Sermon Notes

April 9, 2023

An Invitation

Matthew 28:1-10

Invitations are wonderful… when you get them. Can you remember when you were younger and received an invitation to a friend's birthday? Do you remember the excitement and anticipation that you felt as you prepared to accept that invitation? Now, do you ever remember a time when you didn’t get invited to a big event? Do you remember how you felt then? Rejected, unwanted, hurt? Well, take heart, you have been given an invitation to the greatest event in all of human history - to receive the greatest gift ever offered to mankind. It’s an invitation to come and see the evidence of the resurrection for yourself. It’s an invitation to make a decision to respond to that evidence. It’s an invitation to meet the resurrected Savior Jesus Christ. It’s an invitation to be forgiven, it’s an invitation to be made right with God, and it’s an invitation for Salvation. I could go on and on, but I want you to know that this wonderful invitation that is given to everyone (Acts 2:21, Romans 10:13, 1 John 4:15, John 3:16) all started on that first Resurrection morning and was only made possible by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

Setting the stage for your invitation - Matthew 28:1-4

¹ Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to visit the tomb. ² Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it. ³ His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. ⁴ The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint.

Jesus had been dead for 3 days and guards had been stationed at his tomb to make sure no one stole the body. The women mentioned here had gotten up early and were going to the tomb to properly prepare the body. When Jesus was buried on Friday they would have had to hurry to get him wrapped and placed in the tomb. The Sabbath was quickly approaching at sunset and they wouldn’t be able to do any work. I’m sure the women were not expecting anything out of the ordinary, but this morning wasn’t going to go at all like the women thought it would. Remember this was a borrowed tomb and Jesus wouldn’t need it very long. The women were expecting this trip to be uneventful - something that was normal, and would have probably brought them great sadness. Instead, they got something miraculously different. I’m sure they thought that their biggest issue would probably be how to talk the guards into moving the stone for them and even letting them back to see the body. Maybe they were even a bit worried and fearful about that encounter. It was literally and a bit ironically a “new day dawning”, because as of this resurrection morning the old had passed away and all things had become new. Their only worries going into that day (the stone and the soldiers) were taken care of by a mighty act of God. This display wasn’t actually the resurrection (it had happened earlier), the stone wasn’t rolled away and the soldiers weren’t dealt with to let Jesus out of the tomb. Rather it was the start of the invitation, it was for the women (as well as us), to come and see for themselves what had actually happened that glorious morning.

An invitation to come & see for yourself - Matthew 28:5-6

⁵ Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. ⁶ He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying...

God had removed every obstacle that would have stood in the women’s way that morning - no more soldiers and no stone covered the tomb. God had set the stage to extend a grand invitation to make sure the women understood exactly what happened, and had even sent a messenger to them to help their understanding. The first words out of the angel's mouth were, “Don’t be afraid”. I think this is a great reminder that any time God extends an invitation to us it’s probably going to be scary. Whether it’s an invitation to follow a calling He’s placed on our lives, an invitation into a new season of life, or when we are invited to surrender our lives to Him, God is always calling us out of the expected into the unexpected. The same was happening here with these women. They thought they were going to minister to the dead Jesus, but in fact, the risen Jesus was about to minister to them.

The angel goes on to state some important facts about the last few days.

Jesus was the one who was once in the tomb - they were not at the wrong place.
Jesus was indeed crucified. He did not merely faint or swoon - Jesus was dead.
Jesus was no longer dead and in the tomb, but had risen.
He did so just as He said.

Why would the angel need to state these facts? He needed to tell them they were in the right place because naturally, we don’t default to the miraculous as an explanation when we experience things in life. We try to find a natural explanation. The easiest of which would be that they accident went to the wrong place. The angel wanted to make it very clear that they were in the right place. He also wanted to make sure they knew that in fact Jesus was crucified. If there were any other explanations the resurrection wouldn't have been a big deal (because it wouldn’t have been a resurrection). If that were the case like Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15, our faith and preaching are useless and we are to be pitied more than anyone. The angel made sure they knew He was not there - not because His body was moved, not because His body was stolen, but because He was risen! This was indeed a miracle. Lastly, the angel reminded them that this is exactly what Jesus said would happen. It was a reminder that even if a promise seemed improbable or impossible, if Jesus said it, you can count on it. When Jesus spoke and promised that He would come again, and because He lives we will also live, the angel was showing them that all His promises are true.

He didn’t want the women there that morning to take his word for it. Instead he invited them in to see for themselves. I think this is amazing. The angel didn’t want them to just trust him, he gave them an invitation to come investigate for themselves. This is the same invitation we have as well. We’re not supposed to trust in Jesus just because someone else says so. We aren’t supposed to believe because a family member said so or believes. We aren’t supposed to believe just because a pastor said so. We are supposed to “come and see” for ourselves and make our faith our own. The women did just that as they came inside and looked. What did they see? Well for one, Jesus wasn’t there, but instead (John’s account of this same event tells us) they found the burial clothes that were wrapped around Jesus lying there just like a cocoon. Jesus had been there all right, but He was risen!! He was risen, indeed!

An invitation to go & tell what you have seen - Matthew 28:7

⁷ 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.”

After the women came, saw the empty tomb and the abandoned grave clothes for themselves, they were invited to make a decision based on what they had found. They can either ignore it and walk away, or they are invited to go and tell others. The invitation to go and tell others about the resurrection and what we’ve seen Jesus do in our lives is not one to be taken lightly. It’s mentioned 3 times alone in Matthew Chapter 28 and it’s what we call the "Great Commission" for all of those who have accepted the invitation to make Jesus the Lord of their lives. We must always tell others what we have seen, studied, and experienced when it comes to the resurrected Savior. We cannot remain quiet. There is a world out there that needs to come and see for themselves. They need to see there is hope because there is an empty tomb.

An invitation to meet the resurrected Jesus - Matthew 28:8-10

⁸ The women ran quickly from the tomb. They were very frightened but also filled with great joy, and they rushed to give the disciples the angel’s message. ⁹ And as they went, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they ran to him, grasped his feet, and worshiped him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid! Go tell my brothers to leave for Galilee, and they will see me there.”

Once the women left that place in obedience to go and tell the others that Jesus is alive, they have an encounter with the risen Savior. Our obedience will always impact how we see Jesus. It’s through obedience that we start to see and understand Him more and more. He becomes closer and closer to us. John 15 tells us through obedience we remain in His love, because when we love Him we keep His commandments. It also tells us that when we do so we have joy and not only just a little joy, but overflowing joy. Guess what scripture tells us here when the women went out to tell the disciples? They were filled with joy. Jesus meets with us the most when we are following Him in love and obedience. We have all been invited to accept His free gift of salvation - to confess with our mouths that Jesus is our Lord, and to believe in our hearts God raised Him from the dead. We have an invitation to accept Him as our Savior. This is the first step in our walk with Jesus, but maybe you think this invitation isn’t for you.

This invitation to come and see, to respond in obedience, and to meet the resurrected Savior is for everyone. Did you notice everyone who was addressed in this short passage? It was those who are treated as second class (the women in this situation according to the culture at the time), it was those who were scared (the women were told twice to not fear and they still ran from the tomb frightened), it was those who were unsure (they were invited to come and see themselves), it was to those who despaired, and for those who had once abandoned Jesus. Isn’t it amazing Jesus addressed all those who had abandoned Him in His hour of need as “Brothers”? Jesus' love, and His invitation to salvation through the resurrection was extended to everyone, no matter what the world thought of them, and no matter what they have done. They all were given the invitation that starts with, “Come and See”.

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Sermon Notes

An Invitation

Matthew 28:1-10

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