Jesus Met Them!
Matthew 28:8-10

He is Risen, Part 1

How many resurrection appearances are there in Scripture? Ten. From the Biblical record, the Lord made ten appearances after His resurrection. Five of these were on the day of his resurrection, and five were after that first resurrection morning.

On the third day, however, Jesus Christ broke the bands of death and rose again. The stone was rolled away not for Jesus to break out of the tomb, but for the world to see that He was not there, for He is risen, as He said. The stone was removed not so Jesus could make His ESCAPE, but that men might ENTER and see He is Risen!

Could the body of Jesus have been stolen? No, for if His body was stolen by His friends, the disciples, they would never have had to faith to proclaim even to their death that Jesus was in fact alive. If His body was stolen by his foes, they would have produced it and paraded it for all to see in order to silence the witness of those bold, unlearned, believers. Also, no thief would have taken the time to unwrap the body from the grave clothes that were folded neatly in the tomb. They would have stolen the body and been off with it as quickly as possible.

Is there a contradiction in the order of events as recorded in the four Gospel accounts? The answer is no. Each narrative does differ in the details, but the differences demonstrate that each writer was independent of one another, for they were all dependent upon the HOLY SPIRIT as they penned each word they wrote. They did not merely copy from one another, but their evidence was uniquely their own. Also, they all agree as to the one main point: HE IS RISEN! The order of events went something like this:

1.) The women, including Mary, come to the grave and find it empty.

2.) Mary departs quickly to tell Peter and John, (John 20)

3.) The angels appeared to the women who were left and delivered them the message to tell the other disciples.

4.) Immediately after their departure, Mary returns and the Lord meets her, John 20:11-18, Mk.16:9-11.

5.) As they depart, Jesus meets them on their way to tell the disciples, Matthew 28:9,10.

The two greatest events in the history of the world occurred three days from each other. The substitutionary atonement of Christ and His bodily resurrection from the dead are fundamental doctrines of the faith. If you deny either of these, you are not a Christian. You are not saved. Each one is marked by an earthquake. His Second Coming will be marked with an earthquake, too!

I would love to have been a fly on the wall to view this scene. An angel sitting on a stone with Pilate’s broken seal, and the Roman soldiers who are supposed to guard that stone and seal with their life, shaking in their boots! That seal represented all the power of the Roman government. Break that seal, and Rome will break your neck! The shaking of the earth led these soldiers to shake in their sandals. The original language uses the same root word to describe the action of the earth quaking and the soldiers shaking! The EARTH was SHAKING and the soldiers QUAKING, for God is speaking through His son and the earth is melting!

Here come these ladies, walking right through these soldiers shaking like dead men on the ground! Do not fear like them, for ye seek Jesus, which was crucified! Is it not amazing the importance of women in Christianity? It was women who were at the cross. Women are the first ones to the tomb, and the first two appearances of the risen Jesus are to women.

Jesus met them! Behold this meeting, let’s look at this meeting. We are told to Behold this meeting. Jesus initiated this meeting, as He does all meetings.

1. The SIMPLE Word He Delivers: All Hail!

The word is “chairo,” which is translated 42 times “rejoice.” This was a common word used for greetings. Be Well! Be Glad! Rejoice! Glad to see you! All hail! It is a joyful greeting.

James uses this word in James 1:1, Greeting. Then he says, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations. How can we do that? Realize that Jesus Christ is alive from the dead to deliver us from every temptation!

Matthew also tells us that Judas used this word in his betrayal of Jesus, HAIL, Master, and kissed him.

Matthew 26:49: Also the soldiers used this word to MOCK him, HAIL, King of the Jews. Yes, Jesus takes this same word used in the bitterness of his suffering, and turns it into a word of sweetness.

This was a false use of the word. Jesus tells us the real meaning of the word: HAIL, I am risen! Rejoice, the Lord is risen indeed, JUST AS HE SAID.

A. REJOICE in your OBEDIENCE!

The angel had told them to go quickly, and look at these women. Jesus word, ALL HAIL found them as they were running in obedience to the command of the angel. How did they interpret the angel! Literally! They did not argue, “Oh, do you know who I am? Mary, who was before possessed with seven demons.” How can I propose to tell anything to Peter and John? Oh, they went without hesitation. They are running! Oh, that is just your interpretation, people tell us all the time. I like people who take the Bible as it is and apply the words they hear to their lives. Look at them run, is that not what the Bible says? May we have some of that yearning to tell others of Christ! They are not focusing on themselves, but on the MASTER and His Message. They are excited. They don’t really have too much time. We might as well run while we can! Some of you are getting old, a little grey, a little plump. Run while you can! I sure do not run as I once could, and I will not even be able to walk soon. Let’s go while we still have the giddy up and go in us! We ought to try to copy that resurrection morning zeal to tell others the “WORD.”

