Sunday April 15, 2001
JOHN 20:1-18

o It was Easter morning
o & The kindergarten Sunday School teacher
o Asked the children if they knew
o What Easter is all about
o The 1st little fellow said,
o "Easter is when all the family
o "Comes to the house
o "& We eat a big turkey
o "& Watch football on the television."
o The teacher suggested that maybe
o He was thinking about Thanksgiving
o Rather than Easter
o Next a pretty little girl said,
o "Easter is the day when
o "You come down the stairs
o "In the morning
o "& You see all the beautiful presents
o "Under the tree"
o After explaining that she was
o Probably thinking about Christmas
o The teacher called on one little boy
o With his hand tentatively raised
o Her spirits perked up as the boy said,
o "Easter is the time when
o "Jesus was crucified & buried."
o The teacher was silently rejoicing
o That she had gotten through
o To at least one child

o That is - until he added,
o "& Then He comes out of the grave,
o "& If He sees His shadow,
o "We have 6 more weeks of winter."

o Ouch!!!
o I think that teacher may still have
o Some work left to do with those kids
o But, you know what?
o I'm not so sure all us adults would do
o Much better than those kids
o For example,
o Look at all our shops & stores
o If they reflect what the average person
o Thinks of Easter
o Then apparently we think Easter
o Has something to do with
o Chickens, eggs, & rabbits
o Of course, we know that is not true
o Any more than Christmas
o Is just about Santa Claus
o & Presents under a tree
o We know Easter is all about
o Jesus being raised from the dead
o We know the cross & the empty tomb
o Are at the heart of Easter
o But I wonder if we really know
o What that is all about
o For example,
o Easter is traditionally the Sunday
o With the highest church attendance

o But why is that?
o Why do some people come to church
o On Easter Sunday,
o When they normally stay at home
o On Sunday mornings?
o I am sure some of them come
o Out of guilt, or maybe a false hope
o "If I come at least once a year
o "God will still let me into heaven."
o But I do not think that represents
o The majority of people
o I think most people are really looking
o For some real hope
o They are looking for a hope
o That is greater & stronger & more certain
o Than the failures & tragedies & problems
o They experience every day
o In their lives
o You see, I think Easter has
o The most powerful message of hope
o Available to any person
o Anywhere / At anytime
o & It is a message of hope
o That is received by everyone
o Even if they neither understand it
o Or can even tell the story of Jesus
o Being raised from the dead
o I think people everywhere
o Are looking for hope

o That is what brought Mary
o To the tomb, wasn't it?
o Mary had been there on Good Friday
o She had seen Jesus:
o Whipped & beaten
o Nailed to the cross
o Hanging there in agony
o With blood trickling down from
o His head, His hands, His feet
o & She had seen Jesus die
o She had watched as
o Joseph of Arimathea & Nicodemus
o Prepared His body
o With perfumes & linen wrappings
o Laid Him in the tomb
o & Rolled the stone over the entrance
o Jesus had cast 7 demons out of Mary
o He had healed her
o He had loved her
o He had given her
o A sense of self-esteem & self-worth
o That no one else had ever done
o Mary loved Jesus
o More than anyone or anything else
o In all the world
o More, even, than herself
o & Now He was dead - brutally killed
o By people jealous of Him
o By people who
o Neither knew Him
o Nor understood Him

o Mary was grieving
o Like many grieve even today
o When they have lost someone they love
o Mary was looking for some sign of hope
o So very early on Sunday morning
o Actually slightly before
o The Law said it was allowable
o Mary went to the tomb
o She is weeping
o She is physically tired
o From the lack of sleep
o Over the last 3 days
o Emotionally she is a wreck
o & When she gets to the tomb
o She sees the stone is rolled away
o The grave has been opened
o Now Mary knows what this means -
o Either grave robbers have been there
o & Stolen Jesus' body
o Or His enemies are still trying to harm
o Him & His followers
o Even after He is dead
o She knows this, doesn't she?
o But, of course, we know she is wrong!
o Mary was blinded to what has happened
o Because even though Jesus
o Had done so much for her
o She still cannot perceive
o How great & powerful God is
o & What glorious things He can do

o Her perception of God
o & The power of God's love & grace
o Is limited by her grieving

o There is a star called the Pistol Star
o It stands near the center
o Of the Milky Way
o It is the largest & brightest star
o In that beautiful galaxy
o Of which we on earth are a part
o Now, the Pistol star is 10 million times
o Brighter than our sun
o If you take the orbit
o The earth makes each year
o Around the sun
o That would approximate
o The physical size of the Pistol Star
o It is huge!
o But - we cannot see it!
o You cannot even see it with a telescope
o Because it is shrouded by
o An impenetrable cloud of cosmic dust
o We only know it is there because
o The Hubble Telescope was able
o To take a computer-generated
o Infrared picture of it

o Folks, that is what happened to Mary
o The greatest act that God ever performed
o Was hidden from her sight

