Easter Service: History's Greatest Event Matthew 28

Three weeks ago. I preached on what happens to people when they die What we saw is that the blessed enter the presence of God immediately in heaven on the other hand those who?

Reject Christ in this life are forever separated from God's goodness and sent to hell

What we know about death from what scripture says in our own experience is that at death the soul departs from the body?

When you go to a funeral we see the body But we do not see the soul and that is why the body lies lifeless in the casket

But what the Bible teaches is that there will be a reunion between body and soul

When Jesus Christ returns in the future The Old Testament predicted this far -off event in Daniel 12 3

That passage says many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake Some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt

What this verse and others tell us is that the righteous? Receive a glorified body that will never experience pain

Never decay and will be much stronger than anything our bodies in this life have experienced the

Bible teaches that unbelievers on the other hand will receive the opposite a Body that won't die, but one that will experience pain forever

This morning is Easter Sunday This is the one day a year

Where we pause and take a special focus upon the resurrection of Christ The only reason that Christians have the real hope that their body will be raised in the future is because Jesus was raised 2 ,000 years ago

This is what the Apostle Paul wrote in 1st Corinthians 15 verses 20 through 23 Christ has been raised from the dead the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep

For as by a man came death by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead

For as in Adam all die so also in Christ shall all be made alive but each in his

Christ the firstfruits then it is coming those who belong to Christ the

Bible makes clear The claim that Jesus was raised bodily from the dead and those who belong to him will one day have a body like his

Many of you watching or listening to the sermon right now believe this You believe that Jesus died for you and that he was raised victoriously from the dead

And you know that one day you will have a body like his glorious body However, there are some of you listening to this who are skeptical

You have a hard time Believing that Jesus truly was raised bodily from the dead

This morning is for both groups those who believe and those who are skeptical For the believer.

My goal is to show you the validity of your faith and to encourage you to get this news out

If you're skeptical this morning and you do not believe in Christ yet My prayer is that this morning you would see that this really did happen and it's meant to change your life forever

We are going to do this by looking at an account from one of Jesus Jesus disciples the

Apostle Matthew in Chapter 28 he gave a detailed account of the resurrection of Christ So if you have a

Bible, I encourage you to turn there with me Otherwise, you can just listen to what we're gonna see and hear

This sermon is titled history's greatest event history's greatest event

And here's our big idea the Apostle Matthew Gives his account of the most impactful event in human history and we're gonna see three different acts

So this is kind of like a play this morning We're gonna see three acts. The first act is this after his resurrection

Jesus appears first to several women and we'll see this in verses 1 through 10

Two days ago a good Friday. We looked at and remembered the death of Jesus Christ the death of Jesus would not have significance without a resurrection if Jesus had stayed dead it would have shown that he was an imposter

Since he predicted that the Jews and Romans were going to put him to death and then three days later he would rise but Jesus did rise from the dead and We and we gather together here through video or through audio to remember this most important of all days in human history

This event changed the world forever The resurrection of Jesus is the reason there is hope

He is the only hope Christians believe in a risen

Savior that even though we die physically we live forever with Christ and One day when

Christ returns, he will raise believers from the dead The text we are going to be looking at today is

Matthew 28 as I already mentioned And I'm going to take it verse by verse

There's 20 verses in this chapter and my prayer is that this account of Christ's resurrection comes alive to you

I want each of us to put ourselves in the shoes of These witnesses who witnessed this glorious event on this day

So let's begin by reading verse 1 Now after the

Sabbath Toward the dawn of the first day of the week Mary Magdalene and the other

Mary went to see the tomb So let's pause right there After Jesus body was taken down from the tomb on Friday Two men took his body to the tomb

Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea These were two high -class

Jewish men Joseph of Arimathea was a wealthy man who owned a

Tomb not too far from the place where Jesus was crucified in a garden Jesus being buried in this tomb this tomb of Joseph of Arimathea is a fulfillment of prophecy

Isaiah 53 9 says they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death after Jesus death

Joseph of Arimathea asked the Roman governor Pontius Pilate The one who sentenced

