FROM THE DARK OF NIGHT TO THE DAWN OF LIGHT
Matthew 27:45-50; 28:1-6a
I. Introduction
Every church has an Easter story to tell. Here’s an Easter story from another church to share with you.
“The call to worship had just been pronounced starting Easter Sunday Morning service in an East Texas church. The choir started its processional, singing ‘Up from the Grave He Arose’ as they marched in perfect step down the center aisle to the front of the church. The last lady was wearing shoes with very slender heels.
Without a thought for her fancy heels, she marched toward the grating that covered that hot air register in the middle of the aisle. Suddenly the heel of one shoe sank into the hole in the register grate. In a flash she realized her predicament. Not wishing to hold up the whole processional, without missing a step, she slipped her foot out of her shoe and continued marching down the aisle. There wasn’t a hitch. The processional moved with clock-like precision. The first man after her spotted the situation and without losing a step, reached down and pulled up her shoe, but the entire grate came with it! Surprised, but still singing, the man kept on going down the aisle, holding in his hand the grate with the shoe attached.
Everything still moved like clockwork. Still in tune and still in step, the next man in line stepped into the open hole where the register was and disappeared from sight. The service took on a special meaning that Sunday, for just as the choir ended with ‘Allelujah! Christ arose!’ a voice was heard under the church shouting … ‘I hope all of you are out of the way ‘cause I’m coming out now!’ The little girl closest to the aisle shouted, ‘Come on, Jesus! We’ll stay out of the way.’” (Contributed by: Darren Ethier)
Well, today is Easter Sunday, when we celebrate the resurrection of Christ from the dead. He was down in a hole, but he came out.
You’ve just heard Matthew 27-28 read which tells us about Christ’s resurrection.
There are a couple of things I want to point out in this passage.
II. Dark of Night
The first thing is the darkness, and there are two such “darknesses.” One is the darkness from the sixth hour to the ninth hour - which according to the Jewish way of counting time it begins with sunrise - so that would make the sixth hour about noon and the ninth hour was about 3 PM. So from noon-3 PM, when the sun is usually the hottest and brightest, God brought about a miraculous darkness.
And then there is the second darkness which is the darkness that comes naturally at night. And in this passage, we see as evening approached someone asked for Jesus’ body to be brought down from the cross so that he can bury Jesus in a tomb.
But besides the two kinds of darkness in this passage, we also see a light. And that light was on that early Sunday morning when the first rays of sunlight came up and some women went to Jesus’ tomb.
And because we see darkness and light in this passage, that’s why this sermon is called “From the Dark of Night to the Dawn of Light.”
Let’s take a closer look at this darkness and this light.
First, the darkness.
A. Spiritually
The death of Jesus was a very dark time. I mean that symbolically or Spiritually (slide).
The perfect Son of God - who did not commit a sin - was crucified. He was killed unfairly. There is nothing more unfair than this in the whole world.
It is taking the most innocent person in the world - who has only done good and no evil - and saying that he deserved capital punishment. We don’t get it. It’s not fair. It’s not right. But Jesus allowed himself to go through this because he knew his death was going to be the way to save us.
And the reason he had to save us was because we have darkness in us. We are sinners; we have ignored God and disobeyed his commands to us.
There is darkness in our hearts and minds. The Bible says that we were “living in darkness.” And Jesus had to come and die for our sins and pay the penalty of our disobedience.
The Bible describes our spiritual condition without God as being blind and walking around in darkness. Have you seen a blind person walking around if he doesn’t have his cane? You feel sorry for that person, because he doesn’t know where he is going. And he’s feeling this way and that, and it must be so confusing.
I still remember when I was in college that I read about a blind student in our school who fell down an elevator shaft and died because he couldn’t see that an elevator had malfunctioned and was not there when the elevator doors opened. And he fell down the shaft and died.
I am not blind so I don’t know what it’s like to be literally blind. But I know that when it’s nighttime, and I have to get out of bed and go to the bathroom it’s like walking in darkness.
But somehow I can still make it to the bathroom without turning on a light. Why? That’s because I am familiar with my home, with my doors, with my hallway, and with my bathroom.
