Christ is Risen! (He has risen indeed!) I wish the world knew what you know, what you have just confessed. Last month my confirmation students and I were studying the Holy Christian Church. Some of you recently heard a paper written on the topic. To help my students get a better understanding of The Church, I took them on a tour of several different houses of worship in our area. We visited two Christian churches that were interesting in their own way, but it was the tours of the non-Christian houses of worship that really caught the attention of our group. The one that caused the most conversation was the Jewish Synagogue. The building itself was nothing special, it was nice but not nearly as elaborate as the Hindu Mandir nor was it as large as the Muslim mosque. What stood out about the Synagogue was our host, Hannah.
Hannah reminded me of the 80s sitcom character Punky Brewster (though she was far too young to know who that was). Hannah is one of those beautiful souls you can’t help but like. She is kind and quirky and she had just the right amount of sass to make her funny but enough humility to let you know she didn’t take herself too seriously. She was knowledgeable about her religion and explained it in a simple straightforward way. She listened attentively to our questions and respected our differences. It didn’t take long for Hannah to endear herself to our group. Which is why it was so sad to hear Hannah explain her views on the afterlife.
Hannah wasn’t sure if she believed in heaven as a place. She spoke of her נֶפֶשׁ (soul) being with God but only for as long as her friends and family remembered her. Hannah explained her place in the after life depended on the memory of others. This thought was reinforced by the beautifully ornate boards that lined the walls of the Synagogue. On the boards were the names of members of their community who had died. Hannah explained, on the anniversary of the person’s birthday a light would light up by their name so that they would be remembered by the community and live on in eternity.
As I listened to Hannah share her views of the afterlife, I glanced at my youngest son who was with me and shuddered. My youngest can’t seem to remember to hang a wet towel up even though he is reminded on a daily basis to do so. I thought about my middle son who can’t remember where his shoes belong even though he walks past a 6-foot-tall shoe rack every time he comes in the house. I thought about my oldest son who can’t remember where my tools go after he borrows them even though he always finds my tools in the exact same place when I put them away. As I listened to Hannah talk, I shuddered at the thought that my place in the afterlife would depend on the memories of my children.
It is funny for me to imagine that my place in the afterlife would depend on the memories of my children, but only because I know it doesn’t. My place in the afterlife, you place in the afterlife, everyone’s place in the afterlife depends on two words, “He Lives.” But can you imagine how sad it would be if, like Hannah, you didn’t know about the empty Tomb and Risen Savior?
Mary Magdalene and Mary (the mother of James and Joses) didn’t have to imagine that sadness. They felt it quite strongly. Matthew tells us “1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.” They thought they knew what they would find when they arrived. Three days earlier they had stood at the foot of the cross and watched in horror as Jesus gave up His last breath. In shock they had followed Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus to the tomb where the dead body of Jesus was laid. For some time after the tomb was sealed by a bolder the women just sat there and wept. Which is why, three days later, “after the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week” they carried spices used to anoint the dead to the tomb.
As you imagine these women on their way to the tomb, you who have yourselves stood beside the tomb of a loved one, can imagine their sadness. But Jesus was more than a loved one to them, at least the woman had hoped that he was. They thought Jesus was the promised Messiah and as such they believed him when He told them “whoever believes in me will live even though he dies”[1], they believed Him when He said “I am the way and the truth and the life”[2], they believed Him when He said “because I live, you will live”[3]. These women believed these promise Jesus had made to them; they believed their place in the afterlife depended on Jesus. But now that He was dead and buried, they didn’t know what to believe.
It is sad to see these women on the way to the tomb to mourn the death of their Messiah. What is sadder still is when we act as though He is dead. You know how this Easter story ends. You know what the women discover when they arrive at the tomb. And yet how often do you act like Jesus is still dead and buried in that tomb? You may not invent a new path to paradise like my friend Hannah, but when you are anything less than 100% confident about your place in the afterlife, when you say things like I hope I go to heaven, or I am pretty sure I have punched my ticket to paradise you are acting like Jesus is still dead. When you worry about the debt of sin you have accumulated and do good deeds in an attempt to appease a God you imagine is angry with you, you act like Jesus is still dead. If the thought of standing before the judgement throne of heaven and having God ask why He should let you into His heaven makes you anxious, you are acting like Jesus is still dead. I understand why the women were sad, they had not yet arrived at the tomb to hear the angel’s message. You, however, under the guidance of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, have visited the tomb countless time. You know what glorious news the angel is about to share with these women. So, what’s your excuse? Why are you not 100% confident about your place in the afterlife? Have you forgotten what the women discovered when they arrived at the tomb? Allow me to refresh your memory.