Jesus to death if he could take his body and bury it Pilate gave him permission

Mary Magdalene and another woman named Mary were the first to go to the tomb

He was buried in Verse 1 these women go to the tomb with the purpose of anointing

Jesus with oils They couldn't go the day before because it was the Sabbath The Jewish Sabbath was

Saturday and the first day of the week was Sunday. So this is early Sunday morning And what we must understand is that these women go to the tomb not expecting to see anything they are doing this to honor their friend and then the incredible happened verse 2 and Behold, there was a great earthquake for an angel of the

Lord Descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it

So we see is this earthquake and the angel from heaven moving the stone happened before the women arrived at the tomb

We know this Because the accounts in Mark Luke and John say that these women found the stone rolled away and the tomb empty

This stone that was over. The tomb was tightly secured The Roman soldiers did this to make it so that it would be impossible for anybody to take the body and It create a lie that he had risen from the dead when in fact the body was stolen

It is interesting that the chief priests and Pharisees the very ones who deliver Jesus to the

Romans to be crucified Were concerned that Jesus' disciples would take the body and do this very thing and say that he was risen from the dead

In fact this passage in chapter 27 verses 63 and 64. This is what they said

Sir, we remember how that imposter said while he was still alive after three days

I will rise therefore order the tomb to be made secure Until the third day lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people

He has risen from the dead and the last fraud will be worse than the first Endquote then

Pilate said Use your own guards and secure it. So this is what they did

No mere man would have been able to overtake the guards and unseal this tightly secured tomb

It would take a miracle for this stone to be rolled away. And this is precisely what happened a miracle an

Angel from heaven rolled it away verse 3 Describes the description of this angel his appearance was like lightning and his clothing white as snow

The brightest light that we experience is the Sun and we are told never to look at the

Sun because it is so bright The brightness can blind you in Fact Brianna and I had this experience a couple years ago when we had that solar eclipse

If you can remember back then we were told do not look at the Sun unless you have those protective glasses on We didn't have the protective glasses on and we thought well we could just glance that up up at it for just a little

Bit we'll be okay, and I'm not kidding you when I tell you that for a few days. Our eyesight was a little bit off The light was so bright so you can imagine what it would have been like for these guards who saw these angels how bright it must have been and These these men and these soldiers were guarding the tomb when this happened and this is their reaction to this bright light and these angels in verse 4 and For fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men

Throughout scripture The first words the angels utter when they make an appearance to a human is do not be afraid

They say this because they are so powerful compared to humans the guards were terrified at seeing this angel

All of this happened before the women arrived at the tomb so the women go to the tomb and notice that the tomb is empty

All the women see It is an empty tomb and then they see an angel at the tomb

And this is what the angel says to them in verse 5 Do not be afraid for I know that you seek

Jesus who was crucified For Gospels in the

New Testament Matthew Mark Luke and John and The Gospels Luke and John say that there were actually two angels present

The gospel Luke also says there were several women who were with the two Marys This is why it is helpful to read each gospel because each one adds more information than than the other and so you get a full picture once you're done reading all four and As the women see the angels they say to the women

Do not be afraid These angels know that they have come to anoint

Jesus body, then they deliver the incredible words in verse 6 He is not here

He has risen as he said Come see the place where he lay

So these angels explained to him why he's not here There's only one reason He has risen

Just as he said throughout his ministry. He told them I am going to rise from the dead in Fact in the gospel of Matthew Jesus told his disciples five times that he would rise

Jesus said it and it happened and these women hear this amazing news from this angel

The angel then gives them the task to tell the disciples that Jesus has risen from the dead verse 7

Then go quickly and Tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead and behold.

He is going before you to Galilee there You will see him see I have told you

So the angel tells the women to tell the disciples that they will see Jesus in Galilee now the region of Galilee Was the location where Jesus spent his ministry it was located 60 miles north of Jerusalem Jesus is going to meet his disciples in this place at a time in the near future at this time

There would have been 11 disciples because Judas was no longer with them. He had already betrayed

Jesus and committed suicide What we will see in a little bit is that there are more than just the 11 disciples who will go to Galilee to see

Jesus Now The women obey the command of the angels as verse 8 states.

