Resurrection Week

This Sunday is Easter, the time we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. The 28th chapter in the book of Matthew gives us an amazing account of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. Jesus’ resurrection confirms His identity as the only true Savior and that, His accomplishment at the cross was accepted by God the Father.

Matthew doesn’t give us the explicit way in which Jesus rose from the tomb, but what he does make clear is that Jesus had risen. As the women approach the tomb (v.1), we see an angel descending from heaven, with an appearance like lightning and clothes that were as white as snow, touching down on the ground with a great earthquake, rolling back the stone and then sitting on top of it (vv.2-3)–not so Jesus could get out of the tomb–but so the women, the guards, the disciples, and the entire world could go in and see for themselves that the tomb was indeed empty.

The angel becomes the first messenger to proclaim the news that Jesus had in-fact risen from death (vv.4-7). As I look at this account, I think about how cool it must have been for the angel to get this call. I’m sure there are many cool jobs that angels could do, but this one had to be the mother of all assignments. Imagine that God calls you and says, “You have the task of announcing the Resurrection of my Son, Jesus Christ.” How awesome would that be? Yet, for those who God regenerates and saves, He also gives this same assignment of proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus. Sometimes we can get wrapped up in the “supernatural accounts” found in the Scriptures of other great heroes (angels, disciples, etc.) but we need to remember that while those accounts are cool, God has given us the same call to be witnesses of the greatest event in human history…the resurrection of Jesus.

After hearing the testimony from the angel about Jesus’ resurrection, the women take off to tell and proclaim the great news to the disciples (vv.7-8). Jesus then meets them on their way to prove the testimony of His resurrection. The women are so overcome with joy that they physically fall down in worship, grabbing hold of His feet. They experienced the physical, resurrected body of Jesus. They didn’t just see Him, but they touched Him as well. Jesus accepts their worship, acknowledging that He was in-fact deity, receiving worship as God. He allows the women to put Him in the place of ultimate in their lives, something only God would allow, further signifying that He truly is the God-man, the Savior, the Messiah, the One.

Notice also that the angel doesn’t point to himself as the one they should want to see, but Jesus. It’s not the miracles of healing in our lives, the appearance of angels, the testimonies of witnesses that we should focus on, it’s Jesus. He is the one we should be chasing after, the one we should desire to see, the one we should desire to follow and serve. Every human heart has a natural hunger for something more than this world and life. Even if we don’t understand what that desire is or realize the impact it has in our life, it’s still there. Only Jesus can fill this hunger. The reason Jesus died was so that we might live, and the reason He rose again was so that we might serve a risen, victorious Savior.

This Easter, I hope that you can see the truth found in Scripture about Jesus. I want to experience what the women and disciples experienced! I want to know that Jesus has risen, that He is available, that He wants to show Himself to me. Do you want to see Him, to touch and experience Him? The great news is that the tomb is empty, the testimony has gone out, and Jesus has revealed Himself to the world. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to meet Him and become a witness to the most amazing miracle–the miracle that out miracles every other miracle in human history. Happy Resurrection Week!