So, Isaiah 53, we'll be starting at verse 7.
And we're speaking about, it's speaking about Jesus, of course.
He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearer is silent, so he opened not his mouth.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away, and as for his generation who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people.
And they made his grave with the wicked and with the rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence and there was no deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him.
He has put him to grief.
When his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring.
He shall prolong his days.
The will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied.
By his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out his soul to death,
and he was numbered with the transgressors.
Yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.
So now from John 19 from verse 38.
After these things, Joseph of Arimathea,
who was a disciple of Jesus,
but secretly for the fears of the Jews,
asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus,
and Pilate gave him permission.
So he came and took away his body.
Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night,
came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes,
about 75 pounds in weight.
So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices,
as is the burial custom of the Jews.
Now in the place where he was crucified,
there was a garden,
and in the garden a new tomb,
in which no one had yet been laid.
So because of the Jewish day of preparation,
since the tomb was close at hand,
they laid Jesus there.
Well, on a Sunday morning,
exactly 1,993 years ago,
the 5th of April, A.D. 33,
the body of Jesus disappeared from his tomb.
And Jesus' first disciples spent that day trying to understand what had happened,
trying to piece together what had occurred from the clues that they saw.
Now, of course, we know what happened,
because it is the foundational event of Christian faith.
We know why the early Christians came to refer to Sunday as the Lord's Day.
We know why churches have traditionally gathered on Sundays for corporate worship.
There's no way really for us to recapture the confusion and the surprise of that day.
But the eyewitness account we're going to follow in the Gospel of John,
it doesn't give us the explanation up front.
It invites us into sort of follow the footsteps of the disciples.
It takes us through that day as it unfolded for the disciples.
Now, you all know the saying that seeing is believing.
And yet Christian faith involves believing what we haven't seen.
How can we do that?
How can we believe something that we haven't seen?
Now, of course, you could answer that question,
how can we believe something we haven't seen?
You could answer that question by saying that in reality,
that's true of any event in history.
There are all kinds of things we believe, even though we haven't seen them.
Any historical event, we haven't witnessed ourselves.
That's how history works.
In history, you need other reasons for believing than seeing.
And often what you need are reports of those who did see eyewitness accounts.
Well, this morning, we're going to hear the eyewitness accounts of those who were there,
those who did get to see, of the eyewitness accounts of Peter, John and Mary,
which could almost be a folk band.
In particular, it's the account of John, the author of John's Gospel,
but he's with Peter, and twice in this account,
Mary immediately relates her own testimony to John and the other disciples.
And so John incorporates Mary's testimony within his own testimony.
And the way this narrative unfolds, as I said,
is that it invites us to follow the eyewitnesses,
to see through their eyes,
as they piece together the clues of what took place that Sunday morning.
So first, let's take in the setting,
which we had in the second of those readings that Joe just did for us
at the end of John chapter 19.
After Jesus' cry on the cross of,
it is finished, he gave up his spirit and died.
And sometime later, a soldier confirmed he was dead
by piercing his side with a spear.
And then two secret disciples,
as in they weren't following Jesus openly, but secretly,
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus,
they requested the body of Jesus.
They prepared Jesus' body for burial
by binding Jesus' body in linen cloths,
along with a significant quantity of costly spices.
And then in John chapter 19, verse 41,
we read,
Now in the place where he was crucified,
there was a garden,
and in the garden a new tomb,
in which no one had yet been laid.
So they placed Jesus there,
because it's nearby,
and the day of the Sabbath day,
which began with sundown on Friday,
the Sabbath day was approaching,
they placed Jesus there.
It's a new tomb, John tells us.
Jesus is the only one who's been laid there,
so that everything that subsequently took place
in and around that tomb must concern Jesus' body
and no one else's.
There's no possibility of confusion here.
So the next day was a Sabbath,
the day of rest,
and on the third day,
the first to arrive at this garden tomb
was Mary Magdalene.
So John tells us,
John chapter 20, verse 1,
Now on the first day of the week,
Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early,
while it was still dark,
and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.
Now before we think about what Mary saw,
let's just pause to ponder for a moment
the symbolism of the setting.
