On the front page of
Matthew’s Gospel, he reaches into ages past and measures the family tree of
Joseph. He then connects him to the virgin, Mary, and makes it clear that the
Messiah did not come through Joseph. The tracking of Joseph is intended to
bring us to Mary. The virgin mother of our Lord is the one selected by Joseph
and God. She was a double choice. Joseph wanted her as a wife; God chose her as
the mother of His Son.
Matthew takes Jesus out of the
womb of Mary and enables us to follow Him through the land of God’s people,
watching Him work miracles and teach wonders of truth until, on the last page
of his Gospel, he takes Him out of the tomb and the grip of death to reveal to
us the purpose of life on Planet Earth.
In Matthew’s
Gospel, we have the description of a Christian given before the resurrected
Christ is even seen by human eyes. Through three simple commands, we are given
a definition of a Christian. The Christian life begins at the edge of a
disaster. The conviction of “lostness” is the first
step toward redemption. The awareness of our damnation is the sword of Damocles
that hangs over our head that causes us to reach out to Jesus. No fear – no
salvation, it is as simple as that!
From the command to not fear,
the believer receives an immediate invitation to come and experience. The angel
invited them to move from fear at the sight of the empty tomb to faith in the
risen Lord. Our faith swallows up our fear and produces with it the joy of the
Lord. We move ever so swiftly from panic to pursuit. From the temptation to run
from, we are transformed by the determination to walk with, and stay close by
the One Who has fully paid for our sin.
The feeling of judgment is pushed
into the bottomless canyon of eternal damnation and replaced with justification
and the awareness that there is now no condemnation in us because we are in
Christ, and He has granted us eternal forgiveness. In an instant, the pain of
conviction is transformed into peace that exceeds explanation.
Following the command to “fear
not” and the invitation to “come and see,” we are given the command to “go and
tell.” There must be a rationale for our being here. If God knows the pressures
of this fallen world, why does He leave us in them? If He has power to
intervene, why does He not? Why do the righteous suffer and the wicked, at
times, go unhindered? The answer is that this is a time for faith, and faith
demands mystery by its very nature.
Christians are called to trust
and obey, and obedience includes announcing the good news. The good news is
that Christ has risen, and salvation can now be freely offered to whoever will
believe. We are called to announce. How do we do that? There are many ways. We shall look at a few in the message today.
Matthew
28:1-7
1. The fears
2.
The fears
3.
The fear
II. Come and See
1. A willingness
2.
A decision
3. A determination
III. Go and Tell
1. Going is
2.
Going is
3. Going is