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SERIES:
40 Matthew - 2011
MESSAGE:
Matthew 28
SPEAKER:
Skip Heitzig
SCRIPTURE: Matthew 28
TRANSCRIPT
Now, would you turn in your Bibles to Mathew Chapter 28. Well, tonight, we've finished the Gospel of
Matthew. And before you have any doubts in your minds that that could happen, you'll notice there are only
20 verses. That's doable. Not 66 verses like the previous chapter, just 20.
I love Wednesday nights. It's my favorite of all the activities in the week. It's something I always look forward
to doing. It's unique and how we gather together in such informal cruisy kind of a format. Sitting down, Bibles
open, going verse by verse through the book. I always call this our living room. This is a large living room
perhaps, but this is where we just in a simple way gather together and go through the Bible. We're a family
and we're a family in a living room, but every family also has rules. You remember growing up and your dad
and your mom had certain things you couldn't do in the house after certain times at certain times.
So, couple of rules, number one, that you stay awake during the study. Number two, that you don't get up and
down, move around during the study week. Don't want any distractions, you could become a distraction if you
decided that you just wanted to go somewhere else and get a burger or go home early. If you feel that you
won't be able to stay for the entire Bible study, we respectfully ask that while we bow our heads in prayer,
you would move to the very edge of the auditorium that is at the very back and then you are moving wouldn't
be noticeable except to me, but not anybody else. Let's pray.
You're our father, Lord. You're the father of this family and you have adopted us as sons and daughters into
the body of Christ, the kingdom of God. We're already experiencing and tasting what it's like to be in
relationship with you through the ups, the downs of our lives. We've been able to see how faithful you are and
how much in control you are. And I pray that as we close out our time in this great Book of Matthew's
Gospel, that we will be encouraged to not hold back any trust that we might be holding onto that we would
have no reserve in entrusting you with our future, our family, our concerns. You promised in the Psalms that
you will perfect that which concerns us. You are trustworthy. And in that faithfulness that we know you to be
and have, we entrust not only this evening but our very lives. And help us Lord not to be distracted by other
concerns but to focus on what the spirit of God is saying to the people of God through the agency of the
Word of God. We ask it in Jesus name. Amen.
Mark Twain a.k.a. Samuel Clemens, one of America's great authors, made an interesting remark when he said
that a lie can make its way halfway around the world while truth is still lacing up her boots. Lies seem to travel
faster than truth. Sensationalistic ideas get the press, make headlines, make news. New ideas, new theories get
people's attention.
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Back in the 1800s, there was an author by the name of Ernest Renan. You may have heard of him. He was
trained as a Catholic priest. He was a scholar, all be it. He became a very liberal scholar and he was influenced
by the writings of Immanuel Kant and Georg Friedrich Handel. And with those philosophical world views in
mind, he read the scripture and interpreted the scripture according to those philosophical ideals.
So, when he came to the resurrection, he then sought to explain it a way by saying there really was no literal
resurrection. Jesus didn't rise physically from the dead but rather the disciples who were emotionally
imbalanced had hallucinations. They thought they saw Him. They loved Him so much, and being mentally
unstable and in a high emotional — highest strong state. They simply imagined that they saw Jesus alive from
the dead, but it was simply a hallucination.
And Mary Magdalene, who will be mentioned here on our text, she thought that she heard Jesus speak her
voice or her name, saying, "Mary." But it really wasn't Jesus at all. It was a gardener but she thought it was
Jesus. Actually, the scripture says just the opposite. Mary thought it was a gardener when it was actually Jesus.
Now, when Ernest Renan wrote that in his book, The Life of Jesus in the 1800s, he had no evidential reason to
do that. There was no hard science behind it. He had no real good facts at his disposal which is a theory that
he made up based on his philosophical world view. And yet, within the first month, that writing sold 60,000
copies. Amazing!
Fast forward in 1966, when another author by the name of Hugh Schonfield, wrote a book called, The
Passover Plot, where he said that Jesus was aware of some of the prophesies in the Old Testament about the
Messiah's death and resurrection. And so, Jesus sought to manipulate Himself the events in His life and the
people in His life to fame His own death and a supposed resurrection to get people to believe in Him. It was
all a plot said Schonfield.
So, in Colossian with Joseph of Arimathea and a couple of other guys, he persuaded them to give him a drug
that would put him into a deathlike comma, but that he really wouldn't die. And then later on, while he's on
the cross, he would be able to make it, he would suffer but then, being placed in this comma, they thought
that he would be dead and then later on, he would get up and it would be a fake resurrection.
But says Schonfield, the plot backfired when the Romans spear went through Jesus' side and out came blood
and water. So, they killed Him and the plot fell apart. But the disciples went on to believe in a resurrection.
What's amazing about the book are two things. Number one, the academic world paid it no heed at all,
because it wasn't based on any good hard evidence. But what was most amazing is that within the first few
months, Schonfield sold 100,000 copies.
