Come And See!
Matthew 28:1-6
A small boy and his father were driving down a country road on a beautiful spring afternoon.
Suddenly out of nowhere, a bumblebee flew in the car window.
A bee in the car is something scary!.
This incident was truly terrifying because the little boy was deathly allergic to bee stings.
So, when he saw the bee, he became terrified.
But his father, reacting quickly, grabbed the bee, squeezed it in his hand, and then released it.
As soon as he released the bee -- it began to fly again inside the car.
The little boy was again terrified!
His father saw the panic on his boy's face.
So, he pulled the car off to the side of the road.
Then, he reached out his hand, and showed his son that the stinger of the bee was stuck in his hand.
"Do you see this?" he said. "You don't need to be afraid anymore.
I've taken the sting for you."
That's the message of Easter!
You and I don't need to be afraid of death.
Jesus Christ has already faced it for us.
He took the sting out of death, and He invites us to -- "Come and see"!
That is what the angel said to the women who came to that tomb on that first Easter Sunday.
Matthew 28:1-6
"The angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus,
who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.
Come and see the place where he lay.' "
"Come and see!"
The angel knew that it was not easy for the women to come to the tomb.
It was in a graveyard!
It was a place inhabited by dead bodies.
It was not the kind of place you wanted to be during the dark hours just before dawn.
It was a frightening place.
These women came to anoint a body that lay in a grave that was sealed with the seal of
the most powerful nation on earth.
It was sealed on orders of the official representative of the most powerful man on the face of the earth -- Caesar.
That seal prohibited anyone from entering that tomb.
And the tomb was guarded by the Praetorian Guard, the best soldiers in the Roman army.
They were deadly fighting with spears, swords, knives and with their bare hands.
These men had orders to kill anyone attempting to enter or to desecrate the tomb without official permission .
So, if these women obeyed the angel, they would need to get over their fears of graveyards and guards.
If they obeyed the angel, they would be disobeying the most powerful nation on the face of the earth,
and the most powerful man on earth.
Then, there was the stone.
This stone weighed almost four tons, and had to be rolled up an incline in order to expose the entrance
to the cave and access to the body of Jesus.
Who could even move that rock?
The angel said... "Come!"
The women didn't hesitate.
They never considered the difficulties or the danger.
They went to the tomb, and obeyed the angel's invitation.
That is our invitation, today!
Come to the tomb!
Come, and discover the greatest reality of history!
Do you have the courage these women demonstrated that Sunday morning.
The army of Alexander the Great was advancing to attack Persia.
At one critical moment, it look as though his troops would be defeated.
Alexander tried to determine the problem of his troops.
These had been the finest fighting men in all the world.
So, he rode through the camp and surveyed his troops.
He quickly saw the problem.
He discovered that every man had so much treasure and plunder from their past battles
that they were content just to enjoy them.
They were focusing on what they had, not on fighting battles.
Without a challenge and a purpose, they would not be victorious in battle.
Alexander commanded that all the spoils, and riches, and plunder from the past battles be thrown
into a heap in the middle of the camp.
And he burned all of them.
His men complained.
Later, they came to see the wisdom of Alexander's order.
A historian wrote of the results of this drastic action, "It was as if wings had been given
to them -- they walked lightly again.
And victory was assured."
That army went on to conquer Persia and the entire world.
What about you?
Are you so content with what you have, that you have no need of Christ in your life?
What hinders you from coming to the risen Christ?
Are you rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing?
These statements describe the attitudes of many in our society:
We spend more, but have less; we buy more, but enjoy it less.
We have bigger houses and smaller families; more conveniences, but less time;
We have more medicine, but less wellness.
We read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.
We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.
These are days of steep profits, and shallow relationships.
These are days when families have more things; and more broken homes.
We've learned how to make a living, but not a life; we've added years to life, but not life to years.
We concerned to clean our streams, but we continue to pollute our souls.
Do those statements sound familiar?
Does any of this describe how you pursue your own lifestyle and your life's goals.
Are these things more important to you than Christ?
Are you more interested in things that will soon perish?
Jesus says to all of us in Matthew 11:28-29: "Come to me, all you who are weary
and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find
rest for your souls."
Come to Jesus!
The invitation of Easter is: "Come!"
Come to the Lord Jesus!
I believe that your heart is telling you to come!
I believe that you would rather have life than death!
Come to Jesus!
Confess to God that you have sinned.
For: "All have sinned, and have come short of the glory of God." (Rom. 6:23)
You have been trying to be your own god.
You have tried to face life with all its crisis with your own resources.
Do you have the foolish belief that you can save yourself from death?
You know better!
You cannot deal with the minute, everyday problems without frustration and depression!
You know that you cannot deal with the matter of your death?
You cannot overcome death!
You cannot, but Jesus can, and did!
You cannot prevent your soul from going to an everlasting hell!
You cannot provide for yourself eternal life!
You cannot, but Jesus can, and will!
Turn from your sins.
Ask God for forgiveness of your sins.
When you do that, God will forgive you this very moment.
God will put your sin behind Him, and He will never remember them again!
Trust in Jesus who died on the cross for you.
Trust your heart and soul to Him now and forever.
Then, come!
See the place where He lay!
See where His body was!
See that it is no longer there!
Jesus is not in that tomb.
He is risen!
He is alive!
He lives!
Jesus said, "Because I live, you shall also live."
"He lives, He lives,
Salvation to impart.
You ask me how I know He lives,
He lives within my heart."
"Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, all fear is gone.
Because I know, He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives."
A father was beside his little girl's bed and she was ready to say her goodnight prayer.
She began praying the childhood prayer that she had prayed many times:
"Now I lay me down to sleep;
I pray you Lord my soul to keep.
If I should die before I wake,
I pray you Lord, my soul to take."
But on this night, she got mixed up.
She prayed, "If I should wake before I die."
She stopped. "Oh Daddy, I got all mixed up."
But her father responded, "Not at all honey!
In fact, that's probably the way the the prayer should be prayed."
Then Daddy said, "Honey, that is my earnest prayer for you -- that you may wake up
before you die."
Here is the greatest invitation you will ever receive!
"Come and see!"
I urge you to "wake up before you die!"
Come to Jesus, the resurrected Lord!
He will transform your life forever!
Sermon by Dr. Harold L. White
