Fake news. Who's heard of fake news? We've all heard of fake news. It's the intentional spinning or misinforming of people using news outlets and social media. It's really just kind of a propaganda deal.
In 2016, there was this whopper fake news headline. This is what it was. Obama signs executive order banning the pledge of allegiance in schools nationwide. According to BuzzFeed, there was about 2.2 million people on Facebook that shared it, commented, and reacted to it.
But factcheck.org revealed that it was not true. That the site that sent it out was a satirical news site that was kind of pretending to be ABC News. Fake news. False news.
You know, we live in a time where skepticism is on the rise. There are headlines in your news feed that you see them on TV and one of the questions you first ask is, is that real? Is it true? Can I buy this?
Today, all across our nation and the world, there is a headline on church marquees, on web pages. It's even in your bulletin this morning. Here's the headline.
He is risen. The question I want to ask this morning is, is that fake news or is that real news?
He is risen. He is risen. If it's fake news, it's a bunch of hogwash and you reject it. But if it's real news, if it's true, it's good news. And not only should you accept it, you should commit yourself to it.
So this morning, we're going to ask the question, is the bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead?
Is that spin? Is that fake news? Is that misinformation?
Or is that real, true, and accurate news? And depending on how you answer that, there will be some significant implications.
So this morning, I want to walk with you through a biblical account.
I want to clarify the biblical account of the resurrection of Jesus so we all know what the news is.
And then I want to help you to consider the claim that that little passage is making.
It is a phenomenal claim.
And then let's chew on the implications together and then I'm going to call you to choose to make a commitment.
He is risen.
Fake news or real news?
So in order to clarify the biblical account, I need you to open up your Bibles.
So if you would open up your Bibles to Matthew 28, here's how your Bible works.
There are basically two sections of your Bible.
There's the Old Testament, which describes God's gracious relationship with His people before Jesus.
And then there's the New Testament, which describes God's gracious relationship with His new people after Jesus,
anticipating the second coming of Jesus.
So there's two sections of your Bible.
Your Bible's broken into books.
There's 66 books.
And one book is then broken into chapters.
Those chapters are further broken down to verses.
And it's all helped you to find your way around the Bible.
And so if you would open up to your New Testament, it's the first book of your New Testament.
It's the Gospel of Matthew.
And I want you to turn to the last chapter of Matthew, Matthew chapter 28.
And we're going to look at verses 1 through 10.
Dave read them earlier.
And what we're going to do is basically walk through the biblical account so we're all on the same page of what the Bible says.
But before we get to Matthew 28, let me just give you a little background.
What happens in Matthew 28, 1 through 10, happens on a Sunday, the first day of the week.
But there's some really important things that happened that Thursday and Friday leading up to the first Easter.
In Matthew 26 and 27, Jesus is arrested.
And he's brought to trial.
And he goes before two groups of people.
He goes before a bunch of Jews called the Sanhedrin.
And they find him guilty of blasphemy.
They send him to Pilate.
Pilate was the Roman authority who had the authority to put someone to death.
And there was all sorts of pressure put on Pilate to crucify Jesus.
He capitulates, washes his hands, hands him over to the guards and says, crucify him.
The guards take him.
They mock him.
And eventually, they lead him to Golgotha, the place of the skull, which is known as Calvary, where they crucify him.
It's a brutal way to die.
And while he's being crucified, he's being mocked.
And after about 3 p.m. Good Friday afternoon, he breathes his last and yields up his spirit.
And there's amazing things happen.
There's an earthquake, among other things.
And then, Joseph of Arimathea requests from Pilate, hey, I'll take his body.
I'll bury him in my tomb.
The new tomb that it meant for me.
I'm going to put Jesus in it.
Do you know who was there?
Where Mary Magdalene and this other Mary, the two Marys, were there watching where the body of Jesus was placed.
You can see that in Matthew 27, 61.
So that happened all on Friday.
Saturday comes around, and the Jewish establishment goes to Pilate, and he says,
hey, can you give us a Roman guard, please?
We want to guard the tomb.
Why?
They weren't afraid that, they didn't think that Jesus would be raised from the dead.
They were thinking that the disciples would steal the body in order to do a little fake news spin of their own.
And so Pilate says, you've got your own guard from the temple.
You can set that up.
So there's a guard stationed on Saturday, and all of a sudden, here we are Sunday morning.
