The Appearance of Jesus Christ

Published by Stanley Pouw in 2015 · 20 September 2015

Let us study Matthew 28 as we return to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The world has learned many great truths and life-changing events. But not any one of them can come close to the significance of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. That resurrection of is the heart of the Christian faith. When Jesus rose from the dead by the power of the Father, He was affirmed to have accomplished what He came to accomplish.

And 2 Corinthians 4:14 says that as God raised up Jesus from the dead, so also shall He raise us up. We belief in resurrection life and that is built on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because He lives, we shall live also. Death is not the end. For the believer it's a door that enters into eternity. Job 19:25-27 says, “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will stand upon the earth. 26 And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, 27 whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!”

The resurrection of Jesus Christ guarantees the resurrection of every believer, no matter what happens to the body. That is the promise of God. So this then is the single greatest event in the history of the world. Anybody who denies the literal bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ cannot be a Christian. Look to 1 Corinthians 15:13-14, “But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.”

Then verse 17 says, “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.” His argument is that the power of sin is not broken. And every man therefore is under the total domination of sin to be damned forever by it. No, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is not just negotiable reality, it is the very cornerstone of the Christian faith. And if you remove it, the whole thing falls apart.

But bless God, Jesus did rise. So let us go back to Matthew 28 and see His resurrection. Now verse 1, is literally, long after the Sabbath, it is Sunday, the third day since Jesus was put in the grave on Friday. For at least five times already in Matthew's gospel, it stated that Jesus was in the grave and that He would be there three days. And now it is that third day, resurrection day. Now Matthew approaches the resurrection scene from the attitudes and emotions of the women who were there.

Remember the first attitude we saw was the attitude of sympathy. Early in the morning they were coming out of devoted love and sympathy to Christ to anoint His body one more time before decay finally totally took over. In Mark 16 it says as they approached the grave they were concerned about who might roll the stone away because it was so large. They weren't at all expecting a resurrection and they were not aware of the guard at the grave and that it was sealed.

The women were Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, Mary the wife of Cleophas or Alphaeus, the mother of James and Joses. And Mark says also Salome was there. Salome was the wife of Zebedee and the mother of James and John. And Luke says that Joanna was there, the wife of Chuza who was one of the stewards of Herod. So it was a little group of women who came to the grave. They wanted to see it and then to go and anoint the body of the Lord.

When they arrived, their sympathy turned to terror. Verse 2 tells us there was a great earthquake caused by an angel of the Lord descended from heaven who rolled back the stone and sat on it. The angel did not open the grave to let Christ out, the angel opened the grave to let people in. Christ had already left. He didn't need to wait for the stone to be removed, He went right through the stone just as later on He went through the walls of the upper room to meet the disciples with the door being shut.

Now one of those women, Mary Magdalene, was very devoted and impulsive. She was like the counterpart of Peter among the women. She saw the opened tomb but didn't really look at the angel. John 20 records that Mary Magdalene turned immediately and ran back into the city to find Peter and John to tell them that something terrible had happened, someone had taken the Lord.

Meanwhile the rest of the women remain and they face an angel whose face is like lightning. And that identifies him with the glory of God. This then is a messenger from God because his garment is as white as snow, speaking of holiness and purity. The glory of the Father was transmitted to those women which demonstrates that this is a messenger from God.

So fearful was he, verse 4 says, that the soldiers were knocked unconscious. And they are lying on the ground in a coma. The women are also very frightened. And in verse 5, “But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.” That must have been a comforting word for them. And then in verse 6 he says, "He is not here, He has risen as He said." And the emphasis is on "as He said," this is what Jesus predicted. "Come, see the place where He lay."

And if you compare the other gospels, the women went into the tomb and as they went in the angel went in with them and the angel repeated the same message again. And then a second angel appeared, one at the head and one at the feet and the two angels together repeated the same message and said He was raised. And then in verse 7 the angel said, "Then go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead.” Fascination has to give way to proclamation. You have to get the message out.

Now the evidence was all there. Not only the empty tomb but the unconscious guards. And then there was the testimony from a holy angel. And then there was the orderly grave clothes. The other gospel writers pointed out that if the body of Jesus had been stolen, they would have had to rip those linens off Him which would have been scattered all over. But they were lying perfectly as they had been lying when He was in them with the headpiece where the head would be and the rest where the body would be, as if He had lifted out.

These women knew that the disciples did not believe in a resurrection, so they wouldn't have stolen the body to falsify a resurrection. Oh there was plenty of evidence that it really was a resurrection. Look at the rest of verse 7, “and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” And this would be the climax of Matthew's gospel. The promise of the resurrection would be fulfilled.

And Jesus said it in Matthew 26:32, “But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” Galilee of the Gentiles where the Lord first ministered and first did His miracles and first redeemed souls and was first hated and rejected. Galilee, a microcosm of the world. Jesus would commission them to preach the gospel in Galilee was in a sense to say, "I want this to be a representation that you must go to the ends of the earth."

There were some appearances of Christ in Jerusalem before the meeting in Galilee. This is Sunday morning and just in a matter of moments He will appear to Mary Magdalene who will arrive back at the grave. The women who have been there since she left are now on their way to the disciples. And as they are leaving, Mary Magdalene and Peter and John are coming and He will appear to Mary. And later on He will appear to Simon Peter as Luke 24 and 1 Corinthians 15:5 tell us.

