The Paschal Lamb Lives
Study Scripture: Matthew 28: 1 – 10
Background Scripture: Matthew 28: 1 – 17
Lesson 7 April 16, 2022
Key Verse
Then Jesus said to them, Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me. Matthew 28: 10
INTRODUCTION
As we look at the Study Scripture let us bear in mind that we love life deeply and we really hate death. We feel this way because we know that death threatens our lives, the lives of those we love, our wives, our children and grandchildren, our husbands, as well as our friends and neighbors. When we go to a funeral and listen to the service and stand at the graveside we get a sense of the frailty of our own lives. We resent the power of death but it does remind us and sobers us to the realities of our present life. We are in grief, helpless, often shocked, often broken-hearted, and questioning the weakness of our humanity. We often begin to ask questions about who we are, what is going on, and why it is we have to suffer so much.
But no matter what we do and no matter the questions that we ask we are left with a feeling of helplessness. We realize by this powerful reminder of death that even though we hate death we cannot eliminate its power over us.
Our life and the life manifested by those around us is full of beauty, activity, creativity, hope, but above all it is full of noise. Life is not a silent thing, but a vibrant, multifaceted reflection of something real.
Our Lesson today is important for it makes us understand in a pointed fashion that the silence of death has been taken away, and the life that we crave has been presented to us because of something monumental that happened in one single moment in history, some two thousand years ago.
We are reminded in an amazing fashion that life cannot be found in a cemetery. An amazing event in a small cemetery outside the walls of Jerusalem is testimony to that.
The key person at that event was abused by the Jewish and Roman leadership and their minions. He was mocked, scourged and brutalized before He laid down His life as a sacrifice for the sins of both Jews and Gentiles.
He was accused by the Sanhedrin and their colleagues as a false Messiah. The soldiers of Pilate, the Roman overlord, abused Him as a false King, even though ironically they were charging Him with being exactly what He was. The incident showed the desperately wicked heart of men and that all of this wickedness was enthusiastically poured out on Jesus.
Jesus was battered but He was able to carry the crossbeams of His cross till He passed through the gates of the city of Jerusalem on His way to the place outside the city wall where crucifixions took place. He was too weak by this time and the Romans had to force a man called Simon to carry the cross to Golgotha, a place whose exact location is unknown.
Attempts were made to give Jesus some wine with myrrh, an additive to decrease pain but Jesus refused to have it, for He apparently chose to remain fully conscious as He endured the agony of the Cross.
One writer tells us that the Romans reserved crucifixion for the worst criminals from the lowest classes of society and that Roman citizens were exempt from crucifixion, unless the emperor himself granted an exemption. He describes what happened at crucifixion as follows:
“The Romans normally tied or nailed the victim to the cross beams of his cross. In Jesus’ case they did the latter. They would then hoist the crossbeam and the prisoner up on to the upright member of the cross. Next they would then fasten the crucified person’s feet to the upright by tying or nailing them. The Romans constructed crosses in various shapes: an X, or T, or, as in Jesus’ case, the traditional T with the upright extending above the crossbeam (verse 37).Sometimes the victim was only a few inches off the ground, but Jesus appears to have been a few feet higher (verse 48; John 19: 29).
Normally the Romans crucified their victims naked. The executioners took the criminal’s clothes for themselves. In Jesus’ case they cast lots for his robes fulfilling Psalm 22: 18”.
Another writer tells us: “Crucifixion was unspeakably painful and degrading. Whether tied or nailed to the cross, the victim endured countless paroxysms as he pulled with his arms and pushed with his legs to keep his chest cavity open for breathing and then collapsed in exhaustion until the demand for oxygen demanded renewed paroxysms. The scourging, the loss of blood, the shock from the pain, all produced agony that could go on for days, ending at last by suffocation, cardiac arrest, or loss of blood. When there was reason to hasten death, the execution squad would smash the victim’s legs. Death followed almost immediately, either from shock or from collapse that cut off breathing”.
Jesus spoke seven times while hanging on the cross, but finally forsaken by the Father and by everyone else, in agony He cried out, and then finally, after His sixth utterance said Father, into your hands I commit my spirit (Luke 23: 46) and then shortly after this He dismissed His spirit, as the Greek phrase of two words in Matthew 27: 50 and John 19: 30 indicated, showing that he did not commit suicide but laid down His life in sacrifice for the sins of men.
It is very interesting to note at this stage that the book of Matthew really begins with telling us about the virgin birth of the Lord Jesus Christ and now it at the end concludes with the resurrection account. It does clearly refute the blasphemy of unbelievers and answers the Jewish fables that had been circulating about the birth of Jesus and about his death. We therefore should pay special attention to the fact that Matthew tells us that Jesus’ arrival on earth was a Virgin Birth and that Jesus the Lord was born of the Spirit.
