John 20:1-18
Joys for Our Journeys 7
Pastor Ron Koehler
Grace—Benson/Vail, AZ
August 18, 2019
The Journey from Death to Life In the name of our resurrected Lord and Savior, dear friends, You can probably think of times when you walked away from a conversation or a news story or an internet article thinking, “I just can’t relate to that.” What you heard or what you read is so far from your experience or your lifestyle or your way of thinking that there was no good way for you to process it. I recently heard on the radio about the most expensive celebrity engagement rings. Did you know that when Brad Pitt gave a ring to Angelina Jolie, it was worth $500,000? Yeah, that’s a lot, right? I don’t have that kind of money. Debbie did not get that kind of ring. I can’t relate. To make it worse, that ring is number 25 on the list! The most expensive ring was Mariah Carey’s, worth $10 million! She had previously received another from a different man that was worth $2.5 million—number ten on the list! It is impossible for us to relate to that. It doesn’t have to be money though. The thing we can’t relate to could be big city, inner city troubles or drug addiction or a home where mom and dad don’t fight. It could be living on lake or a river, because you grew up in the desert and you’re still here. There are so many things that any one of us cannot relate to. It is particularly so when we think about some specific journeys that Jesus made. We cannot fully understand the journey from heaven to earth, the journey Jesus took to become our Savior. We can’t fathom the Incarnation of Christ because he is the only one who could make that journey…the only one sinners needed to make it…and the only one who did make it. We cannot comprehend the journey to the cross, the journey Jesus took, because even if we would walk to our own torture and death, it wouldn’t be with the entire weight of humanity’s sin on our shoulders. Therefore, it would not be a journey that resulted in forgiveness for the sins of all people. We have another one today: the journey from death and the grave to life again. Mary Magdalene knew that Jesus died. She had seen it with her own eyes as she and others stood at the foot of the cross. Entering the garden where the tomb was, she saw that the heavy, heavy stone blocking the entrance to his tomb had been rolled back. Peter and John were the ones she ran to tell—the leader of the disciples and the disciple closest to Jesus. They immediately went to the tomb, the swifter John peering into the tomb and the impetuous Peter bursting into it. What they saw confirmed Mary’s concern: the body of Jesus was gone and they didn’t know where he was. The confused disciples left, while Mary remained there, crying in the garden. Obviously, the body of Jesus had taken a journey of sorts; it moved from the tomb to somewhere else. But this was not the short journey of a dead body from one tomb to another tomb, as Mary suspected.
As she wept, she bent over, looking into the tomb. She saw two angels in white clothes sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and one at the feet. They asked her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She told them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I don’t know where they have laid him.” After she said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, though she did not know it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?” Supposing he was the gardener, she replied, “Sir, if you carried him off, tell me where you laid him, and I will get him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and replied in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means, “Teacher”).
Jesus was alive! Try to imagine Mary’s excitement at seeing her living Savior. She knew he was dead and put in that tomb. Now she saw him alive, standing there in the memorial garden. Imagine the swirl of thoughts and emotions! The earthly result of Golgotha’s cross was reversed! But this was not just a journey from the closed tomb to the garden outside—a short walk after that stone barricade was removed, perhaps by the earthquake, perhaps by the angels. No, you and I know that the journey was much more than a trip from one tomb to another or from the tomb to the garden. This journey of Jesus from death to life is much more involved than our human minds can completely comprehend and much more important. Yes, the physical result of Golgotha’s cross was reversed, but the spiritual result of Jesus’ journey from death to life is what will remain forever! John admits, here in his gospel, that he and Peter did not understand then that Jesus had to rise from the dead. They believed that Jesus rose—once they saw the empty tomb—but they didn’t understand why his journey from death to life was so important. I imagine that they were happy to have their friend, their teacher, the one they trusted as the Messiah, back with them—alive. But they had not pieced together all the things Jesus had told them and paired that with his obvious resurrection from death. They should have though. Jesus told them enough details enough times. He even reminded them just days before in the Upper Room that he was going to be betrayed, suffer and die, but that they would see him again. Perhaps when they realized that he had risen, they recalled him saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’. Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy (John 16:19-20). Their grief was real at the death of their friend and Savior…and so was their joy at his return to life. Perhaps they eventually remembered these words, also from just days before: In a little while the world will see me no longer, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live (John 14:19). This was one of a number of times Jesus told them he would die and rise to life. And here—again, just days before—he told them the purpose, the “why.” He needed to journey from death to life so that they too would live! That’s what this journey is about, isn’t it? It’s really a few things. The resurrection of Jesus is about him defeating death. It is about him declaring to Satan that he was truly beaten—that even though the devil “struck his heel” with death, Jesus “crushed his head” by not letting death hold him. It is about sin being paid for with his perfect life, with that life being sacrificed on the cross, and the Father’s approval of it all, expressed by raising Christ from death.
