around the family table. It’s a day to mark the start of spring and celebrate the rejuvenation of nature and the greening of the grass. Such observances of Easter, if they go no further than this, are a faint and feeble shadow of the real meaning of Easter; they are as empty as a plastic egg, as hollow as a chocolate Easter bunny.

Easter is a Christian holiday, and Christian celebrations focus on the true meaning of Easter: the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Two thousand years ago, a man died on a cross, was buried, and three days later rose to life again. This fact—that a dead man came to life again and lives evermore—is why we celebrate Easter. The meaning of Easter is that the Son of God paid the price for our sins and rose again to reconcile us to God (see Romans 4:25).

After Jesus spent three years in active ministry, bringing the Good News of the Kingdom to both the Jews and the Gentiles, the religious elite finally saw their opportunity to arrest and kill Him. He was tried, beaten, mocked, stripped, nailed to a cross, and died in agony. At His death, the earth shook, the sky darkened, and graves opened. All hope was lost. But that wasn’t the end of the story.

Matthew 28:1-10 depicts the resurrection of Jesus, where Mary Magdalene and the other Mary find an empty tomb, witness an angel, and encounter the risen Christ. The earthquake and angel signify God’s power overruling the crucifixion. Jesus greets the women, transforming their fear into "great joy," and commands them to tell the disciples to meet him in Galilee.

Sunday Morning Audio Message:  Upcoming!

Key Words and Definitions with Reference:

End of the Sabbath, as it Began to Dawn (28:1) - The Jewish Sabbath officially ended with sundown on Saturday. At that time, the women could purchase and prepare spices (Luke 24:1). The event described here occurs the next morning, at dawn on Sunday, the first day of the week.

Other Mary (28:1) - She was the "wife of Clopas" (John 19:25) a variant of Alphaeus.  She the mother of the apostle known as "James the Less" (Mark 15:40). 

A Great Earthquake (28:2) - This earthquake is the second associated with Christ's death (27:51).  This one may have been confined to the immediate area around the grave, when "an angel" supernaturally "rolled back the stone from the door" - not to let Jesus out, for if He could rise from the death, He would need no help escaping an earthly tomb, but to let the women and the apostles in (v. 6).

Angel of the Lord (28:2) - Angels were present at the Lord's birth, strengthened Him in the wilderness temptation and the passion in Gethsemane, and rolled away the stone at His Resurrection (not to release Him from the tomb but to allow the disciples to see that it was empty.  While the angels were present on all these occasions, Christ was all alone on the cross.  

As Dead Men (28:4) - This suggests that they are not merely paralyzed with fear, but completely unconscious, totally traumatized by what they have seen.  The word translated "shook" has the same root as the word for "earthquake" in verse 2.  The sudden appearance of this angel, at the same time the women arrived, is their first clue that something extraordinary is happening. 

As He said (28:6) - The angel would gently remind both the women and the disciples that Jesus had repeatedly promised that He would rise from the dead in the third day.  Why then, were they coming to embalm Him in the tomb?

There Shall Ye See Him (28:7) - See verses 10, 26; 26:32; John 21:1-14.  This does not mean They would not see Jesus until then.  He was seen by the apostles several times before they saw Him in Galilee (Luke 24:15, 34, 36; John 20:19, 26).  But His supreme post-resurrection appearance is in Galilee, where " He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once" (1 Corinthians 15:6).

Jesus Met Them (28:9) - Each of the four Gospel writers has a different account of the resurrection to be somewhat contradictory, but their very differences prove the absence of collusion.  Furthermore, when compared carefully, the contradictions vanish, and their combined testimony becomes an impregnable verification of the reality of Christ's bodily resurrection. Scripture describes at least ten distinct appearances of Christ between the Resurrection and Ascension.  He appeared to: 

1. Mary Magdalene at the tomb (Mark 16:9; John 20:11-18)
2. To the women on the road (Matthew 28:9, 10)
3. To the disciples on the road to Emmaus (vv. 13:32)
4. To Peter (v. 34)
5. To ten of the eleven disciples, Thomas being absent (vv. 36-44; Mark 16:14; John 20:19-25
6. To the eleven disciples (with Thomas present) eight days later (John 20:26-31)
7. To seven disciples by the shore of the Sea of Galilee (1 John 21:1-25)
8. To more than five hundred disciples, probably on a mountain in Galilee (1 Corinthians 15:6
9. To James (1 Corinthians 15:7)
10. To the apostles when He ascended into heaven (Acts 1:3-11)

After His ascension, He appeared to Paul (1 Corinthians 15:8).  Then next time He appears it will be in glory (Matthew 24:30).

My Brethren (28:10) - These are His disciples.