Even though today is Easter Sunday, I realize that you may have lots of things on your mind, including the deadline for filing your taxes with the IRS. I hope that none of you has the problem one guy has, though.
A tax accountant told our son about a guy who wanted to declare the loss of his Lincoln Navigator SUV on his tax return. The accountant told the man that insurance usually takes care of things like that and wondered what happened.
Here is the story. In the winter some guys decided to go fishing on the lake. It was frozen, so they parked the SUV at the edge of the lake and instead of going out on the ice to make a hole, they lit a stick of dynamite with a long-burning fuse and threw it out to break the ice open.
• Unfortunately, the dog thought it was a stick and went out after it.
• Fortunately, the dog retrieved it in record time and started back.
• Unfortunately, when they yelled at the dog to drop it, the dog ran under the SUV with the stick of dynamite in its mouth.
• Fortunately, the dog got burned on the muffler, came out from under the vehicle, leaving the dynamite behind.
• Unfortunately, the dynamite went off, transforming the SUV from a useful vehicle into a pile of junk.
That is supposed to be a true story. If you can believe all of that, you won’t have any trouble believing the resurrection of Jesus!
The Bible makes clear that the resurrection of Jesus is not only fact, but that it has also changed the landscape of human history. The resurrection has transformed individuals, families, and whole societies and it can change your life as well.
Mary Magdalene’s Origins
If you worship with us regularly, you know that we have been preaching through the book of John. Today we come to the second last chapter which is about the resurrection of Jesus following his death on the cross for the sins of the world. Chapter 20 is full of fascinating details, but I want to focus on Mary’s response to the resurrection of Jesus.
We don’t know exactly who Mary Magdalene was.
• Luke 8 tells us that Jesus had cast seven demons out of her. If so, she had Jesus to thank for being in her right mind.
• Tradition says that she was the woman in Luke 7 who washed the feet of Jesus with her tears, dried them with her hair, and anointed them with expensive perfume, the kind that prostitutes would have used in their trade. If so, she had Jesus to thank because he forgave her past, changing her from being a woman of the night to a woman of the light.
• Her name, Magdala, says she was from a rural town in Galilee, a place without much reputation. That would mean she was just a country hick who had begun to follow Jesus around in his ministry. If so, she was not well known and had no special qualifications.
Regardless of which description you choose, the fact that Jesus appeared to her first after his resurrection makes her testimony all the more remarkable. Add to that the fact that women in first-century Jewish culture were not given credibility in a court of law and we can only conclude that the power unleashed in the resurrection is not just for the rich and famous, but for all people, regardless of where they live, what they have done, or what calamities have visited them. That means that God’s amazing grace is for us, too.
Looking for a dead Christ
As the suspense begins in chapter 20, we see that the resurrection is shrouded in darkness, bathed in tears, and clouded with mystery.
• Darkness. Verse 1 says that Mary got to the tomb while it was still dark. The Greek word “dark” is the technical word used for the time period between 3:00 and 6:00 a.m. It was very early. (Barclay) Some of you know what it is to get up early when anxiety keeps you awake. You might as well be doing something as to lie there. I think that is what happened to Mary.
• Sadness. Mary’s eyes were filled with tears. Verse 11 says she stood weeping outside the tomb. Not only had she lost Jesus, now it appeared that someone had broken in and stolen his body. Her tears just wouldn’t stop. Some of you have experienced that kind of grief when you lost a loved one. A woman told us last week that even though her husband two months ago, she still cries and cries because he is gone.
• Mystery. Mary discovered that the tomb was open and the body gone. What she couldn’t figure out was how it happened and what it meant. In v 13, she says, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” Even when she saw Jesus, she thought he was the gardener. Everything seemed mysterious. The possibility of his resurrection had not occurred to her. She was looking for a dead Christ, not one who was alive.