And this is where we're going to pick up in Matthew 28, verse 1.
We read this.
Early Sunday morning.
Toward the dawn of the first day of the week.
Now remember, the Jewish Sabbath was a Saturday, so the first day of the week was Sunday.
So Matthew's being very clear about when this is happening.
The two Marys who witnessed where Jesus was buried, they're going back to the tomb.
They're going back to the tomb we learned from the other Gospels to prepare his body for burial.
And as they're going, in verse 2, there's another earthquake.
There's the first earthquake when Jesus died, which would have gotten your attention.
And then there's this earthquake, another earthquake.
All of creation is making a statement about what has happened.
And lo and behold, at the same time of this earthquake, an angel of the Lord descends.
This isn't the first appearance of angels in the book of Matthew.
There are angels all over the place in chapters 1 and 2, announcing Jesus' birth.
And then angels appear again in Matthew 4, after Jesus is tempted.
After he does that, nobody else could do.
And that is, sustain the temptations of the devil himself.
And he was ministered to by angels.
Well, here is this angel who rolls away the huge stone blocking the tomb.
And my imagination runs wild.
There is this angel sitting on the stone in front of the empty tomb.
And my question is, what pose is he in?
Is he in like the classic senior picture pose?
You know, kind of like this?
Is he on the stone with his legs crossed?
Kind of like arms back waiting?
We don't know.
But his hands aren't ringing.
He's not saying, where did Jesus go?
He's there to declare.
He's there to announce.
He's there to make known something.
In 28.3, Matthew is very clear about the appearance of this angel.
He was bright as lightning.
White, bright and white.
Mary and Mary would be like, you're not from around here, are you?
Everybody would have known that this guy's not from around here.
Well, in verse 4, we see what happens to the guard.
It's like angel taser beam.
This angel shows up in bright and white, sitting on the stone,
and the Roman guard assigned by Pilate.
They drop like dead men.
They've been immobilized by angelic glory.
But not the Marys.
The angel says to them, don't be afraid, in verse 5.
Don't be afraid, for I know you seek Jesus who was crucified.
Even the angel recognized that Jesus was dead on the cross.
In 28.6, the angel says,
He's not here.
He's not in the tomb.
Which makes us ask the question,
Well, where is He?
And then the angel says,
For He is risen.
The first to announce the resurrection of Jesus is an angel.
From heaven.
He's not here, for He is risen.
And then we read,
He says, as He said.
Jesus said,
He was going to be crucified,
and three days later,
be raised.
He says it three times leading up to coming into Jerusalem,
all throughout the Gospel of Matthew.
That's why the Pharisees had a guard set around the tomb.
They knew it too.
He's not here,
for He is risen,
as He said.
You see,
Jesus fulfills His word.
He is unstoppable.
Not only could this Roman guard not stop Him,
death could not stop Him.
And so,
the angel says to the Mary,
See for yourselves,
the tomb is empty,
meaning there's no body.
28.7,
the angel tells the Marys
to go and tell the disciples
that Jesus is risen from the dead,
and that the risen Christ would meet them up in Galilee.
That's where Jesus did most of His ministry.
Capernaum,
which is in Galilee,
would have been 80 miles due north of Jerusalem,
as the crow flies.
So,
this angel said,
the risen Christ is going to meet the disciples up there.
In 28.8,
we read that the Marys quickly leave the tomb,
it's empty,
and that they kind of basically run out of there
with a mixture of fear and joy.
Do you see that?
In verse 8,
we read,
so they departed quickly from the tomb
with fear and great joy.
We have a word for that mix of fear and joy.
It's the word awe.
Being in awe of something.
Amazement.
It's the sense of,
could it be something bigger than yourself
that at the one point you're feeling,
this is huge,
and it's really exciting.
And so,
there is mounting excitement in the two Marys.
And as they're going in verse 9,
we read about an appearance.
Surprise!
The risen Jesus meets them on the way.
We read this,
and behold,
Jesus met them and said,
greetings.
And that word greetings,
it's more than just,
hey,
what's up ladies?
It is this,
it is good to see you.
What a joy to see you.
Joy to you.
That's the greeting.
And the two Marys came up,
and they took hold of his feet
and worshiped him.
Did you read that?
Took hold of his feet?
Did you hear that?
Do you know what that means?
Do you know what it means
to take hold of someone's feet?
Do you know where you need to be
in order to take hold of someone's feet?
