Some Things Never Expire (Sermon)
Scripture: Matthew 28:1-10 (NIV)
28 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
2 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.3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 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.”
8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”
Sermon
This passage is about Jesus’ Resurrection and the fulfilling of God’s promise. The Book of Matthew was written by Matthew, also known as Levi and is the first book in the New Testament. It is also the first of the Synoptic Gospels.[1] Matthew was a Jewish tax collector until Jesus called on him to become his disciple (Matthew 9:9). In Hebrew Matthew means, gift of the Lord. Matthews book focuses on Jesus being the fulfillment of the Old Testament Jewish law as he references Jesus as the new Moses (Matthew 5:17). The resurrection was God’s fulfillment.
You know you have an expiration date on your life, right? Everything around us has and expiration on it. The birds, the trees, the food we eat, maybe not those $0.10 noodles that can sit on the shelf forever, but everything eventually will expire and that means you and me too! But God…Jesus lives on forever.
Jesus completed his fleshly mission on earth and rose to complete his spiritual mission in heaven; working and interceding on our behalf. His time on earth might have expired but he lives. If you look at the text, the women went to the tomb looking for Jesus’ body, looking for something dead…lifeless. But when they arrived they couldn’t find him. The bible says there was a violent earthquake that shook the guards and scared the women, and an angel told them you’re looking for Jesus, but He’s risen….in essence…his time on earth has expired but he hasn’t. There’s no expiration date on God’s love for us. We’re part of His plan. He knew we were lost and he sent a savior. We needed a way home and he provided it.
It’s because Jesus has risen that our prayers are heard. It’s because of Him that we can go to God in thought, and he hears us. In our quietest moments He is with us. Expiration dates are for things that will go bad and need to be discarded. Your car will eventually go bad on you. Your finances may take a turn and start looking bad to you, but JESUS will never go bad! People will go bad; relationships will go bad, but Jesus, nah. There’s no expiration date on God’s love. It doesn’t stop, it can’t stop. We need to value God’s love and trust in his plan for our lives regardless of what our circumstances may look like at the moment. I’m going to break this into three parts. Let’s look at God’s Promise, His Fulfillment and His Love.
God’s Promise: The Old Testament if full of God’s promise of the coming of a Messiah, Yeshua. The Book of Isaiah says a virgin will have a son and he is to be called Emmanuel, which means God is with us (Isaiah 7:14). God sent the angel Gabriel to forewarn Joseph that Mary was having a son who would be a savior to the Nation of Israel. God did this because of man’s sinful nature, and Gods desire for us is to be reunited with Him through the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus. God promised a savior when he told Ezekiel to speak to dry bones and tell them to get up (Ezekiel 37:1-14). What may look like a dead situation to us, to our natural eye, isn’t necessarily dead to God. The bible doesn’t tell us how Jesus woke up, but it does tell us he descended into heaven and he sits at the right side of the Father. Matthew used the Old Testament prophecies to help the reader understand the fulfillment of Gods promise to send a messiah and to raise Him from the dead. (Isaiah 53:12)
A promise from God is not the same as a promise from man. God’s promise is like his word; it can’t come back void. He promises to protect, provide, lead, and guide you; He will give you power, peace, rest AND wisdom. If you don’t believe me just think back to last month, or this week, when you weren’t sure how you were gonna pay some bill or put gas in your car. Tell me God didn’t provide for you. I know you thanked him but it’s okay to thank him again, because this is something he does all the time. God promised a savior. His ultimate plan is to have his creation return to Him in the right relationship, through our discipleship, fellowship, and kindship and Jesus’ resurrection sealed the deal.
Stop thinking God has forgotten about you or that he is taking too long to arrive. His plan is perfect and only you can get in the way. Stop giving God an expiration date before you feel like you’ve got to jump in and take over. Jehoshaphat went out and praised God before the blessings arrived (2 Chronicles 20:18-19). Get out of God’s way because His plan is perfect. A promise is not a promise unless it is fulfilled or kept. God’s expiration date is very different than ours, which brings me to His fulfillment. His perfect plan.
God’s Fulfillment: The Jews celebrate a minor holiday called, Rosh Chodesh, which is marked by the beginning of a new moon, representing the coming out of the dark and into the light. [2] Nisan is a holiday that represents the first month of the Jewish new year. I’m going someplace with this ya’ll, just bear with me. Nisan represents the beginning of Spring and the coming of Passover. The significance of this is that Nisan also represents the new year for the rule of a Jewish king. Jesus was the Rosh Chodesh; bringing us out of the dark and into the light. The Resurrection was no expiration for Jesus, it was only his coming out party. He rose from a dark, dead tomb into the light. He rose a king…with all power in his grip. God fulfilled his word when Jesus rose.