So Jesus will appear personally to Mary because of her deep devotion and because she stayed by the grave. And a personal appearance to Peter because he of all the disciples had seemingly defected the farthest and needed grace for restoration. And after that there would be an appearance to two disciples who were on their way to Emmaus. And then on that very Sunday night, all the disciples were gathered in the upper room and the Lord appeared to them also.

Luke 24:36-37, “As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” 37 But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit.” In fact there were only ten disciples at that time, Thomas was missing. And eight days later John 20:26-29 tells us, He appeared again in the upper room, and this time Thomas was there and when Thomas saw the scars he said, "My Lord and My God." So there were several appearances to the disciples in Jerusalem.

But the great appearing in which there was the great commissioning occurred in Galilee. And that is the one of which Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:6 when he says, "And after He had been seen by Peter and the disciples, He was seen by about 500 brothers at one time." And that was that great meeting in Galilee where He spoke to all the gathered disciples on a mountain. And even after that, He appeared to Apostles prior to His ascension.

And every time He appeared to them it says in Acts 1, He spoke of things pertaining to the kingdom of God. For 40 days, from resurrection to ascension, at varying intervals to varying groups of the disciples, He appeared. But the high point of all those appearances was the appearance on the mountain in Galilee with those 500 people plus where He commissioned them to preach the gospel to the whole world. And every meeting in Jerusalem prior to that was just a preparation for the great commissioning that would occur in Galilee.

And so the women had come to the tomb with feelings of sympathy. That turned into a feeling of terror and now that feeling began to give way to the emotion of joy. Verse 8, “So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.” The angel said go, and they spun around and took off. And they are running into the city to find the disciples to tell them the message from the angel that Jesus was raised from the dead.

According to Mark 16:13, the apostles did not believe them. That's important because it reaffirms that they didn't steal the body because they didn't even believe in the resurrection. Luke 24 also indicates the same thing, in verses 10 - 11, and verses 22 to 25. So the women go to find the disciples and when they find them they cannot even convince them that it is true.

Now meanwhile, the soldiers are still unconscious. The tomb is open. The angel is there. Peter and John and Mary Magdalene are returning to find out what is going on. Look at John 20:4, “Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.” John never uses his own name, always calls himself the other disciple, or the disciple whom Jesus loved, or the disciple who leaned on Jesus' chest, something like that. And he came first to the grave.

Now John was faster than Peter but he was also a little more timid. And he just stooped down and looked in, he didn't go in. And he saw the linen clothes lying there. And he cannot figure out what is happening. And then comes Simon Peter and he just goes in right away. And he saw the linen clothes lying there and the cloth that was about His head, not lying with the linen clothes but in a place by itself, indicating that there had been no struggle at all but that Christ had just left the clothing perfectly.

Then after Peter went in, John also went in and he saw and believed (verse 8). He had such a heart of faith, didn't he? Peter still had many questions but John goes from curiosity to faith that fast. John 20:9, “for as yet they did not understand the Scripture that he must rise from the dead.” Oh, they heard Him say it, but it didn't register. They were unwilling to allow Jesus to say He was going to die, therefore they blocked out of their minds that He might rise again.

But John believed and Peter questioned. And John 20:10 says they went away again to their own home. They were trying to figure it out. But verse 11-12 say, “But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb 12 and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet.” These two angels are still there. Verse 13, “They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.”

Verse 14, “Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus.” Maybe she was crying and she couldn't see too well. That is probably right but the reason she did not know it was Jesus was because Jesus after His resurrection was not known by anyone who saw Him unless He opened their eyes. For in His resurrection glory He was changed. How else could the two disciples on the road to Emmaus walk with Him and talk with Him and not know who He was until He disclosed it to them?

Verse 15, “Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Verse 16, “Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). Rabboni is only used for a highly exalted teacher and it means master. And Jesus in that moment revealed Himself to her and she was the first, says Mark 16, to see the resurrected Christ.

Mary grabbed Him and did not want to let go. And then in verse 17 Jesus says, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” One of the greatest statements of all of Scripture! He says, from now on they are My brethren, not friends like He had called them in John 15:15. Why? Because of His death and resurrection they have been brought fully into the family of God.

After having revealed Himself to Mary, the Lord then supernaturally transports Himself out in front of the other women and comes along the road to meet them. Matthew 28:9, “And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” That was the ordinary greeting. Here is Christ in resurrection glory in a very simple and warm way says to the women He loved ‘good morning!’ “And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him.” Now their joy turns into worship.

They knew He was the risen Christ. This was their recognition that He was to be praised, worshiped and honored. They were doing what Paul says everyone should do, every knee should bow, every tongue should confess Jesus as Lord to the glory of God, Philippians 2:11. The evidence is there for the women. And in that moment, their worship turned to a new emotion, a new attitude of hope. Verse 10, “Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

What does the resurrection mean? First, it means that the Word of God is true. Secondly, it means that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and as God He has power over death. Thirdly, it proves that salvation is complete, on the cross Jesus conquered sin and death and rose victorious. Fourthly, it proves that the church is established. Jesus says I will build My church and death won't stop Me. Fifthly, it also proves that judgment is coming. The judge is alive. And sixthly, it proves that heaven is waiting for those who believe. Let us pray.