The First Christian

Today's scripture reading is from the Gospel according to John, chapter 2, verses 19-22, and chapter 20, verses 1-18, as printed in the liturgy.

John 2:19–22

A reading from the Gospel according to John.

Jesus answered them, Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.

They replied, It has taken 46 years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?

But the temple he had spoken of was his body.

After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said.

Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken.

Early, on the first day of the week, while it was still dark,

Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.

So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved,

and said, They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him.

So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb.

Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.

He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there, but did not go in.

Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb.

He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus' head.

The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen.

Finally, the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside.

He saw and believed.

They still did not understand from scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.

Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

Now Mary stood outside the tomb, crying.

As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white,

seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

They asked her, Woman, why are you crying?

They have taken my Lord away, she said, and I don't know where they have put him.

At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there.

But she did not realize that it was Jesus.

He asked her, Woman, why are you crying?

Who is it you are looking for?

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, Sir, if you have carried him away,

tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.

Jesus said to her, Mary.

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, Rabboni, which means teacher.

Jesus said, Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father.

Go instead to my brothers and tell them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father,

to my God and your God.

Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news, I have seen the Lord.

And she told them that he had said these things to her.

This is the gospel of the Lord.

Happy Easter to our Christ Church family and friends.

It's a delight to join together today with brothers and sisters around the world

and mothers and fathers in the faith throughout time to say that Christ is risen indeed.

And today we're especially thankful to the Lord for our beautiful new cross that we have behind us.

So grateful to Amy and Betsy and Jim and Ray and Balen for bringing this amazing project to completion

during Holy Week of all weeks.

You should know about me, my name is Jonathan,

and you should know about me that I grew up in a Christian family.

I grew up going to church,

but I did not seriously explore the evidence for Jesus' resurrection until my mom died.

She was 50 years old and I was 19 years old.

Prior to her death, I had spent no time in cemeteries.

And after her death, I found myself spending time among tombs and graves

of people who had gone from this life and into death.

And so I was plunged into this kind of dark night of the soul.

And during those years of my early 20s,

I was just full of heartbreak.

It was full of crushing and deep grief.

And I found myself experiencing a new kind of fear that I'd never had,

a fear of death,

a fear that I had suddenly lost my mom

and perhaps suddenly I would lose my dad too.

I'd lose my siblings.

And that maybe the same life-threatening diseases

that took my mom away would be diagnosed in me,

a fear that I too would die young before my time.

And so in those years during college and graduate school,

I began to ask for the first time some serious questions about what happens after we die.

What hope do we have beyond the grave?

And I especially began to examine whether or not I really believed.

I knew that other people around me believed,

but whether or not I really believed that Jesus' crucified body in that tomb

was raised by God,

not metaphorically,

but physically,

literally,

historically,

was raised to a new and glorified life on Easter Sunday.

And I began to ask myself,

I was a history major,

and I asked myself,

are the Gospels reliable eyewitness history?

Or are these just religious myths?

Are these pious legends

and feel-good,

but not ultimately true stories?

Did Jesus' heartbroken and grieving disciples

just convince themselves

that perhaps they had seen visions of Jesus

in their attempt to console themselves

and their attempt to honor their master

and to keep his memory alive among them?

Did they say,

yeah,

we know that his body is still in the tomb,

but for us,

he's spiritually alive.

Somehow,

he's mystically alive in our hearts.

And so,

I began to search the Scriptures

as a young person in my early 20s.

And I quickly realized

that Christianity hangs,

everything hangs,

on the bodily resurrection of Jesus.

This is from the Apostle Paul

in 1 Corinthians 15.

He says,

if Christ has not been raised,

our preaching is useless,

and so is your faith,

you are still in your sins.

If only for this life,

we have hope in Christ.

We Christians are of all people

most to be pitied.

Fortunately for me,

in 2003,

when I was in seminary

about five years after my mom died,

a book was published.

And it's really the book.

I've got it down here.

It's about 800 or 900 pages

by a guy named N.T. Wright,

one of the great New Testament scholars,

called The Resurrection of the Son of God.

You don't need to read this book.

You just need to know that it exists.

And you need to know that

deep and serious scholarship

has been carried out

on the questions we're talking about today.

And what I want to do today

is walk through John 20

and just share a little bit

of what I've learned

and seek to persuade you

that the resurrection of Jesus

is not fake news,

but that it's true news.

It's good news.

It's the kind of news

that can change the course of your life.

And so I want to talk about three things.