It's the first day of the week.
It's a beginning.
It's early.
There's darkness.
There's a garden.
But in the garden was a tomb.
The place of life had become a place of death.
Can you feel the meaning just in the setting here?
Can you hear the echoes of another beginning?
Of another darkness upon which light was about to break?
Of another garden?
Mary came to this place,
and what did she see?
She saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.
The stone which sealed the tomb had been removed.
The tomb had been broken open.
Now I wonder, have you ever come home
to find one of the doors of your house,
which you left closed,
standing wide open?
If you have experienced that,
it's quite an unsettling sight.
You come home,
you close the door,
there it is,
it's open.
If you have experienced that,
you probably immediately thought
something similar to what Mary thought at this moment.
Verse 2,
So she ran and went to Simon Peter
and the other disciple,
this is the one whom Jesus loved,
that's John,
and said to them,
they have taken the Lord out of the tomb,
and we do not know where they've laid him.
She immediately jumps to the conclusion
that Jesus' body has been taken away,
someone's stolen it,
based on the clues she had seen.
Now, it seems that Mary didn't enter the tomb
before running to alert Peter and John.
I wonder what you would have done
if you were in Mary's shoes.
Would you have entered the tomb?
If you,
particularly perhaps if you're a woman
and you come home
and you find that the door to your house
which you left closed is open,
are you going in?
What about if it's not a house
but it's actually a dark tomb
where you need to stoop down
in order to get into it?
Are you going in?
You probably do what Mary did.
But based on the clues she had seen,
she formed what seemed to be
the obvious conclusion
and she took what seemed to be
the prudent course of action.
She ran to fetch others.
Notice in passing Mary's words
to the disciples,
in verse 2,
they've taken the Lord out of the tomb
and we do not know
where they've laid him.
There's a little hint
that there were other women
present with Mary at the tomb.
Perhaps they ran with Mary
to Peter and John also.
Perhaps they're still at the tomb.
John, this account doesn't tell us.
But I just draw attention
to it in passing
because it's one of those points
at which an apparent discrepancy
between the four Gospels,
the other three Gospels
have multiple women at the tomb.
John, at first appearance,
seems to have just Mary.
An apparent discrepancy
is not a discrepancy at all.
It's just different ways
of telling the same story.
The same event being reported.
For whatever reason,
the other Gospels focus
on a group of women.
John chooses to focus
on one woman,
Mary Magdalene.
We'll return to Mary shortly,
but for now the narrative passes
from what Mary saw
to what Peter and John saw.
Verse 3.
So Peter went out
with the other disciple
and they were going
toward the tomb.
Both of them were running together,
but the other disciple,
that's John,
who's writing this account,
the other disciple,
outran Peter
and reached the tomb first.
Now given Mary's
startling announcement,
it isn't that surprising
that they ran to the tomb.
That's not a surprise
to find them running.
Now I like running.
I like running enough.
I'm slowing down
as I get older,
but I like running enough
that I still kind of
keep track of times
and try to beat
my previous times
and so on.
And so I can appreciate
verses 3 to 4.
It must have been nice
for John while honestly
and accurately reporting
what took place that day
just to drop into the account
that he ran faster
than his friend.
I mean, I'm not bragging,
I'm just telling what happened.
John reached the tomb first.
What did John see
and Peter after him?
And stooping down to look in,
he saw the linen cloths
lying there,
but he did not go in.
Then Simon Peter came,
following him,
and went into the tomb.
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.
Notice the careful attention
to detail here.
John doesn't tell us
why he didn't barge
right into the tomb.
You know, maybe it was fear,
maybe he was being respectful,
he doesn't tell us
why he didn't go in,
but I think I'd probably
be with John here.
You know, a bit of caution
doesn't go astray.
But there's no holding Peter back,
which is kind of in keeping
with what we know
of Peter's temperament
from other events
in the Gospels.
Peter arrived
and he just goes straight in.
From outside the tomb,
peering in,
bending down and peering in,
John could see
the linen cloths
lying there.
These are the cloths
that Jesus' body
had been wrapped in.
