1. Matthew
CHAPTER 28
Verse 1-10
April 8, 2012 Easter Sunday
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI
Thomas by Caravaggio
Announcements!
"Praying For Our Jerusalem" Acts 1:8
Praying For Our Jerusalem is a prayer effort by which we attempt to go into every
home of our church family for the sole purpose of praying with the people in that
home. No gimmicks, no signing up for something, just to pray. Prayer Warriors will visit
up to four homes and pray with our church family from April 1-30.

2. BREATH OF LIFE
What: A Sunday School Class for those with a chronic cough.
When: Sunday, April 15th @ 8 a.m.
Where: At FBCJ in the Chapel Parlor
Life of Valor
What: Men's Conference
When: Friday, April 20th From 6:00 - 10:00 p.m.
Where: Madison Campus
Who: All men (age 13 and older)
Cost: $10.00 each (includes supper)
Register: Online @ www.FBCJ.org or Call 601-949-1948
Thank You for Serving
What: A banquet to honor waiters & waitresses.
When: Monday, April 23rd from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Where: The South, 627 East Silas Brown, Jackson, MS 39201
Next Generation Leader Luncheon
What: A Luncheon For Young Professionals ages 20-39
"Are You A Contributor or Consumer"
When: Thursday, April 26, 2012 @ 11:45 a.m.
Where: Christian Life Center Auditorium
Who: Chris Maddux, Speaker
Price: $10.00 Per Person
Reservations: Call (601) 949-1941 or online at www.FBCJ.org
Mark The Date
What: FRIEND DAY
When: SUNDAY, APRIL 29th
Goal: 2,500 in Sunday School
Offering warm fellowship and refreshments!
Going Deeper with God Conference
Allowing God to cleanse us?
Praying through the fruit of the Spirit daily?
Sunday School Lesson!
Commentaries Consulted:
 The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Copyright © Moody Press and
John MacArthur, Jr., 1983-2007.

3. So what?
What difference does the Resurrection make in my life today and tomorrow?
1. My past can be forgiven.
2. My present problems can be managed.
3. My future can be secure.
Matthew 28:1-10
1 “Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary
Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave.
2 And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord
descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it.
3 And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.
4 The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men.
5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for
Jesus Who has been crucified.
6 He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was
lying.
7 Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is
going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.”
8 And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His
disciples.
9 And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came up and took hold
of His feet and worshiped Him.
10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to
leave for Galilee, and there they will see Me.” Matthew 28:1-10
Like every piece of good literature, Matthew's gospel is not a random collection of
facts or ideas or stories but has a specific plan and purpose. Chapter 28 is the
powerful climax of everything else Matthew had written about Christ under the
guidance of the Holy Spirit.
The central event of that climax, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is also the central
event of God's redemptive history.
The resurrection is the cornerstone of the Christian faith, and everything that we are
and have and hope to be is predicated on its reality.
There would be no Christianity if there were no resurrection.
The message of Scripture has always been a message of resurrection hope, a
message that death is not the end for those who belong to God. For the believer,
death has never been an end but rather a doorway that leads to eternity with God.

4.  Abraham willingly obeyed God's command to sacrifice his only son, Isaac,
because, in faith, "he considered that God is able to raise men even from the
dead" (Heb 11:19).
 The psalmists declared, "God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol; for
He will receive me" (Ps 49:15) and that "with Thy counsel Thou wilt guide me,
and afterward receive me to glory" (Ps 73:24).
 Isaiah proclaimed, "Your dead will live; their corpses will rise" (Isa 26:19).
 Through Daniel the Lord assures His people that, although they die, one day
they "will awake... to everlasting life" (Dan 12:2).
 Hosea assures believers that the Lord will raise up all believers to live before Him
(Hos 6:2).
 Job asked rhetorically, "If a man dies, will he live again?" and then declared,
"All the days of my struggle I will wait, until my change comes" (Job 14:14). That
ancient man of God even foresaw the reality of resurrection, proclaiming to his
three friends, Bildad in particular: "I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the
last He will take His stand on the earth. Even after my skin is destroyed, yet from
my flesh I shall see God" (Job 19:25-26).
Such has been the promised hope of God's people throughout history, a hope
predicated on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is His resurrection that guarantees
ours. "Now Christ has been raised from the dead," Paul declares, "the first fruits of
those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the
resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made
alive" (1 Cor 15:20-22).
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the single greatest event in the history of the world!
It is so foundational to Christianity that no one who denies it can be a true Christian.
Without resurrection there is no Christian faith, no salvation, and no hope.
“If there is no resurrection of the dead," Paul explains, "not even Christ has been
raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is vain, your faith also is
vain" (1 Cor 15:13-14).
A person who believes in a Christ who was not raised believes in a powerless Christ, a
dead Christ.
If Christ did not rise from the dead, then no redemption was accomplished at the
cross and "your faith is worthless," Paul goes on to say; "you are still in your sins" (v. 17).
The foundation of all our hope is expressed in Jesus' own words: "I am the resurrection
and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies" (John 11:25), and,
"Because I live, you shall live also" (14:19).

