Where do you find ultimate meaning
in life? Do you even think such a thing
exists? That is the subject of today’s
message. The Christian faith promotes a
relationship with Jesus as the way to ultimate meaning in life. The Disciples thought they had found ultimate
meaning, but then they suffered the great disappointment of Jesus' arrest,
crucifixion, and death. Suddenly, their
faith was called into question. On that
first Easter morning, they were still in shock, trying to figure out what was
going on.
Slides – Luke 24:1-12
1But very early on Sunday
morning the women went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared.
2 They found that the stone had been rolled
away from the entrance. 3 So they went
in, but they didn’t find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 As
they stood there puzzled, two men suddenly appeared to them, clothed in
dazzling robes.
5 The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? 6 He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Remember what he told you back in Galilee, 7 that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again on the third day.”
8 Then they remembered that he had said this. 9 So they rushed back from the tomb to tell his eleven disciples—and everyone else—what had happened. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and several other women who told the apostles what had happened. 11 But the story sounded like nonsense to the men, so they didn’t believe it. 12 However, Peter jumped up and ran to the tomb to look. Stooping, he peered in and saw the empty linen wrappings; then he went home again, wondering what had happened.
The Empty Tomb
At Easter, we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the grave. But in this Easter reading, Jesus does not yet
appear. The women went to put spices on
the dead body of Jesus; but when they arrive at the tomb, Jesus is not there. Peter rushes to the tomb to see the body, but
Jesus is not there—dead or otherwise.
Usually when I think of Easter, I
think of the radiant, resurrected Christ smiling and saying, “I told you
so! I told you I would come back to
life!” But here in this passage, we have
only an empty grave and a pile linen. It is the absence of Jesus in the passage that
strikes me. For those of us who know the
way the story ends—we want to jump right to the point of acknowledging that
Jesus is alive. But let’s not get ahead
of ourselves.
As I
pondered this passage, it occurred to me that these twelve verses illustrate three
common attitudes people have toward spirituality. First we have the women—Mary Magdalene,
Joanna, and Mary the mother of James.
They didn’t come seeking the risen Jesus. Such a thing never occurred to them as a
possibility. They were looking only for
the dead body of Jesus. It was customary
in that day to put fragrant spices on the body of the dead as a way of honoring
those who had passed—much the way we place flowers on the graves of our deceased
loved ones today. We don’t go to our
deceased grandma’s grave with flowers expecting to see her risen to life. We go to remember the dead. And so it was for the women in this
passage. They sought only to remember a
dead Christ, not to see one risen in power and glory.
Dead
It strikes me how much that
attitude prevails in church people these days.
These women came to the tomb in grief and sorrow. They were looking for a dead man’s body. They are like people who go through the
motions at church, but aren’t truly seeking the living Christ. They say and
do the right things, but they only come to pay tribute to a dead man. Their lives do not display the power and
glory of the risen Christ and they do not reach their full spiritual potential. It doesn’t matter how many flowers or spices
they use to make it look or smell good, it’s still just dead and lifeless. No wonder people turn away from a church that
worships God like that.
Alive
But then, the women in our story saw
something amazing that dramatically altered their state of mind. They saw two men in dazzling clothes that appeared
and told them the good news—Jesus is not dead!
He has risen from the dead, just as he said he would! This sight seized their attention and they
forgot all about their religious duty to put spices on a dead body. Suddenly, they were filled with excitement and
hope and they rushed off to share this astonishing story with the Disciples.
I have known quite a few church-goers who for years just went through the motions. They really didn’t come to church expecting anything exceptional. They were—in a sense—just seeking a dead man’s body. But then something shook them from their spiritual slumber and they forgot about their dead religion and started seeking the risen Christ. And suddenly, they began to worship and live with a new passion. They even begin to tell others about their wonderful new experience of life.
