From the Crib, to the Cross, to the Cave

Resurrection Sunday

Pastor Gideon

Without the cross there would be no empty tomb. But today we will not be looking at the cross. We will be celebrating the wonderful work of God and that today He is alive.

Matthew 28:1-10

He Is Risen

1 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. 2 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. 3 His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 4 And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.

5 But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7 And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”

8 So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.

The Women Worship the Risen Lord

9 And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “ Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “ Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.”

An angel of the Lord greeted the women at the tomb and it was probably a shocking experience for them. Then the angel said "Do not be afraid. He is not here. He is risen".

They ran and told the disciples what had happened at the empty tomb.

Jesus is famous because of an empty tomb. But if you were to go to any tomb of famous men, they are still there, buried.

You may understand why I talk about the cross but why the crib? Again without the crib, there won't be the cross. Jesus was born because He has a purpose. Jesus was sent by the Father to save the world. Isn't it great Jesus came as a baby?

Human babies are different from animals. Animal babies after a few minutes will be able to stand up and walk and run. This is for survival. But not human babies. Why do you think so? Why such a big difference?

We as humans need to care for our children and that's where bonding happens. They are helpless at birth. He came as a baby but understanding His purpose. He is born flesh and blood. He can understand what you and I feel. Our despair, our dissapointments. Because He came we now have hope.

With sin, we do not have a healthy relationship with God. We try but everything we did was futile. And God saw our helplessness. Like a parent, He sent His only son.

If you notice the bible didn't tell us much about His growing up years. The bible is not about His biography. It focused on what He was to do. He probably had a normal childhood. If He came as an adult He probably will not understand what we go through growing up. He led a normal life like you and I.

His purpose was the cross and because of His crib we have the cross. His last words were "IT IS FINISH". He is making a point that He is ending on a victorious note. He came and finished a job He came to do. Because of the crib we have hope. Because of the cross we have life.

There is this famous chapel, called the Sixteenth Chapel renown for all their paintings. There's one that depicts Satan playing chess and in the painting you'll see Satan has a proud look like he is a victor. And in the picture is a man that looks defeated, forlorn. It has a message and people wonder why is it in the chapel. But a world chess champion came and looked at the chess board. He saw that the man has to just make one move and he would have checkmate Satan.

On Good Friday it looked like the enemy has won. That we have no hope with Jesus hanging on the cross.

But Jesus had one final move, three days after the cross, He rose from the grave. That's why today we celebrate the empty tomb, and that's why Jesus is famous for his empty tomb, unlike all the other heroes that died.

Going to the cross was not enough, that was only half the job. He had to rise again to complete the work. He had to overcome death so that He can offer us eternal life. I am so glad He didn't stay on the cross. He rose on the third day. He is alive forevermore.

From the crib, to the cross, to the cave. It is not the end. It is just the beginning. The story has to be continued with you and me.

Jesus said we are to go tell everyone. He has all authority and we have to go to all the nations to make disciples. He didn't say go make converts. That's easy. When we bring someone into the kingdom of God we need to disciple them. That is why as a church we are called to make disciples, we need to pour our life into theirs.

We are a people with a future. Because of the empty cave we have a future.

As a child come into this world, we don't tell them they are on their own. We don't do that. As Christians when we get someone saved we have to disciple them. In the church there should be no spiritual orphans.

Let's go make disciples. Our job is not ended yet. And in v20 Jesus said "I am with you ALWAYS even unto the end of the world". We cannot do it on our own strength or we will feel tired and discouraged. But if we do it under His anointing, we can fulfill our mission.