He
Is Not Here
Easter
Sunday
Rev. Steven D. Spencer, Pastor
John 20:1-18
1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still
dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed
from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple,
the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb,
and we don't know where they have put him!" 3 So Peter and the other
disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple
outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the
strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter, who was
behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying
there, 7 as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth
was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple,
who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They
still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)
10 Then the disciples went back to their homes, 11 but Mary stood outside the
tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two
angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the
other at the foot. 13 They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?"
"They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where
they have put him." 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing
there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. 15 "Woman," he said,
"why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?" Thinking he was
the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where
you have put him, and I will get him." 16 Jesus said to her,
"Mary." She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic,
"Rabboni!" (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said, "Do not hold on
to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and
tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your
God.'" 18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have
seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her.
I.
Mary Magdalene
Look
quietly, dear friends. There she is, weeping by the tomb. It's early in the
morning, still dark. She's come with the other women as soon as they could
without violating the Sabbath, lugging the spices through the morning gloom in
order to prepare Jesus' body for a proper burial. These are devoted women, and
there's little doubt that Mary Magdalene has a deep and godly love for her Lord.
She has risked much to come to the tomb, even death. You see the Romans posted
guards to make sure no one would take the body. The Romans might have even
dismembered the body just to make sure no one could take it. And the Chief
Priest and the high council would likewise desire to dismember the body as a
sign of further humiliation even as a curse to Jesus in death and eternity. But
Mary was prepared and none of that really matters now.
As
she approaches the tomb she notices that the massive stone has been removed;
her Lord's grave has been disturbed, robbed, violated; His body is gone. Who
would have did such a vile thing as this? Swiftly
she runs to Peter and John with the conclusion: "They have taken away
the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him."
Peter and John race to the tomb, and Peter bolts inside: It's empty, except for
the burial cloths for the body and head. Those are neatly folded and set aside;
whoever has removed the body has gone to a lot of extra trouble to unwrap the
body and leave the linens there; but why? Who would do such a thing? The
pressure, the anxiety, the torment lay heavily upon John and Peter. With nothing
left to do, John and Peter go back home.
Mary
Magdalene doesn't go anywhere-where is she to go after Jesus death?--
She remains loyally, lonely by the tomb to mourn. When she finally peers into
tomb once again, she finds two strangers facing her; she doesn't realize they're
angels. And they ask her, "Woman, why are you weeping?"
She repeats those words, the words of a desperate, bereaved woman who is
searching for closure. Jesus had given so much, and she only wanted to return
what she could. Mary says; "Because they have taken away my Lord, and
I do not know where they have laid Him." Truly, this is a woman who
dearly loves Jesus, and she won't be easily consoled at His passing.
Turning
from the angels, she is confronted by a man-the gardener, she supposes. At least
He might have some answers. "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you
seeking?" He asks. "Sir," she replies, "if You have carried
Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away."
Mary is devoted to her Lord, and she won't rest until His body has been properly
cared for.
So,
there is Mary weeping by the tomb,
this woman with great love for Jesus. She's witnessed His power, for it was He
that delivered her from seven demons (Luke. 8:2). Even after His crucifixion, when
many others ran away and hid, she didn't. She remained faithful and devoted to
the end. And now she's seeking to care for her Savior even after He's been put
to death. It's easy to admire her compassion and devotion, and so we quietly
leave her there to her grief and meditations as an example we all can follow.
You
know, if we do, we're going to have a dreadful Easter. If we leave now, all we
have is Mary weeping by the tomb. Maybe she's a good example of devotion, love
and mourning; but we have no hope, because we have no resurrection from the
dead.
Does
it matter? Of course it matters. We appreciate Mary's devotion that morning at
the tomb; but if this is how the story ends, Mary is left pitiful and hopeless.
She's seeking a Savior who couldn't even save Himself. She's putting her trust
in a dead man, and dead men have no help to give. No matter how faithful and
devoted she is, her faith and devotion will amount to nothing.
If
we stop now, the message of Easter isn't a pretty one: "No matter how
devoted and committed you are, in the end you have no hope, no cause to
rejoice."
So
let's not leave Mary Magdalene just quite yet, let's do a Paul Harvey "and
now the rest of the story."
"Sir,"
she says to the Gardener, "if You have carried Him away, tell me where You
have laid Him, and I will take Him away."
Ah, but the Gardener isn't the gardener. He does, however, know the answer to
her question: Jesus says to Mary: "Mary! and she turns to Him and
says, "Rabboni" which means teacher." He's not dead. He's
risen from the dead.