Disbelief
Next in the story are the
Disciples. If we examine them, we
also see an attitude that is common in our day and age. They took the women’s story to be
nonsense. The Greek word Luke uses to describe
the women’s story is the same that Greek physicians used to describe the
babbling of a fevered and insane mind.[i] And that is how the disciples took the
women’s story—it seemed like nonsense to them. You can
almost hear them saying to the women, “Why, just this morning you were going
out the door, carrying all your spices to put on his dead body. Now you claim he’s alive?!? You must be sick with grief. You're not making any sense.”
This is much the same as cynics in
our time who say there is no real meaning to life (or that such meaning is
unknowable). They shrug off the stories
of those who claim to have had deeply spiritual experiences. Yes, and many people in our age look at the
church and scoff. They think these
stories Christians tell about changed lives and divine power is a bunch of
non-sense. “Why, I’ve seen the way you
worship at church,” they say. “It’s
boring and lifeless and dull. If you ask
me, you’re just worshiping a dead man.” They dismiss the church; they dismiss
Christ; they refuse to believe.
Hope
But then
there is Peter. He hears the women’s
story and he rushes out the door to investigate for himself. And when he arrives, he sees that indeed the
stone is rolled away and the tomb is empty.
All that’s left are the empty linen wrappings.
It’s ironic how things turn
out. According to Luke, Peter is the
only one who runs to check out the women’s story. Peter was not a particularly “spiritual”
person in the sense we might think. He
was not a monk or priest or holy man of any sort. He was a fisherman, a sailor, a common worldly
man. (Today, we use the expression, "He cusses like a sailor" for a reason.) By Peter's own estimation the first time
Peter met Jesus in Luke 5:8, Peter exclaimed, “I am too much of a sinner to be
around you.” And yet it is Peter who goes to look in the tomb when all the
other Disciples dismiss the story. And
it says when Peter saw the tomb was empty, he went away wondering what
happened.
Peter reminds me of people in our
age who are sincerely looking for meaning in life. They may or may not consider themselves to be
particularly “spiritual” people, but something prompts them to take a deep look
at themselves and they recognize, “Huh… Something really important is missing. I wonder where it is.” And they start to honestly search. They might look in quite a few places. They might look for ultimate meaning in their
career. They might look for it in
another person—a spouse or a friend.
They might look for it in a cause or in a family or in some other
place. But everywhere they look, they
find only an empty tomb. Where is that
Most Important Thing that they crave?
Which Are You?
The Christian faith teaches that
life’s ultimate meaning is found through a relationship with Jesus Christ. But some people miss out on the fulfillment
that comes from a relationship with Jesus because they are like the women. They are really only looking for a dead
man. Others are like the Disciples; they
think the story of Jesus’ resurrection is a bunch of non-sense. And still others are like Peter—they hear the
good news, investigate for themselves, and discovered that the tomb is indeed
empty. Who do you resemble?
Are you looking for a dead man instead of a
risen Savior? Is your religious devotion
helping you experiencing the life changing power of God or are you just trying
to put sweet smelling spices and flowers on something dead?
Or maybe you are like the
Disciples; you think all this talk about a risen Savior is just a bunch of
non-sense. You think, “There is no Higher
Power and people don’t change.” Maybe
you’ve dismissed Christ and the church.
If so, I hope you will listen. I
hope you will take an honest look for yourself.
Maybe then you will see that there are a lot of empty, meaningless tombs
in your life. Maybe then you will say to
yourself, “Huh… Something important is
missing in my life. But maybe it’s out
there somewhere. Maybe what those
Christians say is really true.
Maybe Jesus is alive. And maybe
Jesus is what I really need.”
Dear God,
Thank You for glorious hope of
Easter—Christ is risen, just as he said.
Help us to see the empty tomb.
Jesus is not there. Help us to
see the lifeless parts of ourselves where Jesus cannot be found. By Your grace, help us to surrender these to
You, to let them go so that we can experience the divine, life changing power
of the risen Christ living in us. In
Jesus name I pray. Amen.
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