Worship the Risen King
Matthew 28
This morning we have just read the Resurrection story as it comes to us from the Gospel of Matthew, and I want to briefly walk our way through it this morning to center our thoughts on the risen Lord Jesus Christ.
John Piper says, “The last chapter of Matthew is a window that opens onto the sunrise glory of the risen Christ.”[1] Here, Matthew calls us to worship the risen King, Jesus Christ. As we read the passage, you probably noticed that Matthew shows us two resurrection appearances of the Lord Jesus Christ. There are, in the Gospels, Acts, and 1 Corinthians, at least ten resurrection appearances of Jesus before He ascended to the Father.[2] Matthew records two of these. First, He appears to the women who came to the tomb on that Sunday morning (Matt. 28:9-10). Then later, Jesus appears to the eleven disciples and possibly others on a mountain in Galilee (Matt. 28:16-20).
One thing that these appearances have in common is that, in both of them, those who see Jesus worship Him. Look at it again:
9 And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. … 16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. (Matthew 28:9, 16-17).
The word for worship in these verses is προσκυνέω (proskynéō) which literally means to kiss the hand towards in a gesture of reverence. It is used in the New Testament when people kneel or fall prostrate to do homage to express respect or make supplication. For instance, Matthew uses this word when Jesus tells the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18:26 saying that the servant fell down and paid respect to his master to whom he owed an enormous debt.
At other times in the New Testament, προσκυνέω means to worship a deity. Recall how the devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness three years earlier. In Matthew 4:8, “the devil took [Jesus] up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.” Then he said to Jesus, ” All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” Was Satan just asking for Jesus to show him a little respect? No, Matthew 4:10 makes it clear that the temptation was worship—because Jesus countered by quoting Deuteronomy 6:13, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” The LORD God, Yahweh Elohim, He is the only One who shall be worshiped. Jesus believes and lives this truth.
Now, do you see what this implies when we see that Jesus receives the worship of His people in Matthew 28? When He rises from the dead, men and women bow at His feet and worship Him, and He receives it without a word of rebuke. Godly men and angels always rebuke men if they try to bow down to worship them (Peter, Acts 10:25-26; Paul and Barnabas, Acts 14:14-15; the angel, Rev. 19:10; 22:9). But Jesus never does that. He welcomes worship.
What I found this week as I studied Matthew 28 is that worship is a theme in Matthew’s Gospel. This becomes evident when we compare the Gospel of Matthew with the other Synoptic Gospels (Mark and Luke). The term προσκυνέω is used eighteen times in the Synoptics Gospels. Thirteen of those are in Matthew.[3] Matthew emphasizes people worshiping Jesus. Matthew begins and ends his Gospel with the worship of Jesus. After Jesus is born in Bethlehem, the magi come to worship Him (Matt. 2:2). They “fell down and worshiped Him,” giving Jesus gifts fit for a king (Matt. 2:11). Then Matthew ends his Gospel with the disciples worshiping Jesus as He gives the Great Commission (Matt. 28:17). Four times in Matthew we find προσκυνέω used to describe people who fall down before Jesus in supplication, asking Jesus for healing or favor (a leper, Matt. 8:2; a synagogue ruler whose daughter had died, 9:18; a Canaanite woman whose daughter was demon-possessed, 15:25; the mother of James and John, 20:20).
The other significant occurrence is in Matthew 14 when Jesus walks on the water. After Jesus saves Peter from sinking, they are back in the boat, and the wind has stopped, the disciples, “worshiped Him, saying, ‘Truly You are the Son of God.’” (Matt. 14:33). The disciples are doing more than showing simple respect to one who is their superior. They were clearly amazed, marveling (Mark 6:51), and full of fear (Matt. 14:26-27). They worshiped Jesus as the “Son of God.”
Piper writes,
Therefore, when Matthew calls us to worship the risen Christ, do not shrink back saying, “God only should be worshipped.” For Christ is God, one in essence with the Father and the Spirit. That’s why Matthew brings his book to a close in verse 19 by saying that disciples should be baptized “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” These three persons are one God, and when we worship the one, we worship them all.
Let’s walk through Matthew 28 to see why we should worship Jesus Christ, the risen King.
First we see,
1. The Miracle – Matthew 28:1-4[4]
1 Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. (Matt. 28:1-4)
It was nearing Sunrise on the first day of the week, which would be our Sunday. Jesus had now been in the grave for three days. Remember that any part of a day was counted as a day in that culture. Friday afternoon is day 1. Saturday is day 2. Sunday morning is day 3.
Mary Magdalene had a supreme devotion to Jesus ever since Jesus had cast seven demons out of her. The ‘other Mary’ in this story was the mother of James and Joses (Matt. 27:56). These two had been at the tomb when Jesus’ dead body was laid there on Friday (Matt. 27:61).
