SERIES FINALE

If you can believe it, this is the final week of our mega series “Follow Me,” exploring the gospel of Matthew. It’s been going off and on since last Easter and it has been awesome. I, for one, have learned so much about what it means to follow Jesus.

We’ve studied stories of Jesus’ incredible love and power. We’ve seen his grace and patience with his disciples, like Peter, who so often miss the point.

And of course, we’ve wrestled with some of the provocative truths Matthew presents of just how “upside-down” Jesus’ kingdom really is. A kingdom where the last are first, where the poor are blessed, and where the humiliating cross of Jesus is actually his glorious throne.

In a world like ours which is obsessed with self, with power, with wealth, and with dominating those we don’t agree with, it has been a humbling invitation to follow Jesus into self-giving love.

Well, today we are returning to where we began the series last Easter - at the resurrection of Jesus. At the end of Matthew’s story and the beginning of our own.

Please turn with me to Matthew 28. While you’re turning there, I’ll pray for us.

AN EMPTY TOMB

At this point in the story, Jesus has been crucified and buried. The disciples are in disarray. Because “How could this happen? We thought he was the one with true authority who God had chosen to rule the world. How could Jesus be dead?” And then we read this:

Matthew 28:1-7

Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to visit the tomb. Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it. His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint. Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying. And now, go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Remember what I have told you.”

Let’s stop there for a moment and talk about some of the details of this passage. First of all, it’s an amazing scene, right? There’s an earthquake, there’s a gleaming angel, there’s fainting guards.

There’s also some fun wordplay in the original Greek. What Matthew literally says is that the guards “shook (the same root word he used for the earthquake - seismos) and became like corpses.” Think about it. These men were there to guard a corpse, but now they’re the ones who look dead while the dead man is alive. Everything you expect is getting flipped on its head.

And then we come to one of the most significant details of this whole passage. The women. It’s another inversion of expectations. These two Marys were the first to see the empty tomb, and, more importantly, they were the first to be given the job of spreading the good news that Jesus is alive.

Why is this a big deal? Because in first century Israel, the testimony of women was not considered trustworthy.

For example, in the Mishnah, the “Oral Torah,” ancient rabbis described the categories of people who couldn’t give testimony at trial: gamblers, slaves, pigeon racers, and women. The Jewish historian Josephus wrote,

“Let the testimony of women not be accepted because of the levity and boldness of their gender.”

-Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews (94 A.D.)

My point is, in a very patriarchal world like theirs, you don’t give important messages to women because no-one will believe them! But it is precisely women that God chooses to entrust with the original good news of the resurrection.

So why choose women? Well, for one thing, while the 12 disciples either betrayed or abandoned Jesus at the crucifixion, the women stuck with him to the end. Matthew tells us that at the cross,

Matthew 27:55

Many women who had come from Galilee with Jesus to care for him were watching from a distance.

They’re still there. That night, as Jesus’ body was placed in the tomb,

Matthew 27:61

Both Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting across from the tomb and watching.

So they remained faithful while others didn’t. That’s one reason. But it’s also because, as we’ve said many, many times in this series, compared to the values of our world, the kingdom of God is “upside down.” It’s topsy turvy.

As Jesus himself said, when his kingdom comes

Matthew 19:30

Many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then.

In the kingdoms of this world, these women were nobodies. Outcasts with no voice. But in the kingdom of God, they had the honor of being the world’s first evangelists.

The first people in history to declare the good news: Our savior lives! Can you imagine the privilege and honor they must have felt?

MET BY JESUS

Let’s keep reading. Obviously after the earthquake and the gleaming angel, Mary and Mary have their jaws on the floor. Their minds are blown. “Jesus is alive?!? He’s not dead anymore?!? What in the world?!?”

But then things get even more jaw-dropping.

Matthew 28:8-10

The women ran quickly from the tomb. They were very frightened but also filled with great joy, and they rushed to give the disciples the angel’s message. And as they went, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they ran to him, grasped his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid! Go tell my brothers to leave for Galilee, and they will see me there.”

I love this moment. The women are rushing back to the city to give the disciples the good news when, out of nowhere, Jesus appears.

In the original Greek we’re told that Jesus greeted them by saying “chairete” which literally means “be glad” or “hail.” Which is kind of an ordinary, mundane greeting for such a momentous event.

It’s almost like they’re running with the most important news of their lives, and Jesus just says something like, “good morning.” “Hey guys!” I love that.

But of course, the women don’t respond in kind. They fall to the ground, grasp Jesus’ feet and worship him.

I know that may seem a little weird, but in that day, touching the feet of someone was a form of deep respect.

In fact, people still do that in India today. When I was in New Delhi, and a big wig would walk through a crowd with their entourage, a bunch of people would often be running up to touch their feet.

The point is, these women are absolutely flabbergasted to see Jesus alive. And their only response is reverence and worship. They are overwhelmed!

And it makes sense why. This was a time of extreme emotion for them. In fact Matthew describes exactly what they were feeling in verse 8. Take a look.

Matthew 28:8

They were very frightened but also filled with great joy.

The joy makes total sense. Their beloved friend and rabbi and Messiah was alive again! But why were they afraid?

Well, the word Matthew uses here is the Greek word

phobos - fear, astonishment, amazement, awe

It’s the root of our word “phobia.” Like having a fear of spiders or something. But the word phobos didn’t just mean being afraid of something.

It also meant being amazed or astonished, or in awe: when you don’t have words to describe what you’re seeing. And my hunch is that it’s those emotions the women were feeling, not fear.

