Resurrection Turns Everything Downside Up
To wonder at how the resurrection of Jesus has altered our lives
Scripture Matthew 28: 1-15
“Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to visit the tomb. Suddenly there was a great earthquake! For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, rolled aside the stone, and sat on it. His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they fell into a dead faint. Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying. And now, go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Remember what I have told you.” The women ran quickly from the tomb. They were very frightened but also filled with great joy, and they rushed to give the disciples the angel’s message. And as they went, Jesus met them and greeted them. And they ran to him, grasped his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid! Go tell my brothers to leave for Galilee, and they will see me there.” As the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and told the leading priests what had happened. A meeting with the elders was called, and they decided to give the soldiers a large bribe. They told the soldiers, “You must say, ‘Jesus’ disciples came during the night while we were sleeping, and they stole his body.’ If the governor hears about it, we’ll stand up for you so you won’t get in trouble.” So the guards accepted the bribe and said what they were told to say. Their story spread widely among the Jews, and they still tell it today. Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth.”
The early disciples witnessed the resurrection of Jesus Christ. They could not forget the open tomb and His pierced hands and wounded side. The living Christ had a powerful profound effect on them. The people who went to the tomb on that first Easter morning testify to the power of the resurrection. They were in awe and wonder. This lesson reminds us to revisit the empty tomb each Sunday and remember the wonder of it all.
When I was researching for this lesson I came across Jacob Needleman. He was comparing his personal experience of the launch of Apollo 17 in 1975 with Easter. It was a night launch and there were hundreds of cynical reporters all over the lawn, drinking beer, wisecracking and waiting for this 35-story-high rocket to launch.
The countdown came, and then the launch. The thing you see is the extraordinary orange light, which is just as the limit of what you can bear to look at. Everything is illuminated with this light. Then comes this thing slowly rising up in total silence, because it takes a few seconds for the sound to come across. You hear WOOOOOSH!
You can practically hear jaws dropping. The sense of wonder fills everyone in the whole place, as this thing goes up and up. The first stage ignites this beautiful blue flame. It becomes like a star, but you realize there are humans on it. And then there’s total silence.
What do you think it would have been like to observe the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave? What if someone had understood when Jesus said that he would rise from the dead? What if he sought an opportunity to make some money off this spectacular event? What if he set some bleachers in front of the tomb and charged people admission for watching? What if he advertised in the Jerusalem Chronicle and a huge crowd showed up to watch?
I suspect they would have experienced something similar to what Jacob Needleman experienced at the Apollo 17 launch. I am sure some would have arrived cynical, casual, and callused. But when the splendid light followed by momentary silence before a deafening noise, Jesus would have stepped forth from the grave alive, I suspect that the onlookers eyes would have been as big as saucers. Their jaws would have dropped. A sense of wonder and ecstasy would have filled everyone watching. The feelings would never be forgotten. The resurrection of Jesus itself is never described anywhere in Scripture, presumably because no one saw Jesus exit the tomb. Not a single person beheld the moment when Jlelsus burst forth from the grave on that first Easter morning. No one witnessed the resurrection, but many have experienced it. No one can explain the resurrection, but many feel its effects.
The earth felt the effects. Suddenly there was a violent earthquake, It shook, it reeled and rocked. The ground quaked, rocks erupted, the earth cracked, the olive trees in the garden waved their twisted limbs. Nature was aroused, the earth trembled in sorrow at the crucifixion, but it leaped for joy at the resurrection. The quake attests to the cosmic significance of the event.
The angel felt the effects. The angel descended from heaven and approached the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning and his robe was as white as snow. Like an action hero on a Saturday - morning cartoon, shafts of lightning blade from the angel with its clothes shimmering like new-fallen snow. He rolled away the stone not to let Jesus out but to let the women in. The angel sat on the rock that had been rolled away indicating the triumph of the completed work.
The guards felt the effects. The guards were so shaken from fear of him that they became like dead men. They stood as corpses. They shook, in their sandals, longer than the ground shook. The ones keeping watch over the dead became like dead. They were scared stiff.
The women felt the effects. As the Sabbath was dawning Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to view the tomb. They came to anoint Jesus’ body with spices to give him a more appropriate embalming. En route they were concerned about who would move the stone for them. On seeing the stone rolled away from the opening of the tomb and hearing the angel proclaim that Jesus was not present, that He had been raised. They were filled with wonder and joy. The good news of His resurrection became their message to share. Everyone present that day felt the effect of the resurrection. The WHOOOOSH went right through them.
Does the resurrection move you? Can we celebrate Easter and not be moved? Can we still have the world as it were yesterday? We want to come to church on Easter, sing some soul-stirring hymns, eat lunch with our family and friends, hunt eggs with our children, and still have our world unrocked by the resurrection. We are amazingly well adjusted to the same old world.
Luke records Easter as a meal on Sunday evening with the risen Christ, John records the encounter of Mary Magdalene in the garden. So what about Matthew? What is significant in his story? It was a ruckus, dead people walking in the streets, a sudden earthquake, an angel descending from heaven and rolling the stone away and sitting on it.
Have you ever been in an earthquake? I have not. But we have family members who live in Oklahoma that experience them frequently. They are minor but they are strong enough to feel your house shake. Easter’s earthquake shook the whole world. It got everyone’s attention.
On the cross, the world did all it could to Jesus. At Easter, God did all he could to the world. And the earth shook. You don’t explain that, you experience it. You feel it, it goes right through you.
In the 1950s there was a devastating earthquake in China that caused a huge boulder to dislodge and revealed a great cache of wonderful artifacts from a thousand years ago. A new world became visible. When the stone was rolled away that entombed Jesus, and the earth shook, we got our first glimpse of a new world. A world where death doesn’t have the last word, where injustice is made right, and innocent suffering is vindicated by the intrusion of a powerful God. Does it have an effect on you? If not, maybe you need to check your spiritual pulse. We don’t want to get caught between the time of Good Friday and Easter. We need to move forward to the resurrection, let God shake our world, allow God to move the stone away so our hearts will be filled with the love and power of Jesus Christ. Easter is a time to remember how much Our Father loved and still loves us that through Jesus a pathway was created so we can be forgiven, healed and have our sanctification.
Prayer
Father,
Today we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus. May we always feel the surprise of the resurrection and eagerly share the Good News: Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. In Jesus name. Amen
