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The King is Risen!
Matt 28 – Easter Sunday – Daniel J. Baker – Apr 20, 2025

Introduction

“If you’re able, please stand.” Reading Matt. 28:1–15. “Thanks be to God!”

Americans are suspicious of kings. We’re fine with kings like the monarchs in England, even a little obsessed. The wealth and pageantry and tradition is interesting to us. Such kings and queens have almost no power, even if they have some influence. But we’re deeply suspicious of kings with real power.

We’re suspicious of the ways you become a king. Born into it? That offends our sense that you should be able to work your way into a new future.

Conquer your way into it? That doesn’t feel very American, where the ability of a people to choose its leader is deep in our psyche.

Our suspicion of kings is connected to our suspicion of people. We don’t think so much power in the hands of a single person is smart. Because power has a way of corrupting the heart and robbing people of their wisdom and justice.

One of the reasons George Washington looms so large in the pantheon of US presidents is because he laid aside the presidency after two terms. This blew King George III of England away, who referred to Washington as “the greatest man in the world” for giving up such power so willingly.[1]

This morning we’re discussing a King who became king in a truly unique manner. The Lord Jesus Christ became king by dying on a Roman cross and then rising again three days later. On that Sunday morning in April in the year AD 33, Christ rose from the dead. And when he rose, he rose as King Jesus.

In a sense he was born king. The first gospel in the New Testament, the Gospel of Matthew, written by one of Jesus’ disciples in the 50s or 60s, opens by calling Jesus, “the Son of David” (Matt 1:1). That title means he is the promised son of King David who would reign forever (2 Sam 7:12–13).

And in Matthew 2 we learn that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, fulfilling a prophecy in Malachi 5:2 about a future king of Israel.

When he began his ministry he announced to everyone, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt 4:17).

When he came into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, he did so as king, and the air was filled with expectations, because of the prophecy in Zech. 9:9 about your king coming to you “humble, and mounted on a donkey.”

But at the time the Jews were subjects in the Roman Empire. There could be no king without a military overthrow. So, the Jews were watching closely. How would this King Jesus do it?

And then he died by crucifixion on that first Friday morning in April, AD 33.

And like all people in all generations, Jesus’ followers knew that his death was the end of things. Dead people don’t lead rebellions. Dead people don’t rule over kingdoms. A dead person can inspire a rebellion, but he can’t lead it.

There’s a reason that Jesus’ followers did not gather at his tomb on that Sunday morning with weapons to join Jesus in his great overthrow of the Romans. They knew that’s not how it works. Jesus had died, and the Jesus movement was over. People don’t rise from the dead three days after being buried.

But our sermon today is the proclamation that he did rise: “The King is Risen!” And this King says to each of us, “Come, follow me!”

Sermon – An Empty Tomb, An Attempted Fraud, A Risen King.

Prayer

I. An Empty Tomb

We start by looking at the three witnesses we find at the empty tomb on that April Sunday.

First is “Mary Magdalene” (Matt 28:1)

• She’s mentioned a dozen times in the gospels, especially surrounding the crucifixion and resurrection.
• First introduced in Matthew’s gospel at the crucifixion in Matt. 27:56.
• Then at the burial in Matt. 27:61.
• From Luke 8:1–3 we learn a couple things about Mary. One is that Jesus cast “seven demons” out of her. Another is that she helped provide for Jesus and the disciples out of her “means.”

Celsus, the second-century critic of Christianity, mocked the idea of Mary Magdalene as an alleged resurrection witness, referring to her as a “hysterical female . . . deluded by . . . sorcery.”[2]

And it’s true, she was an unlikely witness to the empty tomb. But she’s the one woman mentioned in all four gospels as a witness to the empty tomb.

The second witness is “the other Mary” (Matt 28:1).

