The Stone Rolled Away
A sermon
(No. 863)
Delivered on Lord's-day Morning, MARCH 28, 1869, by
C.H.SPURGEON,
At the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington
"The angel of the Lord descended from Heaven and came and rolled back
the stone from the door, and sat upon it."- Matthew 28:2.
As the holy women went towards the sepulcher in the twilight of the
morning, desirous to embalm the body of Jesus, they recollected that
the huge stone at the door of the tomb would be a great impediment in
their way and they said one to another, "Who shall roll away the
stone?" That question gathers up the mournful enquiry of the whole
universe. They seem to have put into language the great sigh of
universal manhood, "Who shall roll away the stone?" In man's path of
happiness lies a huge rock which completely blocks up the road. Who
among the mighty shall remove the barrier? Philosophy attempted the
task, but miserably failed. In the ascent to immortality the stone of
doubt, uncertainty and unbelief stopped all progress. Who could remove
the awful mass and bring life and immortality to light?
Men, generation after generation, buried their fellows–the
all-devouring sepulcher swallowed its myriads. Who could stop the daily
slaughter, or give a hope beyond the grave? There was a whisper of
resurrection, but men could not believe in it. Some dreamed of a future
state and talked of it in mysterious poetry, as though it were all
imagination and nothing more. In darkness and in twilight, with many
fears and few guesses at the truth, men continued to enquire, "Who
shall roll away the stone?"
Men had an indistinct feeling that this worm could not be all–that
there must be another life–that intelligent creatures could not all
have come into this world that they might perish. It was hoped, at any
rate, that there was something beyond the fatal river. It scarcely
could be that none returned from Avernus–there surely must be a way
out of the sepulcher. Difficult as the pathway might be, men hoped that
surely there must be some return from the land of death shade, and the
question was, therefore, ever rising to the heart, if not to the lips,
"Where is the coming man? Where is the predestinated deliverer? Where
is he and who is he that shall roll away the stone?"
To the women there were three difficulties. The stone of itself was
huge. It was stamped with the seal of the Law. It was guarded by the
representatives of power. To mankind there were the same three
difficulties. Death itself was a huge stone not to be moved by any
strength known to mortals. That death was evidently sent of God as a
penalty for offenses against His Law–how could it, therefore, be
averted, how could it be removed? The red seal of God's vengeance was
set upon that sepulcher's mouth–how should that seal be broken? Who
could roll the stone away?
Moreover, demon forces and powers of Hell were watching the sepulcher
to prevent escape–who could encounter these and bear departed souls
like a prey from between the lion's teeth? It was a dreary question,
"Who shall roll away the stone from the sepulcher?" "Can these dry
bones live? Shall our departed ones be restored to us? Can the
multitudes of our race who have gone down to Hades ever return from the
land of midnight and confusion?" So asked all heathendom, "Who?" And
Echo answered, "Who?"
No answer was given to sages and kings, but the women who loved the
Savior found an answer! They came to the tomb of Christ, but it was
empty, for Jesus had risen! Here is the answer to the world's
enquiry–there is another life! Bodies will live again, for Jesus
lives! O mourning Rachel, refusing to be comforted, "Refrain your voice
from weeping and your eyes from tears: for your work shall be rewarded
and they shall come again from the land of the enemy." Sorrow no
longer, you mourners, around the grave, as those that are without
hope–for since Jesus Christ is risen, the dead in Christ shall rise
also!
Wipe away those tears, for the Believer's grave is no longer the place
for lamentations–it is but the passage to immortality! It is but the
dressing room in which the spirit shall put aside, for awhile, her
travel-worn garments of her
earthly journey–to put them on again on a brighter morrow–when they
shall be fair and white as no fuller on earth could make them!
I purpose, this morning, to talk a little concerning the Resurrection
of our exalted Lord Jesus, and that the subject may the more readily
interest you, I shall, first of all, bid this stone which was rolled
away, preach to you. And then I shall invite you to hear the angel's
homily from his pulpit of stone.
I. First, LET THE STONE PREACH. It is not at all an uncommon thing to
find in Scripture stones bid to speak. Great stones have been rolled as
witnesses against the people. Stones and beams out of the wall have
been called upon to testify to sin. I shall call this stone as a
witness to valuable Truths of God of which it was the symbol. The river
of our thought divides into six streams.
