Rejoice: Choosing Joy at the Empty Tomb

Matthew’s resurrection narrative opens at dawn with Mary Magdalene and the other Mary arriving at the tomb, where an angel reveals the empty grave and instructs them to tell the disciples that Jesus has risen and will meet them in Galilee. Worship rises in immediate proclamation—“Christ is risen” sung aloud—followed by a warm welcome and an invitation into communal life and spiritual growth. A lighter institutional anecdote about Easter lilies—regional nurseries switching to more profitable crops and an old story of plastic lilies—frames a sober theological claim: genuine resurrection requires genuine death; there is no Easter without Good Friday. All four Gospels agree that women were the first witnesses; the narrative reads these women as midwives of new life, echoing ancient baptismal imagery that linked the font’s shape to a womb and baptism to birth into new life.

When Jesus meets the women, the greeting uses the Greek word kirete, commonly translated “greetings” but capable of meaning “rejoice.” That single word addresses the tangled emotion of the moment: fear braided with great joy. The text invites choosing joy not as denial of sorrow but as a posture shaped by God’s presence and promise. Practical illustrations follow: a study showing imagined exercise yields measurable strength becomes a metaphor for spiritual practice—thinking on joy builds joy. Historic worship practices such as the tributeum—three steps forward, one back—supply a tactile theology of progress amid setbacks: forward movement over time, not a promise of uninterrupted ease.

The table comes as the sign of love overcoming despair: bread broken, cup poured, covenant enacted—a present means to taste the reality announced by the empty tomb. Hymnody reorients the community toward rejoicing, and an open-eyed benediction sends the assembly with a pastoral charge that joy, rooted in Christ’s crucified and risen light, will guide and gather others home. The overall thrust refuses simplistic happiness; it insists on a disciplined, hopeful joy that acknowledges suffering, trusts God’s forward movement, and participates in the new life birthed by the resurrection.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Resurrection requires passage through death The Easter hope depends on a real descent into suffering and death; glossing over Good Friday robs resurrection of its meaning. True new life emerges only when loss and death are acknowledged and held in God’s redeeming hands. That theological truth guards against sentimental spirituality that denies the gravity of real pain. [40:36]
• 2. Women as midwives of new life Women appear first at the empty tomb not by accident but as symbolic agents who attend births and new beginnings. Their witness reframes discipleship as participation in God’s creative work—bearing, tending, announcing life where death seemed final. This image calls the church to recognize marginalized voices as faithful conveyors of hope. [41:25]
• 3. Choose joy amid fear and doubt The gospel scene pairs fear and great joy; the imperative to “rejoice” invites a deliberate orientation toward divine presence despite unsettling circumstances. Joy here functions as a practiced attention—training the mind and heart to dwell on God’s promises rather than circumstances. Such chosen joy does not minimize sorrow; it reorders hope around the risen Lord. [44:47]
• 4. God advances despite setbacks The ancient tributeum—three steps forward, one back—captures a realistic eschatology: progress by God’s patient leading, not by steady triumph. Setbacks do not nullify forward movement; they contextualize it and deepen trust in God’s timing. Expect resilience rather than uninterrupted ease as the pattern of sanctification. [48:28]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [12:46] - Angel at the Tomb: Proclamation
• [13:18] - Congregational Easter Proclamation
• [17:19] - Welcome and Church Life Invitation
• [33:37] - Gospel Reading: Matthew’s Ending
• [35:19] - Lily Tradition Interrupted
• [36:57] - Plastic Lilies Anecdote and Debate
• [41:25] - Women as First Witnesses
• [44:22] - “Kirete”: Greetings or Rejoice
• [48:28] - Choosing Joy: Three Steps Forward
• [57:46] - Communion: Love Overcoming Despair
• [62:16] - Benediction and Sending

Based on the sermon summary and transcript provided, here is a Bible study discussion guide.

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.”

Philippians 4:4 (ESV)
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.

Observation questions

1. In Matthew 28:9, what two emotions did the women experience as they left the tomb to tell the disciples what they had seen?
2. What was the first word the resurrected Jesus spoke to the women when he met them on the road, and what are the two possible meanings of this Greek word? [43:12]
3. According to the sermon, what ancient Christian worship practice involved taking "three steps forward and one step back," and what did this action symbolize? [48:28]
4. What practical reason was given for why the women, and not the men, were the first to discover the empty tomb? [41:25]

Interpretation questions

1. The angel at the tomb and Jesus both tell the women "Do not be afraid." Why would the news of the resurrection, which is good news, also be a source of fear and disorientation?
2. The idea that "there is no Easter without Good Friday" [40:36] was central to the sermon. Why is it theologically necessary to go through the reality of death to get to the hope of resurrection? What is lost if we skip this part of the story?
3. The women are described as "midwives of new life." [41:51] What does this imagery suggest about the nature of discipleship and our role in God's work in the world?
4. How does the concept of choosing joy, as a deliberate orientation of the heart, differ from simply waiting to feel happy based on our circumstances? [44:47]

Application questions

1. The resurrection requires a genuine passage through death and loss. [40:36] What is something in your life that feels like a "Good Friday"—a place of pain, loss, or ending? How can you hold that reality in tension with the "Easter" promise of new life and redemption?
2. Joy is presented not as a denial of sorrow, but as a practiced attention to God's presence. [44:47] What is one practical way you can "think on joy" this week to build that spiritual muscle, much like the study about imagining exercise? [46:50]
3. The "tributeum" dance symbolizes that God's forward movement in our lives often includes setbacks. [48:28] Where have you recently experienced a "one step back" moment? How can you trust that God is still moving you "three steps forward" over time?
4. The table communion is described as the "symbol of how love overcame despair, giving us a chance of joy." [57:46] How can regularly remembering Christ's sacrifice through communion reorient your heart toward joy when you face feelings of despair?
5. The women were the first witnesses, often a marginalized group who became the faithful conveyors of hope. Who are the unexpected or overlooked "midwives of new life" in your community? How can you better listen to and learn from them?
6. The benediction sends us out so that "joy, rooted in Christ’s crucified and risen light, will guide and gather others home." [01:02:16] Who in your life needs to be gathered home by witnessing a joy that is honest about suffering yet hopeful in Christ? How can your life point them toward that light?