Let's read that verse 8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to tell his disciples

They go to tell the disciples the incredible news that Jesus has risen from the dead and Imagine what this would have been like They just saw an angel sent from heaven and they were told that Jesus their dear friend who was once dead is now alive and as they are running to tell the

Disciples what the text says is they were filled with fear and great joy having these emotions these emotions of excitement simultaneously and also fear

Because they had just seen an angel They are shaking realizing this heavenly being has come and They are overjoyed because their loved one

Jesus who was brutally murdered He's now alive He has risen from the dead and this promise of receiving eternal life that he promised during his time on earth

Is true everything he said it's true as These women are in route to tell the disciples that Jesus has risen they are met by the man himself as the resurrected

Christ appears to them in verse 9 and behold

Jesus met them and said greetings and They came up and took hold of his feet and worshipped him

You can imagine the joy that they would have overflowed with when they saw

Jesus Many of you watching or listening to this right now Have had a loved one who has passed away or multiple loved ones who have passed away.

I know I have in my life Imagine seeing your loved one again

One morning where they just appeared to you Think of how overjoyed you would be at seeing that loved one

So we can imagine this putting ourselves in their shoes how

Overjoyed they would have been to see their dear friend the resurrected

Christ and note here too that they did not see a ghost they saw

Jesus with a body a Physical body it says they took hold of his feet

Spirits do not have feet. This is a body a new Glorified body that Jesus had and you also notice that they are bowing to him

They are worshiping and you only worship God These women knew that he was so much more than a man.

He is God throughout his ministry Jesus claimed to be

God's Son and They give him the worship that he is due and Jesus receives it because he is

God Before these women met Jesus They were afraid to tell the disciples because they knew the hostility of the

Jews who had just put Jesus to death Everyone would have feared because of my association with Jesus.

I might be in trouble. I might die So to involve in them, this is what

Jesus says in verse 10 Do not be afraid go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee and there they will see me

Earlier the angels told these women to tell the disciples that Jesus had risen Jesus expanded even more he tells them to tell his brothers

Throughout Jesus ministry. He had many people who followed him. The word was to spread that Jesus was going to Galilee Many would go there to see for themselves that Jesus truly was alive in Fact in the first Corinthians 15 6

Jesus explains that more than 500 brothers Would be there to see him

Risen from the dead. These are the witnesses who saw him Jesus made many appearances after his resurrection

The gospel account that we're looking at the gospel of Matthew is Focusing on this grand appearance that Jesus is going to make in Galilee in the near future

So what we have seen in this first point act one of The Apostle Matthew's account of the most impactful event in human history is this

After his resurrection Jesus appears first to several women

Act to the ones who killed Jesus Tried to cover up the reality of his resurrection verses 11 through 15

We just saw the perspective of people who were overjoyed to see

Jesus at his resurrection Now we are going to see the side of those who unjustly murdered

Jesus we're gonna see the evil side The people who delivered Jesus up to be crucified were the

Jewish leaders in this passage specifically mentions the chief priests Let's look at verse 11 while they were going the women

Behold some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place

So while the women were on their way To tell the disciples that Jesus had risen word got out about what happened at the tomb certain guards went to tell the chief priests the chief priests met with other leaders known as the elders and they come up with a plan a very devious wicked plan and before I explain

Plan was as we as we are gonna read here Think about how sinful this is how evil this is what they did

What they should have done is said there is irrefutable evidence that Jesus is who he said he is

He indeed has risen from the dead He really is from God and we are the phony ones not him.

We are the imposters not him Is that what they do?

Of course not these are wicked men they already murdered

Jesus by Delivering him at him up to be crucified and now they want to cover up the reality that Jesus rose from the dead as he said

He would They show their darkness the depth of their darkness in a cover -up attempt in verses 12 through 15 and And when they had assembled with the elders and taking counsel they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said tell people his disciples came by night and Stole him away while we were asleep.

