John 20:1-18
How do we get to Easter? You know getting places has changed a lot. I can remember when you had to get out a map and find the place you wanted to go and see where the roads went. Nowadays they have these GPS things that tell you where to go and when to turn. Even us old school types usually go to the internet and get turn by turn directions.
The reason I ask how to get to Easter is that it seems some people have trouble getting there. They get sidetracked or turn the wrong way trying to get there. Somewhere they take the wrong rode because they seem to miss the whole message of new life in Jesus.
If you don't believe me just listen to our Bible reading this morning. The disciples did not exactly wake up on Easter Sunday and say "He is Alive!" Mary saw the evidence and took the wrong turn to the conclusion that Jesus' body had been stolen. Peter and John examined the evidence and took the same wrong turn. It took some spiritual GPS turn by turn guidance from angels and then Jesus to finally get Mary to the proper Easter destination. What do we need to do to avoid the same mistakes? How do we get to Easter?
First, you have to go through Good Friday. I know a lot of people take the bypass around Good Friday but if you do that you will end up on the wrong road. I know Good Friday is not a pleasant place. You certainly don't want to stay there. But you have to go through it to get to Easter. It is why Easter means what it does.
If you were here for the Cantata last week or attended the Maundy Thursday service or the Good Friday prayer vigil then you have been through Good Friday. If you took time this week at all to contemplate the sacrifice that God made for us by sending Jesus to die, and the sacrifice that Jesus willingly made, to allow himself to be crucified, then you have been through Good Friday. Jesus had to go through Good Friday to get to Easter. He went through the middle of downtown Good Friday, through the worst neighborhoods of Good Friday to get to Easter.
Going through Good Friday is so important because the gift of Easter was bought at a price. New life is a free gift to us. But it cost God plenty. Jesus had to come and die for our sins to make new life possible. His death shows us just how much God loves us. If we forget the love of God and the cost of the gift, then Easter doesn't mean as much to us. So to get to Easter you have to go through Good Friday.
Mary and the other disciples went through Good Friday. Yet they still got sidetracked. Their problem was they forgot to take the Miracle Exchange. Jesus had said that he would die and on the third day rise. But they didn't dare believe that he actually meant rise from the dead. I mean that would take a miracle of Divine proportions. So when they saw the empty tomb they reached the only logical conclusion that his body must have been stolen. Because they failed to take the miracle exchange they ended up at the tomb with no access to the highway that goes to Easter.
Often people hear the Easter story of Jesus rising from the dead and they make the same mistake. They do not take the miracle exchange and the end up on the wrong road which leads to the tomb and nowhere else. They conclude that all this religious talk about Jesus rising from the dead is really all about nature coming back to life in the spring or about something else more spiritual. So, on some level, they disregard the signs directing them toward accepting the miracle. The idea that someone would not only be brought back to life 3 days post mortem, but that they would come back with such power that they would never die again is unbelievable. It would take an act of God!
That's the point: Easter is an act of God. If you don't take the miracle exchange you can't get to Easter. If Easter is about new life you have to accept the miracle. How can a person be so transformed that they are no longer the person they were, but a whole new creation. Death is as sure as ... well, death and taxes. How then can we live forever? It required Divine intervention and if you don't believe in the miracle you can't accept the possibility of new abundant eternal life.
You have to take the Miracle Exchange. You have to accept that by a direct intervention of God Almighty your old life can be exchanged for a new life: that your mortal existence can be exchanged for an eternal existence. That Jesus' dead body was exchange for a living breathing eternal body. Don't miss the miracle exchange or you will get stuck at the tomb and miss Easter.
You may still miss the destination though. You have to take on a passenger. You have to have a Jesus encounter. I know it is dangerous to pick up somebody on the road. But you know this guy. You recognize him. Even if you have never personally met him, someone you know has; otherwise you wouldn't be here today. Somebody had to tell you about Jesus at the very least.
Mary Magdalene needed to encounter Jesus to get to Easter. She was there at the tomb in the Garden weeping. Even the angels couldn't comfort her. It took Jesus calling her by name to get her on the right track.
That is why we need to have Jesus along for the ride. He can call us back to the right road. If we take a wrong turn he can reassure us and comfort us. He can be a living presence to show us the destination. Like the old hymn says, "You ask me how I know he lived, he lives within my heart."
Finally once you arrive at Easter don't forget to celebrate it! Some people seem to get to Easter then they miss the celebration. Maybe some of them took the bypass around Good Friday and so they don't realize its significance. Maybe they missed the Miracle exchange, and got stuck at the tomb. Maybe they forgot to bring Jesus along for the ride, and lost their way. Or maybe they forgot why they made the journey.
It's like going to the fair. You know you go through the traffic and the parking and the walking and the metal detector and you stand in line and buy your ticket and then you enter the gate and just stand there. You don't go eat a turkey leg or a deep fried snicker or ride the Ferris wheel or see the sand sculpture or the art work or the animals. It's like you forgot why you came.
Sometimes people come to Easter the same way. Celebrate Easter! Shout Alleluia! Sing at the top of your voice. Don't worry if you can't sing well. Just give glory to God.
John 20:1-18
Mary Magdalene was alone. At least that is the way the John tells the story. Perhaps she came just to mourn. But when she got there the stone was rolled away and the tomb was empty. So she came to the first logical conclusion. It was bad enough that they had taken Jesus life now they had even stolen his body!
Mary went and got the other disciples. Peter and John came to see if what she said was true. They found the tomb empty and came to the same conclusion. And they left.
Mary was alone again and she wept. As she wept she realized that she was not alone. There were two men in white, angles John tells us, sitting where Jesus' body had been. What were these strangers doing there, had they stolen the body? She was all alone. How could she defend herself?
