Easter Sunday - John 20:1-18

RECOGNIZING THE RISEN CHRIST

 

I was impacted a few years ago by the “Me Too” movement that emerged out of Hollywood. Movements like this tend to overflow the banks of logic and sense when fed by emotionalism and a flawed sense of justice. So, to be clear, I do not count myself a radical left-winger. But the Harvey Weinstein affair opened my eyes to the way women have been treated in Hollywood and throughout history. And it grieves me as a man to realize the various abuses women have endured at the hands of men. 

            Isn’t it striking then to consider that the first witnesses of the empty tomb and the risen Christ were women? It certainly gives a tone of authenticity and credibility to the historical reality of the event. 

            Yet when the women reported to the men that Jesus had risen, they didn’t believe it. Certainly, the main reason they didn’t believe it was because people don’t rise from the dead. In their grief, people get confused, imagine things, speak in error. Sometimes they lie. The most likely reason they didn’t believe the women was gender bias. In the first century, women were not considered good witnesses.

            The Jewish historian, Josephus, wrote about common legal practice saying, “But let not a single witness be credited, but three, or two at the least…But let not the testimony of women be admitted, on account of the levity and boldness of their sex…”

            The Romans were no better. A huge critic of Christianity named Celsus wrote, “Christianity can’t be true, because the written accounts of the resurrection are based on the testimony of women – and we all know women are hysterical…deluded by sorcery.” 

            A woman was the first person to see the risen Christ. I would venture to say that Jesus chose Mary Magdalene to have that honor and it says something remarkable about how the Lord views women. Let’s consider her story…

Mary Discovers the Empty Tomb (1-2)

 

It was the custom in Palestine to visit the tomb of a loved one for three days after the body had been laid to rest. It was believed that for three days the spirit of the dead person lingered near his body, but then departed when the body decayed and became unrecognizable. 

            On the first day of the week (Sunday), Mary Magdalene stepped out into the chill morning air and began to walk towards Golgotha and the garden tomb. She came with spices to anoint the dead body. Jesus’ body was entombed in haste because of Passover. Since sundown on Friday, Mary had wanted to be there, just to be near the one she loved but had so violently been taken from her. But the Sabbath kept her from visiting the tomb. Other women had the same idea.

            Luke tells us that Mary was among several women who followed Jesus as disciples. Having men and women as followers was scandalous to the Jews, but Jesus gave women dignity by engaging them. Jesus had cast out seven demons from Mary Magdalene (the number “7” indicated fullness suggesting that Mary was overwhelmingly possessed). Being freed from spiritual bondage, Mary became a financial supporter of Jesus’ ministry (Luke 8:1-3). She is also the only woman mentioned in all four gospel accounts of the cross.

            When she arrived at the tomb, she was horrified. What did she see and understand? The seal was broken, the great stone was rolled away from the tomb entrance, and the soldiers were missing. In her mind this evidence suggested two possibilities: 1) the Jewish leaders had taken Jesus’ body to further inflict indignities on him; 2) raiders had assumed that being buried in a rich man’s tomb, a ransom could be had. 

            The body is missing at any rate. Mary turns on her heels and runs. She rushes past the other women entering the garden. Frightened and confused she races to find Peter and John and breathlessly cries, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him,” (2). 

Peter and John Run to the Tomb (3-10)

 

Each witness of the empty tomb seems to see and understand something different. Now it is Peter and John’s turn to run. John was about 19 and Peter was in his late 30s, so John outruns Peter and gets to the tomb first. John stopped at the entrance and allowed Peter to go in first.

            What did Peter see? “He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself,” (6b-7). It was a bewildering scene. Mary was right. The body of Jesus was gone. Peter couldn’t seem to process what he was seeing. Luke records that Peter went home “wondering to himself what had happened,” (Luke 24:12).

            What did John see? We read a very short and profound response, “he saw and believed,” (8). John saw the same thing that Peter did but understood the scene very differently. To John, the cloths that had been wrapped around Jesus’ body and filled with spices now formed an empty cast. The head cloth was neatly folded. This was no tomb robbery. John believed that Jesus “moved” through the burial cloths and walked out of the tomb. 

            Three witnesses – three responses. Mary: fear. Peter: confusion. John: belief. Yet they all saw the same thing.

            The part that love plays in the narrative is amazing. It was Mary, who loved Jesus so much, who was first at the tomb. It was John, the disciple whom Jesus loved and who loved Jesus, who was first to believe in the resurrection. Love compels a person to comprehend and believe. Love gave him eyes to see and a mind to understand. And Mary’s love compels her to linger further at the tomb to find an answer.       

            Love is the great interpreter. Love can grasp the truth when intellect is left groping. Once a young artist brought a picture of Jesus to a master painter to hear his verdict. The master was slow to speak, but then said this: “You don’t love him, or you would paint him better.” 

Why Are You Weeping? (11-15)

 

From the perspective of heaven, nothing is more incongruous than tears at the empty tomb of Jesus. If there is one place in space and one moment in time when tears are least appropriate, it is at the empty tomb of Jesus on Easter morning! (Bruce Milne, 291).