1. First, the stone rolled must evidently be regarded as the door of
the sepulcher removed. Death's house was firmly secured by a huge
stone. The angel removed it and the living Christ came forth. The
massive door, you will observe, was taken away from the grave–not
merely opened–but unhinged, flung aside, rolled away! And now Death's
ancient prison is without a door! The saints shall pass in, but they
shall not be shut in. They shall tarry there as in an open cavern, but
there is nothing to prevent their coming forth from it in due time.
As Samson, when he slept in Gaza and was beset by foes, arose early in
the morning and took upon his shoulders the gates of Gaza–posts and
bars and all–and carried all away and left the Philistine stronghold
open and exposed, so has it been done unto the grave by our Master,
who, having slept out His three days and nights, according to the
Divine decree, arose in the greatness of His strength and bore away the
iron gates of the sepulcher, tearing every bar from its place. The
removal of the imprisoning stone was the outward type of our Lord's
having plucked up the gates of the grave–posts, bars and all–thus
exposing that old fortress of Death and Hell and leaving it as a city
stormed and taken and bereft of power.
Remember that our Lord was committed to the grave as a Hostage. "He
died for our sins." Like a debt they were imputed to Him. He discharged
the debt of obligation due from us to God on the Cross–He suffered to
the full the great substitutionary equivalent for our suffering and
then He was confined in the tomb as a Hostage until His work should be
fully accepted. That acceptance would be notified by His coming forth
from vile durance. And that coming forth would become our
justification! "He rose again for our justification." If He had not
fully paid the debt He would have remained in the grave. If Jesus had
not made effectual, total, final Atonement, He would have continued a
captive.
But He had done it all. The, "It is finished," which came from His own
lips, was established by the verdict of Jehovah, and Jesus was set
free. Mark Him as He rises–not breaking out of prison like a felon who
escapes from justice–but coming leisurely forth like one whose time of
release from jail is come. Rising, it is true, by His own power, but
not leaving the tomb without a sacred permit–the heavenly officer from
the court of Heaven is deputized to open the door for Him by rolling
away the stone. And Jesus Christ, completely justified, rises to prove
that all His people are, in Him, completely justified and the work of
salvation is forever perfect!
The stone is rolled from the door of the sepulcher as if to show that
Jesus has so effectually done the work that nothing can shut us up in
the grave again. The grave has changed its character. It has been
altogether annihilated and put away as a prison, so that death to the
saints is no longer a punishment for sin, but an entrance into rest!
Come, Brethren, let us rejoice in this! In the empty tomb of Christ we
see sin forever put away–we see, therefore, death most effectually
destroyed! Our sins were the great stone which shut the mouth of the
sepulcher and held us captives in death and darkness and despair. Our
sins are now forever rolled away and therefore death is no longer a
dungeon, dark and drear, the antechamber of Hell, but rather it is a
perfumed bed chamber, a withdrawing room, the vestibule of Heaven!
As surely as Jesus rose, so must His people leave the dead–there is
nothing to prevent the resurrection of the saints. The stone which
could keep us in the prison has been rolled away! Who can bar us in
when the door itself is gone? Who can confine us when every barricade
is taken away?–
"Who shall rebuild for the tyrant his prison?
The scepter lies broken that fell from his hands!
The stone is removed. The Lord is risen!
The helpless shall soon be released from their bands."
2. In the second place, regard the stone as a trophy, set up. As men of
old set up memorial stones and as at this day we erect columns to tell
of great deeds of prowess, so that stone rolled away was, as it were,
before the eyes of our faith
consecrated that day as a memorial of Christ's eternal victory over the
powers of Death and Hell. They thought that they had vanquished Him.
They deemed that the Crucified was overcome. Grimly did they smile as
they saw His motionless body wrapped in the winding-sheet and put away
in Joseph's new tomb. But their joy was fleeting! Their boasting was
but brief, for at the appointed moment He who could not see corruption
rose and came forth from beneath their power! His heel was bruised by
the old serpent, but on the Resurrection Morning He crushed the
dragon's head–
"Vain the stone, the watch, the seal,
Christ has burst the gates of Hell!
