Resurrection Life of Jesus Church
THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW
PART 88: JESUS IS ALIVE
RLJ-1991
JOHN S. TORELL
DECEMBER 1, 2024
INTRODUCTION
Jesus told the apostles that He was going to Jerusalem where He would be betrayed, handed over to the Romans, mocked, scourged, crucified, and rise from the dead on the third day. The men who had been with Jesus for three years did not want to hear that the Messiah was going to suffer, and clearly, they did not believe He would rise from the dead, let alone on the third day. But it did take place just as the God-man predicted! Matthew 20:18-19
SUNDAY MORNING
The people in Jerusalem woke up on Sunday morning. The day officially started at 6:00 a.m. and by this time the Roman soldiers who had been guarding the tomb of Jesus were making their way into the city to the palace of Caiaphas. Meanwhile the sun was rising and the women were approaching the tomb to embalm the body of Jesus.
STONE ROLLED ASIDE
Matthew’s account lists the women approaching the tomb (Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, the mother of James), the angel’s actions, and the women discovering the stone had been rolled aside. Matthew 28:1
Mark records the conversation of the women (Mary Magdalene; Mary, mother of James; Salome, wife of Zebedee and the mother of James and John) as they walked toward the tomb, wondering how they were going to access the body of Jesus, only to find the stone covering the entrance had been rolled aside. Mark 16:3-4
Luke’s account has the women (Mary Magdalene; Joanna, wife of Chusa, Herod’s steward; Mary, the mother of James; and other women) discovering the stone rolled aside. Luke 24:2
John continues to focus on Mary Magdalene and her seeing the stone rolled away from the tomb. John 1:1b
JESUS IS GONE
Mark says the women entered the tomb and saw an angel dressed in white sitting on the right side and they were immediately afraid. He urged them not to be scared and already know they were seeking the body of Jesus, but the God-man had been resurrected and was no longer in the grave. Nevertheless, they were welcomed to take a look at the place where the body had been. Mark 16:5-6
Luke records the women entering the tomb and finding it empty. They were bewildered as to what could have happened to the body of Jesus and did not notice the two angels standing nearby in clothes that glowed white. Luke 24:3-4
When the women finally noticed the angels, they were immediately afraid and bowed themselves low to the ground, to which the angels simply asked why they sought the living among the dead? The God-man was risen just as He promised. verses 5-8
“For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matthew 12:40)
“From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.” (Matthew 16:21)
“Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death,
And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.” (Matthew 20:18-19)
Matthew states that the angel begins the conversation – presumably after they entered the tomb – by encouraging the women not to be afraid, then immediately announces that he knows why they are at the grave. Jesus is no longer in the tomb because He has risen from the dead. He encourages the women to see the proof, the body of Jesus is not present. Matthew 28:5-6
TELL THE MEN
The women were instructed to share the good news with the disciples that Jesus had risen from the dead and He would meet them in Galilee where it had all begun some three years earlier. Matthew 28:7; Mark 16:7
Only in the Gospel of Mark – Peter’s account – does the angel instruct the women to tell the disciples and Peter the good news of the resurrection. It is likely that he kept himself separated from the rest of the disciples after denying Jesus three times, but they still knew where he was located.
Mark further reveals that the women left the tomb quickly and fled the area, trembling with amazement, not saying anything about the apparent resurrection out of fear. verse 8
It should be noted that this does not mean they failed to follow the angel’s directive. They did in fact tell the disciples; but they did not publicly spread word of the resurrection for fear of the ungodly Jewish leadership that had orchestrated the events that resulted in the death of Jesus.
