Turn with me now to Matthew chapter
28. Matthew 28. We have had moments where we have veered off from our study
in Matthew and looked at other things for brief periods of time,
but for the most part we have been going consistently through
this book for the last four years. We've been going through Matthew
now for four years. Our first message that we started
the study of this book with from Matthew chapter 1, it was on
December the 6th 2020, literally right at four years
ago. And now we've made it to chapter 28, last chapter. We're about to start. Last chapter
in the book. And I'm gonna be very sad to
leave Matthew. It's been very comforting and
exciting to me to be here. Not that we're not coming back,
but I look forward to where the Lord
takes us next, I guess. But this is so good. If the Lord
is willing, we will, this month, we'll end our study in this.
In Matthew 27, we had the crucifixion, the death, and the burial of
our Lord. That's what happened in Matthew
chapter 27. And here in chapter 28, we have
his resurrection. Verse one says, in the end of the Sabbath, in the end of the Sabbath, the
Sabbath was the seventh day of the week, what we call Saturday. The observing of the Sabbath
was one of the 10 commandments that the Lord gave to Moses. He said, remember the Sabbath
day to keep it holy, to keep it sanctified, to keep
it set apart. It was to be a day of rest. No
work could be done on that day. You could only rest. And our
Lord bowed his head and gave up the ghost at about three o'clock
on Friday afternoon. Scripture says it was the ninth
hour. It started at 6 a.m. And three o'clock in the afternoon
was the time of the evening sacrifice. The appointed time of the evening
sacrifice. God's sacrifice, God's lamb slain
that he provided as a sacrifice for sin was offered at the very
time of the evening sacrifice according to the law. I love
that detail. Our Lord bowed his head and gave
up the ghost at about three o'clock Friday afternoon. And he hung
there for a short while. And some soldiers ran a spear
in his side to make sure he was dead. And the reason that they
did that is because the Jews wanted him to be in a tomb before
sundown. The Sabbath officially started
according to the law, when the sun set on Friday evening. And they couldn't do any work
on the Sabbath, so they had to have him in a tomb before the
sun set Friday evening. So our Lord died, and he went
into that tomb Friday evening. And he came out of the tomb very
early on Sunday morning. But all day long on that seventh
day, what we call Saturday, he rested. All day long on that seventh
day, he rested in obedience to the law. He rested. All of that happened
on Friday. All of that happened on Sunday.
But on Saturday, he rested again. That's another detail I love
knowing. The Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled
all of our law for us. That is one of the things that
he accomplished. in his life and in his death
on this earth. That's one of the things that
his father sent him to do. And that's one of the things
that he did. He fulfilled all of our law for
us. And because of that, all of our
law is kept in him. You know, the Ark of the Covenant,
you know, back in the Old Testament, they used to carry that Ark of
the Covenant. It had a lid on top of it. That Ark was Christ. It represented Christ. And the
two Ten Commandment tables of stone were kept inside that Ark. A bowl of manna was kept inside
that Ark. Aaron's rod that budded, that
was kept inside that Ark. The Law was kept in Christ. Life. was in Christ. All of our law is kept in Him. We keep the law in Him. We still have a commanding law
hanging over us that we must rest on the Sabbath. Do you know
that? I don't know what everybody did yesterday. What did you all
do yesterday? Just FYI. We still have a commanding
law hanging over all of us that we must rest on the Sabbath. But in Christ, God's people are
not looking to a day anymore. They're looking to Christ. He
is our Sabbath. He is our rest. He is our eternal rest. He is our never ending Sabbath. In Christ, we never leave the
Sabbath. In Christ, the work is finished
and we will forever rest in Him and on Him. So verse one right
here says, 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 sepulcher. Mary Magdalene is the one who
the Lord cast seven devils out of. She is believed by many to be
the sister of Martha and Lazarus, that Mary. You know, you hear
of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. She is believed to be that Mary,
Mary Magdalene. And it's not told for certain
who the other Mary is. It's either the Lord's earthly
speaking, and I'm doing quotation marks for anybody who's listening
and not watching me. Earthly speaking, the Lord's
mother, God does not have a mother. But on this earth, a woman was
selected to bear and carry and bring the Messiah into this world. But this other Mary is either
the Lord's mother or Mary the wife of Cleophas, who the other
accounts mention to be here. The commentary writers believe
it was the Lord's mother. But what strikes me about this
is the one with the greatest record of sin is the one who
is mentioned specifically. Mary Magdalene was there, make
no doubt about it. Mary Magdalene was right there.
The one who was demon possessed and the other Mary, the one who
people like to refer to as Saint Mary. Yes, she was also there
too. Verse one says, 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 sepulcher. They came to see that grave. And they didn't want to just
see the grave. You know, have you ever visited a grave site? You know, a graveyard and you
go see, you go up there and you look at the tombstone and you
look at the ground and you physically see the grave. Well, they didn't
want to just see that grave. They wanted to see inside it. Mark's account of this says that
as they were walking to the tomb, they were saying to each other,
who are we gonna get to roll away the stone from the door
for us? They wanted to go inside. And I got to thinking about something.
