28 In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week,
came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
2And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended
from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
3His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:
4And for fear of him the keepers did shake and became as dead men.
5And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye
seek Jesus, which was crucified.
6He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
7And go quickly and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he
goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.
8And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run
to bring his disciples word.
9And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And
they came and held him by the feet and worshipped him.
Message Points
• Let me begin this message with a right jab and left upper hook to the enemy just as
Jesus did when He died on the cross. Especially in this age where you can only have 10
people within a church and the majority of your word is coming through a piece of
technology, I want you to know that the devil does not mind you taking the time to
experience church as you don’t get anything out of it when you attend. If he can
distract you while you are on Facebook live, he doesn’t care if you are tuned in or not. If
he can make you feel awkward in a sanctuary because there are more empty pews than
full ones, he won’t care if you are one of the fortunate 10 to be in the house. If he can
make you multitask from home when you are supposed to be focused on the Word, he
doesn’t care if you are one of the viewers on the page. He will let you shout; he will let
you dance; he won’t mind you paying your tithes on cash app or even enjoying the
praise and worship. But if he can stop you from receiving the Word, if he can hinder you
from hearing the voice of God that will change your life, if he can stop you from
receiving the Word so that you can share it with others, Satan feels as if he has done his
job. Today, I declare in this house that Jesus didn’t raise from the dead for you to have a
passive, complacent, and stagnant relationship with Him. It is because of this I declare
that God’s love story will prevail today over every temptation, every distraction, every
worry, and every fear in the name of Jesus.
• If we were to tell the truth, it can be difficult to tune in and stay engaged during these
challenging times. It is so tempting to say I will catch this broadcast on the replay, or to
say I can’t be there anyway, so they won’t miss me if I decide to do other things during
this message. It’s even tempting to say I will focus on Easter instead of Resurrection. I
need you to defeat the enemy right now and declare on this resurrection Sunday that
there is nothing more important to me than my relationship with Jesus Christ. The
world can focus on a bunny, but today, I declare that my salvation is found in a lamb!
And it is because of this relationship that I declare and decree that you will not miss the
glory train. Now that you are here, I speak breakthrough into your life in the name of
Jesus. Now that you are here, I declare that you are already on the winning side, and I
declare and decree that God will speak to your heart and that you will be changed. I
declare and decree that the spirit of religion will subside and the spirit of the living God
will take control. You are not just logged in because that is what we are doing in this
season, but your login in the natural is synonymous to a plug-in in the spirit, and now
that you are plugged into the source, I declare that a surge of the spirit is coming your
way and that the power of God is resting over your life. I just need somebody in the
sanctuary and on Facebook live to shout and declare that God has all power in His
hands!
• I want to talk to you today about the Love in our Savior on a Friday, the Fight in our
Savior on a Saturday, and the Closer in our Savior on a Sunday that makes Him the
undisputed King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
• It was the day before His crucifixion, and on the day that He knew he would be
apprehended, that Jesus finds explaining and partaking in communion with His disciples.
It had to be the love of a glorified savior that would allow Him to commune and
fellowship with a group of men that had flaws—with a group that, at a time where He
perhaps needed comfort and reassurance, He was encouraging them. Even in the midst
of what will be Jesus’ most painful and excruciating moment, He is in fellowship with
those that need Him more than He needs them. He is pouring out to an eventual
doubting Thomas. He is providing instruction to an eventual denying Peter. He is even
giving understanding to an eventual betrayer in Judas.
• Jesus knows what is headed His way because He is God in the flesh, and even though His
flesh is crying out for a different way, He knows that only He is worthy of such an
awesome sacrifice on our behalf, for Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Still, how is
it possible that Jesus, God in the flesh, that knows the ending from the beginning, that is
the alpha and omega, that knows not just the words of those that are supposed to be
closest to Him, but also the intentions and inward most thoughts of His disciples feels
comfortable enough to have the last supper fellowship of communion with these
disciples? It is because Jesus knew this one fact to be true—perfect love casts out all
fear. I want you to connect with you praise partner for a second as we reveal a truth
about the scene that has been set here. I need you to look at someone in the eyes, and
say “praise partner—just because people may be in your circle, it doesn’t mean they are
always in your corner!” But turn to your other praise partner and say “but neighbor—I
have to love them anyway!”
