Just Wait, You'll See He's Not There :: Matthew 27:57-66

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All these things you’ve heard are laid to rest because he who suffered and died on a cross has been laid to rest. All of this Scripture and so much more has been fulfilled. The Lord who rested after making the heavens and the earth, now rests from his work of redemption. The Lord has remembered his covenant. He has washed away the sin we brought upon creation. The Lord has blessed us all: Delivering his people ... you ... from the bondage of sin and death for the purpose of leading you into the Promised Land. He has accomplished salvation for you by being crucified on the Tree of Death, the cross, for the sins of the world. He has sprinkled clean water upon you, and given you a new heart and a new spirit, and now he is gathering us together to restore the fortunes he has prepared for you. Tonight we are seeing the end of death and the beginning of new life. For I know that my Redeemer lives. He has brought all of us through the fire and is granting us protection to boldly confess his holy name. 

I. And I can hardly wait. 

When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance and the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there (vv 57-61). You could say they were waiting. Like the chief priests and Pharisees, they heard what Jesus had said. The Son of Man will be raised on the third day (Mt 20:19). 

II And so now we wait for the morning. 

After the long night of darkness and death, the long night of tears and sorrow, the long night of fear and anguish, will there be joy? Will we really see new life? 

So much lies in the balance as the Holy One lies in the grave. It’s as though the whole world is holding its breath to learn the answer to the most dramatic and important question ever asked. Is this all there is? The world doesn’t want to believe what is to come. The world around you might be willing to acknowledge that Jesus did in fact die on a cross and that he was buried. But they don’t see the point in waiting for the Son to rise. Death, they say, is the end. The Nihilist says there’s nothing more after that. 

III Oh, but just wait! 

It wasn’t any man who died on the cross. Our Lord Jesus isn’t just any man. He is the Lord of all creation. He is the beginning and the end. You’ll see ... as death came by one man, Adam, so too does new life come by one man, our Lord Jesus. It was necessary that God should live and die for you. And it was just as fitting that he would rest for you. Just wait. You’ll see ... HE IS NOT THERE! ... He is risen. The Light of the World overcomes the darkness of death .... in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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