HE IS RISEN - MATTHEW 28: 1-10 - 9:30am Service

On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary come to the tomb weighed down by grief and the knot of loss. An earthquake and an angel break the silence, and the angel declares the decisive word: he is not here; he is risen. That declaration stands as the hinge of history, a simple sentence that flips despair into new creation and reframes apparent defeat as the opening of redemption. The crucifixion’s wounds, once signs of shame and humiliation, reveal themselves as the very place where healing and forgiveness are wrought; the violence intended to silence becomes the means of salvation. The cosmic powers that celebrated apparent victory find themselves undone, for the work taken to crush hope actually breaks the stronghold of death.

Jesus appears to the women with an ordinary greeting—“Greetings” or “Good morning”—and that pastoral tenderness collapses terror into embrace. The command to go and tell the brothers sends the first proclamation of the risen life into the world, and the change of address to “brothers” signals a new familial reality: those who belong enter into adoption and joint heirship with the risen Lord. Where fear once drove the disciples to scatter, the resurrection births boldness, courage, and a refusal to be silenced. The victory over sin, death, and accusation becomes a present possession to be lived now, not merely promised later.

The invitation rings clear: fear need not govern inner life because the keys of hell and death rest with the living Christ, and the same grace that endured the cross offers belonging and inheritance to all who call. The practical call presses into everyday places of shame, hidden burdens, and paralysis: whatever is being carried can be entrusted into the hands of the One who entered suffering to defeat it. The gathered voices of praise and the communal prayer that follows embody a lived hope—an active, joy-filled response to a risen presence that both reigns in heaven and meets tenderly in the morning.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. The resurrection rewrites human history The resurrection overturns the finality of despair and reorients the entire narrative of creation toward renewal. Its truth exposes apparent losses as the hinge for God’s expansive work, demanding a shift in how life, pain, and purpose are interpreted. Living under that claim encourages choices that reflect inaugurated healing rather than resigned defeat. [26:52]
• 2. Suffering becomes the path to healing The wounds displayed on the cross serve not as enduring condemnation but as the means by which brokenness is absorbed and transformed. What seems like the ultimate defeat contains the very remedy for human shame and lingering guilt. This reframing invites a deep trust that personal suffering can be held within a larger redeeming purpose. [30:12]
• 3. Fear loses authority in Christ The risen presence proclaims freedom from fear by claiming the keys of death and hell and offering present life beyond future hope. That declaration removes fear’s bargaining power over conscience, choices, and calling. Living under this assurance enables boldness to act despite uncertainty. [34:51]
• 4. Belonging as brothers and heirs The new form of address—brothers—marks adoption into a family that shares in the inheritance of the risen one. This identity reshapes shame into belovedness and scarcity into shared abundance. Receiving that status changes how one approaches risk, witness, and community. [36:07]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [21:36] - Global Easter celebration
• [22:45] - Christ is risen proclamation
• [23:36] - Reading Matthew 28
• [24:11] - Women visit the tomb
• [26:19] - Angel, earthquake, and fear
• [26:52] - “He is not here; he is risen”
• [28:02] - Resurrection’s cosmic significance
• [31:39] - Death defeated; Satan undone
• [33:15] - Jesus greets the women
• [34:51] - “Do not be afraid”
• [36:07] - Called brothers and heirs
• [38:15] - Invitation to receive love
• [40:08] - Closing prayer and worship

Bible reading: Matthew 28:1-10 (ESV)
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. 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. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

Observation questions

1. What was the emotional state of the women when they first arrived at the tomb, and what details in the passage show this?
2. What specific message did the angel give to the women, and what were they instructed to do with this message?
3. How did the women react when they first encountered the risen Jesus?
4. What new term did Jesus use to refer to his disciples when giving his final instruction?

Interpretation questions

1. The angel told the guards, who were hardened soldiers, to not be afraid, but he also told the grieving women the same thing. [26:52] Why is "do not be afraid" such a foundational message of the resurrection?
2. The crucifixion appeared to be a moment of ultimate defeat and shame. [30:12] How does the resurrection completely reframe the meaning of Jesus' wounds and suffering?
3. Jesus specifically calls his followers "brothers" after his resurrection, even though they had all abandoned him. [36:07] What does this shift in language reveal about the new relationship Jesus has created with his people?
4. The women left the tomb with both "fear and great joy," which seem like opposite emotions. [32:33] How can these two feelings exist together in the experience of encountering the risen Christ?

Application questions

1. The resurrection rewrites our personal history, turning our "apparent losses" into the place where God does his expansive work. [26:52] What is one area of your life that feels like a loss or a defeat that you need to view through the lens of the resurrection?
2. Jesus' wounds, once a sign of shame, are now the very means of our healing. [30:12] What shame or lingering guilt from your past can you bring to the cross, trusting that Jesus can transform it into a place of healing?
3. The command "do not be afraid" is based on the finished work of Christ, who holds the keys to death. [34:51] What specific fear (failure, the future, what others think) tends to have the most power over your choices, and how can the truth of the resurrection disarm that fear today?
4. Being called a "brother" or "sister" by Jesus means we are adopted into God's family and are joint-heirs with Christ. [36:07] How does knowing you are fully accepted as family, not based on your performance, change the way you approach God in prayer this week?
5. The women were the first ones commissioned to go and tell the good news. [32:33] Who is one person in your life who is weighed down by grief or fear that you can "go and tell" about the hope you have in the risen Christ?
6. The resurrection is not just a future hope but a "present possession to be lived now." [34:51] What would it look like to live this week with the boldness and courage of someone who knows death has been defeated?
7. The invitation is to entrust our hidden burdens and paralysis to the One who entered suffering to defeat it. [39:44] What burden have you been trying to carry on your own that you can consciously choose to place into the hands of the risen Jesus today?