The Two Quakes

“The Two Quakes”

Matthew 27:57–66; 28:1–10

Kobe Union Church

April 5, 2026

Preacher: Rev. Mark Bartsch

History is defined by the movement of the earth. We build our cities and our lives on the assumption that the ground is solid, but we know better. In the Gospel of Matthew, two moments shook the world more than any others. They weren't just geological events; they were spiritual declarations. To understand them, we have to look at the week that led to the ground splitting open. It started with a shout and ended with a silence that was eventually shattered.

Last Sunday, the atmosphere was electric as we came in singing praises to our Lord. Brother Roy blew the Shofar and we danced celebrating Jesus as rode into Jerusalem. On that day the people stripped branches from trees and laid their cloaks in the dirt, shouting, “Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest!”—“Lord, save us!” (Matthew 21:9).

Don't mistake this for a parade. These people wanted a political king to break Roman chains. They wanted a messiah who would put a sword in their hands and march them against the Roman legions. They wanted their external circumstances changed, but Jesus was there to change their internal reality. Jesus wasn't there to overthrow Caesar; He was there to overthrow the darkness. The people were looking for a revolution in the streets, but Jesus was bringing a revolution of the soul.

The momentum didn't stop. On Monday, Jesus walked into the Temple—the heart of religious life—and saw it had become a marketplace of greed. People were being overcharged for sacrifices; the poor and the foreigner were being exploited in the name of God. Jesus didn’t offer a suggestion or form a committee. He took action. He flipped the heavy tables and cleared the room, declaring in righteous anger, “My house will be a house of prayer; but you have made it a den of robbers.” (Luke 19:46) He was reclaiming His Father’s house. He started the week by clearing out "religious" robbers who were using God for profit. He was showing that the old system—the religion of convenience—was coming to an end. And some of us need to overturn some tables in our lives to reclaim our houses for the Lord.

Tuesday was about authority. The religious leaders tried to trap Him with "gotcha" questions about taxes and law. He warned His followers: “Keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” (Matthew 24:42) He was preparing them for a world that was about to be turned upside down. He made it clear that being His follower isn't about comfort; it's about being alert and ready for the King’s return. I hope I am ready to meet my king when he comes for me.

By Wednesday, the shadows grew darker. The betrayal and denial did not come from a Roman soldier or from a Pharisee, but from friends. For thirty pieces of silver—the price of a common slave—Judas struck a deal: “What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him over to you?” (26:14–15).

It is a sobering truth: a man can sit at the table with Jesus and still love the world more than Christ.

And Peter—one of the closest, denied him. Not for money, but for his own image. For the approval of strangers—not friends, not family, but strangers, he said, “I do not know the man.” (26:74). 

Thursday was the final night of preparation. In the Upper Room, Jesus didn't demand to be serviced; He gave it. He knelt and washed the feet of the men who would soon abandon Him even Judas and Peter. He gave them a new mandate: “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” (John 13:34) Then, in Gethsemane, Jesus wrestled with the weight of the world's sin. He didn't run. He prayed until His sweat was like blood: “Not my will, but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42) All the while the disciples he called to support him in prayer slept. Until the soldiers came and Judas betrayed his friend and Lord with a kiss. 

Friday: The First Quake

Then came Friday. The “Hosannas” were traded for a mob’s roar: “Crucify Him!” (Luke 23:21). The Roman soldiers mocked Him, beat Him, and nailed Him to a beam of wood on Golgotha: “And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified Him” (Luke 23:33).

We know all about earthquakes here in Japan. Coming from the East Coast of the US and Canada, I had never felt the ground move until I came here. The first time, it shook me. There is a primal fear when the one thing you trust to be solid gives way beneath you. You realize quickly—you are not in control. Many of us have lived through it. We know it is not interesting or exciting. It is unsettling.

Now look at the cross. On Monday, Jesus drove out those who turned the Temple into a den of robbers: “My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you make it a den of robbers” (21:13). On Friday, He hung between two robbers: “Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with Him” (Luke 23:32).

And notice this—society is often quick to deal with petty criminals, but slow to confront deeper corruption. One man mocked Him. But the other—seeing clearly—said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). Remember he knows he is going to die, he knows Jesus is going to die and yet he allowed the Holy Spirit to open his eyes to see the Kingdom of God more clearly than the twelve that followed him for three years. 

