John 11.1-44
John 20.1-23

The story behind “He Lives”
Did you notice the hymn we just sang, closes with a question and answer, “You ask me how I know he lives? He lives within my heart.” This was a real question, asked of the author and composer, Alfred Ackley, except not so positively phrased. Ackley was preaching a series of evangelistic meetings and a young Jewish student came and asked him, “Why should I worship a dead Jew?”

According to George Sanville, Ackley responded:
"He lives! I tell you, He is not dead, but lives here and now! Jesus Christ is more alive today than ever before. I can prove it by my own experience, as well as the testimony of countless thousands."

Ackley went on to personally study the Resurrection accounts in Scripture and to share with this young man from the Scriptures, from his own experience and from history- the testimony of others- eventually this young man came to believe in Christ. This study and conversation eventually led him to the writing of this hymn, “You ask me how I know he lives? He lives within my heart.”

Today, how do you know “He lives”? What brings you here to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ?

John 20 - The first Easter
When we come to service on Easter morning, we come expecting certain things. We come expecting upbeat, exuberant singing. We come expecting to hear, “He lives! Christ lives! He has risen from the dead!” We come expecting to celebrate. And this morning our first words were words of praise: the Liturgist greeted you with “Praise the Lord!” And you responded in turn.

But it was not like that the first Easter morning. The disciples were not enthusiastically proclaiming, “Christ lives!” The only lips that are recorded uttering those words with confidence, are those of the angels at the tomb. But the disciples …  in the Gospel of John, they are met with fraught with dismay – “they have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” The disciples are met with disbelief – Luke reports that the women returned from the tomb to tell the Eleven and all the others, “But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense.” (Luke 24.11) Only in Matthew, is there a bit of joy expressed. The scripture reads, “The women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy …”

That first Easter morning, the disciples did not know what to think. The women had gone early to the tomb expecting to place more spices on the body. And they find no body. Two of the Eleven, Peter and John, are the next to arrive. And John’s words are interesting, “He saw and believed.” But the scripture continues, “They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.” If they didn’t know he rose from the dead, what did John believe?
~Did he believe the tomb was empty?
~Was there some inkling of belief, but yet he could not fully understand what was happening.
~Maybe he still believed Jesus was the Christ, the son of God, but still just couldn’t put all the pieces together.

Thomas, nicknamed Doubting Thomas, always takes a hard knock, because he said he would not believe until he put his finger where the nails were and his hand in Jesus’ side. And it is one week later that Jesus appears to Thomas and he believes. But the truth is, all of the disciples were slow to believe.

John 20.19 says that it wasn’t until evening that the disciples believed. The women had told them that they had seen Jesus. But the disciples were locked away in a room because they were fearful of the Jews because of all that happened. But the evening of the Resurrection, they finally believed, because “Jesus came and stood among them” and “he showed them his hands and side.” Then, the disciples were overjoyed! Then they celebrated! Then they believed!

Grave clothes
The Gospel of John, actually gives us one of the clues that should have told the disciples that Jesus body just wasn’t moved to another place or that the body wasn’t stolen.

Or even as Matthew’s account says that when the guards reported these things back to the chief priests, the chief priests and elders met together and devised a plan. They gave the soldiers a large sum of money (bribed them) and told them what to say, “His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.”

The problem with this story is that the burial cloth was still in the tomb! There could have been pieces of clothe or one large piece of linen that was wrapped around the body, this was laying in the tomb. And John says that even the separate cloth that was used to wrap around the head was laying separate from the linen and it was folded up. There was no haste in Jesus’ departure. There was a calmness in that time was taken to fold up this head clothe. The body clothe usually had wrapped with it 75 pounds of spices, and those probably remained with this piece of clothe and would have been why it was not folded. If one were to steal a body, one would have taken the clothes with it!

