The day after the death of Jesus, The chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate, and said, ‘Sir, we remember that when He was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I am to rise again.’ Therefore, give orders for the grave to be made secure until the third day, otherwise His disciples may come and steal Him away and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first’ (Matt. 27:62-64).
This would have been the Sabbath, Saturday, which did not end until sundown (Saturday evening). Not only was it the Sabbath — it was Passover Sabbath, one of the holiest days of the Jewish year. When the priests and Pharisees went to Pilate, a Gentile, they were violating the Sabbath laws. These men who had so viciously persecuted Jesus for violating traditional laws, including Sabbath laws, now do the very thing for which they condemned Christ. This reveals the measure of their hatred of Jesus, their fear of Him, and their own personal hypocrisy.
Their fear is based on Jesus’ promise that He would rise from the dead. It is not that they place any faith in this, but they are afraid that the disciples of Jesus will come and steal His body, then claim a resurrection, And the last deception will be worse than the first.
Pilate said to them, ‘You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you know how.’ And they went and made the grave secure, and along with the guard they set a seal on the stone (Matt. 27:65,66).
They set a guard at the tomb. The stone, being quite heavy, ran on a track and fit into the mouth of the tomb and now they also set a seal on the stone. They went and made the grave secure. So it would seem: sealed and guarded.
But of course, it was not secure against the purpose of Almighty God. Who can bind God? In Acts 2:24 we read, And God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.
Jesus Christ rose from the dead.
The Resurrection of Jesus
After Jesus ate a final meal with His disciples, they moved from the upper room to the Mount of Olives. Along the way, Jesus prophesied that He would be struck down and they would all abandon Him before the night was over. Then He said, But after I have been raised, I will go ahead of you to Galilee (Matthew 26:32). In the hours before His death, Jesus had no doubt that the Father would raise Him from the dead.
In fact, it was impossible that Jesus, by whom, through and for whom all things were created (Colossians 1:16), would be held captive by death. It was impossible that Jesus, in whom all things hold together (Col. 1:17), who upholds the universe by His word of power (Hebrews 1:3), would be consumed by death.
It is impossible that death could contain the One of whom it is said, All things came into being through Him and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life (John 1:3,4).
How could the tomb hold Him? The stones of that tomb consisted, at their molecular level, by the sovereign expression of God’s creative, sustaining purpose and power in Christ. It was impossible that mere stones would hold captive their Creator.
The resurrection of Jesus took place in the context of humanity’s rejection and hatred of God in human flesh. He came to His own and those who were His own did not receive Him (John 1:11). There were a few men and women who recognized their Messiah and worshipped Him. But many were too blinded by religious prejudice or simply by the cares of this world.
However, there were some who did recognize Jesus as the Messiah but rejected Him, not because they misunderstood or disbelieved the truth about His identity but because they loved darkness and hated the light. They knew who Jesus was and when He rose again, they did not doubt His resurrection. They did not believe in Him but they did not doubt the truth.
Note the criminal desperation of the power brokers. They used a traitor and a bribe to arrest Jesus, violated their own laws in trying Him, lied to and manipulated the Roman Governor to obtain a death sentence and after the resurrection, they bribed the guards to cover it up. How deeply they feared Jesus and the good news which He proclaimed. But they could not cover the truth any more than they could seal the tomb.
The tomb failed to imprison. The lie failed to convince.
The truth prevailed in the heart of all to whom God granted salvation.
If the Easter stories are false, invented by early Christians, they would match in every detail. If a group of people are lying, they want to make sure their lies agree. But these stories do not agree in every detail. Instead, they provide the perspective of different witnesses, each Gospel writer including a rich variety of details based on his own information interpreted as the Holy Spirit inspired him. No one tries to fit it all together in a false or contrived way.
Furthermore, how could the early church have invented a resurrection story? It was beyond their comprehension. The disciples neither expected nor understood the death of Jesus. How much less did they expect or understand the possibility of His resurrection.
Though Christ had often spoken to them about His death and resurrection, the disciples had not believed Him or grasped His meaning (see Mark 9:31,32 for a typical example). They could not equate death with what they knew to be true about Him. They correctly believed Jesus to be the Messiah and the Son of God. It was incomprehensible to them that He would die. While Jesus was setting His course to go to Jerusalem, preparing His soul for the cross, His disciples were competing for positions in what they assumed would be the soon inauguration of the kingdom of God. Even at the last Passover, they were arguing about who would be greatest in the kingdom of God.
If they did not believe Jesus would die, they could not possibly have imagined that He would rise from the dead. On the Mount of Transfiguration, Jesus had stood before Peter, James and John, transfigured in glory, speaking with Elijah and Moses. The shekinah glory of God had overshadowed them all. Afterwards, Jesus directed the apostles not to tell anyone of this experience until He rose from the dead. We read that the three disciples, Seized upon that statement, discussing with one another what rising from the dead meant (Mark 9:9,10).
The disciples were crushed when Jesus died. They had fled for their lives and were entirely disillusioned, terrified and grief-struck. All they believed had been destroyed. The idea that the resurrection of Jesus was invented by the church is absurd. They were not capable of inventing something that was beyond the realm of their faith and imagination. Only a literal, physical resurrection could have broken through their depression, fear and unbelief.
Hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus, David the Psalmist wrote, For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol; nor will you allow your Holy One to undergo decay (Psalm 16:10). Peter, preaching on the day of Pentecost only fifty days after the death of Jesus (Acts 2:26-30) and the Apostle Paul, several years later (in Acts 13:25), both interpret this Scripture as prophetically referring to Jesus.
Yet on the night Jesus was arrested, Peter had denied that he even knew the Lord. Broken by his failure of courage, crushed by the death of his Lord, how could he stand and preach with such boldness only seven weeks later? Paul, a violent persecutor of the followers of Jesus, attempting in his rage to destroy every trace of the church, testifies that he encountered the risen Christ on the road to Damascus and then became the great apostle of the gospel.
Why would they have preached with such courage and passion a message that they knew to be false? Why would they have endure such suffering, poured out their witness and died for a gospel which they knew to be a lie? What accounts for the transformation of those two men and the millions of men and women who since then have proclaimed Christ at such a cost to their own lives? Only a truly risen Lord can inspire generations of self-sacrificing messengers and martyrs. The witnesses are many, the testimony is certain. Jesus rose from the dead.
Resurrection Witness: According to Matthew
There are different accounts of the resurrection because different witnesses speaking to different writers provide different perspectives. This is further proof that the church did not invent the resurrection. If these stories were fabricated, the writers would eliminate any discrepancies, would insure that all accounts are in complete harmony. Instead, we have a rich variety of detail which, when they are combined, give a clear account of the resurrection of Jesus.
In Matthew 28:1-10 we read one narrative.
28:1 Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to the tomb. We know from Mark and Luke that there were other women present also. They had witnessed Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus wrapping the body of Jesus in linen cloths and spices and had followed as Jesus was placed in a tomb. But they may have believed that the burial preparations had been incomplete because of the lateness of the hour.
Jesus had died on Friday afternoon. By the time Joseph had obtained permission from the Roman governor to bury Jesus, and by the time they had removed Jesus from the cross and transported Him to the tomb, it was late. The Sabbath began at sundown on Friday and no work could be done until the sun set on Saturday.
So on Saturday evening the women had purchased burial spices and ointments (Mark 16:1). It is the first day of the week now and they are coming to add their personal act of devotion to Christ’s burial. They are not coming to witness a resurrection but to honor the body of their Lord.
28:2,3 A severe earthquake had occurred and an angel of the Lord had rolled the stone away from the mouth of the tomb. The past tense verb, had occurred, makes it sound as if the earthquake and the moving of the stone happened prior to the arrival of the women. However, as they came close, they saw an angel sitting on the stone and his appearance was like lightning and his clothing as white as snow. The angel radiated the glory of God, having just come from the presence of God.
We must note that the angel did not roll the stone away to let Jesus out. In His glorified body, Christ was not bound by dimensions of time, space or matter and had the ability to pass through walls (see John 20:19). The stone was rolled away so that the women and the apostles could see that the tomb was empty. We must also note that Luke and John record the presence of two angels. Matthew and Mark record only the angel who spoke.
28:4 The guards shook with fear. The word shook derives from the same root as the word earthquake. The guards were experiencing their own personal seismic event. They also became like dead men. Tough, combat hardened veterans fainted, so great was their terror. This is not an imaginary event. It is so real that strong soldiers are collapsing.
28:5,6 The angel testifies that Jesus has risen and invites the women to come and see the empty tomb. (From John’s account, it seems that Mary Magdalen left to tell the apostles as soon as she saw the stone rolled away but before she heard the announcement of the angel).
28:7-9 The angel commands the remaining women to go and tell the disciples that Jesus has risen. As they make their way back to Jerusalem, Jesus meets them. They recognize Him and fall down and worship Him for now they know with certainty that the Lord has risen. They have heard the message of the angels. They have seen the empty tomb. But above all else, they have met and worshipped the risen Lord Himself. That which they could not imagine or believe is now established reality and they are witnesses.
28:10 Jesus commissions them, Go and take the word to My brethren.
Notice the immediacy of their commission. Surely, in the coming years, they will grow in wisdom and knowledge and faith. But their commission to go and bear witness is not someday. It is this day. They have met the risen Lord and are immediately commissioned to share the good news. Their qualification to be witnesses is their experience of the risen Christ.
This same commission is given to all who have encountered the risen Lord: “Go and proclaim.” You have met the living Christ? Then you are a messenger. You do not understand as much today as you will someday but go now and bear witness. It is not your someday knowledge that qualifies you. It is your present experience that qualifies you to say: “He is alive and He has met me on my journey!”
Notice also that though the disciples had failed their Lord, abandoned Him, denied Him and had hidden themselves behind locked doors, Jesus still refers to them as My brethren. Truly, as the writer to the Hebrews said, He is not ashamed to call us brethren (Hebr. 2:11). In our own times of failure, let us remember that the risen Christ will never forsake us.
