Sermon Notes for Easter 2007

 

As much as people still may want to, we will never find the bones of Jesus.

 

The corrupt religious leaders (the ones who jeered at him while he was dying) were glad that it was finally over. And just in time too. They watched the troublemaker Jesus breathe his last breath just before the Sabbath was about to begin. As they were heading back to their homes, I imagine them feeling a little more secure; the fragile partnership they had worked out with the Roman Empire was safe for one more day. I wonder if they noticed that it was one of their own council members who had worked up the courage to ask Pilate for the body of Jesus? Even if they did notice, he would probably be forgiven. After all, it was the compassionate thing to do.

 

The Roman soldiers must also have been relived that their job was done so soon and so easily. They didn’t even need to break his legs. He gave them little trouble. He died in time for them to get home for dinner.

 

Pilate had one less riot to explain to the Emperor (although his wife’s dreams were troubling).

 

The women who followed Jesus, his most faithful and unmovable disciples, were devastated and, even as they watched the stranger put Jesus in a borrowed tomb, they were making plans to give him a proper burial as soon as the Sabbath was over. They were preparing to move on. It was one way of coping with the unthinkable events they had just witnessed

 

Somehow, Peter and the other disciples each found their way back to the upper room where they had shared their last meal with Jesus. Their emotions were so tangled they were impossible to express. No one said a word. Their Lord was gone. They had deserted him in his most desperate hour. Peter had denied that he even knew him. Grief and shame paralyzed them. Fear of what the Romans would do to them left them behind locked doors, hoping that the public memory of Jesus would fade away quickly so that they could safely sneak back to their former lives.

 

Jesus was dead. It was time for everyone to move on and try to find a “new normal” as people must after someone they love has died.

 

There was just one thing… Jesus had no intention of staying dead.

 

It would have been so much simpler for everyone if he had just behaved, if he had stayed in the grave and decomposed like everyone else. The women could have done their burial duties. The corrupt religious leaders could have continued their life of dignified luxury and power. The Romans could have continued to rule with an iron fist, unchallenged by any higher authority. The disciples could have gone back to fishing, collecting taxes, and other ordinary things. They might have died of old age instead of being killed in the name of Jesus.

 

But there was no stopping it. Jesus was alive again and the impact of his appearance was so powerful that it began turning people’s lives upside down almost immediately.

 

The women came back from the tomb with their burial supplies unused, proclaiming that Jesus had risen from the dead just as he said he would.

 

The terrified and defeated disciples were changed too. They were out in public, fearlessly facing those people who could crucify them, proclaiming that Jesus was alive.

 

The corrupt religious leaders and the Romans had a big problem on their hands.

 

Now, although it doesn’t speak of this in John’s Gospel, the religious and Roman leadership had concocted a plan to make sure no hanky-panky went on with the body of Jesus. They had heard the rumors that he would rise from the dead. These sorts of stories were nothing new. Lots of legends and myths of heroes rising from death were a part of the culture back then. Most level headed leaders dismissed them for just what they were, legends and myths. But if Jesus’ disciples were to successfully steal his body, they could cause some real trouble. They decided to place a guard at the tomb and to seal it with the seal of Rome. Anyone who messed with it would have to deal with the wrath of the Empire.

 

In spite of all their precautions though, on Easter Sunday morning they were faced with a mess: Terrified guards claiming a vision of angels and soon after that a bunch of bold, annoying disciples of Jesus claiming that he indeed had risen from the dead. To make matters worse, LOTS of people were beginning to take them seriously.

 

Now you know what Pilate, the cruel Roman procurator who had crucified thousands of malcontents during his reign, would have done to stop this whole mess if he could have. It was simple really. The corrupt religious leaders would have urged him on. All he had to do was to exhume the body of Jesus and parade it around Jerusalem. One look at Jesus’ decaying corpse and his followers would have been shut up for good. All it takes is a dead body to stop rumors of resurrection.

 

But in spite of the highly trained Roman guards (who, by the way, could have easily prevented any attempt by the disciples to steal the body) and the seal of Rome, and the demands of the religious leaders, there was no body to be found.

 

Jesus was alive, and was causing more trouble than ever.

 

People are still hoping to find the bones of Jesus. A dead Jesus is so much easier to deal with than a risen Savior. A dead Jesus is just another religious teacher who came to a tragic end. He can easily be ignored. A risen Savior means that the world is changed forever. If Jesus is alive each of us has to answer the question, “What have you done with this knowledge, this truth?” If Jesus is alive, each of us has to ask what claims his teachings have on our lives.

 

Christ is risen. Death has been defeated. The wall of sin that separated human beings from God has been destroyed. Everything has changed. God has broken through every barrier to reach us with the powerful news that we are saved, we are loved, and that, because of Jesus, we will live with God and each other forever.

 

You can look as long and as hard as you want to look. You will not find the bones of Jesus. I pray and hope that this amazing news will make an eternal difference in our lives.

 

Christ is Risen! Alleluia!

 

Would you pray with me? Amen