Behold, I am with you always

Your life and my life are filled with decisions, aren't they? They range from the small, what are we going to eat? What are we going to wear? How are we going to spend our time? They get bigger as we age. When we're in school, we make decisions about what sport we're going to play or what musical instrument we're going to study. Where should I go to college? Who should I date? Who should I marry? What job should I take? Where should I live? What house should I buy? What doctor should I listen to? When we make decisions, we like to do it with as much information as we can get, don't we? We ask our friends and our family members who may have gone before us what they think. Someone who's made a decision and can tell us how it went, it's invaluable to us. We may get online and sift through testimonials of people who have bought something. If we're making a large purchase, maybe we read consumer reports. The bigger the decision, the more important this becomes. We want to make the right decision. We fear the wrong decision. But we know on some level that first we make our decisions, and then our decisions make us. And no decisions are bigger for us than decisions about God. Is there a God? Can I know Him? Who is He? What does he expect of me? These are the ultimate questions because they don't just take in a piece of our lives, they take in the life as a whole. Our financial life, our career, our family life, everything is taken in by this question. When you get to the end of your life, all of the smaller things will fade. The decisions you have made about God, they will remain large. You know, when we open the New Testament of the Bible, we are immediately encountering four names, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, these men who wrote gospels about Jesus. They're sometimes called the evangelists because they mean to persuade us about Him. They want to ask us for a decision. A rather specific one, because you see all four of those gospels end up in the same place with an empty tomb. The tomb of Jesus Christ, which even by all credible historians accounts was empty. They want you to decide why this tomb carved in the hillside of a Palestinian rock. Why was it empty on that Sunday morning? You know, there's no serious historical argument about that fact. Virtually everybody involved had the means and the motivation to say, no, look, the body of Jesus is still in the tomb. They could not because it was not. As we look at the last chapter of the gospel of Matthew this morning, Matthew 28, Matthew the evangelist is going to ask you to render a decision about that. On this Easter morning, you have to decide what will you do with the reports of the empty tomb? I invite you to turn in a copy of God's word. There are some Bibles laying around you. to Matthew chapter 28, we'll consider three reports that come to us about this empty tomb. First, the report of the women, the report of the women. Second, the report of the guards. the report of the guards, and then third and finally the report of the disciples. It's my prayer that you will hear these reports and believe and decide to be Jesus' disciple for all of your life. But let's dive in and think firstly about the report of the women in the first 10 chapters. Let me read the first 10 verses. Chapter 28 of Matthew. Let me read. 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. 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. There they will see me. Jesus was crucified on Friday. His body was taken down from the cross and having been confirmed dead by a soldier who pierced his side with a spear and blood and water came out indicating that he had died. At the end of chapter 27, Joseph of Arimathea has asked for the body of Jesus from Pilate and been granted permission. He wraps it in linen and puts it in a tomb dug out of a rock. and a great stone is rolled over the entrance. We also read at the end of chapter 27 that because Pilate and the chief priests remember Jesus' prediction that he would rise from the dead, they want to make sure that the disciples can't come and steal the body and then claim that he rose from the dead. So they put a seal on the tomb and they station a contingent of soldiers there. So here we are Sunday morning, the first day of the week. Around dawn, these two women named Mary come to the tomb. Mary was a really common name. It's funny here that it says Mary Magdalene is accompanied by the other Mary. This is not Mary, Jesus' mother. This is probably Mary, the mother of Joseph, who several of the gospels recorded was one of the women that traveled around with Jesus and provided for him and the disciples out of her means. Mary Magdalene was a demon-possessed woman that had been healed by Jesus, became a faithful follower of his. This is their report. It's given in two parts to us. First, their interaction with an angel, and then with Jesus himself. We're told that an angel arrives with an earthquake, rolls back the stone and sits on it. This is a picture of God's power and control over life and death. The stone and the tomb and the crucifixion and the chief priests and the Roman governor, they have no power over this. No control over these events. When you imagine this angel sitting on that rock, clothing as white as snow and shining like a flash of lightning, you have God's statement of victory over the grave. Friend, let me just ask you this morning, do you live like God is in control over life and death? Not just Jesus, but yours. This picture of the angel on the stone is a balm that can be put on the fear and anxiety over the grave that we all experience. But then in verse five, the angel speaks. He knows that they are looking for Jesus, the crucified. He's not here. He's risen, as he said. Those last words are emphatic, as he said. He said it to the disciples numerous times, and now he has done it. Here we have a statement of God's sovereignty over all the events of life, even the sinful actions of wicked men. Think about all the things that went into the, as he said. All the events leading to his death. Judas' decision to betray him for 30 pieces of silver. Caiaphas, the high priest, and his council finding false testimony against Jesus. Pilate, the Roman governor's spineless decision to allow the crowd to decide. The crowd choosing Barabbas over Jesus. And then, once he is dead and in the tomb, the power to recreate life A body, brain function, and respiration, and cardiac circulation, all of it happens as he said. What a comfort to you and I, when life seems out of control, to remember that the events of life happen according to his sovereign word. The angel then has two commands for the women. First, come and see, and then go and tell. Come and see the place where he lay, then go to tell the disciples that he's risen and gone into Galilee. This is a pattern for the Christian life. First, come and see. Believe