I Know You Seek Jesus: An Easter Meditation on Matthew 28

In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week,

came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.

And, behold, there was a great earthquake:

for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven,

and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.

His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:

And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.

 

And the angel answered and said unto the women,

Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.

He is not here: for he is risen, as he said.

 Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead;

and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee;

 there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.

 

And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy;

 and did run to bring his disciples word.

And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail.

And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.

Then said Jesus unto them,

Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee,

 and there shall they see me.

 

This is a big deal.  There aren’t many times in the Scriptures where holy angels are recorded as having come with a proclamatory message, but when they do, it is of profound significance.  They sang and proclaimed Jesus’ Incarnation at His birth, where God and Man were united uniquely and irrevocably in the indivisible Person of the Son.  Now, after the unfathomable work of Jesus on the Cross just three days prior, where in a moment of time He took upon Himself the eternities of hellish suffering due for every one of the trillions of souls that would ever enter upon this fallen world, so that satisfaction would be paid and they might all be reconciled to God, the holy angels again came to proclaim His Resurrection.  The work now done that no man could do, Jesus was risen from the dead, and would show Himself alive to His disciples.  The tomb was empty, the Roman guards shocked into a death-like stupor, the stone rolled away, and the grave clothes set aside.  Death was conquered, hell was invaded and pillaged, Satan with his demonic hordes were cast into utter subjection, and the Eternal Word of Good News was to ring throughout world:  Christ is Risen, we are forgiven, and for His sake all men may live forever by grace through faith in Him alone.

 

Since the creation of the cosmos, there has not yet been anything in the history of men like the Resurrection of Jesus.  His Resurrection was the fulfillment of a Promise made by God to our first parents in the Garden of Eden immediately after our fall into sin and death.  His Resurrection was the declaration that every Word given to Noah, Abraham, and Moses was just as sure as the Word that was given to every one of His Old Testament Prophets and His New Testament Apostles.  His Resurrection was proof positive that He was who He said He was—the only begotten Son of the Father, full of grace and truth, apart from whom no one can come to God reconciled.  There have been some resurrections recorded across history, but none of them were accomplished by the power of the one who was dead—only Jesus’ Resurrection was accomplished because the Author of Life could not be held subject to death, anymore than the divine Light could be suppressed by darkness.  Jesus’ Resurrection is the undeniable verification that His Word is true, and that His Word to us life everlasting for all who abide in Him by faith.

 

Of course, there are plenty of people who choose to ignore this truth.  There are those who flippantly discard the uniquely authoritative Holy Scriptures, with all their Law and Gospel and prophecy fulfilled across millennia, so they don’t have to surrender their darkness to the Light of Christ.  There are those who reject the moral implications of an ordered universe created by the Word and Will of the Lord God Almighty, so that they might ignore the duties of love and fidelity which derive from it, chasing instead their own distorted passions.  There are those who shut their eyes and plug their ears from the history of a world turned upside down by the One who conquered death, and gave His victory over sin, death, hell, and the devil, to all who would follow Him, so that they might indulge a while longer in the vapid narcissism of demons.  But regardless of how fallen men respond to the objective reality of Jesus and His Resurrection, the unfaithfulness of man cannot induce unfaithfulness in God.  Whether we hear Him or not, whether we follow Him or not, He is still who He is, and there is no other god beside Him.  There is only one Creator, only one Redeemer, only one Sanctifier, of the whole human race, and the reality of this Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity cannot be unmade by the creatures He has brought forth.  Those who deny Him do not change Him anymore than those who receive Him in faith; His Word to those who believe is the sure promise of eternal life, while His Word to those who refuse to believe is the sure promise of eternal life abandoned.

 

Yet either way, the Word of the Lord endures forever, and Jesus’ Resurrection stands irrevocable like an eternal sign in the heavens.  It is a sign that is further written on every one of those who follow Him, first in the waters of Holy Baptism, and then in every moment of one’s life consecrated to the Savior.  It is a sign that rings out from the fellowship of saints here below, when they gather around the risen Jesus to hear His Word rightly preached, and His sacraments administered according to His institution.  It is a sign that is sung in the halls of glory until the end of time, where the saints in light celebrate together the victory and life of the risen Lord given to them by grace through faith, even as they celebrate the arrival of each sanctified soul into their eternal revelry.  It is a sign that shall be proclaimed on earth until the Lord’s return, where the faith of the Church Militant continues to resist the forces of evil until that great Day when all people shall see the Lord our God with their own resurrected eyes, and standing on their own resurrected feet, upon a new earth resurrected and purged of all sin and death.  It is a sign that mysteriously transforms the Christian into the likeness of their Savior day by day, where the power of the Holy Spirit works through the Eternal Word to bring faith and repentance meet to receive His transformative grace and life.  Jesus’ Resurrection is the sign which calls all people to Himself, that all might partake of His lifegiving Gospel, and live in Him forever.

 

Easter is come, and there is now no question left under heaven whether God loves and saves His people.  There is nothing left to doubt, and there is no one left behind, for the Creator of all has become the Savior of all, that all who will trust in Him might live as He lives.  Let the darkness of doubt wash away, and see once again the marvelous sign of God’s love and victory given to you.  For Jesus Christ is risen today, and no power of hell which was conquered at Calvary can ever presume to assail and dislodge you from His omnipotent, pierced hands.  Rejoice, o saints, of every time and place, for the Lord of Glory reigns triumphant over the grave, and because He lives, we shall live also.  Soli Deo Gloria!  Amen.