Why Are You Weeping, What Are You Looking For? (Easter)

Turn with me in your Bibles to John chapter 20.

John 20 · chapter mention

If you are looking in one of the Pew Bibles, it's page 906.

We will be reading John chapter 20, verses 1 through 18.

John 20:1–18

This is one of the gospel narratives of the resurrection of Jesus.

John chapter 20.

John 20 · chapter mention

I'll be reading beginning at verse 1.

Now on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early while it was still dark

and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.

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.

So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb.

Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the

tomb first, and stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not

go in.

Then Simon Peter came following him, and he went into the tomb.

He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth which had been on Jesus' head,

not lying with the linen cloths, but folded up in a place by itself.

Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb also went in, and he saw and believed.

For as yet they did not understand the scripture that he must rise from the dead.

Then the disciples went back to their homes.

But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb.

And as she wept, she stooped to look into the tomb.

And she saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head

and one at the feet.

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.

Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it

was Jesus.

Jesus said to her, woman, why are you weeping?

Whom are you seeking?

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.

Jesus said to her, Mary.

She turned and said to him in Aramaic, Rabboni, which means teacher.

Jesus said to her, do not cling to me, for 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.

Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, I have seen the Lord, and that he had said

these things to her.

Well, some of you may know that this spring, Professor Lori Santos is teaching the most popular

class ever in Yale College, Psychology and the Good Life.

Nearly a quarter of undergraduates, about 1,200 students are enrolled.

Even if you don't go to Yale, you can check out her course online through Coursera.

One of her stated motivations for teaching the course was that undergraduate students

are way more unhappy, stressed out, and worried about the future than people often realize.

So she wrote in her syllabus, the goal, the main goal of this course is to learn the science

of happiness and to put that science into practice.

Many things that we think matter for our happiness, wealth, material possessions, even good grades,

simply don't.

Our minds have dumb features that lead us astray, psychological biases that make us seek out

the wrong sorts of things.

So the course surveys psychology research about what we really should strive for to live a satisfying

life.

But it's not only elite college students who are increasingly depressed or discontent and

driven.

Andrew Sullivan wrote recently in New York Magazine, more than two million Americans are now hooked

on some kind of opioid.

And drug overdoses claimed more American lives last year than were lost in the entire Vietnam War.

We use an estimated 30 times more opioids than is medically necessary for a population

our size.

And he goes on and he says, most of the ways that we come to terms with this, by blaming

pharmaceutical companies or blaming doctors or political leaders or drug policies or economic

stress, miss a deeper story.

It is a story of pain and the search for an end to it.

Even as we near peak employment and record high median household income, a sense of permanent

economic insecurity and spiritual emptiness has become widespread.

He writes, addiction to work, to food, to phones, to TV, to video games, to porn, to news, and to drugs

is all around us.

Opioids are just one of the ways Americans are trying to cope with a world where everything

is flat, where communication is virtual, and where those core elements of human happiness,

faith, family, community, seem to elude so many.

Many years ago, after winning his second straight Super Bowl, the Dallas Cowboys quarterback,

Troy Aikman, said,

I'll never forget when I was 12, I couldn't wait till the day I turned 16 and I could drive.

I thought that would be the end of all life's problems.

And then I turned 16 and realized there were still problems.

I kind of said the same thing after I won my first Super Bowl.

You think once you win it, all your problems are solved professionally.

But I've won two now, and it hasn't solved a thing.

Not a thing.

Not a thing.

What about you?

Do any of those descriptions resonate?

The more I have, the more I need to have.

The more I am loved, the more I need to be loved.

The more I achieve, the more I need to achieve.

Don't we feel this restless longing, this intense craving, this…

And sometimes we deny it.

And sometimes we dull it.

And sometimes we taste something that satisfies it for a while.

And yet it still comes back and haunts us.

In the passage we read from John's gospel, Jesus asks two questions.

Simple and straightforward, but at the same time profound and probing.

He says, why are you weeping?

And what are you seeking?

Why are you stressed, anxious, grieving, desperate, dissatisfied with life and longing for more?

