My name is Denny Thankin. I’m the transitional pastor here at Naples Presbyterian, and it’s my privilege to be able to lead us in worship this day, especially on this very important church holy day celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. So I’m thankful that you are here. But before we share in worship, I want to mention one of the ministries you’re still seeking to help, People Helping People, which feeds people Mondays through Sundays, seven days a week, at lunchtime for those who need the help. If you’d still like to help out in that way, please bring your food items down on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays between 8 and 1. As they accumulate, I usually take them down.
Also, a reminder that next Sunday, April 19th, our denomination has approved us to be able to celebrate virtual community since we cannot gather together. In the bulletin, under news and events or under worship resources, it will give you the instructions for how to prayerfully prepare.
As we continue on with our worship service, one of the things we do at our church is to confess together our mission statement as a reminder that we come to worship to be sent back out into the world by Jesus Christ. So if you would join me, wherever you might be watching this, in confessing the mission statement today. I believe it will be posted: ‘We serve to build relationships, build relationships to share the gospel.’
Now, at this time, I would like to lead us in our call to worship, which will also be projected on the screen. This is based on Scripture from Luke chapter 24. The purpose of the call to worship is again to help prepare us to give ourselves to Jesus. I will read both parts:
The women wondered who would roll the stone from the tomb, but the stone was rolled away. Christ is risen!
The women went to see their friend’s body, but the body was not there. Christ is risen!
The angel told them, “You are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here.” Christ is risen!
“Go and tell the good news to the disciples; go and tell the good news to the world.” Christ is risen!
Christ is risen indeed!
And now, as an opportunity to respond to who Jesus is, as part of our preparation portion, I’m going to lead you in the prayer of confession with an assurance of pardon. If it’s projected on your screen, please join as we confess this together.
Almighty God, your Providence and power, Christ was raised from the dead to rule our world with grace and truth. We confess that at times we have not believed in you, and we have often fallen into fear and doubt. Hope and gladness do not find a home in our hearts, and our gratitude is slight and superficial. Forgive our dread of dying and our hopelessness in difficult and easy times alike. Set each of us free in the victory of Jesus Christ, who was dead but now lives and who will come again one day. He will put an end to all hurt and all suffering. He will restore all things according to your perfect loving plan. We await that day when your kingdom comes, eternal life and love, to rule forever and ever. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.
Now, just take a moment to respond to this with your own personal confession before Jesus Christ, where fear and hopelessness assail you or where you may be challenged to serve Jesus Christ.
Lord Jesus, I praise you and thank you that you are not ashamed to hear what we say to you. You already know it, but it’s not so much what you know, but what we are willing to admit to you. As we take that risk of declaring those things that frighten us, those things that bind us up, even disobedience—the things that refuse us because of you—you are not ashamed. You have made this promise that as we confess our sins, you are faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us.
So I say to you who are joining us in worship this day: as you have confessed, be set free in Jesus Christ. Declare his freedom to the powers as a part of our worship this morning, declaring the victory of Jesus Christ.
[Music]
Every [Music]
Amen.
Usually, at this time in our worship service, we have the opportunity to present our tithes together as the body of Christ. But because of this virtual worship circumstance, we are not afforded that opportunity.
What I would encourage you to do is, because the ministry of this church is continuing, if you are a member or regular attender, as the Lord leads, either send your checks into the church office to help support God’s ministry here, or you can even access online through the QR code that is listed in the bulletin or find the link on our website. But wherever it might be, it’s good for us as an act of worship to offer our tithes to the world.
So I would ask you to prayerfully consider that. At this time, I would like to share with you this passage from the Gospel of Matthew, which is our theme text for today, entitled ‘Just as He Said.’ Before I read it, I’m going to ask you to join me in prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to prepare us for this act of worship by hearing the word.
Please join with me in prayer.
Holy Spirit, right now, wherever these listeners may be, come to them as the counselor, as the one that Jesus said he would send us to teach us in all truth. Holy Spirit, right now, bring to our minds the understanding of what the Word of God would say. May the Lord bless you with revelation and truth.
In Jesus’ name, please hear the word of the Lord through Matthew 28, verses 1 through 7:
Now, after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went 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 and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him, the guards trembled and became like dead men.
But the angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead. And behold, he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him. See, I have told you.’
This is crazy to God on Easter Sunday, Resurrection Sunday. It has been a tradition in churches for many years to respond to ‘Christ is risen’ with ‘Christ is risen indeed.’ We even did that this morning for our own colors, and that word indeed is very important to the Gospel message in Jesus Christ. But where did it come from?
Because it is not in our text from Matthew 28. I believe it comes from the Gospel of Luke in chapter 24, verse 34, saying, ‘The Lord has risen indeed and has appeared to Simon.’ The declaration of fact through this one word, indeed, is included in the gospel because of the experience two disciples of Jesus had on the road to Emmaus—two people Jesus chose to personally reveal himself to after his resurrection.