And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble So they took the money and did as they were directed and this story has been spread among the

Jews to this day So what we see Here is that they decided to come up with a lie that the disciples stole the body

In order to prevent the truth of what really happened they paid to the soldiers who were on guard when the earthquake happened and the angel appeared and The stone rolled away

What they do is they pay off the guards to tell the lie that the disciples stole the body and If somehow the

Roman governor pilot hears about this The Jewish leaders are going to cover for the soldiers to keep them out of trouble and to keep this lie going that Jesus Stole that the body was stolen

By his disciples. They don't want the governor to find out that something else happened it's interesting that The day before they suspected the disciples may attempt to steal the body

This is why in the first place they put the guards there

So think about this they go from believing this the disciples the body to telling the lie

That the disciples did steal the body when they knew so well that a miracle from heaven happened these are very evil people and There are people who believe this lie to this day that the disciples stole the body

My dad who is a believer? He once sent an email to one of my relatives who is a big skeptic of the

Christian faith and of course what Christians do on Easter is they say the words he has risen and Then the one who has spoken to responds by saying he has risen indeed

So my dad sent this relative the words he has risen

To get a response from him that said no the disciples stole the body there were people in Matthew's day who believed this fable and There are still people today who believe it.

There's a Christian apologist by the name of William Lane Craig And what he has said is that almost all scholars

Christian and secular Agree on four facts regarding the resurrection

Let me give you these four facts And what we're going to see is how credible the claim is that Jesus indeed was raised bodily from the dead

Number one is this Joseph of Arimathea buried Jesus in his tomb number two

Several women found the tomb empty on Sunday morning number three many people claim to see

Jesus after the tomb was found empty and number four the

Christian movement started from these events as witnesses Sincerely reported that they saw him alive

So those are the four facts the disagreements among scholars is on the explanation of all these events

I'm here to tell you That the only explanation that makes any sense is that Jesus really rose from the dead

You might say well, of course you're gonna say that you're a pastor Well, yes,

I am a pastor But an impartial person who examines the evidence must conclude the bodily resurrection of Christ is true

Given the evidence it makes sense while the other views do not and what I tell you is that I would not be a pastor

If I didn't believe firmly that this would be a

Shepherd of God's people if I didn't believe this is this was true So let me give you an example of how ridiculous the other views are

One scholar said Jesus had a twin brother others have said

Jesus really didn't die But he survived the crucifixion Another view says

That people had hallucinations Now when we think about hallucinations

You can think maybe one or two after Jesus died would have a hallucination because their dear friend had passed away

But what we've already seen is that over 500 Witnessed the death or witnessed the resurrection of Christ Jesus would appear to these men and women when he went

To Galilee and the twin brother one is this ridiculous and That he didn't really die is

Also, very silly Do you think the disciples would boldly call people to believe in an almost dead man and say his resurrected life will change you?

forever of course not How do you explain the Christian movement?

there are At least over a billion people in the world who say that they are followers of Jesus Christ the

Christian movement would not have exploded if the resurrection were not true and We see in our text the other ridiculous view the lie that was told that the disciples stole the body

So as we see here the only logical explanation to the evidence is that Jesus indeed was raised

That the events described in Matthew Mark Luke and John really happened

What this shows is that the truth claims of Christianity can stand against any attack

Since the truth always stands against falsehood So we see here in act 2 our second point is this the most impactful event in human history describes the lie

That the ones who killed Jesus tried to cover up the reality of his resurrection

That's act 2 Now our third and final act From Matthew's account is this the grand appearance of Jesus is highlighted verses 16 and 17

So we transition to this grand appearance that Jesus would have with his disciples

As we as Jesus told the women to tell the disciples to go to Galilee to see him risen from the dead

I Once looked at a source that placed each of the the appearances of Christ in chronological order

This source listed 10 Documented appearances that Jesus made after his resurrection during the 40 days.