Matthew says that these women came to the garden to look at the grave. Luke informs us that they came with more burial spices (Luke 24:1). They came to the grave of Jesus not to see if He was resurrected, but to anoint His body with more burial spices as a beautiful act of their devotion to Him. Mark’s account records that as they had walked to the sepulcher they had been wondering who would roll the stone away that blocked the entrance to the tomb (Mark 16:3). Their concern about getting the stone rolled away was short-lived. Matthew tells us,
2 And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. (Matt. 28:2).
Matthew is the only one that mentions the great earthquake. The earthquake displayed the power of God and made sure that everyone was wide awake to see what was happening. The angel was the divine answer to the women’s earlier concern. Why have the Angel roll the stone away? It would not have been to let Jesus out. Jesus was already raised. He was not there. It was to let the witnesses in.
3 His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 4 And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men. (Matt. 28:3-4).
His appearance was dazzling and the mighty Roman guards shook for fear and fell down like they were dead. What is the meaning of this? It demonstrates the power of the Risen Christ. Angels stand in the service of the risen Christ.[5] The writer of Hebrews quotes Psalm 97:7 about the worship of Christ, “Let all the angels of God worship Him.” At the beginning of our worship service today we read Revelation 5 which showed all the heavenly hosts worshiping Jesus, the Lamb of God. 1 Peter 3:22 says that Jesus Christ “… has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.” Paul writes about the working of God’s mighty power,
20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, (Eph. 1:20-22).
Again, Piper comments,
When the angel in Matthew 28 descends with the power of an earthquake and the appearance of lightning to announce the resurrection of the Son of God, the meaning is this: all authority in heaven has been given to the risen Christ, and thousands upon thousands upon thousands of indestructible angels obey his every word.[6]
We worship the risen Jesus Christ because of His Power.
Next, we see,
2. The Message – Matthew 28:5-8
Here in our text, we find that the angel now reveals himself and seeks to bring comfort to the women,
5 But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 “He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7 “And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.” 8 So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word. (Matt. 28:5-8)
The tomb had been opened so that they could see for themselves that what the angel was telling them was true. Jesus was no longer there. He had risen just as He had said. God’s grace had come to mankind in a new and powerful way. The women were not rebuked for their unbelief but comforted and encouraged that what they had not dared to believe was now true. Jesus had conquered death.
Why do we worship Jesus? The message of the angel shows us that we worship Jesus for His Promise. “He is not here; for He is risen, as He said.” Jesus kept His promise to rise from the dead. And this is the assurance that all of His promises are true. They would see Him just as He said. He would meet them in Galilee just as He said. Their sins would be forgiven just as He said. He would eat and drink with them in His Father’s kingdom just as He said. This was not news they were to keep to themselves. They were to tell the others. Did you notice the imperatives in the angel’s message? Come and see. Go and tell. This is our commission as well.
We worship Jesus for His power and for His promise.
Next we see,
3. The Master – Matthew 28:9-10
Great joy was present because of what they had been told by the angel, but their joy would increase even more, for as they are returning, Jesus Himself appears to them!
9 And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.” (Matt. 28:9-10)
Jesus greeted them with a common greeting of the day, Χαίρετε (chairete), which we can translate as, “rejoice,” “be glad,” or “greetings.” It is related to the word χάρις (charis), meaning grace. Jesus tells them not to be afraid, but to rejoice. Why did Jesus meet them here? He didn’t tell them anything new—He just repeated the message of the angel. They were already following the angel’s instructions. Why did Jesus stop them? Grace. “An unnecessary bonus from the big heart of the risen Christ.”[7]
Where else do we see the grace of Jesus? Notice how Jesus referred to His disciples. He called them “My brethren.” Imagine what the disciples might be thinking when they heard the message from the women. If Jesus is really risen with all authority on earth and is ready now (as they probably thought) to establish the worldwide reign of the Messiah, what might He do to us, His turncoat disciples who denied and deserted Him in His hour of greatest trial? But the risen Christ is not only powerful; He is gracious beyond human measure. With one word he stilled their fears, “brethren.” He calls them brothers.
So we worship Jesus for His power, for His promise, and for His Grace.
Next, in this chapter we see,
4. The Myth – Matthew 28:11-15
Here the guards regain consciousness and some of them return to report. Matthew 27:6 records that these Roman guards had been put under the authority of the chief priests, so it was proper for them to give their first report to them. They simply told the truth of what happened. That would have included the earthquake, the angel and the missing body of Jesus.
The chief priests and elders do not question the guard’s report. They had been told the truth. But blinded by their own sin, they bribe the soldiers to tell a lie. But even their lies testify to the truth. The account of the bribe to lie was found out and reported and so the very attempt to cover up the truth became another testimony to it. Besides, it was a bad lie. If the guards were asleep, how did they know the disciples took the body? If the disciples had actually stolen the body it should not have been that hard for them to arrest the disciples and find the body, but the chief priests knew the truth and did not even bother to look for the disciples. Jesus was no longer dead, so there was no body to find.
