(Text and Audio)
Title: Great Fear and Joy
“He is risen, as He said.”
The angel (whether he meant to or not) is subtlety reminding the women, that this was exactly what Jesus predicted would happen to Him. For the women, this moment is chaos, confusion, fear, and joy all at one.
For the angel, this is perfect, normal, expected.
Imagine if tomorrow at 3pm, I pull into the pickup lane at Ashland Christian School to get Nevaeh and Silas, as I do every weekday from September to June. But this particular day, Nevaeh and Silas come sprinting out the car at fully speed, looks of utter Joy and adulation on their faces, tears running down their cheeks. And as I seem them approach, I recognize something is not right so I get out of the car, in just enough time for them to thrown their arms around me with such force that the three of us tumble to the ground. And as they clutch me I ask, “Why are you guys so amazed, so excited today?”
And they respond, “Because you came to get us from school!”
But, when I dropped you off this morning, I said I would be here this afternoon to pick you up.
Yes.
Did I make myself clear?
Yes.
Did you believe me?
Well, I do now.
You see, for me, that would make me somewhat like the angel in the tomb. My understanding of Jesus is perfect, not flawed, I never doubted his mission. Him rising from the tomb is as natural as the sunrise, but for the women, plagued with human confusion, human doubt, human wonder, this offers them something new, something amazing, something wonderful.
Now if this is me and the kids at the school, I say: “Get off me! Of course I came to get you. I love you! It’s my job! Grandpa couldn’t make it so I had to get you today! Now get in the car before I leave you here!”
And the angel, the good angel, is a much better figure than me. The Angel recognizes the difference between his complete understanding and the utter chaos, fear, and confusion this situation brings to the women.
So the Angel does three things:
- He encourages them against their fears. (v.5)
- He assures them of the resurrection of Christ (v6)
- He tells them to go and tell the good news to the disciples (v7)
This morning I would like to argue that the Angels response ought to be a universal one amongst the church, when any our brothers and sisters falls into ANY sort of hard place.
- Encourage that person against their fear.
- Remind them that they serve a Christ who defeated death by the blessing of the father.
- Tell them to get to work sharing this good news.
In other words, no trial we can ever face has more power of bad news that the gospel has power of good news. Amen?
So as we close this morning and focus in on verse 8, I want to ask a rather odd question: What could cause you to simultaneously be consumed with both great fear and joy?
- Roller Coaster?
- Thrilling Movie?
- Hope.
These women were full of fear and great joy because hope had been born in their hearts. The ran to the disciples, HOPING that all that Jesus had told them was true. They ran to the disciples, HOPING that as they were frantically connecting the dots in their minds that they were correct about their presumptions. They were HOPING that Jesus was the temple, that Jesus was being raised after three days, that Jesus had conquered death, and that Jesus was indeed their long awaited Messiah.
Hope my friends is the key. It is everything. And do not fool yourselves. Every person puts their hope in something. Even the hopeless person, standing on the edge of taking their own life, is hoping that death will bring the release from this present pain.
So the question is not, nor has it ever been, do you have hope?
The question is, what is your hope in.