Why are you weeping?

Why are you searching?

Why are you searching for?

Why are you searching for?

And what drives you?

What drives you to get out of bed in the morning and do what you do all day and come back where you live at night and do it all over again?

What or who are you searching for?

Now, Jesus doesn't ask these questions in a vacuum.

So I want to begin this morning by looking at these questions in the context of his conversation with Mary Magdalene.

And then I want to move ahead to asking, what do these questions have to say to us?

So first, this morning I want to look at Jesus' questions for Mary.

Now, a little background on Mary.

This is not Jesus' mother, Mary.

There are at least three, maybe four Marys who are mentioned in the gospels.

It was at least as common a name back then as it was in my extended Italian family.

This is Mary Magdalene, which simply means that she was from a town called Magdala.

Mary Magdalene had been a devoted follower of Jesus for some time.

According to Luke chapter 8, verses 1 to 3, she belonged to a group of women who followed Jesus when he was traveling and teaching.

Luke 8:1–3

And many of these women were well-to-do and provided for Jesus and his disciples and some of his other disciples out of their own means.

And for Mary in particular, Jesus wasn't just a famous person, a well-known teacher that she admired from far off.

Luke chapter 8, verse 2 says that Jesus had healed many of evil spirits and infirmities.

Luke 8:2

And for Mary Magdalene, he mentions that seven demons had gone out of her.

Now, we aren't told any more details.

Perhaps she had been plagued by a complex illness.

Perhaps her life had been characterized by addictive and self-destructive patterns.

Perhaps she was literally possessed by multiple evil spirits.

Perhaps all of the above.

But whatever her background, through encountering Jesus, she had been released from bondage and she had found wholeness and joy.

And so, she had joined this group of Jesus' women followers who followed him all the way to the cross.

And even when nearly all of his male disciples deserted him, this group of women remained near him.

Even while he was crucified, they saw him take his last breath.

They saw where his body was buried.

They were loyal to the end.

And they were also the first ones to witness his resurrection.

Verse 1, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early.

While it was still dark, she saw the stone had been taken away.

And the other gospels make it clear that she was visiting the tomb in order to anoint Jesus' body with spices.

It was a way of embalming, sort of paying her respects.

And that's why she became so distraught after she found that his body was gone.

Now, as a side note, the fact that women feature so prominently in all of the resurrection accounts,

in all four of the New Testament gospels, is a testimony to the historical authenticity of these accounts.

Here, Mary is the first one who sees the stone is taken away from the tomb.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell us that there were two or three other women who accompanied her.

Here we see that Mary was the first one who encountered Jesus personally.

And she initially delivered the news to the male disciples that he was alive again.

Now, we might not notice that detail.

But in the context of the ancient world, that's a very unusual detail.

Because in the culture of Jesus' time, women were seen as inferior and untrustworthy.

So, the Jewish historian Josephus wrote,

Women are inferior to men in every way.

Period.

Most Jewish rabbis refused to even teach women.

Jesus was a notable exception in this regard.

He had his 12 male disciples, but again, he also had many women followers.

One other rabbi, Eliezer, said,

There is no wisdom in women except with the spindle.

In other words, the only thing a woman is good for is making clothes.

And in both Jewish and Roman law courts, women were not allowed to be legal witnesses.

So, if you were a male in the ancient world,

and if you were writing a narrative to convince people to believe in your Messiah,

which is exactly what John says the purpose of his book is at the end of chapter 20,

you would never put forth women as your primary witnesses in that cultural context.

If you were playing fast and loose with the details, if you were making up a story,

if you were inventing a legend,

you would never say that.

Because you would be laughed off.

The only reason you would say it is if it really happened.

This is not the kind of story that someone would simply invent.

So, let me challenge you.

If you're not a Christian believer,

you can't simply assume that the accounts of Jesus' resurrection are legendary fictions

with no historical basis,

or mere projections of Jesus' disciples' wishful thinking.