Let me jump back to the other resurrection story that was read this morning – that of Lazarus. After Jesus called out, “Lazarus, come out.” And the scripture says that the dead man came out, still wearing his grave clothes. The same pieces of clothe are listed, that which wrapped his body, and that which around his face. He would have had to shuffle, or perhaps hopped from the tomb. Jesus next instructions were to those who witnessed the event, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

Lazarus was risen from the dead, but he still was wearing his grave clothes. Lazarus was alive, but he was still encumbered by his grave clothes. Lazarus had been given life, but he could not experience it fully until his grave clothes were removed. And it was the responsibility of the community to unwrap him. This is another beautiful example of how God works in our lives, but there is still the necessity of the community.

Our place in the journey
When we gather together to worship, we come together and we are at many different stages of our Christian journey. But we are all on a journey. We are like the disciples, on a journey to discover the living Christ.
~Some of you have come and like the women who come in the dark and all they can see is that the stone is rolled away.
~Some of you are like John, you believe, but you don’t understand – you just don’t have the big picture yet.
~And some of you have been in the room and Jesus has appeared to you, you have seen him and rejoiced.

And we are all like Lazarus … we are dead, spiritually dead, and we need God to breathe new life into us. Some of you have experienced that new life, that calling forth, but you have come forth and you still are wearing your grave clothes!!! Truth be told, underneath our Sunday best, we all are wearing some grave clothes. Grave clothes come in all shapes, sizes and fashions.

Remember the butterfly I talked about with the children. You all should have gotten a butterfly when you came in today. Take it out and look at it. The cocoon or chrysalis is shed. It is free and ready to fly. The transformation is complete. It is God’s desire to make us into a new creature. To transform our sinful, self-centered desires into something beautiful.

And just like Lazarus we need the community of believers to help us in the transformation.
~We need the community to model what it means to have new life in Christ.
~We need to learn and grow together as a community.
~We need to love and encourage one another along our journey.
~We need to hold one another accountable to live this new life we are called to.

When Jesus appears to the disciples where they are gathered in the locked room, his first words to them are, “Peace be with you!”

We are called to be a community of peace. We talked about peace, God’s shalom, a couple of weeks ago. Peace is the wholeness he wants to bring; the fullness of life; the life that he originally intended for us before sin entered this world; a life that is no longer inhibited by grave clothes, or in the case of the butterfly the chrysalis. Keep that butterfly somewhere to remind you of the transformation God is working in your life.

And so, I invite you to take a closer look inside the tomb. Draw a little closer today. If you really want to see Jesus, if you really want to know if he is who he says he is, he will reveal himself to you. It may be early in the day, it may be late in the day (and I use those terms relatively), but keep looking, he will appear.

And as you draw a little closer, what grave clothes are you still wearing? What are you still holding on to that is blocking your vision of Christ, that is encumbering your walk, that is not allowing you to be fully alive in Christ?

John 20.1-23

Why is this night different from all other nights?
That’s what a young child asks at Passover during the Jewish Passover
meal. And the answer is, This is the night that God delivered his
people from slavery in Egypt.

Why is this day different from all other days?
This is the day God delivered us from slavery to sin and death, and has
given us new life! (although every Sunday is resurrection day).

Jesus prepared his disciples in advance …
On at least three occasions, Jesus had tried to prepare his disciples
for what was going to happen to him. (See Mark 8.31; Mark 9.30-31; Mark
10.33-34). But there was no way for them to really be prepared for what
was about to happen to Jesus. They had to experience it all – the
betrayal, the torture, the grieving, and then there was the missing
body report. What did it all mean?

On the day following the Sabbath, people began to discover that the
tomb is empty. Either Jesus’ body has been removed, or he has risen
from the dead, just as he said he would.

Women first …
A group of women were the first to the tomb, the first to discover the
resurrection Christ, and arguably the first evangelists (those who tell
good news). And you’ve got to love the response of the disciples in Luke’s account:
"They told the apostles what had happened, but the story sounded like
nonsense, so they didn’t believe it" (Luke 24.10-11).