They said, "Why are you weeping?" She replied, "Someone has taken my Lord's body and I don't know where it is." She turned and ran into someone who said, "Why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?" She replied, "If you have taken him tell me where he is."
Then Jesus said, "Mary." At the sound of her name she recognized him. It was Jesus and he was alive! Mary was no longer alone, Jesus was with her. And he bid her go and tell the disciples.
Did you recognize Jesus in the story? Of course John gives it away. He tells us up front that it was Jesus talking to Mary and that she mistook him for the gardener. But would you have recognized him if John had not said so. Many of us have heard the story a hundred times so we know what is going on. Would we have recognized if we did not know what was coming?
Mary didn't! Mary Magdalene had experienced the grace of and power of God in Christ firsthand. She had traveled with the disciples and heard Jesus preach on a daily basis. Like the other women disciples she had fed Jesus and washed his clothes and taken car of him. She had been possessed by 7 demons the Bible tells us and Jesus had freed her from those evil forces.
Yet she did not recognize him. If in her hour of grief she did not recognize Jesus, what makes us think we would. Maybe that is why John tells us up front that it was Jesus. He was afraid his readers would make the same mistake Mary did and think Jesus was just part of the scenery, an extra in the play.
I don't think any of us would have recognized Jesus had we been in Mary's shoes. I say that because so few people recognize Jesus in Easter. They come to church in their Easter ties and bonnets, and then go home. They are untouched by the day. For most people in the world Easter is all about the eggs and the flowers. They don't see Jesus in it.
The egg is a symbol of new life. New life comes from eggs, so new eternal life came at Easter. The flowers also symbolize the plants that were dormant coming back to life. So at Easter Jesus brought the dead back to life.
Jesus is in that, if you only look for him. He died and rose again. He gives new life. He awakens the dead parts of our hearts and souls!
Did you recognize Jesus today? Did you see him when he greeted you? Do you see him in the church today? He is here. It is traditional for Christians on Easter to affirm "The rise Christ is with us." Is that just wishful thinking?
I mean are we Christians just delusional? We say that someone who died 2000 years again is here with us. We claim that he rose from the dead on the testimony of emotionally distraught women. We claim that he can give us eternal life.
Either we Christians are right and Jesus is alive. Or we are crazy. If we are right that is significant and earthshaking.
Did you see Jesus today? Did you see him in the sunrise? Do you see him in the flowers? Do you see him the faces of these young people about to commit themselves to serving Christ?
I am not crazy. He is here. He is not dead he is alive. And the risen Christ is with us. He is calling your name just as he called Mary's name. You are not alone!
Open your eyes. See Jesus! Acknowledge his presence in your life. Give your life to him. You will never be the same. People might think you are crazy.
If you don't see him, I pray that by the time the day is out you will.
John 20:1-18
Mary came to the tomb early in the morning. I'm a morning person. I imagine I am not the only morning person here. It's not that I don't like to sleep in occasionally. But I seem to do my best work before noon. And I do tend to get up earlier than other people.
Mary was at the tomb so early in the morning on Easter Sunday that is was still dark. I am not sure if she was an early riser. It may have been her habit to rise early in the morning. It may also be that she had not slept the night before because of what she had witnessed happening to Jesus. Her own personal emotional turmoil may have kept her awake.
Either way, she was there and it was dark. John's comment that it was dark was more than an indicator of an hour. It was a metaphor. Earlier in John's Gospel when Judas left to betray Jesus John commented that it was dark. This was more than the darkness of morning before the sunrise. This was a darkness of the soul. Jesus, the one who said "I am the light of the world" was dead; nailed to a cross and cruelly treated. It was dark.
So Mary was there before the dawn and it was dark. When she arrived at the tomb to her surprise she found the stone rolled away from the entrance. What's more the body was gone. So she reached the only logical conclusion that a sane person could come to. Someone had stolen his body! So she ran to tell the others.
Have you ever watched a sunrise? Not just seen one but sat down and intentionally watched the sun rise. It doesn't happen in a moment. It is not like turning on a light. It takes time for the sun to creep over the horizon.
The truth was beginning to dawn on Mary. But it was a slow process. First she found that his body was not in the grave. Then she ran into Jesus, and finally she heard his voice calling her name. Only then did the light of Easter come over the horizon of Mary's heart. And she knew that Jesus was no longer dead but had come to life!
That is the way it is with Sunrises. And that is the way it is with the truth of Easter. Sometimes it takes time for the light of it to dawn on people. Some think that Easter is just a spring festival. They think it's about celebrating the budding of the flowers and the rebirth of nature after winter.
Don't get me wrong that is all fine and good. The flowers and such are wonderful symbols for the real light of Easter. You know when you watch a sunrise people wonder at all the wonderful colors. But those colors are not the rising of the sun itself. That is the light of the rising Sun being reflected and refracted by the clouds and atmosphere.
The flowers and baby animals and all the other symbols of Easter are but a reflection of a greater light. They are merely symbols or evidence of the real event. The empty tomb was not Easter. It was merely evidence of the real truth of Easter. The real event of Easter was not an empty tomb. The real event of Easter is living body of Jesus Christ risen to eternal life.
I am glad all of you have gathered here in the darkness to see the light of a new day. But I am concerned that all you will take away from this service is the beauty of this sunrise and the birds and the flowers. All this is merely the refection of the true light of Easter. And what is that light? That light is that Jesus Christ, who died for your sins, has risen as a pledge and sign of your resurrection.