• Jesus showed real love towards His children not just in his words and actions towards
them, but in how He thought about them. He knew that Thomas would doubt His
triumphant return, but His thoughts towards Thomas were loving enough that He knew
how to deal with the doubt. Jesus knew that Peter, a disciple that was a fighter for
Christ, even literally so, would buckle under the pressure of the cross, but His thoughts
towards Peter were loving enough to say thou art Peter, and upon this rock will I build
my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. He knew that Judas would
allow greed and underhandedness to allow him to betray Jesus, but His thoughts
towards Judas were loving enough that He even encouraged Judas to do what he had to
do quickly, and did not condemn him when he kissed His face in the garden.
• Can you imagine how powerful we could be as a body if we used the attitude of Jesus in
each of our interactions with His children? Jesus didn’t have the time to fight those that
were around Him, because His commission was greater than debates with man. Jesus
didn’t take the time to judge those around Him, because He is God, the perfected spirit,
robed in flesh, that came to Earth to have judgment nailed to the cross. Jesus didn’t get
caught up in the rumors and mumblings about His ministry, because He was too focused
on the ministry that was inside of Him. We can see this is the truth, because even in His
day of fulfillment on the cross, even in a moment in which His flesh is crying out, He is
bruised, battered, scarred, and mocked, Jesus thinks enough of those in need around
Him to never cease from being God. What do you mean by never cease from being
God? The Bible declares that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God. At any point, God could have called a legion of angels to
stop what was happening, but in order for us to no longer be held captive by sin, and in
order for His Word to be fulfilled that would settle that He is who He says He is, Jesus
had to die. Perfect love casts out all fear, because it could not have been comfortable,
could not have been enjoyable, could not have been what was preferred for Jesus to die
the way that He did, real love comes into play here because Christ, while we were yet
sinners, died for us, and was determined to let nothing separate us from the love of
God.
• I rejoice today about the real love of a Savior that looked beyond my faults and saw my
needs. Just like the malefactors on the cross, we have a choice to make today. While
Jesus was in His final hours on the cross, one malefactor continues to mock Jesus, while
the other begins to study Him. He notices how strange it is that Jesus doesn’t resist the
nails that are driven in His hands and in His feet. He notices how the insults and
mockery is occurring from the masses, and Jesus remains quiet. He sees blood on His
cheeks, the crown of thorns scraping His head, but hears the faintest of whispers from
Jesus saying “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!” I believe it was at
this moment that the second thief begins to feel the real love of Jesus. He sees there is
no anger in His eyes, only tears. Isn’t it ironic how two men could hear the same words
and see the same actions of Jesus and respond in different ways? One thief saw hope
found in a Savior that was blameless, while the other could see nothing but himself.
And here lies the definition of grace and the authentic love of Christ—that the thief in
this scripture goes from wondering if this King that is on the cross will even remember
him and spare him to suddenly being in a position to have the whole inheritance
because he was willing to accept him.
• I took the time to set the stage for the cross, because His resurrection sealed His love for
us, but it was in His death that His love began. Many will point to the miracles of the
cross such as the earthquake that caused the Earth to tremble, the temple veil being
torn allowing free access to Him, the sun refusing to shine when the son was crucified,
but I point to this moment at the cross as an important proof of just how much God
loves us—that He would be willing to lay down His life just so we have a right to be
forgiven. That He would be willing to become a blood-stained Savior to redeem a sin-
soaked criminal like us. And if we were to tell the truth, we would realize that we
deserved the penalty of the cross, but real love caused Him to be our substitute. We
would realize that we were the guilty party, but Jesus stepped in and said through me
they are innocent. We were the filthy ones, but Jesus stepped in and said through me
they are pure. We are the wrong ones, but Jesus stepped in and said through me they
are right.
