“Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it. And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards quaked from fear of him and became like dead men. And the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying.”
‭‭-Matthew‬ ‭28‬:‭1‬-‭6‬ ‭LSB‬‬

The Scene

Imagine this scene. On Good Friday, the apostle’s greatest fears were realized. Their Savior, the healer, the Son of David, the King of the Jews, the hope of Israel, was cruelly put to death upon a Roman cross. Jesus’ faithful followers watched Him bleed, weep, tremble, gasp for air, close His eyes, and exhale, “It is finished”. The sting of death overwhelmed their heart. The man who called Lazarus back to life from the dead was taken down from the cross, wrapped in burial cloths, and laid to rest in a tomb. Grief set in like black clouds rolling in to shut out the sun’s rays, bringing only darkness. Where will the apostles go now? What will they do? Their hearts were like storms of emotion, tossing their minds to and fro, threatening to shipwreck their faith. 

On Saturday, the Sabbath felt lifeless and cold. Jesus’ followers were numb, unable to make sense of it all. Their minds wandered in and out of reality, unwilling to believe what their eyes had seen the day before. Between sadness and anger, they searched their memories of their teacher, seeking answers to this riddle. How could the Messiah die like this, at the hands of their Roman enemies, betrayed by their own leadership? Where was God, and what was He doing in all of this? With deep groans and tear-filled eyes, they prayed something like (Psalm 69), “Save me, O God; For the waters have come in unto my soul. I sink deep in mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters where the floods overflow me. I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God…”

On Sunday, the women of Jesus’ apostolic band gathered all the proper supplies to complete the hurried burial of their beloved Rabbi. They walked together while the sun’s light began to illuminate the Eastern horizon before dawn. Their trip was somber and tearful, a slow walk to say their final goodbyes to the man who loved them even to the end. While they were in view of the lifeless tomb, the ground shook beneath their feet, and they saw what appeared to be lightning strike Jesus’ tomb. Frozen at this spectacle, they composed themselves and hurried to the tomb only to find an angel directing their attention to Jesus’ tomb, now opened. The women heard the good news, “He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying.” They dropped the burial supplies. Their hearts skipped a beat. Their minds raced as they tried to process their experience. They came to see the place, and Jesus was gone! Do they dare believe? Their Jesus, was He really alive? Their poor hearts, full of confused emotion, but it felt like joy, throwing off the rags of death and dancing in victory. Could they believe their own hearts? Could they believe their eyes? Could they believe their ears? On their way back to tell the Apostles of Jesus’ empty tomb, they saw Him. They lay before His feet, sobbing with tears of unbridled joy and clutching Him as if never to let him go again. Jesus is alive! 

He has risen, just as He said…

What Does Resurrection Mean For Me

What does Jesus’ resurrection mean? I want to give you four words to help think through the meaning of Jesus’ resurrection. 

Proof

    Physical Evidence is a powerful tool of persuasion. The disciples saw Jesus die and knew where His lifeless body was laid to rest. They understood the permanence of death. On the day following the crucifixion, the disciples were forced to weigh the physical evidence of their beloved teacher’s death against their beliefs of Jesus’ identity, words, promises, and actions. This was also true of Jesus’ enemies. Imagine the evil hearts of those Pharisees and Sadducees who celebrated their victory over Jesus, whom they believed was a deceiver, a heretic, and a danger to their peaceful status in the Roman empire. Those wicked men weighed the evidence of Jesus’ crucifixion and were fully persuaded that God was with them and against Jesus.

    Should physical evidence persuade us? Jesus himself used physical evidence to demonstrate the truth of his claims. One day in Capernaum, Jesus was teaching, and a large crowd gathered to listen. His audience was diverse. The home that he taught in was surrounded, like an impenetrable wall. In the city of Capernaum, there was a paralyzed man with four friends who were convinced that they needed to see Jesus. If they could get Jesus’ attention, if they could somehow present their friend to Jesus the healer, he would be healed. But how? Jesus’ crowd was like an impenetrable wall. These friends would not let this obstacle defeat them. So, they found their way to the roof of the home where Jesus was teaching and unapologetically broke through it so they could lower their friend to Jesus. Jesus could have rebuked them for interrupting His teaching or for damaging someone else’s property, but instead, seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.”

    Immediately, some of the religious scribes said among themselves, “This man blasphemes, who can forgive sins but God alone?” Why did they doubt Jesus’ ability to forgive sins? Because they rightly understood that no man has that ability. So, why was Jesus declaring forgiveness of sins? This is where the story gets most interesting. Matthew 9:4 says Jesus knew their thoughts and in response said, “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts?” (The evil that they thought was calling Jesus a blasphemer for forgiving a man’s sins) Jesus continued, “For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sis are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? Jesus is setting the stage to prove that He has the authority to forgive sins because He is God incarnate. 