In Joshua’s farewell speech he reminds the Nation of Israel that not one of Gods promises had failed them and that every promise had been fulfilled (Joshua 23:14). God promised to send a savior to fulfill what was prophesized and written in the Old Testament. Jesus came to complete the required law; a sacrifice for sin (Numbers 6:14). Acts 13:23, says “From out of David’s descendants God produced a Savior for Israel, Jesus, exactly as he promised.” It is through the blood of Jesus and his sacrificial death on the cross that “death has been beaten up in victory” (1 Corinthians 15:54). Even though we might fall or stumble through sin, it is the resurrection and the blood that gives us access to God. Jesus’ death is our doorway home. Jesus fulfilled Gods requirement of righteousness and now we are to fill the virtues and morals of Jesus so that we can fulfill the will of Jesus, as Jesus fulfilled the will of God. Luke 22:42 says, “Yet not my will, but yours be done.”
God allowed Jesus to take our cup; our cup of shame, despair, cancer, pain, sin, disease. He who knew no sin took our cup to save us from our own sinful self’s. He is the filter that cleanses the soul, eliminating all the toxins; all the stuff we don’t need and because of that we ought to be renewed and made fresh in Christ so that we can continue the fulfillment and participate in God’s pre-destined, pre-designed plan for our lives. Ignore the nonbelievers and worrywarts who can’t see God’s blessings. You’ve got to see them for yourself. You’ve got to faithfully believe that God will bless you right where you stand? You know, Jesus let God have his way and now He has ALL power. Man killed the flesh, but the spirit is immortal. God is over the mortal and immortal. Death tried but it couldn’t contain Him. Which brings me to my last point, God’s love.
God’s Love: Paul writes, “Can anything separate us from the love Christ has for us?” (Romans 8:35). When God looks at us He sees the person, the spirit, and the heart, but He also sees the problem and our potential. God is love and you can’t be what you’re not! The New Testament is evidence of God’s love for us. It testifies of Jesus’ love. In John 8:12 Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” Remember, that’s what Rosh Chodesh means, coming out of the dark and into the light. WE understand God’s love but, now it is your time, our time, to go into the world and be the light for others to see. This is how we fulfill the moral and virtuous characteristics of Jesus. What better way is there to experience the love of God than to offer it. That’s what God did, that’s what Jesus was; an offering for man’s sin. Jesus’ death was God’s plan…that he would rise and be our savior, our father, our everything! God made a promise…it was prophesized, and it was fulfilled and as a result of it, we all bear witness to God’s love.
I used to be a lot of things. I have a strong cultural background but for excitement I was in the streets. I used to be a drug dealer, a gun runner, I was robbing drug dealers; I was out there, living crazy. When I became saved I was able to look back and see how God protected me, loved me. I walked out of a raid because I was walking with the snitch. I escaped death when there was a hit on my life because I happened to be dating the hit man. I can look back and I don’t have to go back that far to see God’s love in my life. Romans 8:37: 37 But in all these things we are completely victorious through God who showed his love for us.”
The bible is full of principles on how we are to live. It says, “love covers over a multitude of sin.” (1 Peter 4:8). If we apply these same principles to our lives’, then we will love people unconditionally and exemplify the identity of Christ. We need to DO good because we can’t BE good. Only God is good! Take a moment and look at verse two in the scripture and imagine yourself as one of the Mary’s standing at the tomb and realizing at that moment Jesus is alive! I don’t know about ya’ll, but I would have started shouting and praising, and thanking him for his love, his promise, his fulfillment.
Listen, God is over the mortal and immortal. He’s the beginning and He’s the end. Somethings have an expiration date, but I’ve never known God to expire, or retire on His word. He’s not a liar…He’s a way maker. If we are created in the image and likeness of God, we should have Gods characteristics. When we get in accordance with Gods will, then we start performing and producing. Don't write off your inheritance by getting in the way because of a lack of faith. God’s word doesn’t expire, you’re the one marking the calendar and putting an end date on his promise. Nothing he says has an expiration date on it. If we are faithful to God; He is faithful to us. He said He would send a savior…He did. That was his promise. He said He would raise Him on the third day…He did. That was his fulfillment. He said He would send a comforter…He sent the Holy Ghost because He love’s us. God’s word doesn’t have an expiration date on it, and Jesus’ resurrection is proof that some things never expire.
Written by Minister Taborah Adams
Bibliography:
Butler, Trent C. Joshua 1-12. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014.
Dunn, Franklin Jerome. Know your Bible. Bedford, TX: Firm Foundation Pub. Co., 1997.
Klink, Edward W. John: Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2016.
Radmacher, Earl D., Ronald Barclay. Allen, and H. Wayne. House. Compact Bible commentary. Nashville, TN: Nelson Reference & Electronic, 2004.
Howard, David M. Joshua. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2002.
"Rosh Chodesh." Wikipedia. April 13, 2018. Accessed April 17, 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosh_Chodesh.
Waltke, Bruce K. An Old Testament theology: an exegetical, canonical, and thematic approach. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008.
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