So this journey of Jesus from death to life is no small thing. In fact, it is the most important thing! It is the culmination of his redeeming work—his Incarnation (coming into this world), his sinless life, and his journey to the cross of sacrifice. This journey is the high point! This is why we celebrate the Festival of Christ’s Resurrection, or Easter Sunday, each year! It is the reason Christians chose Sunday as the day of worship, and it is at the center of every worship service we have. It is on the hearts and minds of Christians as they go about living each day. Sinners could not make that journey from death to life, which is the whole reason he came. Sinful people would take a journey after death, but the direction would always be down…away from the holy God…into the presence of Satan…and into eternal suffering. This is part of the reason we can’t relate to this journey of Jesus. It is one sinful people cannot make—and we are sinful people. But remember what Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live (John 14:19). He did this for you and me! He did this so that the world’s sin would be forgiven and that those who could never make the journey from death to eternal life in heaven would now be able to take that trip, leading to their final destination around the throne of God. Christ did this for the whole world. He lived for the whole world. He died for the whole world. He rose to life for the whole world. And all who look to him as the Savior and trust in these things he did, will ultimately make that journey from death to life in heaven because they have had their sins removed and are holy in the sight of God by faith in Jesus. THEN the will be able to relate to this journey from death to life! This is why Christians view the death of other Christians differently. We grieve, but not like those who have no faith. Although typically muted because of the sadness that death brings, we do rejoice because Jesus made this journey from death to life and we know that our brother or sister in faith has made that journey also. We therefore even view our own death differently than non-Christians do. We have a confidence in the promises of Jesus. We ask our Lord for forgiveness when we are guilty of not considering what Jesus has done for us, for not praising him for this journey he made for us…and when we grieve over the loss of someone as if they had no hope in Jesus and we don’t either…and when we are tempted with doubts about our own life after death. We ask for forgiveness, and we have it through Jesus, the one who defeated sin and the devil… and death—all for us. The forgiveness of our sins, earned by Jesus, is applied to us and is the guarantee that we will live after death, just as Jesus rose to life after death. See, you and I do not have a hope that is only useful while we live in this world, as the Apostle Paul told us in the Second Lesson today. If that were the case, we would truly be pitiful people, filled with false hope. But this is the fact: Christ has been raised from death, the first of many, because all the children of God will follow him from death to life. May this always be our comfort and joy—here as we are constantly marching toward our earthly death, and eternally, as we live with our God and Savior in heaven. Amen. Now the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
John 20:1-18 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she left and ran to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved. “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb,” she told them, “and we don’t know where they put him!” 3
So Peter and the other disciple went out, heading for the tomb. 4 The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and got to the tomb first. 5 Bending over, he saw the linen cloths lying there, yet he did not go in. 6
Then Simon Peter, who was following him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there. 7 The cloth that had been on Jesus’ head was not lying with the linen cloths, but was folded up in a separate place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who arrived at the tomb first, also entered. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not yet understand the Scripture that he must rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes. 11
But Mary stood outside facing the tomb, weeping. As she wept, she bent over, looking into the tomb. 12 She saw two angels in white clothes sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She told them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I don’t know where they have laid him.” 14
After she said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, though she did not know it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?” Supposing he was the gardener, she replied, “Sir, if you carried him off, tell me where you laid him, and I will get him.” 15
16
Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned and replied in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means, “Teacher”). Jesus told her, “Do not continue to cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father—to my God and your God.’” 17
Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!” She also told them the things he said to her. 18