I want to talk about the evidence,

the encounter,

and the enterprise.

Okay?

Three E's.

The evidence,

the encounter,

and the enterprise.

And when we talk about the evidence,

just know that

I was on jury duty

earlier this week

and was actually down

at the Alameda County Courthouse

on Monday.

So I've got evidence on the mind.

And what I want to do

is present nine exhibits,

nine pieces of evidence

to the court this morning.

And if you look at verse one,

it says,

early on the first day of the week,

while it was still dark,

Mary Magdalene went to the tomb

and saw that the stone

had been removed

from the entrance.

And this is exhibit number one.

This disc-shaped boulder

that weighed two to four thousand pounds,

which in that culture

was rolled downhill

in order to seal the tomb.

It was rolled into this groove.

And so once it rolled downhill

and hit in that seal,

it was very hard to dislodge

and roll back uphill.

And so the question is,

who came in the night

to remove this stone

that was protected

by a guard of fierce Roman soldiers?

That's exhibit number one.

Exhibit number two,

verse two says,

so she came,

Mary came running to Simon Peter

and the other disciple,

the one Jesus loved,

and said,

they have taken the Lord

out of the tomb

and we don't know

where they have put him.

Exhibit number two

is that the tomb

where Jesus' dead body

had been laid is empty

and the body of Jesus is not there.

And either people came

and they stole the body,

which is what Mary thinks,

or something even more

strange has happened.

Look at verse three.

So Peter and the other disciples

started for the tomb.

Both were running,

but the other disciple

outran Peter

and reached the tomb first.

He bent over

and looked in at the strips

of linen lying there

but did not go in.

This is exhibit number three,

that this empty tomb

is actually not totally empty.

There are these strips

of linen grave clothes

that are lying there

and why emphasize this?

Why emphasize the burial wrappings

of Jesus?

Well, it goes on in verse six.

It says,

Then Simon Peter came along

behind him

and went straight to the tomb

and he saw the strips

of linen lying there

as well as the cloth

that had been wrapped

around Jesus' head.

The cloth was still lying

in its place

separate from the linen.

What you need to know

is that the crucified body

of Jesus had been wrapped

in linen cloth

with about 75 pounds

of spices

that were carefully

folded into

the folds of the linen.

And three times here

it says that Peter and John,

they saw the strips

of linen lying,

which means that they were

lying undisturbed.

That they were in the shape

of Jesus' body

and yet they were empty

as if Jesus had passed

through his grave clothes.

If the body had been stolen,

either these grave clothes

would not be here at all

or the thieves would have

unwrapped and scattered

the grave clothes

like a bunch of gauze bandages

just laying everywhere.

But the clothes, it says,

are still lying in the place

where Jesus' body was laid

and they're in the shape

that Jesus' body

had given them.

It's like an empty cocoon.

It's like a collapsed balloon

with all the air

gone out of it.

And in verse 8,

it's so fascinating.

It says that

finally the other disciple,

John,

who'd reached the tomb first,

he also went inside

and it says

he saw and believed.

Earlier in verse 5,

John bent over

outside the tomb

and he looked in

at the strips of linen

from a distance.

And then it says

in verse 6

that Peter went

into the tomb

and it says

he saw the strips

of linen up close

and the Greek verb

there is phareo

where we get the word theory.

Peter saw these strips

and he's theorizing

to himself.

He's wondering

to himself,

what is this?

He's trying to make

sense of it all,

of what he sees

with his eyes.

And then it says

that John,

here in verse 8,

he goes all the way

inside the tomb

and the Greek verb

there is orao.

And orao means

to see with your mind,

to see with your understanding.

And John sees

with his mind.

He's grasping

the spiritual truth

of these empty

grave clothes

that his eyes

can see

and it says

that he believes.

And what does he believe?

Well, he believes

that Jesus'

lifeless body

is now a living body.

It's a resurrected

and glorified body

that has literally

passed through

these empty

grave clothes.

And the question

for us as readers

is,

do you see

with your mind?

Do you see

with your understanding?

Jesus' body

that passed through

these empty grave clothes

is a body

in which the process

of death,

decay,

and dissolution

has been reversed.

Death,

as Paul puts it,

death no longer

has mastery over him.

Death no longer

has dominion

over him.

That Jesus' body

is unlike any body

there's ever been.

It's an imperishable

and incorruptible body.

It's a powerful

and glorious body

that Jesus

has gone on

through death

and he's gone out

into a new creation

and a new life.