Those who hear the women dismiss their news as "nonsense." The Greek word is laros,
a term used only this once in the New Testament. It’s derived from a
technical medical term describing the delirium caused by high fever.
The way Luke (the physician) uses it here is in a familiar, even
sarcastic way. In other words, those who first heard the women’s
account of the empty tomb and Jesus’ rising responded by exclaiming,
“They’re nuts!”

It’s a Process
Notice that Jesus did not appear to everyone all at once. He appeared to many over the course
of time. First, to the women at the tomb, then to the ten disciples who
were gathered together, then to Thomas a week later, and then he was
seen by hundreds of others over the course of his 40 days on earth
after the resurrection.

I believe it’s always been that way. God reveals himself to us through
a process. This means that we, like the early disciples, are at
different stages in the process. Where are you? Have you seen the
resurrected Jesus? Are you ready to embrace him?

New Birth
One of the ways to describe salvation is "new birth." People who have
received new birth in Christ have gone from spiritual death to
spiritual life.

“I can really know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised
him from the dead. I can learn what it means to suffer with him,
sharing in his death, so that, somehow, I can experience the
resurrection from the dead!” (Philippians 3.10-11)

Easter people not only believe that Jesus lived, died, and rose again, but have experienced Christ’s resurrection firsthand.

Seeing Jesus
Notice that Christ’s followers believed in the resurrection after they
saw Jesus — the women, the disciples, and finally many others. While
Jesus did say that those who do not see, but still believe, are
blessed, I believe that the same is true today. In order for people to
believe in Jesus, to believe that Jesus lives, they must see Jesus. And
one of the primary ways that God intends for them to see Jesus is in and through us!

I love what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4.7-12: "this precious treasure
[...] is held in perishable containers, that is, in our weak bodies. So
everyone can see that our glorious power is from God and is not our
own. [...] Through suffering, these bodies of ours constantly share in
the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our
bodies. Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve
Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be obvious in our dying bodies.
So we live in the face of death, but it has resulted in eternal life
for you."

People catch a glimpse of Jesus through you and me!

Valley of Dry Bones
There’s a great story in Ezekiel that shows what can happen for people who are spiritually dead: Ezekiel 37.1-14

Easter people have had new life breathed into them!

God is still breathing new life …
And the good news is, God is still breathing new life into all who will
let him. The gathering of Easter people is not a closed group. If you
have not experienced new life in Christ, we invite you to open up your
life to him today. Let God breathe new life into you!

Cassie Bernall’s story
“…Cassie Bernall, the 17-year-old student at Columbine High School
who died of a gunshot wound confessing her faith, had been adrift for
awhile in school, played around with drugs, was interested in
witchcraft, and worried her parents so much that they moved her from a
public school to a Christian school. She hated the new place, but when
a friend invited her to a Christian camp, she went, and it changed her
life.

She asked to be put back in public school, where she talked with
classmates who were willing to listen about her belief in Christ. She
began to go with her youth group to an inner city storefront church in
Denver which ministered to street people, prostitutes, and drug
addicts. But on April 20, in the Columbine library, she was confronted
by a young gunman who asked, ‘Do you believe in God?’ A friend who
watched this happen says that she paused, knowing what the answer would
probably mean, and then said, ‘Yes, I believe in God.’ The gunman
asked, ‘Why?’ and then without waiting for an answer, shot her.”

Some days later her brother found something Cassie had written: “Now I
have given up everything else — I have found it to be the only way to
really know Christ and to experience the mighty power that brought him
back to life again, and to find out what it really means to suffer and
to die with him. So, whatever it takes, I will be one who lives in the
fresh newness of life of those who are alive from the dead.”

Easter people have died to themselves and this life, so that they can have the life that only God can give.

