Easter at The Chapel: Come & See

Full Service | Sermon Audio

Good morning Chapel family! And welcome to all our guests and friends joining us today. My name is Dave Gustavsen; I serve as Senior Pastor here at The Chapel, and it is so good to be with you today. We gather today to celebrate the most important event in history: About 2,000 years ago, a man named Jesus of Nazareth was arrested by the Roman government for being a troublemaker, sentenced to death, publicly executed by crucifixion, buried in a tomb, and two days later he walked out of his grave alive. So today we are not here to promote a philosophy or a religion or a church; we are here to proclaim the news that Jesus Christ has conquered death. And when that message becomes personal, it changes us like nothing else can.
One of the well-known accounts of the resurrection is found in the last chapter of Matthew’s Gospel. Matthew 28, beginning in verse 1—this is God’s Word for us today…
1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”
8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” Continuing in verse 16…
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 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, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” This is the Word of the Lord.
If you have walked through the front doors of the Chapel this year, you’ve seen three words decaled on our windows—what are the words? “Come and See.” Did you see what the angel says to those two women at the empty tomb? Come and see. Come and see the place where he lay. See, the stone wasn’t rolled away to let Jesus out—Jesus didn’t need that. The stone was rolled away so people go in and look. So the angel says, “Come and see. Look for yourself!”
And very often, Easter sermons are invitations to come and see the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus: the written records of the resurrection from multiple eyewitnesses; the transformation of the disciples from timid to fearless after they saw Jesus alive; the incredibly unlikely survival and growth of the church in the Roman Empire; the great divide in human history—from BC to AD. For me, those things matter. It’s important for me to know that this faith is not based on some vision that was received by a supposed prophet; it’s rooted in events that had a measurable effect on history. So if you are an analytical, skeptical person, I encourage you: come and see the evidence.
But that’s not where this message is going. Because today is less about the head, and more about the heart. I want you to come and see how the miracle of Easter can affect you personally. Because here’s what I know: as our culture has become more and more secular, anxiety has gone through the roof. People are feeling exhausted by political fighting and wars and inflation and college debt and needing to get to the airport 5 hours early to get through security. And in my 30 years as a pastor, I have never seen a greater hunger for something more.
So this morning I’m inviting you to come and see that the “something more” you long for is the resurrected Jesus. Only he can meet the deepest needs of the human heart: forgiveness, worship, and purpose. Let’s take those one at a time.
First, Come and See the Power to Forgive. If you were to walk into that tomb, after your eyes adjusted to the darkness, you would realize: this is where a dead man’s body has been lying for the past three days. Why? Why did Jesus have to die? I mean, we know why the government wanted him gone, but why was that part of God’s plan? According to the Bible, it’s because of two competing realities: number one: God passionately desires a relationship with people. But—number two: God takes sin deathly seriously. Isaiah 59 states the problem like this: your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. Sin separates us from God. And so, long before the birth of Jesus, this God who loves us revealed his plan. Isaiah 53:5 looks into the future, and says:
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
  he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
  and by his wounds we are healed.
See, God’s eternal plan was to send a substitute to pay the moral debt that we owe. Those words were written 700 years before the birth of Jesus, but isn’t it obvious it’s about him? Which is why, in his dying breath, Jesus whispered the word tetelestai—which is Greek for “paid in full.” The debt had been paid, and that payment is applied to the account of everyone who believes. And here’s why this is doubly powerful: when you’ve received the forgiveness of Christ, you now have the inner resources—the inner power—to extend forgiveness to others.
There’s a seminary professor I admire named Michael Wilkins. He was raised by a stepfather who caused a lot of damage to him and his family, and who abandoned the family when Wilkins was in his early teens. So he grew up; he went and fought in the Vietnam war. And while he was in Vietnam, his anger toward his stepfather grew, and he vowed that that when he got back home, the first time he saw him, he would kill him. He would make him pay for what he had done to the family.
So Wilkins survived the war and went back home, and in that first year back he became a Christian. His whole world started to change, and he put his stepfather out of his mind. He got married, had a daughter. And then one day, out of the blue, his stepfather showed up at their house. His wife let him in, and they sat down in the living room. And then Wilkins remembered his vow. He said, “I made a vow in Vietnam that the first time I saw you, I would kill you. Today is the day.” The stepfather started sweating and sliding down in the chair. And then he said, “But I now know that I’m no better a person than you. God has forgiven me. And if he can forgive a sinner like me, I can forgive you. I will not allow you to hurt my family again, so don’t think that this is…weakness. I forgive you because I have been forgiven.”