And Jesus answered him: “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). What He had cleansed from the Temple—sin, greed, and the barrier between God and man—He was now paying for with His own blood: “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24).

As Jesus died, the earth shook: “And behold, the earth shook, and the rocks were split” (Matthew 27:51). The debt that began in the garden of Eden and grew with every generation with compound interest was being paid in full.

Centuries earlier, Abraham stood with the knife raised over Isaac, and God stopped his hand. Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself the sacrifice” (Gen. 22:8). On that mountain, God provided a ram. But at the cross, God did not hold back. He gave His own Son—for you and for me: “He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all” (Romans 8:32).

The first quake was the sound of the debt being settled. It was the quake of judgment. And the ground quaked with pain as its creator was murdered by his creation. 

Sunday: The Second Quake

The story could have ended with a tomb and a seal. But then came Sunday morning—and the second quake. “There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and rolled back the stone and sat on it.” (28:2)

This is the second quake. If the first was about death, the second is about life.

Look at the details. The angel moved the stone and then took a break on it and sat on it.  The stone was not moved so Jesus could get out. It was moved so we could see in. 

The guards saw it and collapsed: “The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.” (28:4) These were hardened soldiers, and they fell like the deadmen  because they were witnessing the power of God.

But the angel speaks differently to the women: “Do not be afraid.” (Matthew 28:5) The resurrection does not ignore fear—it answers it with truth: “I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, as He said.” (28:5–6)

Then comes the command: “Come, see the place where He lay.” (28:6) The tomb is empty. Nothing hidden. Nothing to hide. And then: “Then go quickly and tell His disciples.” (28:7)

The pattern is clear—come and see, then go and tell. Come and see. Go and tell.

You do not need to be an evangelist but everyone is an eye witness to what God has done in their lives. You do not need the perfect words to talk about what you know. Have you ever watched a comedian and then tried to retell the joke to a friend? It falls flat. Why? Because the joke is not yours. God only asks you to bear witness to what He has done in your life and that is a testimony.

We are not called to repeat someone else’s encounter with God. You are called to tell what you have seen. Just as these women did.

Because no one stays at an empty tomb.

Movement in the Middle of Fear

“So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy.” (28:8) This is what real faith looks like. It isn't the absence of fear; it is movement in the middle of it. Fear and joy together, but still moving forward. And as they went, Jesus met them. “Suddenly Jesus met them. ‘Greetings,’ he said.” (28:9) He meets them on the road of obedience. Not when they are standing still, but when they are moving. “They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him.” (28:9) This is the only right response to the risen Christ. Not distance, not doubt, but worship. He is standing before them, flesh and bone.

Then He says it again: “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers…” (28:10) Fear is replaced with mission. That is the difference between the two quakes.

• The first quake breaks you; the second sends you.

• The first shows your sin; the second shows His victory.

• The first shakes the ground; the second changes your life.

The Choice: Where Are You Living?

So the question is simple: Where are you living?

Are you still at Friday, carrying the weight of your past? Are you stuck in Saturday, waiting in the silence? Sunday has come. The stone has already been moved. The tomb is empty. Stop looking for life in dead places. You will only find it in Him. “He is not here; he has risen.” (28:6)

If Jesus is alive, then sin does not have the final word over you. “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55) The power of death has been broken. If the Son sets you free, “you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36) That is not theory; that is reality because the tomb is empty.

Just like the women, the command stands: Go and tell. The world is still full of people standing at tombs, looking for life where there is none. They need to hear the truth: He is not there. He is risen.

Do not go back to the grave. Do not rebuild what God has already buried. Do not return to the "den of robbers" that Christ has already cleared out. Walk forward. Walk in freedom. Walk in truth.

The first quake shook the earth. The second quake opened the way.

He is risen. He is risen indeed.

Discussion Questions

1. What were the people expecting from Jesus on Palm Sunday, and how was His mission different from their expectations?

2. The first quake happened at the cross and the second at the empty tomb. What does each “quake” represent in your own life?

3. The angel said, “Come and see… then go and tell.” What is one thing God has done in your life that you can share with others?

4. The women were “afraid yet filled with joy” but still moved forward. What does it look like for you to obey God even when you feel afraid?