The Resurrection of Jesus Changes Everything

Matthew 28:1–6 1 Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.

Jesus came to the earth on a redemptive mission. He’s the long-awaited Messiah. But the national and political deliverance, which most of the Jewish people are hoping to see, including His followers, is not the salvation Jesus brings. Jesus repeatedly teaches Jewish officials will arrest Him and He will be mocked, flogged, and crucified (Cf. Matthew 20:17-19) to provide His people salvation from the penalty of sin. Because they define the kind of deliverer they desire, they filter out these clear instructions of Jesus.

Consequently, the day of His crucifixion brings despair and hopelessness. When the Jewish leaders manipulated the Romans to put Jesus to death, the preconceived dreams and plans of the Lord’s disciples shatter. But the eternal plan of redemption is unfolding according to the Lord’s sovereign purpose.

The women who are part of His entourage arrive at His grave on Sunday with spices to anoint His dead body. An angel comes to roll the stone away from the mouth of the tomb. He removes the stone and sits atop it, not releasing Jesus but revealing an empty tomb. The Roman guards are scared to death, and the women stare at the angel in amazement. The angel seeks to calm and inform them their crucified Lord is now risen and gone. All this is happening according to the teaching He shared with them previously (“as he said”).

The resurrection of Jesus produces massive ramifications. It shows Jesus to be the Son of God, and it declares Him to the Victor over death, hell, and the grave. It exalts Jesus as the righteous and final sacrifice of atonement for sin. The provision of His resurrection power is also how the Lord’s forgiven and cleansed people are enabled to walk consistently in the newness of Christ-honoring life.

The resurrection of Jesus changes everything. Every Lord’s Day, followers of Jesus meet to celebrate His resurrection and the grace and mercy that flow out of His resurrection power to transform all the lives of His people. Once a year, the people of the Lord unite with intensified collective joy in the resurrection of our Lord. May our worship this Sunday be a time of great rejoicing as we declare, “He is risen! He is risen indeed!”