After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.Now late on the sabbath day, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
6 sermons cite this verse
… But now the story is about to change. After the Sabbath at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake. For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. That's where the term shook came from originally. The angel said to the woman, do not be afraid for I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here. He has risen just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples. Tell him what? That he has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him. So the woman hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy and they ran to tell his disciples and suddenly Jesus met them. Hey, he said, they came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. And then Jesus said to them, do not be afraid, go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee. There they will see me. But then look what happened. …
… And I love this story. Matthew 28, verse one says, now after the Sabbath, towards the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. Why were they going to see the tomb? Because Jesus had just died. Jesus had just been crucified on the cross. He was buried, and this is at the time he was buried, and they were going to continue the mourning process. So they were going to do some of the ritual things that they would have done at the time when someone died. And so they're going to do that. They're fully expecting Jesus to be dead. They're fully expecting Jesus to be in the tomb because they had just seen him crucified. But verse two, it says, and behold, there was a great earthquake for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and it rolled back the stone and set on it. Now this is crazy. Just want us to acknowledge this is crazy. …
… Because he's the way. And then in Matthew chapter 20, verse 28, look at this. The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. The word ransom, we don't see that word often, but it means that Jesus Christ came to pay what was hanging over your head by your enemy. You have been kidnapped. Are you guys listening? You guys have been kidnapped by sin, and Satan uses that against you. And the Bible says Satan is always accusing you before God about how bad you are. Did you know that? The Bible says he's before God day and night accusing us. Isn't that something? So why does God allow that? Don't worry. Read the rest of the Bible. It turns out really good for you. In fact, all that accusation falls right back on Satan's face. That's going to be a great moment. I want to make sure you want to capture that on film, on camera when you do that. …
… chapter 28, and we're going to focus on Matthew's account of the Easter story. And it begins like this, Matthew 28, verse 1. After the Sabbath, so the Sabbath for Jewish people is on Saturday, Jesus died on Friday, buried Friday afternoon before sunset. Sabbath, he's in the tomb. After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week, Sunday, was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb, and suddenly there was a great earthquake. Now, only Matthew tells us that there was an earthquake on that day. He also told us that Jesus, when he died, there was an earthquake. So none of the other Gospels mention either of these earthquakes. Two earthquakes in 48 hours. And I thought, you know, is that just something that Matthew's added to the details, to the richness of the storytelling? or is it possible that these actually happen in the timing that he described? And so I just wondered how many earthquakes happen in the Holy Land at any given year. …
Listen now to the story of the first Easter as it echoes to us from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 28, beginning with the first verse. After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descending from heaven came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothing white as snow. For fear of him, the guards shook and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, he has been raised from the dead, and indeed he's going ahead of you to Galilee. There you will see him. This is my message for you. …
… to be doing that today. So just brace yourself, or maybe better yet, don't brace yourself. It's more fun to fly around the cab. All right. Matthew 28, verse one. Now after the Sabbath, As the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat on it. he sat on it not because he was tired he sat on it the throne of God is established on top of the obstacle to your miracle. He rolled away the stone not to let Jesus out. Jesus in John 20, after resurrected, walked through a wall. He can certainly walk through a stone. He rolled away the stone to let the observers see that it was empty. The veil was torn. to let God out of the covenant because it had been fulfilled, but the stone was removed to let people in to see an empty tomb. …