    Notice that Jesus asks what is easier to say, not what is easier to do. We have all heard the phrase, “Talk is cheap”. Jesus set the stage, and the truth is about to come out into the open. Those unbelieving scribes would surely believe it’s easier to say ‘your sins are forgiven’. How could Jesus prove He truly has the authority to forgive sins as the Divine Son? He will need to provide some physical evidence, and that is why he turns next to that paralyzed man on the bed and says, ‘Get up, pick up your bed and go home.’ No one who saw what happened next would ever forget it. Jesus’ words healed that paralyzed man. The man got up! The crowd erupted in praise to God for the miracle of healing. That was the proof! Jesus provided physical evidence for His ability to forgive sins!

    Did that proof change the hearts of those scribes? The scriptures don’t tell us, but while proof is persuasive, physical evidence alone will not make converts. Jesus made so many claims during His ministry. He claimed to be the divine Son of God. He claimed to have God’s authority within Himself. He claimed to be the true interpreter of God’s law. He claimed to be the promised Messiah. He claimed to be the only way of salvation for mankind. Jesus said many things, and the power of His words is truly felt by all who believe them, because the physical evidence of His resurrection also proves them. 

    Jesus’ empty tomb is not a myth or a fantasy. Jesus’ empty tomb is a historical fact. Jesus’ tomb is physical evidence of the truthfulness of His claims, His promises, and His personal identity. Peter and the other apostles’ lives were forever changed because of the proof of Jesus’ resurrection. That unlikely band of Jesus followers had no political influence, no significant financial means, but they turned the world upside down with the gospel of Jesus Christ. They risked their lives to tell the story of Christ, and they proved their message true with the physical evidence of Christ’s empty tomb and their own testimony in martyrdom. 

    What does Jesus’ resurrection mean? It means there is proof of everything He said. And His resurrection holds a promise. 

    Promise

    We might say that Jesus’ cross gave us the promise that our sins are forgiven, and Jesus’ empty tomb gave us the promise of our resurrection and eternal life with Christ. Jesus’ resurrection was described as a harvest in 1 Corinthians 15:20. The apostle Paul calls Jesus the “first fruits” of the dead. Because we are not ancient Near Eastern farmers, we could easily miss the significance of this word picture. His first audience easily understood Paul’s reference because everyone was familiar with the spring harvest. The first fruits of the season might have been barley, for example. The early spring barley harvest was celebrated as a promise of the wheat and vineyard harvests to follow. This agricultural detail matters to us because, in Paul’s farming analogy, he teaches that Jesus was the first to rise from the dead, and just as surely as He was resurrected, we will also be resurrected according to God’s timing. We will experience eternal life in a perfect resurrected physical body that will resemble the perfection of Christ’s resurrected body. 

    Jesus’ work for our salvation was not only a promise for our justification. Jesus’ work for our salvation was also a promise of our ultimate and final transformation from this temporary life of suffering into an eternal life of experiencing the unbridled joy of living in the very presence of God, our Savior. Living in the presence of God is the goal, the end, the ultimate meaning of life. Jesus’ resurrection promises us that death is not the end of us. I will die one day, you will die one day, but will we live again? Our lives now are filled with heartache, suffering, and trouble. Jesus’ resurrection promises us another life after this life, one with no tears, no pain, and in God’s eternal presence. The beauty of this life is real, but it is fading. Jesus’ resurrection is a promise of a life that will never fade, a life with incomparable beauty and unceasing joy. This isn’t a promise of a fairytale, but it’s a promise of a world more real than this. 

    In this life, we suffer, we struggle, and we don’t always experience the joy of the Lord. In Romans 7, the Apostle Paul reminds us that our current state as a believer is an internal war. On the one hand, we desire to live as Christ lived and for Christ’s glory. We want to do good, but far too often we find ourselves unable to do the good that we want to do. Instead, there is a war between our fallen flesh and our redeemed spirit. Instead of doing good, to our shame, we fall to temptation again and do the things that we hate. We desire to live humble, selfless, chaste, godly lives, but there are still remnants of an old nature that pull us toward pride, lust, selfishness, and worldliness. Paul describes it in detail, and then in a final crescendo of godly ambition, he cries, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death?” And then Paul answers his own question and says, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ”, and “we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for our adoption as sons, to the redemption of our body”. Paul reminded us that one day, we will be resurrected like Jesus was, and on that day, all our sorrow, shame, and suffering will be over. That is the day when we will finally be satisfied, beholding Christ’s face and having His true likeness in our resurrected bodies. Jesus will wipe away every tear from our eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain. The old things will pass away, and that will be the beginning of the new, resurrected life that will never pass away.