• She’s called “Mary the mother of James and Joseph” in Matt. 27:56.
• She could be the mother of Jesus.
• In Matthew 13, skeptics of Jesus mention Mary:

Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? ⁵⁶ And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” (Matt 13:55–56)

• For those counting, Mary had at least 7 kids. Close to a record in the Bible.
• The first two here are “James and Joseph,” just like in Matt 27:56.
• In Mark 15:40 she’s “Mary the mother of James the younger and Joses.”
• A difficulty for us is that a lot of women were named Mary in the 1^st century, and a lot of sons named James and Joseph/Joses.
• Possible this is the Mother of Jesus[3] and possible it’s a different Mary.[4]
• The important point is actually that there’s a second witness.
• Serious crimes in the Old Testament are to be verified by having “two or three witnesses.”
• Mary Magdalene and this “other Mary” are there at the cross, there at the burial to see where he was laid, and here at the empty tomb.

The third witness is “An angel of the Lord” (Matt 28:2).

• “His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow” (v. 3).
• Angels are prominent in Matthew’s gospel—real and in Jesus’ teaching.
• Actual ones: Guiding Joseph in Matt. 1–2; ministering to Jesus after his temptations in the wilderness (Matt 4:11).
• Jesus’ teaching:

“The Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done” (Matt 16:27).

• This is a good reminder, don’t forget who Jesus is.
• At his arrest, when “a great crowd” comes with Judas, and they have “swords and clubs” (Matt 26:47), Jesus says,

“Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matt 26:53)

• A legion is 6,000 troops; Jesus says he call 72,000 in a moment!
• Tells us a few things. One is that angels are military beings—They’re not chubby babies with harps.
• A second is that there are many of them! We don’t get the sense here that pulling off 72,000 for a special mission will deplete the heavenly arsenal.
• Remember, in Revelation 9:16 there’s an army of God with 200 million soldiers. 72,000 won’t make a dent.
• ..Jesus is commander of them all.
• Likely there were other angelic generals under him—but Jesus over all!
• And one of these powerful and glorious beings is right here at the tomb to be a witness to his resurrection.

He tells the women, “He has risen, as he said” (Matt 28:6) – In other words, Jesus prophesied it would happen, and it has! As just one example:

And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, ¹⁸ “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death ¹⁹ and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.” (Matt 20:17–19)

But then the angel says to “tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going befor you to Galilee; there you will see him” (Matt 28:7).

As they go, they get the ultimate evidence he has risen. They see Jesus himself!

And once again, “tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me” (Matt 28:10).

It’ll be a week or two before the Galilean trip happens. Before it happens, the resurrected Christ will appear to more people.

But at some point the Jerusalem appearances stop. The disciples will remember Jesus’ and the angels’ words and go to Galilee. That’s when he speaks the Great Commission. It’s not the last thing he says, but it’s close.

Application

Feel the glory of the empty tomb. King Jesus has risen! The angel is there to put a heavenly stamp on this moment.

The women are there as the unexpected eyewitnesses to that empty tomb. They thought they were there to honor a respected dead man’s body. Instead, they were the first to spread the news that would change the world. Jesus has risen!

And because Jesus has risen, everything is different. We don’t simply line Jesus up among the great teachers of the world. He is, of course. But he’s the one who prophesied his own resurrection after three days, and then rose again after three days!

We don’t simply see in Jesus a great moral example. He is that, too. But a great moral example who dies a normal death isn’t unique.

With his resurrection, Jesus is in a set of one. Truly unique. He is the crucified Savior who became the risen King. He is the crucified one who has become the exalted one (Isa 52:13–15; 53:12).

And because he rose from the dead, those who believe in him will never be the same. With his resurrection our sins have been paid for (Rom 4:25), we can be born again (1 Peter 1:3), and we can walk in newness of life (Rom 6:4).

Feel the glory of the empty tomb!

II. An Attempted Fraud

Read Matt. 28:11–15.

We turn now to “the guard.” This guard is first described in 27:62–66 where “the chief priests and the Pharisees” appeal to Pilate to “order the tomb to be made secure until the third day,” lest the disciples “go and steal him away” and then spread the lie that Jesus has “risen from the dead” (27:64).

Pilate says to them to use their own soldiers, since “you have a guard of soldiers” (Matt. 27:65).

So, they rolled a stone in front of the tomb and “set a guard” in front of it (Matt 27:66).

Some of this guard had seen the angel and “became like dead men” (Matt 28:4).

Well, this guard came into Jerusalem to report what had happened. “The elders” here bribed them to tell people that the disciples had stolen the body (Matt 28:13).

