Sermon Transcript
April 5, 2026 (Matthew 28:1-20)
Introduction
All right, Church, today we are in the book of Matthew in the last chapter, the first book in the New Testament. I invite you to open up your Bibles. We have Bibles in the pews; that is the English Standard Version. Today, I am reading from the Christian Standard Bible, so please join with me and rise as we read Matthew 28.
After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to view the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, because an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and approached the tomb. He rolled back the stone and was sitting on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards were so shaken by fear of him that they became like dead men.
The angel told the women, “Don’t be afraid, because I know you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here. For he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead and indeed he is going ahead of you to Galilee; you will see him there.’ Listen, I have told you.”
So, departing quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, they ran to tell his disciples the news. Just then Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” They came up, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus told them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to leave for Galilee, and they will see me there.”
As they were on their way, some of the guards came into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. After the priests had assembled with the elders and agreed on a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money and told them, “Say this, ‘His disciples came during the night and stole him while we were sleeping.’ If this reaches the governor’s ears, we will deal with him and keep you out of trouble.” They took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been spread among the Jewish people to this day.
The eleven disciples traveled to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshiped, but some doubted. Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:1–20)
This is the word of the Lord. You may be seated.
Heavenly Father, I thank You for calling me out of darkness. I am an unworthy servant to be up here. So, I ask that You would please give these people, not Josh, but Jesus. I ask that You please have my appearance and all that is within me to take a back seat and for You to proclaim this message, so that we can all be galvanized into action to serve You obediently as our Lord—for fathers to be better fathers, mothers to be better mothers, for husbands and wives to love deeply and as Christ would have them, for men to lay down their lives for the destitute and the poor and the hurting, and for women to serve well and to love everyone in their vicinity. For all of us, Lord, to live with action that truly proclaims we believe that Jesus rose from the dead. Please be with us and help us to glory with great joy and fear that Christ is risen. In Jesus’ name, amen.
The Gravity of the Resurrection
Church, Jesus, in His last marching orders here, He rose from the dead. And the first thing He tells His disciples when they are all together—at least in the Gospel of Matthew—is that He wants you to go (v 19). The time for silence is over. When Jesus rose from the grave, it was no longer a time for your lips to remain sealed. Jesus came and He broke the nations with His words (Ps 2:9).
This is what drew me to Jesus so much when I was seventeen coming out of New Orleans—a world of witchcraft and drunkenness and idolatry and all the salacious sexual provocation you can imagine. What drove me to Jesus was that this Guy was a radical and He broke it all. And guess what? Everything that Jesus taught, it means nothing if they killed Him and He stayed in the ground. In fact, if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, we are all wasting our time (1 Cor 15:14).
So, if you doubt that Jesus was risen from the dead, you can stay and hopefully be encouraged because there is hope for those who only have a little bit of faith (Matt 17:20). There is hope, and we are going to talk about that. But if you outright reject it, then I encourage you to not stay because you’re wasting your time if Jesus is just a joke to you. But you see, if you do believe that Jesus is truly risen from the grave, then you should not live like He’s a joke either.
When Jesus rose from the dead, that was the gravity to our marching orders. When Jesus rose from the dead, that bought all His credibility. When Jesus rose from the dead, it gave weight and meaning to the words, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). If Jesus rose from the dead, you better believe Him when He says that the Son of Man is going to return on clouds of glory (Matt 24:30). He will fulfill the song of Psalm 2. He will hold the rod of discipline and He is going to judge the nations if He rose from the dead (v 9). But if He rotted in that grave, there is no hope for any of us. Today, we celebrate the single greatest date in all of creation history because Jesus did rise from the dead.
The Historical Veracity
And we know that because our story begins with some embarrassing details (Matt 28:1). The embarrassing details here is that our story begins with women. You see, historians will tell you—how do you know a story in history when it’s recorded to be a true story? And one of them is they look for details of embarrassment. In the first century, the fact that a woman—and not just one, but more than one—to first century Israel, in all of Judea, your first proclaimers of the good news that He is risen is a woman.
Women weren’t allowed to read Torah. Women weren’t allowed to go to synagogue. When they had a female slave, they were sold for half as much money as a male slave. Jesus was the first one to grant women true rights (Gal 3:28). And how do you know the story is true? Well, one of them is the fact that He chose to use two females to be the ones to break the dams open to say, “He is risen” (Matt 28:7). That is embarrassing to first-century Jews. And the only reason they would put this—if they were making this up, they certainly would not have chosen women in a fictional story. It just doesn’t make sense. If they were after power or prestige, they would not have chosen to use women in their story at all.