Now, if you notice, no one in the story hears about the empty tomb,

or sees the risen Jesus,

and immediately says,

Aha!

That's what we were expecting all along.

Our dreams have come true.

No!

They're all as skeptical as we would rightly be

of such a claim.

They're confused.

They have to be convinced.

None of them were expecting it.

Now, maybe you have historical questions

or philosophical questions.

Could this ever really happen?

Is there reason to believe it's true?

Invite you to stay for the class that's happening downstairs at 1115.

Peter Almo will be addressing those questions

after the coffee time in more detail.

Or take one of the books from the free book table.

We have plenty of books addressing all kinds of questions about Christianity.

We'd love for you to take one home with you as our gift to you today.

But let's get back to Mary in the story,

and to Jesus' questions for her.

Mary, one of Jesus' loyal followers,

had come to the tomb early.

She saw the stone rolled away.

Her initial conclusion was,

they've taken the Lord out of the tomb.

We don't know where they have laid Him.

They've moved His body.

She doesn't say who they are.

They've done it.

Somebody did it.

So she finds Peter and John.

They check it out.

They see the burial cloths neatly folded up,

which would not have been the case if someone had stolen the body.

The body was wrapped in the cloths.

They also see the face cloth laying there.

So they believed,

but they didn't fully understand.

And perhaps,

as it was very early in the morning,

they went back home,

and perhaps they went to sleep.

As many of us would,

if we were rudely awakened in the middle of the night

with a disturbing report,

and we see something,

and we can't quite put it all back together in our heads,

and so we go back home.

But Mary stays there,

weeping by the tomb.

And she turns around,

verse 14,

she sees Jesus standing,

but she doesn't immediately recognize Him,

and He says,

Woman,

why are you weeping?

What are you seeking?

Now notice that Jesus didn't have to approach Mary this way.

I mean,

couldn't He have just simply walked up to her and said,

Mary,

it's me.

I'm alive.

Don't you see?

I'm right here.

But He intentionally began the conversation

with these two questions.

You know,

I think we often underestimate the power

of asking simple but probing questions.

If you lead a Bible study,

or if you teach a discussion section,

this is one of your most important jobs.

And it's harder than it seems.

Your job is not just to make well-argued statements,

but to ask simple but probing questions

that help your group dig into the text

and dig into their own lives

and connect the text to their lives.

If you look through the New Testament Gospels,

Jesus often does this.

He often asks questions

that are simple and direct,

yet also probing and profound.

Here are a few examples

of questions Jesus asks.

What do you want me to do for you?

Who do you say that I am?

Why are you so afraid?

Do you love me?

What are you looking for?

Jesus asked this question

not only to Mary,

but two other times

in the Gospel of John.

In John chapter 5,

John 5 · chapter mention

Jesus approaches a paralyzed man.

And he says,

Do you want to be healed?

Now on the surface,

the answer to such a question

is painfully obvious.

Do I want to be healed?

Of course!

Of course he would want to be healed.

Or is it always so obvious?

I was reading an article recently

by a man who had been diagnosed

with depression.

And in the course of therapy,

he wrestled with this question.

Did I really want to get well?

Was I willing to do the hard work

of facing painful situations,

uncovering bitterness,

and admitting to deep, resentful anger?

Was I willing to give up

my stubborn excuses

that allowed me to stay the same,

somehow seeing my sickness

as more secure than my health?

Some of these questions,

the answer seems obvious,

but when you probe a little deeper,

the answer isn't quite so obvious.

And Jesus often used probing questions

to expose our unstated assumptions

and our hidden motives

and bring those out.

And you know,

it's not just in the life of Jesus

that we see the power

of probing questions.

If you go back to the beginning

of the Bible

to the book of Genesis,

when Adam and Eve

ate of the tree of knowledge

of good and evil,

the tree that God had reserved

only for Himself,

and the harmony of creation

was disrupted,

and the trust of their intimate marriage

was broken,

and they had transgressed God's command,

and they had betrayed His friendship,

and God pursued them

with simple but probing questions.

He said,

where are you,

Adam?