For most of us, life moves along in unspectacular ways. We go to work. We pay our taxes. We raise our families. We celebrate birthdays, watch our weight, and as we get older, try to control our pain. And when disappointments come our way and bad things happen, we peer through the darkness, we weep, and we wonder if things will ever get better. That is where we find Mary in this story. Life has come to a grinding halt and she has no idea how to jump start it again. Maybe that is where you are today. If so, breathe deeply and take in the truth of the resurrection.
Seeing the fingerprint of God
Mary was certainly caught in a difficult spot. Everything she had hoped for had come unraveled. At the same time, we see that not all was hopeless because, if we read carefully, we begin to see the unmistakable fingerprint of God in this event.
• There is, the empty tomb. The heavy stone had been rolled from the door. Mary’s first thought mentioned in verse 2 was that someone had opened the tomb and stolen the body, but then she sees that the grave clothes were lying there undisturbed, like an empty cocoon. It was as though the body had evaporated. God’s hand was in this event after all.
• Then there are the two angels, one at the head and one at the foot. Every time angels appear in the Bible, they come from God. In v.12 we read that “She saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet.” Not much is said about them, but the fact that they are there means that the power of God has been at work.
• And we see the presence of Jesus himself. Verse 16 reads, Jesus said to her, “Mary!” Then she turned; she recognized his voice. Unfortunately, Mary had been looking in the wrong direction and did not turn toward him until he called her name. She had not found Jesus; He had found her. God was there.
For many of us, because of our busy schedules, it’s easy to miss the fingerprint of God in our lives. We may be so mired down with our own sorrows that we fail to hear his voice. We may be so busy pursuing our own goals that we are turned in the wrong direction and we miss the fact that Jesus is there, calling our name. You may be one who thought your life was going along o.k. until something turned your attention toward God: an accident, a relationship, a crisis, a run-in with the law. And now you recognize how God used the crisis to get your attention – to turn you in his direction so that you could hear him speaking.
Understanding the resurrection
So, now that we know that God raised Jesus from the dead, we might ask what difference the resurrection makes. I’ll mention just two things.
• Mission. For Mary it meant first that she had a mission to carry out. Jesus told her to tell his disciples what she had seen and she didn’t waste any time. She went from one disciple to the next, saying “I have seen the Lord.” “I have seen the Lord.” Can you imagine the excitement in her voice? I wonder how many times she repeated that message that morning. Soon others were able to say, “We have seen the Lord” and they passed the message on. It wasn’t only the 12 disciples. We read in the Bible that Jesus appeared to more than 500 before he left the earth again. And down through the centuries those words have echoed thousands of times and millions of times. Getting that message out is the mission of the church; it is the mission of this congregation.
• Victory. Second, it meant that death was not the last word. God had overcome the power of death by raising Jesus from the dead. Her relationship with Jesus was assured whether He was on earth or seated at the right hand of God. She no longer needed to fear the power of death.
You may have read the story I wrote in the most recent issue of Our Generation’s Magazine about the impact of the resurrection on the life and death of a good friend in Japan who died of breast cancer.
She died the Sunday after Easter. At the worship service that morning, the leader, a close friend, with moist eyes said, “Reiko would laugh if she knew we were sad since she has gone to be with Christ. Let’s sing her favorite hymn.” And, as best we could, we sang “Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee.” Her funeral was a celebration of joy with hymns and a message from John 11:25, “I am the resurrection and the life.” Yes, there were tears, but there was also hope and joy inspired by the resurrection.
And I remember another Easter Sunday morning in 1990, when just before the worship service we received a call saying that Diane’s mother was critical. "Could you come as soon as possible?" We went immediately after the service and in a matter of minutes, Geraldine breathed her last. She was ready and waiting to meet her Master. On Easter Sunday, she had been granted her wish and was able to say “I have seen the Lord.”
But we don’t need to wait until death to see the risen Lord and to experience the power of the resurrection. At the end of John 20, Jesus told Thomas, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” If you have not declared your faith in the risen Lord, why not do it today?
