Free resurrection sermons

Rolled Back the Stone

Text – Matt 28:1-10

Song before sermon – Ten Thousand Angels

Invitation song – We Saw Thee Not

I have lost count how many times I have preached the resurrection from all of the gospels.

A.   Have you ever thought how God did the resurrection all wrong?

1.   The resurrection of Jesus was not nearly the production that most of us would have made it.  If George Lucas or Steven Spielberg had been in charge of the resurrection, it would have had a much larger splash than it did.

2.   Obviously I’m being facetious, but have you ever stopped to wonder why the resurrection was somewhat reserved and subdued?  You could probably ask the same question about the birth of Jesus Christ in this world.  But here is the resurrection of the Son of God – the Messiah – the Savior! – and there are no angels singing in the sky?  There are no kings or dignitaries from around the world who have been invited to witness this historic event?  No parade in the streets of Jerusalem?  And why, after the resurrection, would God limit the appearances of Jesus to his closest acquaintances and friends?  I know Jesus showed Himself to as many as 500 in one instance, but still that is a small number of people; we have 5 times that many people here this morning in the Benson Auditorium.

3.   Think about this a little bit – Don’t you think it would be a great idea for God – (and God didn’t consult me on this) – to have Jesus resurrected not in the dark hours of the morning, but in the middle of morning, with the sun shining bright, and to have a white stallion suddenly appear from behind some rocks, and Jesus swoops into the saddle of the steed and rides hard and fast through the streets of Jerusalem all the way to Pilate’s Porch where the bloody body of Jesus had been standing just a few days earlier?  He looks at Pilate to say, “I told you that you had no real authority over Me!”  Or, what if Jesus miraculously materialized right in the midst of the Sanhedrin Council’s second Sunday of the month business meeting?  His first words to them were, “Have you missed Me?”

4.   Why did Jesus spend only 40 days more on the earth before ascending back to the Father?  Why not 6 months to give more time to get the word out?  Why not have Jesus reappear annually on the date of the resurrection to remind all of the people yearly of His power over death?

5.   I have all of these good ideas – and you may have a few great ideas of your own – but why didn’t God do something more melodramatic and sensational?

B.   Perhaps a clue can be found in the Lord’s words to His disciple named Thomas in John 20.

1.   You remember the story.  Jesus appeared to the disciples in a house, but Thomas was not with them.  The others told Thomas, “We have seen the Lord!”  Thomas said that he would not believe unless he could see the nail marks, put his fingers where the nails were driven, and put his hand in the side of Jesus. 

2.   Thomas wants what we all want – We want to “see” – we want tangible, objective evidence – what we will believe.

3.   A week later they were all in the same house and this time Thomas was there.  The doors were locked shut, but suddenly Jesus stood in their midst.  Jesus spoke to them saying, “Peace be with you!”  Then he turned to Thomas and said, “Place your finger here in my hands, and put your hand into my side.  Now stop doubting and BELIEVE.”  Thomas said, “My Lord and my God!”  Then Jesus spoke these words, “(Thomas) Because you HAVE SEEN ME, you have believed; BLESSED are those who HAVE NOT SEEN and yet have believed” (29).

4.   Let me throw out another thought – It seems to me those who saw the resurrected Lord had no CHOICE but to believe in the resurrection.  Is that true?  The death of Jesus was irrefutable.  The Roman soldier made sure He was dead.  The Jewish leaders were glad He was dead.  Those who prepared His body were sad He was dead.  And those who rolled the stone in front of the tomb were confident He would remain dead.  The whole city of Jerusalem knew Jesus was dead.  On Friday there was a funeral and grave side service for a dead man!

5.   And now Jesus is standing right in the thick of the disciples – they could not just say, “I just don’t think I will believe.”  They didn’t have any choice but to believe that Jesus was resurrected from the dead.  They saw the visible, tangible, objective evidence of Jesus’ resurrection.  He is standing right in front of them!

6.   These privileged few people who were eyewitnesses to the resurrected Lord had no choice but to believe.

7.   But every Christian since – including all of us this morning – all believers who have lived since Jesus ascended into the skies fall into the category of BLESSED.

8.   There are many compelling arguments for believing in the resurrection.  I have read the books like Josh McDowell’s, “Evidence that Demands a Verdict,” and Lee Strobel’s, “The Case for the Christ,” and Frank Morison’s, “Who Moved the Stone?” – and other books that offer convincing reasons to believe in the resurrection.

9.   But FAITH requires the opportunity for REJECTION for it to be faith.  If you do not have the opportunity to say “No, I don’t believe,” – if that is not possible for you – then your faith is not real faith.

I want us to consider that through the resurrection God has given us the opportunity of FAITH – to choose to accept or reject the resurrection:

I.  The Resurrection Allows Us to Receive.

1.   I wonder what the two Marys were thinking about on the way to tomb that Sunday morning.  I know what they were NOT thinking!  They were not thinking they would find an empty tomb and a resurrected Messiah.  They didn’t say, “What are you going to say when you see Jesus alive again?”  They weren’t thinking those thoughts.

2.   Mark’s Gospel tells us exactly what they were thinking; “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” (Mark 16:3).  They were discussing what they are going to do when they get to the tomb and the stone is not moved.  They have no idea the grave has already been vacated.

