Angelic Commands

 April 9, 2023

Today is Easter! Christians all over the world have gathered to sing and pray, to hear the Gospel proclaimed, and to shout, “He is risen! He is risen indeed!” Joyous celebration is the order of the day even in the midst of heartache, suffering, injustice, and disappointment, for the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the beginning of our own and the assurance that death and destruction have not the final say.

The fact that people today greet one another with these words rests upon two women who in their grief, trudged their way to a garden tomb to prepare a body for burial. In Matthew’s gospel we read that an angel appeared and said to the women,

“Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 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.” 

So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.” —Matthew 28:5-8 

The angel gave two commands: “Come and see,” and Go and tell,” words that are still instructive for us today. Had they not obeyed these words, there would be no Good News today. The Gospel is held by this thinnest of threads. 

In their fear, the women might have declined to come and see, in which case, they would have had no reason to go and tell. Or they might have looked into the tomb and merely wondered what this all meant. Instead, they did exactly as the angel commanded, and when they did, something wonderful happened: they met Jesus along the way.

We come to church to meet Jesus, but often come away disappointed. The music wasn’t to our liking, the sermon was dull, the people unfriendly. Or any other excuse we may care to mention. We read the Bible, pray, and sing, and yet our hearts are still cold and stony. We wonder why this is, while the answer lies before us all the time. We didn’t actually come and see. We were looking to the music, the sermon, the friendly greetings to fill the emptiness of our souls; in other words, the focus was on us, not on Jesus. We came to church, but didn’t come to Jesus. 

And if we actually came to Jesus, we left, but never went to tell someone else. The message died with us, and because it did, we never gave Jesus the opportunity to meet us on the way. I’ve discovered that often it’s while I am on the way, obeying the angelic word to go and tell, that I meet Jesus. 

If you worshipped today and came home feeling that somehow it all passed you by, listen again to the angel’s commands: “Come and see.” Look to Jesus. Then “Go and tell.” Jesus will meet you on your way.