But imagine if we are sleeping in someone else’s home for the first time, or in a hotel room, we might want to have a light on at night or turn the light on when we have to go because we are not familiar with the layout of the room. And if we didn’t have some light source on, we’d trip over the bed or chair or some furniture and wind up falling on the floor.
The Bible compares our spiritual condition in sin to be like the person who cannot see a light even if a light is turned on. They are totally blind, even if you have a very powerful lights shining on you. It’s not that God hasn’t revealed himself to us, but it’s in our spiritual blindness we don’t even know what we are looking at, even when he shows himself. As John 1:5 says, (slide) “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.”
A person who is blind can’t see unless he has an eye transplant.
Likewise, without a spiritual eye transplant – the Holy Spirit giving us new spiritual sight - we cannot see God or know where to go.
So, in our sins we are spiritually blind and Christ had to die for us.
But his death was also a dark time Literally (slide).
B. Literally
Christ’s crucifixion was supposed to occur at noon. I think the Romans chose to carry out crucifixions at that time since many people could see it and become more afraid of the Romans and also maybe because it brought a quicker death on the victim if the sun was hot.
But for some reason God brought about darkness at that time. I don’t think it was meant as a covering to ease Jesus’ pain, because Jesus still died in great pain.
But darkness in the Bible also sometimes stands for God’s judgment. Such as when the Egyptian army went out to attack the Jewish people as they left Egypt. When they did this, Exodus 14:19-20 tells us (slide), “The pillar of cloud came between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.”
The fact that the cloud covered the Egyptians in darkness is a sign that God is going to judge them. While the light tells us that God is going to save the Jewish people.
So likewise, when God covered the day with darkness as Jesus hung on the cross, it was also a case of God showing his judgment on our sins by bringing in this darkness in the middle of the day.
And this was a terribly sad time for Jesus.
He felt the pain of taking on our sins and being crucified. And he cried out to God, “Why have you forsaken me?”
He said this not because he didn’t know God will raise him from death. He knew that.
But he said this because in his agony on the cross, he felt emotionally as if God had abandoned him.
Sometimes we might feel emotionally as if God had abandoned us. He hasn’t really. But if we are feeling some great pain or frustration, we can feel as if God is not there for us.
But he is there and he will come to help us.
And around 3 PM on Good Friday, Jesus died.
A few hours later, as the sun was about to set, a man named Joseph of Arimathea, asked Pontius Pilate if he could take down the body of Jesus and place that body in his own tomb that he had prepared for his own eventual death.
Pontius agreed. So as the darkness of the evening approached, Jesus was placed inside the tomb. And a large stone was rolled in front of the tomb.
So, this is the first half of the Easter message: the darkness signified by the darkness during the day and the burial of Jesus at night.
If this is all that happened to Jesus – if all he did was die and buried - then Christianity can still be a religion. Islam and Buddhism also had their founders Mohammed and Buddha, die, and yet they left behind a religion.
So Christianity could possibly still be a religion even though Jesus died.
But Jesus did not say that he was going to die and that’s it. He said he was going to rise again. And because he did, Christianity is not just another religion - it is a living faith in a living, risen Savior.
And the fact that Christ is alive is signified by the dawn of light (slide).
III. Dawn of Light
A. Literally
There is the dawn of light which literally means the first rays of the morning sun (slide).
As soon as the sun first came out on that first Easter Sunday, some women went to Jesus’ tomb.
But they were not going because they expected to find Jesus risen from the dead. No, they were there to put ointment and spices on Jesus’ body, as was their custom for a dead person. They still did not believe that Jesus’ prophecy to them that he would be raised was true. They doubted his words, but they still cared for him as a person.
But it’s not enough to care for him as a person and not believe in his words.
Sometimes we might say that Jesus is a great person or a great teacher who lived long time ago and that we can learn something about how to treat other people. But having said that we might still not believe that he could perform miracles or that his words about being raised from the dead are true.
