When people say “Jesus is Risen.” they are making a statement. They are proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus Christ. They are testifying to His completed work for their atonement and justification which His resurrection brings. We often proclaim that He is risen with joy as we sing about the truth of this fact. However sometimes, this statement can become so cliché that the details of the events of His resurrection become lost.

That’s why in this study today, we are going to examine the events of His resurrection, and in doing so, we will see a wonderful picture of His heart for us. Even His raising from the dead was done for us, and His love for us never fails.

Let’s begin our study with Matthew 28:1-4:

“In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulcher.

And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.

His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:

And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.”

Verse 1 tells us that this was the end of the sabbath and that dawn was beginning for the first day of the week. The rest that the law had allotted was coming to an end, but for mankind Jesus now brings about a greater rest, an eternal rest that never ends. We also see that Mary Magdalene, and “the other Mary” (which is the mother of James and Joses) were going to see the tomb where Jesus was laid. And this is where we must address a common misconception… some people object to the resurrection because of seemingly conflicting accounts between the Gospels. However as we examine the details of the texts, we can see that they do not conflict, but point to an important detail regarding Jesus’ resurrection and the effect which it can and should have on believers. Hold your place here in Matthew 28, and turn with me for a moment to John 20:1:

“The first day of the week comes Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, to the sepulcher, and sees the stone taken away from the sepulcher.”

Notice the details here. This happened on the first day of the week… early, when it was yet dark. Here, Mary Magdalene comes alone, sees the stone rolled away, has an encounter with Jesus where He tells her not to touch Him (verse 17), and tells the disciples about what has happened. Now go back to Matthew 28:1.

Here, Matthew is describing a second trip, and this time Mary Magdalene brought someone else – not to anoint Jesus’ body, but to see the tomb! They were no longer mourning Jesus’ death, they came to see the empty tomb and proclaim the news of His resurrection. The first trip told of in John was accompanied by weeping, his trip in Matthew as we will read is accompanied by reverence and great joy. We know that the trip in Matthew is a second trip, because in John, it mentions that it was yet dark when Mary came to the tomb the first time. While here in Matthew, it states that she came with the other Mary as it began to dawn. These time indicators make it clear along with the other details mentioned. So what is the point of this? First that the scriptures do not contradict each-other, and second, they show us that the excitement of Jesus’ resurrection makes the best evangelism. This is the foundation of the Gospel, if Jesus is not risen, we are still dead in our sins! (1^st Corinthians 5:17). However thank God that Jesus did rise again. And as we continue reading, we will not only see the effect that it has on each kind of person, but also and most importantly, we will see the heart of Jesus in it. So let’s continue now with verse 2, and in verse 2 we see that there was a great earthquake, because the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and rolled back the stone from the door of the tomb and sat on it. Just so that we are all clear, this was not done so that Jesus could get out; He was already out – we know this from John (the first encounter), but God knew that they were coming to see the empty tomb, and so the stone which was put back into place was again rolled away by the angel of the Lord, and this time he sat on it. No-one was going to replace the stone this time.

Verse 3 tells us that the face of the angel was like lightning, and his clothing was as white as now. Some people do not see the significance of this verse, but when a verse like this one stands alone, there is a reason. Remember that there are no insignificant details in the Bible. The purpose for describing the glorious appearance of the angel here is that much like us today, our righteousness and glory is not our own, but it comes from Christ Jesus, it is His glory and not ours. Likewise, the glory that this angel is displaying comes from the fact that he was in the presence of the LORD. It is a further testimony that the LOD has indeed been risen and glorified.

Moving on to verse 4, we see that the guards were afraid of the angel, and they were shaking, trembling in fear and they became as dead. Now it’s interesting to note the contrasting response between the fear generated in the guards, and how the angel comforted the women who came to see the tomb in verse 5. For those who are without Jesus, there is only one thing left, Law and judgment leading to condemnation. When Moses brought the Ten Commandments down from Mount Sinai, it was a terrifying thing. His face also shone with a glory, but it was a glory which scared people away because it brought condemnation. (Exodus 34:30). We know from Romans 4:15 that the Law works out the wrath of God, because it justifies no-one and condemns even the best of us.

The guards were terrified, because they saw the perfect light of God shining from the angel; that perfection has no equal, and without Christ they are condemned. They are in the wrath of God, and the wrath of God is terrifying.

Now let’s read verses 5 through 9:

“And the angel answered and said to the women, Fear not you: for I know that you seek Jesus, which was crucified.

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

And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goes before you into Galilee; there shall you see him: see, I have told you.

And they departed quickly from the sepulcher with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.

And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.”

Notice in verse 5 in contrast to the way the guards were affected by the angel, what the angel says to the women: Fear not you: for I know that you seek Jesus, which was crucified. The reason why the women could fear not, is because they had Jesus. He was their focus and their intent. As such, the light of God’s glory did not condemn them, but gave them comfort because of Jesus. Are you beginning to see His heart yet?

