What an awesome scene the scripture unveils to us in Matt. 28:1-10! Two Marys have come to visit the tomb, and they are met with the strange occurrence of a violent earthquake, caused by an angel coming down from Heaven. He single-handedly rolls away a stone that I would imagine was intended to be too heavy to be moved by ordinary men! Too heavy for men to break in, and to heavy for anyone hiding inside with the corpse of Jesus to escape.
On top of that, after rolling back the stone the angel simply sat on it! The scene is incredible! The guards are so shaken by the dazzling presence of the angel that they are horrified to the point of paralysis! And then the angel says to the women, "Do not be afraid. I know who you're looking for, but He is not here. The Jesus you saw crucified has risen, just as he said." He then invites them to see for themselves, and to then go quickly to tell his disciples that Jesus had risen from the dead and was going ahead of them into Galilee!" It was as if the angel had played a game of tag and cried, "You're it!" "Now I have told you," he said. The angelic messenger had passed on the good news to the first human carriers of this message.
The two unsuspecting women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, when suddenly Jesus meets them and greets them! Not a ghost, nor a vision, they both clasped his feet and worshiped him. Jesus repeats the instruction, "Do not be afraid..." They were to tell the disciples to meet the Risen Lord Jesus the Christ in Galilee.
So this morning we come to celebrate the fact that Jesus the Christ has already proven through His resurrection that He has no limitations.The reality for us is that when we put our trust in God through Jesus Christ, we also have no limitations, because the Word of God is true. It is secure and firm. We can stand upon the promises of God. As the Apostle Paul was inspired to write, we truly "can do all things through Christ who strengthens us." Philippians 4:13
And as our focus remains heavenward this morning we encounter the greatest witness of the certainty of God's Word. God the Father had a righteous requirement for the sin of mankind that he knew mankind could not meet! So he sends his Son, who is fully God, to be born of a virgin woman, who is fully human so God’s righteous requirement would be filled by the one who would be born into this world sinless, fully God and fully Man! His Word declares that "His thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways far beyond our ways!" The God we serve is limitless! Now the Son – the second person of the Trinity, the Logos, or the Word made flesh – Jesus the Christ showed us the way to live a life without limits, as he lived a sinless life, performed miracles, as he healed the sick, raised the dead, fed multitudes with two fish and five loaves of bread, and gave sight to the blind to prove that he was the Christ – not only sinless, but blameless – Jesus is Out of the box, because there is no box that can contain the creator of all that is. Limitless, because He defines the limitations of every created thing.
If that wasn't enough he showed us the greatest love ever known in that while we were yet sinning,and lavishing in our own personal boxes, amassing chasm after chasm for ourselves, Jesus paid a sin debt with his life that he didn’t even owe, because we owed a sin debt that we couldn't even pay – Hallelujah! On the Cross of Calvary Jesus pronounced the boundary line of our delusion! He declared that enough is enough! Jesus drew the line and declared that death would be given a final death blow, that nothing would be able to separate us from relationship with the Godhead - Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!
So when the enemy thought he had succeeded in putting Christ in a box by the hands of religious Pharisees and the government of Rome, after seeing what they perceived to be a lifeless shell placed in a borrowed tomb. After covering the body with 100 pounds of spices and oil drenched linen. After rolling a huge stone that took several men to put it in its place. After putting Caesar’s seal on the tomb, punishable by death if touched.
Early one Sunday morning – three days after they buried him in borrowed tomb, Jesus the Christ breached the binds of death, and GOT UP AND LEFT THE TOMB! He performed what most thought was impossible! And the profundity of it all is that, because Jesus Got out of the box, because Jesus exceeded our expectations, because Jesus moved beyond the fathomable, you and I can get out of the box, we don't have to be afraid anymore, you and I can exceed our expectations, you and I can move beyond the fathomable, you and I can do all things through Christ who strengthens us!!! Hallelujah to the Lamb of God! "We don’t have to slay any lamb anymore! We don’t have to sprinkle any blood on the door. Someone has taken the place of the lamb. His name is Jesus Christ the Great I AM!!!"
There are seven words that communicate the good news of this passage, however we often miss four of them. The angel declared, "He is Risen... just like He said." The angel was reminding us that this resurrection moment was never supposed to be a surprise to anyone! Jesus said in the book of John in the 10th chapter, "I am the Good Shepherd, and I lay down my life for my sheep... No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father." The angel was sent on a mission to remind them of what Jesus said, because it illustrates and thus confirms the divine authority and trustworthiness of Jesus the Christ!
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ declares that only He who created life, can resurrect it after death. The resurrection declares that Jesus is LORD! He has risen from the dead - just like He said - and he is LORD! Every knee shall bow, every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord! So be not afraid my sisters and brothers. Our Jesus is alive and well!
The resurrection of Jesus is a testimony to the resurrection of human beings, which is a basic tenet of the Christian faith. Unlike any other religion, Christianity alone possesses a founder who transcends death and who promises that His followers will do the same. His Word is good! All other religions were founded by men and prophets whose end was the grave. As Christians, we take comfort in the fact that our God became man, died for our sins, and was resurrected the third day. Even the grave could not hold our God. He lives, and He sits today at the right hand of God the Father in Heaven alive and well, and interceding for you and for me. His power is available for you and I to walk in victory! Truly we have no limits through Jesus Christ our Lord, our Savior, and our Redeemer. Hallelujah to the Risen King! 'Til the next time, may the Lord God bless you real good!
Blessed Resurrection,
Pastor B.
FaithWorks Christian Fellowship
Proving God at God's Word