He rose from death and can give you new life, eternal life, everlasting life. New life in that the sins of our past are taken away and covered by his blood. Eternal life in that we can have a never ending depth of life in Jesus Christ through our relationship with the Father. Everlasting in that we will not die but we will be raised to live in glory with Christ.
Luke 24:1-12
On Friday Jesus was nailed to a cross. He suffered and died. They drove a spear in his side to see if he was dead and blood and water flowed out. Then they took his lifeless body down from the cross before the Sabbath began at sunset. Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy and influential believer, took Jesus' body. He had it placed in a tomb and the Romans sealed it and posted a guard lest someone try to steal the body.
"But on the first day of the week�" It is interesting that Luke begins his account of Jesus' resurrection with the world "but." Didn't anyone ever tell Luke that you don't start a sentence with "but," much less a new chapter? The other gospels begin "When the Sabbath was over" or "On the first day of the week." Luke starts with the word "but." In other words what follows is somehow in opposition to what preceded it. Yes, Jesus died, but here is the rest of the story and it is quite different from what came before.
They came with spices to anoint his body for eternal rest. They expected to find a sealed tomb, but instead they found the stone rolled away. They expected to find a body in there, but instead they found it empty. They expected to be the only ones there, but instead they found two men in dazzling white; angels? Nothing was as they expected and they were perplexed by the whole situation.
But it all made sense to the angels. I mean, hadn't Jesus told them that this would happen? He had said time and again that he would be rejected and die and on the third day rise again. It had all happened just as Jesus had told them. "But why then are you seeking the living among the dead?" the angels asked. It was then they began to realize what had happened. So they ran to the others and told them everything.
But the disciples did not believe them. As Luke put it "but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them." There he goes again starting a sentence with "but". The men decided that this was just an old wives tale. "But," again with the "but;" "But Peter got up and ran to the tomb. He found the tomb empty and he was amazed.
Why didn't they believe? Why didn't the male disciples believe the women? I mean, ladies, don't your husbands and brother and sons and fathers always believe you? Sure they knew Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and they trusted them. But dead men don't just get up and take a morning stroll through the garden. Do they?
So they reasoned the story away. You know how emotional women can get. Maybe it was the early morning light you know how it can play tricks on the eyes. Maybe they saw a shadow or went to the wrong grave. They had grounds to doubt this incredible story so they just wrote it off and idle talk of women - an old wives tale.
But Peter seemed to doubt his doubts. He at least entertained the incredible possibility that Jesus was alive; that dead men can get up. The story of the women was incredible. It was so incredible that he had to check it out. So Peter gave in to his doubts about his doubts and went to see for himself. And what did he find? He found an empty tomb and an abandoned shroud and he was amazed.
The men disciples didn't believe what the women told them because what the women said was unbelievable. Isn't that the way most people think about the gospel today. I mean we tell the world that in Christ there is new life. We tell them that they can know peace that goes beyond any thing they can imagine. That they can have a deep inner joy even in the midst of the most difficult of times. And we tell them that this new life is a free gift from God; that all they have to do is accept it.
But they don't believe us. If they did they would be flocking to the churches. You put an ad in the newspaper for a 50% off sale and the store is a mob scene. But the church offers a whole new life totally free to those who accept it and they don't come running. I guess half free things is more believable than eternal life offered without price. So they are more likely to believe a half baked story about a tomb somewhere with the bones of Jesus and his family, than they are to believe the testimony of Christian friends and family members they love and trust.
But do you remember Peter? He doubted his doubts long enough to go see for himself. I guess one out of eleven is about right. That is about how many seem to get past the unbelieveability of the gospel and then check it out for themselves. And what do those one in eleven find. They find things just as they were told. They expect death but they find life. They expect sorrow but they find hope. They expect despair but the find joy and peace.
I have something incredible to tell you. Jesus Christ is alive! I know he lived over 2,000 years ago and people just don't live that long. I know he was nailed to a cross and died. But he is alive and living here; now.
Jesus is alive and he is offering new life to any who would accept it. I know it seems incredible and it seems too good to be true. But it is true. I have been to the tomb of human despair and found an empty grave and an abandoned shroud. I have gone forth expecting to find sorrow, but instead have found joy and new life.
I know it sounds like an old wives tale. But sometimes even old wives can get a few thing right. What if everything I am saying is true? What if the living Son of God is really with us in this room as I speak? What if he does offer hope and new life to all without price?
Consider the example of Peter. Sure he doubted the story of the women. I mean who wouldn't? But he also considered the possibilities. And he took the chance to go and see for himself. Come and see if Jesus really is alive. Call on him and give him your life. Put your trust in him and you will be amazed!
John 20:1-18
Easter is wonderful! With all the flowers and such. The new clothes and the new growth in the world around us. I always enjoyed dressing my daughters up in their Easter dresses when they were little. How many of you bought Easter bonnets? And then there is the story of Easter. Oh yes, we don't want to forget the story!
The disciples had watched Jesus die on the cross just the Friday before. They were all shocked and were mourning the loss of their close personal friend and the man they thought would save them from oppression. Jesus the one who raised others from the dead had been nailed to a cross and died himself. He had fed multitudes and walked on water and calmed the sea but he did not calm the crowd or walk away from their anger and hatred. Jesus was dead and his body was in a tomb.
But early in the morning, while it was still dark John tells us, one of the women came to the tomb. Of course it was the women. They had not fled but were at the foot of the cross. The ones who had been over looked in the religious leaders' anger.
Mary Magdalene, from whom Jesus had cast out 7 demons, came to the tomb to mourn Jesus' death. But when she arrived, to her horror, the stone was rolled away. The tomb was empty. What could have happened? Obviously just killing Jesus was not enough. They had to dig up his body and further desecrate it! So Mary ran to tell the disciples. Peter and John ran to check out the story and found things just as Mary had reported.