Back to what Mark Twain said, "A lie can make its way halfway around the world while truth is still lacing up
her boots." It seems that if you want to write a best seller these days, just write about vampires or weird
sexual exploitations, or some new fangled theory on the life or death or resurrection of Christ. And it seems
to be a winner because time and time again, these things keep coming up with no real good, factual evidence
and yet, they sell over and over again.
There are three credentials to Jesus Christ and His life. Number one, His impact upon human history.
Number two, fulfilling Old Testament prophesy. And number three, the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the
dead.
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In Chapter 28, the 20 verses speak about the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. This makes Jesus
Christ absolutely totally unique among all men, all people. And all faiths, though they share certain things in
common, the resurrection of Christ sets Christianity apart. For you see, most belief systems, most religious
ideologies were based the religion upon the sayings, the teachings of the founder, the philosophical postulates
of the founder. They are categorized. They are written down or they're in oral form and they're passed on.
The most religious systems are based around those sayings or teachings of some founder, some charismatic
leader.
There are only four world religions that squarely are based upon personalities. And that is Judaism, especially
with Moses as the chief personality giving the law and a few others, Christianity with Christ, Islam with
Mohammad, and Buddhism with Buddha. But of those four religions that based their belief systems squarely on
personalities, only one claims of resurrection from the dead for its founder.
So, let's see what the document say, not what Schonfield or Renan or others have postulated, but what the
scripture say. Verse 1, Chapter 28 of Matthew now, "After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to
dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary — we think the other Mary to be Mary, the mother of James, the
last and Joses, who is mentioned in the previous chapter, we already covered that, that is probably the other
Mary. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.
I imagined that Mary Magdalene and this other Mary got really no sleep that night. I think they tossed and
turned on their cot. The events of the last few days, the crucifixion of Jesus, seeing Him come off the cross,
Joseph of Arimathea placing Him in His tomb. Every little noise, every dog barking in the neighborhood, they'd
wake up. Their hearts were so burdened. Then finally, they get up really early, get some spices together. The
Bible says to anoint the body of Jesus at the tomb.
So off they go in the darkness, just as the light is coming up and it's still kind of dusky and shadowy around
town. And they go looking for the tomb where Jesus was placed that they might anoint His body. It was
customary and still is customary to visit the grave of loved ones after their death. You might wonder if you've
never had the experience of somebody close to you dying. Why is that? Why do people go back to a
cemetery? The person isn't alive. The body is simply placed in the ground, because that symbolizes their last
contact with that individual.
Still, when I'm in town in California, I go visit my father, my mother and my brother's gravesite and I think back
to their life. I think back to the funeral. It's bitter-sweet. It's accompanied with tears but it represents that last
contact that we had with that person as we paid them that respect and buried them.
Now, according to the Jews, not all of them but there was a belief that among some of the Jews, they held that
the spirit of the deceased hovered over the tomb for three days. In fact, some people believe — no, I'm not
saying Mary Magdalene believed but she might have, that the spirit was hovering over the tomb seeking to
reenter the corpse. But that after the fourth day, when decomposition began to set in and the body becomes
more — well, not recognizable, that's when the spirit departs.
That is why those first few days, Jewish relatives, family and friends will amass around the grave to pay their
respects until the fourth day. Early in the morning, she is coming. And it says, "Behold. There was a great
earthquake." Now, let me just back up. The reason she comes on this day is because she couldn't go the day
before because the day before was the Sabbath. And according to the Jews, you could only take a Sabbath
Day's journey. Remember what that is? It's anything up to two thirds of a mile. So because Mary Magdalene
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and the other Mary were obviously staying at a greater distance than that, they couldn't walk that far on the
Sabbath so they had to wait for the first day of the week. So off they go. Behold. There was a great
earthquake. And you remember in the previous chapter when Jesus died on the cross, there was a huge
earthquake. After many earthquakes, there are subsequent earthquakes often that follow but that that really
wasn't — what was the cause of this? This is because something happened to the tomb site. Behold. There
was a great earthquake for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone
from the door and sat on it.
Don't you love to read that? I'm tickled by it. The idea that Matthew gives us this little detail that the angel
didn't just rolled back the tomb — the stone but they'll got on top of it and just sat on it. I just like to picture
an angel doing the work and then just like, "Okay, that's done. I'm just going to sit here now." (Whistling) and
just kind of hanging out — why would the angel do that, because the angel wants to scare off some people.
His continents was like lightning, his clothing as white as snow and the guards — you see the Roman guards
shocked for fear of him and became like a dead man.
Now, consider a few things, we're not surprised that angels are attending the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We
would sort of expect that to happen I mean this is the greatest event of all. All of heaven has been anticipating,
all of heaven has been very interested in the resurrection. Could that call even back up and say, "All of heaven
and hell was very interested in the event surrounding the life death and question mark resurrection of Jesus."
We're not surprised because angels showed up at the incarnation of Jesus. They we're surrounding the skies in
Bethlehem, singing his praises or I should say speaking forth his praises.
