Barry Unwin, Upton, Welland, 16 April 2017
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.’ 3 Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went towards the tomb. 4 The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, 7 and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples returned to their homes.
11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; 12 and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. 13 They said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.’ 14 When she had said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?’ 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.’ 16 Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, ‘Do not hold on to me, because 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.”’ 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’; and she told them that he had said these things to her. (J0hn 20:1-18)
Well let me kick off with an idea – that we all experience reality in one of two kinds of ways.
The first way is what I’ll call “marmite” reality. We all know marmite, its one of those things that you either like or not. I may like it, you may not. It might work for you, but it doesn’t work for me. There’s lots of life we encounter and experience like that.
The second way is what I’ll call “minibus crash” reality. If you’re walking along the road and a minibus crashes into you there’s not really any matter of opinion involved – its just going to hurt, no one asks you if you’re “sincere” about it or whether the accident was true for you, they just want to know if they need to call an ambulance.
So Minibus or marmite. Two types of reality, two types of truth, and as people we tend to automatically sift the things we hear people say into one of those two types of truths – marmite or minibus. And we tend to put religious beliefs into the marmite category. True for you, but not for me.
But our reading from John’s gospel, is telling us that the very basis for the Christian religion sits not in the marmite category, but in the minibus category. Its something that is true for all, or false for all.It’s not a matter of opinion, it’s historical testimony,what people saw, and therefore like the minibus, it has huge personal implications for us.
Let me show you what I mean.Our reading began,
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and SAW that the stone had been removed from the tomb.“
Mary SAW that the stone had been moved from Jesus’ tomb. This isn’t a matter of opinion, it’s a scientific observation – from which she makes the hypothesis, v2, grave-robbers.
She goes running to the disciples saying,
They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”
Now imagine how you would feel if three days after your best friend was crucified for crimes he didn’t commit someone tells you his grave has been vandalised and the body stolen.
No wonder Peter and John run to the graveside. You can perhaps picture them bursting into the garden a mixture of anger and exhaustion. John the writer of this account, is first to arrive, and v5,
He bent down to LOOK IN and SAW“
What did he see? He saw,
[Again, we’re in observation mode here]the linen wrappings“
Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He SAW the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself...”
Again, that’s all SEEING stuff isn’t it? Seeing the evidence. Seeing the phyiscal reality. Describing it. Writing in down.
When Charles Darwin visited the Galapagos islands he saw things and wrote them down just like John does here. This is MINIBUS not marmite truth. The presence of a piece of cloth isn’t a matter of opinion. It’s a matter of reality.
If you’d been stood there with those two disciples you too would have seen the bits of cloth. You wouldn’t have turned to John and gone,
John, those bits of cloth and that empty tomb are true for you but not true for me“
or if you had, you’d have looked a bit of a berk.
So why are the strips of linen and the burial cloth important? Well they give us a big clue about where the body is. Let’s the think about three possible options.
i) Grave Robbers
Now our idea of a grave-robber today is a bit constrained by stories of Burke and Hare and medical dissection.That’s not something that went on in 1st century Jerusalem. In those days people robbed graves to steal valuables and the only thing of value anyone placed in Jesus’ tomb was the linen burial robe Jesus’ body was wrapped in. Which was still there.So its not grave-robbers.
You might have heard the story of the visiting preacher who forgot his teeth.
“Don’t worry,” says the organist, “try these” And hands him a set of teeth.
The preacher pops them in his mouth and spits them out, “Too loose”
So the organist gives him another set.
“Too tight”
So they try a third, and they fit just perfect.
After the service the preacher goes to thank the organist
I’m most impressed, are you a dentist?
“No, I’m a grave robber.”
So let’s try an alternate hypothesis, let’s find some people to whom the body might have had some value.
ii) Maybe the Romans or Jewish authorities stole the body.
Well that’s certainly possible – they had the manpower to do it. But the thing is, A few days after these events, When the Christians are running around Jerusalem saying Jesus is alive, the Jewish or Roman authorities could have stopped them in an instant by producing the body. And they didn’t.
iii) So maybe the Christians stole the body
Maybe they wanted to use the empty tomb to create a cause they knew to be false. But how plausible is this?
