Sermon text: Matthew 28:1-10.

The Roman guards probably wondered why they found themselves in a garden, guarding a tomb sealed with the governor’s personal seal. They knew only that the occupant of the tomb had died the horrible death of crucifixion on Friday. Counting that day, they now began their third day of duty.

None of the guards knew of the conversation between the Jewish authorities and the Roman governor, Pilate, on Saturday. In that conversation, the Jewish leadership told Pilate, “Sir, we remember how that impostor 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” (Matthew 27:63-64). They knew only that Pilate ordered a guard at the tomb, and as Roman legionnaires, they would perform their duty.

Meanwhile, a group of women would approach the tomb to prepare the body for burial. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus had buried Him so hastily they hadn’t taken the time for the ritual anointing and embalming with spices. The women wondered openly how they would move the rock from the tomb. Given some rocks at Jewish tombs weighed between 1½ and 2 tons, you can see why they hoped someone would help them move the stone.

Neither the guards nor the women could have expected the reality that Sunday morning.

First, the guards experienced an earthquake. Since Judea lies close to the fault line that produced the Great Rift Valley running from modern Lebanon to Mozambique in Africa, earthquakes wouldn’t have normally concerned the guards.

The angel that accompanied the earthquake, on the other hand, posed another problem.

Time and again in Scripture, the appearance of angels frightened the humans witnessing their visits into either mortal fear or panic. Time and again, you’ll find the angels saying, “Fear not,” as Gabriel had spoken to Mary in Nazareth.

Not this time. This time, the angel meant to scare the living daylights out of the Romans, and he succeeded spectacularly. St. Matthew recorded, “His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men.” These Roman veterans, the grizzled and toughened members of the greatest military power on earth in their time, passed out in sheer terror like the famous “fainting goats” you may have seen on TV or the Internet.

The angel did comfort the women, however; he targeted the fear he caused only at the Romans. “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.” If these words calmed the women, the next words would have sent a thrill of excitement and joy through their bodies: “He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.” Jesus lived again!

The angel told the women, “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.” You’ll notice they didn’t take the angel’s invitation to peer inside the tomb; they instead trusted him and ran immediately to the disciples to tell them the good news.

However, they met Jesus after all. “Jesus met them and said, ‘Greetings!’And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him.” The word translated as “Greetings” in the ESV (“All hail” in the KJV) means “rejoice” in the Greek. You can hear Jesus saying to the women, “Rejoice!” St. Matthew recorded “great joy” had already overcome the women. From the sorrow of His death and the worry of moving a big rock, the women now found themselves rejoicing at Jesus’ resurrection.

Jesus told the women, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” The disciples had a long trip ahead of them, a trip Jesus would now make in a matter of moments. Jesus would later confirm the women’s testimony by appearing to the disciples Himself. The other Gospel writers recorded Jesus’ appearances.

Nothing in all history matches the Resurrection. Nothing in all of human existence can top it for its importance to us and for its momentous effect on humanity.

First, Jesus’ resurrection fulfilled the prophecies about the Messiah, the chosen one who would deliver Israel from her enemies. St. Peter, preaching on the day of Pentecost, quoted David’s prophecies regarding his Descendant who would rule on his throne forever (Acts 2:25-31). St. Peter would later tell the Jews that Jesus fulfilled Moses’ prophecy of “a prophet like me” (Deuteronomy 18:15, 18, 19; Acts 3:22). As they read the Old Testament after His resurrection, the new believers in Jesus saw Him in book after book of their writings.

Secondly, Jesus’ resurrection confirmed Him as the true Son of the God of Israel. St. Peter would preach only a few weeks later in the Temple and tell the Jews assembled there, “Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified” (Acts 2:36). St. Paul later referred to Jesus as God’s “Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead” (1 Thessalonians 1:10). Jesus’ identity as the eternal Son of God demonstrates God’s love for us. Only the death of Jesus could show us the lengths to which God would go for our salvation.

Lastly, Jesus’ resurrection gives us the promise of an eternal life. We all know we will one day die. All of us have lost loved ones to death. However, everyone who dies believing in Jesus as the Son of God, born again by His Spirit, will experience a resurrection one day. St. Paul told the Corinthians, “ in fact 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” (1 Corinthians 15:20-22).

Without question, the resurrection of Jesus means something to us. The Resurrection means life; it means forgiveness of our sins by God through the blood of His Son; it means the defeat of death. If you want to experience true joy in this life, you can achieve it only by believing in Jesus and letting Him change you into the immortal person He intends for you to become. In this day, on this Easter, the Resurrection can bring you hope, peace, and joy if you will confess Jesus as Lord and believe in His resurrection (Romans 10:9-10). In this day, you can look forward to a resurrection foreshadowed by the resurrection of Jesus, the divine Son of God.