Matthew 28: 1-15 in the ESV Bible says, “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.”

While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we were asleep.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.”

Dear brothers and sisters, peace be to everyone. I am very happy to meet everyone again! Today, we are discussing the final part of Ancient Teachings for Modern Man on the Gospel of Resurrection.

In Christianity, the death and resurrection of Jesus is the crux of the content and the foundation of the gospel. Jesus died for the sinners so that our sins are forgiven. Through His resurrection, our sins are truly forgiven and we have absolute confidence in the hope for eternity as death is defeated.

If Jesus has not resurrected, it depicted the scenario of a holy, kind and righteous man being crucified on the cross as a result of unscrupulous means of the unrighteous people. On the other hand, Jesus responded to those who had persecuted and harmed Him with a generous and kind heart. Inevitably, the crucifixion on the cross is a moving story despite its tragedy.

In the same way, if Jesus is not resurrected, all that the humans have toiled for are futile, including our strivings, contributions and good works. Death becomes the ultimate winner in history. However, this does not match the sense of justice that is embedded in the inner recesses of human hearts. What kind of justice? That is, the good will be rewarded but the evil will have their retributions. If they do not have retributions, it is not yet time for it.

Just like in a particular Chinese film – at the start, the good and evil people were killing one another. In the end, all the good people were killed by the evil people. However, a servant escaped from the cruel place, carrying a child and brought him to Shaolin Monastery. 25 years later, this child descended from the mountain for revenge. He met the evil guy and managed to kill him. End of the show! On the contrary, if the last episode was about the evil person killing the good one, you might leave the cinema, thinking in your heart, “How can there be such a movie? There must be a third sequel to it.” as we cannot accept such a conclusion.

In the same way, death is scary and is a tragedy in history as it does not have a good ending. We cannot accept death. However, the final conclusion in history is that death is the ultimate winner and human life will be devoured. This is what we cannot accept in the natural law as death is the ultimate, not life.

On the contrary, today, we mention about the resurrection of Jesus. It says that the final conqueror is not death but life. Just as it was stated in 1 Corinthians 15: 55-57, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Dear brothers and sisters, today, let us explore together the Bible passage in Matthew 28: 1-15 about the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Who were the first to discover the empty tomb? How were their feelings or reactions?

Firstly, we will explore this Bible passage – who were the first to discover the empty tomb? How were their feelings or reactions? Very clearly, the two women were the first to find out the empty tomb – Mary Magdalene and ‘the other Mary’ who was the mother of James and Joseph (please refer to Matthew 27:56). When these two women came to the tomb of Jesus, something strange happened; they saw an earthquake and a shining angel (verses 2 and 3). Naturally, they were startled. Therefore, the angel comforted them, saying: “Do not be afraid!” (verse 5).

Dear brothers and sisters, if you walk past the cemetery one day and suddenly, a bright light shines on you, would you be afraid? Being fearful is a natural reaction. However, the angel comforted them and said: “Do not be afraid!” According to what was recorded in the book of John, they thought that Jesus’ body was removed by other people (John 20: 2, 8&9). Thus, they were not only afraid, but also could not understand why someone would take away Jesus’ body.

What did the angels say to them? What was the purpose?

Later, the angels said something to them. What was it? What was its purpose? Verses 5 to 7 in the Bible passage clearly tell us that the purpose was to tell them that Jesus was resurrected. First of all, the angels wanted them to recall what Jesus once said to them – that He would resurrect from death. The Word of God strengthened their faith. What the angel had told them was according to what Jesus once mentioned to them so they believed in Jesus’words.

Secondly, the angel wanted them to see that the tomb where the Lord was laid was empty – Jesus’ body was not there for He was resurrected. When they entered the place, they could not see Jesus’ body. Why did the angel tell them to come and see the place? Strictly speaking, the angel wanted them to witness the resurrection of Jesus. The purpose of the angel rolling back the stone was not to let Jesus get out but rather it was for the women to enter the place. Jesus was resurrected so He could get out. Therefore, upon seeing it, the women could witness the great and historical event of the resurrection of Jesus. Dear brothers and sisters, this is what was described in the Bible passage.