Believing his body to be stolen, the men walked away. But Mary stayed there weeping. Suddenly there were two men in dazzling white robes. Perhaps they saw something. "Please help me, they have taken my Lord's body and I don't know where they have put it." Then she turned and there was Jesus. She didn't recognize him, but then he called her name and she knew he was alive! And Mary ran to tell the others: Jesus is Alive!
OK, we did the Easter bonnets, he had the egg hunt yesterday and now we have told the story. Is that all? I guess we can all take our Easter lilies home and put the Easter stuff away until next year. Or is there still more? What do we do with Easter after Easter Sunday is over? Let me give you some suggestions:
#1 - Believe it! Easter is not just a pretty story about something that is not real. I know we modern people are often skeptical about stories of extraordinary events. And a man rising form the dead is an extraordinary thing. And we should be skeptical about most incredible stories because they are simply not credible.
This story as incredible as it sounds is actually very credible. If it were just the empty tomb we could conclude as Mary the disciples did at first, that Jesus' body was stolen. But it was more than that. There are many eyewitnesses who saw him. And it wasn't just some ghostly apportion seen by isolated individuals. We could easily write that off to grief induces hallucinations. But groups of people saw Jesus at the same time and even touched him and ate with him. You can't just explain that physical evidence away.
What should we do with Easter? We should believe it! It is not just a myth or fairy tale. It is not just the creation of grief induced psychoses. There is too much physical evidence.
What else should we do with Easter? #2 - We should live it! No, that doesn't mean you should wear your Easter bonnet every day. It means we should take the truth of that story and put it to work in our lives. This story is about more than one man 2,000 years ago coming back to life. It's about the new life that we have through Jesus Christ.
Because of the resurrection we have the promise of our own resurrection. Just as Jesus rose, we too will rise to eternal life through him. That is an incredible hope! We know that this life is not the end for us or for our loved ones that have died in Christ. We have the hope of eternal life.
But it is also something we experience in the here and now. Because Jesus died and rose again we have forgiveness. Through him we know the grace and love of God on a first hand and personal basis. Not only does Jesus live but he lives in us to give us strength and guidance. That is what living Easter means. It means living with Jesus at the center of our lives.
What do we do with Easter? We live it!
We should believe Easter. We should live Easter and #3 - we should Share it! No, I am not saying you should give your Easter lily to a friend. Although that is not a bad idea, but it is more than that. Easter is about new life. It is about joy and hope and the promise of Jesus living in us and giving us eternal life.
We should share that new life with other. We should allow rays of "son"-shine to emanate from us. If we know joy because of Easter then we should share joy. If we know hope because of Easter we should bring hope to others. If we know forgiveness and love then we should forgive and love others.
But most of all we should share Jesus. He is the reason we are celebrating to begin with. That is what Mary did. When she came to believe that Jesus was alive she ran to tell others. In the same way we should run from here today to tell the world, "Jesus is alive!" and he lives in us.
So what should we do with Easter? We should believe it! We should live it! We should share it!
But you have to have it first. Easter is all wrapped up in Jesus. Do you want the new life were are celebrating here today? Then you have to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Do you want the resurrection power of God living in your life and heart? Then open your heart to Jesus today!
Only then can you truly believe this incredible gift we are praising God for here this morning. And only when you accept him can you live it. And only when you have it can you share it.
What are we going to do with Easter? Believe it! Live it! Share it!
John 20:1-18
The first thing that John tells us about Easter is that it was early in the morning. In fact it was just a little after 7 am. Isn't that what your translation says? And Mary Magdalene came to the tomb. Mary must have been a morning person. I'm a morning person. Do we have any other morning people here? I like to get most of my work done before noon. If I stay in bed till 7, I have slept in too long.
Mary in her dedication, came to the tomb so early that it was still dark, John tells us. In John this is more than an indication of where the sun is in the sky. The darkness has spiritual significance. In John's account of the last supper when Judas leaves he says, "and it was dark"(13:30). Mary Magdalene was not just in the dark physically; she was still in the dark spiritually.
Because she was in the dark, she completely missed the meaning of the empty tomb. She thought that Jesus' dead body had been stolen. And in her sense of duty she ran through the darkness to tell the other disciples. They were in the dark too.
But it was morning and the morning is not dark for long. Soon the sun will rise. (That was a pun. Get it? The "son" will rise.) Anyway, as Mary sat there weeping she heard a voice. At first she thought it was the caretaker of the garden. But the truth dawned on her and she realized that it was Jesus. He was alive!
I imagine the first rays of the new morning breaking across the horizon as her face lights up. Jesus is alive! Not just the resuscitation of a corpse. They had all seen that before with Lazarus. But the first fruits of eternal life. Death had been defeated and the long night of sin was over.
It was then that Mary ran to tell the Gospel truth that Jesus was alive!
Don't leave here this morning in the dark. Don't go and tell your friends, "I have been to church, and we sang some pretty songs and saw the sun rise and heard the geese down by the lake." Well all that is true. And what Mary said was true too - his body was gone.
But let the truth dawn on you fully. Have you seen Jesus? I have. I have seen him alive in the scripture, in the songs, in the faces of my fellow worshippers.
He is alive. So run to your friends and tell them. He is alive!
Luke 24:1-12
Who would have believed it? The women went to the tomb early in the morning as soon as the Sabbath was over. They brought spices with them. The purpose of the spices was to prepare Jesus' body for final burial. His death was too close to the Sabbath to allow them to do it on Friday. So they came to finish this gruesome task.