The women were still on their way to the tomb when Matthew tells us the ground beneath their feet violently shook. This was the second time in three day the earth had shook. The first time was when the crucified Christ gave up His spirit. That quake tore the temple curtain that separated the people from the presence of God, and it broke open the tombs of the dead. The cause of this second quake and its effect were discovered when the women arrived at the tomb where Jesus had been buried.
When the women arrived, the Roman soldiers, Pilate had stationed outside the tomb to ensure the dead body of Jesus stayed put, those soldiers had fainted, the large stone, that had sealed the entrance to the tomb, had been tossed aside, and an angel of the Lord radiating with the glory of heaven “5 said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.” If I were the angel perched on the stone that once sealed the empty tomb where the dead body of Jesus had been laid, I would have said the words “just as he said” with an exasperated tone. As a preacher myself, I imagine the angel getting excited when told he was the one who was going to preach the first Easter sermon. The angel could have rightly assumed his Easter sermon was going to be preached to hundreds if not thousands of people. After all, Jesus had repeatedly told His disciples “on the third day he (I) will rise again.”[4] I can’t help but think when the angel looked around and only saw a handful of women standing outside the empty tomb he wondered, “where is everyone?”. I mean the cemetery should have been packed with people ready to celebrate what Jesus had repeatedly told them was going to happen.
Thankfully the angel was not discouraged by the low turnout and preached his Easter sermon anyway. He told the women, “He is not here; he has risen”. The angel’s sermon was drastically shorter than the one I am currently preaching but the impact of that first Easter sermon has had a dramatically greater effect. First on the woman who had come to mourn the death of their Messiah. Matthew tells us “8 the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.” Feet that once shuffled with sadness now leapt for joy as they ran to tell others what they had seen, and what the angel had said. These women were filled with joy because their loved one was alive. But, as I said before, Jesus was more than a loved one to these women, He was and is their Messiah. Which is why the angel’s Easter sermon also affects us.
A person who said the sort of things Jesus said: “whoever believes in me will live even though he dies”[5], “I am the way and the truth and the life”[6], “because I live, you will live”[7]. A person who says these sorts of things about the afterlife but doesn’t do anything to back them up… That person might mean well but their words are nothing more than wistful wishes. But a person who said the sort of things Jesus said about the afterlife and then backed His words up with a rising from the dead… That person not only means well but their words are proven promises. When the person who promises “you will live even though you die” proves that He has power over death, power to restore life, you can guarantee that promise will be kept. When the person who calls Himself “the way, the truth, and the life” shows He knows how to come back from death to life, you can guarantee that person knows what He is talking about. When a person who rises from the dead tells you your place in the afterlife depends on His resurrection from the dead, you can be 100% confident that you will live because He lives. Doesn’t that make you want to run and tell the Hannah’s of the world, “He Lives!”?
As the women race off to tell the disciples He lives, who do they run into along the way? None other than the living Lord Jesus Himself. “9… Greetings” He said. “10… Do not be afraid.” He tells them. “10… Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.” Go and tell “MY BROTHERS”. This was the first time Jesus referred to His disciples as “brothers”. Up until this point they had been His students, His followers, His disciples. But now that the debt of sin had been paid in full with His death on the cross, and death had been defeated by His resurrection from the dead, a new relationship existed between Jesus and His followers. They had become His brothers and His sisters. Which means they had become children of the Heavenly Father.
My dear fellow followers of the living Lord Jesus, it is not just some vague afterlife that awaits us. Because of your brother Jesus you have become sons and daughters of the heavenly Father, you have become princes and princesses in the heavenly kingdom. Your נֶפֶשׁ (soul) will not merely be with God for as long as others remember you. Because of your brother Jesus, you will reign in heaven with God long after your time here on this earth has been forgotten, in fact you will reign in heaven with God for all eternity.
I am sure if you are quirky and kind, sassy and humble you will live on in the memory of your friends and loved ones for a long time. However, I think you would agree it is comforting to know with 100% certainty that your place in the afterlife depends on the fact that He lives. Christ is Risen! (He has risen indeed!) Amen.
[1] John 11:25
[2] John 14:6
[3] John 14:19
[4] Luke 18:33
[5] John 11:25
[6] John 14:6
[7] John 14:19