The Lesson therefore about the resurrection of Christ emphasizes that this Paschal Lamb is well able to accept our petitions to Him. We should listen to His word and come to worship Him knowing that He is still alive, that He paid the price of shedding His blood on the Cross so that our sins could be forgiven, and that He rose from the dead.
Understand therefore clearly that our Lesson deals with the doctrine of the bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus, a doctrine which is peculiar to Christianity. Resurrection a bodily resurrection and it is not only peculiar to Christianity but it is an essential fact of Christianity. The bodily resurrection is essential to Christianity. If we do not have faith in a risen Savior it is because we have denied the fact of the resurrection. But we do know that Christ is raised from the dead and the Word of God which comes directly from God the Father, and the testimony of the Holy Spirit in our hearts tells that to us.
Be always mindful of the fact that the resurrection of Jesus has more facts and documentation in ancient history than most other events for there are many different documentations including testimonies by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John as well as the testimonies of all those people that were acquainted with the risen Christ over a lengthy period of time. We are bombarded by TV and film stories about the exploits of Grecian heroes and others but it is to be noted that there is very little actual documentation of any of these events that are so lauded by the world. The Scriptural record is vastly superior in terms of the many documents that exist. Note also as one writer tells us:
“Judaism has as its father Abraham, and he died somewhere around 1900 B.C., but no resurrection has ever been team for Abraham. His tomb has been carefully preserved for almost 4000 years in Hebron and southern Palestine and it is now covered with a Mohammedan mosque. Most of the students of archaeology believe that that is probably the genuine burial place of the great patriarch, but no resurrection in the sense in which our Lord Jesus was raised from the dead exists in Judaism.
In Mohammedanism the same situation prevails. Mohammed died June 8, 652 in Medina, and today many people visit the shrine, the tomb of the prophet, but no Mohammedan claims a bodily resurrection for Mohammed. So far as their own testimony is concerned Mohammed is dead and that is it.
Even in other religions such as Buddhism there is no claim of the resurrection. In the ancient accounts of the death of Buddha, it is said that he died with that utter passing away in which nothing ever remains behind.
It is to be noted carefully that the behavior of the Jewish leaders showed that they believed that Jesus had finally died on the Cross. They remembered that Jesus predicted that He would be resurrected and though they did not believe that He would really rise from the dead, they wanted to guard against the disciples putting together some plot and taking Jesus’ body away and saying that He had arisen from the dead. So they went to Pilate and asked him to guard the tomb (Matthew 27:62-64) but some interpret what happened as Pilate refusing to use his own troops to guard the tomb of Jesus but instead gave them permission to use their Temple guards to protect the tomb. Some however interpret the language to mean that Roman soldiers were used to guard the tomb. The Jews went and did just that and made sure that the guards were posted and as a wax seal put on the stone door to indicate that no one should enter this tomb.
Jesus did in fact die on the Cross. Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy member of the Sanhedrin
(Luke 33:50) who was also a disciple of Jesus, went to Pilate and begged for the body of Jesus, to give it an honourable funeral.
By Jewish custom the body of a criminal would have been burnt, or buried in a common place set aside for executed criminals. Pilate agreed and handed over the body. We can be sure that this act of Pilate would have made the Jewish rulers very unhappy.
Joseph laid the body in his own new never before used tomb, after wrapping it in linen and one hundred pounds of myrrh and aloes (John 19:39, 40). The tomb’s entrance was closed with a huge stone.
Now that the body was in the hands of someone outside their immediate circle of plotters, the Chief Priests and Pharisees took the precaution of having the tomb sealed, and guards placed at the door. The circumstances and the actions by the Pharisees and Chief Priests unwittingly made the resurrection of Jesus a fact very hard to disprove. The sealing of the tomb and the presence of guards would make it impossible for the absence of Jesus’ body to be attributed to anything else but a resurrection.
Many saw Christ die. The tomb was sealed and guards put in place. Precautions were taken so that a resurrection could not occur. Many of the women disciples watched Jesus die hanging from the Cross with nails in His hands and feet and gasping for air. He certainly did die.
It is most important that we repeat the facts and that we understand that the bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus is peculiar to Christianity and that if we do not believe in the bodily resurrection we should not even speak about the resurrection at all.