At the temptation of Jesus, the angels were there for after Jesus was tempted 40 days in the wilderness.
Remember Mark's Gospel tells us the angels came and ministered onto him. So at the incarnation, at the
temptation — number three, at the affliction of Jesus when he was in the Garden of Gethsemane facing his
greatest earthly trial. Jesus was in agony. The Bible says, God sent an angel from heaven to minister to him."
And then, fourth and finally, here at the resurrection, so we're not surprised. We would expect it. The word
"Angel," Angelos in Greek means a messenger. Did you know that 34 books of the Bible mentioned angel —
17 in the Old Testament and 17 in the New Testament mentioned the ministry or the presence of God's
angels.
Now sometimes, many times, I would say most times, angels are invisible but sometimes the Lord for his own
purposes gives them a physicality, a temporal body, a corpus so they can relate to human beings.
Sometimes they look like typical human beings. Like in Genesis Chapter 18, when three men came to
Abraham's tent and he entertained them and cook them a meal with his wife Sarah. Two of them we find out
were angels but they look like "Dudes" They were angelic dudes and they ate a meal with Abraham. What do
you cook for an angel? Well, I guess angel food cake would work, right? That's sort of a no brainier but —
sometimes however, they came in more brilliance and the body that they assume wasn't just a human body
but it was enough to scare the pa-jabbers out of you.
Like here, it says they're shook like a dead man or they shook for fear of him and became like dead man. I
believed in angels. I believe I have experienced the ministry of angels. The Bible says that God sends us angels
to minister to those of us who inherit salvation. Isn't great? Now, some of just by the way you live, you
probably have a few more angels than some of the rest of us. I think sometimes I do in some of the activities
that I engage in is like, "Lord, thank you for angels. You have been so faithful."
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At the same time, I don't carry it too far and I am sometimes suspicious. In fact, I would say frequently
suspicious when somebody will come up and say, "I saw an angel." How do you know? And I remember years
ago, I used to hear these reports of people out on the freeway and their car stopped, and it was sort of the
same rendition told in a few different ways of somebody who — their car pulled over and an angel showed up
and — angel sightings are sort of like Elvis sightings. When somebody they saw Elvis, I get suspicious when
somebody says they saw an angel or encountered an angel. I don't deny their ministry, I'm just a little bit
reserved because I've seen that idea and the stories abused.
But this was an angel that came out of heaven and he sat on the tomb. Why did the angel roll the stone away?
Was it to let Jesus out? No. Jesus didn't need anybody to move the stone. If he can supernaturally rise from
the dead out of those tightly wound bandages that we told you about, he can — and go through walls later on.
He could just go right through that stone.
So the stone was rolled away by the angel not to let Jesus out but to let people in so they could see. This is a
miracle. He's gone. He's no longer here. I love this rendition. His continents, what he looked like was like
lightning — just so bright. His clothing as white as snow blinded. And the guards, that is those Roman guards
— remember we told you their between 10 and 16 — well-armed, well-disciplined Roman soldiers. The
guards shook for fear of him. The word for shook is the same word previously in the Chapter 4 for
earthquake. So the Earth shook and hears the man shock and became like dead man. Have you ever been so
shaken up at something that happened that you literally shake your body? Ever wonder why you do? Why do
people shake when they're afraid?
Well, it's interesting in your body you have two glands attached to your kidneys called the adrenal glands and
they secrete that chemical adrenalin. And the reason adrenalin is secreted during times of psychological
trauma like that, is to enable the fight or flight mechanism that is in you.
So do you fight or should you run? So adrenalin is pumped into your bloodstream and that causes your heart
to beat faster that causes more oxygen to be available to your muscles, your pupils dilated in your eyes so that
if you're in darkness you'd be able to see better to know should you stay or run. Secondly, glucose that is
stored in your body is released into the muscles to give them necessary energy in case they have to do extra
work in that fight or flight mechanism. So the person begins to shake and all that is, is your muscles are
warming up. In case you need to start working that dude over or run like the wind.
So your muscles are warming up and they demonstrate that by shaking violent. Now you lose fine motors
skills during that — you wouldn't be able to like write something with the pen but you would be able to do
some extraordinary things. So they're shaking — the adrenalin is kicking in. But this was more than just a little
bit of psychological trauma. They fainted because of it. For it says they became like dead man. They just
collapsed. So if you see an angel, I would think on some occasions you would certainly know. But the angel
answered and said to the woman. Now, obviously the woman didn't have the same response for whatever
reason we're not told. "Do not be afraid." Maybe they started getting afraid and angels had to say, "Don't do
that. No need to." For I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here for he has risen as he
said. So put yourself into the thinking of this woman. They get up early in the morning, they bring the spices or
going to the tomb.