Death in vain forbids His rise,
Christ has opened Paradise!
Lives again our glorious King!
'Where, O Death, is now your sting?'
Once He died our souls to save–
'Where's your victory, boasting grave?'" Brethren beloved in Christ, as
we look at yonder stone, with the angel seated upon it, it rises before
us as a monument of Christ's victory over Death and Hell and it becomes
us to remember that His victory was achieved for us and the fruits of
it are all ours! We have to fight with sin, but Christ has overcome it!
We are tempted by Satan–Christ has given Satan a defeat. We by-and-by
shall leave this body unless the Lord comes speedily. We may expect to
gather up our feet like our fathers and go to meet our God. But Death
is vanquished for us and we can have no cause to fear! Courage,
Christian soldiers, you are encountering a vanquished enemy!
Remember that the Lord's victory is a guarantee for yours! If the Head
conquers, the members shall not be defeated. Let not sorrow dim your
eyes–let no fears trouble your spirit–you must conquer, for Christ
has conquered! Awaken all your powers to the conflict and nerve them
with the hope of victory. Had you seen your Master defeated, you might
expect yourself to be blown like chaff before the wind. But the power
by which He overcame He lends to you! The Holy Spirit is in you! Jesus
Himself has promised to be with you always, even to the end of the
world and the mighty God is your Refuge. You shall surely overcome
through the blood of the Lamb! Set up that stone before your faith's
eye this morning and say, "Here my Master conquered Hell and Death and
in His name and by His strength I shall be crowned, too, when the last
enemy is destroyed."
3. For a third use of this stone, observe that here is a foundation
laid. That stone rolled away from the sepulcher, typifying and
certifying, as it does, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, is a
foundation stone for Christian faith. The fact of the Resurrection is
the keystone of Christianity. Disprove the Resurrection of our Lord and
our holy faith would be a mere fable! There would be nothing for faith
to rest upon if He who died upon the Cross did not also rise again from
the tomb! Then "your faith is in vain," said the Apostle, "you are yet
in your sins," while, "they, also, which are fallen asleep in Christ
are perished."
All the great doctrines of our Divine religion fall asunder like the
stones of an arch when the keystone is dislodged– in a common ruin
they are all overthrown–for all our hope hinges upon that great fact.
If Jesus rose, then is this Gospel what it professes to be! If He rose
not from the dead, then is it all deceit and delusion! But, Brothers
and Sisters, that Jesus rose from the dead is a fact better established
than almost any other in history. The witnesses were many–they were
men of all classes and conditions. None of them ever confessed himself
mistaken or deceived. They were so persuaded that it was a fact, that
the most of them suffered death for bearing witness to it!
They had nothing to gain by such a witness! They did not rise in power,
nor gain honor or wealth. They were truthful, simple-minded men who
testified what they had seen and bore witness to that which they had
beheld. The Resurrection is a fact better attested than any event
recorded in history whether ancient or modern. Here is the confidence
of the saints–our Lord Jesus Christ who witnessed a good confession
before Pontius Pilate and was crucified, dead and buried, rose again
from the dead and after 40 days ascended to the Throne of God.
We rest in Him! We believe in Him! If He had not risen, we had been of
all men most miserable to have been His followers. If He had not risen,
His Atonement would not have been proved sufficient. If He had not
risen, His blood would not have been proven to us to be efficacious for
the taking away of sin! But as He has risen, we build upon this Truth
of God–all our confidence we rest upon it and we are persuaded that–
"Raised from the dead, He goes before;
He opens Heaven's eternal door;
To give His saints a blest abode,
Near their Redeemer and their God." My dear Hearers, are you resting
your everlasting hopes upon the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the
dead? Do you trust in Him, believing that He both died and rose again
for you? Do you place your entire dependence upon the merit of His
blood certified by the fact of His rising again? If so, you have a
foundation of fact and truth–a foundation against which the gates of
Hell shall not prevail! But if you are building upon anything that you
have done, or anything that priestly hands can do for you–you are
building upon the sands which shall be swept away by the all-devouring
flood and you and your hopes, too, shall go down into the fathomless
abyss wrapped in the darkness of despair! Oh, to build upon the living
Stone of Christ Jesus! Oh, to rest on Him who is a tried Cornerstone,
elect, precious! This is to build safely, eternally and blessedly!