understand the truth about the risen Jesus and then go and tell others what you have found And then this is interesting Jesus sent this angel But now as the women run off to obey his words with fear and great joy Jesus himself comes and meets them personally They see the empty tomb. They they hear the words of the angel, but then they're met by Jesus himself and They fall at his feet in worship. He reiterates the angel's words to go and tell the disciples saying they should not be afraid. Well, friends, what do we make of this first report? I want you to remember that this is an eyewitness account of a historical event. Matthew, who's writing all this down, is one of the disciples whom the women ran and told. So this is a firsthand account of Mary and Mary who say that the tomb is empty, who say that there's an angel sitting on the stone and that Jesus himself who was dead is now alive. Do you believe them? Before we move on to the second report of the passage, we need to take note of something that I think Matthew surely wants us to see. It's two women who make this report. Women in Roman society were not allowed to give testimony in a court of law. Their testimony was not viewed as trustworthy. If you were making up a story, if you were creating a religion, you would not have two women be the first to testify. So why does Matthew do that? Well, because that's the way it happened, first of all, but also because God delights to reverse the expectations that we have. He loves to take those who are low in the eyes of the world and exalt them. In a day and age when gender is such a hot topic, take note of Jesus here. On the one hand, gender is important to him, it matters to him. And the 12 disciples who would lead the church are all men on purpose. And yet again and again in the gospels, we are presented with these model disciples who are women. Remember the four women from Matthew's genealogy in chapter 1? Tamar and Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba. Remember the Canaanite woman from Matthew 15? Nowhere in Israel have I found such faith. And now the two Marys, up early at the tomb. Jesus comes to them first. They are the first evangelists. Sisters understand that in the eyes of Jesus you are meant to be great and glorious examples of faith to the church We should move to the second report the report of the guards and let's pick up the account in verse 11 While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, tell people his disciples came by night and stole them away while we were asleep. And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble. So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day. The guards of the tomb were in big trouble, and they knew it. When it's said in verse 4 that they trembled and became like dead men, it's both because the angel made them scared out of their minds, and because they were now as good as dead, because they failed to guard the tomb. But some of the guards are smart. They go find the chief priests who happen to be every bit as motivated as they were to cover up what had happened. So they assemble the elders and they take counsel. They decide to pay off the soldiers to keep quiet about what really happened. If anyone asks, just say the disciples stole the body while they were sleeping. Now maybe on one level we can understand how a cover up works, why people in power are unwilling to admit that they've been wrong. But let's just think about how crazy this all is. At the end of chapter 27, they posted the guard to keep the disciples from being able to say this very thing, from being able to steal the body and say he rose from the dead. Now they're spreading the rumor that they were trying to prevent. Even crazier, they have the testimony of the guards that this thing actually happened. They know the disciples didn't steal the body. It doesn't make them believe. You know, people have been coming up with theories ever since to explain the empty tomb. Some have used this same one as if a scared ragtag band of fishermen could go from being so scared they ran at the first sign of trouble to now being able to overpower a Roman cohort and steal the body. This theory says that they made up the story. about the resurrection and spend the next several decades preaching about it and one by one giving their lives and becoming martyrs. It's unlikely to an extreme degree. Others have put forward the swoon theory. This says that Jesus didn't really die on the cross. Maybe he was offered some drugs. They made him lapse into a coma. He then revived in the tomb, came out, and appeared to his disciples, convincing them that he had risen from the dead as if a man beaten nearly to death, nailed to a cross, stabbed with a spear, is going to push open a tombstone, overpower the same soldiers, and convince anyone of anything. If you're here this morning and you're not a Christian, what is your explanation for the empty tomb? This is the fact on which Christianity stands or falls. The Apostle Paul wrote to Christians saying it this way, if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. You know, it's so sad that there are so many so-called liberal Christians out there that want to turn the resurrection of Jesus into a metaphor for spring, renewal, a hope for a flourishing life. Theologian Dan Doriani tells a story of being interviewed on TV with some of those same theologians who allowed him the whole interview to talk about the bodily resurrection of Jesus. And then once the cameras were turned off, they leaned over and said, well, of course we don't mean a physical resurrection. Friends, Matthew wants none of this. The reason he brings out this deception is because his whole case, his whole gospel, his whole message is based on a man who dies physically dead, brain function gone, respiratory function zero, no heartbeat, a corpse who rose. This is the whole ballgame. If this didn't happen, then what are we doing here on this fine spring morning? Let's just go party somewhere. Let's eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die. But if the tomb was empty on that Easter morning, not because someone stole the body, But because Jesus of Nazareth confirmed all His words about being the Son of God who died on the cross as a payment for sin, then there is hope of eternal life beyond the grave for everyone here. just as surely as six brothers and sisters will be baptized here later in the service, as they will go under the waters of baptism. And Ben is not going to leave them, I trust, under the water, but he's going to bring them out. So everyone here who trusts in Christ, when they come to the waters of death and go under, will arise on the other side. The second report is just as unlikely as the first, and every bit as powerful. The two Marys say the tomb is empty because Jesus rose. The paid-off guards tell us the same thing. But there's a third report for us