The doctrine of the bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus therefore is a unique and essential doctrine to Christianity, and if in fact we do not have any faith in a risen Saviour you really do not have any real biblical God approved faith at all. The Holy Spirit testifies within our hearts of the risen Saviour and so we should feel it inside us as an essential part of our experience. In addition, certainty comes by the truths of the word of God. One writer reminds us:
“Remember that the New Testament is composed of the testimonies not only of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, but of also of the testimonies of each of the individuals who had acquaintance with the risen Christ. And remember, too, that our gospel circulated separately over a lengthy period of time. These were separate testimonies, and individual testimonies were singular and separate to as well”.
Jesus Christ in the Passover Paschal Lamb.
To put it in some context, Israel was in Egypt, in extreme bondage. The severity of their slavery had continually increased till it was so oppressive that their incessant groans went up to Heaven. God avenges His own elect, and though they cry day and night unto Him, He will and has decided when and how He would direct a fearful blow against Egypt’s king and Egypt’s nation, and deliver His own people.
Jesus Christ is typified as The Paschal Lamb. Jesus Christ is one of the seed of Abraham. He is the Lamb of God slain for the deliverance of His chosen people.
The lamb is the best representation of our beloved Lord.
The Paschal Lamb conveys to the pious Hebrew the person of a suffering, silent, patient, harmless Messiah, when we compare it to the lamb for slaughter, most importantly, its blood poured out for our sins.
Christ is considered to be that lamb without blemish. In contrast, a blemished lamb, if it had the smallest speck of disease, the least wound, would not have been allowed for a Passover. The priest would not have suffered it to be slaughtered, nor would God have accepted the sacrifice at his hands. It must be a lamb without blemish. Jesus Christ was such from His birth. Unblemished, born of the pure virgin Mary, begotten of the Holy Ghost, without a taint of sin; his soul was pure, and spotless, perfect; and his life was the same. In him was no sin. He took our infirmities and bore our sorrows on the cross. He was in all points tempted as we are, but there was that sweet exception, “yet without sin.” A lamb without blemish.
“Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year.”
I need not stop to consider the reason why the male was chosen; we only note that it was to be a male of the first year. Then it was in its prime then its strength was unexhausted, then its power was just ripened into maturity and perfection, God would not have an untimely fruit. God would not have that offered which had not come to maturity. And so our Lord Jesus Christ had just come to the ripeness of manhood when he was offered. At 34 years of age was he sacrificed for our sins; he was then hale and strong, although his body may have been emaciated by suffering, and his face more marred than that of any other man, yet was he then in the perfection of manhood. Christ was full of life at this point in His lifespan.
To further get insights into the Paschal Lamb, for reference, in the 6th verse of the 12th chapter of Exodus we are told that this lamb which should be offered at the Passover was to be selected four days before its sacrifice, and to be kept apart. For four days this lamb, chosen to be offered, was taken away from the rest of the flock and kept alone by itself, for two reasons: partly that by its constant bleatings they might be put in remembrance of the solemn feast which was to be celebrated; and moreover, that during the four days they might be quite assured that it had no blemish, for during that time it was subject to constant inspection, in order that they might be certain that it had no hurt or injury that would render it unacceptable to the Lord. In comparison to Christ,
About four days before His crucifixion, Jesus Christ rode in triumph through the streets of Jerusalem. He was thus openly set apart as being distinct from mankind. He, on the ass, rode up to the Temple, that all might see Him to be Judah’s Lamb, chosen of God, and ordained from the foundation of the world. Within these four days did Jesus speak more. For instance, He upbraided the fig tree, drove the buyers and sellers from the Temple, rebuked the priest and elders, gave the Parable of the ten virgins, and the more. Also, within those four days He was subject to intense scrutiny by many people, just as the lamb was under close scrutiny.
His foes found none who could even bear false witness against Him, and the utterance of the great Chief magistrate, Pilate declared, “I find no fault in him.”
He would not have been fit for the Paschal Lamb had a single blemish have been discovered, who thereby declared that the Lamb might be eaten at God’s Passover, the symbol and the means of the deliverance of God’s people.
We should first note that the first account of the resurrection of Jesus is found in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 and not in the Gospels.
Note also that none of the accounts in the Gospels described the resurrection itself. It does not describe Jesus opening His eyes, standing up and leaving the tomb. What we do know about the resurrection is the statement of witnesses about the empty and open tomb and the appearances of the risen Christ. We do not have witnesses of the actual resurrection event.
So therefore when people try to tell you that they know that Jesus rose on the first day of the week, that is Sunday, it is simply not true. So we like to tell you that the resurrection takes place not on the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week, but on a weekday, the first day of the week which is Sunday. They will also like to argue that the creation God sanctified the Sabbath, the last day of the week, but I do resurrection, Jesus sanctified the first day.