4. A fourth voice from the stone is this–here is rest provided. The
angel seemed to teach us that as he sat down upon the stone. How
leisurely the whole Resurrection was effected! How noiselessly, too!
What an absence of pomp and parade! The angel descended. The stone was
rolled away. Christ rose and then the angel sat down on the stone–he
sat there silently and gracefully–breathing defiance to the Jews and
to their seal, to the Roman legionaries and their spears, to Death, to
earth, to Hell. He did as good as say, "Come and roll that stone back
again, you enemies of the Risen One! All you infernal powers who
thought to prevail against our ever-living Prince, roll back that stone
again, if you dare or
can!"
The angel said not this in words, but his stately and quiet sitting
upon the stone meant all that and more. The Master's work is done and
done forever and this stone, no more to be used, this unhinged door, no
more employed to shut in the tomb, is the type that, "it is
finished"–finished so as never to be undone–finished so as to last
eternally! Yon resting angel softly whispers to us, "Come here and rest
also." There is no fuller, better, surer, safer rest for the soul than
in the fact that the Savior in whom we trust has risen from the dead!
Do you mourn departed friends today? O come and sit upon this stone
which tells you they shall rise again!
Do you expect to die soon? Is the worm at the root? Have you the flush
of consumption on your cheek? O come and sit down upon this stone and
remember that Death has lost its terror, now, for Jesus has risen from
the tomb! Come, too, you feeble and trembling ones and breathe defiance
to Death and Hell. The angel will vacate his seat for you and let you
sit down in the face of the enemy. Though you are but a humble woman,
or a man broken down and pale and languid with long years of weary
sickness, yet may you well defy all the hosts of Hell while resting
upon this precious Truth of God, "He is not here, but He is risen! He
has left the dead, no more to die."
I was reminded, as I thought over this passage of my discourse, of that
time when Jacob journeyed to the house of Laban. It is said he came to
a place where there was a well and a great stone lay upon it and the
flocks and herds were gathered round it, but they had no water till one
came and rolled away the great stone from the well's mouth and then
they watered the flocks. Even so the tomb of Jesus is like a great well
springing up with the purest and most Divine refreshment–but until
this stone was rolled away none of the flocks redeemed by blood could
be watered there! But now, every Sunday, on the Resurrection Morning,
the first day of the week, we gather round our Lord's open sepulcher
and draw living waters from that sacred well!
O you weary sheep of the fold, O you who are faint and ready to die,
come here! Here is sweet refreshment! Jesus Christ is risen! Let your
comforts be multiplied!–
"Every note with wonders swell, Sin overthrown and captive Hell; Where
is Hell's once dreaded king? Where, O Death, your mortal sting?
Hallelujah."
5. In the fifth place, that stone was a boundary appointed. Do you not
see it so? Behold it, then–there it lies and the angel sits upon it.
On that side what do you see? The guards frightened, stiffened with
fear, like dead men. On this side what do you see? The timid trembling
women, to whom the angel softly speaks, "Fear not: for I know that you
seek Jesus." You see, then, that stone became the boundary between the
living and the dead–between the seekers and the haters–between the
friends and the foes of Christ. To His enemies His Resurrection is "a
stone of stumbling and a rock
of offense." As of old on Mar's Hill, when the sages heard of the
Resurrection, they mocked. But to His own people, the Resurrection is
the headstone of the corner.
Our Lord's Resurrection is our triumph and delight! The Resurrection
acts much in the same manner as the pillar which Jehovah placed between
Israel and Egypt–it was darkness to Egypt, but it gave light to
Israel! All was dark amidst Egypt's hosts, but all was brightness and
comfort among Israel's tribes! So the Resurrection is a doctrine full
of horror to those who know not Christ and trust Him not. What have
they to gain by resurrection? Happy were they could they sleep in
everlasting annihilation!
What have they to gain by Christ's Resurrection? Shall He come whom
they have despised? Is He living whom they have hated and abhorred?