Would you greatly rejoice that Jesus, whom you believe in, is the resurrected Lord? Why?

The women greatly rejoiced and were very joyful when they knew that Jesus had resurrected (verse 8). Would you greatly rejoice knowing that Jesus whom you believe in was the resurrected Lord? Why?

Dear brothers and sisters, when a person has walked to the end of his life, facing imminent death, it would be a joyful thing if he can have hope in life. When these two disciples of Jesus discovered that Jesus was resurrected from death and His body was not there, the angel verified what Jesus had once told them so it was inevitable that they rejoice. This showed that Jesus, whom we believe in, is not only the great Holy One, but also the true God as only the life of God can overcome death whereas human lives will end in death. Jesus died and is triumphant over death. He was resurrected because He is not only the great Holy One, a teacher with surpassing morals, but also the incarnated God.

Secondly, the resurrected Lord lives forever so He can be with us forever. Just like what was said in the Bible, He will be “with us always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20). There is no saying greater than this! When our loved ones leave us, they are gone forever so the proverb aptly puts it, “The owner’s departure leaves the house vacant.” Many of those, whom we hope to be always with us, soon leave us one after another – our dear father, mother, grandfather and grandmother. If the Lord can be with us forever, to love and protect us, it is comforting! Therefore, this is the reason that the women greatly rejoice.

Thirdly, it speaks of Jesus conquering death. From today, all who believe in Him are no longer afraid of death. On the contrary, their hearts are filled with hope, waiting for the eternal home. Just like what was written in the Bible “(He) delivers all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.” (Hebrews 2:15). Having such hope, Paul said, “My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.” (Philippians 1:23)

There was a sister-in-Christ named Su En Pei, a scholar. Her life testimony on the day before the surgery to remove cancerous growth was beyond comprehension. As we have hope in Jesus’ resurrection, we could understand her feelings. She had once written a book ‘Death, Don’t Be Arrogant’. She described the episode of facing death in her book. She said: “The strange thing is that I am not afraid. Actually, it is normal to be fearful but where does my sense of peace come from? Before I am pushed into the operation room for anesthesia, I only have a simple thought: ‘Immediately, I will lose consciousness. When I awake, there are two possibilities. I will either be on this side of the river or the other side. Both can be equally good. Of course, I am willing to return to this side where I have my dear family and friends. However, if I am awake and on the other side, there will be thousands of angels welcoming me into the bosom of the heavenly Father. I will see the face of my Savior God and beloved little sister…’ Therefore, I realize that I am confident of having eternal life and am not fearful of death. This is the first time that I am at the brink of death but it is not scary. It can even be amazingly beautiful.” Dear brothers and sisters, this was such a beautiful description!

Sooner or later, we will face death. We can live till 90 years old but some will only live till 40, 30 or even 20 years old. We cannot comprehend death. Its arrival may not be ferocious. At times, it is very mild but you cannot resist such a mild force. I will have to leave with it if it has come to take me away.

We earnestly pray to the heavenly Father to help us know very clearly how to face death. Not with natural unrestraint, just like how Socrates faced death with serenity and courage in the past. In addition, we need to have confidence and not be afraid of death as death is already defeated when we are in Jesus Christ. We need to have confidence that there is no fear in death. I say again, it is not about the skills of confronting death but having the faith to overcome death. May the Lord bless you with eternal hope in Jesus.

Let us pray together.

Dear heavenly father, we thank you for sending your only son Jesus Christ to the world to die for our sins on the cross. The wages of sin is death but you have borne the curse of death for us. You are the eternal God who was incarnated in this world. You had triumphed over death on the third day as you have eternal life. You have resurrected and provided a new breakthrough, a new direction in human history so that we can progress towards eternal life instead of death. We have absolute confidence in you. This is great news, the Gospel of resurrection that we urgently need. We pray that the Lord will touch our spirits to approach you, accept you into our lives and receive the eternal hope. We pray in the holy name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.