What's implied
is that the cloths
are there,
but the body isn't.
If the body of Jesus
had been there,
the linen cloths
would have been
wrapped around the body,
not just lying there.
I think it's also implied
that the spices
are still there,
although they're not
directly visible,
but the spices
which had been bound up
between layers of cloth
as Joseph and Nicodemus
had prepared Jesus' body.
So that's what John sees
inside the tomb
when Peter enters.
He can see another detail.
The face cloth
folded up
in a place by itself.
Well, emboldened
by Peter's example,
John enters the tomb
and he's able to take in
this additional detail
and he tells us
his state of mind
at the time.
Remember,
it's written in the third person,
but this is John's
personal testimony
in this account.
Verse 8,
then the other disciple,
John,
who had reached
the tomb first,
let's just drop that in again,
he also went in
and he saw
and believed.
He saw
and believed.
What did he see?
Now he saw
the whole scene
just as Peter
had,
nobody,
the linen cloths,
the face cloth
folded up
in a separate place
by itself.
He took in
these things,
he saw
these clues
and he believed.
John is,
he's drawing
connection,
now in his account,
John is
intentionally drawing
a connection
between seeing
and believing.
He saw
and he believed,
he believed
because he saw.
But what did he believe?
It seems to me
that what we're
supposed to understand
by this
is that
John
at this moment
believed
that Jesus
had risen
from the dead.
Now why do I say that?
Well,
have a look at verse 9.
Verse 8,
he saw
and believed
for as yet
they did not
understand
the scripture
that he must
rise from
the dead.
Now notice
the start of verse 9,
it says,
he saw
and believed
for as yet
they did not
understand,
he's explaining,
verse 9,
the for is explaining
something about
the verse 8.
What's it explaining?
It doesn't
explain
why he believed
because verse 9
is about something
they didn't understand.
It doesn't even
explain
really
what
he believed.
I think
what it does
explain
is
why
John
had to
see
before
he believed.
That's what it
explains,
why he had to
see before
he believed.
Why?
He saw
and believed
for as yet
they did not
understand
the scripture.
Now John
doesn't tell us
whether Peter
also believed
at this point,
maybe he did,
maybe he didn't.
But John
isn't bragging
about,
he's not boasting
about believing
here,
if anything
he's saying,
I should have
believed earlier,
I should have
already known
this,
that Jesus
would rise
from the dead,
I should have
known this
would happen
because the
scripture said
so.
Of course,
not only
did scriptures
like Isaiah
53,
which Joe
read for us
in Psalm
16,
prophesy,
predict this
event,
that the
Messiah,
the Christ
would rise,
but Jesus
himself had
told his
disciples
multiple times
that he
would rise
after three
days.
Perhaps
Jesus'
words are
there in
the back
of John's
mind
somewhere.
But why
is it that
seeing these
things in
particular,
seeing the
linen cloth,
seeing the
folded up
face cloth,
why is it
that seeing
these things
would prompt
John to
believe that
Jesus was
alive?
You might
say it's a
hasty conclusion,
it goes beyond
the evidence.
But it's,
I think it is,
if you think
about it,
if you reflect
on it,
it is,
what John
saw did
make other
conclusions
less likely.
intrinsically
less likely.
So let's
consider some
other
conclusions.
Conclusion
one,
someone took
the body,
someone stole
Jesus'
body.
Well,
if someone
broke into
the tomb
and took
Jesus'
body,
it's very
unlikely that
they would
have removed
the cloths
first.
They'd just
grab the
body with
the cloths,
the only
body in
the tomb.
on the
other hand,
if it were
grave robbers,
I mean,
it's not like
Jesus wasn't
buried with a
chest of
treasure or
anything,
but if it was
grave robbers,
what would
they have
done?
They would
have left
the body
and taken
the linen
cloths,
because they
were the
only thing
of value.
So either
the body
and cloths
are gone
together,
or the
cloths are
gone and
the body's
left,
but who
would take
just the
body?
And whoever
they were,
you know,
if they're
coming in,
they're breaking
into the
tomb and
taking something
or someone,
or if they're
up to no
good,
they would
have just
snatched what
they wanted
and left.