3.   You see, on Friday all of their HOPE in Jesus died when Jesus died.  They are walking to tomb with heavy hearts and with heavy hands full of spices.  They have come to place warm oil on a cold body and to pay their last respects.  These two women are going to the grave to GIVE – not to RECEIVE.

4.   These two women are the type of people who are willing to GIVE to Jesus, expecting nothing in return.  Someone has to anoint the body of Jesus, and Peter, Andrew, John and the others are not offering to do it, so they are going to the tomb... to give their gift of love.

5.   I wonder what would have happened if on the way there one Mary looked at the other and said, “What are we doing?  We probably can’t get into the tomb anyway, let’s go back.”  They would have missed the opportunity to RECEIVE – to receive the GOOD NEWS spoken by angel – “He is not here; he is RISEN, just as he said.”

II.  The Resurrection Allows Us to Believe.

1.   The Scripture said there was an earthquake!  Just as the earth shook when Jesus died, there is a violent earthquake when He arose.  And an angel came from heaven and rolled back the stone... AND SAT ON IT.  I love that part of the story.  His countenance was like lightning, and his clothes were as white as snow.  And He is sitting on the one the one obstacle that stood in the way of the women and the tomb.  This angel is sitting victorious atop the single greatest problem they thought they would have that morning.  Now the stone is rolled back, and the angel is just sitting on top of what WAS their biggest obstacle. 

2.   And this elite group of Roman guards are so afraid they are comatose like dead men.  They thought this would be an easy assignment.  All they had to do what guard the tomb for a few days to keep some Galilean fishermen and some women from stealing the body.

3.   It’s ironic – The One who was dead is alive, and the ones who were alive are acting like dead men.

4.   Don’t you know the ANGEL must surely have enjoyed his job!!!  This is the only case in Scripture where an angel committed a FELONY.  When the Romans placed the seal of the governor over the tomb, no one was to tamper with the tomb or break the seal.  It was a felony punishable by death.

5.   But that is not why the angel is enjoying his job.  The reason is because on Friday, this angel, along with 9,999 other angels were poised and ready to attack planet earth, to destroy the world, and set Jesus free.  But the command to attack and destroy never came.  But now this angel is allowed to come and roll the stone away.

6.   By the way, WHY DID the angel roll the stone away from the tomb?  For whom did he roll the rock away?  For Jesus?  Isn’t that what we have assumed?  Did Jesus need the stone moved?  The One who turned water into wine... who fed the multitudes... who healed the sick... who gave sight to the blind... made the lame to walk... commanded the demons... walked on the water... calmed the storm... raised the dead... and walked right through locked doors... JESUS NEEDED THE STONE MOVED FOR HIM?  The angel didn’t move the rock for Jesus.  The angel moved the rock away for the women.

7.   Verse 6: The angels said, “Come and see the place where he lay.”  The stoned was not moved so Jesus could be let OUT, but was moved so the women could be let IN, so they could see and BELIEVE.

III.  The Resurrection Allows Us to Live Without Fear.

1.   They were instructed by the angel to go and tell the disciples, “Jesus is risen from the dead!”  On the way, the Lord meets these women and offers a greeting.  They don’t say, “Hi” back in return.  These women are still somewhat in a state of shock.  Now seeing Jesus they are completely and utterly stunned.  Jesus knows that most of all they are afraid.  He tells them, “Do not be afraid.” 

2.   Then Jesus tells these women, “Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”  Jesus knows there are some men who are even more afraid than these women.  They are gathered behind locked doors because of their fear.  But when they see Jesus alive again, fear will be driven from their lives.

3.   The resurrection of Jesus changed everything – This band of self-centered, unreliable followers was transformed into kingdom-minded, fearless evangelists!  How else can you explain the whiplash change in these men, who most of them scattered like rats on a sinking ship in the garden, to become men who turned the world upside down with their preaching, and were willing to give their life in martyrdom, proclaiming their faith in the resurrected Christ?

4.   The resurrection can have the same kind of TRANSFORMING POWER in our lives today – Because of what happened on Resurrection Sunday almost 2000 years ago, we don’t have to be afraid today.

5.   Heb 2:14-15 – Jesus shared in our humanity so that “by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death — that is, the devil — ¹⁵ and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their FEAR of death.”

6.   We can live life this week without any FEAR.  We can go work, to school, to the doctors office, the funeral home or to the grave – and we can go without fearing.

                                   

Now that I think more about it, I suppose God did it exactly right.

The resurrection was done exactly right... IF... faith is critical.

Remember, those who saw Jesus alive again had no CHOICE but to believe.  We, on the other hand, have a choice to make.  When we have the opportunity to believe or to not believe, and we choose to believe, that’s real FAITH.

Do WE BELIEVE in the resurrection of Jesus?  After all...

We gazed not in the open tomb, Where once Thy mangled body lay;

Nor saw Thee in that “upper room,” nor met Thee on the open way;

But we believe that angels said, “Why seek the living with the dead?”  (Sing it with me...)

But we believe that angels said, “Why seek the living with the dead?”

      “BLESSED are those who HAVE NOT SEEN and yet have believed.”  – I am in a room full of BLESSED people!

Do you need to confess your faith in the risen Savior, to be immersed in baptism with Him, united with His death, for the forgiveness of sin.

Perhaps this morning you just need to lift your voice and express to God how much you BELIEVE.  As we stand and sing. 

Noel Whitlock