Matthew 28:5–7 :: The Resurrection. (Bible passage - New Living Translation.)
Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to visit the tomb.Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it. His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint.
Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying. And now, go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Remember what I have told you.”
“He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.”
— My thoughts. —
Where Do You Find Jesus?
Many search to find Truth and may spend their entire fortune, their entire reputation, and their entire lives, yet never fully appreciate and understand God’s truth.
Furthermore, many search for Jesus, and without faith, it is impossible to find Him.
We come this morning, at sunrise on the first day of the week—this Easter, or rather, Resurrection Sunday. Like the women who followed and later came to visit the tomb, we are seekers who have come to worship.
We keep vigil this morning. We wait and bring our pain, disappointments, hurts, disillusionment, and even the burdens of our lives to this place.
Many would question our sanity to gather before dawn at a place of final rest—a cemetery!
We have come to learn that worship after the resurrection of Christ is on the first day of the week, not the traditional Jewish worship that began on the eve of Friday night. The early Christians had reason to come together on the first day of the week. It was so that they could be set apart in their experience of worship because they believed in the resurrection of Christ.
Those who witnessed firsthand a resurrected Lord began the church of Jesus Christ. That is, our faith is coupled with the hope of the resurrection.
Ours is a risen Lord, Jesus.
To the surprise of those who gathered in that cemetery to keep vigil, and even to fulfill the rites of burial, they discovered, as the angel said, “He is not here!”
Long pause….
Imagine those words being said to you.
Perhaps we would reflect upon what we have experienced in the life of Jesus on earth.
Maybe we would recall the one statement or phrase that stands out to each of us.
Perhaps we would want to call a timeout—to ask a few questions or to request an instant replay—because something seems wrong.
Freeze the frame….
He is not here…those words echo deep in our lives.
What did we expect?
Who did we come to see?
What was our objective in bringing the spices and completing the burial ritual of our Jewish tradition?
The angel said, “He is not here”… so we must ask, Where is He?
The angel then said, “Come and see the place where he lay.”
After all, it was a borrowed tomb.
Were they not aware there would be a large boulder sealing the entrance?
Did they not understand, from the raising of Lazarus, that he could rise again.
In our darkness, we wait.
As the sun rises over the horizon, we begin to find a more complete understanding of the Gospel message of Jesus Christ.
It brings us clarity, because we can now see.
It brings us hope, because we gain greater insight into our own resurrection.
It gives us renewed vision and a message of good news for everyone—that He is not here. Of course, He is risen!
What do we gain by coming to a sunrise service?
Each of us will answer that question in different ways. For me, it is a renewed hope in the greatest story that has ever been told—He is not here! His grave is empty. The tomb has been unsealed, and the stone has been rolled away. Here remain only His earthly possessions: a few strips of cloth.
It is here that we change the cloth that hangs on the cross. It is not just a color of royalty, but now it transforms into a cloth of brilliant white! A royal color becomes a transformed understanding of Christ.
Those blood-stained cloths, which once bore the marks of suffering and death…
The blood of Christ, which was paid for our transgressions, has forgiven us and cleansed us…
The proof of the power of grace is now on full display for the world to see, feel, and know!
The angel correctly stated that He is not in the tomb—but He is very present now. After His ascension to His rightful place at the right hand of God, and through the presence of God in the Holy Spirit, He is here. Our darkness has turned to faint shadows that eventually fade into a glorious morning. God, who has turned our sorrow and mourning into a glorious morning, reveals His power, majesty, and glory!
No other religion has produced a living God. There are gods of wood or stone—mere mystical expressions of human imagination. Yet ours is a God who is not created, but is the Creator! Ours is the God who is living in spite of death.
Ours is a God who is powerful and able to rescue us from the pit of death and hell. Ours is a God who is worthy—perfect, yet sacrificed—to take away the sin that has kept many buried with no hope of the resurrection.
We serve a risen Savior, and He’s in the world today. For I know that He is living, no matter what men may say. I see His hand of mercy….
He lives! He lives! Christ Jesus lives today…And because He lives, I can face tomorrow!
Rejoice! He is not here in this grave, because He has conquered death and defeated the grave.
We leave here with a message to proclaim: He is not here.
As we approach our worship this morning, we will rejoice and lift our voices with the anthem:
“He is risen!”