Resurrection Witness: According to Mark
In the Gospel of Mark 16:1-11 we read the following account:
Mark 16:1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might come and anoint Him
On Friday the women had witnessed the burial of Jesus (Matt. 27:59-61). Then, Saturday night, as soon as the Sabbath was ended, they had purchased burial spices. Now, Sunday morning, they are coming to express their love for their Lord by completing His burial preparations. We may assume that other women accompanied them as they set out for the tomb.
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6:2 Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.
Mark says that it was very early but adds that the sun had risen. He may mean that it is immediately following sunrise, though the morning light may have been obscured by the surrounding hills.
16:3 The women were wondering, Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb? They had no idea that it had been sealed or that a guard had been posted. They did know that a stone had been rolled against the entrance and it would be too heavy for them. But they courageously pressed on, intent on honoring Jesus. They were expecting only to minister to a lifeless body. There was no expectation of a resurrection.
16:4 They arrive at the tomb to find that the stone has been rolled away. Mark does not mention the soldiers fallen and unconscious on the ground, nor does he tell us of the women’s reaction to them nor to the stone, broken from its seal and moved from the mouth of the tomb. Surely they were exceedingly amazed and afraid.
16:5 Entering the tomb, they encounter a young man ... wearing a white robe. From the other accounts, we know that this was an angel taking the form of a man. Mark notes only the angel who speaks, though Luke and John tell us there were two.
As we have said, Mary Magdalen must have left to tell the apostles as soon as she saw the stone rolled away but before she heard the angel speak. The remaining women were surely astonished to find someone alive in the tomb. How much greater their wonder when this messenger spoke.
16:6 Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him.
Behold means look — the place where their Lord was laid was empty. Furthermore, it is not empty because someone stole the body. It is empty because He is not dead — He has risen.
16:7 The messenger instructs them to Go, tell the disciples and Peter. They are commissioned to go and be witnesses.
16:8 They went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
This is not an invented story, a legend or a lie. It is an event so unexpected, so incredulous, that the women are gripped with trembling and astonishment. They fled from the tomb, saying nothing to anyone on the way back to Jerusalem but on their return, according to Matthew, they are met by the risen Lord (Matt. 28:8,9).
Resurrection Witness: According to Luke
In the Gospel of Luke 24:1-12 we read the following account.
24:1 At early dawn, they came bringing spices. Luke does not identify who they are until verse ten, at which point we are told that they are Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James and the other women. Again, note that they are carrying spices to anoint a lifeless body for proper burial, not expecting a resurrected Savior.
24:2-4 Arriving at the tomb, they find the stone has been rolled away. When they enter, they do not find the body of Jesus. Instead, they encounter two men in dazzling clothing. Luke calls them men, but their brilliant appearance is similar to Matthew’s description (28:2,3) of an angel. John also identifies them as angels (20:12). In other words, they are angels appearing in human form. Though there are two angels, only one spoke, which explains the emphasis of Matthew and Mark on the one angel.
24:5-7 As the women bow in terror, one angel asks, Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here but He has risen. They remind the women of the words of Jesus that He must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. Notice the words, must be. It was necessary that Jesus be crucified or no one could have entered the kingdom of God. A sacrificed Lamb was necessary to redeem lost sinners.
Notice also the certainty of the resurrection — and the third day rise again. A risen Lord was as necessary as a crucified Lamb. If Jesus had not risen from the dead, then sin and death would have been His conquerors which means that His sacrifice had no effect and no one would have been redeemed. But the wonderful truth is that Jesus did rise, conqueror of sin and death.
Notice that the women had to be reminded of the teaching on resurrection. This could not have been a story anyone devised to add credibility to a struggling young church. No one had any expectation of resurrection nor did they even remember that Jesus had told them He would rise until the angels quickened their memory.
24:8,9 Remembering Jesus’ words, they went and reported these things to the disciples.
Where were the disciples? They were hiding, not outside the tomb nor in the Garden of Gethsemane awaiting the risen Jesus. They were not prepared to greet Him because they did not expect to meet Him.
From Matthew’s account, we know that Jesus appeared to the women, except for Magdalene, as they returned to Jerusalem (Matt. 28:8,9). When we factor in John’s account of these events, we know that Mary Magdalene had been with the women, had left when she saw the empty tomb, taking the news of the empty tomb to the disciples.
Or it’s possible that Magdalen had left Jerusalem a bit earlier and from a different part of the city. Therefore, she had arrived ahead of the others and had already left.
24:10,11 Whereas Mary Magdalen had brought the news that the tomb was empty, the other women have the testimony of the angels that Christ has risen and (according to Matthew) they have the testimony of Jesus Himself. But the disciples are unbelieving.
24:12 When Peter heard the news, either from Mary Magdalen earlier or now from the other women, he ran to the tomb. In fact, he had probably already left, with John. We read that story in John’s Gospel which we will look at in the next lesson.
Jesus gave His life for us, embracing our sin, our curse, our judgment and our death as the holy Lamb for sinners slain. But it was impossible that death could hold Him. God the Father raised Jesus out of death as the visible vindication of the holy sacrifice.
The witnesses are many. Their testimony is true. We serve a risen Savior.