He's
risen! This won't be a day for Mary to weep and think about what might have
been. This won't be a day for her to reflect that life, no matter how great,
ends in death. No! This is a day to cry out that death is swallowed up in
victory, and that Jesus truly is the Savior of the world. He suffered God's
punishment for the sins of the world on the cross, but His Father has not left
Him in the grave. Christ is alive-He is risen from the dead! And that means that
He has conquered sin, death and the devil.
Not
only is Christ alive, but also present with Mary Magdalene. He's out of the
tomb, but He doesn't shake the dust off His sandals, head off heaven and say,
"That's it I'm done with these thankless sinners." He appears to Mary,
and He does so in the flesh-He is not trapped in some ghostly afterlife, but
risen from the dead in soul and body. He appears to her with joyous news: He's
alive, and He is alive to forgive. He doesn't call the disciples spineless
cowards who ran away; He calls them brothers whom He wants to see and speak to.
He declares that they are not lost-His Father is their Father. Now that He's
risen from the dead, the Lord wants to be with His people in the flesh, and to
speak His Word of grace to them-to guarantee that they are heirs of eternal
life.
The
risen Lord declares to Mary that He's going to ascend into heaven; and there, He
will sit at the right hand of God, the Father almighty, from thence He shall
come to judge the quick and the dead. This is far from what Mary expected when
she arrived in darkness that morning, the tomb isn't the end of the story. The
story is just getting started.
So,
it's a good thing that we didn't leave Mary back when she was weeping at the
tomb; for now, rather than respect her devotion, we can rejoice with her.
Jesus
is risen from the dead, which means that He has conquered death.
Jesus
is present with Mary, which means that He has conquered death for her.
He
is about to ascend into heaven, which means He will rule with all things under
His feet-for the good of Mary and all His people.
No
more weeping for Mary: The Lord has wiped every tear from her eye.
So,
now we'll leave Mary; because Mary hasn't been left.
II.
Easter Day
And
either have you been left. For this is what celebrating Easter is all about. For
we celebrate nothing less than the triumph over death itself. We rejoice that
Christ has accomplished what all science, medicine and human effort cannot - He
has conquered the grave, He is risen. He has won the victory so that we can
truly live forever in the gracious presence of God. This is what we celebrate on
Easter Sunday.
This
is why St. Paul declares in I Corinthians 15:17, "If Christ is not
risen, your faith is in vain."
We
believe, because the Word of God proclaims it: Christ is risen from the dead. The only-begotten Son of God became flesh and died
for the sins of the world, suffering God's judgment for our sin. Three days
later, He rose again from the dead. Just, as He did for Mary Magdalene, He's
risen, He's present; and, as He promised.
Rejoice,
for Christ is risen from the dead, and lives and reigns forevermore. This is the Good News for us sinners, this is the
Good News for all: The price has been paid for your sin-the Sacrifice has been
made for you. You can be sure that God approves of what Christ has done on the
cross, because He has raised His Son from the dead. Therefore, you are forgiven.
This is Good News for those that face death, and so it's Good News for all:
Christ has been raised from the dead, and He's the firstfruits of those who have
fallen asleep. Though you will face death, you shall be raised from the dead
because Christ has defeated the grave. This is Good News for those who grieve:
Although we mourn those who have died in the Lord, the Lord declares that we
shall be comforted. The grave is not the end of the story. The Resurrection is
the beginning of eternity. All this is true for Christ is risen.
Because
Christ is risen, Christ is present. He appeared, body-blood-and-all to Mary
Magdalene at the tomb, speaking to her words of grace and forgiveness. He hasn't
abandoned His people -- for He is ever present with them, body-blood-and-all in
His means of grace. In your Baptism, He's washed away your sin and joined you to
His death; and because He shares His death with you, you don't have to die for
your sins, for He shares His resurrection with you. In His Word, He speaks His
faith-giving promises to you, assuring you that you are forgiven for all of your
sins-and that you have eternal life. In His Holy Supper, He gives to you His
body and blood for the forgiveness of sins, that He might raise you-body, blood
and all- on the Last Day. Christ is risen, just as He said, and Christ is
present to give you the newness of life.
All
this is true because Christ is Risen from the dead. Today we celebrate nothing
less than His triumph over sin-death- and the devil. A triumph He shares with
us, for we too shall be raised. Such blessings are found in no one else than our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Christ
is risen. Alleluia------He is risen, indeed. Alleluia. He is risen for You.
Alleluia . HE IS RISEN, He Risen Indeed, AMEN!
The
peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds, in
Christ Jesus. - Amen