But when they arrived the tomb was open. Who had opened it. And not only that but the body was missing! Who would desecrate a grave on the Sabbath no less and take the body? In their confusion I am sure they wondered if they were at the right tomb or if they had indeed gone mad after all they had been through.
And as if that were not hard enough to believe, suddenly and angel stood there and said, "Why do you seek the living among the dead. He is not here he is risen." "Don't you remember what he had said." Then suddenly the pieces started falling into place. These faithful women had been listening and they realized what Jesus had been talking about.
So the woman ran to tell the men about what had happened. They related the whole tale them. And the men jumped up and down with excitement over what had happened! They began singing "Christ the Lord has Risen Today" and gathering lilies to put on a cross! What you don't believe me!
OK, you got me. The men thought the whole story was "idle talk" or "an old wives' tale." Let all the women say, "Amen!" Isn't that just typical? The women tell the men the most important news of all time and the men don't believe it. At least Peter went to check it out but he doesn't seem to have swallowed the resurrection story but just that the body was gone.
Why didn't they believe it? Jesus had said he would rise. These were women of faith who wouldn't joke about that kind of thing. So why don't they believe it. Put simply who would? Dead me don't just get up and walk off after three days. Now maybe if an angel in heavenly robes were to tell them they might believe, but just a bunch of hysterical women? Nah!
Who would have believed it? It's not at all surprising to me that the male disciples did not believe. In fact as you read through the resurrection accounts in the gospels it appears that people has to have an encounter of some kind to come to belief. They had to either see Jesus or an angel to believe it. Even Mary and the other women were perplexed until they saw the angel.
People are still the same way today. They really don't get the meaning of Easter. Most people know the story of Jesus rising from the dead. But do they know of the new life that he gives. Is that just an historical event that they accept and rationalize. Or is the resurrection something that effects their daily life.
The message of Easter is not that Jesus rose from the dead almost 2000 years ago. The message of Easter is that Jesus IS alive in the here and now. It is the message not of what happened to someone else. It is about new life that we can have today.
Who would believe it! It should not surprise us when the world looks at us as if we are crazy. They will call us crazy and say that all this new life mumbo jumbo is just a bunch of idle talk. But that is what they said about the first people who proclaimed the resurrection.
The important thing is the women told about it anyway. I am sure they knew the men would have problems believing them. But they went ahead and exposed themselves to ridicule. So when the other disciples encountered Christ they knew what was going on.
We need to follow their example. We should run and tell the others that Jesus is alive in our world today. We should tell them that he gives new life to al who will accept it. That in him we can experience forgiveness, and peace of mind and heart.
And tomorrow when you say to someone "He is Alive." They will look at you strange and say Easter is over. You can tell them that Easter is not one day a year it is 365 days a year! And when they laugh at you and say "who would believe that," You can reply, "I would!"
Luke 24:1-12
When the women left for the tomb on that first Easter Sunday morning they knew what awaited them at the end of their journey. Or so they thought. They left the house that Easter morning to carry out the chore of embalming Jesus body. The Bible says that they carried with them spices, which they had prepared. These were the spices used to prepare the body for burial. At the end of their journey they expected to find a dead body.
We often forget that fact. We already know what they will find when they arrive at the tomb. We have heard the story so many times before and we know that they will discover that Jesus is alive. In our minds they are headed for the empty tomb of Easter that epitomizes the glory of God's redemptive power and eternal life. But in their minds they were going to the place of the dead; the tombs. They were going not to view life, but to gaze upon and touch death. They even brought the embalming fluid to prepare their loved one for everlasting sleep not everlasting life.
Many people approach life with the same expectations that these women had. It is like a long walk toward death. Every day is another step closer to the tombs. In their minds the ultimate destination is the place of the dead. Just as those women sorrowfully walked through the early morning mist, they sadly walk through the mist of life.
While all that is important it is not the point of the story. The women came seeking death, but they found something different that morning. When they got to the tomb the stone was rolled away and the body was gone. Our reaction to that scene is "He is Alive!" But the women didn't reach that conclusion. Instead they were perplexed at what they saw.
Then two men in dazzling garments appear to them; angels we suppose. And they were frightened and fell on the ground. Then the angels said, "Why do you seek the living among the dead. Remember, he said he would die and on the third day rise again." Then they remembered and realized that Jesus had risen. So they ran to tell the others, "He is Alive!"
These women were mourning the dead when they had a sudden encountered with the resurrection. God's power came to the place where the tombs, the place where they had gathered. It was at first subtle, a rolled away stone, an empty tomb, but then in the form of a dazzling angelic vision. The resurrection invaded the place of the dead to bring good news of life. That is how the good news of resurrection comes to us. It invades our lives as a stranger, unexpected, surprising. Like those women we expected to find only death. But God's love and new live come to us and surprise us. At Easter, God invaded this dead world with new live. God is still invading our dead lives with the Good News of eternal life in Christ.
The women accepted this Good News, but do you remember how the other disciples reacted to the news of Jesus' resurrection. They didn't believe it. They thought it was an idle tale. They said, "You know how emotional women can get, they probably saw a shadow, got scared and made up a story." Peter appears to have at least given the resurrection a second thought. He ran to the tomb, but after viewing it he went home wondering.
Why didn't they accept this good news? It was good news after all. Sometimes people will reject bad news because they don't want to believe it. But this was the kind of news that every mourning loved one wants to hear. The disciples wanted someone to wake them up and tell them it was all a bad dream. If they wanted to believe that Jesus was not dead, why didn't they accept the news when it came? Perhaps it was too foreign to their experience. After all dead men don't just get up and walk out of their tombs. Do they? No, that is the subject of idle wives tales. Common sense dictated that they not believe.