They wouldn't
have gone
to the
effort of
neatly
folding up
the face
cloth.
No,
John seems
to reach the
conclusion here
that the
burial cloths
are left
in the
tomb
because
Jesus
had no
need of
them
anymore.
For that
simple
reason.
Of course,
at this
stage,
John's
belief may
have only
been
hesitant,
uncertain,
incomplete.
There are
more things
John will
see in
time.
But John,
as he tells
his account,
he wants
us to
know that
his belief
was based
on what
he saw.
He saw
and believed.
His belief
was not
based on
what he
expected,
he didn't
yet understand
the scriptures,
it was
based on
what he
saw.
Well,
having seen
and believed,
verse 10,
then the
disciples went
back to
their homes.
And now
we return
to the
one with
whom this
day began,
Mary Magdalene,
and what
Mary saw
next.
Mary had
not seen
what Peter
and John
saw.
I mean,
perhaps,
I think it's
likely she
was still
on her
way back
to the
tomb when
they reached
the tomb.
But verse
11 leads
with Mary's
emotional state,
but Mary
stood weeping
outside the
tomb,
and as she
wept,
she stooped
to look
into the
tomb.
Notice
that Mary's
weeping is
mentioned twice
in this
verse.
She's
weeping
because
Jesus,
her Lord,
her friend,
had been
cruelly put
to death.
She's
weeping
because,
as best
she could
judge,
his tomb
had been
broken open
and his
body
taken.
She's
weeping,
she's
grieving
over death
and loss,
and she
stooped
to look
into the
tomb,
as John
had done
when he
first arrived
at the
tomb,
and we
expect her
to see
what John
saw.
But instead,
she sees
something else.
Verse 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.
Now,
presumably,
the linen
cloths are
still there,
although perhaps
Peter and
John took
them,
I don't
know.
but the
surprise for
Mary is,
I mean,
again,
Jesus'
body isn't
there,
but she
sees these
two angels
dressed in
white.
They are
there,
but Jesus
is not.
They're
sitting where
Jesus'
body had
lain.
Now,
the thing
about angels,
the whole
thing about
angels,
their whole
shtick,
really,
is that
angels are
messengers,
They deliver
messages.
In fact,
the word
angel can,
in other
contexts,
just be
translated as
messenger.
In the
other gospels,
Matthew,
Mark and
Luke,
these angels
deliver a
message to
the women
at the
tomb.
But here
in John,
they simply
ask Mary
a question.
Verse 13,
they said
to her,
Woman,
why are
you weeping?
We've been
told twice in
verse 11 that
Mary was
weeping,
and now
the angels
ask her,
why are
you weeping?
And the
question,
I think it
strikes us
as a bit
odd,
doesn't it?
I mean,
maybe even
a bit
callous.
If you
went to
a funeral
and you
turned to
someone who
was crying
next to you
and said,
Woman,
why are
you weeping?
I think
they'd
probably
throw you
out.
I mean,
Mary's
weeping
really
shouldn't
require an
explanation.
Weeping's
what one
does at
a tomb.
Jesus
wept at
the tomb
of Lazarus,
Mary weeps
at the tomb
of Jesus.
So,
what are
these angels
saying by
their question?
Woman,
why are
you weeping?
Verse 13
again,
she said
to them,
they have
taken away
my Lord
and I
do not
know where
they have
laid him.
Now,
it may
in part
be an
answer to
the angel's
question.
This is
one of the
reasons she's
crying because
she doesn't
know where
Jesus'
body is.
She's
distressed.
But it
also shows
she's still
in the
same
frame of
mind as
when she
first went
to Peter
and John
back in
verse 2.
She thinks
someone's
taken,
people have
taken Jesus'
body away.
But in
verse 2,
she said
to Peter
and John,
the Lord
and we
do not
know.
Now,
she says
to the
angels,
my Lord
and I
do not
know.
In her
grief,
her world
has shrunk
just to
her Lord
and her
confusion.
the
angels
don't
answer.
In
fact,
that's
all we
hear of
the
angels
in
John's
Gospel.
