Series: He Took My Place Week 5: Alive in Me
Matthew 28
If the Resurrection happened, it’s ‘game-on’ for all things Christian. If it didn’t, then it’s GAME OVER!
The women weren’t sure what to expect at the tomb—What is certain is that the women were NOT expecting a resurrection. Nobody Expected No Body.
What drove them was the “fear & joy” (Matthew 28:8).
- “Fear” because if Jesus was resurrected, Jesus was the Son of God, the Creator of the universe.
- “Joy:” If the resurrection was true, God had come to earth for them, not as a foe to condemn, but as a friend to save.
1 Corinthians 15:3-8. The resurrection was something believed by followers of Jesus from the very beginning, not something that got added in through decades of oral tradition.
1) The Women, who respond with fear & great joy.
And what that means is… If Jesus rose from the dead…
- Guilt doesn’t have the last word in our lives.
- Injustice doesn’t have the last word.
- Addictions don’t have the last word.
- Pain doesn’t have the last word.
- Despair doesn’t have to have the last word.
- Death doesn’t have the last word.
- The empty tomb is the final word.
2) The Chief Priests, who close their eyes to the evidence.
3) The Soldiers, who respond with fear without Joy. (Matthew 28:4,15). The distractions of life have a way of keeping us from considering the most important questions.
4) The Disciples, who worship through their doubts. (Matthew 28:16-17). Faith is when the unexplainable meets the undeniable.
5) Us, who receive the Great Commission. (Matthew 28:18-20).
JESUS LIVES, JESUS LOVES, & JESUS SAVES!