Think back to our passage – do you remember what it said about Peter James and John the very people who would have had to organise the scam? It said,
they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead.” (v9)
They’ve no reason to invent a risen Jesus cult. But supposing they did – is it plausible? Just think what happened next. Their “lie” transformed them from demoralised cowards into a motivated, enthusiastic family that embraced poverty, powerlessness, beatings, verbal and physical abuse, all manner of persecution and martyrdom. And all for something they knew wasn’t true. Does that make sense?
Who remembers Watergate conspirators Charles Colson? Here’s his take on it,
I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me. How? Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Every one was beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren’t true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world-and they couldn’t keep a lie for three weeks. You’re telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years? Absolutely impossible.”
Which leaves us with one other hypothesis. That Jesus rose from the grave.
And that’s the only hypothesis that makes sense of what happens next: the eye-witness reports of Jesus appearing to multiple disciples at one time to over 500 of them, and then the explosive and supernatural growth of the church all around Europe.
It’s either all built on an implausible, easily disproved lie, that no one had any motive to tell Or else, the hypothesis that makes the best sense of all of those minibus factsis that Jesus rose from the grave.
That’s what’s sometimes so hard about minibus-style truth – you can propose all sort of hypotheses about what’s going on – but there comes a point when they fall by the wayside and you’re left staring at a rather uncomfortable reality which demands you do something about it .
If it’s a minibus rushing towards you, you leap out of the way, but iF its Jesus rising from the dead, you leap onboard because it’s the greatest day in history.
And that’s what John does here. v8, John “saw and believed.” John saw something in that cave that made him believe that Jesus’ body hadn’t been stolen,but that he’d risen from the dead. What was it? What’s this “minibus”-style fact we aren’t seeing properly?
Well it seems to be there in v7, the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head is lying there
“rolled up in a place by itself“
Strangely, what seems to convince John is the neat folding of the grave clothes,like your mum would do. Grave-robbers don’t do that sort of thing. In fact, someone has even suggested that the great miracle here isn’t just that Jesus rose from the dead, it’s that Jesus, a single man, knows how to fold his own clothes.
John saw the neatly folded clothes and the penny dropped and he realised that Jesus’ death was not the end. He saw and believed. And soon after he got to meet the risen Jesus for himself.
So what does the minibus reality of the resurrection mean for us?
Well the most important thing is that it proves Jesus words are true. Particularly his claims to be the divine Son of God,and Saviour of the world.Who else could have risen from the grave?
Second it shows us that we don’t need to fear death, Because Jesus has defeated it.That’s what he did on the cross, He leaped into the jaws of death shouting
Do you worst to me”
And three days later he rises saying,
Is that the best you could do?”
That’s why St Paul can write,
our Saviour Christ Jesus…abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” (2Tim.1:10)
Third – it challenges us to examine ourselves. You see, the Bible clearly links the resurrection To the last judgement of the world. Acts 17 tells us
God has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:31)
Are we ready to face that judgement? What would God say to you if you died tonight? How ready are you to meet your maker?
Maybe before you can answer that question, you need to spend more time chewing on the evidence for the resurrection.I’ve been brief this morning,I could have said so much more.
There’s a journalist called Lee Strobel who a few years ago Set out to write a book disproving Christianity. He did it to annoy his wife who had just become a Christian.He failed. Because the more evidence he explored, The more convinced he became that Jesus did rise from the dead. So he wrote a book called “The Case for Christ.” It’s well worth reading if you need to go deeper.
Another way to explore the evidence is to join our next Christianity Explored course. That’s starting on Monday May 8th @ the vicarage.Grab me afterwards and I’ll get you on the invite list.
But the best way to respond to the evidence, Is to take action. To choose to trust Christ, perrhaps for the first time,
Or if you were brought up in church, maybe you need to make concrete what has always been a bit vague. By choosing to trust in Christ alone. And there is no better time to do that, than Easter Sunday.
Would you pray with me?