But this is absolute nonsense and this myth in argument has been used to justify Sunday worship even though these people know that there is no basis in fact for saying that the resurrection did not occur on the Sabbath day. In fact resurrection on the Sabbath day would simply emphasize the power of the creator God which continues throughout all of history.
But in fact it must be stressed that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the foundation for our faith. One writer states:
“Without this reversal of the ignominy of the cross, Jesus’s death would have atoned for nothing. The resurrection demonstrates Christ’s vindication by God who establishes him in heaven as Lord of the cosmos”. (Blomberg).
THE TEXT
Verse 1. The term in Verse 1 ” late in the Sabbath”, or “toward the end of the Sabbath”, is normally translated to mean the closing period near the end, but still during the Sabbath. “Late on the Sabbath Day” is the only natural and well supported meaning. The Jewish Sabbath ended at sunset. The other expression “As it began to dawn” refers to the beginning of the new day after sunset, as it does in Luke 23:54, Mk.15:42.
Many insist that the plain natural meaning of the Text should be followed. Authorities such as Fritzche, Grimm, Gadet and others hold this, but there are others who try to impose our non-Jewish reckoning of time, to support the idea of a resurrection on the first day of the week. The intent is to say that Jesus arose on a Sunday, an idea which of course they used to support the unbiblical theory that God changed the worship day from the seventh day of the week namely Saturday to Sunday.
The group of women came to see the sepulchre (literally to behold a spectacle). This is a quite distinct visit from the visit of the early morning (Mk.16:1-2).
Matthew mentions Mary Magdalene and the other Mary (likely the mother of James and Joses, Matt. 27:56) as coming. Other gospels mention Salome (Mk 16:1) and Salome is mentioned by Luke (24:10). Others are also mentioned. There seems to have been two different parties (Melellon & Wescolt on John Ederstein). There is also disagreement over when the groups actually came to the tomb.
These differences are considered important, because some try to prove the time of Jesus resurrection on the basis of the time of the women’s visit. But this is a hopeless attempt for when the women went to the tomb it was empty. There is no indication of the time Jesus was resurrected. It could, in a technical sense, be on or during the Sabbath day, or immediately after the Sabbath Day ended. There is thus no proof of a “Sunday” resurrection. If however it can be shown that one group of women went to the tomb, immediately after the Sabbath ended, and the tomb was empty, one might suspect that Jesus was raised on the Jewish Sabbath.
The thought of this has been greeted with horror by many commentators, who have been brought up on the idea that a “Sunday” resurrection is the basis for Sunday worship or so-called Lord’s Day worship.
It is indicated in Matthew that the women came to see the sepulchre, to visit the tomb. The account in Luke focuses on the women who were bringing spices and ointments. Mark has the visit “very early on the first day of the week… when the sun was risen. Luke says “at early dawn”. John says, “while it was yet dark”.
Note that despite everything the prophets predicted about Messiah’s life, death, and resurrection, and the very many teachings of Jesus about these events, these faithful and loyal women did not understand these teachings, and so when they went to the tomb they were stricken with grief. They did not realize that the resurrection was central to the Gospel and was in fact an essential component of the Good News of Christ. These faithful women did not expect a resurrection but they were there to see what the state of the tomb was and later others came to anoint Jesus, the body of Jesus.
The were concerned according to Mark’s gospel about rolling away the stone that blocked the entrance to the sepulcher and they knew that a stone like this which weighed probably a ton could not be rolled away by even several woman, and so they were concerned to find somebody to roll the stone back so they could finish the burial preparations of the body of the Lord Jesus Christ.
They must be congratulated for the Eleven, all men, were nowhere to be found. The remarkable thing was that it was the women that were at the Cross of the Lord, for only John remained of the disciples for the rest were all scattered for a while. The men were obviously very disappointed like those on the road to Emmaus, discouraged and defeated, and had gone into hiding to lick their wounds at the effects of the tragedy that had occurred. But remember that nobody really believed in the resurrection at that time.
It is interesting to note that the writers of the Gospels did not examine in great detail the theological implications of the resurrection but simply gave us the facts about the resurrection. They left it to the Apostle Paul to write extensively on this matter and the greatness of the event. We can see these writings in Romans 4: 24-25; 6: 4; 8: 34; 10: 9; 1 Corinthians 15; 2 Corinthians 5:1-10,15; Philippians 3: 10-11; Colossians 2:12-13; 3:1-4; 1 Thessalonians 4:14.
It is most important as we study this Lesson for us to remember that there is no life in an empty tomb and that there is life only in the risen Lord Jesus. Jesus was buried and was resurrected and we should proclaim that doctrine.
