Superlatives of the Easter Story
Chuck Sligh
April 20, 2014
(A PowerPoint presentation is available for this sermon upon request at chucksligh@hotmail.com).
TEXT: Please turn in your Bibles to John 20.
INTRODUCTION
Illus. – A little boy had a tendency to exaggerate things in order to get attention, which his mom was earnestly trying to break him of because it really is a subtle form of lying.
One day he was playing outside and suddenly burst into the house yelling, “Mommy, I just saw a big, ferocious bear that just about ate me alive.”
His mom said, “Now Tommy, you know that wasn’t a bear. It was just a big dog and you know it because I saw it. Now you march upstairs this very minute and you talk to the Lord about your exaggerating and lying and ask Him to forgive you.”
Reluctantly he went upstairs and when he came back down about ten minutes later, she asked, “Did the Lord forgive you for your exaggerating?”
He said, “Yeah. He told not to worry about it though, because He said the first time He saw it, He thought it was a bear too.”
It’s one thing to exaggerate like Tommy…but how would you express yourself if your story were TRUE and it happened to be the most stunning, most significant event in history? The only words that would do it justice would be to describe it using “superlatives.”
If your English teacher were here this morning (thank God she isn’t!), she would remind you that a superlative is “an expression of the highest degree of something.”
If I say my wife’s pie is tasty, well, I’m using NORMAL EVERYDAY SPEECH. But if I say, “Honey, that’s the greatest, most delicious, most delectable pie that man ever sunk his teeth into,”…I’m using SUPERLATIVES.
The title of my message is, “Superlatives of the Easter Story” because it’s hard NOT to think in superlative terms when talking about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Let’s look at three “Superlatives of the Resurrection Story” this morning as we try to contemplate the magnificent meaning of the resurrection:
I. NOTE WITH ME FIRST OF ALL, THE DARKEST HOUR OF ALL SCRIPTURE – John 20:1-2 – “The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre [i.e., tomb], and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. 2 Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.”
It’s hard to describe how dark this hour was for Christ’s disciples. Though Jesus had tried to prepare them for His death, they had been deaf to His words. To the day of His death, the disciples saw Jesus as Messiah—but only in one way—that of the King who would RULE, not the SUFFERING Savior, both themes of which are found in the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah. They heard only what they wanted to hear and tuned out what they didn’t.
So when Jesus was crucified, the disciples were devastated and disillusioned. They were also in great DANGER, and this produced a horrible sense of DEFEAT. They were truly experiencing THE DARKEST HOUR OF THEIR LIVES.
What makes a dark hour dark?
• First of all, SUFFERING WITHOUT A PURPOSE.
Their experience seemed to have no rhyme or purpose. Sometimes when WE suffer, we feel the same way. It’s hard to fathom God’s purposes—why He lets certain things happen to us.
• Second, what makes a dark hour dark is BETRAYAL WITHOUT A REASON.
The disciples apparently had no suspicion of Judas’s dark, treacherous heart. He had not only betrayed JESUS, but he had betrayed THEM ALL. And there seemed to be no REASON for it! What had Jesus or the disciples ever done against Judas?
How many of us have experienced the same thing—trusting someone, only to be stabbed in the back by a traitor without having done anything to prompt it?
• The third thing that makes a dark hour dark is FEAR WITHOUT PROTECTION.
The disciples were in great danger, but from their point of view, with JESUS gone, they had no protection, which only increased their fear.
Have you ever felt vulnerable like that?…You knew what was coming down, and no matter what you might do, you were helpless to shape the events about to unfold.
That’s what the disciples felt like.
• Fourth: DEFEAT WITHOUT HOPE makes a dark hour dark.
There was no hope at this point from their perspective. The cause for which they had labored by Jesus’s side for three long years had gone down the drain as far as they could see.
To put it bluntly…
> The Pharisees had won and they had lost.
> The Romans would remain in power and the person they thought would deliver them was lying in a cold grave.
With their Messiah dead, what HOPE was there now?
Have you ever felt that way? Your desire or dream has been dashed, and all sense of hope is lost? A marriage, a career, a friendship—GONE!—with no hope left! That’s how these disciples felt in those dark and gloomy days.
Lastly, what makes a dark hour dark is A FUTURE WITHOUT A PROMISE.
What did they have to live for now? Jesus was their everything—their teacher, master, guide, mentor, friend. Now He was gone.
No doubt, we’ve all been there too, haven’t we? When our dreams lay in ashes on the floor and we contemplate the future, we ask, “What promise is there? What is there to look forward to?” It seems futile, hopeless.
This was indeed a dark hour for the disciples:
> If Christ were dead, then death was stronger than life.
> If Christ were dead, then evil was greater than good.
> If Christ were dead, then despair was bigger than hope.
BUT…things were about to change dramatically for these dispirited, broken disciples. And so it will be for you if you are in a dark valley of despair.
David said in Psalm 34:19 – “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.”
