Return and See Job 19:23–27; 1 Corinthians 15:51-58; Matthew 28:1-10

He is risen!  He is risen indeed! Alleluia! 

Grace, mercy, and peace be with you, from God our Father, and our risen Lord, Jesus Christ, whom we long to see. 

Our Lenten series has been, Return to the Lord, based on Joel 2:13:  Return to the Lord, Your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.

In our Lenten services we returned to the Lord in ashes, with repentance; we returned in prayer with Jesus at Gethsemane; we returned from betrayal by Judas; we returned from false witness against Jesus by His enemies; with Peter we returned from denial; with our Lord before Pilate, we returned to His kingdom which is not of this world; we returned to the Table of His body and blood, given and shed for us; and we returned to Calvary, where He gave His life for us. 

It all comes together this morning, as with the women and the disciples, we return to the tomb, and see that our Lord is risen. 

This glorious moment was promised long before in the book of Job: I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!

When the disciples saw Jesus with their own eyes, risen and alive, they began to understand the significance of everything that they had seen and heard from Him in the three previous years, all the miracles, the teachings, everything Jesus said and did, it all bore witness to what would happen on Good Friday and Easter morning.                                                                                                                    

On Friday, as they saw their Lord, suffering and dying on a cross, it was hard for them to see any good in it. 

But three days later, everything looked different to them. Once they saw their Lord alive, they began to realize the good He was doing on that terrible day he died. 

Jesus took the day He died, and made it the day that life was won for the world. The worst day for Him, became the best for us. 

But by God’s power, His worst day was not His last, because three days later, Jesus would rise and live again. 

Every day since, is His best. Because He rose in glory, He lives in glory and reigns in glory, never again to see suffering and death.

Matthew tells us, Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 

They expected to see the tomb, sealed with a stone, and when opened, a still body lying inside, wrapped in linen, not moving, not breathing, starting to decay.

But what they saw was an angel, come down from Heaven. Matthew says, His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 

The angel rolled the stone back, and flipped it over, causing the ground to shake.  

No wonder the guards and the women were terrified. But the angel assured the women: “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where helay.

When the women saw where Jesus had been lain, and His graves clothes neatly folded, they were utterly amazed. Their return to the tomb was turning out to be very different than they had expected.

The angel told them, “Go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” 

I know who it is you’re looking for, Jesus of Nazareth. You won’t find him here, He’s already left; He’s alive! And He told me to tell you to go and tell His disciples that He’ll see them in Galilee.

So that the disciples could come and see for themselves, the women ran to tell them. Matthew says, So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.  

And on the way, as if they weren’t already surprised enough, they had the surprise of their lives. 

Matthew says, And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!”  And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. 

They saw Him risen and alive with their own eyes, as Job had prophesied, whom I will see and behold with my eyes, I and not another. How my heart yearns within me!

Not only did they see Him, they touched His feet. He was no spirit or angel, he was living flesh and blood, truly risen.

Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

Several times after He rose, Jesus showed Himself alive to His disciples. Each time they saw Him, they understood a little better all that His death and resurrection had accomplished for them, and for the world.

Every Good Friday, as we return to the cross of Calvary, and every Easter, as we return to the empty tomb, we’re renewed in all Jesus has done and continues to do for us. 

Remembering and celebrating Jesus’ victory over sin and death, helps us to believe and appreciate it all the more, and to better hold it up for the whole world to see and believe.

Because the company of disciples saw Jesus alive, and watched Him ascend into Heavenly glory, we can be sure that we will see Him risen and alive.

But not Him alone, we’ll see all who have put their hope in Him, all the faithful, alive and glorified. 

Paul reveals this to us in our Epistle:  Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.

Our bodies glorified to be like Christ. Not divine like him, but holy like Him. Those with their body in the grave, raised, joined with their soul from Heaven, and glorified. 

The faithful who are still alive and walking on earth, will be instantly changed into glory. 

The special gift given to them will be that they won’t have to die. 

The special gift given to the believers who have already died, is that their souls will be kept happy and holy in Heaven, until being reunited with their raised and glorified bodies on the Last Day.

What a sight it will be! To feel and see your body being changed into glory, with all sin and every defect removed. To see the graves of the dead opened, and the faithful ones rising in glory, to feel your own body coming alive again. What an indescribable feeling! 

Most of all, the see our risen Lord, our Savior in all His majesty, surrounded by legions of angels, descending from on High. 

No sight now on earth can compare to the glorious sight when Jesus comes with the souls of His saints, and the company of His angels, and raises the bodies of the faithful departed in glorious splendor. 

Job summarizes it well with the words: how my heart yearns within me! 

How my heart yearns to see my beautiful Savior, risen and alive, His angels in their beauty, and His saints in their glory. 

Knowing that our Lord is risen and glorified, and that we will be glorified with Him some day, let us be bold and motivated to tell the story of His love, to paint the picture of His risen glory for the world to see and believe, that the world would not dread the day of the Lord’s return, but would hope and long for it.

Until that blessed day we long for, when will see our risen Savior with our own eyes, may His peace, which passes understanding, guard our hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus, our glorious Lord. 

He is risen! 

He is risen indeed! Alleluia! 

 Amen.