These two followers of Jesus seemed to be in a state of awe and wonder as they were walking on this northeast road from Jerusalem, which was about three to seven miles to Emmaus. They were having a discussion over all the reports that had come back from those who had visited Jesus’ empty tomb and found it empty, and found the encounter with the risen Christ as well.
So why the word indeed? Most likely, these two followers of Jesus were debating whether or not they should believe what others were telling them. Was Jesus truly risen? Because ‘truly’ is also one of the meanings of the word ‘indeed.’ If they had to say ‘indeed,’ then it meant prior to their encounter with Jesus on the road to Emmaus, they just were not sure that Christ was indeed risen.
It seems like with the two Marys on the way to the tomb, Jesus had to shake up these two men on the road to Emmaus in order to shake them out of doubt and into action. What I see happening in Matthew 28, verses 1 through 7, as well as the passage surrounding Luke 24, is this:
Every once in a while, Jesus has to shake up our lives to remove our doubts about him.
This morning, I would like to take you through a journey of shaking up that Jesus accomplished with these two Marys, culminating with the angel of the Lord saying, ‘Jesus is risen just as he said.’ That’s found in Matthew 28:6.
Here is the full verse: ‘He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come see the place where he lay.’ The word ‘just’ is not used in this particular English translation, but it is implied and used in other English translations of this text. If you add in the word ‘just,’ then you get meanings such as Jesus really said this. It would be kind of like the angel saying, ‘Why are you surprised? Don’t you remember that Jesus really said this?’
This is also why the angel then says to the two Marys, ‘Come, see the place where he lay.’ Matthew 28:6 shows us two women who are shaken over what happened to Jesus from Good Friday to this very Resurrection morning. God was using this resurrection earthquake to shake them even more—to shake them into attention.
The discouragement, doubt, and hopelessness they had needed to be removed so that they would be renewed into usefulness for Jesus.
Let’s take a closer look at the scene of the two Marys going to the tomb. In fact, let’s take a walk with the two Marys to the tomb. One of the first things we need to notice is in Matthew 28:1, which says this: ‘Now after the Sabbath, toward dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.’
They, along with Jesus’ other followers, were discouraged and without hope. In their minds, Jesus was still dead and not risen. As the other gospel passages reveal, these two Marys were on their way to wrap Jesus in the burial spices that the Jewish Sabbath would not allow them to use after Jesus was taken down from the cross on Good Friday. They were grieving Jesus’ death while also trying to figure out who would roll the stone away.
Next, in verses 2 through 3 in chapter 28, they were shocked. Hear what it says: ‘And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow.’
The earthquake shocked them both physically as well as emotionally. If you have ever experienced an earthquake, you know what I mean. While growing up in California, my hometown had numerous earthquakes, and I don’t think you ever truly get used to them. But now add on top of this quake; they arrived at the tomb of Jesus to see the stone in front of it rolled away and someone whom they had never seen, like lightning, sitting right on top of that stone.
Did they even have the language to realize that this was an angel of the Lord or that the earthquake was caused by this angel? I believe they were also shaken spiritually.
Then, in Matthew 28, verses 4 through 5, they were afraid. It says, ‘And for fear of this angel, the guards trembled and became like dead men.’ But the angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.’
The earthquake would have been enough to scare me, but the Bible has other instances of people encountering angels of the Lord that completely undoes them. ‘Discombobulated’ would be a good word to use because it means to cause to be in a state of confusion, upset, and disoriented. It seems that fear was a very appropriate response to this kind of shaking.
Finally, in verse 6, they were challenged. The angel says, ‘He is not here, for he has risen as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.’ These two ladies were on sensory overload, and if not for the hand of God, they probably would have ended up on the ground like the Roman soldiers guarding the tomb, described as ‘like dead men’ or, better yet, ‘immobilized,’ ‘powerless,’ ‘useless,’ or ‘completely ineffective.’ If the hand of God had not been upon these two Marys, they would have never been able to get past the shaking of Jesus’ death to walk in the resurrection power of the angel’s proclamation that he has risen just as he said.
God’s hand was upon them because Jesus does not need people who are frozen in fear, leaving us immobilized, powerless, useless, or completely ineffective. God had sent this angel not only to shake up the stone that covered the tomb by an earthquake but also to shake up these two Marys.
God shook them up so that he could remove their doubts in order to renew them in their faith over Jesus’ resurrection and why Jesus came. God used this earthquake to move their faith from uncertainty to ‘indeed’; from being immobilized to being useful, powerful, and effective in the kingdom of God.