These Jewish elders added for good measure, that if the governor should hear about these events, “we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble” (Matt 28:14). And, of course, in that was certainly a threat as well. If you don’t keep this quiet, we can’t promise that the governor will be satisfied. And we can’t promise that “trouble” won’t find you.

The men took the money, “and this story has been spread among the Jews to this day” (Matt 28:15).

Gary Habermas has written volumes on evidences for the resurrection and refutations of attacks on that evidence. In one volume he has two chapters on “stolen body” theories. It’s the idea that the disciples stole the body and then lied about it.

He mentions that it didn’t get much attention until an English deist Thomas Woolston (1670–1733) and then a German rationalist Hermann Samuel Reimarus (1694–1768).

But these views have never been felt to be plausible. As Habermas points out:

• It means the disciples would have to hatch this plot while grieving the surprising death of the one they thought to be the Messiah;
• instantly go from mourning to conspiracy;
• maintain this conspiracy by publicly lying for decades;
• and then ultimately giving their lies for this fraud that they came up with.

As Habermas says, “This hardly seems workable” (425). And a little later he says,

Liars do not make willing martyrs. At the very least, liars do not yield persons who put themselves in danger constantly and remain at least willing to become martyrs.
Gary Habermas, On the Resurrection: Refutations[5]

Application

Don’t miss just how blind we can be. How far we will go to keep from admitting the truth about Jesus.

Just consider what these “chief priests” and “elders” are doing. They know the tomb is empty. They have the testimony of professional soldiers who were at the tomb. They realize Jesus said, “After three days I will rise” (Matt 27:63). It’s been three days and his tomb is empty.

That’s what sin does. It’s blind us. It robs us of the ability to see things right in front of us. It keeps us from admitting things to ourselves we even know to be true.

III. A Risen King

Read Matt. 28:16–20.

In this scene the disciples encounter the Risen King themselves. It’s not just the word of the women at the tomb, but it’s a personal encounter with Christ himself.

Matthew’s gospel in a fascinating way leaves out many of the resurrection appearances we learn about in other gospels.

• That first Sunday night
• A week later when doubting Thomas was there, too.

But then it seems these appearances would have stopped. The disciples were in Jerusalem but had stopped seeing the resurrected Christ. That’s when it would have dawned on them: “Galilee! The angel and Jesus told us to go to Galilee, and we’d see him there! Let’s go!”

So they leave Jerusalem and go to Galilee, to “the mountain” Jesus indicated.

And Jesus gives what we call the Great Commission.

First, Christ’s Kingship has arrived in a new way: “All authority has been given to me” (Matt 28:18).

Christ has always been King. Our triune God is the King of the universe, has always ruled over all things, and never for a moment surrendered that kingship. His rule is complete, eternal, over the visible and invisible universe. Nothing happens in his domain except what he desires to happen.

But Christ has another side to his kingship. He has what is sometimes called a “Mediatorial Kingship.” It means he is King as part of his work as Mediator. As Mediator he stands between God and mankind. He is the bridge between God and mankind. His kingship is part of that role.

God promised to David that he would have a son who would reign as king forever. That promised son is Christ. That’s why Matthew introduces Jesus in the first verse of his gospel as “Son of David.”

But if he’s the “Son of David,” that means he’s a human king in the line of the Jewish King David. That means it’s a different kind of kingship from the one that God has always had as ruler of the universe.

Christ came to earth to taken on this special role as king. He came as a man in the line of King David. Born to a woman who descended from King David. Joseph, too, was descended from King David.

His place as the Son of David to be anointed king came about at his resurrection. The apostle Paul in a sermon he preached in Acts explains this:

“And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, ³³ this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm, “‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you’” (Acts 13:32–33).

The “second Psalm” is a Psalm that talks about the Christ being appointed King. Paul is saying that this special “begetting” happened at the resurrection.

Paul echoes this in his letter to the Romans. He writes,

His Son...was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. (Rom 1:3, 4)

He was always “the Son of God.” But with the resurrection he “was declared to be the Son of God” in a new way.