So Jesus meets them on the pathway of duty. They have heard the angels to “go quickly” and they are doing just what they are told: running to bring the disciples word. Yes, those who MEET JESUS are usually those who are OBEYING and doing the work of the Lord. The Sunday School teacher who prepares for their lesson; the choir member, the one who passes out tracts, or the one who visits in the hospitals. Maybe you do not sense the reality of the Lord because you are not in the WAY OF HIS SERVICE.

B. REJOICE in His RESURRECTION!

All Hail, for I am risen! Here is the second appearance of the Savior, to women again. Those who had sought him early found him first. What a reward they received for waking early to go to the garden tomb. Rejoice, Jesus is Risen! Rejoice, dear ladies, Jesus is risen. Do you know that Christian joy has NOTHING to do with circumstances? We are not commanded to rejoice because our condition is great, our finances are great, our circumstances are great: NO! We rejoice because Jesus is risen. Rejoice even though things are not perfect: IN YOUR HOME, IN OUR CHURCH, OR EVEN IN YOUR OWN HEART. We rejoice because the LORD LIVETH. We rejoice IN THE LORD always, and again I say, rejoice. The Christian is commanded over and over to rejoice in the midst of fiery trials and persecutions. WHY? Because Jesus is alive, He has conquered the grave, and He is sovereign over every circumstance.

What do you do with your burdens? Cast them upon the Lord. What do you do with your sins? Confess them to the Lord. What do you do with your past?

C. Rejoice in His WORD!

Rejoice, as you listen to this word come from Jesus’ tongue. John the Baptist said, that he was the friend of the bridegroom, and he rejoiced greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. (John 3:29) The voice of our Savior is a constant souce, a never ending well of joy. His Words were found, and I did eat them, and they were the joy and rejoicing of mine heart, Jer.15:16. John 15:11, These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. 1 John 1:4, And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

When God’s Word becomes as fresh as the living voice of God, we will then be able to say as John, “He must increase, and I must decrease.” That will lead to greater joy, when we live for a cause bigger than ourselves. Fulness of joy comes when we live for His glory, His increase, and His cause.

Have you ever experienced real, deep, unequaled, unparalleled, supreme joy in fellowship with God through His Word? The problem today is that most Christians do not realize that the Word of God is given for our joy, and have not tasted the joy of the Lord in His Word. Therefore we hunger for all kinds of other things. Adults get their joy through TV, HOLLYWOOD, or ENTERTAINMENT. Young people get their joy through POKEMON and GAME BOY.

I know what it is like to rejoice in the things of this world. I rejoiced in the day of my marriage. I rejoiced in the birth of my children. I rejoiced when the Mets won the World Series.

The resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ is the greatest cause to rejoice!

2. The SINCERE Worship He Deserves

When Jesus met them, they worshipped him! This was Jesus in the flesh. This was no phantom, or ghost, or spirit. HIM. You do not need a “Sixth Sense” to worship the Lord, but a HUNGRY, BELIEVING HEART to know that Jesus is bodily risen from the grave.

Worship is the “total adoring response of man to the eternal God.” Notice they fall at his feet, and hold him fast in order to worship him. Worship is recognizing the matchless worth and marvelous work of Jesus.

A. Notice the HOLY PERSON they worship:

Notice they were on a mission that required haste and speed, yet they had better not get in too much a hurry that they do not have time to fall down and worship HIM!

They held HIM…they worshiped HIM. Jesus is the one they worship. From the time that God created anything, Jesus Christ has been the focus of worship. From the time the first angel was spoken into existence, Jesus has heard the cry of “Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne!” The worship of Jesus is one of the great proofs and evidences of His divine person. “Let all the angels of God worship him!” Worship is a high calling. Worship is a love affair with God. Matthew tells us many times that Jesus is worshiped: Matt.2:11 (The wise men fell down and worshiped him and opened their treasures and gave them to the Lord Jesus.) Matt.8:2 (The leper who came to the Lord for healing) Matt.9:18 (Jairus worshiped the Lord Come, lay thine hand on her and she shall live!) Matt.14:33 (The disciples worshiped Jesus on a boat after He walked on the water) Matt.15:25 (The Canaanite woman who came and worshiped him, saying, LORD HELP ME.) Mt.20:20: (The mother of James and John, desiring that her boys be on the left and right hand of the Lord) Matt.28:9 Matt.28:16,17 (The disciples, with some doubt)

If Jesus accepted all this worship, and He is not God, then this would be a sin, for He would be allowing others to worship One who was not God. Jesus even told Satan during the temptation, “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and Him only thou shalt serve” (Matt.

If you live in the light of this eternal truth: JESUS IS ALIVE BODILY from the grave, you, too, will fall down and worship Him!

