31/03/24
Isaiah 25:6-9
Acts 10:34-43
John 20:1-18
Risen Christ,
for whom no door is locked, no entrance barred:
open the doors of our hearts,
that we may seek the good of others
and walk the joyful road of sacrifice and peace,
to the praise of God the Father. Amen
There is an urban myth in the Church of England about a Curate who was asked to preach on his first Easter Sunday in the Parish. He got into the pulpit, announced that ‘Jesus is Risen. There is nothing more to say’ and promptly sat back down. While tempting as that may seem, I do have more to say than that.
Jesus is Risen. That is the message of today.
This morning we will look at the life changing encounters four people had with the Risen Jesus. If you have heard this story a thousand times, I urge you to approach the tomb with fresh eyes and ears this morning.
If we believe that on the cross of Good Friday Jesus took on all our sin, shame, fear, anxiety, doubt, loneliness, grief, disappointment and everything else that is wrong, and it died with him, then what does the empty tomb of Easter Sunday look like for us?
Mary
In the other Gospel accounts there are a variety of Marys and other women at the tomb that first day. Only Mary Magdalene is named in all of them. John records her as being the first one there while it was still dark. Darkness in John’s Gospel was his way of indicating confusion, misunderstanding and unbelief. The first trip she only got close enough to see that the stone had been removed.
Mary had come to know Jesus and the disciples; it appears that she travelled with them, spent time with them. Mary Magdalene was at the cross when the others had gone. Mary has seen all that has happened in the last few days; yet she doesn’t understand it and she is emotionally overwhelmed.
Mary goes back to the tomb a second time after she gets Peter and John. She is still weeping; still not understanding. So disturbed is she that the two angels do not phase her. Everyone else who encounters angels in the NT reacts with fear; even Mary and Joseph. Not Mary Magdalene.
Mary is so distressed that she does not even recognise Jesus when he appears to her and He is the one she is looking for! Until He says her name. Mary. Then it all clicks. She heard the voice of the good shepherd who laid down his life for the sheep, who knows and calls them by name.
Mary has not been abandoned. Jesus is alive. She is still looking for the body and calls Jesus ‘rabbouni’ – teacher. Jesus is more than that. He sends her away with the gift of new sight; being able to see the old with the new. Jesus then sends her back to the disciples to explain to them what has happened.
John
Then we have John, the disciple whom Jesus loved and also the disciple that wrote this account. He tells us twice that he got to the tomb before Peter. Yet John stops short too as he hesitates. John goes further than Mary. He at least looks in the tomb even though he does not enter.
John’s struggle is a deep disappointment. John was loyal, faithful and obedient to the end; he being the only male disciple left at the foot of the cross. All that loyalty, all that faithful service, was it all for nothing? Maybe John could not face one more disappointment. Maybe John got as far as he could but not one more step.
Maybe like John you keep praying, serving, doing the stuff but maybe there are not as many victories as you would like. Not willing to risk any more disappointment with life, with people.
John’s encounter with the Risen Jesus is to believe in Jesus’ resurrection, believe that a new creation had begun and believe that the world had turned a corner. The placement of the grave clothes for John was all the proof he needed. Why is this important?
If you remember the story of the raising of Lazarus, he needed someone to untie him; a bit like a mummy needing to be unbound. Lazarus came back into the world and would have died again. When Jesus came out of the tomb, his strips of linen remained on the bench where he was laid as though his body passed through.
Jesus has gone on through death into a new world, a new creation, a new beyond where death had been defeated and life in fullness could begin at last. This meant that John could leave his disappointment behind, all that he had done, all the loyalty, faithfulness was all for something, someone.
Peter
In keeping with his personality Peter runs right into the tomb. Got there second but the first one in. Peter goes further than Mary and John. Peter is spurred on by guilt and shame. Peter is hoping that it is all true because he needs one more chance, needs to be redeemed and start again.
Peter loved Jesus but when it really really mattered Peter failed Jesus in his denial. We all have had Peter moments. Guilt and shame is exhausting to carry around. While Peter’s ‘big’ encounter with the Risen Jesus happened on the beach a few days later, his restoration and redemption starts today. He needed the tomb to be empty and for Jesus to have been raised as he said he would be.
Peter comes away from the tomb and it is a new day, a fresh start for him. He could leave his guilt and shame behind. Peter takes this fresh start and founded the church, he speaks boldly and passionately that Jesus is the Lord of all, the healer and the helper. Peter was an original witness who never again denied Jesus.
Mary gets to the tomb overwhelmed by grief and emotion, looking for the dead body. She encounters Jesus and goes away knowing that she has not been abandoned and she now needs to tell the others about Him.
John comes disappointed and goes away believing in the Resurrection and who Jesus is. Everything that he had done had meant something, been worth it.
Peter comes burdened by shame and guilt and goes away with a fresh start. In the Acts reading we see what Peter went on and did with his fresh start. He told people about Jesus with power and purpose and persuasion. He did it for the rest of his life and was eventually crucified for it; upside down on a cross.
The empty tomb proved once and for all that death has been defeated – there is hope beyond the grave. There is Risen life with Jesus for us all. Whatever condition you find yourself in at the tomb this morning an encounter with Jesus can change you, heal you, restore, redeem and release you. This is what today is about.