Word of Salvation – Vol.37 No.15 – April 1992

 

Jesus Visits His Disciples

 

Sermon by Rev. W. Wiersma on Matthew 28:9,10

 

Dear Brothers and sisters in Christ,

What we should celebrate today is the great love of the Lord Jesus for his disciples.  A love that triumphed over death.

Think of it!  What is the first thing Jesus did after he rose from the dead?  He went to visit his people in order to cheer them up.

After his resurrection, Jesus continued to do what he had been doing right up to the time of his death.

He was giving his life for the sheep.

Did you know that it is very hard, if not impossible, to say much about the resurrection of Jesus without saying much about the Lord Jesus himself?

The resurrection on its own is too simple and straightforward to make a whole sermon about.

O, I know that lots of sermons have been preached on the resurrection.  Many books have been written on the subject of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  But what they do, or try to do, is to explain why the resurrection could happen or did not happen.

But the Bible give us no cause whatsoever to argue about the resurrection.

It simply tells us that the resurrection took place.  It happened.

Jesus rose from the dead; he took up his life again, as he had said he would.  He left the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea in which he had been buried.

Now, admittedly, that is a hard fact to grasp.  Because resurrections from the dead are rather scarce.

Even Jesus’ own disciples, whom he had so carefully prepared for his death and resurrection could not grasp it intellectually.  His teaching went in one ear and out the other.

When the angel in the empty tomb told the women, that Jesus was not there, they ran away in confusion.

In verse 8 we read that they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy to report it to his disciples.

And when those women reported to the disciples what they had seen and heard, the disciples reacted in disbelief.

In Luke we read that the women’s words appeared to the disciples as nonsense, and they would not believe them.

It is very hard to believe something that you have always considered to be impossible.

The Lord Jesus must have known this.  He certainly went out of His way to convince his followers of his resurrection.

And what better way than to visit them in person.

As Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Mary the mother of James were hurrying from the tomb to tell the disciples what they had seen and what the angel had told them, Jesus met them and said: ‘Hello!’

I imagine there must have been a twinkle in our Lord’s eyes as he greeted those women.

His first word to them was the most ordinary of everyday greeting.  The sort of thing we say to each other in casual meeting.

Jesus loved these ladies.  He very much appreciated their care and the faithfulness they had shown right through his suffering.  Jesus knew they had been told he was alive.  He was also aware of their fear.

So when he met them he said, Hi! – as if to say: Here I am.  Good to see you!

Well, what a meeting that was.

The women could not believe their eyes.  They were utterly surprised.  And as the truth dawned on them they were ecstatic, overjoyed.  They fell to their knees, took hold of his feet, which was the closest they dared to come and gave him a hug.

So you are alive, Lord.  O, it is good to see you.  Please don’t ever leave us again.

And they worshipped Jesus.  They admired and adored him.  But I think it means more.  They worshipped Jesus because something clicked; their eyes were opened.

In the words of St. Paul, by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus was declared with power to be the Son of God.

In Luke we read that the angel at the tomb had started them thinking.  The angel had asked, “Why do you seek the living among the dead.  He is not here.  He is risen!  Remember how he spoke to you while he was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified and the third day rise again.”  And, we read, they (the women) remembered his words.

And as they sped from the tomb, those women probably wondered: Why did we not think of that before?

And now, here he was.  They could see and touch him.

Jesus is RISEN!  He is ALIVE!

And as they got new glimpses of who Jesus really is, they worshipped him.  They trembled to think that they were face to face with GOD.

Is that not why Jesus said to them, Fear not, do not be afraid!  What a marvellous word to hear from the Saviour.  Fear not!

What shouldn’t they fear?

Fear not Jesus himself.  Don’t be afraid of him who has the ability to lay down his life and take it up again.

Fear not, because of the slowness of your heart and mind.

Fear not, says Jesus.  I love you.  I have laid down my life for you.  And I am alive.

Do you know what that means?  It means that Jesus has conquered sin and death.

It means that the Father is satisfied with the sacrifice of love which Jesus has brought for the atonement of our sins.

Jesus lives!  Sin has been paid for.

Sin has lost its hold on Jesus and on all who belong to him.

That is the glorious message of Jesus to his awed and frightened followers.  Fear not.  Do not be afraid.

Yes, you have done many things wrong.  You have every reason to be afraid because of your sinful behaviour.

Still Jesus says, be not afraid, for our Saviour knows what he has done and accomplished on the cross and by his resurrection from the dead.  Listen to what he says to those delighted, trembling women.

“Go tell my brothers to leave for Galilee and there they will see me.”  Tell my BROTHERS!  That’s the disciples.

That’s those men who deserted Jesus in his hour of need.

My brothers, Jesus calls them.

No matter what they might have called themselves, now or later, Jesus calls them ‘brothers’.

Not a word of rebuke, but a word of love, a word of rehabilitation.  A word of encouragement

Tell them not to be afraid of me, says Jesus.

What a glorious task those sisters were given.

Jesus told them to let him go.  He gave them an order – and they became the first evangelists.  Or as Matthew Henry put it, they became the apostles to the apostles.

Was it because they had been more steadfast than their brothers?  Was it because women are often more wholehearted in faith and love to the Lord?

Was it so that through these women the Lord wished to prepare his disciples before he came to them in person?

Whatever the case, our Lord gave his spiritual sisters the privilege of the first meeting with him after his resurrection.

And he gave the women the honour of telling the church the Good News of Christ’s victory over sin and death.

The only word of reproach that we read of is the word of Jesus to the disciples, which we find in Mark’s gospel, “…and afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at the table, and he reproached them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen him after he had risen.”

But even that did not stop the Lord from using them to tell all the world that Jesus Christ IS RISEN from the dead.

He is the Son of God who came that we might not perish but have everlasting life.

Jesus LIVES.

And he says to all who believe in him:

Fear not, I have the keys of death and Hades, and I give life to all who know me.’

AMEN