When I was climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, I felt phobos. But it wasn’t like I was scared. I guess, sure. I was a little afraid of falling off the mountain or something.

But mostly I was just in awe. [image: Kilimanjaro 4] Watching the sun rise over clouds 15,000 feet below me? Standing next to an actual glacier and looking down at the African Savannah stretching to the horizon… I was weeping not from fear, but from astonishment. “What in the world?!?”

I was also filled with great joy. I was giddy. I was laughing. It probably had a lot to do with the oxygen deprivation. I was feeling amazement and euphoria and bewilderment… “How is this real?!?” Now I understand why they call it a mountaintop experience.

I think that’s the same the mix of emotions these women were feeling, that Matthew calls “awe and great joy.” It was a mountaintop experience.

Oh, but look where he says that. Verse 8. That’s before they had even encountered the risen Christ. They were feeling all of this just at the news that he wasn’t dead. When Jesus suddenly shows up and says, “hey guys!” They drop straight to the ground in worship. Can you blame them?

On Friday evening these women were grieving and weeping as they watched Jesus dying on a cross. And now, on Sunday morning, they are worshipping their risen Lord and entrusted with a world-changing message.

No wonder they were overwhelmed with astonishment and awe and great joy!

So, Jesus sends them on their way with the good news of his resurrection and instructions for the disciples to meet him in Galilee.

They head back to their old stomping grounds, and sure enough, Jesus meets them and presents what is often called the Great Commission, the passage we studied last Easter.

Matthew 28:18-20

Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

And that is how Matthew’s gospel ends. With the resurrected Christ sending his disciples out to all the nations with a message of hope that would change the world.

AWE AND JOY

That’s how Matthew’s story ends. But it’s also where our story begins. “Make disciples of all the nations?” That’s us.

The message of hope and life and joy that began with these two humble women quickly multiplied, until today billions of people around the world and through history have joined those original disciples in following Jesus.

Because Christ took the consequences of our sin on himself on the cross, and because he shattered the gates of death when he arose, we can now live free of our slavery to self. We can be transformed by the grace of God. And we can experience new life both now and forever.

Meanwhile, the “upside down” kingdom of God has continued to spread, as Jesus says in Matthew, like yeast through a big batch of dough: humbling the mighty, elevating the lowly, bringing justice and life and self-giving love to every corner of the earth.

We still have a lot of work to do to see God’s kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. But what a privilege it is that we get to be its agents. That we get to proclaim the same message first spoken two thousand years ago by those humble women. “Jesus is alive!”

This Easter, I want to invite you to feel what they felt as they ran from the empty tomb. I want the resurrection of Jesus to be a mountaintop experience for you. Awe and great joy.

Let’s start with the awe. Maybe all this Jesus stuff has gotten really old and familiar to you over the years. Maybe your faith today looks like just going through the motions but in your heart, it barely moves the needle.

Maybe you only come to church on Christmas and Easter, so you feel like you’ve heard the same two sermons over and over and over again and you’re bored! No shame if that’s you. But what if this was the moment that began to change?

If you’ve felt apathy or indifference in your faith, what if today you let the jaw-dropping reality of Christ’s love bring you back to a place of astonishment? Of awe.

Take a moment and think of all the ways that you have rejected the good desires of God in your life: with selfishness, hatred, violence, injustice, lust, greed… God offered you paradise and you spit in his face. That’s what sin is!

And yet, do you realize that his love for you hasn’t wavered for a moment? That you could be the most reprehensible person on earth and yet he still adores you and gave his life for you. That level of grace and mercy should take your breath away!

Think of it this way. Jesus’ disciples literally abandoned him in his moment of greatest anguish. Right? Peter denied even knowing Jesus to save his own skin. And yet what did Jesus call them just moments after he rose?

Matthew 28:10

Go tell my brothers to leave for Galilee…

From betrayers to brothers in a matter of moments. That is the grace of Jesus Christ on display, and he offers the same grace to you. That should leave your jaw on the floor with awe. “What in the world?!?”

God is wild about you. He adores you. And he is offering you a second chance, a third chance, a fourth chance… to come home. The time for idleness and apathy is over. The time for astonishment has begun.

So has the time for joy. Let me talk to another group of people here today. Those of you who feel like nobodies right now.

In a world seemingly full of wealth and beauty and celebrity and power you feel forgotten, ugly, unimportant, and alone. You look at your empty bank account or your meager social media following… you think about your anxiety or your disability or your addiction or your body dysmorphia… and you wonder if you have any value at all.

If that’s you, I want to remind you that the two Marys in our story were nobodies in their world as well. Luke’s gospel tells us that Mary Magdalene was once demon possessed. These women were outcasts. Unimportant. They couldn’t even be trusted to testify in court.

And yet these were the people Jesus chose for a role of spectacular honor. The world’s first evangelists. Jesus entrusted the news of his resurrection to nobodies. Why? Because his kingdom is upside down. As he says himself earlier in the gospel,

Matthew 5:3-5

God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted. God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.

If you feel like a nobody today, I’ve got great news. The kingdom of God is for you.

Jesus came because of his great love for you. Do you hear me? Our God is crazy about you. He delights in you. He’s proud of you.

Just like these two Marys at the empty tomb, you matter to Jesus. And he has a role for you to play in his mission to heal this broken world.

The time for shame is over. The time for great joy has begun.

God delights in you. What if this Easter you started living like that was true?