He's gone out

into this place

where death itself

has been defeated

in life.

Sheer life.

Life in all of its fullness

and all of its abundance.

Life indestructible

and life everlasting

could begin at last.

Not just for Jesus

but for us as well.

That's what John

saw with his mind.

That's what the first Christians

and the early church

saw with their understanding

and believed.

You guys with me?

Okay.

So this is exhibit

one through three.

The heavy stone

has been removed.

The tomb is empty.

The grave clothes

are lying there empty.

Exhibit number four

is the meticulously

recorded appearances

of the resurrection

of Jesus,

the resurrected Jesus

to the eyewitnesses.

The New Testament

records for us

a dozen or more

distinct appearances

over the next 40 days

to individuals

like Mary Magdalene

which we'll look at

in a moment

to small groups

of people

at one point

to a gathering

of over 500 people

and all of them

reported this.

They did not say

we think that we may

have seen

a vision of Jesus

but what they said

is that we definitely

heard him,

saw him,

touched him

and ate with him

and we are absolutely

certain beyond

the shadow of a doubt

that he is alive.

Exhibit number five

is the creation

of an entirely

new worldview

overnight

without the typical

kind of slow

evolutions

and developments

that are involved

in the structure

of scientific

revolutions

and of paradigm

shifts.

So like when you

think of

Copernicus

to Newton

to Einstein

that took place

over many

many years.

It took a long

time for people

to come

and embrace

a new structure

of scientific

reality

but here

something completely

different is happening

all of a sudden

overnight

out of nowhere

radically

monotheistic

Jews

are somehow

worshipping

a human being

as Lord

and God

and that

is an unthinkable

thing.

Exhibit

number six

is the

dramatically

changed lives

of these

eyewitnesses

that

how did

these

disillusioned

cowards

hiding behind

locked doors

overnight

become

fearless

evangelists

and martyrs.

Did they go

out and die

for a

group

hallucination?

Did they go

out and die

for legends

that they

actually

fabricated?