He was on the earth before he ascended to heaven We have already seen Matthew highlights the first appearance

Jesus appearing to the women and let me say this to Jesus appearing to women is remarkable when you think about it the reliability of Female witnesses for back in these days

It was not seen as a reliable witness And so it's incredible that in God's plan he had multiple women see him first and then the men see him

After and it's such a credible account because of all the witnesses who were seeing them, but he was first seen

By women and so the argument is is that if the Bible were trying to fabricate the story

It wouldn't say that women saw him first It would say that the most famous people saw him first And the people who would have been looked up to most by society

But that's not what it says it gives the events as they happened and what happened is that the women saw

Jesus first the eighth appearance

Matthew highlights, so Matthew highlights two appearances of the ten the first when he goes to the women and The eighth when he goes to Galilee to appear before all of these people

Let's see this in verses 16 and 17 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee to the mountain to which

Jesus had directed them and when they saw him they worshipped him but some doubted

The eleven disciples and many other people took the 60 -mile journey to Galilee as verse 10 says

The women were to tell not only the eleven disciples But also other followers of Jesus that he was going to meet many in Galilee They went to the mountain that Jesus told them to go to at this point

Jesus had already appeared to the eleven on several okay, but this meeting was an opportunity

For not only his immediate circle the eleven disciples to see him, but for all these other people as we have seen in 1st

Corinthians 15 6 Paul once again said he appeared to more than 500 brothers at one

Time and the word brothers is a general term Used for followers of Christ and this could be both men and women it can be young and old

What verse 17 says is that they saw him and they worshipped him? We already saw the women worship him earlier on in this passage, and now we see

All of these people are worshipping him Once again, we see the clear teaching of Scripture that Jesus is not just a man

He is God and what the Bible teaches What the New Testament teaches is that he's fully

God, and he is fully man You only worship God He is the worthy of our worship if you worship anyone else or else

That is It is sinful But Jesus is

God and therefore he is worshipped That's what these people are doing on this mountain in Galilee and what is incredible about this is that Jesus once again receives the worship in The Bible there are a few places where?

Creatures who are not God are Worshipped and it's interesting to see what happened in the book of Revelation the last book of the

Bible in chapter 2 verses 8 and 9 the Apostle John fell down to worship the angel who revealed revealed the whole prophecy of the book to him and The angel said to him you must not do that I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets and with those who keep the words of this book worship

God So the angel says only worship God There is a place in the

Bible where? Someone receives worship who should not and something horrible happened to him

King Herod Antipas who was a wicked king in Israel during the time of Christ He gave a public speech according to the book of Acts and when he gave that speech the people shouted

The voice of a God and not of a man then the account says that an angel of the Lord struck him dead

It's interesting that the Jewish historian Josephus records this event as well

And what what he records is that he was eaten by worms. It was a disease that that killed him

So receiving worship as one who is not God is very dangerous, but Jesus here receives it

And nothing happens to him he rightly receives worship because he is God He is fully

God and fully man and the earlier followers of Jesus knew this Now the end of verse 17 says that some doubted so not everyone here was

Worshiping him full -blown Some people had some doubts still which is pretty remarkable.

These are people who saw him Crucified and now they see him alive and they're still

Doubting it shows the power of the human heart to doubt even in the face of certainty

And when you first look at this you might think that this is referring to the eleven disciples Probably not as we've already seen there's lots of people there

So some in the crowd would have had some doubts still which is which again is remarkable that they would even have doubts

But that's what the text says And what you can see in this appearance at Galilee is how

God planned that the news of the resurrection would get get out He didn't have one person see it and report it, but he had many the

Old Testament talks about the value of More than one witness in the court of law and the

Lord planned That there would be many witnesses here to spread the truth of the bodily resurrection to the world

They would tell everyone this news that Jesus had risen from the dead a Small number of these people who were mostly

Apostles. These would be the ones who would write down That Jesus had risen and they would not only write that but they would also write his whole life

And they would write about the meaning of his crucifixion and the details surrounding

His life and the impact the enormous impact it's supposed to have on everyone who lives on planet

Earth This was God's plan and these documents are known as the

New Testament The 27 books of the New Testament the first book is Matthew the last book is a revelation

And what's packed in these books these 27 books? Will change your life

If you believe it It's meant to persuade you and it will change your life.

What's interesting is That Paul wrote first Corinthians about 20 years after the resurrection in 53

AD There would have been a lot of people of course who did not witness the resurrection who could approach someone who did and ask him or her

Were you there? Were you there? On that mountain in Galilee to see the resurrected

Christ Before he ascended to his father in heaven and there would have been people there to say.

