It is Wrong
Well here we are. Easter, the day we celebrate the main proof point of the Christian faith. The day when we dress up a little more, attendance is a little higher, when we often make a special effort to make it to a worship service.
I had a little bit of dilemma. Most of you know the story by heart. Over the years you have heard preachers tell the story from dozens of angles, views and important points. So, how do I make this story come alive and more meaningful for you.
I realized that it is not my job to make the story interesting or new or fresh….My only responsibility is to allow the story to tell itself.
Have ya’ll seen some of the specials on the Discovery Channel where the commercials telling you about the show claim to be revealing new discoveries and secrets or books excluded from the Bible?
They pitch the program and if you watch it some of it seems to be just a little off. This morning I want to start with something similar; I want to reveal to you that I have found a copy of the “Nazareth Tattler.”
SLIDE - Hebrew
It is a very old document where there is a listing of the obituary of Jesus of Nazareth.
It is an amazing find. Most people don’t even believe that many people could read in those days and since there was not printing press all the copies would have to be made by hand. One interesting detail about what I am about to show you… It is a parchment that might be over 2 thousand years old. It is written in Hebrew when most people of the day would have used Greek… so it is thought that this News paper was targeted specifically to the Jewish population. Most non-Jews would not even be able to read it.
SLIDE - English
SLIDE – Jesus Obit
• Jesus of Nazareth was born in the year 6 BC to Mary and Joseph, the carpenter from Galilee. He was preceded in death by a father, Joseph. He is survived by his mother, Mary of Capernaum, also by his brothers, James, Joseph, Judas and Simon, also of Capernaum and several other sisters. During his lifetime, it was rumored that he received some notoriety and publicity because of unusual occurrences associated with his life such as the blind seeing, the deaf hearing, and the lame walking. It was also rumored that he radically changed people’s lives with new religious views about Jehovah. More recently, it is reported that, last Sunday in Jerusalem, large Passover crowds hailed him as king. Shortly thereafter, the crowds turned against him. This past Friday afternoon, he was sentenced to death by the Roman procurator, Pontius Pilate, representing the Roman Empire in Jerusalem. He died at three o’clock in the afternoon on Golgotha hill, from wounds inflected as a result of crucifixion. His burial was in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. His family requests that no flowers be sent, but rather than memorials be send to the crippled children’s fund in care of the synagogue in Bethlehem, the place of his birth.
Ok, it is a hypothetical obituary. It is in no way real.
But if there had been some kind of news report that went out it would have marked the end of the movement.
Everyone would have thought that the “Jesus movement” was over.
- Its leader, like others before him, was now dead.
- His disciples would surly scatter and disappear.
- The stories of the miracles would fade away and probably never even be mentionable in recorded history.
Jesus life and ministry would be like a pebble tossed into the ocean of time where the monetary splash would be swallowed by the waves and the size of time.
With most anyone else that would seem to be the case.
However, that obituary was not the end of the story. There was something else which had not made the paper yet….
The obituary was wrong or in the very least incomplete. It has happened many times even in the last couple of hundred years…People have gotten the story wrong….
In 1888, a French news paper published an obituary of Alfred Nobel, The inventor of Dynamite. They headline read, “The Merchant of Death is Dead.” The headline shocked and saddened Alfred and it may have been the reason for his establishment of the Peace prize that is named after him.
In June of 1897– in response to a rumor a reporter was sent to determine if Mark Twain had died, His response to the inquirers, "The report of my death is an exaggeration"
He again learned about his “possible” death in May of 1907 when he was thought to be lost at sea, he responded on that occasion with, "I will make an exhaustive investigation of this report that I have been lost at sea. If there is any foundation for the report, I will at once apprise the anxious public. I sincerely hope that there is no foundation for the report, and I also hope that judgment will be suspended until I ascertain the true state of affairs."
Time does not really matter when it comes to mistakes…In 1982 People Magazine published that Abe Vigoda had died. His career was on life support at the time….however he was alive. He took out a full page ad in variety magazine with a picture of him sitting in a coffin holding a copy of the magazine.
He is 88 years old and still maintains a website which has his picture and his current status…so far it list him as alive.
In 2006, the News Times, a newspaper in Danbury, Connecticut reported that Paul Vance bopped no longer. He was the writer of “Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini. ” He found out about the reports when his grand children called to ask if he was still alive.
Obituaries – even modern ones, can be wrong, inaccurate and are always incomplete. Some are incomplete because a life holds too much information to be printed in a short obituary. Some are incomplete because of what they leave out…
The news story related to Jesus death was definitely incomplete if you leave out one main event…what happened on the third day.
The grave was empty. Jesus of Nazareth had been raised from the dead.
He was alive again, let me rephrase that, HE is alive again!
He was recognizable and identifiable then to the people that knew him. He is alive again in a new way. The obituary that the people of the day heard on Friday and Saturday was wrong.
