Opening
Many know the history of the Resurrection by this point in their lives… Jesus was denied, handed over to be crucified (John 19:16), beaten, shamed, clothes divided, bearing His own cross (Jn 19:17), and ultimately, they crucified Him (Jn 19:18). Then, 3 days later, the most important event in history takes place…our Lord beats death in the Resurrection… And from there, many have grown up celebrating the biggest event in history.
When I think back on Easter growing up, I picture the girls in my family wearing their best dresses. In many cases they would get a special new Easter dress just for the occasion. Much to my chagrin as a young boy, I too was put into my Sunday best which usually involved a button up shirt, uncomfortable pants, a vest, and a clip-on tie. In fact, I can still remember my parents getting after me for getting grass stains on the knees of some of those suits. They no doubt got some sense of payback though by having me wear that full-body Peter Cottontail costume for the local parade…
Then of course were the Easter egg hunts…or as I like to refer to them now as an adult, the Hunger Games. You know how this goes… The eggs are hidden…some low for the younger kids, and some high for the older ones…and even if nobody gets a jump start, it’s every person for themselves when the green flag drops… I pity the youngster who is in the path of the older kid running full board towards an egg they spotted…
Then there are the Easter baskets…you know, the baskets full of the plastic grass that somehow keeps showing up until next Easter… The other familiar site is a hollow chocolate bunny with his head bit off… Hopefully the parents win the battle, and the kids save some tummy room for the sure-to-follow large Easter meal with family.
The biggest memory though is the Easter church service when we join with others in celebration of our Risen King… Yes, simpler times indeed… However, that was then… Many of us are not that age anymore when those memories were made, and just as our age isn’t the same anymore, nor is the world it seems…
Body
Many are fortunate in that they have known Easter holidays to be a time when Jesus isn’t hard to find. I say fortunate because I read a startling stat the other day that says 41.6% of the world’s population has never heard the Gospel… For many of the fortunate though, one thing was certain in our year, we knew that come Easter, we were celebrating the Risen Savior… Can we say the same today? … If you easily and instantly think yes, then I say thank God for that. However, I’m not so sure all can answer with such assurance…
As we look around the state of our world today, it seems less and less that Jesus is being viewed as the Savior He is. It seems less and less that the culture prefers to either not want to see Jesus at all (heaven forbid), or at least to not see Him as the Risen Savior… And as I see the attempts to take Jesus out of our world, I could not help but think of some of our passages today, and I want to focus on three of them.
13 And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” … Imagine Mary Magdalene and how distraught she must have been at this moment… Her Beloved having been brutally killed and now even his body could not be at peace, let alone could she even get any closure by visiting the tomb. She had run and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple to tell them “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” (John 20:2). … That would be a horrible thing… Imagine, going to the grave of one of your loved ones and finding it empty… Distraught is an understatement…I dare say you would be beside yourself.
Mary says here, they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they laid Him… Mary is understandably upset, as would we be if we found the tomb of whom we cherished suddenly empty. Likewise, we can get upset if we look around and notice the many examples of Christ being taken out of our world today… It is upsetting when we hear that phrases involving “In God we trust” are being taken, or trying to be taken, out of our culture. Taken off money, statues, plaques, or no longer discussed in public period for fear of offending someone. It can be upsetting when we see God viewed as offensive to others when God being viewed as offensive, is itself, offensive to us!
However, upsetting as it can be to see these changes taking place, or concerning as it may be…regardless of these attempts to remove God from our world, the reality is, that is all they are…attempts… While we may have more access to news around the world now, removing God or worship of Jesus Christ is an attempt that has gone on from the beginning, and just as Mary is upset here thinking Jesus is gone, we need to remember what she too found out… That brings me to the second verse I want to look at today…
14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus… Mary had been distraught when she thought the body of Jesus had been taken. She was upset first in thinking he was indeed dead, then that He has been removed from the tomb… But what happened? … She turned around and saw Jesus standing there… Jesus was not dead… Jesus had not been removed… And still today, regardless of the attempts, and regardless of what the media or culture may try to portray, Jesus is not in that tomb and He is not dead because Jesus Christ is our Risen King! … And isn’t that where our faith needs to come in? … Think of all that has gone on in the history of the world to this point and know, that through it all and to this day, Jesus Christ is King, and He sits at the right hand of God…
Now, verse 14 ends with and she did not know that it was Jesus… It’s easy to look at the events going on in the world, or more specifically our country, and be concerned thinking that we’re headed for doom. However, remember again, who is really in charge. Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Often our finite minds are not going to understand what is going on, or the course of events in our world or lives, but God is infinite… Think of various world leaders in history, especially ones you didn’t agree with, nor voted for and yet still the world continued on despite their policies… All things are going to work according to God’s will, and although times can be or get tough, even those are used to bring others to him. And it is He who is in charge.
Many forget that though… Many in today’s world try to take a different view of Jesus and that brings me to the third scripture and point today, verse 17, Jesus said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, ‘I ascent to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’” … We like to be in control of our circumstances… We live in a society where we’re told to rely on ourselves, to pull up our boat straps and handle it. We’re taught that if we try hard enough, we can accomplish anything. And while a certain degree of self-confidence can be beneficial, it lends to us feeling self-reliant…as if we control all our circumstances. And the more we believe that and pattern our lives after that, the more our life become self-centered, or more about ourselves than others let alone Jesus Christ. And when we do that, it’s like we’re taking the power away from Jesus and the Resurrection. It’s us trying to bring Jesus back to earth in human form because then we feel more in control and are back to living life according to our will… It’s us clinging to Jesus in his human flesh… Just like Mary here…
And how does Jesus respond? … “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father.” … “’I ascent to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’” … When we cling to Jesus in such as way as placing him in human form, as if the current state of the world is beyond God’s plan, as if Jesus need play by our rules, then we’re like Mary here preventing his ascension to the Father… We cannot take away the Resurrection…so stop trying to…
The Lord has risen… The Resurrection is Jesus Christ beating the devil and all his corruption and sin… The Resurrection is Jesus Christ beating all the sin in the world then, now, and forever… Today we celebrate not a Jesus in human form, or a Jesus that must bend to what society wants to dictate… No… Today we celebrate the Risen Savior… Happy Easter… Let’s pray.