You need to be on the ground.
Prostrate.
They dropped in front of him.
They recognized him,
and they dropped in front of him.
Do you know the last time Matthew records
someone bowing at Jesus?
It's the Praetorian guards,
the Roman guards,
in Matthew 27,
when they're mocking him.
They bow down before him,
and they say,
Hail King of the Jews!
Ooh!
And here,
we have the Marys
paying homage
to the risen King.
the real King.
And they worship him.
That's a word reserved for God.
They're worshiping their God.
The risen Christ.
2810,
Jesus,
the risen Christ,
says to the Marys,
don't be afraid.
Wonderful words
from the risen King.
Go and tell your brothers,
my brothers,
he says.
Now,
that's an interesting way
to describe the disciples.
It should kind of call you back
to Matthew 12
when Jesus says,
Hey,
your family's here.
And he turns to his disciples
and says,
Here's my family,
those who do the will of my Father.
They're my brothers and sisters.
And so,
he's saying,
Hey,
I'm going to my brothers,
the ones who are doing
my Father's will.
They will see me.
So,
here's the summary
of the Bible's account
of the resurrection of Jesus.
He died on Good Friday.
He was crucified.
He was placed in Joseph's tomb
immediately after.
The Marys saw it.
A guard was assigned on Saturday.
Sunday,
the Marys go back to the tomb
in order to prepare the body.
There's this earthquake
and an angel sitting on the stone
moved away saying,
He's risen from the dead.
The Marys go into the tomb.
They see everything.
They go out to tell the disciples
and on their way,
they see and experience
the risen Jesus Himself.
They not just see Him,
they feel Him.
They grabbed His feet.
They not just felt Him,
they heard Him
talking to them.
They were in His presence.
If they were close enough,
they would have smelled
His resurrection breath.
And so what Matthew
is helping us to see here
is that these two women
are eyewitnesses
to the risen Jesus.
It's an account
of eyewitnesses
who experienced Christ Himself
after the death.
Is this account that we read
in Matthew 28, 1-10,
is this fake news
or is this real news?
Is this spin
or is this true?
We've clarified the account.
Let's now consider
the actual claim
being made here.
This account,
verses 1-10
and the other Gospel accounts,
it's claiming
that Jesus
not only really died,
but that He
was really raised bodily
from the dead.
that He's alive now.
Now you may object
and you may say,
you know what?
This resurrection business,
this is not natural.
Things like that
don't happen.
People dying
and three days later
are coming back
to life.
That doesn't happen.
It's not normal experience.
This doesn't conform
to the laws of science.
And I've got to say,
I totally,
wholeheartedly agree with you.
This is not normal.
This is not natural per se
that someone dies
and is raised from the dead.
That this is beyond
scientific explanation
because what we're reading here,
if it's true,
is supernatural.
Science is great.
It makes wonderful discoveries.
I'm an advocate of it.
It's a discovery
of God's creation.
But I'll tell you what,
there's some things
that science just becomes
like a sport coat
that's just too small to wear.
You just can't get it
over something.
And when we come
to the resurrection,
it's a supernatural miracle
of God.
It just doesn't fit over it well.
It doesn't explain
everything well.
It can't.
Science explains
natural causes and effects.
Not supernatural.
Supernatural.
Well, you may also object.
Well, this is a false account.
They made it up.
Ten of the twelve disciples
went to their death
proclaiming not only Jesus died,
but He was raised.
Including the guy
that wrote this Gospel,
Matthew,
also known as Levi.
Apparently,
church history says
He was in Ethiopia
when He got hacked to death
with an axe
proclaiming that Jesus is alive.
Would you die for life?
Another common objection,
and this is among
even Christians,
is that this resurrection
is not a real resurrection.
It is symbolism of rising hope.
The disciples really wanting
to believe it really bad.
There are churches in this town
that proclaim that.
And you know what?
It does not accord
with what the actual Bible says.
The historical accounts
of the life, death,
and resurrection of Jesus.
Sounds like fake news to me.
The Gospels point to
an actual bodily resurrection
from the dead.
Remember,
the Marys took hold
of the feet of Jesus
here in Matthew.
And Luke,
Jesus actually eats broiled fish
with His stunned disciples.
Can you imagine that?
In John 20,
Jesus is talking to Thomas.
This is the guy that says,
you know what?
I will not believe
until I put my finger
in His hands
and in His side.
