Bringing death down from the inside

Pastor Max Lyons opens Resurrection Sunday by reading Matthew 28:1–8 with the church standing: the earthquake, the angel on the stone, and the words "He is not here, for he has risen." He then tells the story of FBI agent Joseph Pistone, who went undercover as Donnie Brasco inside the New York mafia for six years and brought it down from within. That, he says, is a picture of what Jesus did with death. Death was an undefeatable adversary, and every one of us will face it, but Jesus went headfirst into death and eliminated its power from the inside.

No new life without old death

To receive the resurrection we also journey with Jesus into His crucifixion. This is why followers of Jesus are baptized: we go down into the water, our old way of life dies, and we are raised to a brand new life. Every challenge is an opportunity to remind yourself that you have been raised to new life.

The resurrection demands a response

In Matthew 28:9–15 two very different responses appear. Mary and Mary take hold of Jesus' feet and worship Him. The guards report to the chief priests, who pay them to spread the story that the disciples stole the body. The resurrection is not just inspiring; it is confronting. Pastor Max tells of Cliff Young, the 61-year-old potato farmer who entered the 1983 Sydney to Melbourne ultramarathon in overalls and work boots, ran through the nights while the professionals slept, and won. Some celebrated; others were furious that an outsider changed the race. Jesus showed up as an outsider, a king born in a stable, and changed the way life is lived.

The resurrection restores relationship

In verse 10 the risen Jesus tells the women to go and tell "my brothers." Pastor Max points out how undeserved that word is. One disciple betrayed Jesus, three fell asleep when He asked them to pray, all of them fled, Peter denied Him three times, and they went back to fishing. Yet Jesus calls them brothers and goes to them. Pastor Max shares a moment in an argument with Juliet when he blurted out that he was more logical than she was and learned that you can win an argument and lose the relationship. The disciples should have apologized to Jesus; instead He pursued them. God loves us not because we are good but because He is good. And because Jesus is alive, unlike the founders of other faiths, that restored relationship is active and ongoing today.

Not just life, but lordship

Verse 18 says all authority in heaven and earth has been given to Jesus. Pastor Max uses a lighthearted jab at Packers and Bears fans to make a serious point: you cannot cheer for both, and you cannot love Jesus and the world at the same time. When he proposed to Juliet in a London park, he did not promise to be kind of faithful. A risen King does not accept partial faithfulness. Jesus is either Lord of all or not Lord at all.

An invitation into purpose

The Great Commission in verses 19–20 shows that the resurrection is also about what Jesus invites us into. As a boy, Pastor Max kept asking his dad why he needed good grades, college, a job, and money, and the answer, "That's just what people do," left life feeling hollow. He found the answer when he gave his life to Jesus. Ephesians 2:10 says God prepared good works in advance for each of us, and Jesus says in Matthew 16 that whoever gives up his life for His sake will save it.

I'm with Jesus

Pastor Max closes with Tom, a London nightclub owner and new believer who brought a dozen people to church every week. When a bouncer refused Pastor Max entry, Tom walked him past and said, "It's cool. He's with me." That is our standing before the world, the enemy, and death itself. Not by our own strength or authority, but for one reason only: we are with Jesus, and He is with us. The challenge is to let the old life die, worship the risen King, and give Him our whole lives.