It was bittersweet as the women departed from the sepulcher. They were filled with joy at the news of the Messiah’s apparent resurrection, but apprehensive that it might be a hoax. Nevertheless, their memories of the angels dressed in glowing white clothes compelled them to run and tell the disciples. Matthew 28:8
MARY MAGDALENE
The gospel writers do not always write in chronological order. The apostle John chronicled Mary Magdalene’s solo encounter with Jesus. She reached the tomb first, not entering the tomb, but peeked inside and saw two angels sitting at the head and foot where the body of Jesus had been laid. John 20:11-12
The sight of an empty tomb brought grief as she assumed someone had stolen the body of the God-man. The angel asked why she was crying and it was clear that she had no faith in the resurrection. verse 13
Mary turned away from the tomb to see a man standing away, but close enough to converse, and failed to recognize Him. verse 14
The God-man asked why she was crying and whom she sought. Mary thought Jesus was a caretaker of the cemetery who had removed the body and turned to look at the angels in the tomb. verse 15
Jesus spoke her name in the way He had done so many times before. She immediately recognized the voice of Jesus, turned to face the resurrected God-man, and called Him “Rabboni” (My Master). verse 16
The Son of God stated His followers would recognize His voice and respond to it. John 10:27; Revelation 3:20
It was not improbable that Mary was thinking of casting herself at His feet and this is why Jesus instructed her not to touch Him, for God the Son had not yet presented His blood to God the Father. verse 17; Mark 16:9; Hebrews 9:23-26
WOMEN SEE JESUS
When the rest of the women left the tomb to tell the apostles about the resurrection, Jesus surprised them along the way and they immediately fell to the ground to reverently hold His feet and worship Him. Matthew 16:9
They did this for a couple of reasons:
1. To make sure Jesus was not a spirit; He was real and could be touched.
2. To give Jesus the worship that due to Him and express their love.
The earlier prohibition with Mary Magdalene not to touch Jesus was no longer in place; they touched the God-man without reprimand.
Jesus directed them not to be scared. Given their approach and behavior, they clearly were not, so why did Jesus exhort them not be fearful?
◦ The ungodly Jewish leadership undoubtedly would persecute anyone connected to Jesus.
◦ But more than likely the God-man knew the male disciples would not believe the women and Jesus did not want them to be discouraged by the doubt and unbelief of the men. The apostles were supposed to go to Galilee – where it all began some three years ago. Matthew 16:10
APOSTLES UNBELIEF
Mary Magdalene had been part Jesus’ entourage for more than three years. One would think that she would have established credibility with the apostles, but the gospel accounts don’t support that narrative.
Mark records that the men wept and mourned for Jesus after hearing about the resurrection from Mary Magdalene, but they steadfastly refused to believe her seemingly amazing story. Mark 16:10-11
Luke’s account has the multiplicity of women telling the eleven apostles and the seventy others, but the story told by the women seemed so far-fetched that it was dismissed. Luke 24:9-11
John states that Mary Magdalene told the apostles that she had seen the risen Jesus and recounted His words to the men. John 20:18
PETER & JOHN
Mary Magdalene told Peter and John the exciting news; however, she inserted a twist that the body of Jesus had been stolen and was now missing.1 John 20:2
They ran to the tomb, with John being the faster of the two. verses 3-4
Like Mary Magdalene, John stooped down at the entrance, but did not enter. He saw the fine linen that had been wrapped around the body of Jesus lying folded where the body had lain. verse 5
By this time Peter arrived, entered the tomb, and saw the burial clothes as well. The cloth used to wrap the head was not tossed in a careless manner, but showed composure in how it was laid separately from the linen clothes. verses 6-7;
Luke says that Peter listened to the words of the women and then he ran to the tomb, only to discover the body of Jesus missing, and the fine linen brought by Joseph of Arimathea for the purpose of wrapping the corpse of Jesus folded neatly. He didn’t quite know what to make of the whole affair. Luke 24:12
John, inspired by Peter, entered the tomb, saw the burial clothes folded neatly, and believed that Jesus had risen from the dead just as Mary described. John 20:8
John admitted his ignorance concerning the Messiah rising from the dead. verse 9
The disciples’ Kabbalistic worldview did not involve the death of the Messiah even though Jesus had repeatedly made it clear this was to be the case.
“For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matthew 12:40)
“From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.” (Matthew 16:21)
“Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death,
And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again.” (Matthew 20:18-19)
Peter and John returned to where they were staying. John 20:10
1. Eve did something similar four thousand years earlier in the Garden of Eden when she told the serpent that humanity could not touch nor eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Genesis 3:2-3
Remember, it’s not so important how you begin your life after salvation, but how you finish it!
Do you have an ear to hear with?
