Sunday – “Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places”
(Luke 24:1-12)
5th in a series on “Passion Week”
Introduction:
Cynthia Thomas tells a story about her “brother and his new wife who were escorted to their bridal suite in an elegant hotel in the wee hours of the morning. They were tired from the many hours at their wedding reception and from mingling with their guests. They took a look around their room, taking in the sofa, chairs, and table. But where was the bed? This was the bridal suite…Right? Then they discovered the sofa was a hide-a-bed, complete with lumpy mattress and springs sagging to the floor. Cynthia’s brother and his new wife spent a fitful night on the hide-a-bed, waking up with sore backs.
“The next morning, the new husband went to the hotel desk and gave the management a tongue-lashing for giving them such a terrible room for the bridal suite.
“‘Did you open the door in the room?’ was the response.
“When he went back up to the room, he opened a door they had thought was a closet. There, complete with fruit baskets and chocolates, was a beautiful bedroom” (Edward K. Rowell &Leadership Journal, 1001 Quotes, Illustrations & Humorous Stories for Preachers, Teachers & Writers (Baker Books: Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1996, 1997), 469).
Too often we live lives of mediocrity. We are content with the status quo. We aren’t stirred much by the news because it honestly doesn’t affect us all that much; and we’re content and comfortable when things remain the same. We don’t expect much out of life, but rather live with the mundane trappings of mediocre success that our world defines as “normal.”
We, like the new husband and wife, live in a room with tables and chairs and a pull-out bed. And the church in our culture is content to rest on a lumpy mattress of indifference and apathy, rather than open the door of possibility that would forever change our lives for the better. And you’d think we would have learned by now. You’d think that we would have remembered the promises Christ gave us. You’d think we would live with the present reality of the risen Christ. You’d think that we would celebrate the fact that our sins are forgiven through the cross of Calvary, and that we have eternal life if we believe in Christ.
But, nothing is new under the sun. We celebrate today as the day that Christ rose from the dead. We celebrate this Easter Sunday as a day that Jesus actually did what he said he would do. But as we see in our reading today, even the disciples and followers of Christ missed it. They had forgotten what Jesus had told them. They had forgotten what they had given up and who they were following for the past three years. They had disregarded the joy of celebration and anticipation on that Sunday morning and were content to just live with the defeat of Friday. They had no expectations; they had flat-lined, they were sorrow-filled, and they were devastated. They had neglected to look through the closed door of promise into the empty tomb of redemption. Read with me Luke’s account of that one Sunday…
Luke 24:1-12 (NLT)
But very early on Sunday morning the women came to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. [2] They found that the stone covering the entrance had been rolled aside. [3] So they went in, but they couldn't find the body of the Lord Jesus. [4] They were puzzled, trying to think what could have happened to it. Suddenly, two men appeared to them, clothed in dazzling robes. [5] The women were terrified and bowed low before them. Then the men asked, "Why are you looking in a tomb for someone who is alive? [6] He isn't here! He has risen from the dead! Don't you remember what he told you back in Galilee, [7] that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again the third day?"
[8] Then they remembered that he had said this. [9] So they rushed back to tell his eleven disciples—and everyone else—what had happened. [10] The women who went to the tomb were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and several others. They told the apostles what had happened, [11] but the story sounded like nonsense, so they didn't believe it. [12] However, Peter ran to the tomb to look. Stooping, he peered in and saw the empty linen wrappings; then he went home again, wondering what had happened.
Why hadn’t they remembered? What kept them from believing? Why were they looking for the living among the dead?
Just as the women and disciples had to understand, we too must understand that Jesus is not dead; he is alive and well. The problem is that many of us act as if we’re going to his tomb to worship him, rather than to the thrown-room of grace! We come as mourners to a funeral, when we should be coming as people to a celebration.
What can we learn from Luke’s account of the resurrection of Christ?
The first thing that we can learn is:
1. God always follows through on his promises.
Has anyone ever made a promise to you and not follow through? Are there people who make you promises, but you take them with a grain of salt knowing that what they tell you probably won’t happen? Or maybe it’s the other way around… You may be the one making the promises?
