Easter Expectations Mk2 Series

Easter Sunday, expectations.

During his lifetime Nikolai Bukharin was as powerful a man as there was on earth. As Russian Communist leader he took part in the Bolshevik Revolution 1917, was editor of the Soviet newspaper Pravda (which by the way means truth), and was a full member of the Politburo. His works on economics and political science are still read today.

There is a story told about a journey he took from Moscow to Kiev in 1930 to address a huge assembly on the subject of atheism. Addressing the crowd and being a good communist, he aimed his heavy artillery at Christianity hurling insults, argument, and proof against it. An hour later he was finished. He looked out at what seemed to be the smoldering ashes of men’s faith. "Are there any questions?" Bukharin demanded. Deafening silence filled the auditorium but then one man approached the platform and mounted the lectern standing near the communist leader. He surveyed the crowd first to the left then to the right. Finally he shouted the ancient greeting known well in the Russian Orthodox Church: "CHRIST IS RISEN!"

On masse the crowd arose as one man and the response came crashing like the sound of thunder:

"HE IS RISEN INDEED!" (http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/h/heisrisen.htm#.VR73evyUd6w, sighted 04/04/2014)

The outcome of the speech was not what the communist hardliner expected.

Expectations are an interesting thing, people are often confused, or even conflicted when their expectations don’t meet reality.

This is Easter Sunday, the day we remember Mary Magdalene up before the sun walking to the tomb to embalm the body of Jesus, Lets read from John 20:10-18. I pick up where Reverand Will read to in his call to worship. I read from the NIV Bible.

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her. (NIV)

Earlier in John 20 we had the depiction of Mary Magdalene shocked as she saw the stone rolled away, so she ran to Peter and John, her words, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him.” Both running, John outran Peter, bending over, looking into the tomb, seeing the strips of linen Jesus had been wrapped in, on Peter’s arrival he saw the same strips of linen and the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus head. Peter entered the tomb and finally John entered. He saw and believed, ‘he had risen’. In John’s gospel he states, “They still did not understand from Scripture, That Jesus had to rise from the dead.” (John 20:9) Nor did they understand what Jesus had already told them, in Matthews gospel it is recorded as they were going up to Jerusalem Jesus said; “see we are going up to Jerusalem and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked, and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life.” From Matthew 20:18-19. Peter and John even though they had had the heads up from Jesus had not expected this outcome, their expectations were certainly not matching their current reality.

The thoroughly broken body of Jesus had been laid in the grave, pierced, and ruined, skin stripped off his back during the lashing, hands punctured, the spear thrust into his side, his body, as he was lowered from the cross, they had seen he was still and drained of life.

Mary came to embalm Jesus body, but where was he. Seeing two angels in white, her eyes full of tears, their question was “Woman why are you crying.” He had risen, still not understanding Mary Magdalene, called back “They have taken my Lord away and I don’t know where they have put him.” She had come expecting to find the broken corpse of her teacher and friend.