Yes, I was there. I Remember when I was younger we took a trip to Dallas To visit my family and one of the days we went down to see the location where President John Kennedy Was assassinated

It was quite a sight to see it was like we were going back in history and in 2020

There are still people here today who remember that event from November 22nd 1963 when our president was shot and killed people still remember that people are alive who were there and And People can ask them.

What was it like and you can tell by the sincerity you can tell by the details

That this event really happened that they really were there that they're telling the truth

And let me ask you this When you read the New Testament, and if you haven't read the

New Testament, I encourage you read it Do you get the impression that these eyewitnesses are trustworthy?

I Know that when I read it, they come across as very Trustworthy. These are the type of people who tell the truth.

There are lots of liars in the world But these are not those people.

These are truth tellers These are trustworthy witnesses and what they say

You can count on and it will change your life In acts 3

This is our third the end of our third point in act 3 of Matthew's account of the most impactful event in history

He describes the grand appearance of Jesus in Galilee So to summarize what we have seen

I'm going to read these three acts to you again number one After his resurrection Jesus appears first to several women

Act 2 is the ones who killed Jesus tried to cover up the reality of his resurrection

Act 3 the grand appearance of Jesus is highlighted if this is true and I think we can all say if you're honest if you're honest

We can all say that this is not a fairy tale. This is real history If this is true, then the question is

What are you gonna do about it? This is meant to change your life forever The Gospels are not just history recorded

This is meant to impact everyone The Bible tells real history

What it tells us is God created this world that we live in he created you Every one of us has sinned before him

God is holy and we are not and this is why he sent Jesus into the world

He sent him to die for our sins. He sent him to bear the punishment that you and I deserve

Before Jesus ascended to heaven after 40 days of appearances He gave the

Commission to his disciples to spread this news That people would respond and this is the this is what

Jesus told them in verses 18 through 20 He said all the authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations Baptizing them in the name of the

Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you and behold.

I am with you always to the end of the age The disciples were given the command to make disciples

They were commanded to share the good news of what Jesus had done that he died for sinners that he was raised

Gloriously from the dead and if you believe in him, you will have eternal life. You will be reconciled to God You won't face the punishment that you deserve for your sins you will experience the abundance grace of God That is shown in Jesus Christ Going to the cross.

So my question to you is do you know Jesus? You can't be indifferent toward this news that Jesus died and rose again

You will either spend forever in eternal glory with God or Forever separated from God in hell right now

If you're alive you experience the goodness of God you experience his grace all the time living in this world But if you die in your sins if you die without believing without sincerely believing in Jesus Christ You will be cut off from the goodness of God only to face his wrath his holy wrath

These are the two choices before you and the choice is yours So I ask you do you have a relationship with Jesus and if you have any questions,

I'm the pastor of Eureka Baptist Church If you have any questions, you can reach out to us.

We have a Facebook page Eureka Baptist Church Facebook page. We have a website. It's Eureka BAP church

Dot -com we have it. We have a phone number seven five one four eight three nine four six

Four you can reach out to us if you're wondering, how do I enter into a relationship with Jesus?

When the second question is for those of you who do have a relationship with Christ You are following him and you love him and my question to you is what are you going to do to get this news out?

Are you sharing this with those who have yet to believe in Christ as Lord Savior and treasure? This is the

Commission that the Lord has given us and we must listen to it and get the most important news in the world out to our community in Eureka and the

St. Croix Falls area in all over Western Northwestern Wisconsin and to the whole world

This is news that we need to get out And so on this Easter Sunday How glorious it is that Jesus indeed is risen he has risen

Now next Sunday We will resume our look at the end times

We will look at the two evil rulers who will rise to power during the tribulation and that of course is the

Antichrist and The false prophet and we'll see that in Revelation 13 at this time.

I encourage you Wherever you are To bow your heads with me father in heaven

I love you, and I know that many listening to you. Love you and my prayer is that Everybody listening to you would bow their knee to you before it's too late

That they would believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved That they would believe in this risen

Savior who went to the cross who paid the full penalty for their sin Who is seated at your right hand who's gonna come again in glory?

To gather those who are yours and so this is my prayer Lord, and I pray for this in Jesus name