Matthew’s account of Easter morning is so powerful. In Matthew 28 we read of the earthquake and the stone rolling away from the mouth of the tomb. The angel appearing as lightning proclaimed, “He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.” (Matthew 28:6) What we read here is such a huge part of the Easter message. One, things came to pass - just as He said. Jesus said in John 2, destroy this temple and in three days I will rebuild it. God was true to His word and the word of the prophets as he rose again on the third day. Two, the angel invited the women to come and see the empty tomb for themselves. For us, the truth of Easter must be so alive in our hearts that we invite others to come and see what our Lord has done. To quote a church historian: “If Christ is risen, nothing else matters. And if Christ is not risen, nothing else matters.”
John 20:3-9 - In verse 1, Mary Magdalene arrived early to finish preparing the body. With Sabbath approaching on Friday evening, they were unable to complete the necessary preparations. But when she arrived early Sunday morning she found the stone rolled away from the tomb. In verse 2, she runs back to town to tell the disciples who were in hiding that the body had been stolen. Peter, the first to respond, ran toward the tomb with John close behind. By the time they arrived the younger John had overtaken Peter. John arrived first but paused at the entrance to peer inside, while Peter acting again with his characteristic boldness pushed past John and into the tomb. What they saw verified Mary’s report. What they found indicated the body was not robbed from the tomb as some doubters would claim. The cloths He had been wrapped in were empty and not strewn about. Robbers would probably not have unwrapped the body before taking it, and if it were grave robbers they would have left in a hurry. Neither would the shroud have been folded neatly and placed to the side. We also read this observation from the leader guide that the stone was moved not because Jesus needed to escape, but it was moved so that Mary, John, Peter, and others could come discover the empty tomb (p. 62).
In verses 1 and 5 the verb form for “saw” indicates that Mary and John physically observed or looked at the setting in the tomb. Later in verse 8 the word for “saw” is different. Here it takes on a deeper meaning that they were beginning to understand what they were seeing. Verse 8 says John saw and believed. I can imagine the pieces of the puzzle coming together in their minds slowly helping them grasp the magnitude of the moment. In verse 9 John is transparent. He admits that they did not yet understand the Scripture that said Christ must rise from the dead. His honesty about his own thoughts gives another level believability to the account.
John 20:19-23 – These verses describe Jesus’ appearing to the disciples. While John and Peter had ventured out to the tomb, the rest of the disciples apparently remained in hiding behind locked doors (v. 19). Thomas being the exception. Then, suddenly Jesus in His glorified post-resurrection body appears among them. Jesus’ greeting (shalom) offered them exactly what they needed in the moment – peace. Jesus’ presence had to be reassuring and an indication that things were going to be all right.
There is quite a lot happening in the next four verses. 1) The disciples fear was replaced with rejoicing. The physical scars borne on His hands and side helped them realize He was no ghost, but He had conquered death as He said He would do. They had cause to celebrate. 2) Their fear had paralyzed their ministry and mission. In verse 21 Jesus gives a direction to follow – a precursor to the Great Commission. They are to move forward. He is sending them just as His Father had sent Him. 3) The disciples would need power to carry out the commission they had been given. Jesus had promised a Counselor and a Helper to come alongside them. When Jesus breathes upon them, they received a filling of the Holy Spirit (v. 22). We read of Pentecost in Acts 2 when the Holy Spirit came to enable the Apostles to speak in other tongues. John 20 may have been temporary filling as we see in the Old Testament. 4) Verse 23 identifies the mission they were given in verse 21. They were not only recipients of the Gospel message but were to now proclaim the message of forgiveness of sin to others. They were to bear witness to what they had seen and heard.
John 20:27-29 In these verses we read of how the doubts of Thomas were overcome. We single Thomas out, but he had evidently not seen or felt the nail prints for himself. The other disciples in verse 20 only believed and understood after they had seen for themselves. Jesus offered Himself as evidence and then told Thomas not to be faithless. He left the choice to Thomas as He does to each of us. We also have the choice to believe (have faith) or not to believe. Thomas may be known as “The Doubter” but it was by grace through faith that he was redeemed. His declaration is a clear and strong confession of faith: “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus would commission the disciples to go and tell. They would reach many people in that day and in years to come who did not have a first-hand encounter with the Christ. Jesus pronounced blessing on those who would believe without seeing. John closes chapter 20 by reinforcing his purpose. He says the things Jesus did would fill a multitude of books. John included accounts of Jesus’ teaching and healing so that the reader would understand that “Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.”
Christ’s resurrection offers hope to a world that seems hopeless. Everyday we encounter people who have lost hope and there even days when we ourselves feel our hope flagging. We must remember we have a hope that is alive and eternal.
I’ll close today with a Easter thought from Marian Jordan Ellis:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” 1 Peter 1:3
Hope is the distinguishing mark of a woman who knows Jesus as her Savior. Why? Because He is our Living Hope. We don’t worship a God who merely died for our sins, we worship a God who defeated sin and death, and rose again to give us new life. This is the message of Christianity and this is what we celebrate this Easter Sunday.
This weekend billions of people across the globe will celebrate Easter. For many, this is a day marked by colorful eggs and the Easter bunny who leaves goody baskets filled with candy and treats. For the Christ follower this is the day which anchors our faith. This day is the reason we have hope in a dark world, the reason we can stand in hope in the midst of sickness and death because we know that Jesus wins!!