Verse 2-3. Matthew spoke of an especially wondrous event. There was a great earthquake. This seemed to be connected to the appearance of the angel of the Lord from Heaven. Matthew’s words appear to indicate this was a special messenger. He rolled away the stone covering the door to the tomb and sat on it. Sometime during the Sabbath day apparently there was a second earthquake, the first being the one that had torn the veil of the Temple in two.
This clearly was no ordinary angel for this was no ordinary moment in history. This was a new era in salvation history and so the angel’s appearance not only reflected God’s glory but clearly marked out that this was an heavenly being. Heaven had to demonstrate its presence at this extraordinary event in history. What happened was absolutely amazing.
There is some discussion as to why Jesus did not roll the stone away by His own power. It is thought that an angel was sent to do it, to signify that He had not broken out of prison, but Heaven by this act here, legally discharged Him.
Others hold however that the stone might have been rolled away for the sake of the women and the disciples, who would see the empty tomb and see that Jesus was indeed resurrected as predicted.
The angel was so glorious; it was as if lighting erupted from him and his clothing shimmered, white as snow. The guards were terrified, and shook with fear, totally helpless (verse 4).
Verse 4. The resurrection and the appearance of the angel was sheer terror for Jesus’ enemies, but was made a consolation for the women. Clearly, the guards felt the earthquake and observed the angel who appeared as a young man, According to Mark 16:5 it was obviously the presence of the angel that so terrified them that they shook in fright and were so fearful that Matthew describes them as becoming like dead men.
The question must then be asked again as to who these guards were and why they were guarding a dead man named Jesus. These military men, these Temple guards were themselves enemies of Christ and as well they represented the chief enemies of Christ. They were and chose to be the tools of Satan. So we recall Psalm 2:1-3 –
“Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
The Kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed saying,
Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision”.
In this case it appeared that the guards were so terrified and shaken that they fainted. The power and strength of mere men cannot face the power of even an angel much less the power of the risen Christ.
So we have nothing to fear from Satan and the men of the world that he controls. They have lost.
Note also that the presence of these guards and their reaction to the presence of the glorious angel was an indication of the real resurrection, and a proclamation of what had happened. God had set it up this way to make the wrath of men praise God. These guards would be able to go to the chief Priests and tell them what had happened and about the miraculous and supernatural events that they saw
Verse 5-6. The two women were obviously amazed, perplexed, and fearful but the angel calmed them. He knew they came to seek Jesus, they needed not to fear. Jesus the crucified was risen, as He told them He would (Verse 6) and had already left. The angel offered proof of the resurrection, inviting them to inspect the tomb, to verify that it was indeed empty. This is the only true explanation of the empty tomb.
Note carefully that the tomb was not open to let Jesus out, but it was open to let the woman and anyone else coming to see for themselves that the tomb was empty. Remember now that the women were not the only witnesses at this time to the empty tomb, for the guards themselves could see that the tomb was empty. They were additional witnesses to the resurrection.
The angel invited the women to come inside the tomb and see the place where Jesus laid. He rolled away the stone from the front of the tomb, so that the woman could go inside and look and then go and tell the other disciples that He was no longer in the tomb and that He was risen.
Can you imagine the feeling of these women! We all have been at gravesides, either when people were interred, or when we afterwards visited the location to remember who these persons were to us. Many thousands wish then that these people in the grave would return to life and continue in fellowship with us. But sadly that is not to be. But in this case it was to be and there was joy.
Note the angel’s comforting words to the woman telling them that they should not be afraid and that Jesus who had been crucified had been risen and was not there.
The woman were probably filled with fear for they most likely expected that the Roman guards would harass them. The earthquake and the angels dazzling appearance would also make them fear. They would also be afraid that someone would had tampered with Jesus’s body. So there was fear all around in them. But let us remember faith cannot live with fear so the angel had to restore their faith and tell them, Don’t be afraid.
Men of God seem to suffer from fear. Joseph in 1:20 had to be told by the angel not to be afraid. Jesus had to teach His disciples that they should not fear for they were more value to God than even the little birds. But even on the storms in the Sea of Galilee the disciples were afraid and Jesus had to tell them not to be afraid. Even on the Mount of Transfiguration Jesus had to tell His close disciples not to be afraid.
Fear therefore seems to be rather natural thing for people and God has to help us get over it. So do not pretend to be too brave when you’re faced with what seems to be calamity.
In verse 7 the angel instructed the two women to go quickly and tell the disciples the Master was alive again. They were the first witnesses to the people of God. This was very important for not one single person had believed in the resurrection. But everything would change. Others would see the empty tomb and over 500 people would actually see the risen Christ according to the Apostle Paul. So we know that the early church believed in the resurrection.