This is really a good illustration of the difference in seeing religion
and seeing salvation. This is a good illustration of
the difference. Religion is seeing a tomb. Seeing that a tomb exists. Salvation is seeing what took
place inside that tomb. Not just knowing that it's there,
but having a personal experience with what went on inside that
tomb. Verse one says, 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 sepulcher. And behold, there was a great
earthquake, for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven
and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat upon
it. Now think about this. Okay. In
religion, in false religion, these women
were asking themselves, how are we going to do this? How are we going to do this?
But in salvation, it was revealed to them that God had already
done it. Does that register with us? False
religion always looks to man. It always looks to man. I just,
I want to, let me just kind of break away from the notes for
a minute and tell everybody here, as you listen to messages, ask
yourself, am I being pointed to a man? Am I being pointed to a man?
Some other man, what some other man has to say about something?
Am I being pointed to this man? Am I walking out of here just
looking at this man and focusing on this man? If we're pointed
to a man, it's a false religion. False religion always looks to
man. The truth of God's gospel always
points us to Jesus Christ. Always. False religion is constantly
trying to figure out how are we going to do this for God? How are we going to do this for
God? Oh, he's helplessly laying inside there. How are we going
to do this, you know, in our eyes, wonderful work for God?
The gospel of God's truth declares what God has already done for
us. That's the difference. That is truly the difference.
Look with me at Mark 16. Mark 16 verse one, it says, and
when the Sabbath was passed, Mary Magdalene and Mary, the
mother of James and Salome had bought sweet spices that they
might come and anoint him. And the other accounts mentioned
other women. I know we look at that and say,
well, that's who the other Mary was, Mary, the mother of James. But
as you turn different, they're not all mentioned in the same
place at the same time. And very early in the morning,
the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulcher at the
rising of the sun. And they said among themselves,
who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulcher?
And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away.
For it was very great. Do you remember, we just had
a message not too long ago on the difference in looking and
seeing. The difference in watching and
seeing. Verse four says, when they looked,
they saw. The stone was rolled away. When
they saw, they saw that the work was already done. And that's
what all of God's people see when God opens our eyes. Lord,
open our eyes. Open our eyes. That's what we
see. The work is already done. Every
soul on this earth is trying to scratch their head, figuring
out what am I supposed to do? Just tell me what I'm supposed
to do. And when God opens the eyes, that's what we see. The
work is done. Who did it? God did it. They came thinking, well, we
have all of our sweet spices here that, you know, we, these
are the, we're bringing the works of our hands so we can provide
this and add this to the sacrifice of Christ. That's what they wanted
to do. We came to add our good works
to the sacrifice of Christ. They're about to find out that
God doesn't need their good works to be added to the sacrifice
of Christ. No spices needed here. Go back to Matthew 28. Verse one says, 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 sepulcher. And
behold, there was a great earthquake, for the angel of the Lord descended
from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the door
and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning
and his raiment whitest snow. And for fear of him, the keepers
did shake and became as dead men. If a sinful soul ever truly
sees the work of God's hand, it will strike utter fear into
that soul. It'll strike utter reverence. It will strike utter awe. It will grab total attention
from that soul. God sent one of his angels to
do this. He sent an angel, an angel of
the Lord. And the word angel means a messenger,
a representative. When God sends a true representative
on his behalf, through that representative, men and women see the holiness
and the judgment of God. They do. If it's a true representative,
if it's a true messenger with a true message, the awfulness
of God is perceived. The piercing justice and the
righteousness and the holiness of God will be perceived. the sovereignty of God, the power
of God. If you hear a true witness, a
true messenger with a true message, you will not walk away from that
thinking, well, poor pitiful Jesus needs our help. You will
not be thinking that at all. You will walk away from that
message thinking, what a sovereign God, what a powerful God. Oh, the might, oh, the authority,
oh, the control of God Almighty. That will be perceived. When
a true messenger stands for God, it brings fear, reverence, not
flippantness and silliness and chaos. It brings reverence and
fear. It strikes fear in the enemies
of God. Who are the enemies of God? every
soul on earth in sinful flesh. It strikes fear in man because
it slays the flesh of man. It exposes sin and it slays mankind. Turn with me over to Romans 7. Romans 7, in this chapter, Paul
is talking about God's law and man's sin against it. That's
what he's talking about. And he said in verse 9, Romans
7, verse 9, he said, for I was alive without the law once. I was alive without the law once. Paul was always under the law.