Will He bid them rise? Will they have to meet Him as a Judge upon the
Throne? The very thought of this is enough to strike through the loins
of kings! But what will the fact of it be when the clarion trumpet
startles all the sons of Adam from their last beds of dust? Oh, the
horrors of that tremendous morning, when every sinner shall rise and
the risen Savior shall come in the clouds of Heaven and all the holy
angels with Him! Truly there is nothing but dismay for those who are on
the evil side of that Resurrection stone!
But how great the joy which the Resurrection brings to those who are on
the right side of that stone! How they look for His appearing with
daily growing transport! How they build upon the sweet Truth of God
that they shall arise and with these eyes see their Savior! I would
have you ask yourselves, this morning, on which side you are of that
boundary stone. Have you life in Christ? Are you risen with Christ? Do
you trust alone in Him who rose from the dead? If so, fear not! The
angel comforts you and Jesus cheers you! But oh, if you have no life in
Christ, but are dead while you live, let the very thought that Jesus is
risen strike you with fear and make you tremble–for tremble well you
may at that which awaits you.
6. Sixthly, I conceive that this stone may be used and properly, too,
as foreshadowing ruin. Our Lord came into this world to destroy all the
works of Satan. Behold before you the works of the devil pictured as a
grim and horrible castle, massive and terrible, overgrown with the moss
of ages, colossal, stupendous, cemented with blood of men, ramparted by
mischief and craft, surrounded with deep trenches and garrisoned with
fiends! A structure dread enough to cause despair to everyone who goes
round about it to count its towers and mark its bulwarks.
In the fullness of time our Champion came into the world to destroy the
works of the devil. During His life He sounded an alarm at the great
castle and dislodged here and there a stone–for the sick were healed,
the dead were raised and the poor had the Gospel preached to them! But
on the Resurrection morning the huge fortress trembled from top to
bottom! Huge rifts were in its walls–and tottering were all its
strongholds! A stronger than the master of that citadel had evidently
entered it and was beginning to overturn, overturn, overturn, from
pinnacle to basement! One huge stone, upon which the building much
depended–a cornerstone which knit the whole fabric together–was
lifted bodily from its bed and hurled to the ground. Jesus tore the
huge granite stone of Death from its position and so gave a sure token
that every other would follow!
When that stone was rolled away from Jesus' sepulcher, it was a
prophecy that every stone of Satan's building should come down and not
one should rest upon another of all that the powers of darkness had
ever piled up–from the days of their first apostasy even unto the end!
Brothers and Sisters, that stone rolled away from the door of the
sepulcher gives me glorious hope! Evil is still mighty, but evil will
come down! Spiritual wickedness reigns in high places–the multitude
still clamor after evil–the nations still sit in thick darkness. Many
worship the scarlet woman of Babylon. Others bow before the crescent of
Mohammed and millions bend themselves before blocks of wood and stone.
The dark places and habitations of the earth are still full of cruelty.
But Christ has given such a shiver to the whole fabric of evil that,
depend upon it, every stone will be certain to fall. We have but to
work on–use the battering ram of the Gospel, continue each one to keep
in his place, and like the hosts around Jericho, to sound the
trumpet–and the day must come when every hoary evil, every colossal
superstition shall be laid low! And the prophecy shall be fulfilled,
"Overturn, overturn, overturn it! And it shall be no more, until He
comes whose right it is. And I will give it to Him."
That loosened stone on which the angel sits is the assurance of the
coming doom of everything that is base and vile! Rejoice, you sons of
God, for Babylon's fall draws near! Sing, O heavens and rejoice, O
earth, for there shall not an evil
be spared. Verily, I say unto you, there shall not be one stone left
upon another which shall not be cast down. Thus has the stone preached
to us–we will pause awhile and hear what the angel has to say.
II. THE ANGEL PREACHED two ways–he preached in symbol and he preached
in words. Preaching in symbol is very popular with a certain party
nowadays. The Gospel is to be seen by the eyes, they tell us, and the
people are to learn from the change of colors, at various seasons, such
as blue and green and violet–exhibited on the priest and the altar and
by lace and by candles and by banners and by cruets and shells full of
water! They are even to be taught or led by the nose, which is to be
indulged with smoke of incense–and drawn by the ears–which are to
listen to hideous chants or to dainty canticles.
