MARCH
31, 2013
1.
CONSIDER THE
EMPTY TOMB (MATTEW 28:1-4)
Matthew 28:1-4
1 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. 2 And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an
angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and
sat upon it. 3 And his appearance was like lightning, and his garment as white
as snow; 4 and the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.
NASB
Verse 1:
·
Notice
that there is nothing superfluous in the scriptures, for we read "in the
end of the Sabbath."
·
The
Sabbath that had just passed the day before, was the Passover-Sabbath, the high
holy day of Israel when all pious Jews were to attend feasts and observances of
the ceremonial law.
·
The
Sabbath day belongs to the old creation.
·
After
God had created everything, He rested on the Sabbath day. Now we have come to the new creation in
Christ Jesus.
·
While
he lived, Jesus attended and participated in such feasts for they were ordained
of god in the o.t. history.
·
But
on this Sabbath day, Jesus did not attend the feasts and ceremonies for he lay
still in the grave.
·
With
his resurrection on the next day, all such ceremonies and feasts were set aside
forever more.
·
The
symbols were now passed away for the substance of which they spoke had now
come.
·
Mary
Magdalene was the one from whom the Lord had cast seven demons (Luke 8:2).
Verse 2:
·
Appropriately
there had been an earthquake at the moment of Christ's death.
·
So
also, now, in connection with Christ's resurrection, there suddenly occurred a
"severe" or "violent" earthquake.
·
The
angel "sat upon” the stone that had covered the opening to the tomb in
order to defy all the powers of the dark prince to roll the stone again to
close the opening to the tomb and thereby hide the fact that the Saviour had
indeed risen: and, to denote to the believer the divine promise that the stone
never more would cover the opening to the tomb, that the opening to the
resurrected life would always remain open to those that would enter in.
Verse 3:
·
The
appearance of the angel probably spoke of four things.
·
The
splendor and glory of heaven which awaits us.
·
The
glory of the saints in their resurrected state.
·
But
most of all, the glory of this angel represented the glory of the Lord, for the
description of the angel is quite similar to the Lord in his transfiguration.
·
The
holiness of the angel.
·
All
three persons of the Holy Trinity were involved in the resurrection of Jesus.
Romans 6:4
4
Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order
that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we
too might walk in newness of life.
NASB
Romans 8:11
11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised
Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead
will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you.
NASB
John 10:17-18
18 "No one has taken it away from Me, but
I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have
authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My
Father."
NASB
2.
RECALL WHAT
JESUS PREDICTED (MATTHEW 28:5-7)
Matthew 28:5-7
5
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. 6 "He is not
here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was
lying. 7 "And go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the
dead; and behold, He is going before you into Galilee, there you will see Him;
behold, I have told you."
NASB
Verse 5:
·
Instead
of a rebuke to the women, for they came to visit a Saviour yet in the grave,
the angel comforts them with these words.
Verse 6:
·
The
most comforting three words in the entire language for the Christian: “He
has risen”
·
Since
Christ is risen, they, and we, look no more down into an empty tomb, but above
to a filled throne in heaven!
Verse 7:
·
The
instructions of the angel to tell the disciples was at once a rebuke (for their
lack of faith for not believing the promise of the resurrection) and a blessing
(for Christ loved them still and wanted them to see at once and to believe).
·
The
attitude of the disciples seems to be, since Jesus was dead it was better to
stay undercover until after all the excitement had died down.
3.
REFLECT ON THE
RISEN LORD’S APPEARANCES (MATTHEW 28:8-10)
Matthew 28:8-10
8 And they departed quickly from the
tomb with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples. 9 And
behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His
feet and worshiped Him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to leave
for Galilee, and there they shall see Me."
NASB
Verse 8:
·
We
should remember that "fear" here undoubtedly "awe" - awe at
what had happened, for there is nothing to fear at the great news of our Lord's
resurrection.
·
In
spreading the good news of the resurrection of the Lord, they did not merely
stroll back to the disciples.
·
They
ran, for their news was urgent and would affect the lives of the hearers for
the rest of their lives and for all eternity!
Verse 9:
·
The
first disbelievers of the Resurrection were the apostles themselves.
·
Yet
our Lord had told them over and over what was going to happen concerning His
death and resurrection.
·
Humanly
speaking, it was because the Lord had not been visibly seen to present
conclusive proof of His resurrection.
·
Spiritually
speaking, it takes a divine operation upon the heart for faith to occur.
·
Today,
it is the operation of the Holy Spirit upon the heart that causes a person to
believe.
·
The
Holy Spirit was not given until Pentecost.
Verse 10:
The disciples had just before
shamefully deserted Him in his sufferings; but, to show that He could forgive,
and to teach us to do so, He calls them brethren. Notwithstanding His majesty
and purity, and our meanness and unworthiness, He still condescends to call
believers his brethren.
Matthew Henry’s Concise
Commentary
4.
THINK ABOUT THE
CHURCH’S GROWTH (MATTHEW 28:16-20)
Matthew 28:16-20
16 But the eleven disciples proceeded to
Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. 17 And when they saw Him,
they worshiped Him; but some were doubtful. 18 And Jesus came up and spoke to
them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me
in heaven and on earth. 19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy
Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with
you always, even to the end of the age. "
NASB
Verses 16-7:
·
We
are to be His witnesses, and we are to be endued with power from on high.
·
From
the beginning the disciples had difficulty believing that Jesus had actually
risen from the dead.
·
When
ten finally believed it, one (Thomas) was still unconvinced.
·
He,
too, became convinced.
Verse 18:
·
He
was speaking to them as their "KING."
·
He
has power or authority committed to Him over all things that He might redeem,
defend, and save the church purchased with His own blood.
·
He
preface the Great Commission with this statement because He wanted the Apostles
to know that as they went into the world to discharge the Great Commission that
they could count on Him and His power to protect them and to enable them to
carry out the commission.
Verse 19:
·
The
Lord is telling them to get into action.
Verse 20:
·
We
are to teach all that He commanded us, not just what appeals to us according to
our human nature.
·
All
the parts of the bible, all doctrine, not just the parts about love and mercy,
but also the parts about punishment and judgment.
·
He
will aid, strengthen, guide, and defend all His disciples to the end of the
age.
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