In this day and age of skepticism, it’s no wonder that books like The DaVinci Code or the recent TV show “The Lost Tomb of Jesus,” may even say that Jesus was a great teacher or a great humanitarian, but they do not believe what he said about his ability to perform miracles or that he would rise from the dead.
But that is what Jesus said about himself. He said he was going to be raised from the dead. So we have to accept that statement as well as that he is a great teacher. Otherwise we are making Jesus in our own image and choosing to make him whatever we want to make him to be. That’s not faith, that’s rewriting history.
The women who went to Jesus’ tomb had followed him while he was alive. They were his disciples. But they didn’t believe all of his words. And sometimes we are like that too. We believe in parts of His Word, but not the whole. But we have to accept all of His words.
Fortunately for these women, Jesus forgave them of their lack of faith and he appeared to them on that morning.
But the reason that he rose from the dead with the first morning sun was that he would not wait more than a second than necessary to rise from the dead. Just like a child would wake up bright and early on Christmas Day in order to open up his presents. He is so excited to see his presents. Likewise Jesus is so excited to rise up he didn’t wait one more second than necessary to rise up.
As soon as the prophecy was fulfilled about him being in the tomb for 3 days - Friday afternoon, Saturday, and very early Sunday - Jesus rose from the grave.
The bonds of death could not hold him one second longer than possible. Like a runner bursting out of the starting gate as soon as the gun sounds, so Jesus bursts out of the grave as soon as the angels rolled the stone away.
This shows his power over death and his anticipation of new life.
B. Spiritually
If you have repented of your sins and put your trust in the risen Christ, you also have new life.
But are you excited about your new life? Do you wake up in the morning from your sleep and say, “I want to live this day for Jesus?” “I look forward to what God will bring into my life today?”
That’s excitement - like the excitement of going on a vacation and waking up and looking forward to the adventure that day will bring. That’s the excitement God wants us to have each day of our life with him.
That’s the dawn of light working in us Spiritually (slide).
Once these women and Jesus’ other disciples realized that Jesus had risen from the dead, their lives changed. They prayed fervently, they witnessed to other people, and they lived their lives with excitement and anticipation that God will do great things through them.
The dawn of the new life should have a real impact in our life. It shouldn’t be: “Ho hum, just another day. Been there, done that. Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” It should be: “Wow, God has given me a new day. I can’t wait to find out what God is going to do today.” And he is going to do something new each day in your life. There will be new experiences, new people to meet, new challenges, new understanding of his Word in your life and new ways for you to grow.
Paul wrote to Eph. says (slide), “5:8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light”
One time we were living in darkness, where we stumbled around and wasted a lot of time. But now in the light of Christ, we have purpose, drive, and joy. It’s exciting to be a Christian.
I have had many exciting experiences since becoming a Christian. I was not a Christian for 18 years, so I can compare what my life was like before I met Christ and now. And my life is so much more exciting since Christ than before. I think I wasted a lot of my life in the first 18 years. Not really knowing my direction, my purpose. Living each day in that very routine, boring kind of way. But since becoming a Christian, God has given me so many exciting experiences. He’s taught me so much about himself, his word, my purpose, meeting people, serving him. That light that first came upon me has continued to shine on me all this time.
And even when I have faced trials, he has been right next to me.
As Psalm 18:28 says (slide), “You, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.”
Even in dark and challenging times, God has turned my darkness into light.
As many of you know, this is my first Easter after being diagnosed with cancer last August. It was scary when I first learned that I had this illness. But God has also given me his light in this darkness, so that I still have joy and excitement in my life with God.
And thankfully the cancer is under control. Prayer and good medicine have gone together to bring me health again. I still need to be monitored regularly, but I have passed through the initial darkness of cancer.
And I attribute it to God. I feel his light and his presence have continued to be with me. I feel the presence of Christ in me each day. And I don’t want you to see me without seeing it is Christ who is doing this for me.
When you have Christ in you, no one can turn out the light in you. No situation can extinguish the flame of the Holy Spirit in you. You will continue to have light no matter what. And once people know what you are going through, but see that Christ is the one who is giving you light, they will see Christ living in you.
That’s the way it was with all those early disciples who followed Christ.