Later he said, “I probably was as shocked as he was. I had not thought about saying those words …but they came easily.” And here’s my favorite part: he said, “I discovered that the key to forgiveness is to stop focusing on what others have done to us and focus instead on what Jesus has done for us.”
That’s why Jesus had to die. Because sin separates us from God, and it separates us from one another. And when Jesus paid for our sin on the cross, not only does that reconcile us with God; it makes us capable of forgiveness in ways that we didn’t even realize was possible.
Has anybody seen Hamilton on Broadway? Norma Jean and I have seen it twice; if anyone wants to get me tickets for my birthday next month, I’ll gladly see it again. Of course it’s based on the life of Alexander Hamilton, who made some terrible decisions. He was unfaithful to his wife, Eliza; because of his misbehavior, their son Philip died in a duel. And after all that, Alexander and his wife struggled to rebuild trust. So there’s a song near the end of the show called “It’s Quiet Uptown.” They lived uptown on West 141st Street, and during the song, the couple walks in their garden, but they don’t speak much. You can feel the tension. And there’s a moment in the song where Eliza takes her husband’s hand, and the cast sings the words, “Forgiveness. Can you imagine?”
And the whole Broadway audience is leaning in, because we all get it. We’ve made bad mistakes—we need forgiveness. And we all struggle to forgive the people who’ve sinned against us. So on this Easter Sunday I have to ask you: forgiveness: can you imagine? Can you imagine the burden of guilt and shame being lifted from your shoulders by Jesus? Can you imagine no longer carrying anger and resentment toward that person who’s hurt you? Because of Easter, you don’t have to imagine! Come and see the power to forgive. It is real.
Here’s the next thing: Come and See the Person to Worship. When the two women first encounter the resurrected Jesus, it says They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Nobody had to tell them to do that; they just knew. And then at the end, when Jesus meets his disciples on the mountain in Galilee, it says when they saw him, they worshiped him. For a Jewish person, that’s a serious thing to do. Commandments #1: You shall have no other gods; Commandment #2: you shall not make an idol to bow down and worship. Every Jewish person knew: you dare not worship anyone but God alone. And when they see the risen Christ, they instinctively bow down and worship.
Worship is part of being human. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “A person will worship something—have no doubt about that.” Maybe you say, “Not me. I’m not religious. I don’t worship.” But you need to expand your thinking. Our English word “worship” comes from the Old English, and it literally means “worth-ship.” So when we worship something, we’re showing that we think that thing has a lot of worth. It’s worthy of our praise. And every human being is looking for something worth worshiping.
Have you been watching March Madness basketball? Have you seen the fans painted blue? That’s worship. You say, “Well, I’m not into sports.” Okay…did you go and see Taylor Swift on her “Eras” world tour? Worship. “Well, I’m not into concerts.” Okay…have you been to a political rally? Worship. We are hardwired to find something worthy of our allegiance and excitement and devotion. That’s worship. And most of the problems in our lives are caused by worshiping things that are not worthy of worship: athletes, musical artists, politicians, money, physical beauty, health, boyfriends, girlfriends, our children—none of those are bad things, but they cannot bear the weight of our worship. Only one thing can.
Did you notice that twice in this passage—once from the mouth of the angel at the tomb, and once from Jesus himself—we hear the words, “Do not be afraid.” Because when you’re in a tomb, and when you’re in the presence of a man who was dead for three days and is now standing in front of you, the natural response is fear. So they were saying, “Don’t be terrified—you’re not in danger.” But at the same time, they were inviting those two women to a different kind of fear—a good kind of fear. The kind that Proverbs talks about, when it says The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. It’s not a terror fear; it’s a sense of awe and reverence, because you know you’re in the presence of someone holy and glorious and infinitely powerful. And that’s what we find in the resurrected Jesus.
You know why this is so important? Because whatever you worship shapes your heart more than anything else. Let me say that again: whatever you worship shapes your heart more than anything else. It forms you into the person you’re becoming. So when we worship Jesus, we become like Jesus. And that’s the best possible thing that could happen to us. Come and see the person to worship.