Now, mark well that the angel was a symbolical preacher with his brow
of lightning and his robe of snow! But you will please to notice for
whom the symbols were reserved. He did not say a word to the
keepers–not a word. He gave them the symbolic Gospel, that is to say,
he looked upon them–and his glance was lightning! He revealed himself
to them in his snow-white garments and no more. Mark how they quake and
tremble! That is the Gospel of symbols, and wherever it comes it
condemns.
It can do no other. Why, the old Mosaic law of symbols, where did it
end? How few ever reached its inner meaning! The mass of Israel fell
into idolatry and the symbolic system became death to them. You who
delight in symbols. You who think it is Christian to make the whole
year a kind of practical charade upon the life of Christ. You who think
that all Christianity is to be taught in semi-dramas, as men perform in
theaters and puppet shows, go your way, for you shall meet no Heaven on
that road–no Christ, no life! You shall meet with priests and
formalists and hypocrites and into the thick woods and among the dark
mountains of destruction shall you stumble to your utter ruin!
The Gospel message is, "Hear and your soul shall live." "Incline your
ear and come unto Me." This is the life-giving message, "Believe in the
Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved." But, O perverse generation!
If you look for symbols and signs, you shall be deluded with the
devil's Gospel and fall a prey to the Destroyer! Now we will listen to
the angel's sermon in words. Thus only is a true Gospel to be
delivered. Christ is the Word and the Gospel is a Gospel of words and
thoughts. It does not appeal to the eyes–it appeals to the ears and to
the intellect and to the heart. It is a spiritual thing and can only be
learned by those whose spirits are awakened to grasp at the spiritual
Truths of God.
The first thing the angel said was, "Fear not." Oh, this is the very
genius of our risen Savior's Gospel–"Fear not." You who would be
saved. You who would follow Christ, you need not fear! Did the earth
quake? Fear not! God can preserve you though the earth is burned with
fire! Did the angel descend in terrors? Fear not! There are no terrors
in Heaven for the child of God who comes to Jesus' Cross and trusts his
soul to Him who bled there. Poor women, is it the dark that alarms you?
Fear not! God sees and loves you in the dark and there is nothing in
the dark or in the light beyond His control.
Are you afraid to come to a tomb? Does a sepulcher alarm you? Fear not!
You cannot die. Since Christ has risen, though you were dead yet should
you live. Oh, the comfort of the Gospel! Permit me to say there is
nothing in the Bible to make any man fear who puts his trust in Jesus.
Nothing in the Bible, did I say? There is nothing in Heaven, nothing on
earth, nothing in Hell that need make you fear who trust in Jesus.
"Fear not." The past you need not fear–it is forgiven you. The present
you need not fear–it is provided for. The future, also, is secured by
the living power of Jesus. "Because I live," says He, "you shall live
also."
Fear! Why that were comely and seemly when Christ was dead, but now
that He lives there remains no space for it! Do you fear your sins?
They are all gone, for Christ had not risen if He had not put them all
away! What is it you fear? If an angel bids you, "Fear not," why will
you fear? If every wound of the risen Savior and every act of your
reigning Lord consoles you, why are you still dismayed? To be doubting
and fearing and trembling, now that Jesus has risen, is an inconsistent
thing in any Believer! Jesus is able to succor you in all your
temptations, seeing He ever lives to make intercession for you, He is
able to save you to the uttermost–therefore, do not fear!
Notice the next word, "Fear not: for I know." What? Does an angel know
the women's hearts? Did the angel know what Magdalene was about! Do
spirits read our spirits? 'Tis well. But oh, 'tis better to remember
that our heavenly Father knows. Fear not, for God knows what is in your
heart. You have never made an avowal of anxiety about your soul, you
are too bashful even for that–you have not even proceeded so far as to
dare to say that you hope you love Jesus–but God knows your desires.
Poor Heart, you feel as if you could not trust and could not do
anything that is good! But you do at least desire, you do at least
seek. All this God knows. With pleasure He spies out your desires. Does
not this comfort you–this great fact of the knowledge of God? I could
not read what is in your spirit and perhaps you could not tell me what
is there. If you tried, you would say after you had done, "Well, I did
not tell him exactly what I felt. I have missed the comfort I might
have had, for I did not explain my case." But there is One who deals
with you and knows exactly where your difficulty is and what is the
cause of your present sorrow. "Fear not," for your heavenly Father
knows! Lie still, poor Patient, for the surgeon knows where the wound
is and what it is that ails you. Hush, my Child, be still upon your
great Parent's bosom, for He knows all. And ought not that content
you–that His care is as infinite as His knowledge?