So we worship Jesus for His Truth. He is not dead. He is risen as He said.
We worship Jesus for His power, His promise, His grace, and His truth.
Finally in this chapter, we have,
5. The Mandate – Matthew 28:16-20
Matthew now jumps ahead to the disciples’ meeting with Jesus in Galilee where they had been instructed to meet Him. It was there that Jesus gave them further instructions and gave them their commission for what they were to do for the remainder of their lives after He had ascended to heaven. And Matthew records that they too worshiped Jesus, “When they saw Him, they worshiped Him;” (Matt. 28:17). They worship the risen Christ. And Matthew gives us a true-to-life account when he records, “but some doubted.” The word “doubted” means to hesitate in the sense of being uncertain about taking a particular course of action. The only other time it appears in the New Testament is in Matthew 14:31. That’s where Peter had gotten out of the boat and walked on the water to the Lord. But he hesitated, he wavered when he looked at the wind and the waves. And when the Lord reached out and grabbed him and pulled him up out of the water, He said, “O you of little faith; why did you doubt?” Or, we might translate it, “Why did you hesitate? Why did you waver?”
We’re not told what the exact reason is that “some doubted”. But I love it that we’re told that—with them all there worshiping Him, and some doubting—”Jesus came and spoke to them . . .” (Matt. 28:18). He took the initiative, and met them in their time of doubt. He then assured them that He, who was about to commission them for the greatest task the world has ever seen had been given all authority in heaven and on earth. And as we know, they went on to change the world.
Jesus, the Son of God, came to earth, made disciples, baptized, and taught them. Now Jesus gives that mission to His followers. The great commission shows that the risen Christ has a purpose. He is the King and He knows why He reigns. He spoke to them saying,
All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. (Matt. 28:18-20)
The purpose of the risen Christ is to empower His church to make His authority known in every culture on earth. He wouldn’t have said, “Lo, I am with you always,” unless our mission was His mission. Wherever people bow the knee to Christ through our witness, it is because He is with us. He aims to fill his kingdom with worshipers. We worship Jesus for His Purpose.
The reason we obey the mandate Jesus gave is that we want Jesus to be worshiped. We want Him to be glorified. We want to see people from all nations joining us in saying,
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain
To receive power and riches and wisdom,
And strength and honor and glory and blessing!” (Rev. 5:12)
We want to see every knee bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. We want to hear them say,
“Blessing and honor and glory and power
Be to Him who sits on the throne,
And to the Lamb, forever and ever!” (Rev. 5:13).
Are you a worshiper of King Jesus? Listen, He is worthy of worship. He is the Son of God who came and lived a perfect sinless life among us. He willingly died on the cross so that your sin could be forgiven. He was raised on the third day and lives forever as King. He is able to save you from sin and death. Turn to Him now. Don’t wait until that day when every knee will have to bow and every tongue will have to confess Jesus is Lord—do it now. Receive the forgiveness of sins. Receive the gift of eternal life. Bow to Jesus the King. Worship Him. This is your whole purpose.
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[1] John Piper, Worship the Risen Christ, https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/worship-the-risen-christ
[2] These ten appearances were (1) to the women (Matthew 28:9-10); (2) to Mary (Mark 16:9; John 20:11-17); (3) to Simon Peter (Luke 24:34; 2 Corinthians 15:5); (4) to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Mark 16:12-13; Luke 24:13-35); (5) to the apostles without Thomas present (Mark 16:14-18; Luke 26:34-43; John 20:19-23); (6) to the apostles with Thomas present one week later (John 20:24-29; 1 Corinthians 15:5); (7) to the seven disciples by the Sea of Galilee (John 21:1-14ff); (8) to the apostles and possibly the 500 brethren on the Galilean mountain (Matthew 28:16-20; 1 Corinthians 5:6); (9) to James (1 Corinthians 15:7); and (10) to the apostles at the ascension at the Mount of Olives (Luke 24:50-53; Acts 1:4-7). Appearances 1-5 all occurred on the same day as our Lord’s resurrection.
[3] Hak Chol Kim, The Worship of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew, Biblica, Vol. 93, No. 2 (2012), pp. 227-241. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42615100. It is used two times in the Gospel of Mark (5:6; 15:19) and three times in the Gospel of Luke (4:7-8; 24:52).
[4] Jonathan Klimek, Worship Jesus: He Is the Risen King, https://lsbc-media.s3.af-south-1.amazonaws.com/production/Living-Stone-Bible-Church—Manuscript-2021-04-04.pdf. I borrowed Klimek’s alliterative outline of the chapter.
[5] Piper, ibid.
[6] Piper, ibid.
[7] Piper, ibid.