Jesus had warned about everything that would happen in Luke 18:31-34. They would be able to tell all the disciples, not just the eleven, that they had seen the empty tomb, with the grave clothes neatly arranged. They would testify that His disappearance was not the work of grave robbers, but was indeed the resurrection testified to by a glorious angel that was present.
Jesus promised the disciples He would meet them in Galilee (26:32) and the angel told the women to remind His disciples of the promise. Evidently, Jesus had previously advised the disciples of a great meeting to be held on a mountain in Galilee, where He would give them a great commission. “Lo I have told you,” stressed the formal nature of the angel’s declaration.
With “fear”, produced by their meeting with this powerful angel, trembling and filled with astonishment (Mark 16:8) and “great joy” at the great unexpected news of the resurrection of Jesus, they hurried quietly to tell the disciples.
It is interesting to note that in the culture of the day no one regarded the testimony of women very highly. If they did not have an eyewitness account that was even worse. The fact however is that if the writers of the gospel were fabricating this resurrection story it would not be logical for them to say that the women witnessed the resurrection first, but they would say that it was the men who first saw the empty tomb and first saw the risen Christ.
Note carefully that after the meeting with the angel despair had gone, and though the women had not yet physically seen the Risen Christ they believed He was resurrected and they took off in faith to find the disciples.
The women who had shown such great concern and affection for Him, having gone to see His tomb at the earliest possible opportunity were rewarded. Jesus met them (verse 9) with a greeting. One writer tells us to force of this word that Jesus said to them.
“Jesus greets them and says, “Rejoice!” He would have spoken Aramaic, but Matthew is writing in Greek. The Greek word, chairete (from the root word chairo), is a common greeting, and means “Rejoice!” Joy and rejoicing are common themes throughout boats Old Testament and New Testament. … People could rejoice at the prospect of Yahweh breaking the rod of their oppressor (Isaiah 9 :3). We first encounter this word chairo in the response of the Magi to seeing the star stop above the house where Mary was taking care of the baby Jesus. They “rejoiced with exceeding great joy” – a literal translation would be “they were overjoyed (chairo) beyond measure” (Matthew 2:10). So from the beginning of Jesus’ life to his resurrection appearances, rejoicing was an important part of this gospel”.
The women responded by worshipping Him, grasping Him by the feet in a scene of great humility and veneration. Fear again showed itself amidst their other emotions. This fear was perfectly understandable in the face of this stupendous event.
There was no doubt that they were in the presence of the Living God. This fact alone would overwhelm them with fear and wonder. Obviously Jesus was now in His new resurrection body just like the one He displayed on the Mount of Transfiguration, and He stood before them alive and beautiful.
They were in shock as one would have expected and so Jesus calmed them, and again gave instructions to remind the disciples of the Galilee meeting. Note that Jesus repeated instructions that the angel had first given.
It is important to note that Jesus greeted the women with words of comfort and they responded quite naturally by falling to their knees in what one writer calls “wonderment and joy” and taking hold of His feet.
The angel was certainly right for He was alive and they were now with Him, touching Him, and He was speaking to them. He was real and solid and was not a ghost, for they could feel Him, and hold Him. One writer points out that: “Grasping someone’s feet was a recognized act of supplication and homage (Mark 5: 22; 7:25; Luke 17:16)”.
Verse 10. Jesus now called the disciples ‘brethren’, a new name. This would reassure them that their flight and infidelity at His arrest was understood and forgiven. One writer describes why Jesus gave instructions for the disciples to meet Him in Galilee:
“Why, then, Matthew’s record of a resurrection appearance in Galilee? The answer surely lies in the combination of two themes that have permeated the entire Gospel. First, the Messiah emerges from a despised area…. and first sheds his light on a despised people;… for the kingdom of heaven belongs to the poor in spirit (5:3). For this reason too, the risen Jesus first appears to women whose value as witnesses among Jews was worthless..
Second, ‘Galilee of the Gentiles’ (4:15) is compatible with the growing theme of Gentile mission in this Gospel…. and prepares for the Great Commission (28:18-20)”.
Verses 11-15. When the guards that had been left for dead awoke from their stupor, they left the empty tomb and went to the chief priests reporting everything that happened. These were Jewish temple guards and not Roman guards for if they had been Roman guards the Roman commanders would have killed them for falling asleep on duty.
The Sanhedrin Council promised that if Jesus came down from the Cross or was resurrected they would believe in Him, but now that they were confronted with the facts of the resurrection they forgot all of those promises and in their normal hypocritical fashion devised a silly story to protect their own reputation and to give their conscience a pretty weak reason for their disbelief.