Their faith, like our faith, needs to become, ‘Jesus is risen indeed.’ Because “Jesus is risen indeed” was to become their mission, as the angel of the Lord challenged them in verse 7 of this chapter, right after they saw the empty tomb: ‘Then go quickly and tell his disciples that Jesus has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him. See, I have told you.’
Now, at this point, they had a choice to make. Either they could run away in fear and continue doubting all that Jesus said, believing that Jesus was still dead and still in the grave, or they could let Jesus shake them out of their grief, their shock, and their fear and become mobilized to do all that Jesus would command them to do in the Great Commission—all that Jesus had already been showing them to do before Good Friday.
The resurrection of Jesus had already happened, and our faith is also to be placed in ‘Christ is risen indeed.’ This is to be our life mission. Jesus also is constantly at work to shake us out of our grief, our shock, and our fears so that we too become mobilized to do all that Jesus commands us to do in the Great Commission.
So we should not be surprised if, from time to time, Jesus lets our lives, maybe even our world—like during the coronavirus—be shaken. The Word of God constantly testifies that God shapes our lives and world to remove that which is not part of his kingdom in order to renew us into that which cannot be shaken.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ should shake up our lives. Is your confidence in Jesus Christ is risen indeed, or has something made you ineffective and immobilized?
Jesus came to close and summarize here three things to remember about ‘Just as Jesus said’:
1. It is an absolute fact that Christ is risen indeed. 2. Jesus will shape our lives to remove doubt and complacency. 3. Jesus might even have to shake the mission of ‘Christ is risen indeed’ into us.
Let’s pray.
Lord Jesus, right now I praise you and thank you that you shake our lives and a world, not because you want to shatter our confidence, but to remove our confidence in the wrong things so that they are placed in the things that cannot be shaken—so our faith is placed in you.
For all those who are watching this right now, Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit, even now come and shake those things that can be shaken so that they come to the surface to be removed, and so that what remains is that which cannot be shaken, which is from your kingdom.
You are the risen Lord. Praise You, Lord Jesus.
At this time, I’d like to give us an opportunity to celebrate that truth.
[Music]
For how long?
At this time, we get a chance to express our confidence in the truth that Jesus Christ is risen and has overcome the power of sin and death through our prayers of God’s people. In the order of worship we have posted online, we use Hebrews 4:14-16 as a way to declare this truth:
‘Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.’
So what we’re going to do right now is pause, and I’m going to give you the opportunity to offer up some of your own prayers first, and then I will lead us in this time where you can begin to place your confidence back that Jesus is risen indeed.
So whatever you would like to do, close your eyes. Let’s just begin. What I want you to do is ask Jesus right now to show you what isn’t mobilizing you, freezing you in your relationship.
Holy Spirit, we ask, give us that insight and counsel. As the Lord shows you something that needs addressing in your relationship, say, ‘Lord Jesus, I surrender this to you. Help me.’
Then in your mind’s eye, just picture lifting it up to Jesus, and he takes it.
Now, as you continue in this attitude, ask Jesus to show you what is immobilizing you in your serving.
Holy Spirit, even now show us the stumbling blocks or those obstacles that hold us captive that keep us from going out just as Jesus commanded. As you’re ready, tell Jesus you need his help to let go of what is holding on to you.
In Jesus’ name, I declare his freedom to you to serve Him just as he has prepared in advance for you to.
Here’s a third thing: what I want you to do right now is say, ‘Jesus, please show me your love.’
Know that Scripture declares that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. Let the truth of Jesus’ love for you, seen in both his cross and his resurrection, flow into your heart.
See and feel the love of Jesus Christ.
Finally, one last thing—ask Jesus to show his love to someone else. ‘Lord Jesus, give us the names of those people that you want to be able to see your love through.’
Lord Jesus, we name them to you even now. Pour out your love upon them so that they encounter who you are.
Finally, our closing prayer together will be the Lord’s Prayer, where we say:
Our Father, who is in heaven, holy is your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
To close our time of worship today, I’m going to ask if you would join me in the assurance that cannot be shaken, which is the church’s foundation.
[Music]
And you, one hope, she passes with every grace and toil and tribulation.
She waits the consummation; and the great Church victorious shall be the church’s plight.
[Music]
As we close out our worship time today, we have a tradition called the benediction. What that simply means is asking God for his blessing to be upon us as we prepare to go back out into the world to be his witnesses to the fact that Jesus Christ is risen.
So it’s my privilege to be able to speak that blessing.
Lord Jesus, I praise you and thank you that while this world may shake, it’s in you, Lord Jesus, that we cannot be shaken. It is in you that we can have the confidence and the foundation to build our lives.
Send us forth now with that blessing, Lord Jesus, that you are sustaining us in holiness in the midst of what the world does to shake us.
May you be blessed in the confidence that Jesus Christ is truly risen indeed.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.