Some people thought that Jesus was dead, but when they saw these disciples living with joy and hope even in the midst of some suffering, they wondered what gave them such hope. And they freely told others that it was Jesus Christ.
You don’t always have to say a lot or do a lot. A tiny night light is enough to help you walk in the darkness when you are trying to find your way. A few watts in the darkness is more effective than 1000 watts in a bright day.
In the movie “Life Is Beautiful” - nominated in 1998 as Best Picture for the Oscars - the main character Guido is placed in a concentration camp by the Nazis. Guido and his son, who is with him, pretend for his son that this horrible place is a game, with rules, so that his son doesn’t get too frightened. And it is truly amazing how he turns this very horrible place into a place in which his son is playing hide and seek from the Nazis, how to see something funny in the way the soldiers interact with each other.
Guido is such a positive and hopeful man that he brings laughter to his son and to other inmates in the concentration camp.
One Jewish group said that this movie does not disrespect the Holocaust, because “It’s a fable about human values, and how a concentration camp can destroy those values” (www.time.com/time/magazine/1998/int/980223/the_arts.cinema.its_a_be17.html). But Guido brings some humanity into such a place.
I want to say that there are times when we can also have our own “concentration camp of troubles.” It’s definitely not the same as the concentration camps that the Jewish people were placed in, which is a horror. But there are times when we are placed in greater pain and hardships than other times or other people, our own little “concentration camps of troubles.” Maybe some member of our family is giving us a very hard time, more unbearable than usual. Or maybe something has happened to us beyond our control that wipes out what we had planned. Or maybe someone at work or at school is giving us a hard time. Or maybe these things all happen at the same time.
But in those times, God still comes to us and helps us to go through it, when you open your eyes and heart to him and seek him. When you begin to see there is actually a light in every dark place. Jesus experienced this. He experienced his own concentration camp of troubles, but he found joy and peace as he opened himself up to God.
Life is beautiful. Cancer is not beautiful. Concentration camps are not beautiful. But God is beautiful. And when God is alongside of you in life, in cancer, in concentration camps, life can still be beautiful.
And the reason we can say life is beautiful is because of the resurrection of Christ.
His resurrection brought him life. His resurrection means that in this world there is something greater than death and troubles. His resurrection means that God is greater than death. That there is hope in despair. That there is comfort in sorrows. That there is God in this world.
You can have troubles, you can despair and feel sorrow – we will all have them and feel them at some times, even Christians - but with Christ, you can go on and even go on strongly after that.
And for those who are still in the darkness, who don’t have Christ yet in their life, there is still hope for you. If you repent of your sins and come to Christ now, you can experience the light of Christ even more dramatically because of the years of darkness you’ve lived. The contrast is greater.
This is shown by the life of a man named Bob Edens.
“For 51 years Bob Edens was blind. He couldn’t see a thing. His world was a black hall of sounds and smells. He felt his way through five decades of darkness. And then, he could see. A skilled surgeon performed a complicated operation and, for the first time, Bob Edens had sight. He found it overwhelming. ‘I never would have dreamed that yellow is so ... yellow,’ he exclaimed. ‘I don’t have the words. I am amazed by yellow. But red is my favorite color. I just can’t believe red. I can see the shape of the moon - and I like nothing better than seeing a jet plane flying across the sky leaving a vapor trail. And of course, sunrises and sunsets. And at night I look at the stars in the sky and the flashing light. You could never know how wonderful everything is” (Max Lucado, God Came Near, Multnomah Press, 1987, p. 13., cited in sermoncentral.com)
Red is the best color because it is the color of Christ’s blood. With his blood he has paid for your sins. So come and receive the blood of Christ shed for you.
And having paid for your sins, and living a new life with Christ, you will also be able to say, “Life is wonderful.”
Life is wonderful because you are seeing things as they really are for the first time. No more clouds of confusion and speculation about who God is, but the clear sight of a risen Christ in your life.
That’s what those women saw on Easter morning. That’s what I have seen. That’s what all Christians have seen. Do you see it? Look to the risen Christ today and every day as the source of your life. Let’s pray.
