Life of Jesus He Has Risen, Just as He Said!

Matthew 28:1-10
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. (1-4) Just as the death of Jesus brought about an earthquake which tore the temple veil, so the appearance of the angel who rolled back the stone was marked with a violent earthquake The massive stone is thought to have weighed about two tons, and in Marks account, the women approaching to the tomb asked each other, who will roll the stone away? (16:3) The angel rolled it away easily and used it as a stool his appearance was like lightning The women were frightened, so the angel of the Lord told them not to be afraid (28:5) The guards were terrified, but the angel gave them no comforting words and they passed out Gods awesome angels seemed to traumatize those who witnessed them (Judges 6:23, 13:22) 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; He has risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay. Then go quickly and tell His disciples. He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him. Now I have told you. (5-7) Gods angelic message to the women? Do not be afraid just as Jesus will tell them (28:10), and just as He will tell the frightened disciples, Peace be with you (Luke 24:36) A diligent biblical scholar counted the number of times the words fear not or do not be afraid were spoken by God, a prophet, an angel or Jesus 365 times (daily for the year) The angel comforts them with a reminder He has risen, just as He said (16:21, 17:23, 20:19 The fact of the resurrection is the living proof that Jesus truly was (and is) the Son of God Experiencing our sin, dying on the cross, then rising again He conquered both sin and death The resurrection also confirms that all Jesus said is authoritatively true, as the risen Lord said to them: This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms (Luke 24:44) So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell His disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. Greetings, He said. They came to Him, clasped His feet and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see Me. (8-10) Women were the first eyewitnesses of the empty tomb and of the risen Christ The surrounding culture considered their testimony to be worthless, and even the disciples did not take them seriously when they told them that Jesus was alive (Luke 24:11, 22)

 Jesus demonstrated that God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34) in this first appearance, and Paul will later teach the church that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Gentile, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ (Galatians 3:28) The power of the resurrection (Philippians 3:10), which becomes active in the life of the believer by that same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead (Romans 8:11) , breaks down social, economic, political, and philosophic barriers making the church one in Christ