Go and Tell: Resurrection Overcomes Fear and Death

Devotional

Day 1: God’s love is an everlasting and faithful love.

God’s love is not a fleeting emotion or a temporary promise. It is a foundational, unchanging reality that forms the basis of our relationship with Him. This love was established long ago and continues with a faithfulness that never wavers. It is a love that seeks us out, especially when we feel lost or distant, and it provides a constant source of grace and rest. We can build our lives upon this enduring love, knowing it is the very character of God Himself. [24:52]

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.” (Jeremiah 31:3, ESV)

Reflection: Where in your life have you experienced a sense of wilderness or distance, and how might God’s everlasting love be inviting you to find rest and grace in that very place?

Day 2: Encountering God’s presence can be both terrifying and joyful.

Divine encounters often disrupt our expectations and overwhelm our senses. They can shake the very ground we stand on and bring us to our knees in awe and fear. Yet, within that holy and terrifying moment, God consistently offers a word of comfort and a promise of good news. This profound mixture of fear and great joy is a natural response to witnessing a power far greater than our own, a power that is ultimately for our salvation. [36:19]

And 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.” (Matthew 28:5-6, ESV)

Reflection: When has an unexpected event or disruption in your life contained a mixture of fear and potential joy? How can you look for God’s comforting word within such moments?

Day 3: Jesus meets us in our journey and commands us to rejoice.

Even when we are actively obeying God’s call, we can be surprised by the immediacy of Christ’s presence. He meets us along the path, often when we least expect it, and His first word is a command to embrace joy. This rejoicing is not a denial of our circumstances but a proclamation of a greater reality: that He is risen and is with us. Taking hold of Him in worship is the most fitting response to His gracious appearance. [38:55]

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

Reflection: What is one concrete way you can choose to actively rejoice this week, not as a feeling to be mustered but as an act of obedience to Christ’s command?

Day 4: We are sent to go and tell the good news of resurrection.

The encounter with the risen Christ is never meant to be kept to ourselves. It always leads to a sending. We are commissioned to go quickly and tell others the transformative news that Jesus has conquered sin and death. This message is one of liberation from all that corrupts and destroys, offering hope that God’s love is more powerful than any evil. Our testimony becomes part of God’s ongoing work in the world. [39:16]

Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” (Matthew 28:10, ESV)

Reflection: Who is one person in your life who needs to hear the good news that Jesus is stronger than the corruption and death they see around them, and how can you gently share that hope?

Day 5: Our lives are shaped by Christ’s love, not by our fear.

Fear is a natural human emotion, but it does not get the final say in how we live. The resurrection assures us that we are freed from the ultimate power of death, which means we are also freed from the lesser powers of anxiety, greed, and hatred. We are called to live by a different logic—the logic of self-giving, sacrificial love. This love empowers us to move forward with courage, knowing Christ is already ahead of us. [41:03]

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” (Romans 8:15, ESV)

Reflection: What is one specific fear—perhaps of not having enough, of being unsafe, or of being unwelcome—that is currently shaping your choices? How can you actively choose to let Christ’s love, instead of that fear, guide your next step?

Sermon Summary

On Easter morning the scriptures portray God’s faithful renewal and the dawn of a new beginning. Jeremiah’s promise of everlasting love and restoration frames the scene: God rebuilds, brings rejoicing, and plants life where barrenness once held sway. Matthew’s resurrection account then unfolds with dramatic senses—earthquake, blinding light, and an angel who rolls the stone—replacing the tomb’s finality with motion and invitation. The angel calls the women to “come and see” and to run and announce that Jesus has been raised and will meet his followers in Galilee.

A striking reversal of expectations shapes the response: those who went seeking in the dark find a descending light, not the silence they anticipated. The narrative emphasizes both terror and joy, repeatedly commands “do not be afraid,” and issues an urgent commission to go and tell others. Encounter becomes both revelation and responsibility: the risen one meets people where they are—in fear, in doubt, in places of exile—and then sends them out as witnesses.

The resurrection functions as proof of God’s power over corruption and death, and as a summons to live without allowing fear to govern actions. Joy appears not as the absence of fear but as a deliberate posture commanded by the risen Lord, who insists that followers move forward even while trembling. The mandate to proclaim the good news carries practical reach: the risen presence moves ahead of the community, present in distant places and daily life, calling people to embody mercy, self-giving, and courage.