That is why many people today fail to accept the new life that Christ is offering them. New life is something that is foreign to us. In this world all we really know is death. I am talking about the death of the soul, the darkness of despair and cosmic aloneness. Then someone says, "Your soul can be alive and you can experience eternal communion with the Father of the universe." Jesus is alive; he is no longer dead. And many respond, "That is just a the idle tale of religious fanatics."
The women went to the tomb to view death and were surprised to find life. Why did you come here today? Did you come to hear about a man who lived a good life and died a noble death? Men like that don't live today perhaps you came because you thought you could learn something from such a man's life. Maybe you came because this is Easter and going to church is what you do on Easter. Maybe you came because someone made you come.
Well I have some news for you! Jesus is alive! He has risen and is no longer in the tomb! Maybe you expected to hear that. Well not only that but he is here right now, in this room, and he loves you. And he has the power to change your life. The Risen Christ can take the deadness of your life and transform it into new life. I don't care how bad or how good you think your life is. Jesus can take it and resurrect it and make it wonderful. How do I know that Jesus can do that? Because he himself was once dead and he rose again. And through his resurrection he brought new life not just to the women at the tomb, but to all whom would believe in his new life.
You might say, "Oh that just a bunch of preacher talk." Isn't that essentially what the disciples said about the women's story? They said, "It's idol talk. It's an old wives tale."
I don't know what you expected when you came here today. But you have heard the good news. In case you missed it let me repeat it: Jesus is alive. He rose from the dead. He is with us today. And Jesus has the power to transform your life into something glorious. He can take the sorrow and mundaneness of your life and give it new life. Jesus has the ability to raise you from the grave.
If that was a surprise and wasn't quite what you expected, that is good, because the Good News of the resurrection comes to us as a surprise. It surprised the women, they expected to find a dead body. Instead they found an empty tomb and angels. If this news of the resurrection has invaded your understanding of reality, that is good, because the resurrection is God's invasion of this dead world with eternal life. The resurrection seems unreal to the mind of this world, it is out of this world, it is an invasion from another realm.
You have heard the good news and it may have shocked you as it did the disciples so long ago. How will you react to it? Will you write it off as an old wives tale, the idle talk of women and preachers? Will you go home like Peter wondering what you have seen and heard? Or will you run and tell others the Good News that Jesus is alive and he wants to give new life to all?
I advise you to accept it, and believe it. Jesus is risen from the dead and he wants to resurrect your life. Believe in the resurrection, not just as an historical incident but as a present living reality. If you will only believe, then that resurrection power will change your life. You will no longer be walking to the tombs, the place of the dead, as those women were.
Instead you will be running, with the love of God filling your heart. You will be running in Joy, with the strength of new life. You will be running to bring others the Good News.
Believe in what you have heard from the angels. "Why do you seek the living among the dead. He has risen just as he said." Run to those you know and to the world and tell them, "He is Alive!" Call a friend who is in despair or in turmoil and share the Good News of God's love and Christ's resurrection with them. Run like the women and tell others he lives and gives life.
John 20:1-18
Every one of Jesus' followers had a different encounter with the resurrection. To understand Mary Magdalene's reaction we have to get one thing straight. Jesus was dead. D-E-A-D dead. Not asleep. Dead with a capital "D". You see, we all know that Jesus arose. On Easter Sunday we sing "Christ the Lord has risen today. But too often I think we forget where he arose from. We just skip over his death. Perhaps we sing "Up from the mumble he arose!, he arose!.." He rose from the dead. That was a very important fact.
Mary Magdalene knew that Jesus had died. His death was real to her because his life had made such an impact on hers. He had cast demons out of her and changed her life. He had taught her about a loving Father in heaven. Before Jesus all she knew of was a vengeful God who punished the sinner. Jesus' Life changed her life.
I am sure his death was an awful shock to her. But she knew he was dead. Most of other disciples had watched Jesus' death from a distance. They could deny the reality of it if it got too real for them. Something in the back of their minds told them that they were watching one of those religious plays that the pagans used to put on. But Mary couldn't deny the reality of Jesus' death. She was close enough to see the blood dripping down from his wounds. And when they took him off the cross she held his cold dead body in her arms and wept with his mother. Jesus had died, and Mary Magdalene knew it.
It was the Jewish custom that the women prepare the body for burial. Jesus had died too close to the Sabbath so they had hurriedly wrapped him in cloths and laid him in a tomb. So Mary made her way to the tomb to finish the job. She didn't expect to find what she found. Someone had rolled the stone away. Not knowing what to do she ran to the other disciples.
When she got to them she told them, "Someone has stolen Jesus' body and I don't know where they have put it. Who would have done such a cruel thing." Peter and the beloved disciples ran to the scene of the alleged crime and when they arrived they both looked at the evidence before them. The stone had been rolled away. The burial cloth was lying on the slab where Jesus' body was only three days before. And the cloth that had covered his face was rolled up to one side. It says that they believed. They believed that his body had been stolen, not that he was alive.
Jesus' followers had heard him say that he would rise on the third day. Yet when they saw the evidence of the resurrection they failed to believe. They didn't run from the tomb hollering "He Is Alive." Instead they walked away, thinking he was dead. And wondering who had stolen his body.
Why did it take Mary so long to accept that Jesus had risen? Consider Mary's past. She had a lot to lose by believing that Jesus was alive. Mary had been possessed by demons in the past. She knew that the mind can play tricks on one. She remembered the times when the demons made her see things that weren't there. So she had learned to question things that did not seem realistic. Things like people rising from the dead. If she started telling people that Jesus was alive, they might think she was crazy. It was part of the public record that Jesus was dead. His death certificate was on file in the county court house. People would say that now that Jesus was gone the demons had taken over her mind again. They would say, "The dead don't rise, you're crazy woman."