What do they expect to find? A corpse! Not a resurrected saviour but a corpse, a dead body. Now, when
they left home with the spices, they didn't really think through all the possible problems that would arise like,
"How are we going to move a two ton stone to get into the grave?" Mark's Gospel tells us that as you're
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going, one of them said, "Who's going to role the stone away?" But love doesn't ask those questions. Love is
more, "I got to respond." You get up, you love Jesus, you get those spices, you've got to go to his side, you got
to go to the grave and you want to perform an active love in preparing his body for burial. Nobody did that,
they want to do that. And so they go. When they go, they find that whatever problem they were thinking
about has been solved.
Now, just learn this lesson, you will discover as a Christian so many times the problem is all up here. You can
cut the problem — "Oh no, this is going to get really bad, I can't see any way out of this. There's no way that
stone is going to be moved." And then you'll get there and you discover God's already gone before you and
solved the problem and you just spent a night worrying for nothing.
The angel was there, the problem was solved and the angel said, "I know that you see Jesus who was crucified.
He is not here. He has risen as he said." I'll stop right there. This proves something, sometimes — and I'm
saying that some of these things tonight because we're dealing a fact of history that is attested to over and
over again but is this counted by people like Hugh Schonfield, like Ernest Renan, and many others to this day.
And they try to trap Christians. I just want to give you some answers and some ammunition.
Years ago, a German philosopher by the name of Ludwig Feuerbach started something that really caught fire.
It's called "The Christian Religion and wish fulfilment. That is all the Christian religion is, is wish fulfilment that
people like Mary had a wish that Jesus would be raised from the dead so they would hallucinate or they would
mistake the tomb or a number of explanations because they're trying to bring to pass what they really want
because they sense something deep inside. It simply wish fulfilment. Here's where that argument breaks down.
By the record of all of the writings we have extent from that time all of the text tells us that the apostles or
the women. None of them were predisposed to any resurrection. The fact that they would take spices to
anoint the body of Jesus for burial proves that they didn't expect to see a raised human being. But a corpse,
that they would perform one final active kindness toward.
There was no predisposition, there was no wished fulfilment, they just came and unexpectedly saw what they
what saw. Now, verse 6, "He's not here, he has risen." As he said, "Come, see the place where the Lord lay
and go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead and indeed, he's going before you went to
Galilee.
There you will see him behold, I have told you. There are four words on what you didn't notice in the text
that we just read. Come, see, go, tell! Those were four words that every Christian should follow. Four words
for Easter. Come, see, go, tell. Consider the first word "Come" — angels trying to invite them into the tomb.
Well, tombs can be scary. They're seeing an empty tomb or at least they're seeing a stone rolled away and
there is that that tomb opened up when the last time they saw the tomb it have been closed by Joseph of
Arimathea and then guarded by soldiers, there's an open tomb. Who is hiding in that tomb? Are there grave
robbers in there? There'll be enough to keep them out to not have them come but the angel invites them to
come.
Now, did you know that the word come is one of the great words of the Gospel? Come, Jesus never told
people, "Go away, you bother me." He told people to come. To the early disciples who were disciples of John
the Baptist when they saw Jesus at the Jordan River and he said, "Master, where are you staying?" He said,
"Come and see." When Peter and the others were in the boat when Jesus walked on the water on the sea of
Galilee and Peter said, "Master, if it's you bid me to come." And Jesus said, "Come." The children that try to
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see Christ and the disciples try to push them away. Jesus said, "Don't forbid the children to come unto me for
have such as the kingdom of God." That's always the first word "Come" yourself, come.
Second word is see. The word for see here is the Greek word, Eido, which means to experience or to
perceive, to enter into an experience and to understand or perceived something. Come and check it out, we
might say.
So what would they — if they were coming into the tomb, what would they see? They would see a few things.
Number one, they would see the humility of Christ. The humility of Christ, this is the extent to which God
would go and Christ would go and obeying the Father in coming from heaven assuming the body of a human
being coming to this earth and dying on the cross and being placed in that tomb. That friends you can see the
humility of Jesus. Look how humble he is to leave heaven and be put in that rock grave. Paul says in Philippians
he humbled himself and became a man subject unto death.
So you see the humility of Jesus. Number two, you see the reality of sin. You want to find out how bad sin is?
You ever think about — I'm going to toy around with his little activity for awhile. I know some people call it
sin but how bad could it really be? Look at what it did to Jesus, it killed him. He lost his blood. He lost his life
and was placed in that rock tomb for sinners. So when you come, you see, you check out, you perceive the
humility of Christ, the reality of sin and finally you'll see the victory of life because you know what the angel
was trying to get them to see? Nothing. Come and look, nothing is there, that's the point. He isn't here. All
John says was there was the cocoon from the bandages unruffled that the body just moved through them and
it just flattened out like a tire would flatten out when air release. There was no unwinding, there was no
struggle, he was just gone. Come, check it out.
Now, this is the next two words, go and tell. Once you come and once you see, you perceived, you
experienced, don't stop with that and here's where many of us do stop. They go, "Wow, that's cool man.