Still in
despair and
confusion,
Mary turns
away from
the tomb
and she
sees
something
else.
Verse 14,
having said
this,
she turned
around and
saw
Jesus
standing,
but
she did
not know
that it
was
Jesus.
Jesus
said to
her,
woman,
why are
you
weeping?
Whom
are you
seeking?
She
sees
Jesus,
she doesn't
realise
it's
Jesus.
This
new
man
asks
her
the
same
question
as
the
angels
and
then
a
second
question.
But now
these
questions
take on
new
meaning,
don't
they?
Jesus'
questions
to
Mary
are not
to
belittle
or mock
her grief.
Rather,
Jesus'
questions
are to
answer
Mary's
grief.
Why
are you
weeping?
There's
no need
for tears.
whom
are you
seeking?
I'm
standing
right
here.
It was
right for
Jesus to
weep at
the tomb
of
Lazarus
when
Lazarus
was still
in the
tomb.
But why
should
Mary
weep at
the tomb
of Jesus
when the
tomb
was empty?
But
Mary's
not there
yet.
She
hasn't
caught
up.
Verse
15,
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.
I mean,
supposing him
to be the
gardener,
we're reminded
again of
the garden
and perhaps
of another
garden.
Remember
that at
creation,
the first
man was
placed in
Eden to
be a
gardener,
and so
now at
the dawn
of a
new
creation,
the
last
man
appears
as a
gardener
at
first.
Verse
16,
Jesus
said to
her,
Mary,
and she
turned and
said to
him in
Aramaic,
Rabboni,
which means
teacher.
Jesus
speaks her
name.
And we're
told again
that Mary
turned,
perhaps she
hadn't looked
directly at
Jesus
previously,
but now
she faces
him directly
full on.
She hears
his voice,
she recognises
his call,
she turns
to him and
she says
Rabboni,
and this
is one of
those few
times in
the Gospels,
which the
Gospels were
written in
Greek,
but one of
those few
times in
the Gospels
where we're
given the
exact Aramaic
word which
was spoken
at that
moment.
It draws
us in as
readers even
closer to
this precise
moment.
As we
hear the
word she
said.
We can
picture at
this moment
Mary falling
to her
knees,
clinging
onto Jesus'
feet as
joy,
relief and
amazement and
awe wash
over her.
But Jesus'
resurrection
was not merely
a return to
life as it
had been
before,
nor was it
for Mary
alone.
So verse
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.
Now there's
an awful lot
we could unpack
here in these
words of Jesus
in verse 17,
more than we
have time
for today.
Briefly to
touch on a
few things,
Jesus says
he would
soon ascend
to the
Father as
he'd already
promised,
but Jesus'
ascension to
the Father is
more than a
return,
it's also an
elevation.
Jesus would
ascend to
his position
of authority
with the
Father in
glory.
He would
not,
Jesus says,
at this
time remain
bodily with
his disciples.
Instead he
would,
as he'd
previously
taught,
he would
send forth
another
counsellor.
For the
next stage
of God's
plan that
was about
to unfold,
Jesus'
presence with
his disciples
would be
in the
person of
the
Spirit.
He says,
I've not
yet ascended
to the
Father.
This is
the first
time that
Jesus,
in John's
Gospel,
we see it
also in Luke,
this is the
first time in
John's
Gospel,
that Jesus
calls his
followers,
my
brothers,
my
brothers.
A new
family had
been established
by Jesus'
death and
resurrection.
A new
family in
which we,
as Jesus,
call on
God as
Father,
and yet
Jesus'
relationship
with the
Father is
distinct
from ours.
Jesus
says,
he's my
Father and
your
Father,
he's my
God and
your
God.
There's a
sense in
which
the
Father
is
Jesus'
God,
the
sense in
which
the
Father
is
Jesus'
Father
is
distinct
from the
sense in
which he's
our
Father.
The
sense in
which
God
the
Father
is
Jesus'
God
is
distinct
from the
sense in
which he
is
our
God.
There's
some
deep
Trinitarian
reflection
we could
do on
this
verse,
but
we'll
move
on.
