The Other Side of the Stone - Pastor Steve Royalty

Devotional

Day 1: The Universal Certainty of the Resurrection

The resurrection of Jesus is a historical event that stands as a testament to God's power over death. Billions of believers across the globe join in celebrating this truth, forming the largest people group on earth. This shared faith is not built on myth but on the reality of an empty tomb and a risen Savior. The event is so significant that it remains a point of universal recognition, even among skeptics. Something undeniable happened that morning, something that forever changed the world. [15:34]

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. (Matthew 28:1 ESV)

Reflection: When you consider the historical reality of the resurrection, what doubt or question does it most directly address in your own heart?

Day 2: God's Work in the Unseen Places

Our perspective is often limited to what we can see—the closed doors, the finality of a situation, the stone rolled into place. In those moments, it can feel like God is absent and the story is over. Yet, the truth of the resurrection reminds us that God is always at work, even when we cannot perceive His activity. He is moving behind the stone, accomplishing His purposes in ways we cannot yet imagine. Our hope is anchored in what He is doing, not just in what we can see. [36:09]

For we walk by faith, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7 ESV)

Reflection: What is one "stone" in your life right now—a situation that seems final and immovable—where you need to trust that God is actively at work behind it?

Day 3: The Invitation to the Overlooked and Broken

Jesus consistently elevates those whom the world overlooks or casts aside. The first witnesses to His resurrection were women, whose testimony was culturally disregarded, including one formerly tormented by demons and another who lived in the shadows. This demonstrates that His grace is not reserved for those who have it all together. He intentionally calls the broken, the hurting, and those who feel insignificant to be part of His story. [23:57]

And when they saw him, they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” (Matthew 28:17-18 ESV)

Reflection: Where have you felt "the other Mary" in your own life—overshadowed or insignificant—and how does Jesus’s specific call to you redefine your worth and purpose?

Day 4: The Shaking That Accompanies God's Movement

Scripture shows that when God moves in power, it is often accompanied by a shaking—an earthquake, a disruption, or a season of uncertainty. This shaking is not always a sign of punishment; it can be a divine preparation, shaking off the things that hold us back to make way for something new. We may desire the work of resurrection without the shaking, but God’s transformative work often requires both. [29:42]

At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. (Matthew 27:51 ESV)

Reflection: What is one area where you are currently experiencing a "shaking," and how might God be using it to prepare you for a new work of His Spirit?

Day 5: When Feelings Are Real But Not True

In our pain and confusion, we can feel abandoned by God, asking, "Where did Jesus go?" Our feelings in those moments are very real, but they do not always reflect the truth. Just as Jesus was closer than Mary Magdalene realized when she thought He was the gardener, He is near to us even when we cannot perceive Him. Our faith rests on the truth of His promise and character, not on our fleeting emotions or circumstances. [40:04]

And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. (Matthew 28:9 ESV)

Reflection: What is a situation in your life where your feelings of God's absence are real, but what is the biblical truth about His presence that you can choose to hold onto today?

Sermon Summary

The resurrection account centers on the empty tomb as the hinge of history and hope. Two women—Mary Magdalene and the other Mary—approach the grave expecting death and finality, and the narrative sharpens the surprise: an earthquake, an angel, a rolled-away stone, and Roman guards rendered like dead men. The text highlights that God places unlikely witnesses first—women and shepherds—to authenticate an event that defies invention. Jesus had predicted suffering and rising, yet the first followers faced a raw, unresolved loss; their experience shows how proximity to grief can obscure the reality God is already working to bring about.

The sermon draws a steady line from the tomb to everyday life: the stone represents visible barriers and apparent endings that conceal God’s movement on the other side. When God acts, the Bible frequently records seismic disturbance—an outward shaking that often accompanies inward change. Shaking can feel like destruction, but the account reframes it as preparatory: what God removes through disturbance makes room for resurrection life. John’s detail of angels seated where the body had lain evokes the ark’s cherubim, connecting this moment to God’s ongoing work across redemptive history.

A practical thread runs through the message: feelings, proximity, and perception rarely tell the whole story. Mary stands near Jesus yet does not recognize him until he names her; a parallel story of a soldier who kept fighting long after the war ended illustrates how real experience can mislead when truth is withheld. The resurrection rewrites death’s verdict—when Christ rose, those united to him rose also—and so the empty tomb invites a decisive response: confront the stone that keeps hope at bay, and step into the life that God offers. The message closes with an invitation to pray, to bring burdens to the cross, and to trust that what appears final on one side of the stone may already be undone on the other.