Christ right now is reigning as the Davidic King. That’s why Revelation 20 can say,

Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. (Rev 20:4)

That “thousand years” or millennium is right now. For the Christian, to die now is to rise and join Christ the Davidic king on a throne at his side and receive a share of his “authority to judge.” One day that Davidic king will rise from his throne in heaven and break through the clouds and every eye will see him descend.

A final battle with Satan and his army, then a final judgment, and then God’s people will live forever in the new heaven and new earth (Rev 20:7–21:4).

For now he rules in heaven with the saints who have died at his side.

You can hear more on that in last summer’s series on eschatology. John did a great job working through Rev. 20.

The point of all this is that when Jesus proclaims, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matt 28:18), he’s announcing something amazing, new. It’s a statement that a new chapter has been reached in the unfolding story of redemption.

Things are different! I am King now in a way I wasn’t before.

Second, Christ as King has given us a new mission.

No longer is the place of the people of God to be centered in Jerusalem at a physical temple. Now the people of God are to go global. We are given an international mission: Read Matt. 28:19–20a.

Galilee. It’s no accident that Matthew makes Galilee the final scene for the Great Commission. Matt. 4:12–16:

Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. ¹³ And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, ¹⁴ so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: ¹⁵ “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— ¹⁶ the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.” (Matt 4:12–16)

What Matthew is telling us is that just as Jesus came from Galilee to bring “a light has dawned” to those “dwelling in the region and shadow of death,” so will the CHURCH bring that dawning light to those dwelling in darkness and death.

Third, Christ as King is always with us.

In this mission we don’t go alone. Christ’s presence is always and forever with us. That phrase, “with you always” doesn’t quite capture the Greek. It means “throughout the whole of all the days.”[6]

There are a lot of days between Jesus’ statement and “the end of the age.” And throughout each of them, Christ is saying, “I am with you.” It’s really saying, “throughout every moment of every day, I’m with you.”

Do you hear that?

An excerpt from C.S. Lewis’ The Silver Chair (NY: Macmillan, 1953). Jill Pole meets Aslan in Narnia (15–17). From seeing the Lion the first time to drinking of the cool, refreshing stream. Life with the King!

Conclusion

The proclamation has been made: The tomb is empty! The King has risen!

And this King says to each of us, “Come, follow me!” Just like he said to the author this gospel, “Matthew the tax collector.”

The King is giving us a new mission—and promising to be at our side every moment of the day until “the end of the age.”

And not just WITH us, but IN us (John 14:20). And because he’s always near, he’s always there with his invitation to “come and drink.” He offers us “living water” (John 4:10).

Don’t be like the Jewish leaders and let sin blind you. Don’t miss what’s right in front of you.

Yesterday we were looking through one of Phil’s books. He got the book from his “Uncle Bob” (Robert Sasser, 1911–1979). Inside the book was a letter that Uncle Bob had written from Chicago to his wife, Maud, in 1938:

“Maud, I got saved to-nite. Accepted our precious Lord Jesus Christ as my own savior and you have a new man for a husband and father for the children. Pray Maud that I might surrender every thought and act for his approval. The blood of Christ to-nite Maud is just as sweet to me to-nite Maud as it was to the thief on the cross by him there on Calvary 2000 years ago. Your[s] and Christ[‘s] forever. Bob.”

Uncle Bob was referring to that thief on the cross next to Jesus.

42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:42-43)

Our risen King is coming again. But even now he invites us to “come, follow him” and live in the joy and strength of his kingdom. Live in the good of having Jesus as your King.

Prayer

Final song: “O Church Arise”

[1] See the Library of Congress post on this at https://blogs.loc.gov/manuscripts/2022/12/george-washington-the-greatest-man-in-the-world/

[2] From Justin Taylor’s post at https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/the-women-at-the-tomb-clarifying-the-marys-and-the-first-witnesses-of-the-resurrection/.

[3] D.A. Carson seems to lean this way (EBC, 583).

[4] Justin Taylor and Andreas Köstenberger seem to lean this way.

[5] Gary Habermas, On the Resurrection: Refutations (Grand Rapids: B&H, 2024), 426.

[6] See D.A. Carson’s commentary on Matthew (Expositor Biblical Commentary) for more on this.