MATTHEW 26 - SERIES NR 5
Theme : The God of Easter
Scripture: Matthew 26:64; 28:1-10, 16-20
In our own lives we are sometimes in exactly the same state of mind as these women were on the first Easter-morning: Look at them: Observe their poor expectation. Their disconsolate state of mind. "The Lord Jesus is dead." He who was their Master (Teacher). He who was their hope/anchor/whole life. He upon whom they had placed their trust. Now He is alive only in their memories. What a tragedy! That is why these women were without a glowing expectation, without passion. Almost like people whose God is powerless.
Is it not true of so many people's lives? Except for the fact that the general mood in SA is rather depressing - particularly as a result of land occupation, farm murders and perhaps a feeling of powerlessness among Afrikaners - it may be that many people know the Lord merely as a memory: Know all about Him. Perhaps believe everything in the Bible as true. But, in reality the Lord is "vague". He does not really impact my life. He is merely a historical figure.
Oh, there are so many people along the road of life whose spiritual life is without hope. Jesus is not a reality. No experience of the power of the resurrection. If an angel should proclaim from heaven: "God has died - heaven is empty" so many people's lives would continue exactly as before!
Can you see these two women at Jesus' grave on Easter-morning? What was their problem? They had become stuck with the Jesus of Good Friday. The crucified one. The deceased one. They have not moved on to the Jesus of Easter. Look carefully. What was it that caused a revolusion of God in their stale, wretched lives? Verse 6: The resurrection-message that the angel delivered. Suddenly, they discovered a different God - the God of the resurrection. The God of sparkling, neverending life. As a result, their lives were never the same again. While Jesus explicitly told the High Priest in Matthew 26:64 : "Friend, NOW is the time you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One."
I would like to list 4 precious truths - truths which brings the Easter-events in to a person's life-experience - now/here/today:
1. By the resurrection of Christ we learn who God really is. He is the God of surprises and therefore HOPE.
We see how God is. Look closely: These women had only one thought in their head: OUR LORD IS DEAD. The next moment they heard the absolute impossible and astonishing thing: He lives. He is risen. That is exactly how God is. He does far more than we could ever pray for or think of/dream/hope for. The God of Easter is full of surprises. He spoils His children with unasked for blessings. It is in His nature to overwhelm people - who thoroughly deserve the judgment of eternal destruction - with the very best. Just think about: a) Peter in prison (Acts 16). b) The resurrection of Lazarus (John 11).
For that reason, the resurrection-believer can/must not give up hope. Because Jesus rose from the grave, there is always hope in all circumstances. Even if there is not always a quick outcome. Jesus' resurrection is and remains our firm hope within our struggles and discouragement. Discouragement because of sin which troubles and disturbs. Things we battle with. Secret struggles. Dark days. Ephesians 1:20 is a wonderful verse. Because Jesus rose from the grave, there is always hope. We must not hold onto the resurrection of Jesus only as a distant historical fact. He is the Risen Lord NOW and therefore we have true hope NOW.
2. The God of Easter is steadfastly faithful.
We must see the resurrection of Jesus within the framework of the broader context of the Bible. Then we see that Jesus' resurrection was actually the fulfilment of all God's deliverance-promises since Genesis 3:15. The promise which God maintained, despite man. That is why Paul said in Acts 13:32 that, when Jesus was resurrected, then the promises to the fathers were fulfilled. God said in Gen 3:15 that He would save people by a man who would crush the head of the snake. And, He remained faithful. Faithful: even if man (His nation Israel) failed. Is it not wonderful for every child of God to know that? God the Father showed His faithfulness when Jesus was resurrected from the grave. Therefore, He can be trusted. He can be trusted absolutely.
3. The resurrection compels us to our knees.
So amazing: During all the other great moments in the redemption work of Jesus, there were always eyewitnesses present: At his birth, baptism, miracles, suffering, cross, ascension. But at the moment of His resurrection there was no human present. It is as if He then worked hidden so that it can only be BELIEVED. That is why there is no other place where a prideful person can be brought so low/broken as at the empty grave. Man is literally forced to his knees. By nature we are all very great in our ourselves. But the resurrection brings us down to earth. And like a little child, we place our expectation only on Him. As we break, we experience the power of the resurrection. By nature we all have the inclination to be mutinous/ to reason/ to argue/ to rebel. In that case the resurrection of Jesus will always remain something historical only. Something that can be argued about. Something one needs proof for. But, when one's heart breaks before the testimony of the Bible, the power of the resurrection breaks through in our lives. We become small and place our trust in the resurrected Jesus for ever and ever only because we believe that the testimony of the Scriptures is true
4. Within the context of the resurrection AND as a result of the resurrection, Jesus says: GO TO ALL THE NATIONS. LOOK, I AM WITH YOU.
It is surely understandable: If we say that Jesus' resurrection fulfilled the promises made to Abraham, we should remember that already in the case of Abraham, the vision/aim of God was to reach the whole world. "In your descendants the nations will be blessed". This promise was fulfilled with the resurrection of Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
Resurrection > Easter > Action. See the entire book of Acts. There we see the power of Jesus' resurrection! The church was spreading to all nations. Do you see? Inseparable: Resurrection/Holy Spirit/Mission. A resurrection-believer has a warm heart for mission/evangelization. The message must reach all people of all cultures and nations. We cannot a) Discover who God is, b) Discover His faithfulness, c) come before Him in brokenness in the resurrected Jesus, and remain silent about it! It is impossible. Fortunately, success do not depend on us, but on His power and faithfulness. Look at Matt 28:18: "ALL AUTHORITY has been given to Me. Therefore, GO.. I am with you always, to the very end of the age". Significant: Always, to the end of the AGE. He could only have said: ALWAYS. But He said: to the end of the AGE. We are still in the Age. NOW matters to Him. Every day with it's own problems matters to Him, and He is present. Not just "always", but every unique day - until the end.
But, can you see the connection? There is a holy connection between faith-in-the-risen-Lord and our calling to see that all people hear the Good News. We must not think that the church is reserved for only a certain group of people. We should break/cross boundaries - even if it is against our natural inclination. Just think how many thousands of people lives within a radius of 300 metres from this church-building. Thousands. But, we are inclined to exclude them, because perhaps they: a) speak a different language, b) look different, c) come from a different background, d) have different cultural habits to us. I know of DR churches in the Peninsula which ceased to exist because the white Afrikaans speaking members moved out of their area. And so they said: "now there are no more church members left". While there were still thousands of people living in the area (every home and apartment filled) - but perhaps with people from other cultural backgrounds. Should the faith in the resurrection of Jesus not exactly bring about that such a congregation begin to renew their thinking and open their doors wide so that all people can be exposed to the Word? And the same certainly applies to us. We should not lay claim on being church only to one group.
Because Jesus is alive - there is hope - in every respect. For every individual, but also for our church, and the task/duty we have to be witnesses of the Truth right here.
Translated by Marthie Wilson