Easter Sunday - Do Not Be Afraid—He Is Risen - Matthew 28:1-10

1. The Dawn That Changed Everything

Matthew tells us it was “after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning” when Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to the tomb.

They carried grief.

They carried love.

They carried the weight of a world that had fallen apart.

But they also carried something else—

the courage to show up in the dark.

Resurrection often begins that way.

Not with trumpets.

Not with certainty.

But with faithful steps taken in the dim light of early morning.

Where in your life are you walking toward God even when the path feels shadowed?

2. The Earth Shakes, the Stone Moves, and Fear Trembles

Matthew alone tells us about the earthquake and the angel descending like lightning.

The guards—Rome’s finest—shake and fall like dead men.

But the women remain standing.

It’s striking:

The ones who loved Jesus are steadier than the ones who tried to control Him.

Love gives a different kind of strength.

A strength that fear cannot imitate.

3. “Do Not Be Afraid” — Heaven’s First Easter Sermon

The angel’s message is simple and world-changing:

• Do not be afraid

• He is not here

• He has been raised

• Come and see

• Go and tell

This is the rhythm of resurrection life:

Fear is met with courage.

Emptiness is met with presence.

Confusion is met with invitation.

Encounter becomes mission.

The angel does not ask the women to understand resurrection.

He simply asks them to trust it.

4. Running With Fear and Great Joy

Matthew says the women run from the tomb “with fear and great joy.”

What a perfect description of faith.

Most of us live somewhere between those two emotions.

Resurrection doesn’t erase fear.

It transforms it.

It gives us joy strong enough to run with.

5. Jesus Meets Them on the Way

Before they reach the disciples, Jesus meets them.

Not in the tomb.

Not in the temple.

Not in a moment of perfect clarity.

He meets them on the road—

in motion,

in obedience,

in their mixture of fear and joy.

They fall at His feet.

They worship.

And Jesus repeats the angel’s words:

“Do not be afraid.”

This is the heart of Easter:

The risen Christ meets us where we are and speaks courage into our trembling hearts.

6. A New Mission Begins

“Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

Galilee—the place of ordinary life.

The place where it all began.

The place where resurrection will reshape their future.

Easter always sends us back into our everyday world—

but with new eyes,

new hope,

new purpose.

Reflection

As you sit with this passage, consider:

• What stones in your life feel too heavy to move

• Where is Christ meeting you “on the way”

• What mixture of fear and joy are you carrying into this season

• Who needs to hear the good news through your voice, your presence, your courage

The empty tomb is not just a moment in history.

It is the beginning of a new creation—

and you are part of it.

Closing Prayer

Risen Christ,

You meet us in the dawn of our uncertainty

and speak courage into our fear.

Roll away the stones that keep us from hope.

Let your resurrection light break into the places

where we still feel stuck in the shadows.

Send us out with joy,

with purpose,

and with the good news that You are alive.

Amen.