I
want
to
close
with
two
thoughts.
First,
Mary's
announcement,
weeping,
verse 18,
Mary Magdalene
went and
announced to
the
disciples,
I have
seen the
Lord,
and that
he had
said these
things to
her.
I've seen
the Lord.
I mean,
again,
we've got that
key verb
that's been
throughout this
account,
seen,
I have
seen the
Lord.
just as
John saw
and believed,
Mary had
now seen
and she
believed.
The next
verses,
the rest
of the
chapter,
would relate
how the
other
disciples also
came to
see Jesus
and believe,
including
John and
Peter.
why all
this
emphasis
on what
Mary and
the
disciples
saw?
Well,
the Bible
records this,
it's for
us,
it's for
our sake.
Jesus
would soon
say to
his
disciples,
because you
have seen
me,
you have
believed,
blessed are
those who
have not
seen and
yet have
believed.
Jesus is
talking about
us.
We haven't
seen Jesus,
but God
wants everyone
to know
that Jesus
rose from
the dead,
even those,
the thousands,
the millions,
the billions
that would
follow,
to know that
Jesus rose from
the dead,
even though we
have not
seen.
God wants
everyone to
know that
Jesus is
alive and
that he is
Lord.
And because
God wants
us all to
know this
too,
the disciples
wrote this
down so
that we
could in
a sense
see what
they see,
what they
saw.
They wrote
down what
they saw,
the stone
rolled away
from the
tomb,
the linen
cloths lying
in the
tomb,
the wrapping
for Jesus'
head folded
in a separate
place,
two angels
at the
tomb,
and finally
Jesus himself,
they wrote
down what
they saw,
so that even
though we
haven't seen
Jesus,
we too
could believe
that he
is alive.
That that
Jesus bodily
rose from
the dead
on the
third day
after his
crucifixion
is absolutely
foundational
to faith.
Christian
faith is
resurrection
faith.
Paul,
that enemy
of the
church
turned
apostle,
he is
another who
believed
because he
saw.
He wrote
that Jesus'
resurrection
is of
first importance.
If Christ
has not
been raised,
Paul wrote,
our faith
is futile.
The
resurrection
of Jesus
means first
that he
is Lord.
He has
conquered sin,
he's conquered
death,
he's conquered
the devil,
he's victorious
over all of
God's enemies,
he's exalted,
he's appointed
by God the
Father as
Lord of all,
as ruler
and judge
of all.
And so
in Romans
10 verse
9 Paul
says,
if you
confess with
your mouth
that Jesus
is Lord
and believe
in your
heart that
God raised
him from
the dead,
you will
be saved.
That is
the,
that's what
we confess,
that's what
we believe,
those two
belong together,
confessing
that Jesus
is Lord,
believing that
God raised
him from
the dead,
that is
Christian
faith.
If the
body of
Jesus
remained in
the tomb,
if he's
still buried
there,
he might
be an
inspiring
example,
he might
be a
noble
martyr,
but if
the tomb
is empty,
he is
Lord,
the living
Lord.
We can
say with
Mary,
Jesus is
Lord,
indeed each
of us must
say with
Mary,
not only that
Jesus is
the Lord,
but that
Jesus is
my Lord.
The one
who conquered
death has
all authority,
there's nothing
beyond his
rule and
power,
and now it
just remains
for the world
to hear this.
Mary Magdalene's
initial
announcement
must be
carried to
all nations.
Think of
the most
dark and
dismal
situations
in our
world today.
there is
none,
no matter
how grim,
that could
not be
transformed
by the
news that
Jesus rose
from the
dead.
With
our church
small group
last week,
we had
a social
where
Catherine
Gibbons
took us
through some
slides of
her recent
holiday in
West
Papua,
where she
visited a
number of
small villages
during a
cruise around
parts of
West Papua.
Catherine
showed us a
bunch of
churches and
so on,
and told us
how openly
the people of
West Papua were
speaking about
this,
that once a
year,
people will
come together
for a service
of celebration
and thanksgiving,
thanking God
for the
Christian
missionaries
who first
came to
tell Papuans
that Jesus
is the risen
Lord of
all.