5. Although they reveal the same divine truths in perfect harmony with one another,
each of the gospel writers presents the resurrection from a distinctive perspective.
Matthew does not approach the resurrection from a scholarly, historical, analytical, or
evidential perspective but focuses rather on the emotional reaction of a some
women who loved Jesus deeply.
Because Jews considered reference to "a day" as meaning any part of that day,
Sunday was the third day of Jesus' interment, the day which He had repeatedly
predicted would be the day of His resurrection.
It is because of the resurrection that Christians worship on Sunday rather than on the
Sabbath.
Matthew 28:1
1“Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary
Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave. Matthew 28:1
Although they had witnessed Joseph's and Nicodemus' wrapping of Jesus' body in
the linen cloths and spices, the women had secured and prepared their own spices
(probably a small amount in comparison to that brought by Nicodemus) with which
they would personally anoint the Lord. Although Salome, the mother of James and
John and the wife of Zebedee and Joanna were also there, Matthew focuses only on
the two Marys. The other Mary was the mother of James and Joseph and the wife of
Clopas. The women obviously thought Jesus would still be in the grave and would
remain there, or else they would not have brought the anointing spices.
They had not come to see Jesus risen but to look at the grave where they expected
His body to still be lying. They had been among the women who ministered to Jesus in
Galilee and who had stood with Him at the cross. Now they came to the garden
hoping that somehow the great stone could be removed so they could minister to
Him one last time. But despite their lack of faith in Jesus' promises to rise on the third
day, they came to the tomb out of deep affection for their Lord.
Jewish tradition wrongly held that the spirit of a dead person left the body four days
after death because by that time the body had become so disfigured by decay
that the spirit could no longer recognize it. That tradition may be reflected in
Martha's comment to Jesus about her brother, Lazarus: "Lord, by this time there will
be a stench, for he has been dead four days”. Perhaps the two Marys and the other
women came to Jesus' grave with the intent of anointing His body one more time
before His spirit departed from it.

6. Matthew 28:2
2 And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord
descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it.”
Matthew 28:2
This was the second supernaturally caused earthquake in connection with Jesus'
death and burial, the first one having occurred at the moment of His death.
God caused an earthquake on Mount Sinai just before He revealed the law to Moses
(Ex 19:18) and on Mount Horeb when He revealed Himself to Elijah (1 Kings 19:11).
In the end times He will also send numerous earthquakes (Joel 2:10; Matt 24:7; Rev
6:12; 8:5; 11:13-19). Now, within three days, He caused two earthquakes just outside
Jerusalem.
The angel did not move the stone in order to let Jesus out of the tomb.
If Jesus had the power to raise Himself from the dead, which He did (John 10:18), He
certainly had the relatively minor power required to escape a sealed grave. As He
demonstrated during several post resurrection appearances, just as He was no longer
bound by death, He was no longer bound by the limitations of the physical world or
of time. In His glorified form He could escape a closed grave just as easily as He could
enter a closed room.
In comparing the gospel accounts, it becomes clear that Jesus had already left the
tomb when the stone was rolled away.
The angel moved the stone not to let Jesus out but to let the women and the apostles
in.
Matthew 28:3
3 “And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.”
Matthew 28:3
The description suggests that God transmitted some of His own Shekinah glory to the
angel, just as He had transmitted a measure of it to Moses on Sinai when the
covenant was renewed (Ex 34:29). In a similar way, the angel's glistening garment
that was as white as snow suggests God's purity and holiness. The angel bore the very
character of God in order to make clear to the observers not only that he was a
supernatural messenger but that he was an agent of God and not Satan.
Matthew 28:4
4 “The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men.”
Matthew 28:4