Emotionally it was hard for her to accept Jesus death. It had probably taken a while for her to accept Jesus' death to begin with. She probably hadn't slept at all Friday night. She had probably stayed up all night going through the events in her head over and over again trying to see if it was real. She had been there but it had all seemed like a bad dream. Finally she had gotten to the point where she could accept that Jesus was dead. It was not a bad dream, it was a living nightmare. She knew that she would never see Jesus alive again. She would never again hear her friend call her name, or tell her of the wonderful love of her Heavenly Father. It had been hard to reach that point of accepting his death. What if she did let herself believe that Jesus was alive, and then she found out that he really was dead. She would have to accept his death all over again. She had lost him once, she could not stand to lose him again.
I imagine all these thoughts, fears and doubts were running through Mary's mind after Peter and the other left. And in the midst of her doubt she went to look into the tomb again for herself. And sitting there were two angels clothed in white. And they said, "Woman why are you weeping." She probably thought her eyes were playing tricks on her again. After all you don't see angels every day. And only crazy people hear angels talk to them, right? She replied, "I am weeping because they have taken Jesus' body and I do not know where they have laid it." She said this in response to the angels' question. But it was probably also an attempt to assert the view of reality that she thought represented sanity. The view that Jesus had died and that his body had been stolen. He couldn't alive, could he?
Then she turned and there stood Jesus. The Bible says that she mistook Jesus as the gardener. Jesus said, "Why are you weeping who are you looking for." Once again she firmly held on to that version of reality which gave her security. She said, "Sir, if you have taken my Jesus, show me where you have put him."
Then Jesus said, "Mary." At that moment she knew it was Jesus. Only the voice of her Lord calling her name could cut through all those fear and doubts. Only the voice of her Lord could call her back to the dream that was reality. Only then could she embrace the resurrection.
Then Jesus told her, "I have not yet ascended to my Father, go tell the others that I will ascend." Then Mary ran and joyfully told the other that she had seen Jesus. That is when she ran hollering "He is Alive! He is Alive!"
You know Mary's journey from disbelief to belief is not that much different from what many people experience. There are many people who have trouble embracing the resurrection. In the world's perspective it is insane to believe in the resurrection. They say, "The dead don't rise." And, "Sane people don't talk to angels." If you try to tell them different they might say that you have lost touch with reality. The world says, "Look at what you have to lose." What if you decided to believe that Jesus did rise from the dead, and then you find out that it was all a pious hoax and that some one just stole his body. Won't you look foolish.
Sometimes the only way people can be called from disbelief to belief is by the Lord call them himself. Sometimes only Jesus' voice can cut through all those doubts. And only the touch of his spirit can make us say "He is Alive!"
Jesus is calling each of us today. Calling us out of doubt. Calling us out of fear. Calling us out of questions to convictions. Jesus is calling our souls to the realization that "He is Alive" And that realization will free us to go and tell others, "I have seen the Lord, he has risen just as he said!"
Acts 10:34-43
Sometimes Christians give God a bad name. The way the talk about and to non-Christians you would think that God doesn�t like them. But Peter makes it clear that the truth is just the opposite. He declares, "God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him."
People outside the Christian faith know that Jesus went about doing good. They know that he showed love to people and spoke of sacrificing for others. They know that he spoke up for the poor and the downtrodden. They know that he helped people and that some even believe that he could heal the sick.
They also often know of his death on the cross. They are even aware that Christians believe that he rose from the dead. Even if they don�t celebrate Easter as the day of resurrection they know that we do.
But there is more to Easter than just a belief that a do gooder came back to life. Easter is really about God�s love. Peter is right; God shows no partiality. And through Jesus God reached out to the whole world. Jesus came not for the religious or the righteous. He came to die and rise to demonstrate God�s love to those who don�t know about it.
Easter means that God loves the world. God loves the world so much that his Son came to give people the gift of Eternal depth and length of life. The resurrection is not a test of faith but a gift of love.
We are witnesses to that fact. God has commanded us to testify to the resurrection. That means more that just telling people the historical facts, as we believe them to be. We should tell people the basics that we believe that Jesus was dead and came back to life.
But there�s more. It is our job to tell the world that God�s gift of new life is here in our midst. God loves the world and offers all who will receive it the gift of forgiveness through Christ�s death and new abundant eternal life through his resurrection.
Let us not just say we believe in Easter; let us live it for all the world to see.
John 20:1-19
Jesus was different. I guess that is what got him in so much trouble. He was different and that upset the status quo. His differentness threatened the religious elite.
But it also attracted the crowds. Not just the fact that he multiplied loaves and fished and walked on the water. It was something beyond that. The way he taught and what he taught was different. They said, "Hate your enemies" and Jesus said, "Love your enemies." Jesus used stories from everyday life the illuminate eternal truths and he taught as one with authority.
Jesus was something different. And that differentness attracted a lot of attention. Some rejected him because he was different. But even those who accepted him needed time to understand him.
The account of the resurrection is an example of this. Keep in mind that resurrections were nothing new. Jesus himself had resurrected several people. Lazarus who was raised after four days and Jairus' daughter who was raise are two examples. And there are a number of resurrections in the Old Testament performed by the prophets. Even in our day it is not rare to hear of someone who is clinically dead being brought back to life.