Liturgical responses—affirmation of faith, prayer, the Lord’s Prayer, and an offering—translate the resurrection’s reality into communal worship and mission. The closing benediction sends people with confidence that the living Lord accompanies them before, behind, beside, and within, providing guidance and peace. The overall thrust centers on a living God who defeats death, reorients fear into faithful obedience, and commissions a church that carries resurrection life into a fractured world.

Key Takeaways

1. Fear and joy can coexist Fear does not always vanish at revelation; the women depart “with fear and great joy.” Resurrection does not promise a life devoid of anxiety but reorders suffering so that fear no longer dictates choices. The call is to move—imperfectly, tentatively—because God’s action precedes emotional clarity. [37:16]
2. Rejoice as a commanded response The risen one issues “Rejoice” not merely as consolation but as vocational posture. Joy becomes a discipline that resists fear’s sovereignty and grounds witness in gratitude and courage. This joy orients moral imagination toward generosity and risk, shaped by the reality of God’s victory over death. [38:55]
3. Go and tell: witness as obedience Encounter with the risen Christ issues an imperative to proclaim and embody good news. Witness involves testimony and tangible mercy, confronting systems of scarcity and hostility with self-giving love. Proclamation proves substantive when accompanied by acts that mirror the risen life. [30:24]
4. God goes ahead of the people The resurrection affirms that God precedes the community into uncertain places—Galilee, cities, nations, and ordinary days. That ahead-of-us presence turns mission from anxious searching into following a guide who has already broken ground. Trust grows not from absence of danger but from the promise that the Lord walks before and within. [41:35]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[24:17] - Jeremiah: Promise of Restoration
[28:48] - Opening Prayer and Invocation
[29:32] - Gospel: The Resurrection Narrative
[31:11] - Reflection: Launches and Expectation
[33:19] - Light, Sound, and the Tomb
[36:19] - Angelic Message and Fear
[38:55] - Rejoice: A Commanded Response
[40:51] - Commission: Go and Tell
[41:35] - The Risen One Goes Ahead
[42:13] - Easter Affirmation of Faith
[50:19] - Offering and Sending
[53:56] - Benediction and Charge

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 been raised, 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

What details in the passage describe the angel’s appearance and actions?
How did the women respond emotionally when they left the tomb?
What specific instructions did the angel give the women?
What did Jesus say to the women when he met them? [30:54]

Interpretation questions

Why do you think the angel told the women “Do not be afraid” even when the situation was clearly terrifying?
What does it mean that the women felt “fear and great joy” at the same time? How can those emotions coexist? [37:16]
Jesus said, “He is going before you to Galilee.” What might it signify that Jesus was already ahead of his followers? [41:35]
Why did Jesus command his followers to “go and tell” others rather than keep the news to themselves? [30:24]

Application questions

When have you experienced a situation where you felt both fear and joy at the same time? How did you respond?
Jesus’ first words after rising were “Rejoice!” [38:55] How can you practice choosing joy, especially in moments when you feel anxious or afraid?
The resurrection wasn’t just good news to keep—it was meant to be shared. [40:18] Who is one person you can tell about the hope you have because of Jesus’ victory over death?
Jesus goes ahead of us into our everyday places—work, home, and community. [41:35] How does knowing Jesus is already there change the way you face ordinary or difficult situations?
The women were told not to let fear guide their actions. What’s one step you can take this week to follow Jesus even when you feel afraid?
How can you “be the good news” [41:18] in practical ways—through kindness, mercy, or courage—in your relationships this week?
The resurrection shows that God’s love is stronger than death. Where in your life do you most need to believe that truth right now?

Sermon Clips

36s

#RisenInLove

“Tell everyone, Jesus says, that God has beaten death. Tell everyone that the church of Jesus Christ will not be directed by fear or hatred, but instead by self giving and self sacrificing love. Tell everyone that Jesus is on the move, that his spirit cannot be contained or locked in. Behold, we go. We go with fear and great joy.”

27s

#JesusEverywhere

“Go and find my people. Go and find my disciples and tell them. Tell them that I am already out ahead of them, that I am in Galilee and I am in Beaufort, that I am in Ukraine and also Iran, that I am in Israel and I am in Palestine. Take my good news and tell my good news and be my good news.”

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Go and Tell: Resurrection Overcomes Fear and Death

Devotional

Day 1: God’s love is an everlasting and faithful love.

Day 2: Encountering God’s presence can be both terrifying and joyful.

Day 3: Jesus meets us in our journey and commands us to rejoice.

Day 4: We are sent to go and tell the good news of resurrection.

Day 5: Our lives are shaped by Christ’s love, not by our fear.

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Go and Tell: Resurrection Overcomes Fear and Death

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