Matthew 28:1-6

A small boy and his father were driving down a country road
on a beautiful spring afternoon.

Suddenly out of nowhere, a bumblebee flew in the car window.
A bee in the car is  something scary!.

This incident was truly terrifying
because the little boy was deathly  allergic to bee stings.
So, when he saw the bee, he became terrified.

But his father, reacting quickly, grabbed the bee,
squeezed it in his hand, and then released it.
As soon as he released the bee -- it began to fly again inside the car.

The little boy was again terrified!


His father saw the panic on his boy's face.
So, he pulled the car off to the side of the  road.
Then, he reached out his hand, and showed his son
that the stinger of the bee was stuck in his hand.

"Do you see this?" he said.
"You don't need to be afraid anymore.
I've taken the sting for you."

That's the message of Easter!

You and I  don't need to be afraid of death.
Jesus Christ has already faced it for  us.
He took the sting out of death,
and He invites us to  -- "Come and see"!

That is what the angel said to the women
who came to that tomb on that first Easter Sunday.

Matthew  28:1-6
"The angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid,
for I know that  you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.
He is not here; he has risen,  just as he said.
Come and see the place where he lay.' "

"Come and see!"

The angel knew that it was not easy for the women
to come to the tomb.

It was in a graveyard!
It was a place inhabited by dead bodies.
It was not the kind of place you wanted  to be
during the dark hours just before dawn.
It was a frightening place.

These women came to anoint a body that lay in a grave
that was sealed with the seal of the most powerful nation on earth.
It was sealed  on orders of the official representative
of the most powerful man on the  face of the earth -- Caesar.
That seal prohibited anyone from entering that  tomb.

And the tomb was guarded by the Praetorian Guard,
the best soldiers in the Roman army.
They were deadly fighting with spears, swords,
knives and with their bare hands.

These men had orders to kill anyone
attempting to  enter or to desecrate the tomb without official permission .
So, if these women obeyed the angel,
they would need to get over their fears of graveyards and guards.
If they obeyed the angel, they would be disobeying
the most powerful nation on the face of the earth,
and the most powerful man on earth.

Then, there was the stone.
This stone weighed almost four tons,
and had to be rolled up an incline
in order to expose the entrance to the cave
and access to the body of Jesus.

Who could even move that rock?

The angel said... "Come!"

The women didn't hesitate.
They never considered the difficulties or the danger.
They went to the  tomb, and obeyed the angel's invitation.

That is our invitation,  today!

Come to the tomb!
Come, and discover the greatest reality of history!

Do you have the courage these women demonstrated that Sunday morning.

The army of Alexander the Great was advancing to attack Persia.
At one critical moment, it look as though his troops would be defeated.

Alexander tried to determine the problem of his troops.
These had  been the finest fighting men in all the world.

So, he rode through the camp and surveyed his troops.
He quickly saw the problem.

He discovered that every man had so much treasure and plunder
from their past battles that they were content just to enjoy them.
They were focusing on what they had,
not on fighting battles.

Without a challenge and a purpose, they would not be victorious in battle.

Alexander commanded that all the spoils, and riches,
and plunder from the past battles be thrown into  a heap in the middle of the camp.
And he burned all of them.

His men  complained.
Later, they came to see the wisdom of their Alexander's order.

A historian wrote of the results of this drastic action,
"It was as  if wings had been given to them -- they walked lightly again.
And victory  was assured."

That army went on to conquer Persia and the entire world.

What about you?

Are you so content with what you have,
that you have no need of Christ in your life?
What hinders you from coming to the risen Christ?

Are you rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing?

These statements describe the attitudes of many in our society:

We spend more, but have less;
we buy more, but enjoy it less.

We have bigger houses and smaller families;
more conveniences, but less time;
more medicine, but less wellness.

We read  too little , watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.
We have multiplied our  possessions, but reduced our values.

These are days of steep profits, and shallow relationships.

These are days when families have more things;
and more broken homes.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life;
we've added years to life, but not life to years.
We concerned to clean  our streams, but we continue to pollute our souls.

Do those statements sound familiar?
Does any of this describe how you pursue your own lifestyle and your life's goals.

Are these things more important to you than Christ?
Are you more interested in things that will soon perish?

Jesus says to all of us:
Matthew  11:28-29
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,
and I will give  you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am gentle and  humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.”
(Matt. 11:28-29)

Come to Jesus!

The invitation of Easter is: "Come!"
Come to the Lord  Jesus!

I believe that your heart is telling you to come!
I believe that you would rather have life than death!

Come to Jesus!

Confess to God that you  have sinned.
For: "All have sinned, and have come short of the glory of God."
(Rom. 6:23)

You have been trying to be your own god.
You have tried to face life with all its crisis with your own resources.
Do you have the foolish  belief that you can save yourself from death?

You know better!
You cannot deal with the minute, everyday problems
without frustration and  depression!

You know that you cannot deal with the matter of your  death?
You cannot overcome death!
You cannot, but Jesus can, and did!

You  cannot prevent your soul from going to an everlasting hell!
You cannot provide for yourself eternal life!

You cannot, but Jesus can, and will! 

Turn from your sins.
Ask God for forgiveness of your sins.
When you do that, God will forgive you this very moment.
God will put your sin behind Him, and He will never remember them again!

Trust in Jesus who died on the cross for you.
Trust your heart and soul to Him now and forever.

Then, come!
See the place where He lay!

See where His  body was!
See that it is no longer there!
Jesus is not in that tomb.

He is risen!
He is alive!
He lives!

Jesus said, "Because I live, you shall  also live."

"He lives, He lives,
Salvation to impart.
You ask me how I know He lives,
He lives within my heart."

"Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, all fear is gone.
Because I know, He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He  lives."

A father was beside his little girl's bed
and she was ready to say her goodnight prayer.

She began praying the childhood prayer that she had prayed many times:

"Now I lay me down to sleep;
I pray you Lord  my soul to keep.
If I should die before I wake,
I pray you Lord, my soul to take.”

But on this night, she got mixed up.
She prayed,
"If I  should wake before I die."

She stopped. "Oh Daddy, I got all mixed  up."

But her father responded,
"Not at all honey!
In fact, that's  probably the way the the prayer should be prayed.”

Then Daddy said, "Honey, that is my earnest prayer for you --
that you may wake up before you  die."

Here is the greatest invitation you will ever receive!

"Come and see!"

I urge you to "wake up before you die!"

Come to Jesus, the  resurrected Lord!

He will transform your life forever!

Sermon by Dr.  Harold L. White
Email Dr. White at hleewhite@aol.com