Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.
And many women were there beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto him:
Among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedees children.
When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple:
He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered.
And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,
And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed.
And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre.
Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate,
Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.
Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.
Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can.
So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.
- Matthew 27:54-66
A few thoughts I just want to share with us today.
The stone was not rolled away because Jesus needed it to be rolled away for him to come out of the tomb. NO!
Why did God need an angel to roll the stone away?
What God will do, HE will not send men to do. The decision as to what HE will do rests with HIM and HE is sovereign. So whatever HE has asked us to do, HE will not do for us. For instance, HE says
“...whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap”,
- Gal. 6:7
So don’t expect HIM to come and sow for you. He also says,
“...follow peace with all men and holiness”,
- Heb. 12:14
So don’t expect God to do that for you.
Concerning angels, when HE needs to send angels HE will send them. It is not for you and me to say “God send angels”. He knows when to send an angel. It is also not for you and me to start commanding angels to do a job for us. We don’t have such powers to do so. The bible says angels are
“...ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation”
– Heb. 1:14
– Heb. 1:14
Even when Jesus referred to angels in the bible He said, “do you not know that I can ask my father and HE will send legions of angels...” So, I just want to put that right before we go into the essence of today’s message, only God determines when to send an angel.
So why was the stone rolled away?
1. The stone was rolled away to rail away shame from God’s followers and to roll the shame over to those that hated them.
The stone was rolled away to roll away shame from God’s children, and it is a lesson for me and you; it is something we can identify with. HE rolled that stone away to roll away our shame but HE rolled that shame unto the enemies.
Why do I say so?
When they sealed the stone, it was like nobody could do any other thing about this matter. “This man is dead and gone”. But God rolled it away so that they would be ashamed. It is interesting that God in Isaiah 66 verse 4 said,
“I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them...”
So God is saying I am the one to choose the shame, and confusion of those who hate ME. This is very instructive. It tells me that all I need to do is to trust God, ask HIM to fight my battles and HE will decide on what area he will put them to shame, Isaiah 66:4. So it is not for me to say “LORD, this is the way you are to disgrace my enemy”, NO! It is for me to say, “LORD, fight my battles for me.” Remember that HE has said “I will choose”. I am sure that would be a good prayer to pray today. In Psalm 2 v 4, the Psalmist says,
“He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision”
That means God shall make them an object of ridicule. You can imagine their shame when they realised that the stone had been rolled away. They must have said to themselves, this thing that we trusted in, and we thought nobody could touch it..., look at how God has put us to shame. So they went back to bribe the soldiers, giving them money to frame a lie against the disciples of Jesus. This is because God decided to choose their delusion. HE says, “Vengeance is mine.” HE knows how best to bring the enemy to shame. And HE does it so well. The scripture says,
“Now I know that the Lord is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above them.” - Exodus 18:11
2. The stone is rolled away as a sign to both the believer and unbeliever that God is supreme.
God is all-knowing, and “There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the Lord”, Proverbs 21:30. There is no wisdom, or counsel, or plan that can succeed against the Lord. All we need to do is to rest secured in HIM and allow HIM to have a good laugh as stated in Psalm 2. While HE sees the enemy planning in the night or in the day, in the coven, in the cocoon, God will be having a good laugh; and so should you. Though the enemy will come against me, they will never succeed. Therefore, I might as well laugh at them. There’s no need carrying your sorrows on your face. Even if God shows you the enemy’s plans, it is for you to laugh. Just trust HIM; pay your tithes, live holy, don’t defraud another man. They thought that by sealing the stone they had perfected everything to keep Jesus in the grave. But God had a master plan. When God is through with HIS laugh, HE gets up and there is an earthquake. Then He sends an angel to roll away the stone. God is supreme, HE is all-powerful. The bible says,
“He taketh the wise in their own craftiness” – Job 5:13
It says,”HE is the one who confounded the plots of the wicked and frustrates the tokens of the liars”. The enemies also have their own signs, but HE is the one who frustrates them, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise. HE didn’t say they will not plan, but their plans will end up in foolishness. Of what use was the seal on the stone? They also sealed the pit where they put Daniel in the book of Daniel 6:17... They thought they had finished with Daniel, and that his story was over. Just like they are thinking your story is over. They have gone somewhere, they have called you in the mirror, they have called your name, they have taken your hair, they have taken your shirt, they have put it into something, they have mixed something, they have done some concoctions, they have invoked something, and they think you are going to die tomorrow. I have good news for you. Whatever they have done will not work! That same thing will go back to them. The bible says they will eat their own flesh. And so every arrow they send to you will go back to sender. There is no wisdom nor counsel nor understanding against the LORD.
3. The stone is rolled away to give you a sure evidence to witness.
To witness about the resurrection, about the power of God to redeem, to witness with boldness, to declare that whatever God says will be fulfilled. The bible says except they see signs they will not believe. It is true. So the stone is rolled away so that people can go and see that He is alive; not just to tickle their fancy, or to gain knowledge but to empower them to witness. That’s what the angel told them, “come and see where He lay and go tell”. When you have seen the evidence, when God has done a good work in your life, when you have experienced the power of God at work in your life, “Go, Tell!” So the stone is rolled away to give you and I evidence to talk about our faith with boldness. If you are still ashamed of Jesus, there’s a question mark around your salvation. If you are truly saved, you will be telling. You will not be ashamed of your God or of Jesus. If you truly have experienced the resurrection power of God at work in you, cannot keep quite. You will be telling, “Once I was blind, now I see...” The authorities of that day were frightening but the resurrection power put them to shame. It is a power that commands boldness in you. May you receive grace for boldness through the resurrection power. Just like the three Hebrew children, we ought not to bow. A very strong reason for us to be bold is that Jesus is alive. Every other religious leader is dead, but Jesus’ tomb is empty today. And that is the only reason why the church is standing today. The reason why it keeps going and growing is because it is a living church. The resurrection is the evidence. Whatever has hitherto kept your mouth shut, today God will role it away.
“And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.
And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.” – Matthew 28:8-9
The reason why the stone is rolled away is to give us a course for celebration and worship. There was great joy. And when they saw Jesus Himself, all that /he said concerning Himself came to them immediately and the only response was to worship Him. As it were; you alone are true, you alone are worthy for you said it and you did it, your word cannot be a lie. It tells me a few things about worship. When a man sees a desire accomplished, you can’t stop him from rejoicing; you cannot hold him from worshipping. When a man has encountered the light, you don’t force him to celebrate. He becomes a natural worshipper.
So as we talk about the stone being rolled away, one pertinent question to ask is, “Have you truly met Jesus?” Are you born again? If you are not, a lot of things will not make meaning, because spiritual things are only discerned spiritually. The moment you accept Jesus as your Lord and saviour, the light of God will come into your life and light your candle. So if you have not yet given your life to Jesus you can do so now.
Sermon Preached by Pastor Songo Ambie-Barango - Pastor in Charge of RCCG, City of Joy Zonal HQ