Exhibit

number seven

is that

what we read

of in the

New Testament

is that the

early church

experienced

the resurrected

Jesus

as

alive

and

powerfully

present

whenever they

would gather

that

they couldn't

really explain

it to

themselves

but

they knew

that

somehow

Jesus

was

exalted

to God's

throne

and yet

he was

continuing

to be

powerfully

with them

as the

living Lord

and when

they come

together

they knew

that it

was Jesus

who was

teaching

them

Jesus

who was

nourishing

them

Jesus

who was

healing

them

Jesus

who was

encouraging

them

Jesus

was

leading

them

exhibit

number

eight

is the

existence

of the

New Testament

documents

themselves

that

somehow

without

any

imperial

sponsorship

whatsoever

a

persecuted

minority

produced

in prison

cells

and in

exile

the

best

attested

literature

in the

ancient

world

by far

how did

that

happen

and

exhibit

number

nine

our

final

exhibit

is the

explosive

growth

of the

Christian

church

that

somehow

this

obscure

marginal

movement

became

the

dominant

force

in the

Roman

Empire

after

three

centuries

of

intense

persecution

just

pause

here

to

make

some

application

how

do

you

account

for

all

the

evidence

exhibited

before

your

eyes

and before

your

ears

I

haven't

even

given

you

all

the

evidence

but

can

you

provide

a

historically

plausible

alternative

explanation

for this

evidence

what

I'm

advocating

today

is

called

abductive

reasoning

or

inference

to the

best

explanation

it's

a logical

method

used to

determine

the most

plausible

explanation

for a

set of

historical

data

historical

observations

and

evidence

and if

you come

to this

and you

say

well my

hypothesis

is that

the first

Christians

had visions

and they

convinced

themselves

they saw

Jesus

and then

they created

legends

in order to

persuade

other people

you're actually

creating way

more problems

than you're

solving

with that

hypothesis

and my

contention

is that

if you

will

thoroughly

go through

the evidence

then

like

John

you may

very well

see with

your mind

see with

your

understanding

and believe

but very

often

unbelief

happens

not because

the evidence

is lacking

or not

because the

evidence

is not

convincing

but unbelief

happens

because

a resurrected

Jesus means

that

you are not

in control

a resurrected

Jesus means

that someone

greater and

more authoritative

than you

is standing

above you

and that

given his

position

he demands

that you

surrender

your life

to him

and call

him

Lord

and most

people just

don't want

to do that

most people

like having

control of

their lives

most people

like being

their own

lord and

their own

savior

and their

own

master

but my

question for

you is

if Jesus

body

actually

did

pass through

those

strips of

linen

there lying

undisturbed

if he

emptied

the tomb

if God

rolled away

that stone

not so that

Jesus could

get out

but so that

we could

look in

and observe

if Jesus

is alive

today

is it

possible

that he's

searching

for you

is it

possible

that he

is standing

there waiting

to be in

a relationship

with you

and I want

to show you

one example

of a person

whom the

resurrected

Jesus

comes looking

for

her name

is Mary

Magdalene

I want to

turn to her

story

I want to

shift from

the evidence

which we

we absolutely

have to have

and I want to

talk about

the encounter

you can

have the

evidence

but not

have an

encounter

but you

need both

the evidence

and the

encounter

and

as I

mentioned

there are

dozens of

appearances

a dozen

appearances

of the

resurrected

Jesus

to the

disciples

recorded in

the New

Testament

and John

focuses our

attention on

one such

appearance

one such

encounter

with the

leader of

Jesus

female

disciples

and before

we get into

the details

I just want

to remind

you of how

radical it

was for

Jesus to

include

women in

his ministry

prior to

Jesus there

were no

women disciples

of any

Jewish

rabbis

or teachers

and Jesus

has created

this amazing

counterculture

full of

female

disciples

and here

he comes

to make

one of

those

disciples

the first

witness to

his

resurrection

now we

know that

Jesus gave

nicknames

to his

disciples

he called

Peter

the rock

or rocky

right

and he

called

James and

John

the sons

of thunder

or thunder

boys

and

Mary

Magdalene

either means

Mary from

Magdala

which is

her hometown

but Magdalene

also means

the tower

Mary Magdalene

Mary the

tower

how did she

become

this person

well

she's a

you can read

about her

in the

gospel

she was

an aristocratic

woman

of great

financial

means

and we

don't know

how

but somehow

she came

under the

influence

of dark

powers

that were

enslaving

her

and

dehumanizing

her

and Jesus

came

and he

found

Mary

and he

powerfully

liberated

Mary

and this

dramatic

life

transformation

planted

in Mary

a heart

a fierce

devotion

to Jesus

and she

became

this

strong

powerful

towering

disciple

but we

see here

in this

story

that her

towering

strength

begins

to crumble

because her

greatest

hopes

and her

dreams

have been

absolutely

crushed

she saw

Jesus

breathe

his final

breath

on the

cross

she heard

the

rolling

stone

slam

shut

on his

tomb

and the

fact that

Mary

is leading

the other

women

disciples

in the

dark

back

to a

tomb

that's

guarded

by

intensely

fierce

Roman

soldiers

shows

you

something

of her

strong

devotion

and her

fierce

determination

right

Mary's

amazing

but adding

insult to

injury

she comes

to the

tomb

and she

finds

the body

of Jesus

is stolen

or so she

thinks

and it's no wonder

that she's now

standing there

just absolutely

weeping

outside of

