Does Easter Bring You Fear or Joy?

Matthew 28:1-10

Easter Sunday  -  16 April 2017

Rev. John Derme

Do you ever experience fear? I'm not talking about, "I'm afraid it's going to rain on us today," kind of fear. I'm talking about when you are genuinely frightened about something that is happening or will happen to you in the future. Do you ever experience joy? I'm not talking about, "Oh, I'm so happy that the weather is nice today," kind of joy. I'm talking about pure, exhilarating, lasting joy that wells up inside of you and overflows.

If you are paying attention to what Easter is all about, you will experience either real fear or real joy today. Some people don't pay too much attention to this holiday, of course. But if you understand what this day means, then Easter will cause one of these two reactions in you. Which will it be for you? Does Easter bring you fear or joy?

On the first Good Friday, after he died on the cross, Jesus' dead body was laid in a tomb. A large stone was rolled in front of the entrance to that tomb. On the Saturday afterward, the tomb was sealed shut, and soldiers were assigned to guard it. The Jewish leaders asked the Roman governor Pontius Pilate for soldiers, because they remembered that Jesus had said he would rise from the dead on the third day. They didn't want his disciples to steal the body and claim that Jesus had risen from the dead.

The guards were witnesses of what happened early on Easter morning. There was a great earthquake. An angel came down from heaven, went to the tomb, and rolled the stone away. When they saw the angel, the big, tough soldiers shook with fear and fainted. What did they see that scared them so much? Not only did they see the angel himself, but they also could see into the tomb, and must have noticed that Jesus' body was gone. Jesus didn't need the angel to move the stone so that he could get out. He was already gone from the tomb, and the angel was revealing that for all to see.

After the guards stood up, they ran off. They didn't go back to Pontius Pilate, because Roman soldiers could be executed for leaving their post. They went to the Jewish chief priests, instead. They told them about the angel and the empty tomb. The chief priests bribed them with a large amount of money so that the guards would tell people that the disciples had stolen the body while they were sleeping. Roman soldiers could also be executed for sleeping on the job, but the Jewish leaders promised to keep that from happening. Why would the soldiers lie about what happened? Well, if you had seen an angel and evidence of a resurrection, you would also be afraid if you didn’t know what it was all about. And so you might tell yourself that it never happened.

That is exactly how people who do not know what it is all about cover up Jesus' resurrection today. After all, if Jesus rose from the dead, then he is God and everything he said is true. Then we have to answer to God for what we do and do not do in our lives. If we're not doing what God tells us is right, and if we do not believe what he says is true, then we are in trouble. So people pretend that Jesus didn't really rise and that he isn't really God. That may work to calm their fearful consciences for a while. But the cover-up can only work as long as we are alive. Once we die, we will have to answer to God for our wrongdoing and false beliefs. What will your excuse be ignoring him? At that point, it will be too late to start doing what is right and trusting in him. It won't do you any good to put the fear of Jesus off until then. What does it mean for you that Jesus rose from the dead? Does it bring you fear?

The resurrection has to bring you one of two reactions. If it is not joy, it must be fear. But even if you are fearful now, Jesus can take away your fear and bring you joy.

Those guards had a great opportunity. Jesus would have loved it if they had asked the angel what was going on and heard the good news, instead of running off. Jesus did not want them to be afraid. The women were also afraid, at first. When they came out to Jesus' tomb, they expected that he would still be inside. When they got to the tomb and saw that it was empty, they needed the angel to tell them not to be afraid.

The empty tomb was not a cause for fear, but a reason for joy! The angel told them the good news that Jesus, who had been crucified, was now alive! He told them to share the joy with Jesus' disciples. They still didn't understand everything that was going on. This was amazing, surprising news, and it would take a while for it all to sink in. So they were still afraid. But the angel's message also brought them joy!

They ran off to tell the disciples. On their way, Jesus himself met them. He also said to them, "Do not be afraid." They clasped his feet and worshiped him. And Jesus also sent them to share the joy with others! The women's fear melted away and was replaced with an overwhelming joy. It wasn't just that their friend was alive. That would be news. But even more important, their Lord, their Savior was alive!

This is the best news imaginable not only for them, but also for you. You and I and all people need a living Savior, because when we die, we will all have to answer to God. In our lives, we have not always done what God says is right. Our consciences testify that we have disobeyed his commands. If we don't have a Savior, then we are in trouble and will suffer the punishment that our wrongdoing against God deserves. 

But God doesn't want to punish us. God wants to save us. So he sent his son Jesus to take our place. Throughout his life, Jesus always did what God says is right for us. And he was crucified, executed on a cross, to suffer the punishment for our wrongdoing. Jesus died for us, but he did not stay dead. If he had, we would never know that God the Father accepted the sacrifice he made. We would never know that our sins are forgiven. We would never know that he has overcome death for us. The good news of Easter is that Jesus has risen from the dead, and therefore we know that he is our Savior, that our sins are forgiven, and that he will raise us from the dead and we will live forever! It is true. But don't just take my word for it. Take the women's word for it, because they saw it.

Pretend you've never heard of Jesus before. And you've never heard of such a thing as a resurrection from the dead. Then you hear the report of the women, that a man named Jesus rose from the dead, because he is God. But you also hear the report of the guards, that the disciples stole the body of Jesus while they were sleeping. Which would you believe? You would probably believe the report of the guards, right? It makes so much more sense.

Except that it doesn't. The report of the guards makes absolutely no sense. These were Roman soldiers, the biggest, baddest, toughest men in the whole world. And Jesus' disciples were wimps. They lived in fear that they were going to be killed, just like Jesus was killed. Only one of them came out to the cross while Jesus suffered on it. All of them hid behind locked doors afterward. The soldiers claimed that the disciples were brave enough to come and steal the body, even though they obviously weren't. And if the soldiers hadn't stopped the disciples, because they were sleeping too soundly, then how could they have known that the disciples came?

If the disciples had stolen the body, and they all knew that Jesus wasn't really alive, then why were they all willing in the future to be killed for insisting that Jesus had risen from the dead? People don't withstand torture and death for something they know is a lie. They absolutely believed it. They could not possibly have stolen Jesus' body.

The tomb was empty on Easter Sunday, though. This is a historically undeniable fact. The Bible isn't the only book that says this. There are ancient Jewish sources, which also state this fact. Those Jewish sources also repeat the claim that the disciples stole the body. As we have seen, that cannot be true; it must have been a lie.

Some people will claim that the women meant well, but they didn't really see Jesus alive. They just wanted so badly to see him alive that they all imagined seeing the empty tomb, and the angel, and finally Jesus. But as we've already noticed, it wasn't just the women who saw the empty tomb. The guards and the Jewish leaders also agreed that the tomb was empty. And the women were not at all expecting the resurrection. They were expecting Jesus' dead body to be in the tomb. Is there any explanation possible other than that Jesus rose from the dead?

Even though we might, at first, think that the guards' report makes more sense, it does not. Billions of people have seen the truth in the report of the women. If Jesus had stayed dead, everybody would have forgotten about him. But over the last two thousand years, unknown numbers of people have heard the good news and have come to faith. 

The good news is true. And this good news is for you. Jesus died for you. Jesus rose again for you. Your doubts and wrongdoings are forgiven. You have life now and forever in heaven.

So, have you been paying attention today? Can you answer the question? Does Easter bring you fear or joy? If you understand what this day means, then you can't avoid one or the other of these two reactions. It brings many people fear. And it might bring you fear, if you didn't know the truth. But because you do know the truth, you do not need to fear. The truth is good news for you. The good news of Easter brings you great blessings. Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Easter takes away our fear and brings us joy!