So, they begin this story with a losing battle. They say, “Believe me, He is risen.” Well, “How do I know?” “Some women saw it.” Think about it. This is already on the wrong footing if this is a made-up story. The only way this makes sense is if it is true. To be clear: I love women. I rejoice that the Lord has used them, and I am not espousing the views of women from first-century Israel. But you have to read this from their perspective. This was salacious. This was rebellious. This was on tabloid magazines of the first century.
Now, what I want you to see is, in the first six verses, heaven and earth meet again. We see similar elements from the story of Moses. In Exodus 19, there was thunder and there was lightning and a thick cloud on the mountain—Mount Sinai—in a very loud blast, and the people are trembling with fear (Exod 19:16). We have the same elements found in the resurrection of Jesus. These women, they arrive. There is an angel whose appearance looks like lightning. There is an earthquake that takes place, and these women tremble with joy and fear (Matt 28:2–4). They thought the One who was from heaven had died, and now heaven has arrived just as it arrived to proclaim the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:9–14). So now heaven has arrived to tell you that Jesus has risen.
You see, we live in a world where heaven and earth are not separated. Modernists will tell you to keep spiritual stuff over there and keep the physical, scientific, empirically verifiable things over here. Never merge them. And what we see throughout history is heaven and earth meet. They are not separable. We are always in a spiritual warfare (Eph 6:12). Your life has pain because we are in a spiritual warfare. You have death in your family because there is a world you cannot see that has inflicted pain and suffering upon us because we decided to bend the knee to God’s enemy (Gen 3:1–19). And sickness and disease erupted in creation because the spiritual and the physical cannot be separated. But when heaven came down to proclaim that the One they killed is now alive, hope that they saw in Bethlehem at Christ’s birth is now hope eternal. The day that was dark in Jerusalem has birthed an eternal light (John 8:12).
The Witnesses and the Stone
And these guards were at the tomb because the Pharisees remembered—by the way, let me transition. There were guards at the tomb (Matt 27:62–66). We see this. When heaven met earth, these guards were stricken; they passed out. I’ve never been that scared in my life. I don’t know what that’s like. I had some friends go do some theme parks… they didn’t pass out. No? Okay. I don’t know what that’s like. People do it.
But there is an incredible thing and a very sad thing what happens with these guards. These guards pass out because they have seen the might and the majesty of heaven before them, and it causes them to go unconscious (Matt 28:4). And these guards were there because the Pharisees remembered what Jesus was teaching. He told them in chapter 20—the Pharisees tell Pilate—you better put guards there because He was teaching His disciples and everybody in the crowd He’s going to rise from the dead three days later, and if you don’t put guards there, they’re going to steal His body and claim He rose from the dead (Matt 27:63–64). So, you know what I say? Thank you, Pharisees, for giving that warning, because now we can say we have more eyewitnesses. We have the Roman guard, and Pilate will tell you there were guards at that tomb. And somehow the body disappeared. Another point for the historical veracity of the resurrection.
And this stone was 1.5 to 2 tons in weight. I don’t know many women—well, I know one—that can lift a really big heavy stone. Okay? I don’t know many. But two tons? Just so you know, that weighs more than a Toyota Corolla. This was a feat. This was a magical feat where heaven has come back to earth. And the greatest news that comes out of their mouth is, “Do not worry. He is risen” (Matt 28:5–6).
The Proper Response: Worship and Proclamation
Next thing I want you to know, in verses 7 through 10, they show the proper response to Christ’s resurrection: His worship and proclamation. The time for silence is over. Yes, these women, they are seized with fear, but they are also seized with great joy (v 8).
In Christianity today, particularly in the American Church, so many churches have a faith that is only an inch deep and a mile wide. And I am convinced it is because they have not had a radical encounter with the risen Lord Jesus. If you meet Jesus, your faith will be deep. If it is not deep, I’m telling you, test Him. “Jesus, please, I want to meet You in a radical way. I want to know what in the world is this young, dumb kid talking about?” And He will break into your life. Every Christian, if you call yourself a Christian, you should have joy in God and also great fear because you cannot experience the mighty power and majesty of God without a little bit of tremble, even though you know that He is washing you with His love (Ps 2:11).
And then the next thing is they are told to go and tell (Matt 28:7). Go and tell them. And then Jesus, He arrives on the scene and He tells them, “Don’t be afraid, ladies. Go and tell my what?” Brothers (v 10). He calls them brothers. We are in the family of God. So many of us have been beaten and bruised by our blood relatives and rejected. If you are in Christ, welcome home. We are your family. You need the shirt off my back? It’s yours. Because we are your forever family (Mark 3:35). And better yet, we are brothers and sisters of our Lord and King. You can’t beat that. There is nothing better than in the world to give you that glorious gift of God. So He says, “Go and tell them.” It’s time to go tell.