7. Shook translates a Greek term that has the same root as "earthquake" in verse 2,
indicating that the soldiers experienced personal earthquakes of both mind and
body. But after a brief moment of shaking, they then became like dead men,
paralyzed with fear. The idea seems to be that they not only became rigid but
unconscious, completely traumatized by what they saw. The soldiers had good
reason to be afraid. Not only was the angel's appearance terrifying in itself but,
because they had been charged with protecting the grave, an empty tomb could
spell their death.
Matthew 28:5
5 “The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for
Jesus Who has been crucified.” Matthew 28:5
Unlike the soldiers, the women had no reason to fear, and the angel's first words were
meant to give them comfort and assurance. They had not come expecting to find
Jesus raised, but in His gracious mercy God overlooked their weak faith and their lack
of understanding. Acknowledging their great love, God responded with great love,
not condemnation.
Matthew 28:6
6 “He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was
lying.” Matthew 28:6
"He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said." Has risen translates a Greek aorist
passive and can also be rendered, "has been raised." Jesus Himself had power to give
up His life and to take it up again (John 10:18). But Scripture makes clear that He also
was raised by the power of the Father (Rom 6:4; Gal 1:1; 1 Peter 1:3) and of the Holy
Spirit (Rom 8:11). The entire Trinity participated in the resurrection of Jesus!
When Peter and John entered the tomb a short while later, they "beheld the linen
wrappings lying there, and the face-cloth, which had been on His head, not lying
with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself" (John 20:6-7). The burial
clothes were just as they were when Joseph and Nicodemus laid the body to rest,
except for the face-cloth, which was set to one side. Jesus did not have to be
unwrapped any more than He had to have the stone removed. At one moment He
was encased in the linen, and the next He was free, leaving the wrappings
unchanged.
While the women were in the tomb, another angel joined the first, "one at the head,
and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying" (John 20:12). Their
positions are reminiscent of the two golden cherubim who were on either side of the
Mercy Seat on the Ark of the Covenant (Ex 25:18). The two angels in the garden were
posted at either end of the tomb of Jesus, Who, by the sacrifice He had just made of
His own life, became the true and eternal Mercy Seat for sinful mankind.

8. Matthew 28:7
7 “Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is
going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.”
Matthew 28:7
The women's fascination must quickly turn to proclamation. They did not have time to
revel in the marvelous reality of the Good News but were to go immediately and
announce it to the cowering disciples, who were still hiding in Jerusalem. It would
seem more than justified for the Lord to have allowed the disciples to suffer in fear,
despair, and agony for a week or so before telling them the Good News. They had
stubbornly refused to believe that Jesus would die and be raised, although He had
told them of His death and resurrection many times.
 God is not interested in beating you up (Jesus took your beating for you) so
don’t beat yourself up either.
But in His gracious mercy God sent the women to tell the disciples as soon as possible,
so they would not have to experience another moment of misery and grief. He did
not rebuke them for their lack of faith and for their cowardice but rather sent them
messengers with a gracious word of hope and comfort.
One wonders why God chose to reveal the truth of the resurrection first to those
women rather than to the disciples. One commentator suggests that it was because
God chooses the weak to confound the strong. Another suggests the women were
rewarded for their faithful service to the Lord in Galilee. Another holds that, because
death came by a woman in a garden, so new life was first announced to a woman in
a garden. Others propose that it was because the deepest sorrow deserves the
deepest joy or that supreme love deserves supreme privilege. But Scripture offers no
such explanations. It seems obvious that the women were the first to hear the angelic
announcement of the resurrection simply because they were there. Had the disciples
been there, they, too, would have heard the Good News directly from the angel
rather than indirectly through the women. This is analogous to the reality that the
closer a believer stays to the Lord and to His work, the more he is going to witness and
experience the Lord's power. Those who are there when the Lord's people gather for
worship and prayer, who are there when His Word is being taught, who are there
when the lost are being won to Christ, who are there when others are being served in
His name, who are regular in their times of private prayer— those are the ones who
will most often experience firsthand the work of God.
Matthew 28:7b
7b “He is going ahead of you into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told
you.” Matthew 28:7b
The angel's further instruction to the women was to tell Jesus' disciples that "He is
going before you into Galilee," Earlier in the week Jesus had told the eleven
remaining disciples, "After I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee" (Matt

