Jump Start # 1828

John 20:6-7 “And so Simon Peter also came, following him, and entered the tomb; and he saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself.”

Sunday is Easter. It’s the time for children to hunt for eggs, dress in fine clothes and eat chocolate bunnies. The world nods to a tomb that became empty after three days. The early church remembered the resurrection not by calling it Easter, but by taking the Lord’s Supper each Sunday. Jesus said, “this do in remembrance of Me.” I remember my mother telling stories of her family gathering with the church for a sunrise service in a cemetery. Some years it was so cold. In many cemeteries to this day, the body is buried facing East, the direction of the rising sun. One funeral I did years ago, after everyone left, the funeral director had the casket turned around because “it wasn’t facing east.” No one would have ever known, but he made sure that detail was taken care of.

Every spring, especially in the Ohio valley and in the North, God gives us reminders of resurrection. Through the winter, plants and grass and even trees look dead. The yards are brown. The trees stand with no leaves on them. But every spring, things come back to life and out of the ground comes flowers.

Our verse today tells of the first look into the tomb by one of the apostles. Peter and another disciple, probably Mark, ran to the tomb when the women reported what they saw and heard. Mark was younger and faster. He beat Peter to the tomb but stayed on the outside. Peter rushed in. It was there that he saw the line wrappings and the face-cloth. He didn’t see a body. The linen wrappings and the face-cloth were not in the same place. The face-cloth had been rolled up, just as if someone took it off their face.

We remember when Lazarus was raised, he came out of the tomb wrapped up. Jesus gave the order to “unbind him.” Common people were not embalmed back then. The body was layered with spices and wrapped tightly with linens. There were linens also used to wrap the head. The body looked like a mummy, wrapped tightly with these cloths.

The presence of these linens in the tomb, give further proof to the resurrection of Christ. Had the disciples stolen the body of Jesus, they would have known where He was and they would not have taken the time to “unwrap” Him. Had the Jews stolen the body, they may have cut through the face cloth for identification, but they as well, would not have taken the time to unwrap the body. It would be hard to do that in a dark tomb. It would take several people do that in haste.

Peter enters and there are the grave linens, laid in two different places. They are there but the body is gone. The large stone has been moved. The Roman seal has been broken. Their thoughts swirl. What could all of this mean? The other disciples with Peter finally comes in. He sees and the text reveals that “he believed.” We are not sure what he believed because the following passage states, “they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. So the disciples went away again to their own homes.” They went home! They didn’t find the rest of the apostles, as the women had. They went home. They went home thinking what?

Mary is sitting outside the tomb weeping. Her tears are not in sorrow but in wondering who has taken Jesus and what have they done with His body. She speaks to a gardener and asks him where the body is. She doesn’t know that it is Jesus. In one of the great moments of the Bible, the Lord says, “Mary!” It’s not the gardener, it’s the Lord. He knew her. The tone of His voice. He said her name. He was alive. Tears are replaced with great joy.

It is astonishing to see the great detail the Bible gives us about those first few hours of Jesus’ resurrection. What follows are layers and layers of proof that Jesus was raised. Not a rumor. Not some rouge press release. Witnessed. Seen. Talked to. Eaten with. Walked with. Hundreds of people saw Jesus.

His resurrection crushed the Roman execution. Romans were skilled at putting people to death. The cross was a visible sign that you don’t mess with Rome. The executions were not in far away secluded places. There were visible to the public, often as one entered town. Today, we get disgusted to see junk yards on the edge of town. We see them as eye sores to the community. Imagine seeing people on crosses as you entered Jerusalem. That thought would keep a heavy hand upon any Jewish uprising. Rome will deal harshly with you if you threaten her. Yet, Jesus rose from the grave. The other two executed with Jesus remained in their graves. Rome wasn’t more powerful than Jesus.

His resurrection crushed the Jewish hatred. They thought, execute Jesus and we will be finished with him and this movement. Without Jesus, it will all fade away. Things will settle down, and we, the Jews, will be back in favor with Rome. Their jealousy and hatred led to a terrible and unjust trial. He was executed. Then He arose. The movement didn’t die, it exploded. Even some priests became believers. The word of the resurrected Savior spread throughout the world. Their little plan and plot backfired.

His resurrection crushed Satan. Long ago, back in the garden of Eden, God had promised that the seed of woman would crush the serpent. Resurrection day was the day that happened. Satan’s greatest tool is death. No one can get around it. Sooner or later we all die. And once we die, we stay dead. Satan smiles. No armies can change that. No medicine can prevent that. We are powerless under the spell of Satan. That is, until Jesus. Up from the grave He arose. And not just Jesus, but because of Jesus, all will be raised. Satan has lost his greatest power. With the resurrection, Jesus conquered the fear of death among believers.

Death is viewed differently from Heaven’s point of view. Death is merely going through a door to another room. As birth takes us from the world of the womb to where we are, death takes us from here to paradise. It’s simply a matter of switching rooms. To the believer, he is not dead. He’s only in the other room. Death is that necessary door that we must go through to get to where we want to be, with God. The tears at death are not without hope. There is no “the end” to our story. As the song goes, “We’ll live on and on,” because of Jesus.

This grand event must be remembered. This resurrection changed everything. It is because of this that we not only believe, but that we too change our lives. God lives.

Roger