Matthew 28:6
He Is Not Here
Notice the statement of the angels in \\#6\\, "He Is Not Here." That
is a statement given to one suffering from unfulfilled expectations.
The lades did not come to the tomb expecting it to be empty that
morning. They came expecting it to contain Jesus’ body. That is
supported by Scriptural evidence.
1. \\#Mark 15:1\\ says the ladies brought spices to anoint
Jesus’ body.
2. Even after being told by an angel that Jesus had risen, at
least one of the ladies doubted.
a. Mary Magdalene, obeyed the angel in telling the disciples;
but afterward she stayed at the tomb, weeping.
b. When Jesus appeared to her, she thought He was the
gardener and told Him,
John 20:15 …Sir, if thou have borne him hence,
tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take
him away.
3. The angels’ words were not affirming their expectation, it was
correcting it.
4. They and every other human being on the planet expected Jesus’
dead body to be in the tomb that Sunday morning.
This morning, let’s note that Jesus was not in the tomb despite some
of the best efforts of some.
I. Jesus was not in the tomb despite man’s best efforts.
A. The Jews crucified Jesus.
1. I spoke on the death of Jesus last week
\\See 2017Sermons on "Matt 27:33"\\.
2. Suffice me to say that it was not just the brutality
done to Jesus’ body that killed Him, but also the
punishment heaped upon His soul!
B. The Roman soldier drove a spear into Jesus’ side.
John 19:34 But one of the soldiers with a spear
pierced his side, and forthwith came there out
blood and water.
1. Because Jesus had died rather quickly (due to the
punishment from God more than the abuse of man), the
Roman guards wanted to make certain Jesus was dead.
2. So they ran a spear under his rips into the sack that
surrounded the heart, causing both water and blood to
run out.
3. Doctors today have a term for this heart condition. It
is called Pericardial Effusion.
a. Pericardial Effusion occurs when the heart has
been overworking, causing fluids collect around it.
https://www.compellingtruth.org/blood-water-Jesus.html
b. That is part of the bigger medical picture called
Hypovolemic Shock which occurs when the body
has lost 20% of its blood and the body is having
to work harder to keep itself alive.
https://www.gotquestions.org/blood-water-Jesus.html
4. These three (the spear, Hypovolemic Shock, and
Pericardial Effusion) could and would have killed a
healthy man who did not receive medical attention even
if he had NOT be scourged and crucified, let alone
one that had.
a. Yet, the spear did not kill Jesus for had Jesus
been alive, the open wound to His heart would
have continued to pump fluids and blood out of
His body.
b. No, the spear provided a pathway directly to
Jesus’ heart to prove that His heart was NOT beating.
c. It certainly convinced John.
John 19:35 And he that saw it bare record, and
his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith
true, that ye might believe.
C. Jesus friends mummified His body.
1. This was the normal procedure for burying a body in Jesus’
day in that part of the world.
a. It started by anointing the body with spices.
(1) Typically, the spices used, the more wealth and
resources the dead had.
(2) Nicodemus brought 100 pounds of spices to anoint
Jesus’ body.
John 19:39 And there came also Nicodemus, which
at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought
a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred
pound weight.
b. Then they would wrap the body, like a mummy, in linen.
John 19:40 Then took they the body of Jesus, and
wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the
manner of the Jews is to bury.
2. That would certainly help a dead body to stay put.
D. Israel’s custom had Him buried in a solid rock tomb.
Luke 23:53 And he took it down, and wrapped it
in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was
hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid.
1. There were no back or side doors to be broken into, no
thin walls to be kicked out.
2. One can’t get much more secured than a solid rock cave to
keep someone or something where you put it.
3. Especially if you roll a stone door ever the entrance.
a. This was an entrance large enough to carry a man’s
body into a cave.
b. Estimates are that it would have weight a rock of
that composition and size would weight approximately
2 tons!
c. Moving that would not be a task for a small group or
people or even a large group of weak people.
4. Being placed in such a place meant that even Jesus’
friends expected Him to stay in the grave.
E. Lastly, Rome sealed the tomb and stationed Roman guards
outside the entrance to ensure the dead stayed in the tomb
and the living stayed outside of it.
Matt 27:66 So they went, and made the sepulchre
sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.
1. The seal was really nothing physical to keep the entrance
stone in its place but it was pretty significant as far
as man’s authority goes.
a. It was probably nothing more than a ribbon or a rope
but on it, there was the emperor’s seal.
b. It warned all who might consider breaking it that if
they did, Rome would use all of its authority and
power—which was much—to track them down and to
punish them.
2. The Bible does not tell us how many soldiers were placed
outside of Jesus’ tomb.
a. It only calls it a "sufficient guard."
b. Some say as many as 16, taking turns on watch.
c. Whatever the number, they were trained soldiers and
would not have been easily turned from their task or
defeated.
F. Yet, for all of this, "He Is Not Here."
1. Question - What more could man have done?
2. Answer - Nothing except perhaps to have posted more men,
but even if they had, it would not have changed the
outcome that morning!
3. Jesus had not come to buy a tomb but to borrow one. He
was NOT going to stay in it for long!
II. Jesus was not in the grave despite death and the devil’s best
efforts.
A. Death has always been man’s greatest fear and enemy.
1. Death is the one adversary that we could see but not
elude or defeat.
a. Man has always fought against death—no matter what
form he might appear as: sickness, old age, violence,
malnourishment, war, accident.
b. We have fought death at every turn, but we have never
overcome him.
2. In fact, death has a nearly perfect record.
3. He has only been defeated once and we are reading that
account in Matthew.
B. Death seized Jesus with all of the fury it could muster.
1. Jesus was killed by the cruelest of deaths.
2. Jesus death was caused because He born the sins of the
entire human race—every single sin was placed upon His
shoulders.
3. In so doing, even God turned His back on Jesus for a time.
4. By God turning His back on Jesus. He died as the most
forsaken Person to ever live!
5. Satan joined forces with death to ensure death’s grip was
strong.
a. We cannot see what the devil and death did to bind
Jesus, but—I believe—we can safely assume that
like mankind, they did everything they could.
b. I see the demons of hell standing guard around Jesus’
tomb, every one of them claiming whatever territory
they had power to dominate.
III. Yet for all of this, the angel said, "He is not here!"
A. Jesus kicked death’s front door down!
B. I will tell you a secret.
1. Dead people really aren’t dead.
2. They are still very much alive.
3. Death has always had a back door in that the people who
have died have always gone to one of two places:
Abraham’s Bosom or hell.
4. I know death looks like an end, but it never is.
C. The difference with Jesus is He did not use the back door!
1. He went out the same way He came in!
2. Jesus wanted people to see Him leave because He was
broadcasting a message.
3. Death can’t hold Him and death can’t hold those that
love and follow Him!
The fact that Jesus was not in the grave means you do not have to go
to hell. Jesus died to save you from that awful place and He wanted
you to know about it. That’s way He came back out the front door.
Please, would you trust Jesus Christ today?
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