And they
relate how
before they
knew Jesus
their lives
were brutal
and full of
violence and
death,
tribe warring
against tribe,
but the
gospel has
brought peace
and life
and love
and transformed
their society.
Max
Stiles tells
in his book
The Marks of
the Messenger
of how the
day after
September 11,
the terrorist
attack on the
World Trade
Centre,
the day
after September
11,
he banged
a for sale
sign in the
front yard
of his
house and
prepared to
move with
his family
to Dubai
because he
was convinced
that the
church's
response to
the horrific
events of
September 11
must be
missionary,
not military.
I'm not
making a
political comment
here,
I'm speaking
to the
church.
The
Middle East
needs
Christian
mission
now more
than ever.
The main
problem in
the Middle
East is not
oil or
nuclear weapons
or oppressive
government,
the problem
is that too
few people
know that
Jesus rose
from the
dead and
that he
is Lord
of all.
The
resurrection
of Jesus
means that
he is
Lord and
if the
resurrection
of Jesus
means that
he is
Lord,
it also
means that
he is
the life
giver.
He's the
life giver.
He's overcome
death and
there's life
with him and
so we have
hope.
Jesus'
resurrection is
the pattern
for the
resurrection of
all of God's
people.
Paul says
in 1
Corinthians
15,
Christ has
been raised
from the
dead,
the first
fruits of
those who
have fallen
asleep.
As in
Adam all
die,
so in
Christ all
shall be
made alive,
but each
in his own
order,
Christ the
first fruits
and then at
his coming
those who
belong to
Christ.
That's our
hope,
that we
will be
raised as
he was
raised,
that death
is not
the end.
You see
this hope
at the
funerals
of believers,
a real
hope.
Peter,
the Apostle
Peter called
it a living
hope.
A hope
that has
a foundation,
a hope
that is
based in
a real
event that
took place
in history.
Those who
die in
Christ will
rise again
because he
rose.
I've read
some tragic
stories over
the past
week of
young people
who have
chosen for
themselves
voluntary
assisted
dying,
euthanasia.
Young people,
people in their
twenties,
because of
the depression
they're experiencing
or the pain
or the
suffering that
they no
longer want
to bear.
The law
and the
medical system
should have
prevented this.
Instead,
the law
and doctors
facilitated it.
need to
hope.
These poor
people had
no hope
and those
around them
failed to
give them
hope.
That's where
nihilism and
atheism lead,
to a culture
of death,
to a world
without hope.
death.
But Jesus
said to
Mary,
woman,
why are you
weeping?
Jesus
showed Mary
the answer
to tears
is not
death,
but life.
Jesus
might ask
you,
why are you
weeping?
Of course,
we do
weep,
and we
should
weep,
for there
are many
terrible
things in
our world.
But our
tears are
temporary.
Tears do
not have
the last
word.
And there
is no
suffering,
no pain,
no grief
that cannot
be transformed
by the
resurrection
of Jesus
Christ.
Jesus
endured
betrayal
and deception
and abandonment.
Jesus
endured
scourging
and spitting
and mocking.
Jesus
endured
the nails
and the
cross.
Jesus
endured
the judgment
and wrath
of God,
the full
penalty
of divine
punishment
due to the
sins of
the world.
Jesus
endured
death
and the
grave.
He
endured
for the
joy that
lay before
him.
He
endured
knowing
that,
as we
read in
Isaiah 53,
when his
soul makes
an offering
for guilt,
he shall
see his
offspring,
he shall
prolong
his days.
Out of
the anguish
of his
soul,
he shall
see and
be satisfied.
Exactly
1,993
years ago
today,
death was
defeated
and hope
was born.
Christ
rose
that we
might rise.
Christ
rose
that tears
might give
way to
laughter.
Christ
rose
that despair
might give
way to
gladness.
Christ
rose
that grief
might give
way to
joy.
This
is our
day.
This is
the Lord's
day,
the day
of Jesus
Christ,
Lord and
life giver
who rose
from the
dead.
all glory
and honour
and power
be to
our
risen
Lord.
Amen.