Jesus Rose
3 Responses to the Resurrection
Matthew 28:8-10 | March 31, 2024 | Aaron Lee | Children's Worship
How should we respond to the resurrection? Over time, you might get cold and callous to this. We celebrate Easter every year. But if the resurrection really happened, it happened such a long time ago. And it happened to someone who is no longer here with us on this Earth. It might feel impersonal. How would we respond if Jesus resurrected early on this Easter morning?
The Resurrection
We’re going to look at three responses to the resurrection, and I think this is a great way to think about how we should respond if we are to live with the resurrection fresh on our minds in our everyday life. Let’s look at how Matthew sets the scene:
Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” (Matthew 28:1-7)
He has risen from the dead! This is an unbelievable, life-changing, history-making claim. It is the bottom line of our Christian faith. How should we respond?
1. Holy Joy
Let’s see what Matthew says:
So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” (Matthew 28:8-10)
Holy joy. Fear, possibly from the angels and what they just learned, but also fear of the entire situation. This is something extraordinary. Something new. But this fear is mixed with great joy at thinking about Jesus coming back to life.
Resolve for Joy in Jesus
So, will you resolve to be joyful because of Jesus? Christians are a particularly happy and joyful people. We are happy because our sins have been forgiven and we can have everlasting life with God. We have the best news in all of the world. This does not mean that we’re always happy. We still live in a world of sin, and God does bring trials to test our faith. But like the Apostle Paul, we have a reason to be “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.” Always rejoicing. At the end of the day, joy is the dominant note of our song.
2. True Worship
So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” (Matthew 28:8-10)
True worship. When the Bible says that the disciples took hold of his feet, it speaks to the reality of the resurrection. So there is absolute truth in our resurrected savior. But I use the word true also in the sense that we are worshiping the one, true God. This is what Jesus proves with his resurrection. There is no other God. Jesus really is the Son of God.
Resolve to Worship Jesus
So, will you resolve to worship Jesus? I’m not talking about what we do here at church. That’s a good place to start. But true worship is to be taken into our everyday lives. People worship a lot of things in this world. Some worship money, some worship getting good grades, some worship having a lot of friends or being popular. Some worship being good at sports or being the most pretty. True worship is to take your eyes off of yourself and to focus them on Jesus.
3. Eager Boldness to Tell Others
So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” (Matthew 28:8-10)
With eagerness, they ran to tell his disciples. Jesus encourages them further, to not be afraid of him or of what people will think of him, but to go and tell his brothers where they will see Jesus. With eager boldness, we want to tell others that they can see Jesus, too. To be eager means to be wanting and ready to tell others. And to be bold means to not be scared, but to be courageous when speaking about Christ. Jesus encourages his disciples to go and tell.
Resolve to Tell About Jesus
So, will you resolve to tell others about Jesus? There are people in your life who have never heard about Jesus before. Maybe some have heard about him, but they don’t really know who he is or what he has done. Or maybe some have heard about him, but they heard things about him that don’t match with the Bible. You can tell others where they can see Jesus - in his word, in the church, and in the personal lives of Christians. Don’t stop telling others about God.
The Gospel
I want to take a step back. Maybe the reason why you don’t feel anything about the resurrection is because you don’t believe in the resurrection. Jesus invites you to believe in him now:
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)
Admit you are a sinner, believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross for your sins, and confess him as the resurrected King and Lord over your life. You will live with him forever - following him here on Earth and all the way up into Heaven.
Big Idea
Christians respond to the resurrection with holy joy, true worship, and an eager boldness to tell others.
Conclusion
Over time, you might get cold and callous to the resurrection. Our sermon today serves to remind you how to respond. With new life, you can be hot-blooded and have a tender heart to the reality of the resurrection.
I’ve been talking about the resurrection of Jesus and how we should feel about it. If you are a Christian, the Bible says that you, too, have been raised from the dead with Jesus and it’s something we personally get to experience every day as we walk by grace through faith:
…having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. (Colossians 2:12)
Just like Christ was raised from death to life, I pray that this Easter you will be freshly reawakened to the wonder of the resurrection and the glory of Jesus.