Easter day was the day which changed everything.
On the Friday it seemed like the end of the world:
• Jesus who said “I am the way” was going nowhere – lying on a cold stone slab.
• Jesus who said “I am the truth” was to speak no more. His words of love and mercy were drowned by a shouting mob who had bayed for his blood, his voice silenced by death.
• Jesus who said “I am the life” was dead – buried in a tomb amongst other tombs.
Jesus’ death had been powerful. There was no doubting that. As he died, the earth had shaken, the curtain in the temple (representing the last barrier between people and God) was torn in two – something extraordinary had happened. But that was no help to the disciples, his friends, because Jesus was still dead.
We cannot begin to understand the despair of the disciples that weekend – when all their hopes and dreams (which we based on all they knew of Jesus, their master) crumbled into dust as they watched him die – and the despair as it started to sink in that they would not see him any more.
That Saturday must have been low point like no other for the disciples – full of fear and despondency and deep grief. Saturday passed like a bad dream.
Then Sunday came.
Each of the gospels have a slightly different account of what happened that morning, but they all testify that the women came to the tomb and discovered that the stone had been rolled away, the body of Jesus was gone.
How did the disciples react?
There was a great range of emotions that day. I was interested to understand what was going on for the disciples after the discovery of the empty tomb so I did a quick check of the first three gospels which recorded their emotions and reactions:
Matthew records…
Fear “do not be afraid” Matthew 28:5
Joy (28:8)
Then Fear again (28:9)
Mark records…
They were “alarmed” (Mark 16:5,6)
“Trembling and bewildered…afraid” (Mark 16:8)
Luke records…
“wondering” (Luke 24:3)
Frightened (Luke 24:5)
“wondering” (Luke 24:12)
LATER
“startled and frightened” (Luke 24:37)
“joy and amazement” (Luke 24:41)
The process of owning the resurrection
What happened that day was so enormous – it was so huge – it was so far out there that it was clear that the disciples took time to get on board with it.
The first reaction to the resurrection wasn’t joy. That happened later.
The first reaction was confusion and fear and bewilderment and wonder and amazement which later was to segue into the stuff of joy and elation.
That is the way we process deep seemingly impossible news whether that be good or bad.
If you have someone who is deeply close to you die, it takes a long time to actually understand that they really are dead. It takes time to recognise that they won’t be walking through that door, or sitting at that chair. The disciples were probably just starting coming to terms with that by Sunday morning – even having watched him die over a whole afternoon.
They are just getting to grips with him being dead and now they have to come to terms with him being alive and, one by one, they have to come to own the reality of the resurrection.
An interesting event happened last week which was on the news and in the paper. I will read you parts of the newspaper article in the Sydney Morning Herald…
Not Missing, holidaying. Sorry everyone. By Dan Oakes
The homicide squad had called the media to the home of Roy and Heather Ostell. The news, it seemed, was grim.
The couple had vanished, and their daughters had not heard from Dr Ostell, 63, and his 58-year-old wife since last Thurs¬day. On Sunday one of the daughters had gone to her parents’ small property on Melbourne’s semi-rural fringe, at Narre Warren, and the scene that greeted her was alarming: the front door unlocked; a full cup of tea by the kitchen sink, prospecting equipment, including a new metal detector, piled on the floor; bedding on the coffee table; the couple’s 1975 Volkswagen Kombi missing. And their beloved dog, Gabi, had escaped and been found wandering the streets by a neighbour.
From 2am yesterday, police were poring over the property, searching for evidence of a murder. They checked the couple’s bank accounts.
By 11am the media had gathered outside the brown brick home. Detective Senior Sergeant Charlie Bezzina, of the homicide squad, was preparing to brief them and hand out photographs of the couple.
Suddenly, an ageing orange Kombi puttered up the Ostells’ driveway. A young woman dashed across the vacant lot next to the house, shouting:
"Where have you been? Where have you been?"
In the Kombi, bewildered, were the Ostells. Here they were, gate-crashing the press conference on the matter of their feared deaths. This news, all now realised, was somewhat premature.