Okay I believe he's raised from the dead." Okay? What are you doing about it? "Well nothing, I've come and
I've seen and I believe." Okay? What are you doing about it? See, the angel wants to turn their fascination into
proclamation. Go, tell, and announce it. Come, see, go and tell. We must never reduce the empty tomb to
some religious relic or to some place that we save up thousands of dollars to take a tour to Israel, to go see
and go, "Wow that was really moving. Wow!" All you have been shed a tear, yeah that was so awesome.
Great, once you come and see, now go and tell.
You're on a mission, you have a message, the message includes your salvation but also the victory of Jesus
over death that insures you everlasting life in heaven with him forever. You got the message of messages.
Better than any messages in election for any candidate who will not save American, no one will. You have the
message of the glorious life-changing gospel of Christ. Come, see, go and tell. See his humility and see his
victory and tell people what you've seen. Tell people what you've seen in terms of changes in your life and
changes on other people's life. Your personal testimony, your personal story is what you should go and tell.
I'm making a deal out of that. An issue out of this because there is this idea and it's prevalent among many
Christians and some churches in particular that — well you really can't go and tell until you reach some level
of maturity. An academic stature and once you really get it or — well I've got so many personal issues in my
life and problems, but once I fix that stuff, then I can go and tell. I'll be free to go and tell. Listen, Jesus is telling
this to a woman who was just right now starting to figure out the resurrection. You think she has her
theology down path? Nope, but what she is going to discover is good enough. Take what you see and you go
and you tell. Four words; come, see, go, tell.
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So, they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy. What an interesting mix of emotion and they
ran to bring his disciples word and as they went to tell his disciples, "Behold," Jesus meet them saying,
"Rejoice." In the Old King Jimmy it says, "All hail." That's because this was a common greeting. It would be like
walking by somebody and going, "What's up?" or "Howdy?" So they're running, they're on their way. Jesus
shows up and says, "Howdy." What's cool about that? What's cool about that is these women did not have
their theology right but they have their devotional life right. Theologically, they weren't on track yet. They're
learning the resurrection. They're getting their head, their heart around this whole thing. It doesn't make
sense to them. This is not what they expected. They had that work eschatology of Judaism that I had spoken
to you about so theologically they are wrong, devotionally, they're right. They love Jesus and what they
discover peace by peace are going to go out and tell and Jesus shows up to those ladies and says, "Howdy?"
You know sometimes as believers, we get so hardened and tight and legalistic and ungracious with our
theology. I'm all for good clean solid right theology but you can have your theology right and you can be so
right, you're dead right. You get my drift? You're just dead right. There's no real life in you. Jesus told the
church at Ephesus, "You have it all together theologically, you have discernment, you can't stand those who
claim to be apostles but are false apostles but you have left your first love. Your together theologically, you're
out of order devotionally. You don't love me like you did at first and I submit to you, it's those people not
necessarily you have their theology perfect, but their devotional life is perfect, is right at least that Jesus will
show up to. He'll show himself to them time and time again and go, "Howdy? It's me, here I am."
Now it's best if you can marry both. Good doctrine, good theology with that passion and that devotion and
that love and that response, but it's interesting that theologically they're not quite there yet but devotional
they are right and Jesus appears to them and I believe there is a pattern there. Jesus said to them, "Do not be
afraid, go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee and there they will see me." Oh, the graciousness of Christ.
"Go and tell my brothers." My brothers? Who are his brothers? Who were his brethren? Well, Peter, John
and all of the apostles who fled, disowned, runaway, will be doubting, who denied him. Go and tell my
brothers.
Now if I were Jesus, I might have said to Mary afterwards. "Go and tell those losers I have words for them and
I want them alone in Galilee." But that's not our Jesus. Our Jesus is so merciful, so merciful, so gracious, so
knowing the failures of all of us, says, "Go and tell my brethren, my brothers to go to Galilee and there they
will see me." Now, while they were going behold some of the guard came into the city and reported to the
Chief Priest the things that had happened. When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together,
they gave a large sum of money literally silver to the soldiers saying, "Tell them his disciples came at night and
stole him away while we slept and if this comes to the Governors ears, we will appease him and make you
secure." So they took the money and did as they were instructed and this saying is commonly reported among
the Jews until this day.
Go back in your memory and think about what has happened the last few days and especially how these
leaders, these authorities were preoccupied from getting the truth out and all of the Shenanigans, all of the
unethical behavior that has gone on in the last few days. Number one, the illegality of the trial before Caiaphas
and before Anis the high priest, remember we showed you what the Talmud said and the Mishnah said about
how trials were to be conducted and they violated every single one of those tenants, the illegality of the trial.
Number two, the mob psychology when they were before Pontius Pilate getting the crowd would have,
"Crucify him! Crucify him! Release Barabas," and got the whole frenzy going. Number three, blatant bribery.
Okay we got to come up with the plan. This has happened, there's an empty tomb and we're going to give you
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a lot of money and so here's the deal. We'll give you this money, but you have to say that, "While you slept,
the disciples stole the body."