Instead of being dead and his ministry over and done with it was the beginning of something new and powerful.
But, I am bothered by a common theme in our scripture this morning….
Mary Magdalene goes to grieve in the cemetery. It seems obvious that she believed her eyes. She has watched him die and was probably one of the people that shared an oral obituary with the other disciples.
She believed what she saw. She did not expect anything else.
She is surprised by the Stone that blocks the entrance to the tomb is rolled back. She is shocked as she again believes her eyes …Jesus body is not there.
Her first thought is that someone has taken it.
In shock she runs to tell Peter and the Disciple that Jesus Loved. She tells what she has seen.
- The two men don’t correct her…They don’t say, Wow just like Jesus said.
- Or silly girl, that was supposed to happen.
They take off, running to see for themselves…
The find the scene just as Mary Magdalene described it….They also believe their eyes. They still don’t smack their head and say “Oh yea, Jesus said something like this would happen…”
In fact the scripture seems to support the opposite. “the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.”
Believed what?
He believed that they body had been taken. He believes the obituary that Jesus was dead and that something unthinkable had happened. And the scripture supports this with the bracketed insert from the author. “(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)”
Ok from scripture is one thing, but, what about from Jesus teaching?
Why do theses close friends have such trouble understanding what has happened?
But how could close intimate friends end up accepting the obvious mistake in the obituary.
Why would they need convincing?
Because they knew something about death that we tend to avoid.
They knew that when a person dies they are dead.
- There were no paramedics with adrenaline, and shock paddles to restart a person’s heart.
-There are no doctors to give a blood transfusion.
- They did not have a mortician that had the tools to apply makeup and new clothes to make a dead person look asleep.
Death , especially execution by the Romans, was up until this moment a permanent thing.
They did not and could not believe that the obituary was wrong.
Folks, we are far removed from the cemetery on that early morning. We are far removed from actually hearing the voice of Jesus in our own ears.
It is fairly easy to understand how we might let the culture around us influence our faith. However, here we are gathered together on Easter Sunday to celebrate the “Good News of eternal life.
If they couldn’t believe it then, why 2000 years later do so many people all over the globe come to churches on Easter Sunday.
Is it the music, the hymns, the retelling of the story?
Because we come to hear the “rest of the story?”
Do we come to be reminded of what happened after three days?
Is it because we really believe that the obituary was wrong?
It is obvious that the stories about death are true….Jesus did die just as reported SLIDE
Mary Magdalene died although we have no obituary for her,
Peter died - executed,
- we all know people that have died…..they all have an obituary of some kind in our memory….the question – is their story complete?
The resurrection of Jesus is a demonstration of power. The resurrection power of our God is stronger that any death notice and that is demonstrated in the complete story of Jesus Christ.
But that does not answer my question.
Why are you here today? Why did you happen to come?
For some it may be it is out of tradition. It is just what you do on Easter Sunday.
Maybe it is simpler than that. Maybe it is because Mother or Father expects you to be sitting with them today.
There is an extra option the might be true this year more than many others. Some may be here today because times are tough. Jobs are shaky. The economy has added a little extra fear in your heart and perhaps you feel a little more vulnerable that you might normally. Perhaps you are looking for a little strengthening, power or blessing that comes from Christ.
For some this is “almost” just another Sunday.
Church is a consistent part of your weekly schedule. You find value in your faith and hopefully find weekly support and blessing. You already believe that God conquered death in the person of Jesus Christ and you are here to celebrate every week.
Whatever your motivation for being here, God welcomes you, especially on the day of celebration.
But the one thing that I hope you learn or are reminded of about Easter, death is not the end of the story.
Let me boil to down just a little bit more for you.
You may think that Jesus being raised form the dead doesn’t affect your life in any way…and technically you are correct. Looking at state of our world… the low value of human life, of real friendships, of the stress over maintaining our lifestyle and comfort, our culture says that there can’t be a God. All that we see and feel and know does not come from a creator it just happened. Lucky for us I suppose.
But that point of view hold no hope, no opportunity no promise…That point of view while overwhelming ends in death so what is the point of life.
Today is an important celebration day for Christian believers for one simple reason. Death is only a stage in God’s evolution. Easter is the day that reminds us that the obituaries of our family and our friends and even our own obituary can be wrong too.
The story of Easter, the celebration that draws millions of Christians year after year is the renewal of our hope and faith in the promises of God.
Let me make one last point today. What ever your reason is for being here today might be, let me assure you that God has his own intentions and plans for you.
You are here because God wanted you in this place today. He is offering you an opportunity that has eternal opportunities and consequences.
He offers you and invitation to enter into a relationship that is personal and unique to every person. For some it may be a renewal of our acquaintance and a reminder that we are always welcome in his house.
For others it may be something new.
Whatever your reason for coming today, please respond to whatever you might be feeling. Leave here today with the since of celebration and freedom that Only God can give you.
All Glory be to God!