Then the angel went on to say, "Fear not: for I know that you seek
Jesus, which was crucified." There was room for comfort here. They were
seeking Jesus, though the world had crucified Him. Though the many had
turned aside and left Him, they were clinging to Him in loving loyalty.
Now, is there anyone here who can say, "Though I am unworthy to be a
follower of Christ and often think that He will reject me, yet there is
one thing I am sure of–I would not be afraid of the fear of man for
His sake. My sins make me fear, but no man could do it. I would stand
at His side if all the world were against Him.
"I would count it my highest honor that the Crucified One of the world
should be the adored One of my heart. Let all the world cast Him out,
if He would but take me in, poor unworthy worm as I am, I would never
be ashamed to own His blessed and gracious name"? Ah, then, do not
fear, for if that is how you feel towards Christ, He will own you in
the Last Great Day. If you are willing to own Him now, "Fear not." I am
sure I sometimes feel, when I am looking into my own heart, as if I had
neither part nor lot in the matter and could claim no interest in the
Beloved at all. But, then, I do know this–I am not ashamed to be put
to shame for Him–and if I should be charged with being a fanatic and
an enthusiast in His cause, I would count it the highest honor to plead
guilty to so blessed an impeachment for His dear sake.
If this is truly the language of our hearts, we may take courage. "Fear
not: for I know that you seek Jesus, which was crucified." Then he
adds, "He is not here: for He is risen." Here is the instruction which
the angel gives. After giving comfort, he gives instruction. Your great
ground and reason for consolation, Seeker, is that you do not seek a
dead Christ and you do not pray to a buried Savior! He is really alive!
Today He is as able to relieve you, if you go to your closet and pray
to Him, as He was to help the poor blind man when He was on earth. He
is as willing today to accept and bless you as He was to bless the
leper, or to heal the paralytic. Go to Him, then, at once, poor Seeker!
Go to Him with holy confidence, for He is not in the tomb–He would be
dead if He were–He is risen, living and reigning, to answer your
request! The angel bade the holy women investigate the empty tomb, but,
almost immediately after, he gave them a commission to perform on their
Lord's behalf. Now, if any seeker here has been comforted by the
thought that Christ lives to save, let him do as the angel said–let
him go and tell others of the good news that he has heard. It is the
great means for propagating our holy faith, that all who have learned
it should teach it. We have not some ministers set apart to whom is
reserved the sole right of teaching in the Christian Church! We have no
belief in a clergy and a laity!
Believers, you are all God's clerics–all of you! As many of you as
believe in Christ are God's clergy and bound to serve Him according to
your abilities. Many members there are in the body, but every member
has its office–and there is no member in the body of Christ which is
to be idle, because, indeed, it cannot do what the Head can do. The
foot has its place and the hand its duty, as well as the tongue and the
eyes. O you who have learned of Jesus, keep not the blessed secret to
yourselves! Today, in some way or other, I pray you make known that
Jesus Christ is risen! Pass the watchword round, as the ancient
Christians did! On the first day of the week they said to one another,
"The Lord is risen, indeed."
If any ask you what you mean by it, you will then be able to tell them
the whole of the Gospel, for this is the essence of the Gospel–that
Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose again the third day, according
to the Scriptures. He died the Substitute for us criminals! He rose the
Representative of us pardoned sinners! He died that our sins might die
and lives again that our souls may live! Diligently invite others to
come and trust Jesus. Tell them that there is life for the dead in a
look at Jesus crucified! Tell them that that look is a matter of the
soul! Tell them it is a simple confidence! Tell them that none ever did
confide in Christ and were cast away! Tell them what you have felt as
the result of your trusting Jesus and who can tell, many disciples may
be added to His Church, a risen Savior will be glorified and you will
be comforted by what you have seen!
The Lord follow these feeble words with His own blessing, for Christ's
sake. Amen.
PORTION OF SCRIPTURE READ BEFORE SERMON–Matthew 28.