The Hardness of Hearts
The next thing I want you to notice is the world will not believe you because Satan is always tempting them with the cravings of their heart (1 John 2:16). These guards, they saw something so majestic and mighty they passed out. But their hearts were so hard that they could be bought (Matt 28:11–15). So even if you have a radical encounter with Jesus, just know the temptation to love the world and the things in the world—it’s still possible that you be drawn away from the God who died for you (Heb 3:12).
These guys were bought. Do not let that be you. Satan brought Jesus to the temple mount and He showed Him all the glory of all the nations around Him (Matt 4:8). He says, “If you bow down and worship me, all of this will be yours.” And Jesus said, “I don’t think so. I’m on a mission and I’m going to accomplish the task” (v 10). We need to have the same mentality because Satan is going to come and tempt you and say, “I know you like Jesus, but how about this Maserati?” “I know you like Jesus; I can make women like you.” “I know you like Jesus, but I promise you, you won’t get this high.” Satan will always try and tempt you. But when they reject you, when you proclaim that Jesus is risen, just know it is because they rather would have the lusts of their heart than the joy of a risen Savior (John 3:19).
Obedience in the Midst of Doubt
And the last thing—almost last thing—follow in obedience even when you doubt. I love verses 16 through 17. The eleven disciples, they traveled to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had directed them. When they saw Him, they worshiped. And what does it say? But say it louder: “some of them doubted” (v 17). They followed through with obedience even in a glimmer of doubt. If you doubt a little bit, welcome home. Jesus loves you. We love you. You’re not alone. Everyone experiences doubt and you should feel no shame about it. But fight it. Pursue it. And while you wrestle with your doubt, continue to be obedient like these disciples.
Everyone doubts at some point and I don’t want you to feel any shame. In fact, the Bible doesn’t want you to feel that shame. It says in Jude 22, “Have mercy on those who waver.” That is, waver in their faith. Romans 14:1 says, “Welcome anyone who is weak in the faith.” God’s bride, the Church—His brothers and sisters—we welcome the weak. We are all weak here. We’ve been where you are, if you doubt. And we love you. But be obedient in the midst of that. Jesus says in John 14:21, “The one who has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. And the one who loves me will be loved by my Father. I also will love him and will reveal myself to him.” If you follow through in obedience, even when you don’t have it all figured out, God will reward you.
The Great Commission
And then the last thing to know: the Great Commission is the resurrection mission. This is my favorite. The whole point of Jesus meeting the disciples after He rose from the dead is to tell them, “Go make disciples” (Matt 28:19). Church, you prove to the world that Jesus really rose from the dead based on how often you tell them Jesus is King. I don’t mean to make your ears ring, I’m sorry. Jesus is King!
The first thing Jesus tells them when He sees them as a group: “Go and make disciples.” Without the resurrection, Christ would have no authority to give us a commission (v 18). So guess what? Don’t make disciples. You’re in good shape. But if Christ didn’t rise from the dead, the Great Commission calls for baptism. Being baptized for what if Jesus did not rise from the dead? Romans 6:5 says, “For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly be united in the likeness of his resurrection.”
Baptism is a sign that we will be raised from the dead. Right? Buried with Christ, raised to newness of life (Rom 6:4). Baptism has no point if Jesus was not raised from the dead. And guess what? The other part of the Great Commission: “teach them to obey everything I’ve taught you” (Matt 28:20). The commands of Christ are pointless if He’s still in the grave.
The Great Commission has power and authority over all Christians because Jesus is not in that grave. And we have a mission. Let’s prove to the world that He is risen. And go tell people, “Jesus loves you. He died for your sins” (John 3:16). And everyone who calls on Him as Lord and Savior, they will be forgiven. They will reign with Him (Rom 10:9–13). Now submit, obey, and love Him. Give your life to the King. He loves you and He bought you with His own blood (1 Cor 6:20).
So Church, awaken and lift up Christ’s name and His name alone. He loves you. Now let us go and prove that He is risen by making disciples of all nations.
Let’s pray.
Lord Jesus, I thank You for rising from the dead, for doing it in a way that grounds our belief in historical reality. We know because You have left so many clues. Even Josephus said out loud that there were many people who claimed to have seen Jesus risen from the dead. I am so grateful that we have been pulled out of darkness. I pray that You would please convict every one of us to prove to the world that You exist, that You have risen from the dead, and for us to faithfully obey You as our King in telling people that You reign and You live, and teaching them to obey You in every aspect of their life. We love You, Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen.