4-5-2026 “An Easter People” Matthew 28:1-10

The Rev. Dr. John Tamilio III, Pastor

There’s an old saying among pastors that the Christmas and Easter sermons are the hardest to write. I mean, how many different ways can you say that Jesus was born and that he rose from the dead. I mean this in all seriousness. How can we see these stories through fresh eyes? How do we open our minds to let them shine new light on us?

Look at today’s Gospel account of the resurrection for a moment. Jesus keeps telling his disciples (in one of two ways) to go to Galilee. There they will see him. The angel says this to the women first, and tells them to tell the disciples. Then Jesus says the same thing to them himself: “tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” Why do they need to go there? Why Galilee?

There’s actually a lot of different theories about this: it’s the fulfillment of prophecy; it is the site of the Great Commission (which we will talk about in a second); and it holds geographic and strategic significance, according to one site.[1]

Let’s just stick with what we have today: Matthew’s account. Sometimes we can read him in light of the other Gospel writers, but, as far as his version of the resurrection goes, let’s hear what he has to say.

There is another half to Matthew’s account of the resurrection: it’s when the disciples finally go to Galilee and see Jesus. It appears a few verses after today’s Gospel Lesson. There, in Galilee, on a mountain, he gives the remaining eleven disciples the Great Commission. This is the climax of Matthew’s story. Here is how Matthew ends:

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

The disciples see the Risen Christ. He gives them their marching orders: they are to make disciples of all nations, baptize them, and teach them the Gospel. And then he tells them that he will be with them until the end of time: “surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Think about how much has transpired in such a short amount of time. Having seen Jesus crucified just a couple of days before, and having hid out of fear that maybe they would be next, they see that same man — the one who was nailed to a cross as a common criminal — they see him alive, in the flesh, right before their eyes. And now he promises that he will be with them till the end of the age!

Jesus ascends to Heaven forty days after that. However, his spirit remained with the disciples. How do we know that? Think for a moment. When Jesus was arrested, they went into hiding. Even after the crucifixion, they sequestered themselves for fear that they would be tried and executed as well. Fast forward to Sunday. Now that Jesus is alive, they are emboldened. They are now willing to risk their lives to spread the Good News. Most of them did die, in fact. John is the only one of the twelve who died of natural causes when he was old. According to tradition:

James the Greater was beheaded.
James the Lesser was stoned and beaten to death.
Thaddeus was beaten to death and hacked with an axe.
Simon was stabbed with a sword.
Thomas was slayed with spears.
Philip, Bartholomew, Andrew, and Matthew were all crucified.
Peter was crucified upside down. (That was his choice, by the way. He did not feel worthy to be crucified the way his Lord was.)
We know that Judas hanged himself.
Matthias, who replaced Judas, was also crucified.

The point? There are two of them. First, you’d have to be a thousand percent convinced that the person you are following is the Messiah if you are willing to die for him. Second, you’d have to be a thousand percent convinced that the same person is going to remain with you as your guide and strength or else you would surely lose heart, especially if your life was at stake! New Testament scholar D. A. Carson reminds us that Matthew’s “Gospel ends…with the promise of Jesus’ comforting presence.”[2] M. Eugene Boring concurs, saying that Jesus’ last words to the disciples “are a promise of his continuing presence.”[3]

Today, we do not face the same fate that the disciples did when we spread the Gospel with our words and actions, at least not in this country. Far from it. But the same Christ who promised to remain with them promises to remain with us as well. Among other things, this means that whatever trouble or burdens you face in this life, you do not face them alone. Jesus is with you always until the end of time.

Your doctor gives you a harrowing diagnosis. Jesus shoulders your fear and doubt with you.
You are underappreciated at work and feel that no matter what you do, your boss is always on your back criticizing you. Jesus holds you in those moments.
Or maybe you lost your job and you do not know how you will make your mortgage payment. Jesus does not desert you in those moments, even though you may feel you have nowhere to turn.
Your child has fallen off the wagon and starts using opioids again. Jesus is with you when you lie awake at night looking at the ceiling for an answer.
You’ve been abandoned or betrayed by one of your closest friends and your head is spinning, because you never imagined that could happen. Jesus was betrayed by one of his closest friends, too. He knows what it is like and will not desert you when you feel forsaken.

Jesus is able to do this for us, because he is still with us. You may not be able to see him in the flesh, but he is here. His spirit is alive and at work in the world. Whenever justice prevails, the spirit of Jesus is there. Whenever the hungry are fed and the naked are clothed and the sick and imprisoned are visited, Jesus is there. When those who mourn are comforted, Jesus is there. When the lost are found, and those who live in darkness see the light, and when the oppressed are liberated, Jesus is there.

And when you wrestle with whatever shades of death life throws at you, Jesus is by your side as well. Your anxiety keeps you focused on what might happen, and your guilt keeps you trapped in a past you cannot change; Jesus is with you. Most importantly, when you are ready to take your final breath and leave behind everything you have ever known, a world beyond your imagination awaits you: Jesus will be waiting with open arms to welcome you home. He is able to do that, because the resurrection has opened up the gates of everlasting life.

That is our hope. That is the promise that lies at the heart of our faith. We are an Easter people, not a people shackled by death and all of the hardship this life thrusts upon us. We are an Easter people. As Rich Mullins once sang, “this world is not my home.” Our home lies in the heavens. And when we get there, we will be united with the one who has been with us every step on the way: the Risen Christ whose resurrection, which defeated the powers of sin and death, we proclaim and celebrate this day. Amen.

[1] Bible Hub.

[2] D. A. Caron “Matthew,” from The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol. 8 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984), 599.

[3] M. Eugene Boring, “Matthew,” from The New Interpreter’s Bible, vol. 8 (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995), 504.