One more thing: Come and See the Purpose of Life. This is such an important time to talk about purpose. There was recently an article in the New York Times by a guy named Adam Grant—he’s an organizational psychologist at the Wharton School. The article starts like this…
At first, I didn’t recognize the symptoms that we all had in common. Friends mentioned that they were having trouble concentrating…A family member was staying up late to watch “National Treasure” again even though she knows the movie by heart. And instead of bouncing out of bed at 6 a.m., I was lying there until 7, playing Words with Friends.
It wasn’t burnout — we still had energy. It wasn’t depression — we didn’t feel hopeless. We just felt somewhat joyless and aimless. It turns out there’s a name for that: languishing. Languishing is a sense of stagnation and emptiness. It feels as if you’re muddling through your days, looking at your life through a foggy windshield.
That article struck a nerve with so many people that it was one of the most-read New York Times stories of the past few years. Can you relate? Have you felt any languishing? Just sort of blah, whatever, meh? Nobody wants to be that way, but it’s hard to fight it when it comes.
And the message of Easter awakens us from our languishing. Did you notice that after the angel tells the women, “Come and see the place where he lay,” the next thing he says is, “Go and tell his disciples.” Because, listen: “Come and see” always leads to “go and tell!”
Now look again at the last three verses of our passage: 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 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, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” If you’re wondering how the good news of Easter should affect your life, here’s the answer: “Go.” You cannot remain the same person you used to be. You can’t stay where you are.
Specifically, Jesus says, “Go and make disciples.” A “disciple” is someone who trusts and follows Christ. So Jesus says, now that you see that I’m alive, “Go and invite other people to join you in following me.” So I’m inviting you right now: join us. Come and be a disciple of Jesus with us. We would love to have you be part of this amazing family that God is building. If you have questions, come to the Meet & Greet after any of our services next Sunday.
Then he says, “Baptize people in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” Over the past year or so, there’s been a revival of baptisms at The Chapel. Since the beginning of last year, well over a hundred people have taken that step of obedience and publicly declared their faith in Christ through baptism. So three weeks from today, we’re going to be baptizing again, right here. It is an amazing celebration. So if you’re ready for that step, come and be baptized.
And then he says, “Teach people all that I’ve commanded you.” When I read the Gospels, I hear Jesus commanding us to feed the hungry and care for the sick and pay special attention to vulnerable people like widows and orphans and outsiders. And I am so encouraged with how the people of The Chapel are taking those words to heart—I have to just share a few examples with you. And as I do, I’m going to invite our worship team to come back up to close our service.
Listen to some of the ways the people of this church family are finding purpose by living out the teachings of Jesus:
Every month we take a group of volunteers into Paterson; we go under bridges and along railroad tracks and other places where homeless folks stay. We hand out food and clothing; we pray with people and help them get into detox or rehab. This is a picture last Saturday—that man in the middle lives under a tarp in a Paterson park. And we usually don’t take pictures, but this guy was all for it. That homeless outreach is part of our 12-Mile Bridge initiative, which includes nine partnerships with Paterson organizations, and they all offer opportunities for people to serve in the name of Christ.
This past February we hosted our tenth annual “Night to Shine”—which is a prom-like event for people with special needs. It’s hard to put into words how beautiful this night is—mostly because of the guests who come, but also because of the more than 300 volunteers: they shine shoes and do hair and do makeup and serve food and personally host every one of our guests. It was awesome. And in a few weeks spring planting will begin in our Special Needs Community Garden, which is part of our larger effort to include people with special needs in everything we do.
And those are just a few examples, but the point is: when you have come and seen the resurrected Christ, you cannot languish. Thou shalt not languish! Because your life gets infused with a purpose that’s worthy of your sacrifice, and it’s hard and challenging and beautiful, and Jesus says, “Go live this way, and I promise I will be with you till the very end.”
Listen: we all have the same needs. We long for forgiveness—receiving it and giving it; we need something that’s worth worshiping; and we crave purpose. And every one of those is found in the resurrected Jesus Christ. If the puzzle of your life feels like it’s missing a piece, it’s because you’re missing him. So as we close today, I want to give you the opportunity to say “yes” to him.