Eve,

what is it that you have done?

And in Genesis,

God's probing questions

exposed their guilt

and their feeble attempts

at covering it up.

They were hiding in the trees

because they had spoiled the garden.

They had participated effectively

in a plot to displace the owner,

and therefore they were no longer

fit to be managers.

They were exiled

to live the rest of their lives

as wanderers.

Of course,

the point of the story

in Genesis

is that we all live

in its aftermath.

Has not the rest

of human history

been marked

by a lingering unease,

by a sense of shame,

a sense that

all is not right

between us

and the universe

and its maker?

Is not much of our life

a restless wandering

a persistent longing,

a frustrated

but unending search

to find

that paradise lost?

But isn't it interesting

that here

in another garden

we see

the risen Jesus

approaching Mary

with two questions.

And it's not

where are you

and what have you done?

It's not questions

that expose

her own guilt

and shame.

It's questions

that are inviting.

Questions that draw her out

and invite her

to respond.

Why are you weeping?

What are you seeking?

And like many of us,

Mary thinks

that the answers

to these questions

are very obvious.

Why am I weeping?

Because my teacher

just died

and now his grave

has been violated

and his body

taken away

by who knows who.

Besides,

she might have wondered,

why are you asking me

the exact same question

that the angel

just asked me

in verse 13?

Didn't you hear

my answer?

And what am I looking for?

I'm looking for Jesus' body

to give it

a proper

and dignified burial.

And then Jesus says,

Mary.

And her weeping

turns to joy

and amazement

because the man

standing before her

is not

an unfamiliar gardener.

He's her very own

dear teacher.

He's the good shepherd

who has called her by name.

And her search

has ended in

finding.

not the dead body

of Jesus

but Jesus alive

in his resurrected body.

And so Mary

embraces Jesus

and she wants

to hold on to him

and never let him go.

That's why Jesus

has to say,

don't cling to me.

He's not saying

don't touch me.

He's saying

you can't hold on

to me physically

and never,

ever,

ever let me go.

No.

For days and days

and years,

right?

You see,

the questions

with which Jesus

approaches Mary

are only the beginning.

And she walks away

with the assurance

of a risen Savior

with the promise

of a new beginning

and with a mission

to carry out.

But what about us?

What do these questions

have to say

to us?

over 300 years ago,

Blaise Pascal,

the French mathematician

and philosopher,

wrote this.

He said,

all people seek happiness.

There are no exceptions.

However different

the means they may employ,

they all strive

towards this goal.

The reason why

some go to war

and some do not

is the same desire

in both

but interpreted

two different ways.

this is the motive

of every act

of every person,

including those

who hang themselves.

But Pascal went on

to say that

though we all seek happiness,

very few of us

ever actually obtain it

in any lasting way.

Because he also points out

all people complain.

Princes,

subjects,

nobles,

commoners,

old,

young,

strong,

weak,

learned,

ignorant,

healthy,

sick,

in every country

at every time

of all ages

and all conditions.

This really ought

to convince us

that we are incapable

of attaining the good

by our own efforts.

The present never satisfies us

but experience deceives us

and leads us on

from one misfortune

to another

until death comes

as the ultimate

and eternal climax.

Pascal says,

what else does this

craving for happiness

and this helplessness

to obtain it,

what else does it tell us

but that there once

was in man

a true happiness

of which all

that now remains

is the empty print

and trace.

This he tries in vain

to fill with everything

around him

seeking in things

that are not there

the help he cannot find

in those that are

though none can help

since this infinite abyss

can be filled only

with an infinite

and unchangeable object

in other words

by God himself.

Pascal says,

we're all seeking

for happiness

and yet the only place

we can truly find it

is in an infinite God.

Now, there are at least

three ways

that you might respond

to that statement.

You know,

some of you may be saying

you've been talking

all this time

about longing

and yearning

and an infinite abyss

and I just don't feel it.

I know some people do

but I'm not weeping

and I'm not seeking.

Most days

I just try to accept life

as it comes,

practice gratitude

and mindfulness

and I don't really feel

any need for God.