The woman hurdling a drain¬age ditch to get to die Kombi was their daughter, Angela, who had been sitting in a car just down the road. Next to appear was Senior Sergeant Bezzina, who looked distinctly nonplussed as he emerged from the front door and surveyed the scene.
As the visibly furious Angela stood next to the Kombi with her head in her hands, Dr Ostell, who has a medical practice nearby, and his wife were ushered inside by police and asked to explain.
When Mrs Ostell emerged from the house 10 minutes later, she was sheepish.
"We went to Lakes Entrance," she explained. "It was a spur-of-the-moment thing. We decided Friday morning. We did let a couple of people know we were going, and we’ve come home to this." A nervous laugh.
But their four children were not among the people they had kept in the loop. They did mention to one of their daughters on Thursday that they intended to going fossicking for gold at Dunolly, in central Victoria. But the Ostells changed their mind. Instead they went to the eastern Victorian holiday spot for a couple of days of relaxation.
They organised for someone to feed the dog while they were away, but did not tell any of their children.
The hasty change of plans explained the prospecting gear, gumboots and bedding, and the unlocked door, through which the dog escaped.
"I’ll blame my husband for that," Mrs Ostell said. "We’re pretty security-conscious, but, as I said, it was a pretty spur-of-the-moment thing. Get on the road and get out of here."
Mrs Ostell said they left their mobile phone charger at home, so nobody could call them.
"We haven’t had the radio on," she said. "We’ve just been bumming down at the beach having a wonderful time."
She added; "I want to thank the police. They’ve been marvellous. I just can’t thank them enough and I’m so sorry they were put to all this trouble, and indeed the media. I’m so sorry you’ve all been put to this trouble. I’m sure there are so many better stories out there.
"At least they picked out a nice photograph. I thought, well, if I was dead, at least they picked out a nice photo."
Mrs Ostell said the next task awaiting her was repairing relations with her daughter, who was still angry with her, judging by the shouting later coming from the house.
Senior Sergeant Bezzina said: "All I can say is, these are the good news stories we like. I was just happy to see that Volkswagen pull in the driveway... I’d rather be inconvenienced nine times out of 10 than get bad news."
Catching up
That was an interesting reaction from their daughter wasn’t it?! Her parents were supposed to be dead. Now they were alive, and she was just catching up. There were a lot of differences between the events. They weren’t dead (just thought to be) whilst Jesus definitely was!
But there are some parallels for the followers of Jesus. Over the next day and weeks they had to catch up with what had happened, and the implications of these things for them. And Jesus gave them the time that was needed to understand what had taken place.
Some took longer than others:
The men didn’t believe the women at first until they saw him for themselves.
Thomas didn’t believe the men until he saw Jesus for himself.
And Matthew tells us that even weeks later as they were on the mountain top as Jesus was about to ascend into heaven…
(Matthew 28:16-17 NIV) Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. {17} When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted.
“Some doubted.”
That seems extraordinary doesn’t it? So much has happened, yet people are still catching up.
Yet thousands of years later, people still haven’t caught the power of this Easter event for themselves.
Have you caught up yet?
What I love about our faith is that it isn’t about a system of beliefs and a whole list things to learn. It is about an encounter, and a relationship, with a risen Lord. No one can give that to you. You have to have it for yourself.
You can hear the stories of Jesus rising until the cows come home and you will either see it as a nice story, true or untrue, or as “someone else’s experience” and it won’t really make an impact on your life.
Each person has to catch up with the reality of what has happened.
Each person has to discover the risen Lord Jesus for him or herself. To come to terms with the dreadful cost and impact of his death, and the extraordinary power and truth of his resurrection.
You have to recognize that this wasn’t something which is separate from you. This is not a far off story or legend. It is something that happened because of you and it happened for you.
God loved you so much that Jesus died in your place, nailed the power of sin and death to the cross, then was raised to life and invites you to join him in it.
This Easter Morning - Have you caught up with this marvelous thing that has happened? Has it impacted your life – and have you moved through the confusion and fear of uncertainty into the light of clarity, and assurance and joy?
Whether you have or whether you haven’t - I urge you to join us now as we meet the risen Lord Jesus here this morning as we pray.
