Sermon: The Holiness of the Savior

Scripture Text: Matthew 28:1-10

Quotes for Reflection

Cornelius À Lapide, The Great Commentary
The earth which trembled with horror at the death of Christ, as it were leaped with joy at the resurrection.

Michale J. Wilkins, Matthew
The stone that was sealed by the guards to assure that the body of Jesus would remain in the crypt now becomes the seat of triumph for the angel. The stone is rolled away, not to let the risen Jesus out but to let the women in to witness the fact of the empty tomb.

N.T. Wright, Matthew for Everyone
The point, of course, is that what is happening is the action of God himself. The God who remained apparently silent on Good Friday is having the last word. He is answering the unspoken questions of Jesus’ followers, and the spoken question of Jesus himself on the cross. And what God is doing is not just an extraordinary miracle, a display of supernatural power for its own sake, or a special favour to Jesus. What God is doing is starting something new, beginning the new world promised long ago, sending the disciples to Galilee in the first place but then, as we shall see, on to the ends of the earth and the close of the age with the news of what has happened. A whole new world was opening up in front of them.

C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
Give up yourself, and you will find your real self. Lose your life and you will save it. Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favourite wishes every day and death of your whole body in the end: submit with every fiber of your being, and you will find eternal life. Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away will be really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.

Application Questions

1. What are you looking for this Easter morning?

2. Why is giving up yourself necessary to finding your real self in Jesus?

3. How is God calling you to belong here at Oaks Parish, so that others can believe?