Maybe that's you.

I think we can all agree

that there is something good

about practicing gratitude

and mindfulness,

being content

with our material possessions

rather than

always longing for more.

But let me ask,

if you don't feel

any need for God,

if you are not weeping

over the pain

and injustice

of this world,

if you're not searching

for something

that this world

can't provide,

how much have you

really suffered?

Have you stood

at the grave

of a dear friend

who lost his life

at a young age

in an unjust attack

and wondered,

can there ever be

any healing

or justice?

that was exactly

Mary Magdalene's situation.

My wife and I

have been married

for almost 10 years now.

The first year

we were married,

we attended 10 weddings.

These days,

I find that I attend

roughly the same number

of weddings as funerals.

As you get older,

the proportions

only shift one way.

And then you see

that not all the weddings

end in happily ever after.

And not all the funerals

are people

who have lived full lives

and died in peace

surrounded by loved ones.

There's a lot of brokenness

in the world

that no justice system

will ever fix.

Maybe you haven't

suffered much yourself.

But through your circumstances,

your life has become

intertwined

with people who have.

That was Francis Collins'

experience.

He grew up

in a well-educated,

non-religious,

well-adjusted,

happy household.

He studied physical chemistry

here at Yale.

He went to UNC

for medical school.

He would later become

the director

of the Human Genome Project.

He's now the director

of the National Institutes

of Health.

He's a very successful

young man.

He felt no need for God.

In his mind,

religion was sentimentality

and superstition.

And then he came

to his third year

of medical school

and started his rotations

in the hospital.

And he noticed

that many of his patients

with untreatable illnesses

found peace

through their faith in God.

And he started to wonder

if faith was just

a psychological crutch,

it must be very powerful.

And if it was nothing more

than a cultural tradition,

why were these people

not shaking their fist

at God

and demanding

that their friends

and family

stop all this talk

of a loving,

benevolent,

supernatural power?

And then one day,

one of his patients

asked him

a simple

but probing

question.

She was an older woman.

She was suffering

from severe,

untreatable angina.

She was a strong

Christian believer.

She had expressed

her faith to him.

But that day,

she asked him a question.

She said,

Doctor,

what do you believe?

And he stammered,

I'm not really sure.

And he said,

that moment,

that question haunted me

for several days.

Didn't I consider myself

a scientist?

Does a scientist

draw conclusions

without considering

the data?

Could there be

a more important question

in all of human existence

than,

is there a God?

And yet,

there I found myself

having avoided

any serious consideration

that God might be

a real possibility.

This simple

but probing question

from a dying patient

set him on a journey.

And eventually,

that journey led him

to faith in Jesus Christ.

So he tells some

of that story

in his book

about science and faith,

The Language of God.

There are plenty

of copies on the book table

if you're interested

in his story.

So that's the first way

that you might respond.

But the second way

you might respond

is you might say,

I know exactly

what you're talking about.

I look into that

infinite abyss

every single day.

Some days,

I can't even get myself

out of bed in the morning

because I know exactly

what you're talking about.

Maybe your life

is a constant quest

to fill it

one way or another.

Or maybe you've given up

on ever finding it.

And you've resigned yourself

to living the U2 song.

I still haven't found

what I'm looking for.

But if that's you,

the same Jesus

who searched out

Mary Magdalene

is searching you out today.

C.S. Lewis wrote,

Creatures are not born

with desires

unless satisfaction

for desires exists.

A baby feels hunger?

Well, there is such

a thing as food.

A duckling wants to swim?

Well, there is such

a thing as water.

People feel sexual desire?

Well, there is such

a thing as sex.

If I find in myself

a desire

which no experience

in this world

can satisfy,

the most probable

explanation is that

I was made

for another world.

If none of my

earthly pleasures

satisfy it,

that does not prove

that the universe

is a fraud.

Probably earthly pleasures

were never meant

to satisfy it,

but only to arouse it,

to suggest the real thing.

Why are you weeping?

Why are you seeking?