the tomb

crushed

in spirit

and broken

hearted

because she

saw

the violence

and the

brutality

of an empire

unleashed

at the

crucifixion

she

she

experienced

the

finality

of

burying

her

beloved

friend

she

has now

been denied

the opportunity

to pay

her last

respects

and she's

weeping

because of

the hopeless

sorrow

of this

world

in which

we live

anybody

relate

to that

there's a

kind of

hopeless

sorrow

to our

world

and she's

weeping

because

this sad

old

world

is full

of pain

and it's

full

of misery

she's

weeping

because

she's

alone

she's

weeping

because

she's

been

abandoned

in despair

she's

weeping

because

she's

been

separated

from the

only one

who truly

has understood

her

and loved

her

she's

weeping

because

this man

who has

delivered her

from bondage

and given

her new

life

is gone

how can

she face

the future

without him

Mary

I would say

is in

the deep

darkness

and anguish

with the

problem

of evil

but

something

prompts her

and

for whatever

reason

she stoops

down

and she

looks back

inside the

tomb

and through

her tears

she saw

something

unbelievable

she saw

these two

brilliant

angelic

messengers

of God

and they're

sitting on

either end

of the stone

shelf

where Jesus

body had

been

and their

question to

her is

why are you

crying

and that

question is

soon echoed

by the voice

of a stranger

behind her

who says

why are you

crying

and who

are you

looking for

and just

pause here

because the

contrast

between

this lamenting

and despairing

woman

and this

resurrected

triumphant

Lord

in the

garden

right there

together

is quite

striking

and I

think it's

a picture

of the

world

in which

we live

the risen

Lord is

right there

and he's

ready

he's able

to dry

her tears

but she

does not

know who

he is

friends

it's possible

to be in

the presence

of the

living Lord

and yet

not realize

that he

is with

you

and you

are with

him

and so

in verse 14

it says

that this

she turned

around

and saw

Jesus

standing

there

but she

did not

realize

that it

was

Jesus

and so

verse 15

he asked

her

woman

why are

you

crying

who is

it

you're

looking

for

and

thinking

he

was

the

gardener

she

said

sir

if

you

have

carried

him

away

tell

me

where

you

have

put

him

and

I

will

go

get

him

this

woman

of

towering

strength

she

says

I

will

go

get

his

body

and

I

will

carry

it

back

on

my

shoulders

with

the

dead

weight

on

me

and

that

is

how

much

I

love

him

just

tell

me

where

he

is

and

Jesus

says

to

her

in

verse

16

Mary

Mary

Mary

the

one

who

created

her

the

one

who

redeemed

her

the

one

who

gave

her

a

new

identity

just

simply

speaks

her

name

and

that

is

enough

Mary

in

John

John 10 · chapter mention

chapter

10

Jesus

said

I'm

the

good

shepherd

and

I

call

my

sheep

by

name

they

know

my

voice

and

they

follow

me

Mary

Mary

it

says

she

turned

toward

him

and

cried

out

in

Aramaic

Rabboni

which

means

teacher

and

Jesus

said

do

not

hold

on

to

me

for

I

have

not

yet

ascended

to

the

father

I

think

we

all

know

that

being

reunited

with

those

that

you

love

is

one

of

the

happiest

experiences

on

earth

right

you

come

up

that

escalator

in

the

airport

you

arrive

on

the

threshold

!

the

door

you

see

that

familiar

face

you

hear

that

reassuring

!

you

feel

the

comforting

embrace

but

imagine

what it

would

be

like

to

be

reunited

with

someone

that

you

thought

you

lost

forever

not

just

somebody

who

took

a

new

job

not

somebody

who

moved

to

another

city

but

someone

you

thought

you

never

see

again

when

we

think

of

the

friends

and

the

family

that

we

lost

it's

devastating

isn't

it

to

think

that

they're

gone

that

however

hard

we

no

medical

or

industrial

advance

can

stop

death

from

winning

and

yet

here

is

one

man

the

one

person

in

history

who's

demonstrated

absolute

power

and

authority

over

death

and

when

Mary

turns

she

grabs

hold

of

Jesus

for

the

sake

of

her

life

she

has

Jesus

in

a

bear

hug

and

is

not

going

to

let

him

go

and

I

just

want

to

pause

here

and

make

a

little

bit

of

application

for

those

of

you

who

may

be

exploring

Christianity

what

other

world view

what

other

life

system

addresses

our

greatest

problem

like

this

addresses

it

because

the

reality

is

your

story

along

with

all

the

stories

of

everyone

you

love

is

going

to

end

in

death

you

know

human

history

is

going

to

end

in

the

collapse

and

death

of

the

universe

but

if

Mary's

encounter

with

Jesus

is

true

if

he

has

a

resurrected

voice

that

can

speak

your

name

if

he

has

a

living

body

that

can

be

held

if

he

has

a

powerful

presence

who

can

come

and

meet

you

and

ask

you

tender

questions

in

the

midst

of

your

deepest

despair

and

hopelessness

then

your

story

and

human

history

is

not

a

tragedy

it's

been

turned

into

a

comedy

that

in

this

moment

the

world

has

finally

turned

a

corner

that

in

the

midst

of

this

old

creation

a

new

creation

has

been

launched

in

the

midst

of

this

old

age

a

new

age

has

begun

and

Jesus

resurrected

body

is

the

first

prototype

of

many

bodies

to

come

you see

in the

resurrection

of

Jesus

God

has

said

yes

to

Jesus

God

has

said

yes

to

all

that

Jesus

is

and

all

that

he's

done

and

all

that

he's

said

and

he

causes

Jesus

to

be

alive

and

so

when

Mary

hears

Jesus

speak

her

name

she

in

this

moment

is

getting

aligned

with

God's

cosmic

yes

to

Jesus

right

she

turns

herself

to

Jesus

and

she

grabs