Matthew 5.1-12 - Beautitudes
 
We sometimes talk about the last hurrah! – squeezing in that last bit of something good. Like when Indian Summer comes in the fall, that last bit of warm weather before winter settles in on us – that is the last hurrah of summer.

What we have come to know as Palm Sunday is a last hurrah. Except the followers of Jesus were not looking for what came next. Jesus tried to prepare them. Even moments later, following the people’s praises, the Gospel of Luke reports that as Jesus “approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, ”If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.”

The last hurrah … or in this case the last “Hosanna!” quickly turns to “Crucify him!” “Crucify him!”

The last “Hosanna” meaning “Lord save!” These cries of hope soon turned from seeking salvation to seeking death, the death of the one they hailed King.

Where did all his supporters go? Now they were no where to be seen. There was no one to stand up and defend him – no visible supporters; no audible praises are to be heard now.

Peter promises to never deny Christ, to never disown him. He says, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.” Peter promises to be persecuted for righteousness sake.

But even though Jesus says he has prayed for Peter that his faith may not fail, Peter cannot stay awake to pray with Jesus. And just as Jesus foretells, as Jesus is arrested, Peter follows at a distance. He enters the courtyard where a servant girl recognizes him, “I don’t know or understand what you’re talking about, Peter says. And Peter skittishly retreats out into the entryway.

The servant girl sees Peter again, she tells those standing around, ‘This fellow is one of them.” Again Peter denies.

Then others say, “Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.” And Peter calls down curses upon himself, and swears to them, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about.”

And the rooster crows …

Have you ever heard the rooster crow? How many times have we denied our association with Christ or kingdom belief? Maybe we are not even threatened with persecution, with physical harm; but just the threat of people’s disapproval, just the threat of stating what is not the popular choice, maybe what is not politically correct or socially acceptable.

I remember as a high school student, in a psychology class being the student picked out in the room to respond to a question, because the teacher knew what church I went to and he knew the response he was looking for.

I remember as a college student, sitting in a sociology class, listening to a disgruntled former Christian/church go-er, shared his mystic spiritual experiences and then gave his tainted definition of what Christianity is. Do you sit there and let him influence this entire class of students who are at an impressionable age … or do you risk speaking up?

What do you remember? Who has asked you questions? Who has asked for your opinion, because they know you are a Christian? Did you arise to the occasion… or did you here the rooster crow?

Kirbyjohn Caldwell, a UMC pastor praying at the inaugeration of Pres. Bush prays, “respecting all other religions this prayer is humbly submitted in the name of Jesus Christ.” Rev. Caldwell dared to be politically incorrect!

In a recent Minnesota shooting a member of a church opens fire upon other church members because he is disgruntled with the direction the church is headed. Will the church risk standing up for the mission to which God has called us, even when those who are a part of us deny that call? Or will we hear the rooster crow?

Martin and Gracia Burnham, missionaries in the Philippines, were taken as hostages by a terrorist group. Martin explained the Gospel to the rebels. The Burnhams were cooperative and gracious as prisoners. Still they knew they may be killed; another American hostage had been beheaded shortly after their own abduction. Martin, age 42, had experienced a forewarning of his own death; he comforted and encouraged his wife:

“The Bible says to serve the Lord with gladness,” “Let’s go out all the way. Let’s serve him all the way with gladness.” The couple prayed together, recited Scripture verses they could remember, and sang. Then, taking advantage of one of the rare times Martin wasn’t chained to an soldier or to a tree, they rested in each other’s arms.

Later that same day the group was discovered by military ranger and Martin was killed in the crossfire. Gracie lived to tell the story.

“Let’s serve him all the way with gladness.” As the worldview around us shifts; as Christianity is questioned, labeled, misunderstood … we have a choice:

to serve Christ all the way with gladness OR
will we hear the rooster crow?

Prayer:
~Christians persecuted around the world
~Christians who are put in key positions/influential places
~all Christians wherever we may work or play