Whatever the case, isn’t it great when we can rely on someone to do what they actually say they’re going to do? Isn’t it great when others can rely on us?
“Booker T. Washington describes meeting an ex-slave from Virginia in his book Up From Slavery:
“‘I found that this man had made a contract with his master, two or three years previous to the Emancipation Proclamation, to the effect that the slave was to be permitted to buy himself, by paying so much per year for his body; and while he was paying for himself, he was to be permitted to labor where and for whom he pleased.
“‘Finding that he could secure better wages in Ohio, he came here. When freedom came, he was still in debt to his master some 300 dollars. Notwithstanding that the Emancipation Proclamation freed him from any obligation to his master, this black man walked the greater portion of the distance back to where his old master lived in Virginia, and placed the last dollar, with interest, in his hands.
“‘In talking to me about this [says Washington], the man told me that he knew that he did not have to pay his debt, but that he had given his word to his master, and his word he had never broken. He felt that he could not enjoy freedom till he fulfilled his promise’” (Craig Brian Larson & Leadership Journal, 750 Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers, & Writers (Baker Books: Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1993, 1996, 1998), 566).
Jesus was this type of man. He was one who followed through on everything he said he would do. Listen to this verse one more time…
Luke 24:2-3( NLT)
They found that the stone covering the entrance had been rolled aside. [3] So they went in, but they couldn't find the body of the Lord Jesus.
Jesus had told them several times throughout his ministry that he would be handed over to the authorities, that he would be condemned to die, but that he would rise again on the third day.
Jesus is a keeper of promises!
2. God works in ways we don’t always understand.
Read with me again…
Luke 24:4a (NLT)
They were puzzled, trying to think what could have happened to it.
Even though Jesus had told them several times what was going to happen, they still couldn’t comprehend what he was saying. When the women and Peter had come to the tomb they were perplexed and confused at what they saw. “How could this be,” they wondered. “Where could his body be?” They had no answers, only a long list of questions.
In our own lives there are times when we just can’t understand what God is doing in and around us on any given day. There are times that we are confused, frustrated, and even sometimes angry at God for the predicaments we’re in. We sometimes stand in bewilderment and at a loss for understanding of how God is ultimately in control, or why he allows certain things to happen the way they do. But God works in ways we don’t always understand. He sees the bigger picture when all we can see is the immediate results. And as I’ve said before, I’ll say it again, though God doesn’t cause the tragedies in life, he continues to be faithful to work something good out of the tragedy that we face. Though God doesn’t inflict the pain, he helps us to work through the pain and suffering as one who has gone before us, as one who has experienced pain and suffering, and as one who is all-powerful to bring about beauty in the fallen world that we live.
As Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 13:12 (NLT), “ Now we see things imperfectly as in a poor mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God knows me now.”
There will come a day when we will see with perfect clarity, but for now we must trust God who works in ways we cannot see, who moves in mysterious ways, and who loves us unconditionally and doesn’t work to harm or hurt us.
With this in mind…
3. God expects us to trust him.
Author Leonard Sweet talks about his lack of trust with the airline industry when he says:
“Travel is hard enough without the airline industry scaring us with their terminology.
“As I drive to the airport, watching for the signs that indicate what exits to take, I wonder what sadist named the place where you trust your all to a creaking bunch of nuts and bolts Terminal.
“When I check in at the counter, I remember this particular flight was chosen by my travel agent for one reason – it was the cheapest available.
“When it’s time to land, why does the flight attendant have to remind us that we are making our final approach? (On a recent flight, the attendant announced reassuringly, ‘We will be in the ground very shortly.’)
“When the flight attendant warns us not to move until the plane has reached a complete stop, I wonder what an incomplete stop would be like” (1001 Quotes, Illustrations & Humorous Stories, 533).
Trust can be a very fickle thing. Read with me again…
Luke 24:5b-7 (NLT)
"Why are you looking in a tomb for someone who is alive? [6] He isn't here! He has risen from the dead! Don't you remember what he told you back in Galilee, [7] that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again the third day?"