    Jesus’ resurrection provides proof of all that He said, and His promise of eternal life is assured for all who believe in Him. Thirdly, Jesus’ resurrection means our lives are meant for His Praise.

    Praise

    Do you believe Jesus died on the cross for your sins? Do you believe Jesus resurrected on the third day for your eternal salvation? If you do, (Psalm 107) “Oh give thanks to Yahweh, for He is good, For His lovingkindness endures forever. Let the redeemed of the (LORD) say so, (those) whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary And gathered from (all) lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south…Let them give thanks to Yahweh for His lovingkindness…(because) He has satisfied the thirsty soul, and the hungry soul. He has filled with what is good…He sent His word and healed them, And provided them escape from thier destructions. Let them give thanks to Yahweh for His lovingkindness…and recount His works with joyful singing…Let them give thans to Yahweh for His lovingkindness…Let them exalt Him in the (church) and praise Him…

    Praise is the outward and joyful expression of the redeemed to God for God. If we believe what we say we believe, then we should show the world we believe. Show the world you believe, not by rebuking them, but by praising God. Show the world you believe in God by submitting to His words and living in obedience to His will. Show the world you believe by loving Christ’s church. Show the world you believe with a smile, a song, and a sermon about the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Praise God with your words and your actions. 

    Joy is the mark of Holy Spirit-filled people. Joy that transcends your trials is a testimony that can not be easily discarded. So, where does this joy come from? Where can we find the joy of the LORD? Jesus was preparing His apostles for His coming absence durring His last supper in John 16, and He said, “A little while, and you will not see me; and again a little while, and you will see me; … Therefore you too have sorrow now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you”. Church, Jesus says that the result of His resurrection will be joy that can’t be stolen. 

    Christian, if you lack joy, it hasn’t been stolen; it may have been forfeited. Remember David’s terrible sin of adultery and murder? In Psalm 51:12, in the middle of David’s prayer of repentance, he asks God, “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation.” Our joy can’t be stolen, but through our own willful sins, we might forfeit our joy. So if you need restored joy, seek it in prayer to Christ. God will restore your joy, as He renews your vision of Jesus. 

    Jesus’ resurrection means there is proof for your faith, a promise for your future, and a life of praise that He deserves from you. Fourthly, Jesus’ resurrection means all people everywhere must prepare themselves.

    Prepare

    Jesus’ resurrection is good news for all who believe in Him, who declare Him Lord, and who look forward to our resurrection and eternal life. However, whenever the good news is heard, there is an echo of warning. The Good news of “Believe on the LORD JESUS CHRIST and you shall be saved can inversely mean, prepare yourself, because all who reject the Lord Jesus Christ shall be eternally lost. The Apostle Paul, in Acts 17, declared the gospel in Athens, the cultural center of the ancient world. The Athenians were a curious people who invited Paul to expound upon His religion. When Paul found himself on center stage in the most religious city of the Roman Empire, he began his sermon by pointing out an altar they had reserved for “an unknown God.” Paul began to expound the Christian faith to those people who had never heard the name of Jesus. The pattern of Paul’s sermon was: There is only one God, He is perfect, uncreated, and the source of all life. He is the creator and sustainer of all things, and all people everywhere are cared for by Him, even without their acknowledgment. He is not like the other false gods of gold, silver, or stone. He is transcendent, and He has patiently endured the world’s ignorance, but now He is “commanding men that everyone everywhere should repent, beause He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a man whom He determined, having furnished proof to all by raising Him from the dead”.

    Did you see Paul’s argument? He did not say that all religions are equally valid. He did not make room for the possibility that other faith systems might be ways to God. He denounced all other religions and declared that everyone everywhere must repent because God has chosen a day, unknown to us, when He will judge everyone. God’s judge will be a man named Jesus who lived, suffered, died, and rose again. The message of Paul’s sermon was “prepare yourself”, and the basis of this warning was God’s proof to all the world – Jesus’ resurrection. 

    Not everyone is yet a Christian, but Jesus’ resurrection is not a secret. The empty tomb is there. Its message might not be believed, but the tomb is empty just the same. Jesus’ promises were not only to save the world, but also to come again and judge the world. Prepare yourself. If you are not yet a Christian, turn to Jesus today. Listen to the words of the angel, “Come and see the place where He was lying” … “He is not here, for He has risen”.

    Jesus’ resurrection is Proof that everything He said is true. Jesus’ resurrection brings the Promise of eternal life to all who believe. Jesus’ resurrection is the source of joyful Praise for His people. And Jesus’ resurrection is the reason everyone everywhere must prepare themselves for judgment day. 

    Church, He is risen