And then Jesus shows up
and says,
oh, Thomas,
here, put your finger here
and put your finger here.
You know what Thomas does?
My Lord and my God!
This account makes a claim
that Jesus was crucified,
dead,
and buried,
and on the third day
He was raised bodily
from the dead.
Is it false news
or is it real news?
Let's look,
chew on the implications.
If this headline,
He is risen,
if that's fake news
that's been spinning
for 2,000 years,
if that's fake news,
then Christianity
as a whole
is a bunch of hogwash.
I'm not sure
what hogwash is.
I just know
that you don't want it.
I'm guessing
if you get a bucket
of hogwash,
you're just going
to throw it out.
And if Christianity
is built on fake news
of a fake resurrection,
it's hogwash.
Get rid of it.
If you knowingly
embrace something
that you don't believe
to be true,
you are lying to yourself.
And that's why
in 1 Corinthians 15,
the Apostle Paul,
talking about the resurrection,
talking about the resurrection
of Jesus,
and says,
hey, if this didn't happen,
Christians are to be pitied
above all people
because they're giving
their lives today
for a lie.
But chew on this.
If Jesus was actually risen,
if this is actually
real news
that it actually happened,
let's chew on those implications.
There are implications
to other things he said
because remember,
if Jesus said
he was going to be crucified
and three days later
raised from the dead,
if he was right on that,
what else did he say?
Let me tell you
some things he said.
He said that the greatest problem
every human being faces
is not outside of us,
but inside of us.
And it's not mutated genes
inside of us.
But this deep,
rebellious streak
in each of us
against God.
It's this rebellious streak
that goes like this.
God, I don't give a rip.
I'm going to do
what I want to do,
the way I want to do it,
when I want to do it,
how I want to do it.
The Bible calls that sin.
And each of us
has got that rebellious streak
in us.
According to Jesus.
And there are horrific consequences
to that.
According to Jesus.
Jesus reserves
some of his most stark language
for the eternal punishment
against that kind of rebellion.
He talks about it
as being cast out
into outer darkness
where there is
weeping and gnashing of teeth.
High consequences
to rebellion
against the living God.
So he said that.
But he also said
this.
He said that
he actually came
for rebels.
He came and became
one of us
in order to rescue
rebels.
In order to
go after the rebels
who are out
in the outer darkness
and bring them
into the light
of a banquet feast
with the living God.
He said we've got a problem
but he said
I've got a solution
and he goes on to say
let me tell you
what that solution
is going to be.
He said
I came not to be served
but to serve
and give my life
as a ransom
for many.
His death on the cross
that first good Friday
it was a ransom payment.
It was a ransom payment
for rebels
in order to bring them
from darkness
into light.
He gave his life
to pay the eternal punishment
for all those rebels
willing to believe
in him.
Now if he was right
about his own resurrection
could he be right
about your sinful condition
that you've got
a rebellion streak
in you against
the living God?
If he was right
about his own resurrection
could he also be right
of why he came?
He came on a mission
to rescue rebels.
Could he also be right
if he's right
about the resurrection
could he also be right
about what his death
accomplished?
that at 3 p.m.
that first good Friday
that when he gave up
his life
it was a ransom
for many.
So there's implications
if he was right
about his resurrection
what else did he say?
Is he right
about those two?
And now
what are the implications
about who he is?
The Bible talks
about this one
this Jesus
who's been raised
from the dead
purportedly
that he's Emmanuel
God with us
Merry Christmas!
God came
and walked among us
as a rescue mission
to become
a ransom payment.