So a resurrection while still a miraculous event was not unprecedented. But this resurrection was different. You see all those people Jesus raised and all those raised in the Old Testament eventually died again. It was a limited resurrection. They were raised to a few more years of life.
Jesus' resurrection was unto eternal life. It was a resurrection that passed beyond the bonds of death. Jesus didn't cheat death for a few years like someone resuscitated by a paramedic. Jesus conquered death once and for all.
The resurrection of Jesus was something different. Maybe that is why it took the disciples a while to grasp it. Early on Easter morning Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found the stone rolled away. We all say, "He is Alive!" But that wasn't her response. She said, "They have stolen his dead body."
The other disciples didn't do any better. It says that Peter and the other disciple, probably John, saw it and believed that he had been stolen too. Meanwhile Mary was still weeping. Even the angles did not clue her in to that fact that something different had happened.
It took Jesus to bring her to the truth of the reality. The resurrection was so different they just could not grasp it on their own. They needed some help.
Easter: Its something different. Oh sure none of the things we do here this morning are unprecedented. Christians have gathered at sunrise for almost 2,000 years. Churches everywhere will have service where they sing hymns and decorate with flowers. People will be baptized and confirmed just as Christians have for millennia.
But Easter is something different. The resurrection is about more than a temporary reprieve from death. It is more than a day set aside to celebrate the beauty of Spring. Easter is about not just life but life eternal. It is about the Son of God rising to eternal life just as we will rise at the end of time.
But sometimes it takes time for people to get it. I pray that Jesus will touch you just as he touched Mary. Let him help you to grasp the true importance and meaning of Easter. Let him give you eternal life!
John 20:1-18
What's up with Easter? There seems to be some confusion about Easter. Just read the Biblical account. There was a lot of confusion on the first Easter. There are angels and earthquakes and women and men running this way and that. And no one, except the angels, seems to know what's going on. And even when the angels try to tell the people they still seem confused.
And the confusion doesn't end with the first disciples. There seems to be some confusion about the meaning of Easter today. There are so many symbols of the season. We see everything from crosses to Easter egg trees.
I think it leads to a general confusion. Most people don't get Easter. They are bombarded with so many depictions of Easter that they lose sight of what it is really about. I imagine many end up exclaiming "What's up with Easter!"
First of all Easter is not cute and cuddly. I know some things may make you think otherwise. Just go to the seasonal isle of any Wal-Mart or Target and you will see what I mean. You will be inundated with a plethora and fuzzy cuddly stuffed toy bunnies and duckys. Some people may take them as their primary symbol of Easter.
But Easter is not cute and cuddly. Easter did not happen in the seasonal isle of a superstore. It happened in a cemetery - a grave yard. In fact it happened in a grave! A place that for three days had contained a dead body!
And the overwhelming response of the witnesses was not "Ooooh." The women were frightened and bewildered. The male disciples were perplexed and confused. And the roman soldiers were frightened senseless. Which leads to the conclusion that Easter is not a cosmic warm fuzzy! Easter is not cute and cuddly. It is bewildering and terrifying.
Easter is not cute and cuddly and Easter is not a spring celebration. I have to admit that the church has played a part in this confusion. I mean just look at us! We have 75 Easter lilies all over the front of the church and many of you brought wild flowers to place on the flowering cross at the entrance of the church. And the whole business of chicks and baby animals not to mention Easter eggs. It all makes one think that Easter is all about nature coming back to life in the spring
But that conclusion has it all backwards. Don't misunderstand me, Easter is about new life. But it is not the mere birth of animals or the flowering of plants. It is about a whole new order of new life. It is about a form of new life that is beyond the new life of this world.
You see spring is merely a symbol for what Easter is really about. The new life of nature around us at this time of year symbolizes the deeper abundant eternal life that Jesus won for us at Easter. Yes, we have flowers all over the church especially at Easter. But that is to remind us of the new life Jesus brings us.
Easter is not cute and fuzzy, Easter is not a spring celebration, and Easter is not about one man's resurrection. Don't get me wrong! Jesus rose from the dead and Easter. I am not denying that! But Jesus is not the only person to rise form the dead! So did Lazarus, and Jarius' daughter, Tabitha, the widows' son � Jesus raised several people. Before him the Old Testament prophets raised people. After him the apostles raised people.
We don't have holidays to celebrate any of those resurrections. That's because Jesus' resurrection was about more than someone's life being extended. It is about more than a mere miraculous event. It is even about more than the power of God or the fulfillment of prophesy.
You see ultimately Easter is about yours and my resurrection. It is about the promise of eternal life for all who would believe. Yes God has the power to raise the dead as with all those folks in the Bible that were raised. But they all died again. Unlike them Jesus rose to never die again - he rose to eternal life! You see this is a completely new order of new life!
And Jesus is the first fruits of this resurrection to eternal life. He was the first to rise to eternal life. When there are first fruits there is a harvest to follow. We who have been saved are the rest of that harvest. So Jesus' resurrection, or Easter, is about the promise of our resurrection!
I imagine there may still be some confusion about Easter out there. That is understandable. After all if was confusing for the women and the other disciples. And Jesus had warned them that this all would happen. They even had Angels to help them grasp the meaning. I have to admit that angels are probably better at explaining these things than I am.
But the first disciple did finally figure out what was up with Easter. They figured it out because the ran into Jesus. If you don't believe me just read the Bible. Mary thought Jesus' body had been stolen until she bumped into Jesus. Peter and John didn't know what to think until Jesus appeared to them in the upper room.
Do you want to know what's up with Easter. Well, you need to encounter Jesus. Look past the fuzzy animals, the flowering crosses, and the Easter bonnets. And look for Jesus. Then you can see what's up with Easter.