here, and that's the report of the disciples themselves. Let's continue reading in verse 16. Now the 11 disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go 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 all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age." Here we come to the end. Notice Jesus takes the disciples back to where they started, to Galilee, a mountain in Galilee. Maybe the one he had climbed with them and sat down and first taught them, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. But there are some curious words here in verse 17. Did you notice them? When they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted. This may surprise us. Again, we should note, these are the kinds of things that you would not make up. Matthew reports it because it was true. The word for doubted can also mean hesitated. They're having trouble believing their eyes. Perhaps we should remember that the disciples were human beings, just like you and I. They knew how death worked. Their minds would have searched for naturalistic explanations by presenting to us doubting, hesitating disciples. We were reminded that the God who is there is not undone by doubt as if he were insecure in some way. No, the doubting disciples do not deter Jesus, do they? He comes to them and commissions them to spread the good news to all the nations. The main verb of his commission is obscured by the go in English. It's a participle, not an imperative in Greek. So we should read going, make disciples, baptizing and teaching, make more disciples. You are my followers. As you are going, make more. As they become disciples, baptize them. It's what we're celebrating at the close of the service today. Baptism is a picture of the gospel. When you believe in Christ, our old sinful nature dies. This is what going under the water pictures. We're cleansed by the blood of Jesus and then come out rising to walk in newness of life. Baptism is also the sign of entrance into the new covenant community. If you're a believer in the Lord Jesus, you should be baptized. and join a local church in a meaningful and committed relationship. If you're here this morning and not a baptized member of a local church, I pray that you'll first believe this good news about Jesus' death for sin and resurrection to new life. You will then make your first act of following him pursuing baptism as a part of a local church. It doesn't matter if you're young or old, If you're rich or poor, educated or not, turn away from your sins, repent of your sins and trust in Christ, and you will be saved. The goal of being part of a church is to be taught to observe all that Jesus has commanded us in the scriptures, living faithfully as disciples all our days. If you think about it, the reason that you and I are here this morning is that the disciples of Jesus obeyed these very words. They took this report of Jesus' resurrection and went and made more disciples who made more disciples and it passed down through the generations and here almost 2,000 years later are we. Eventually the gospel made its way even to Charlottesville, Virginia, the people that began this church some 60 years ago. And the intention is that disciples like us will still hear his call and make disciples of all nations, that will care about our neighbors and classmates and family members that don't yet know him, that will pool our money and support mission work in Pakistan and Zambia and Sweden and wherever necessary. The Great Commission is your marching orders as a Christian. It should define who you are more than your career, more than your family, more than your hobbies. This is what we are to do all the way to the end of the age. Are the words of Christ's commission burned on your hearts? Do we live to see other people become his disciples? Do we pray towards that end? Is the mission of our church, this mission, We're easily distracted by the world. Idols of worldliness woo our hearts. They deaden our impact. Beloved, place this commission at the center of your mind. Give your life to this. Order all things around this. These are the words of your king. And this is the third report. The report of the disciples and their witness that has come all the way to us and emanates out from us. So having heard the report of the women and the guards and the disciples, we are left with a decision. What will we do with the empty tomb? Will we believe in the risen Christ? Will we follow him and be his disciples? The last words here are Jesus' own words, that he will be with us till the end of the age. His ongoing presence takes us from thinking about what did happen to what happens here and now. Last summer when I was going through chemotherapy, I was on a ward with a lot of other patients. Some of them were younger than me. Most were older. We're all going through the same very unpleasant process. Chemotherapy is pumping your body full of poison. You're kind of killing your body, hoping to save it. It messes with your mind as well as your body. Your body starts to scream at you, but your mind starts to shrink The first several days you forget about things that were so important to you earlier. You don't think about the kind of car you drive or the clothes you wear. You don't think about your home renovation that you've been thinking about. Those things disappear from view. By Wednesday each week, we would stop thinking about our schedules, those things that fill our lives and seem so self-important as we run around in our busy lives. You don't think about those anymore. By the end of the week, you think about what is really important to you, mostly people. You think about your church family, you think about your friends, you think about your family members. And then surprisingly, even that shrinks from view. And you end up closing your eyes and you realize that it's just you and the presence, the presence of God. It's just you and God. I don't think you have to go through chemotherapy to get there. I think life takes us there in one way or another. At the end of the day, you and I must stand before God. The question is, will we stand before him in faith? We believe that he is the Christ, that he is the Messiah, that he died on the cross for sins, and that on the third day he rose from the grave conquering death and opening the way to paradise for all those who would repent of their sins and trust in him. Will you believe that good news? Will you follow him in faith? Will you fall at his feet in worship as the women did? Will you embrace his commission, the promise of his presence to the end of the age? Friends, what will you do this morning with the empty tomb? Let's pray together. Father, it's with great joy that we ponder the way to eternal life that you have made for us in raising your son Jesus from the dead. And we ask that you would give us faith to trust him all of our days. For we pray this in Jesus' name, amen.