Now can you see the whole in that logic? Think about it, that is the most illogical thing that you can ever say
because if somebody says, "What happened to Jesus' body? Well, we were sleeping and they stole the body."
How would you know who stole the body if you were sleeping? You see, I don't know about you, but when
I'm asleep, I might dream things but I can't give you facts of what happened last night. I'm unconscious. It's
perfectly illogical. So go back to what I opened with. What Mark Twain said about the lie versus truth, what
Ernest Renan said in the 1800s and Hugh Schonfield said in the 1960s and all of the weird ideas about
explaining the resurrection because you see, I challenge anyone to explain what happened to Jesus on any
other basis other than a miraculous resurrection from the dead.
Now let me run down what some of the common myths are and the common accusations. Number one, we
read it here, "The disciples stole the body of Jesus." What's wrong with that? Number one, the disciples were
in no mood to steal the body of Jesus. If I read the original documents correctly, they were afraid, they fled,
they ran and presently before Jesus appeared to them, they were in the upper room behind lock doors. They
were scared to death because they thought they could be killed, they would be next, they would be
butchered. So they were in no mood to confront ten to sixteen well-armed men and move the stone.
Number two let's just suppose that the disciples did steal the body. Now for the disciples to steal the body
according to this little bribery scheme, the guards have to be asleep. Well, for roman guards to be asleep, they
lose their lives. They would sleep in shifts and if you may remember in the Book of Acts when Paul the apostle
was in the Philippians jail and a roman soldier guarded him and the prison was opened and the guard was going
to kill himself and Paul says, "Don't kill yourself. Do yourself no harm." The reason he was going to kill himself
is because he knew it's either I kill myself or I'm going to be killed for falling asleep on the job. But let's say, the
soldiers were asleep and the disciples were sneaking around the grave. "Peter, those big fisherman feet." John,
quit burping." Okay, okay we haven't woken them yet. Now let's quietly move a two ton stone."
You see how ridiculous that is? That's going to make so much noise all the neighbors are going to hear. So the
disciples stole the body, it doesn't make good sense. Here's another myth, some will say, "Well, here's the
explanation for the resurrection of Christ." The Jews stole the body. Now play that out in your mind and see
how ridiculous that is because in the next several weeks, according to the Book of Acts, the disciples hit the
street in Jerusalem and preach the gospel and thousands upon thousands of Jewish people become believers
and Yahshua as the messiah, on the basis that he has been raised from the dead physically. Well if the Jews
stole the body, all they have to do is produce the body because the priest became so upset that so many
people were believing in Jesus based upon the resurrection. All they had to say is, "Time out." There's no
resurrection. We stole the body, habeas corpus, we will produce the body, here it is, here he is, here's the
evidence that this is all a fabrication.
So you can check those off your list. Third, lame explanation for the resurrection. Well, the women went to a
tomb and it wasn't empty tomb but it happened to be the wrong tomb. You see it was early in the morning
and your eyesight isn't all that great in the morning and the sun isn't out and everything is grey and if you
know the topography of Jerusalem and this is true by the way there are so many tombs scattered around. It'd
be easy to get to the wrong tomb. They had tears in their eyes. They were emotionally distraught so they just
went to the wrong tomb. What's wrong with that theory? Well, number one, there were several women, not
just two if we put all of the records together we find out there was a little group of women so when you have
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several people who saw the original event of the execution of Jesus and the tomb he was put in, you have less
of a chance they're going to go at the wrong tomb but let's suppose they did.
A couple of the women ran and got Peter and John. Peter and John came to the tomb to check it out. You
must then suppose not only did all of the women go to the wrong tomb but Peter and John also later on in
the day when the sun was up went to the wrong tomb. Number three, you have to suppose that the guards
went to the wrong tomb that the Jewish send Hendren went to the wrong tomb, that the angel went to the
wrong tomb and then if all of them went to the wrong tomb, all you have to do is ask Joseph of Arimathea
that was his tomb and you'd have to say, "Well he went to the wrong tomb as well." So it's not a tenable
explanation to explain a way the resurrection, the wrong tomb theory.
Explanation number four, now these have continued on through history. This is a popular one. It's called the
Swoon Theory saying that Jesus really didn't die. He just fainted on the cross. He swooned, he was weakened
by the lost of blood from the beating, the surcharge and the discharge of blood out of his body and in to his
body cavities that he just fainted, he swooned and he was near death but he didn't die. But then he was placed
in that cool, damp tomb and the coolness and the dampness of the tomb serve to revive him. Really? Gee! Just
a little bit that I know for my little science days and medical days. People who have been beaten severely and
are near death don't get better in cool, damp tombs incase like a mummy in wrappings. But, let's suppose that
he did, let's suppose that he got better. How did he get out of those tightly round white wrappings? And if he
did, how did he manage single handedly to role up hill a two ton stone that had been put in place from the
outside?