The angel continues in verse 6: He is not here: for He is risen, as He said. Come see the place where the Lord lay. Jesus is no longer in the place of the dead. He is no longer buried. He is risen just as He said He would be, fulfilling every prophecy. Come and see what you came to see – an empty tomb.

Then he says in verse 7, and go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead. Notice that this comes only after they see the empty tomb. That’s actually mercy. Come, see and be absolutely sure of the fact of the risen LORD first, before going off and telling the others. To do otherwise would actually put you in a vulnerable position. Notice also that the angel says Behold, He goes ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him. This is an important point to remember as we continue on to verses 8 and 9.

In verse 8, we are told that they quickly went from the tomb with fear and great joy. This was not the weeping from before; this was not mourning. This was reverential awe and great joy! This was celebration because of the risen LORD. Some believers act sullen all the time as if Jesus was still dead… No! He’s alive!

Now look at verse 9: As they went to tell the disciples, Jesus met them. He couldn’t wait until they got to Galilee. Notice that they did not simply catch-up to Him because they were running… the scriptures clearly make a point to tell us that He met them. This is His heart. The relationship has been restored through His sacrifice; the work is finished and now the fruits of that labor can be enjoyed, the wonderful relationship between Creator and His creation. God and man reunited. The separation that sin had caused is now totally undone and there is no separation any longer.

So many people miss this reality. They may profess grace all the time, but deep down they still believe that they must do work and accomplish things for God to be pleased with them – and this idea totally negates the work of Christ. Do you understand that you can be so busy doing things for your spouse that you miss the intimacy with your spouse? Even if your motives are totally pure and motivated by love, it is still entirely possible. Imagine if while on the way running to tell the disciples in Galilee about Jesus’ resurrection, the women rushed passed Jesus and said “Sorry, sir. No time to talk now. We have to run and tell the disciples about Jesus!” – they would have totally missed-out on Him; too busy working for Him to spend any time with Him.

That’s not what happened in verse 9 though. Notice that it was Jesus who intercepted them. He knew where they were going, and He knew that they were going to tell the disciples about Him. Yet, He was the one who intercepted them. It’s not that He didn’t want them to accomplish the goal. But He did want to take some time to have a personal greeting and fellowship time with them. You see, all the time, He has time for us, personally. It’s us who get so busy that we don’t have time for Him. And that’s really nothing at its core other than self-righteousness and pride… Sorry LORD, when I finish serving you, then we can fellowship, when He is the one telling you to rest and fellowship with Him now. See what we don’t understand is that it’s the fellowship with Him that eventually gives us the strength to serve. But the service is not the focus or the goal, the relationship with Him is itself the goal. Our prideful human nature has twisted this whole thing to be about works, when in-fact it is all about relationship with Him.

So in verse 9, Jesus meets them on the way and says All hail. Which is basically “Hey everyone!”, and they came and held Him by the feet. His presence just floored them right down, and they worshiped Him. You should never be so busy – even with ministry – that you can’t drop whatever you are doing and spend some quality time with Jesus; this is what He wants, the intimacy with Him is what gladdens His heart. Some people say that they are serving and working because they want to thank Him… And I am going to call that out as baloney. You are a goat if that’s what you believe.

If you want to actually thank God, then take some time out from your service and spend some time with Him and say “Thank you. Thank you Father for Jesus.”

There are guys who work and provide all kinds of things for their spouse, but never tell them “I love you.” And you know what happens? The spouse ends up leaving to find someone else who does tell them that they are loved. Look at what Jesus Himself says in Matthew 7:22-23:

“Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? and in your name have cast out devils? and in your name done many wonderful works?

And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity.”

See the heart of Jesus even more clearly. There are people who can do all manner of good and wonderful works, even in Jesus’ name. The works that they do are not bad works. But look at what Jesus’ response will be: I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity.

You see, Jesus’ heart is not for works, but for relationship, for intimacy. Without that, all works are dead. It’s like saying “But honey, I always bought you presents on Valentine’s day, and I even bought you that new car, and all this stuff.” and she then replies, “But you don’t really love me.”

As we close part one of this study today. I want you to see the heart of Jesus in contrast with the religious ideas of the world, and this is a good time to evaluate and see if these totally worldly man-made ideas have crept in-between you and God. If they have been serving as artificial barriers between you and Him. It was Frank Sinatra who sang Do Be Do Be Do, and that’s the idea of the world; I have to Do works in order to Be accepted. That’s backwards. The heart of God is: Be accepted first, then you will Do works naturally. And it won’t be a struggle, you won’t even need to think about it.

I pray that this study has encouraged you today, and we will pick up at verse 10 next week. Give Jesus the praise!