It’s almost as if the two angels that were present at the tomb that day were echoing Jesus’ words to the disciples so many times before, “Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt. Why did you doubt my promises? Why couldn’t you just remember and trust me?”
If there’s one thing – one thing at all – that we can learn from Jesus, it’s that he is trustworthy. Paul even reminds us in 2 Timothy 2:13 (NLT), “If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.” His faithfulness pours forth from the core of his character. Jesus reminded us that he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and the truth is always faithful for it can be no other way. This is why God expects us to trust him, for we can always trust the Truth.
4. Even when we speak the truth, there are people who won’t believe what we have to say.
Luke 24:10b-11 (NLT)
They told the apostles what had happened, [11] but the story sounded like nonsense, so they didn't believe it.
Have you ever told somebody the truth, but to them it sounded like nonsense and they didn’t believe what you had to say?
As we live our lives for Christ we become peculiar to the world around us. We don’t do the things we once did, go the places we once went, or say the hateful and vulgar things we once said. We become a changed people, and this seems like nonsense to some.
I have had conversations with people that tell me flat out, “I don’t want to hear any of that ‘God talk.’” No matter how sincere, loving, and kind you may be, there are some that just won’t believe what you have to say.
There are those who have had difficult lives – who have experienced all sorts of pain and tragedy – and have become very hard, bitter, resentful people. And these people balk at the idea of a God who is all-loving and all-powerful but who allows bad things to happen to good people. Even when presented with the fact that Jesus knows our pain, that he truly is a man who was acquainted with our grief, they have long since lost hope, and have given up on any possibility that things could be any different than they know them to be.
There are those who won’t believe what we have to say because they are indifferent to truth. They live with a mindset that all truth is relative, that there are no absolutes. This way of thinking is very dangerous because though they may give you a hearing, they justify the truth we proclaim as truth that is only relevant for us, not everyone. The problem with this way of thinking is: where there is no absolute truth, there is no truth at all.
Let us not take rejection as defeat! We must remember that even when we speak the truth, there are those who won’t believe what we have to say. Why should we think that this would be any different for us when there were many who didn’t believe Jesus when he walked this earth? Even in his hometown, the ones who knew him best refused to believe him. Listen to this account:
Matthew 13:54-57 (NLT)
He returned to Nazareth, his hometown. When he taught there in the synagogue, everyone was astonished and said, "Where does he get his wisdom and his miracles? [55] He's just a carpenter's son, and we know Mary, his mother, and his brothers—James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. [56] All his sisters live right here among us. What makes him so great?" [57] And they were deeply offended and refused to believe in him.
Then Jesus told them, "A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his own family."
Conclusion:
There are beautiful churches and cathedrals scattered throughout Europe (and even the United States) that are just shells of what they once were. Places of worship that have become museums, antique stores, or tourist attractions. Places that were once filled with life, but are now dead. Though beautiful and attractive on the outside, they are nothing more than façades of the life that once bustled within them. If you go looking there today, you will only find beautiful stained glass, art work, and tapestries that tell the stories that were once heralded by the people that met there.
Today we live with the reality of the risen Christ. The place that once housed his body is empty. The women who came to the tomb that first Easter morning found this out the hard way. Expecting to find death, instead they found life and the fulfilled promise of hope! Just like those vacant church buildings and cathedrals of times past, Peter found only the wrappings that once held the Son of God.
What were your expectations this morning as you were planning to come here? Were you expecting to find life? Were you expecting to engage in vibrant worship to the risen Christ? Or did you come expecting the same ol’, same ol’?
I think we could stand to learn a lot from “Craig Randall [who] drives a garbage truck in Peabody, Massachusetts. In a garbage container one day he noticed a Wendy’s soft drink cup bearing a contest sticker. Having won a chicken sandwich the week before, Randall checked it, hoping for some French fries or a soft drink.
“Instead, he peeled a sticker worth $200,000 toward the construction of a new home, reported U.S. News & World Report (11/6/95).
“What we get out of life depends a lot on what we look for. Are we more likely to see each experience as trash or a potential treasure?” (1001 Quotes, Illustrations & Humorous Stories, 332).
Christ has risen! He has risen indeed!