This story they came up with had a lot of holes and no sensible person would accept that explanation. Obviously, if the guards fell asleep they would not have known that the body of Jesus was stolen by the disciples. In addition, if even one of them was awake he could have sounded the alarm.
It was quite a stretch to believe that the rather fearful male disciples that denied Jesus and ran away at the first sign of trouble would have been brave enough to confront the Temple guards and open the guarded tomb.
In any case if the disciples had stolen the body of Jesus, given the fact that molesting graves was punishable by death, the Sanhedrin would have used any credible evidence from the Temple guards to prosecute the disciples. Obviously they did not have any credible evidence to back up their story, and they could not come up with any such proof of body theft.
So the Sanhedrin met and decided to bribe the Temple guards to say that the disciples stole the body while they were asleep. They had to pay them for the Temple guards were taking a big risk, for if Pilate heard he would certainly call them before him to answer for their incompetence. So the Sanhedrin members reassured the Temple Guards and said that if the Roman authorities heard that story they would find a way of persuading him not to bother them. This was a very cynical bunch of leaders.
Justin an early Christian writer reports on the importance of this Sanhedrin explanation and one writer tells us:
“Justin, Dial (logos), 108, tells us that this charge was still being actively propagated in the middle of the second century; it was an obvious countermove to Christian claims of Jesus’ resurrection”.
The death and resurrection of Jesus is most important. His death was atonement for our sins. His resurrection marked the completion of this work, and showed His Father’s divine approval for His work. In addition the resurrection was proof of Jesus’ person and was to the nation of Israel the sign of the prophet Jonah attesting to the fact that Jesus was the Messiah. (Matthew 12: 38-39). Note also that the resurrection of Jesus proved that the prophecies of Christ about His rising from the dead were totally accurate and truthful.
It, the resurrection, proved Jesus was Messiah. As Messiah, everything that He taught about the nature of the kingdom, His offer of the kingdom to Israel, and the withdrawal of His offer, are therefore intimately involved in the resurrection. The resurrection proved the truthfulness of everything about which Christ ever spoke. So the resurrection is critically important for many things for Israel and for Gentiles, for the authenticity of His words was proved and His action validated, being based on the resurrection. Jesus now was shown to be not a false messiah but a true Messiah.
Note on Jesus’ Appearances
There are ten recorded appearances of Jesus between the resurrection and His ascension. First, to the women, second to Mary Magdalene (in John and Mark), third to Peter, fourth to the two disciples going to Emmaus, fifth, to the apostles except Thomas, sixth, to the apostles including Thomas at Jerusalem, seventh, to seven disciples at the Sea of Galilee (in John), eighth, to the Apostles, probably also to five hundred brethren on a mountain in Galilee (in Matthew and Mark), ninth, to James and tenth, to the apostles just before the ascension.
These appearances were in different circumstances, different times and to different numbers of people. No one could thus dispute the fact He was indeed alive. He went to great pains to show He had a real flesh and blood body, and was not just a ‘spirit’. He showed the marks of the crucifixion.
Note He seemed to have appeared only to His disciples, and they only saw Him ten times in forty days and we are not told how long He remained at each appearance. His body was very different however, from our normal body, and He could appear in a room that had the doors closed (John 20:26). Sometimes He was not even recognized at first when He appeared (Luke 24:16, John 21:4).
It was clear that the resurrection of Jesus did not answer all the questions that remained in the minds of the disciples about Him. Their minds were probably still fixed on the old nationalistic Jewish themes about Messiah and what He would do when He came. Since Jesus was not apparently about to begin His reign over Rome and the Gentile nations it is likely that there would be unanswered questions that they were important to nationalistic Jews.
Matthew seemed to indicate that some of the eleven doubted. Some however hold that at this meeting, the five hundred brethren who saw Him on one occasion were also there and it is among them, that there were doubters. Some have suggested that Jesus’ body was changing in appearance between the time of His resurrection and the time of His ascension, and this accounted for the uncertainty. Jesus drew closer to them however, probably to have the doubters make up their minds, that He was really their old Master.
CONCLUSION
The perfect lamb, the Paschal Lamb had been prepared for death and had been resurrected. The Father had accepted the sacrifice of the Son and so resurrection life which flowed to the life of every believer would plant them in an environment where the eternal life that they now possessed because of the resurrected Paschal Lamb would fill and move them and transform them.
Let us remember and proclaim that the resurrection is a fact because it is written in the word of God and in addition many testified to this bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
It is proof that death has been defeated and it is proof that our sins have been forgiven.
It is proof that God the Father accepted the work of the Son and that the work of the Son bought for us the forgiveness of sins. The work of atonement has been accepted by God.