• He was able to proclaim this because He knew that He wasn’t just going to the cross to
die, but He was going to fight and free us from sin once and for all. There is a lot of
celebration that occurs on Good Friday and on Resurrection Sunday, but we cannot
forget the blockbuster event that took place on Saturday. Jesus accomplished three
things on Saturday:
o He proved to us just how meaningless life is without Him.....
o He proved to Satan just how much power He has, even in death....we have to
trust Him even when we can’t trace Him. Jesus proved that He doesn’t have to
be visible to be at work.
o He proved to His children that good things come to those who wait....Jesus
proved that He doesn’t have to be speaking for Him to be moving. At times, we
just need to stand still and see the salvation of the Lord!
• The four gospels, though they tell this story from a slightly different perspective, all
agree that early Sunday morning after the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, there were
some eye witnesses on the scene of the tomb in the graveyard. While Matthew 28
focuses on two women in particular that came to the tomb, Mary and Mary Magdalene,
the other gospels shed some light that there were other women that were in
attendance as well. Whatever the number that was on the scene, God shared with me
that there were three different types of witnesses at the tomb on that early Sunday
morning.
o There were some that came to look—it is unclear what the intentions of these
women were—maybe they were coming to pray, maybe they were coming to
meditate near the place where the savior’s body had been buried. The context
of the scripture indicates that they may have come just to make sure everything
was in order at the tomb. Whatever their reason was, the Bible tells us that they
came to “see the sepulchre.” I would never discredit anyone that to church,
because just getting here sometimes can be a battle all by itself. But let me tell
you, if you come to church just to look, you will see somethings but you will miss
out on what God has in store for you. If you come just to look, you might see a
breakthrough, but it will be the breakthrough of someone else, and not you. If
you come just to see if things are in order, you might get disappointed, because
the Spirit of the Living God is at liberty to tear up the order of service any way He
wants to fit His agenda. I need you to know this morning that if you want to
experience God, if you want to see things differently than you do right now, if
you want God to give you heavenly answers to your earthly problems, don’t just
come and look, but get up and do something!
o There were some that came to serve—even in the death of Jesus, there were
some women that came to perform one last labor of love for Him. Even though
He had already been crucified, they came to finish anointing His body for burial.
If Jesus was really dead and was going to stay that way, these women purposed
in their hearts that even in His death, they wanted to serve Him one last time. I
wonder if there is anyone here today that has the testimony that “anyway you
bless me Lord, I’ll be satisfied!” If I can’t trace you, I know you are still worthy to
be praised. If I can’t hear you, it is likely that you have entered a “Saturday
Silence” on my behalf where you are proving to the enemy that death cannot
hold you down. Instead of just coming to look, we have to come with a heart to
serve.
o There is one last group I want to talk about this morning. There were some that
came to linger at the tomb. John chapter 20 tells us that Mary Magdalene
lingered at the tomb well after the others had already gone away. If you know
anything about Mary Magdalene, she was a woman that owed much to Jesus.
Mary Magdalene had been through some stuff. She had once been possessed by
seven demons, but Jesus delivered her. You can say what you want about Mary
Magdalene’s past, but once Jesus touched her and delivered her, her life had
been radically changed and she loved Him more than life itself. That ought to
minister to someone in here today. I don’t care what you have been through, I
don’t care how much you have messed up in your life, I don’t even care if you
walked into this place today straight out of the corridors of hell, if you just have a
little talk with Jesus, and tell Him all about your troubles, He will hear your
faithful cry, and answer by and by. You may remember that Mary Magdalene
was one of the last at the cross when Jesus was crucified. She was the first to
see Him after He had risen from the dead. She loved Him so much for what He
had done for her, and surely, her heart was broken that morning when she came
to the tomb, but she lingered in His presence just because she wanted to
worship Him.