He claimed
Jesus claimed
to be the one
who would usher
in a new kingdom
of God
a kingdom
not of political force
not of military might
but a kingdom
made up of
rescues
of rebels
rescued by his ransom
it's a kingdom
of grace
he claimed
to have been
to give all authority
on heaven
and earth
and so to come
into his kingdom
means you come
under his reign
because he has
all authority
to become a Christian
is to live
for Christ
and so that's
the big claim
of the resurrection
that this one
who has died
and was raised
he is
the
Christ
the Messiah
the King of kings
and Lord of lords
who has come
to establish
a kingdom
of rebels
turned
worshippers
and he speaks
today
he's alive
the risen Christ
just wasn't
risen in the Bible
the risen Christ
is alive
today
if he was truly
raised from the dead
he's living
he's reigning
he knows you
in and out
and he's inviting you
to come into
his kingdom
we've chewed on
the implications
if he was raised
from the dead
there are some
serious
far reaching
implications
for all of us
one of which is
to choose
choose
to whom
you're going
to commit
you see
you need
to choose
and you actually
need to choose
twice
here's what I mean
by that
the first choice
you need to make
the first decision
you need to make
is this
he has risen
business
is that
fake news
or is that
real news
that's where
you need to start
if you think
that it's fake
news
it's hogwash
get rid of it
move on with your
day
enjoy the peeps
you know what I'm
talking about
but if it's
real news
then that means
it's true
it means
it happened
it means
he's alive
which means
you have a second
choice now
to make
the first choice
is that
Christianity
is true
Jesus is alive
and now you're
realizing I'm a
sinner
and I need a
ransom
but let's just
clarify something
because I think
people get stuck
here
simply agreeing
that the
resurrection account
is true
does not mean
you are a
Christian
it doesn't mean
you are a
follower of Jesus
hey I agree
with the Chicago
Bears
choosing to
let loose
Jay Coulter
whatever his
name is
but that
doesn't mean
I'm a Bears
fan
you smell it
when I'm
cooking
I agree
but I'm not
a fan
you may
agree
with what
Matthew 28
1-10
says
but that
doesn't make
you a
follower
of the
risen
king
so the
second
choice
you need
to make
is this
it's the
moving
from
intellectual
agreement
to active
faith
let me try
to illustrate
it
I'm sure
you notice
this
stool
to my
left
it's
sturdy
or so it
seems
it's made
of wood
a solid
wood
let me
ask you
this
question
do you
think
that
this
stool
to my
left
this
particular
stool
do you
think
that
can
hold
your
way
nod
if
you
think
it
can
hold
your
way
you
can
nod
shake
your
head
if
you
don't
think
it
you
can
it's
like
it's
not
a
spoof
it's
not
a
trick
here's
the
point
I'm
trying
to
make
just
because
you
can
believe
it
hold
its
way
doesn't
mean
you're
actively
trusting
in
it
right
now
does
it
you
may
intellectually
agree
oh yes
this
is
a
solid
stool
but
it's
not
until
you
sit
down
on
it
that
you
exercise
faith
that
you
put
your
trust
in
this
stool
there's
a lot
of
people
who
think
that
they
can
just
agree
with
the
Bible
and
everything
is
okay
when
in
fact
they
are
not
actively
trusting
in
the
risen
Christ
so
this
is
what
it
looks
like
it
goes
from
saying
yes
I
believe
that
Jesus
was
raised
from
the
dead
he
is
risen
he
is
risen
indeed
amen
yes
to
oh
risen
Christ
you
came
for
me
and
gave
your
life
as
a
ransom
and
now
I'm
going
to
live
my
life
for
you
joyfully
under
your
reign
see
the
difference
where
are
you
do
you
agree
are
you
actively
trusting
in
the
risen
Christ
have
you
cried
out
to
him
have
you
moved
from
a
simple
confession
to
a
believing
in
your
heart
that
God
raised
Christ
from
the
dead
this
morning
we've
asked
the
question
hey
is
the
resurrection
fake
news
or
real
news
and
the
Bible
says
it
is
real
news
I've
sought
to
kind
of
clarify
the
account
to
help
you
understand
the
claim
to
chew
on
the
implications
and
now
I've
urged
you
to
choose
to
commit
yourself
to
the
risen
Christ
what
are you
going to
do
choose
him
cry
out
to
him
if
this
news
is
real
news
it's
not
just
true
it
changes
everything
and
that's
why
it's
not
just
real
news
but
good
news
this
is
the
news
of
salvation
for
sinners
for
rebels
he
is
risen
he
is
risen
indeed
he
who
has
ears
hear
the
word
of
the
kingdom
let's
pray
risen
Christ
thank
you
so
much
that
you
are
a
God
that
is
alive
and
you
are
reigning
we
pray
that
you
would
take
this
news
and
plant
it
into
hearts
and
that
you
would
bring
about
a
yield
of
faith
and
fruitfulness
to
the
glory
of
your
name
Lord
Jesus
we
gladly
confess
to
you
are
our
risen
king
and
it's
to
you
to
whom
we
live
and
commit
our
lives
it's
in
your
name
we
pray
and
all
of
God's
people
said
Amen