            Two angels ask Mary, “Woman, why are you weeping?” One writer suggested that even the angels were puzzled at her tears. What is Mary not seeing? We talked about what she did see and how she interpreted it. But looking at the same evidence, there’s an empty tomb and two ANGELS!! They must have looked at each other and thought, “She sees us, right?” 

            Mary is still looking into the tomb and she hears a voice, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She responds as she did to the angels about someone taking the body of her Lord away and wanting him back. You and I know that this time it is Jesus speaking to her, but she is unaware. 

            Why didn’t Mary recognize Jesus? 1) She could not recognize Jesus because of her tears. Her sorrow over the loss of someone so dear to her was an emotional hurricane, all confusion and pain. Her loss, her disappointment, her grief kept her from seeing Jesus. 

            2) She could not recognize Jesus because she was looking at the tomb. She was facing the wrong direction. She was so focused on her loss and the grave that Mary could not see beyond. 

            When we focus on dead things, it’s difficult to see Jesus. Hanging on to our losses keeps us in the valley of death. We may also find ourselves gripping tightly onto a doctrine or an ideology or a cause that we think honors the Lord but actually blinds us to the life he wants us to have. 

            In any event, Mary’s tears were unnecessary. She needed to turn around and look up.

 

Encountering the Risen Christ (16-18)

 

The man Mary presumes to be the gardener speaks one word that completely changes her life: “Mary.” And she responds with, “Rabboni,” (my own dear teacher). 

            CH Dodd said, “There is something indefinably first-hand about it…there is nothing quite like it in the gospels. Is there anything quite like it in all of ancient literature?” It is a simple and beautiful exchange of love. 

            Michael Card said it was hard for him to imagine Jesus’ tone of voice other than touched with quiet laughter. One word, “Mary.” The sound of her name from her resurrected Lord began Mary’s own resurrection story. Her faith and hope are reborn in the face of the living Christ. 

            Mary must have grabbed onto him. Matthew tells us that the disciples grabbed his feet in worship. How could she resist embracing him? 

            But then Jesus says something to her that sounds awkward in our English translations: “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,” (17). It sounds like, “Don’t touch me,” a really harsh rebuke. But then a few verses later, Jesus tells Thomas to touch him, to examine his hands and feet. What are we to think of this odd response to Mary’s joy?

            1) It has been argued that the only real contact with Jesus came after his ascension. This perspective spiritualizes our relationship with Jesus negating any human touch. 

            2) In contrast, it has also been suggested that the Greek is a mistranslation of the Aramaic. Jesus spoke Aramaic, but this gospel is written in Greek. What Jesus actually said was something like, “We cannot linger here. In a short time, I will go back to my Father and I want to meet with my disciples as often as possible before I leave. Go tell them the good news.” 

            3) A third possibility is that there was a lot of fear that needed dispelling. Mark’s gospel account tells us the disciples were afraid and didn’t know what to do with this resurrection business. They may have been afraid of losing Jesus again. Jesus may have meant, “Don’t be afraid; I haven’t gone to my Father yet; I am still here with you.” 

            Of the three, I prefer the second option since Mary did go and tell the disciples, “I have seen the Lord.” And in that message is the very essence of Christian faith, for a Christian is one who says, “I have seen the Lord.” Christianity is not knowing about Jesus; it means knowing him and meeting with him. It is the certainty of experience that Jesus is alive.

 

What are some takeaways from Mary’s story?

            First, the role of women in the Passion narrative is critical to the spreading of the gospel. In his book, “Women: God’s Secret Weapon, Ed Silvoso writes, “One of the main reasons Christianity spread so rapidly in the early years is because its message restored honor and inner worth to half of the world’s population; that is, women.” It is also extremely telling that the resurrected Jesus did not go knock on Pilate’s door and say, “I’m back!” He went to a dear lady he loved and who loved her teacher and gently brought her back from despair.

            Second, we all have access to the biblical accounts of Jesus’ resurrection. But what do we see? For some it is a story often told and many times rehearsed. It has become, shall we say, too familiar? I bowed out of a breakfast meeting last week to write this sermon and a colleague joked, “It’s a 2000-year-old holiday. Sort of writes itself at this point, no?” He made sure to say he was joking, but the truth is, how do I keep the story fresh for all of us? What do you see in the empty tomb? Do you see the resurrected and living Christ? How would your love be reflected if you could paint him?

            Finally, we focus on the Easter weekend as a highlight in the Christian year. And it is. I love this weekend celebration. I wonder if Jesus is saying to us today, “Don’t cling to this weekend quite so tightly. But go and tell the people that need to know that I’m alive.” Go and tell them, “I have seen the Lord.” In other words, celebrating Easter, getting together with family, and eating ham (just to stick it to the Jews, apparently), fails to grasp the commission that is Easter. Resurrection Sunday is a hope that the world needs to know about. Sins are forgiven. Death is defeated. Christ is alive. Go and tell them. 

            God give us power and joy to tell the world: He is Risen!

 

“Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls,” (1 Peter 1:8-9). 

 

 

                                                            AMEN