He just didn't know it. He was always a sinner against
the law. He was always a sinner against
God. He just didn't know it. Saul
of Tarsus didn't know it. Verse nine, for I was alive without
the law once, but when the commandment came, when the truth of God's
word came, The truth of God's holy judgment
and His righteous perfection, the truth of His demand, and the revelation of how far
short I have come on it, how greatly I've sinned against His
demands. Paul said, as soon as I saw my
sin, As soon as my sin against God was made alive to me, verse
9, I was alive without the law once, but when the commandment
came, sin revived and I died. As soon as my sin was made alive
to me, my flesh died to me. And that's what happens. Man's flesh is so alive to him
until the truth of God's Judgment comes, righteousness
comes, and all of a sudden this flesh dies. That's what happens
every time. When God's sovereign majesty
is revealed, men and women tremble in the flesh and they become
as dead men. It happens every time. Turn with
me to Revelation 1. Revelation 1 verse 9, it says,
I, John, who also am your brother and companion in tribulation
and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle
that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony
of Jesus Christ. I was in the spirit on the Lord's
day and heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet saying,
I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, And what thou seest,
write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which
are in Asia, unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos,
and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto
Laodicea. And I turned to see the voice
that spake with me, and being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks,
which is all of God's churches. And in the midst of the seven
candlesticks, one like unto the Son of Man, Jesus Christ, clothed
with a garment down to the foot and gird about the paps with
a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white
like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were as a flame
of fire, a consuming fire. He sees all. And his feet like
undefined brass as if they burned in a furnace. And his voice as
the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand
seven stars. And that's his messengers. Out of his mouth went a sharp
two-edged sword. That's his word. His countenance
was as the sun shineth in his strength. John said, And when
I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. That's what every sinful
soul will do. If a soul ever sees God in the
person of Jesus Christ, that soul will fall dead at his feet. Verse 17, When I saw him, I fell
at his feet as dead, and he laid his right hand upon me, saying
unto me, Fear not, I am the first and the last. I am he that liveth
and was dead and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And have the keys of hell and
death. When a sinner truly sees Christ,
that sinner sees the high and holy judge of the earth who holds
the keys of hell and death. That's when a sinner sees Christ. That's what happens when a sinner
sees Christ, all right? But when a sinner sees Christ
crucified, feet as though they burned in
a furnace, I was dead and I'm alive forevermore. When a sinner sees Christ crucified,
if a sinner ever truly sees Christ crucified, and sees what happened
inside the tomb of Christ crucified. That sinner will see grace, that
sinner will see mercy, and that grace and mercy will cry, fear
not, fear not, I've redeemed you, you're mine, fear not. Go back to Matthew 28 with me. Verse one says, 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 sepulcher. And
behold, there was a great earthquake, for the angel of the Lord descended
from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the door
and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning
and his raiment white as snow. And for fear of him, the keepers
did shake and became as dead men. And the angel answered and
said unto the women, fear not ye, for I know that you seek
Jesus, which was crucified. He said, fear not because you
are seeking Christ crucified. Fear not because you seek Jesus
Christ crucified. Any soul who seeks Christ crucified
can fear not. Any soul whose need and desire
is Christ crucified can fear not. You know, some people are only seeking heaven. You know, whatever you're seeking,
that's where your heart will be. That's where your desire
will be. That's where your need will be. Some people are only
seeking heaven. Some people are seeking golden
streets. They really, really, really want
to see golden streets. Some people are seeking rewards. They can't wait to get their
rewards. Some people are seeking mama. I just can't wait to go
see mama. There is no hope in seeking any
of those things. There's no salvation in seeking
any of those things. The soul that is redeemed, saved,
and justified before God, that soul will seek Christ crucified. I need Jesus Christ crucified. I desire Jesus Christ crucified. That soul's hope, that soul's
all will be Jesus Christ crucified. That soul will seek the assurance
and the comfort of knowing that he was crucified for me. I need
to know that. I need to know that he died for
me and he was buried for me and he rose again for me and that
God was satisfied with his sacrifice on my behalf and that God accepted
Christ's sacrifice on my behalf. So much so, God the Father raised
my substitute from the grave and he has and he will accept
me in him. If that is ever revealed to a
sinner, that sinner can fear not. If Christ ever becomes all
to a sinner, that sinner can fear not. And I'm not gonna,
yeah, I'm done. I'm not gonna expound on verse
six because I wanna save it for another message. I wanna spend
more time on it. But this perfectly declares the truth of this matter. Verse six says, he is not here,
for he is risen, as he said. Come see the place where the
Lord lay. Successful substitution. Acceptance accomplished. If a
sinner ever gets a hold of that, if a sinner ever truly sees inside
that tomb to the point that that sinner seeks Christ crucified
and only Jesus Christ crucified for all of his satisfaction,
all of his acceptance with God, then that sinner can fear not.
And here's the reason why. If a sinner seeks Christ, It
means the sinner has already been found by Christ. No soul
seeks until God Almighty says, seek me. Seek my face. If any man sin, we have an advocate
with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. Jesus Christ crucified. Seek him. Let's all seek him.
Seek his righteousness, his suffering, his death, his mercy, his grace,
his blood. Let's seek him. If we do, if
we need to seek him, then we can fear not. Amen.