Matthew 27:57-61, 66. 28:1-6
Behind the Stone
Today, we celebrate the risen Lord. The resurrection of Jesus is one
of the most important days in history. The others being the day that
God came to earth, the day that Jesus died on the cross, and the day
that you and I took Jesus as our Savior.
But I want to focus on the stone this morning. More specifically, I
want to focus on what was taking place behind the stone. Many things
occurred in those days. Some of them human eyes could see. Some of
them human eyes could not see. Let’s look behind the stone.
I. Behind the stone is One whom death killed hard.
A. That is a strange thing to say, but Jesus died a very hard
death.
1. The cruelty of Jesus’ death is even stranger since Death
had no claim on Jesus at all.
2. Jesus had not sin so death had no right to attack Him at
all.
3. Yet, behind the stone lies Jesus, beaten, bruised, broken—
more so than most will ever be.
B. And perhaps even more strange was the level of cruelty
Inflicted.
1. All that sin required of the Sacrifice was death.
2. From Genesis through the New Testament, the payment for
sin has always been the same, death.
Genesis 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for
in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt
surely die.
Ezekiel 18:20 The soul that sinneth, it shall
die….
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but
the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus
Christ our Lord.
C. When death comes for the most wicked and deserving among us,
it can be a relatively easy and painless death.
1. The torment for the unsaved does not have to start until
after death.
2. The lambs slain for sacrifice did not experience such a
hard death.
D. Death killed Jesus hard.
1. Death caused man’s hands to beat Jesus.
2. Death scourged Him with the whip.
3. Death laid the cross on His back.
4. Death laid His back upon the cross.
5. Death nailed His feet and His hands.
6. Death hoisted His body into the air.
7. And Death left Him there to hurt, to bleed, and to
suffocate in one of the most cruel deaths known to
mankind.
II. Behind the stone is One whom Hell was poured upon.
A. \\#Eph 4:9\\ tells us that Jesus did to hell, but not as a
prisoner. Rather, as the Victor.
Eph 4:9 Now that he ascended, what is it but that he
also descended first into the lower parts of the
earth?
2. But before Jesus went down to hell, hell came up to Him,
and hell was poured upon Jesus while He hung upon the
cross.
B. Human eyes could not see the agony that God poured out upon
our Lord.
1. I know that does not sound right but it is.
Is 53:10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him;
he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make
his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his
seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure
of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
2. Listen to what that verse says:
a. It pleased God to bruise His Son.
b. He (God) put His Son to grief.
c. God made Jesus’ soul an offering for sin.
3. All of that means that God poured hell down on His Son!
a. God did it on purpose.
b. God did it by plan.
c. God did it gladly.
4. Why did God do that to Jesus?
a. Because Jesus became sin.
2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be
sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be
made the righteousness of God in him.
b. He took all of our sins and He became the sin.
c. I do not understand what that means, but I believe I
understand what the result was.
d. All of the fury and wrath that God had toward us,
the sinners, He poured it upon Jesus.
5. Whether you like God or hate Him, trust God or reject Him,
know that God the Son gladly took our place beneath the
bucket of hell and God gladly allowed Him to do so.
III. Behind the stone is One whom the Grave held tightly.
A. You can see the Grave’s tight hold by the location of the
grave.
1. It was inside a stone mountain.
2. Why? Because to most, a stone mountain would be escape
proof.
a. One does not tunnel out the back side of a stone
mountain.
b. Neither does one dig down out of a stone mountain.
c. Neither does one dig up through the top of a stone
mountain.
3. The location of Jesus’ grave held Jesus tight.
B. You can see the Grave’s tight hold by the clothing of the
grave.
C. You can see the Grave’s tight hold by the stone which was
rolled against the opening.
D. You can see the Grave’s tight hold by the seal Roman placed
on the stone.
IV. Behind the stone is One whom The Devil chained securely.
A. Again, human eyes could only see what was taking place on the
human plain, but there was much more taking place that day.
B. The Bible says that Jesus SPOILED and OPENLY triumphed over
the principalities and powers which slew Him and held Him in
the grave.
Col 2:15 And having spoiled principalities and
powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing
over them in it.
C. That means the devils were there!
1. On the resurrection morning, two angels appeared at the
tomb of Jesus to deliver the resurrection message, but
before they came down the demons of hell came up.
2. Revelation indicates that 1/3 of hosts of heaven became
demons. \\#Rev 12:4\\
a. No mortal human being can know for certain, but I
think every one of them was summoned to the tomb of
Jesus.
b. Why would they be at any other place? What other spot
on earth could be more important to them or to Satan?
3. Not only were there lots of demons there, the strongest of
the strong were there.
a. Devils, like angels, have rank.
b. I do not know how their rank works, but some are far
more powerful than others.
c. Some are so powerful that God has not let them loose
on mankind yet, but that doesn’t mean they were not
loosed on Jesus.
d. The most powerful in Satan’s army no doubt gathered at
that tomb.
4. But then Satan himself was there too.
a. Where else would he be? What else would he be doing?
b. This prince and power of the air would have been
there…
(1) …laying his chains of darkness across the body
of Jesus to hold Him down.
(2) …anchoring them from the walls to the stone
rolled across the entrance.
(3) …doing all that he could do to keep Him who is
Life bound by chains of death.
V. All of that happened behind the stone, but everything changed when
the SON began to rise that morning.
A. I am not talking about the SUN rising but the SON rising.
B. As the s-u-n began to rise,
the earth began to quake,
the guards began to tremble,
an angel began to descend,
the stone began to roll,
some lades began to gather,
and our Lord began to rise.
C. In that same moment,
Death’s bands were broken,
Hell’s bucket was emptied,
the Grave’s grip were snapped,
and Satan’s chains were broken.
D. Soon after, a band of ladies arrived.
1. Their human eyes could not see the battlefield that they
walked through.
2. Those eyes were focused upon the rolled stone and the
radiance of the angels.
3. Little did they know that as they walked toward that now
empty tomb, they passed through the Field of the
Defeated.
a. Over there lay Death, now the one who was bruised and
battered.
b. Over there lay Hell whose bucket was now empty and
cast aside.
c. Over there lay the Grave, now busted on all sides.
d. And over there lay Satan, defeated and cast to the
earth once again.
E. He’s alive! He’s alive!
1. That was the message of the angels.
2. That was the message of the band of woman.
3. That was the message carried from frightened follower to
frightened follower.
4. And each time the message was delivered, it gave courage,
hope, and life.
Today, after 2,000 years, I give the same message. He’s alive. He’s
alive. Won’t you believe it? Won’t you accept it? Won’t you let
Jesus Christ give you life?
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