And in Psalm 30:5b David said, “…weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”
II. NOTE SECOND, THE BIGGEST DISCOVERY IN ALL OF SCRIPTURE – John 20:3-10 – “Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. 4 So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre. 5 And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. 6 Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, 7 And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. 8 Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. 9 For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.”
What a discovery this was! It was shocking; confusing; frightening; but also wonderful and exhilarating!
The ramifications were nothing short of STAGGERING, for when Jesus rose from the dead, it meant four things:
• First, it meant that Jesus was who He said He was.
You see, all His ministry, Jesus claimed to be very God Himself. His resurrection proved He was who He claimed to be, which in turn gave credence to everything He had said and done in His earthly ministry.
• Second, it proved that death has been defeated.
Just as JESUS rose in fulfillment of His promise, so will YOU be resurrected in fulfillment of His promise—if you have trusted in Christ as your Savior.
In 1 Corinthians 15:54-57, Paul proclaims in triumphant terms, “…Death is swallowed up in victory. 55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?…57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
• Third, Christ’s resurrection proved that sin has been conquered.
If Jesus had not risen from the dead, then He was really only a man—nothing more, and therefore an unacceptable sacrifice for our sins. Such an idea prompted Paul to say, “And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.…If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” (1 Cor. 15:17)
• Fourth, it meant that God keeps His promises.
GOD prophesied the resurrection, and He kept His word! JESUS promised He would rise from the dead, and HE kept HIS promise. That’s a reminder to us that God ALWAYS keeps His promises!
III. NOTE THIRD WHAT MUST BE THE LOVELIEST WORD IN ALL OF SCRIPTURE TO MARY – John 20:10-15 – “Then the disciples went away again unto their own home. 11 But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, 12 And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. 13 And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. 14 And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.”
When Mary first met Jesus in the garden, she didn’t recognize Him in His glorified body. In the dim early morning light, not expecting to see a dead-corpse-turned-resurrected-Savior, she mistook Him for the gardener. With anguished tears she begged Him to tell her where He might have taken the body of Jesus.
And then Jesus said what must have been to her, the loveliest word in her life. Look at the first part of verse 16 – “Jesus saith unto her, ‘Mary.’”
The loveliest word Mary must have ever heard was when Jesus said her name.
Can you imagine what she must have felt? Suddenly, a hint of recognition crosses her mind. “How does this man know my name? He speaks in the same tone and accent as the Savior. But no, that’s impossible! But he’s so much like Him. How can this be?” Suddenly she feels a tingle down her spine!—“It IS Jesus!”
I find it touching and encouraging that the first word that came from the lips of Jesus was not one of teaching, or exhortation or rebuke, BUT A PERSONAL NAME, signifying the personal relationship we can have with Jesus Christ.
To Mary, it was the loveliest word she had ever heard uttered for two reasons:
• First, because of WHO SPOKE IT. – ANYBODY could have said her name, but because it was JESUS, that made all the difference in the world.
• Second, because of WHOM HE SPOKE IT TO FIRST.
Why did Jesus first show Himself and speak to Mary, and not Peter or John or one of the other disciples? Turn with me to Luke 7.
I think Jesus came to Mary first because she was the one who felt the loss of Christ more than any other…and I’ll show you why. Most Bible teachers are in agreement that the woman who anointed the feet of Jesus in Luke 7 was Mary Magdalene—the same Mary Jesus spoke to here in our text we’ve been talking about this morning. Luke 7:37 describes her former life: “And, behold, a woman in the city, who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat to eat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment.”
The verse says she was “a woman in the city, which was a sinner.” Many scholars believe that this was an oblique way of saying that Mary had been a prostitute.
Then verse 38 says, “And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.”
This got a typical reaction from the pompous, self-righteous Pharisee named Simon Jesus was eating with. So Jesus gave the parable of the creditor and the two debtors in verses 41-43: “There was a certain creditor who had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. 42 And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly [freely] forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? 43 Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.”
Now look what happened next: verses 44-50 – “And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, See thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gave me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. 45 Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. 48 And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. 49 And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? 50 And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.”
Why did Jesus come to Mary first?—Because Mary loved Him most! Her sins had been many, and when forgiven, she loved much.
CONCLUSION
Isn’t it precious to know how much the Lord loves us and cares for us?
Are you in a dark hour today? Are you experiencing suffering without a purpose?…or betrayal without a reason?…or fear without protection?…or defeat without hope?…or a future without a promise?
Just keep on following and loving Jesus and I promise you—Jesus will meet you in your garden of despair. He’ll be there to tenderly call your name and calm your fears and give you hope and comfort and help and guidance.
A. B. Simpson said that “Easter is the New Year’s Day of the soul.” [Inspiring Quotations. Christianity Today, Vol. 41, no. 4.] God help us to go out and live like that is true!
And if you’ve never come to Christ and asked Him to save you from your sins, as Mary once did, I invite you to turn to Him today and ask Him to be your Savior. [EXPAND WITH EVANGELISTIC APPEAL AND CLOSE]
