"He Is Risen"

“He is Risen”

Matt 27:57-28:7

03/20/02

Introduction:

Today is a wonderful day of celebration. Easter is a great time for families to get together and enjoy each other’s company. But Easter is more importantly a day of celebration. A day to celebrate life, eternal life! Nobody enjoys thinking or talking about death. I like the attitude of the last man in this following survey:

3 men were all asked, “When you are in the casket and friends and family are mourning you, what would you like to hear them say about you? The first guy says, “I would like to hear them say that I was a great doctor of my time, and a great family man.” The second guy says, “I would like to hear that I was a wonderful husband and school teacher which made a huge difference in the children of tomorrow.” The last guy replies, “I would like to hear them say…LOOK, HE”S MOVING!”

Let’s be honest there are not too many normal people who enjoy sitting around talking about death and dying! As one preacher said, he was not afraid of death it was just the dying part that bothered him.

The reality is in our lives, that it is appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgment! So whether we want to focus on dying or not it is a reality in our lives that we cannot avoid nor can we afford to ignore. That’s the beauty of Easter.

Even though we all one day will go into eternity, the Lord Jesus Christ has come so that He could give hope to hopeless man, to come and to take away the fear of entering eternity without assurance!

Every holiday has a special meaning. July 4th – Independence Day. Memorial Day – A special day to honor those fallen in battle for our country. Mother’s Day – Mom. Father’s Day – Dad. Christmas – The birth of Jesus.

And what about Easter, they answer lies within our text.

Mat 28:5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.

Mat 28:6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

On February 27, 1991 Ruth Dillow was home in Kansas, when she received the bad news from the Pentagon that her son, Private First Class Clayton Carpenter has stepped on a land mine in the Persian Gulf War and was dead. Three days later, Ruth got another phone call, and the voice on the other end said, “Mom, I’m alive!” Ruth said at first she could not believe it was the voice of her 23-year-old son, over whom she had mourned for nearly three days. Ruth said, “I jumped up and down. I was overjoyed!!!! You just don’t know how much.

Can you imagine? I think what Ruth was feeling was a lot like what the followers of Christ must have felt. The women come to the tomb and their hearts are full of sorrow, only to find that Jesus has been raised from the dead. What an incredible time it must have been to hear for the very first time “He is alive!” It sends a soul into the realms of unexpected joy!

Easter is the celebration of Resurrection morning, it is a time to celebrate that Jesus is Alive! Without resurrection morning we have no gospel, no good news, and really no Hope! But with it, we have victory over the grave.

I. It was a time of confusion (Matt 27 57-61)

A. The promises that Jesus had made have seemed to be empty words now.

1. Jesus had claimed to be the Son of God. (Matt 27:42-43)

2. Jesus was declared to have eternal life. (John 1:29)

3. He said he was the way the truth and life. (John 14:6)

4. Jesus said He had overcome the world. (John 16:33)

B. Their Savior had seemingly failed when He was crucified.

1. All hope was lost for the disciples when Christ took His last breath.

a. They scattered and hid fearing what was to come.

b. They had invested everything in this man

2. All hope was lost for His mother as they took Him down from the cross.

a. You should have just taken up the trade of your father

3. All hope was lost for His followers when the stone was rolled over the tomb.

Matt 27:61

61 And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.

C. The Savior had died

1. This Man of great miracles has died

2. This man of great speech has died

3. This man of great wisdom has died

4. Surly if anyone was the Messiah it was Jesus, but now He is dead