o Because her expectations
o Of what God can & will do
o Were limited by the tragedy
o In which she found herself
o Her circumstances were like
o The cosmic dust around the Pistol Star
o They prevented her from seeing
o What God was doing
o The stone had been removed
o From the entrance of the tomb
o But it was not removed
o So Jesus could get out of the tomb
o Nothing in all of creation could
o Have kept Him in that tomb -
o Least of all that stone
o No - God removed that stone
o So Mary & the others
o Could go into the tomb
o & See that Jesus had risen
o But Mary tripped over the stone
o In her grief she underestimated God
o & Assumed Jesus' body was stolen

o People still do that today, don't they?
o People are still stumbling over
o The stone that has been rolled away
o People - all people - even you & I -
o Have problems & struggles in life
o Maybe it is the death
o Of someone close to you
o As it was with Mary

o Maybe it is a terrible disease
o Like cancer or heart disease
o Maybe it is some
o Physical or emotional handicap
o Maybe it is a financial problem
o Or a marital problem
o Or a problem with your children
o Or your parents
o Maybe it is a problem
o At work or in school
o Whatever it is, everyone of us
o Is struggling with something in life
o Some of you have so many problems
o You cannot even name them all
o But too many people stumble like Mary
o Over the stone that is rolled away
o Your mind turns to the Lord
o But then you say,
o "What can God do?"
o "God cannot do anything
o "About my problem!"
o "Even God cannot fix this mess!"
o "Anyway, God does not care
o "About me!"
o & There it stands!
o The great stone is rolled away
o But you will not even stoop down
o To look inside the tomb
o God Himself shed His glory in heaven
o & Came to live as a human
o Just like you & me

o He voluntarily suffered & died
o On the cross
o To take the justified punishment
o For our sins onto His back
o The stone has been rolled away
o & Still you do not believe either
o That God loves you
o Or that He can do anything to help you
o So you do not look inside the tomb
o To see the great hope God has for you
o Your problems have blinded you
o & Like Mary you stumble over
o The stone that has been rolled away

o Well, we know the story well
o Of how Mary went to Peter & John
o & Told them what she had seen -
o Or what she thought she had seen -
o Because she thought
o Someone had stolen Jesus' body
o Peter & John ran to the tomb
o They did not even look at the stone
o Instead they went inside the tomb
o & There they saw the linen cloth
o Now if anyone had come
o To take Jesus body away
o They would not have left
o The linen cloths lying there
o Jesus' body was wrapped
o In those cloths

o To steal the body without the cloths
o Would mean they had
o To hold His body up
o While they unwrapped the cloths
o & That would take a lot of time
o & When you are stealing something
o You want to take
o As little time as possible
o To avoid being caught
o But there is more -
o Not only are those burial cloths
o Still there
o But they are lying exactly where
o They would have been
o If Jesus' body was still there
o & The head cloth has been removed
o & Folded neatly on the side
o This was no grave robber
o The only possible explanation for this
o Was that Jesus' body has somehow
o Risen right through those cloths
o Is it any wonder that John says,
o ". . . he saw and believed . . ."
o Now, let us be honest here -
o Peter & John were grieving
o Just as much as Mary was
o They had lost just as much
o As she had - maybe more
o But they did not stumble over the stone
o They went in & saw & believed

o & They left that tomb
o Never to return to it again
o For they knew Jesus had risen
o They knew the tomb was empty
o They knew there is no limit
o To what God can do

o But our story does not end there
o Peter & John had run to the tomb
o Quickly leaving Mary behind
o But Mary did not stat there
o With the other disciples & her friends
o She did not lie down & weep
o Wallowing in her grief
o Yes, she was still weeping
o But she came back to the tomb
o She was still seeking the Lord
o In spite of all her problems
o & All her doubts & misunderstandings
o She was still looking for the Lord
o & This time she went beyond the stone
o & Looked into the tomb for herself
o There were 2 angels there
o But they did not impress Mary
o She was not looking for angels
o She was looking for Jesus
o A man who she thought was the gardener
o Was behind her
o But she was even less impressed
o With him

o She only glanced over her shoulder
o At him
o She was still looking for Jesus
o & Of course we know what happened
o God honored her persistent search
o & Mary became the 1st person
o To see the risen Christ
o Mary was still grieving
o She was still weeping
o Her problems had not gone away
o But she persisted in her search
o For the Lord
o She did not understand
o What God had done
o & She had no comprehension
o Of what He could do
o But still she sought the Lord
o & God honored her search
o & Shared with her His greatest miracle
o In the middle of her deepest agony
o She experienced joy unspeakable

o Friends, this is Easter
o It is not Ground Hog Day
o & If Easter means anything
o It means that God's truth & His hope
o For each & everyone of us
o Is eternal
o You can nail it to the cross
o You can wrap it up in grave cloths
o & Seal it in a tomb

o But it will rise again
o Our hope in Christ does not perish
o It cannot be destroyed
o It may be distorted
o It may be silenced temporarily
o It may be forced to climb to the top
o Of Mount Calvary
o But there is a guarantee
o Written in blood
o That for every Black Friday
o There will dawn an Easter Sunday
o Don't stumble over
o The stones in your life
o Look inside the tomb
o It is empty!
o Christ is risen!
AMEN