Children’s Sermon

Matthew 28:1-10

What We Don’t Expect

By Lois Parker Edstrom

Most of us have been frightened or felt fearful at one time or another. That’s not a good feeling is it? Sometimes the fear we feel is caused by something that could be dangerous and at other times we become frightened of silly things. Maybe you have noticed something spooky on your wall at night and then discovered it is just a shadow from the bedpost or a chair.

Have you ever experienced someone jumping out of a hiding place to scare you? Usually fear is caused when something happens that you are not expecting.

Where I live there are no poisonous snakes, but occasionally a simple little snake will cross in front of me. It is not the snake that frightens me, but the sudden movement that I didn’t expect. (You may want to substitute a personal example here.)

There is a story in the Bible about two women who were frightened by something they didn’t expect. These two women went to the place where Jesus had been buried. While they were there an angel came from heaven. You can imagine that this might be frightening because you would not expect to see an angel. The angel said to the women, “Don’t be afraid…” (28:5).

The angel told the women that Jesus “has risen from the dead” (28:7). The two women left quickly to go and look for Jesus.

Suddenly Jesus appeared to them and he also said, “Do not be afraid…” (28:10).

This is an important part of the story. Twice we are told not to be afraid, once by an angel and once by Jesus. This story reminds us to be confident and strong. We can feel less fearful because we believe in a powerful God. “Do not be afraid.”

Scripture quotations from the World English Bible

Copyright 2011, Richard Niell Donovan