Key Takeaways

1. The stone hides God's work The visible barrier often masks divine activity on the far side. The empty tomb reframes finality: what looks permanent may be the very place God is at work, rolling away what seemed immovable. Naming the stone clarifies where faith must look—beyond present evidence to the actions God has already begun. [36:09]
2. Shaking often signals God's work Scripture links divine movement with seismic disturbance; the shaking announces transition rather than only destruction. When life trembles, the process can be pruning, removal, or preparation for something new—if one allows what is shaken to fall away. Interpreting shaking as a precursor to resurrection helps resist despair and cultivates attentiveness to how God reshapes circumstances. [29:16]
3. Feelings can obscure truth Proximity to grief or pressure frequently distorts perception; being close to the scene does not guarantee sight of reality. Mary stood beside the risen Christ and still asked, “Where did he go?” The Hiroo Onoda example shows how lived experience can lock a person into error when truth remains unseen; recognition often requires God’s voice naming what is true. [40:04]
4. Resurrection bridges the great chasm Christ’s death and rising address the gap that separates humanity from God, not as theory but as enacted reconciliation. The cross removes the legal and relational barrier; the empty tomb declares that death’s verdict no longer holds final say. Living in that reality changes how suffering is interpreted: loss does not nullify the promise that life has been joined to the risen Lord. [55:30]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[15:34] - Christians worldwide
[17:05] - Matthew 28 introduced
[17:47] - Women as first witnesses
[22:49] - The empty tomb scene
[27:00] - Angel, guards, and fear
[28:44] - Earthquakes and God's movement
[31:11] - The sealed stone explained
[36:09] - Seeing beyond the stone
[40:04] - Feelings versus truth (Hiroo story)
[46:18] - Mary recognizes Jesus
[56:08] - Invitation to respond
[63:23] - Living hope declared

Bible Study 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.

Observation questions

What details in the text describe the scene at the tomb and the initial reactions of those present?
What specific instructions did the angel give to the two women?
How does the text describe the transformation in the women's emotional state from the beginning of the passage to the end?
What does the angel’s statement, “He is not here, for he has risen, as he said,” reveal about the nature of God’s promises? [18:50]

Interpretation questions

Why is it significant that the first people to witness the resurrection were women, whose testimony was considered inadmissible in that culture? [17:47]
The text mentions a "great earthquake" accompanying the angel's arrival. What might this shaking represent in the broader context of God’s work throughout scripture? [29:16]
The women were physically close to Jesus but did not immediately recognize him. What does this suggest about how our feelings and proximity can sometimes obscure the truth God is working? [40:04]
The stone was a visible, impenetrable barrier. How does the angel rolling it away and sitting on it change the meaning of that barrier from a symbol of finality to a symbol of hope? [36:09]

Application questions

The visible barrier often masks divine activity on the far side. What is a “stone” in your life right now—a situation that feels final, immovable, or like an ending? [36:09]
Scripture links divine movement with seismic disturbance; the shaking announces transition rather than only destruction. When have you experienced a “shaking” in your life that, in hindsight, was God preparing you for something new? [29:16]
Proximity to grief or pressure frequently distorts perception. When have your feelings about a situation made it difficult to see what God was actually doing? [40:04]
The empty tomb reframes finality: what looks permanent may be the very place God is at work. How can this truth change the way you pray about a current difficult circumstance?
The resurrection declares that death’s verdict no longer holds final say. How does living in this reality change the way you interpret personal loss or suffering? [55:30]
The story of Hiroo Onoda shows how lived experience can lock a person into error when truth remains unseen. Is there an area where you might be holding onto a “real” feeling or experience that is not actually true? [40:04]
The first response to the resurrection was to “go quickly and tell.” Who is one person you can share this hope with this week?

Sermon Clips

41s

#EmbraceTheShake

“You know, I was thinking about this. Many of us want the work of resurrection without the shaking of resurrection. But oftentimes, when scripture shows us is that when god works, there's gonna be some shaking. There's gonna be some moments where there's gonna feel like you are in the midst of a giant earthquake. I've also found personally at some of those moments when I had felt the shaking, when I have been not sure what what's happening, what God's doing. In moments like that, it's the stuff that's held me back that has been shaken off of me. If I will let it go.”

40s

#HopeOfGlory

“And yet when the stone is rolled away, we'll see what God was up to all along. When we see what's on the other side of the stone. It's very possible that we'll never see everything until we get to see him one day. In fact, that's the hope of glory. The Bible calls that the hope of glory because light is breaking forth and hope stands in the doorway and hope is Jesus and I don't care what the reality is today. Someday, we're gonna see him face to face. You you know, I I say this. We often say this around here. God can do more in one moment in a person's life than we can do in an entire lifetime.”

35s

“Jesus had been able to over time gradually bring them to a place where they established that he was in fact the hope of the world. Jesus brought them to a place where they started to believe and understand that he was the salvation of Israel, that he was the light to the Gentiles. He was the great healer. He was the one who raised from the dead. I mean, he raised their friend from the dead. He set captives free. He preached good news. I mean, this Jesus was incredible. He turned their world upside down.”

25s

“And what I'm struck with when I think about this is the kind of people that were drawn to Jesus. It's not the, it's not those that have it all together. Not those who wear suits, right? This is Easter morning. I, my wife said I had to dress up. So, whatever but it's not the ones that are that look good. It's it's not the ones that have it all together. It it's not them. In fact, it's the opposite of that. It's the broken. It's it's the hurting.”

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The Other Side of the Stone - Pastor Steve Royalty

Devotional

Day 1: The Universal Certainty of the Resurrection

Day 2: God's Work in the Unseen Places

Day 3: The Invitation to the Overlooked and Broken

Day 4: The Shaking That Accompanies God's Movement

Day 5: When Feelings Are Real But Not True

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

The Other Side of the Stone - Pastor Steve Royalty

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