o When the altar of God is open, I don’t rush anyone out of here because I don’t
know the whole story of where God had to bring them from to get them to
where they are now. Maybe you have been like Mary Magdalene, when others
feel like they have spent enough time and it is time to go, you find yourself just
wanting to stay in the Lord’s presence because you realize that if it hadn’t been
for the Lord on your side that you would not be where you are right now. This
may not apply to everyone, because everyone is not a worshipper. There are
some that choose to worship when they need something from God; there are
some that choose to worship just because the worship leader tells you that it’s
time to worship; there are some that choose to worship because they want what
someone else already has; but I wonder if there’s anyone in the house today that
is unashamed to identify yourself as a EMUNAH worshipper that believes that if
God never does another thing, He is still worthy of the praise! I wonder if there
is anyone watching today that sees themselves as a PROSCUENOW worshipper
that wants to kiss the presence of God. I wonder if there is anyone that is an
ELOHEI TEHALLATI worshipper, that says no matter what I’m going through God,
because you rose for me on the third day, you are the God that I must praise!
There are some that come to look, but you are more concerned about service
and worship. There is a breaking news in the house today for those that come to
serve and worship—that God is paying attention to you, and that He has a
special blessing in store for those that serve Him and worship Him even in the
midst of chaos and personal tragedy!
o We are about to wrap this up today, but I want you to know that even though
we are at a graveyard to see about Jesus, there is some good news! Can we
virtually testify to our neighbor and just say neighbor—He is not here! Come on
and connect one more time and declare—He has risen as He said! Humanity was
not the only one that sent witnesses to the tomb early Sunday morning. Heaven
also sent a host of participants to proclaim the good news that Jesus was not
dead, but yet alive. Obstacle after obstacle was removed to restore the faith of
humanity to the omnipotence of a mighty God.
There was a great earthquake—when Jesus died, the earth shook in fear.
When Jesus was resurrected, the earth leaped for joy in exaltation—the
bond of death had been loosed; the fetters of death had been shaken.
Jesus’ death was the perfect, eternal payment for sin, but His
resurrection was God’s receipt for the full amount. Our penalty was paid
in full by Jesus and receipted to the spirit of the living God. When Jesus
died, He said “It is finished” and when He rose from the dead, God the
Father said “I am satisfied!”
The stone was rolled away—The stone being in front of the tomb
signified that Jesus was “gone forever.” But we thank God that the Lord
took care of the stone. It was rolled away so that we could report good
news from the graveyard that the tomb was just a borrowed one and is
vacant! You can travel to China, find the tomb of Buddha, and it will say
“occupied” over the door. You can travel to the middle east and find the
tomb of Mohammed, and it will say “Occupied” over the door. You can
travel to Russia and look at the body of Lenin in his glass coffin and sign
would say “Occupied.” But the good news from the graveyard today is
you can travel with me to Palestine, go to an old tomb carved out of a
rock, and see the place where the Lord used to lay, for the sign over the
tomb will be flashing “Vacant!” This is why no one can beat Him, no one
can kill Him, no one can dethrone Him, his name is Jesus, and He is the
only risen savior.
And so we end this message today with the report that Jesus paid it all,
all to Him I owe, sin had left a crimson stain, but He washed it white as
snow! And no one can beat Him, no one can kill Him, no one can destroy
Him, because with His death, burial, and resurrection, once and for all
Jesus is alive!
• Because He lives—I can face tomorrow
• Because He lives—all fear is gone
• Because I know—He holds the future
• Life is worth the living—just because He lives
• Because He has Risen—I will rise again
• Because He has Risen—death has no sting
• Because He has Risen—The victory has been taken out of the grave
• Because He has Risen—I am healed in every way
• Because He has risen—Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal
• Because He has risen—I have complete trust is in Him
• Because He has risen—My past and my future are under the blood
• Because He has risen—the napkin is still folded on my behalf, and He’s not finished with me yet—the bible says it like this-- “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him. The good news is that I don’t just have to look at what God is doing, but I can participate by praising and worshipping Him. I am so glad He chose to die, so that in His resurrection, He was able to save me!