9. 26:32). Being both Jewish and Gentile, Galilee represented the world at large. It was
there that Jesus began His ministry, in "Galilee of the Gentiles, " where "the people
who were sitting in darkness saw a great light" (Matt 4:15-16). It would also be in
Galilee that the disciples would receive the Great Commission from the Lord to "go
therefore and make disciples of all the nations”. It was not that Jesus would first
appear to the disciples in Galilee, because He manifested Himself to them several
times before that. He appeared to Peter, to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus,
to ten of the disciples as they were assembled on resurrection evening, to all eleven
disciples eight days later, and to seven of the disciples as they were fishing in the Sea
of Galilee. But Jesus' supreme appearance to the disciples was to be in Galilee,
where He "appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time" (1 Cor 15:6)
and where He would commission the eleven to apostolic ministry.
Matthew 28:8-9
8 And they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to report
it to His disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they came
up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him. Matthew 28:8-9
As the women were on their way to report the angel's message to the disciples, Jesus
met them and greeted them. Greeted translates chairete, a common greeting that
loosely rendered means something like “Hello" or “Good morning." It was the ordinary
salutation of the marketplace and of travelers who passed each other on the road.
In other words the greeting was casual and ordinary, seemingly too mundane to be
appropriate for such a momentous occasion. Yet the glorified Christ, Who had just
finished conquering sin and death, greeted those faithful women with warm, informal
tenderness. As the writer of Hebrews assures us, "We do not have a high priest who
cannot sympathize with our weaknesses" (Heb 4:15). They now knew with certainty
that He was the risen Messiah, the divine Son of God, and that adoration and praise
were the only proper responses to His presence. They did what every person,
unbeliever as well as believer, will do one day when He comes again, "every knee will
bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the
Father" (Phil 2:10-11).
Matthew 28:10
Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and take word to My brethren to leave
for Galilee, and there they shall see Me." Matthew 28:10
Despite the disciples' lack of faith, their cowardice, and their defection, the Lord
graciously spoke of them as His brethren. When they arrived in Galilee, they would
see Him again, and there they would experience a great convocation and
commissioning by the Lord.
The basic truth of the resurrection under-girds a number of other truths.
 First, it gives evidence that the Word of God is totally true and reliable. Jesus
rose from the dead precisely when and in the way He had predicted.

10.  Second, the resurrection means that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, as He
claimed to be, and that He has power over life and death.
 Third, the resurrection proves that salvation is complete, that on the cross Christ
conquered sin, death, and Hell and rose victorious.
 Fourth, the resurrection proves that the church has been established. Jesus had
declared, "I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it"
(Matt 16:18). "The gates of Hades" was a Jewish colloquialism that represented
death. Jesus’ resurrection proved that death itself could not prevent Him from
establishing His church.
 Fifth, the resurrection proves that judgment is coming. Jesus declared that the
heavenly Father "has given all judgment to the Son" (John 5:22), and since the
Son is now risen and alive, His judgment is certain.
 Sixth, the resurrection of Christ proves that Heaven is waiting. Jesus promised, "In
My house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for
I go to prepare a place for you" (John 14:2). Because Christ is alive by the
resurrection, we have the assurance that He is is now preparing a heavenly
dwelling for us.
(from The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Copyright © Moody Press and
John MacArthur, Jr.)