B. Notice the HUMBLE POSITION of worship: It is at the feet of Jesus.

What a place to be! To hold him by the feet! Whereas Jesus told Mary “Touch me not”, it is because she thought that Christ had returned to remain on earth and set up his earthly kingdom. The other women fall in ADORATION. What beautiful feet Jesus has! These are the feet that left heaven’s glory and walked the dusty streets of Israel, seeking and saving the lost. These are the feet with the nailprints in them, showing forth His love to die on the cross, and His power to rise again. These are the feet that John the Apostle sees that are “like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace.” Brass is a metal that speaks of judgment, and One day Jesus will trample all His enemies and put all things under His feet. All who reject His sacrificial death will be lost and

Isaiah 52:7, How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings…

3. The SPECIAL Work He Demands: GO TELL…

The reality of the resurrection leads one worship our Savior, but then to witness of Jesus! GO AND TELL. Real WORSHIP leads to practical WORK. Notice that the first heralds of the resurrected Christ are these godly women! Women are not to be seen as having secondary roles in the Church of the Living God. Women can have a witnessing work to all. How many godly wives witness of the resurrection to their husbands who are hardened to the truth of God’s Word? How many godly women have told their children of the risen Jesus, and those children have grown up to follow the Lord, too and even preach His Word?! Women have distributed millions of tracts for our Lord Jesus Christ. I know an evangelist named Ed Carter who received a Gospel tract from an unknown woman! These women bring the good news to the depressed disciples who will become the flaming lights of the world! These women would not be apostles, or even pastors or evangelists, but they could tell the apostles, pastors, elders, and evangelists, Jesus is Risen! Do not focus on WHAT YOU CANNOT do for Jesus, but rather, look at all YOU CAN DO FOR HIM AND HIS GLORY!

A. Attitude of our Work: HOW are we to work?

Work without fear. Be not afraid. Notice that the angel told them to “Stop being afraid,” but they departed from the sepulchre “with fear and great joy.” Their fear did not stop! Their fear mingled with their joy, but now the Lord tells them again, Stop being afraid! Men will mock, because they are in their misery and want to be left alone in their tears. Do not fear if men laugh and curse you out. DO not fear if they say your words are just “idle tales.”

B. Activity of our Work: “Go tell my brethren…”

The first ones we are to tell are the BRETHREN of the Lord, His brothers. Those who have already been saved need to have their faith strengthened. This is what Jesus told Mary, too. “Go to my brethren,” Jesus had said to Mary. Now he tells the other women, “Go tell my brethren.” Jesus had never before used this word, BROTHER, to refer to his followers, but now he lays bare His tender heart for his disciples. Even the angel had told the ladies, “Tell his disciples…” Now it is tell MY BRETHREN. His disciples are now his brothers. How had they disciples behaved in the midst of His suffering? They were like cowards, they had deserted the Lord, but Jesus calls them BROTHERS. He doesn’t say, Go tell those cowards. Not, Go tell those quarrelers. There is a forgiveness in that word. Go tell my brothers! Go tell those who are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ who will glorified together with me someday! Yes, they were His brethren even though they had forsaken him in his shame.

Have you ever disappointed your Lord, or gone back from Him, failed Him? Jesus still calls you BROTHER.

C. Aim of our Work: There shall they see me.  

The angels had told the women, “he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him.” Now they must tell the disciples, they shall see him, too. Tell others how they may see Jesus and be accepted of Him. Do you see that their worship of the Savior has deepened their message. Their worship had given increased confidence to their message. It has been confirmed by Jesus Himself. Jesus is ascended. Jesus had told Mary,

“Go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.” (John 20:17)

Do you want to see the Lord? Then believe on Him. Do not be slow of heart to believe that He is risen from the dead.

Jesus will meet them in Galilee. Why Galilee? That is where he said he would meet them on the night of the Last Supper: Matthew 26:32 But after I am risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.

Has Jesus met you and saved your soul? Thank God that we can meet Jesus every day? One day we will meet Jesus in heaven.

The resurrection is vital to our Christian faith.  First, it gives evidence that the Word of God is totally true and reliable. Jesus rose from the dead precisely when and in the way He had predicted (see Matthew 12:40; 16:21; 17:9, 23). Second, the resurrection means that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, as He claimed to be, and that He has power over life and death. Third, the resurrection proves that salvation is complete, that on the cross Christ conquered sin, death, and hell and rose victorious. Fourth, the resurrection proves that the church has been established. Jesus had declared, “I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it” (Matthew 16:18). “The gates of Hades” was a Jewish colloqui-alism that represented death. His resurrection proved that death itself could not prevent Christ from establishing His church. Fifth, the resurrection proves that judgment is coming. Jesus declared that the heavenly Father “has given all judgment to the Son” (John 5:22), and since the Son was now risen and alive, His judgment is certain. Sixth, the resurrection of Christ proves that heaven is waiting. Jesus promised, “In My house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2). Because Christ is alive by the resurrection, believers have the assurance that He is now preparing a heavenly dwelling for them.