Okay well, let me think of something else then. Is there anything else? There actually is and that is what I've
started with the Hallucination Theory. They hallucinated. They just thought that they saw it. What's wrong
with that theory? Couple of things. Number one, hallucinations are never corporate. If we all see the same
thing objectively, the chance for collusion is just not high on the probability list. They're not corporate, they
maybe individual and psychologist will tell us that people who are predisposed to that certain high strong
personalities, emotionally distraught on the ex persons can and often do under extremist, extreme situations,
hallucinate, but you have according to 1 Corinthians 15:6, 500 people at one time seeing the resurrected
Christ so that's a corporate experience. Number two you have people with all different emotional disposition
seeing Jesus. Peter who is sorrowful, Thomas is doubtful, the two of disciples on the Road to Emmaus Luke 24
who were unhopeful and a whole series of people in all different dispositions experiencing in different settings
the resurrected Lord.
Let me give me you a close with this because we're about out of time.
There is actually another explanation I heard about recently that is to me, well, it's just stupid. It's that it was
the right tomb, the body of Jesus was there, Joseph of Arimathea put it there, sealed up the tomb but later on
he had second thoughts. And he thought, "You know what? I don't want Jesus to have my tomb, I want my
tomb back. I want it for me and my family, I changed my mind." So that he went back opened up the tomb,
took the body of Jesus out and place it somewhere else. So they took the money, Verse 15, and they did as
they instructed and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day and it's still is. I've have
conversations with some who will still take option number one even though it's not illogical conclusion. The
logical conclusion is what we read here and the eleven disciples went away into Galilee to the mountain which
Jesus had appointed for them and when they saw him, they worshipped him. Oh, what a worship service that
must have been. Unlike any other probably the greatest, most sincere, most emotional worship service
throughout history was that worship that day as these disciples now have the reality of all the claims of Jesus
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Christ. Now substantiated in one fell swoop, he has conquered death like he predicted, he's standing in front
of us and they worshipped him.
His divine, he is God in human flesh like he said. I thought my ears were like not hearing that right, but I get it.
But then notice what else it says when they saw him they worshipped him but some doubted. I'm saddened by
that but I'm glad that's there because it shows me how trustworthy the biographer Matthew was. You see a
lot of times people when they want to write biographies of people they just act, ran, dies, the situation and
they sensationalize it and it was magnificent and everybody believe and we all lived happily ever after. He
pointed out that even after the resurrection that would galvanize the faith. There were some who did not
believe. Some still had doubts. I don't know what they thought. It's a trick, it's weird. He said right, I'm seeing
things. They worshipped him but some doubted. You know what? That is a description of every church service
that has ever existed. Some believe and some doubt. Some have faith and some doubt. A majority might have
faith, but there are still some of them. "I don't know. There's something wrong. I want to find out there
something else."
Do you want to know what one of the greatest evidences of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is? These
disciples. If any of those theories that I mentioned where at all possible or tenable and let's say the disciples
knew it, "We stole the body." Let's keep this lie going man. We've come this far." Well we have a problem.
Bartholomew was flayed alive, John was boiled in oil. He survived the ordeal and then he was vanished to
Patmos. Matthew beaten with the club, Thomas went to India lands in East India with his spear and if you go
through the list of all of the apostles, all of them died a violent death except John who was vanished to Patmos
and then survived and died in Ephesus.
Don't you think that if they knew this was a lie, that somebody stole the body or any of these things were
untenable that one of them would have broken especially history tells us that not only did they die but their
families in some case were also killed? Don't you think that's — okay, time out, I've known this is a lie from
the beginning. I'm going to break and tell the truth. That consistent testimony that brought the suffering and
death of these apostles — history shows us. It's one of the greatest evidences for the tenability, believability,
authenticity of the resurrection of Christ in the New Testament. They worshipped him but some doubted and
Jesus spoke to them saying, "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth go therefore and make
disciples of all the nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
Back in Verse 18, here's the idea, all authority. Based on all of the authority that has been given to me — you
see the days of Jesus' humiliation are over with. Jesus died but Philippians says, "God having exalted him has
given him a name above all names that if the name of Jesus Christ every knee should bow, every tongue should
confess. Soon Jesus would be ascending to the right hand of the majesty, later on and we're still waiting for it,
he will come back, take his church and later come back with his church to the earth to rule and to reign.
Daniel Chapter 7, talks about the dominion that was given to the Son of Man in that vision of Chapter 7 of
Daniel as the Son of Man stood before the ancient of days.
The humiliation is over, the glorification has come and soon his reign. I can't wait for that day. All authority
has been given to me in heaven and in earth. So on the basis of Jesus' authority, we are to go — Verse 19, "Go
therefore and make disciples." Go out with the authority of Christ. He told you to do it, do it and when you
do it, know that you have the commissioning authority of the Son of God to preach, to teach and to make
disciples. That's why you can be bold. You have all of his authority that has been given to him that he passed
unto you, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and Son
and the Holy Spirit."
