THE DOOR IS OPEN, BUT NO ONE IS HOME

Sermon Notes, April 16, 2017

Rev. Garry McGlinchy

           Pastor Garry's sermon was titled "The Door is Open But No One is Home."  It was based on Matthew 28:1-10, the story of the two Marys at the empty tomb.  They had come to look at the tomb where Jesus had been placed.  All of a sudden there was a violent earthquake, and they saw an angel of the Lord, who rolled back the stone and sat on it.  The guards were so afraid they couldn’t move.

           The angel had four messages for the women.  Don’t be afraid!  All of our fears should fade away and be replaced with JOY when we think of the empty tomb.  Jesus isn’t here!  He is not dead, so looking for Him in a tomb is worthless: looking for the living amongst the dead profits us nothing!  Jesus is alive!  If you are looking for Jesus, all you have to do is look amongst His people.  He has risen! The Greek word egeiro means to rise; raise up; get; awaken; stir up; rouse.  Here Matthew uses egeiro to mean resurrect; to wake up as one does to get out of bed.  Come and see.  The women were given the invitation to investigate the tomb.  What did they find?  Nothing but the garments He was wrapped in!  The truth is that the tomb was in fact empty, and it remains empty to this day!  Go quickly and tell.  The last message the angel gives the women was for them to go and tell what they have seen.  They were to spread the joy of the resurrection of Jesus Christ!

           The resurrection is the very foundation of what we as Christ-followers believe.  Christ rose from the dead just as He said He would!  This assures us that He will continue to bring to fruition all that He has promised.  In other words, Jesus is a man of His word!  The physical resurrection of Jesus displays for us that the living Christ is in fact ruler of God’s Kingdom!  He is the Real Deal!  The resurrection of Christ assures us of our own resurrection.  Death for the Christ-follower, for the believer, is not where our story ends!  We have life everlasting through Jesus.  In John 14:6, Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”  The same power that brought Jesus back from the dead is the same power that can bring our spiritually dead selves back to life.  The resurrection of Jesus serves as the foundation of the Church’s witness to the world!

           Whenever we prepare our hearts to receive Holy Communion, let us focus on what this meal represents.  It stands as a reminder of the imprisonment, the torture, the death, and the final victory of the resurrection of our King Jesus Christ!  The bread that He broke and served to His disciples on the night that He was betrayed represents His body that He willingly gave up for all of humanity.  The wine that He served to His disciples represents His blood that was shed to wash away the sins for all of humanity. (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)