One writer reassures us that besides that:
“It is also a principle and a pattern of a joyous life with one who can still the storms, who can release the demons, who can bind up the wounds, who can open the graves, who can cancel guilt, and who can comfort aching hearts and who can convey peace”.
The resurrection is really a pledge of the judgment to come for we know that one day God will judge the world in righteousness by the Lord Jesus Christ who He has ordained for that purpose.
The resurrection life is to flood the life of the believer for it takes a believer out of the conditions of the old life in which he was before and placed him in a situation where he can grow, be transformed, and abound in physical and spiritual growth. The resurrection life is really the eternal life that we possess through the resurrected Christ. As we share this with Him we will enjoy the principle and the pattern of the joyous life.
We should also remember that Christ is infinitely powerful. He has a magnificent purpose. Along with that He is infinitely kind and we can see that by the way He treated the women that fell down at His feet to worship Him. He could’ve brushed these sinful humans aside so that they would not negatively affect His now divine body, but instead He treated them kindly and with understanding.
So we see infinite power, amazing kindness, and total dedication to His purpose to save and to restore. He wanted these women to tell His disciples that He would meet them and that they should not despair. So Jesus calls on these women to believe, urged them to share their knowledge, and He urged them to rejoice.
You too should believe, you too should share your knowledge of Him, and you too should rejoice.
REMEMBER THEREFORE THAT THIS POWER AND ATTITUDE AND PURPOSE IS AVAILABLE FOR YOU TODAY.
We note that some are indifferent to the claims of Christ and some even shake their fists at Him. But your task is to bring the gospel of salvation to them so that they will stop refusing to bow before Him. So show them and proclaim the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the only way for them to have real life.
All are assured that He had all authority in Heaven and in earth. This was universal authority, given Him by the Father (John 13:3, I Corinthians 15:24-28).
He is now seated at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. On the basis of that authority, He is sending us to bring the knowledge of truth to men. The disciples and all believers were to preach the gospel, bring non-Christians to a full willingness to become Christians, through repentance and faith.
Jesus’s authority must not be on a shelf but must be used to make disciples. That is our mission. You must lead others to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ so that they can have the peace which passes all understanding and obtain the love and joy of a new life which is found only in the name of Jesus.
We know that it is hard to make disciples of Jesus when you don’t really want to talk about it because it gives you some discomfort because of the hostile world in which you live. But you cannot escape living out your faith openly and reject blending in with the world around you even though this is sometimes a difficult thing to do. You must put Christ first and let others know what He has done for you and what He will do for others like you.
Remember that the disciples had their issues and it took a little while for them to meet the risen Lord up in Galilee and experience for themselves the power of His resurrection from the dead.
Jesus is called on you to test Him and to believe in Him even though some will doubt.
All Nations must be taught to keep His commandments. Christianity must of necessity be a missionary religion, and must be spread. Jesus has all authority and power, and has a perfect right to be believed and obeyed. There was to be no limit to this missionary work. All nations were to be discipled, brought into a relation of pupil to teacher, instructed, and baptized.
Jesus’ resurrection assured the disciples of His continued presence; Always, or all the days through weakness, failure, sorrow, old age, death, as well as through the days of strength, joy and success.
This is assurance of His personal presence in the fullest sense. His presence abides every day, and through to the consummation of the age at His Second Coming. Then His invisible, but just as real presence will be exchanged for His visible and eternal presence. So we will encourage you to sing that the Paschal Lamb lives. So sing along with us!
“I serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world today
I know that He is living, whatever men may say
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer
And just the time I need Him He’s always near.
He lives (He lives), He lives (He lives), Christ Jesus lives today
He walks with me and talks with me
Along life’s narrow way.
He lives (He lives), He lives (He lives), Salvation to impart
You ask me how I know He lives?
He lives within my heart.
In all the world around me I see His loving care
And though my heart grows weary I never will despair
I know that He is leading, through all the stormy blast
The day of His appearing will come at last.
He lives (He lives), He lives (He lives), Christ Jesus lives today
He walks with me and talks with me
Along life’s narrow way
He lives (He lives), He lives (He lives), Salvation to impart
You ask me how I know He lives?
He lives within my heart.
Rejoice, rejoice, O Christian Lift up your voice and sing
Eternal hallelujahs to Jesus Christ, the King
The Hope of all who seek Him, the Help of all who find
None other is so loving, so good and kind.
He lives (He lives), He lives (He lives), Christ Jesus lives today
He walks with me and talks with me
Along life’s narrow way
He lives (He lives) He lives (He lives), Salvation to impart
You ask me how I know He lives?
He lives within my heart.
THE PASCAL LAMB LIVES