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Now I got to tell you something about Verse 19. The main word in that verse is not the word "go". I know
missionaries would like to say that it is but it is not. The main word in that chapter, the main verb is make
disciples. Disciple, the noun is Mathetes in Greek. The verb form, the lexical verb form is Matheteo and the
word here for make disciples is Matheteusate something like that. It means to disciplize and here is how it is
to be rendered. Having gone disciplize or on your way, I'm implying that you will be — wherever you go. If
you go to your job, if you go across the world, if you go across the street, if you go to your son's bedroom or
visit your parents having gone as you go and live your life. Disciplize that is reproduce yourself in others.
You see, never in Jesus' thinking was just simply raising up the hand or the conversion experience to be all end
of it. You reproduce yourself so the life of Christ that is in you, you see reproduced in other people as you
both follow Jesus together. You disciplize them, all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit and teaching them to observed all things that I have commanded you and low I am
with you always even to the end of the age. Amen.
Close with this, if you're a believer, go. If you're an unbeliever, come and see and then go and tell. If you're a
believer, go, that's the commission. I'm not saying go away, I'm not saying, I never want to see you here again. I
do want to see you her again, we're a family. But in the process of you're going wherever you go make
disciples of all nations. I've been influenced by a guy who's been dead for over a century. He's name is William
Sangster. Great preacher wrote about preaching. William Sangster had a debilitating disease where he was
becoming more paralyzed and the paralysis would eventually overtake his whole body and kill him and one
Easter Sunday, his vocal chords were paralyzed, he was a preacher. But he had enough strength and ability to
write on a note of paper a message for his daughter and the message read this, "How horrible, on Easter
Sunday to have no voice, to shout he his risen but far worst is to have a voice and not want to shout, he has
risen."
You have a voice, go and tell. If you're an unbeliever, come and see and go and remember I said there are
three credentials of Jesus Christ, his impact on history fulfilled prophecy and his resurrection. You get those
things aligned and if you have doubts, then come and see and check it out for yourself. Give your life to Christ
and see what he will do and I base all of that on the resurrected power of Christ.
(Applause)
Some years ago, a Muslim in Africa was converted to Christ. I believe in Egypt. A Muslim is converted to
Christ, when some who knew him were angry and wanted an explanation as to how, why would he leave
Islam and convert to Jesus Christ. He said this, "If you were walking down the street and you came to a fork in
the road and you didn't know which way to go and there were two men who were there, one was alive and
was dead, which one would you ask for directions? I would ask the one who rose from the dead, conquered
the grave. Come and see and when you do by God's grace you will go and tell."
Father we bow our heads, we bow our hearts in so doing we humble ourselves before you as your mathetes,
your disciples, your learners, your followers. We're trying to get this right. We're trying to understand as
much as we can about who you are and who Jesus is what he wants us to do because we see this thing as a
relationship. Something that is living and real and authentic and we want to follow you, we want to know
where you're leading us to go. I pray father for your people, your church just like we saw on that video of
some going across the world and others here in this church going across town and sharing. Lord, just put that
unction, that urge to just obey you enough to open our mouth this week and see what you'll do with it, even if
it's just to invite a person to come and hear a gospel message or to read or to be a part of an event. Give us
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that boldness. I pray Lord if there's ay here who don't know you tonight that they would come and see and
experience who Jesus is.
As our heads our bowed, as you're thinking about your own life, your own experiences so far, you ask
yourself, are you satisfied with what you've experience so far in life? Or you're thinking I wish there was
something more and I wish that more would include my own forgiveness, newness of life and a relationship
with the living God? It can if you come and see that you have to come and you have to see. We often give
these opportunities for people to begin their life of discipleship with the decision, perhaps the Lord has been
speaking to you of late and maybe more so tonight i don't know but he's been drawing you into a relationship
with himself. You're tired of religion it hasn't given you any answers. You're tired of just going to a church it
hasn't given you any answers, if you want to walk with the living God and have a relationship with him.
Maybe you once walked closely to the Lord but you're not in fellowship any longer and you want to
experience that peace again and you need to come back to him. Then you come and if that describes any of
you as we close in prayer and then in the moment close in song, if that describes you, I want you to raise your
hand up in the air so that I can see your hand, I'll acknowledge your hand and I'll pray for you as we close this
service. Just lift your hand up and say Skip pray me or here I surrender or bless you in the back in the way
back I see your hand on my left. Couple of you right here in the middle, right up in the front, on the side by
the isle on my right. Anyone else, raise your hand up. Even if you're in the family, raise your hand up, any
takers in the balcony, any the receivers in the balcony.
Father I pray indeed we all pray for those who have raise those hands, those were lives, those were individuals
for whom Jesus died on the cross. Oh how deeply you love each one and how you long to wipe the slate clean
and give them the assurance of salvation through your son Jesus. Do that Lord, we pray those who are
watching by the internet or listening by radio we pray the same thing, in Jesus name, Amen.
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