For many of us, when I say the word "Easter" or "Resurrection Sunday" or even "Third Day" it brings things to mind. If you are a Christian you may think of the empty tomb, or of the angels and Jesus’ visit to the disciples. If you are not a Christian you might think of the Easter Bunny or "maybe I should pay my annual visit to church" or "man, there they go again talking about all that Jesus nonsense-can’t we be done with that already?"
This morning I want you to strip away all the baggage that comes with Easter, all the pre-conceptions and memories-and I want you to pretend it is just happening. We see Resurrection Sunday from our side, but what about those who didn’t really know or understand its significance yet?
There are some vital states of mind and some even more vital transformations that take place in four key players or groups of players in the resurrection account that can help us as we discover, or re-discover the most important event in human history.
John and Peter: Incredulity turns to curiosity and then belief but without understanding
Luke 24:11 but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.
The Disciples basically thought the women were out of their minds - that’s what the Greek "idle tale" denotes. These guys had been through so much: bravado at following Jesus even unto death had turned to cowardice in the garden and denial in the courtyard of the high priest to incredible grief at the crucifixion followed by intense fear that they would be next.
You can hardly blame their reaction to some of their women coming and saying that they had actually seen an empty tomb and an angel who reminded that Jesus told them He would not stay dead but would rise up again.
Perhaps the Disciples thought that grief had finally snapped something in Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James and the other women. Perhaps a collective hallucination or something.
But something in what they said must have sparked something deep inside of them - a curiosity or a memory of something Jesus had indeed said (after all, He had told the Disciples He was to be killed and three days later rise at least three times!)
So John and Peter decide they better check this out for themselves, and off they go - running in fact.
John 20:3-10 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes.
So a witness brings information about Jesus that they had not counted on. Their own eyes then confirm it - but what had really happened? It says they "believed" but believed what? An empty tomb? Grave robbers? It didn’t match up, though, since the grave cloths were situated in a way no grave robber would have left them.
The problem was that they did not yet understand that God had spoken beforehand of Jesus’ death, burial, AND resurrection. It wasn’t until later, when Jesus actually appeared before them personally and then "opened their minds to understand the Scriptures" that their unbelief turned to belief (Luke 4:45).
Mary: grief turns to great joy (continuing on in John 20)
John 20:11-18 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him."
Mary Magdalene had given her all to Jesus - trusted Him completely. When He died so did she. She loved Jesus so much that even in death she couldn’t leave Him but came to the tomb, not understanding at all what had happened. Her grief clouded everything. All she knows is she wants to cling to the Jesus she had. At that point she did not know all that Jesus had really done for her. So then, something happens:
14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." 16 Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ’I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’" 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"-and that he had said these things to her.
Mary has the first personal encounter with the risen Lord Jesus. He tells her not to cling to the old Jesus-but that a brand new life has come. Jesus introduces her to a new relationship "to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God." No longer separated by sin, because of what Jesus did, Mary (and anyone) can be directly related to God Himself. So Mary turns from grief to incredible joy and now a witness of the risen Christ.
Thomas: fear turns to skepticism turns to humility
Not everyone received the resurrection with Mary’s joy. Thomas missed the first encounter Jesus had with the Disciples. Why was he not there? He could have been filled with resignation, perhaps even depression. I think of Thomas that way partially because one of the only records we have of him saying anything other than in John 20 is in John 11. Jesus wants to go to Lazarus. It’s a dangerous time and his disciples warn against it. Thomas makes this statement: "Let us also go that we may die with him." It’s sarcasm, I think. It’s a kind of fatalistic view of life. It speaks from the heart of someone who is jaded and sees everything painted with a black background. The next time we hear from him is in chapter 20 when he says "we don’t know where you are going, how can we know the way?"
So when presented with the evidence of the resurrection, Thomas replies that unless he sees the nail prints and puts his finger in Jesus’ side where the spear went in "I will never believe." Thomas was a skeptic-a "prove it to me" kind of guy-someone who sees only what he believes and believes only what he sees. So read what happened to Thomas next:
John 20:26-30 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." 27 Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe." 28 Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" 29 Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."
Thomas turns from skeptic to the first one to declare Jesus as Yahweh and God. From then on in John, Thomas is found among the central core as they fellowship with Jesus.
What changed? I think that for Thomas, seeing incontrovertible evidence finally broke through that hard shell of "disbelief." Thomas was trying hard to keep it up, putting up a wall of doubt and skepticism and demanding proof. But I think that inside Thomas probably always wanted to believe. The trouble is that if you look at the world from a dark place it is really hard to grab on to anything that is good, especially good towards you. Thomas finally let go of that and declared his eternal allegiance to this One who raised for him.
Not everyone was so elated with the news that Jesus had risen:
Religious leaders: arrogance and anger turns to frustration and sin
Mathew 28:11-15 While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. 12 And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers 13 and said, "Tell people, ’His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ 14 And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble." 15 So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.
The chief priests of Israel had allowed the natural enticements of the flesh to so permeate their souls that when God’s promised Savior arrived on the scene, exactly when the prophet Daniel predicted He would, instead of embracing Him they saw Him as a competitor. That’s because God wasn’t really first in their hearts, they were. They were their own god and they didn’t want to let loose of their own kingdom.
For a long while they were frustrated with Jesus. They couldn’t discredit him, they couldn’t trip him up, and they couldn’t make Him go away. So, inspired I’m sure by Satan, they plotted a way to kill Him. Now, of course, this was God’s ultimate plan all along and He used these evil men and even Lucifer to bring it about.
When their plot finally succeeded they acted like playground bullies-chiding and ranting against Jesus at the cross-their arrogance finally showing in its full glory.
So much to their surprise some of the soldiers guarding Jesus’ tomb come with a troubling report: that Jesus was no longer there. They had placed a huge stone against the tomb, put a Roman seal on it, and guards to keep everyone away. Only divine intervention could have changed that situation and allowed access to the grave.
Their response to a risen Christ was to do more of what already ruled them: they created a lie and used worldly wealth to bring about their ends. They certainly did not acknowledge that God might have been in this from the beginning. And for most of them it really did bring about the end they wanted: independence from Jesus and from God-an eternity spent without the only source of good in the universe. In the end, being your own god is a very lonely place.
What do you feel as you rediscover the resurrection?
It’s easy to surrender to your own fear-and reject the eye witness accounts presented. But like Peter and John, let your curiosity urge you to investigate the claims, then understand what it means to you from God’s Word. Jesus is real, so believe!
It’s easy to surrender to your own grief-grief over your condition, grief over loss, grief over sin. But like Mary, let a personal encounter with Jesus and His promise of new life turn your mourning into dancing. Jesus has risen and grief is no more.
It’s easy to surrender to cynicism, to let the blackness of your life shade all the light and hope and joy out like Thomas. It’s easy to doubt. But actually, disbelief is harder to maintain than you might think. You have to actively keep God’s love out. And faith in Jesus may be closer than you think. It may seem like you are miles away, that there could never be enough proof to satisfy you. But in reality it is an inner longing for something good that you are afraid to admit is there. Jesus is Lord and God, will He be your Lord and God?
Finally, it’s easy to let the flesh force faith to flee. If you give in to the stubbornness of the self-will like the chief priests, you will find yourself using any excuse possible to avoid confronting the truth. In the end it is your decision: fight Him or give in to Him.
Let it wash over you, take you through that range of emotions. Let it humble you, astonish you, confound you, and finally fill you with joy unspeakable and full of glory!
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