You see,

the message of Easter Sunday

is that the one

whom we were made for,

the one to whom

all our truest longings

and all creation

ultimately points,

has come to meet us.

The Son of God

became a human being.

He entered into

our twisted

and broken world.

And in His death,

He entered into

that infinite abyss.

The chasm separating

humanity and God.

And His resurrection

proclaims that He has

bridged that chasm.

That He has bridged

the chasm between

sinful,

rebellious humanity

and a perfect

and holy God.

And yet,

in His resurrection,

He says He has

triumphed over that.

He has bridged

that chasm through.

Jesus,

we can draw near

to God with confidence

because the curse

of sin is broken

and the power

of death is defeated

and the Son of God

is risen

and a new day

has dawned.

in Jesus Christ,

there is a joy

that embraces us

in our weeping

and there is a peace

that transcends

our understanding

because like Mary,

we can have the assurance

that the God

and Father

of Jesus Christ

is now our God

and our Father.

That's what Jesus says

in verse 17.

I'm ascending

to my Father

and your Father,

to my God

and your God.

What that means

is that through faith

in Jesus,

we can be restored

to a right relationship

with God.

We can know

that our status

before God

is now secure.

We don't have to keep

running on the

performance treadmill

and always trying

to achieve the next thing

because we are

God's beloved children

and there's nothing

more important

in the universe

than that.

And He has promised

to be with us

our whole life through

and He has promised

that we will be

with Him

for all eternity

to come.

So will you turn

to Jesus

and trust Him today

as your teacher,

as your Lord,

as your Savior?

Third and finally,

for those of us

who have come

to trust in Jesus

as our Savior

and Lord.

You know,

if you've been following

Jesus for any length

of time,

you know that being

a Christian

does not completely

remove that unfulfilled

longing and that

gnawing ache.

Jesus said to Mary,

don't cling to me.

You can't hold on

to my resurrected body

forever.

And in the same way,

being a Christian

is not a never-ending

series of ecstatic

experiences

and rapturous joys.

You see,

we have tasted

and seen

that Jesus is good.

And we know

His joy and peace

through the power

of His Spirit,

but we don't yet see Him

face to face.

And that's what we're

waiting and longing for,

the day when we will.

We've been washed

and cleansed

and forgiven

of our sins.

God has promised

that He has taken

them away.

But we're still waiting,

we're hoping,

we're longing

for the full redemption

of our bodies.

But today on Easter Sunday,

if you know Jesus

as your Savior,

you can be reminded

that the object

of all our longing

and hoping

and waiting

has found us.

That the Good Shepherd

has called us by name

and even through

the darkest valleys,

He continues to lead us

and feed us

and care for us.

And one day,

He will wipe away

every tear

from our eyes.

And in the meantime,

as we await

that great day,

which will be

even more glorious

than the first

Resurrection Sunday,

we have a mission

to carry out,

to proclaim

with our words

and to demonstrate

with our lives

in the midst

of a hardened

and cynical world

that the Savior

has risen

and reigning

and He is soon

returning.

And sometimes

this mission is hard

because we battle

our own fears,

we battle our own doubts,

we battle our own cravings

for lesser things

that threaten

to take us over

and turn us aside.

But brothers and sisters

in Christ,

on Easter Sunday,

be encouraged.

Be joyful in hope.

Be patient in affliction.

Be faithful in prayer

because Christ has risen.

Indeed,

He has risen.

Why are you weeping?

What are you seeking?

Christ is risen.

Amen.

Let's pray.

O God,

who by the glorious resurrection

of your Son,

Jesus Christ,

destroyed death

and brought life

and immortality

to light,

grant that we

who have been raised

with Him

may abide in His presence

and rejoice

in the hope

of eternal glory.

Through Jesus Christ,

our Lord,

to whom with you

and the Holy Spirit

be dominion

and praise

both now

and forever.

Amen.

Well,

we're going to close

by singing

Crown Him With Many Crowns,

proclaiming the greatness

and the reign of Jesus Christ.

Thank you.