April 15, 2007 Easter 2C
Sermon Title: “When Jesus Stands Among Us”
Series: Empty Tomb Postscript
Text: John 20:19-31
Dr. Steve Jackson
Delivered on April 15, 2007
“When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’” John 20:19
When Jesus Stands Among Us
Today is the Sunday after Easter, traditionally a kind of “let down” Sunday, a day of low attendance and low energy. We’ve all come down from Spring Break, from the sugar buzz we got from eating all that Easter Candy, and more importantly, from the spiritual high of hearing last weeks’ proclamation “He is not here, but has risen!” By now, many of us have settled back into more familiar routines, spiritual and otherwise. It’s interesting, but in American culture Easter is typically thought of as just being one day. But in the church Easter is actually an entire season of the church year. On the church calendar Easter actually lasts for 50 days, which is nearly a sixth of the entire year. During this time we’re are called to ponder and praise God in light of Jesus’ resurrection.
Because of this, we’re starting a new sermon series today titled “Empty Tomb Postscript.” A postscript, or a “PS” is something you don’t hear much about anymore now that we don’t write as many letters. According to Webster’s a postscript is “an additional statement or action that provides further information or a sequel to something.” An empty tomb postscript then, is something that continues the story of Easter. The goal of the series is to keep the empty tomb in sight and fresh on our minds as we move forward. There’s a biblical precedent for this too. The Bible says that for forty days after he was resurrected Jesus continued to appear to his disciples and others before he ascended to heaven (Acts 1:1-9, 1 Cor. 15:6). So for the next few weeks we’re going to look at the continuation of the Easter story and the difference it made in the disciples’ lives, in the life of the church, and hopefully at the difference it makes in our own lives.
Today’s text from John picks up the Easter story right where we left off last week. It’s the evening of resurrection Sunday and the disciples are hiding behind locked doors, shaking in their sandals, worried that Caiphas and his gang are going to come and arrest them next. I’ve often thought about that room – I picture it as a very dark, small space, not unlike the tomb that Jesus himself had been in. I picture the disciples as being fearful, confused and desperately seeking answers. What happened? Their leader, spiritual guide and closest friend had just been brutally tortured and executed. Word on the street was that a mob was searching for Jesus’ followers too. No doubt they were wondering who will be murdered next?
Mary Magdalene and some other women had come running from the tomb claiming to have seen him alive, but the disciples thought the women were telling an “idle tale” (Luke 24:11). After all, they had heard his final words and seen the spear thrust into his body. They had watched him die – the women must just be hysterical in their grief.
But then suddenly, according to John 20:19, “Jesus came and stood among them.” And that short declaration is what I want to talk about today. I want to talk about what happens “When Jesus Stands Among Us?” What difference does His presence make in our lives? I want to challenge us at that point this morning. If you don’t hear anything else I say today—hear this; in fact, jot it down: What happens when Jesus stands among us? What difference does it make that Jesus is in our midst? What does Jesus bring to us?
I believe there’s a definite sense in which the disciples’ story told here is our own story. Think about it for a moment. The disciples were locked away in that small dark room—a room not unlike the dark tomb Jesus had been in. And notice they were huddled there after the resurrection. Jesus has already emerged from the tomb and been seen by people. And still, the disciples are hidden away, full of fear. The fact that he’s been resurrected is making absolutely no difference whatsoever in their lives at this point, even though it has already happened. He is risen, but they are not. As he rises, they bury themselves.
I believe the disciples themselves needed to be “resurrected.” They needed to have the one who had just proved himself to be “the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25) to call them forth to new life even as he did Lazarus from his tomb not too long before that. The disciples, like Jesus, and like Lazarus before him, were locked away, fearful, empty, and lost. But then, like a said a moment ago, Jesus came and stood among them. What happens when Jesus stands among us? What does he bring to us?
Well obviously I think he brings a lot—but there are three things in particular that John tells us Jesus brought to the disciples (and to us) when he arrived on the scene. They are three things we all need—and they are definitely a postscript to the empty tomb. They “complete the thought” if you will. What are these three?
PEACE
The first thing he brings to us is peace. And please notice that John really wants us to see this. Three times in the few verses we read this morning he has Jesus say to the disciples, “Peace be with you” (v. 19, 21, 26).
And what wonderful “first words” these were for Jesus to speak to his
disciples. Is there anything on earth that we need more than God’s peace? While researching this message I read a
statistic that stunned me. The Society of International Law, in
And that’s only “country versus country” peace. What about peace between individuals and within families, and perhaps most difficult of all, the inner peace we all need?
Peace is so elusive. I read about an art collector who wanted to find the perfect piece of art depicting peace. Not finding one already painted that satisfied him, he announced a contest to produce this masterpiece. The challenge stirred the imagination of artists everywhere, and paintings arrived from far and wide. Finally the day arrived when all the paintings were unveiled. One peaceful scene after another was uncovered, while the viewers clapped and cheered. Finally, only two pictures remained. As the cover was pulled from one, a hush fell over the crowd. It was a mirror-smooth lake reflecting a gorgeous sunset. Along the grassy shore, a flock of sheep grazed undisturbed. Surely this was the winner. But then the final painting was unveiled and the crowd gasped in surprise. How could this picture be about peace? A tumultuous waterfall cascaded down a rocky precipice; the crowd could almost feel its cold, penetrating spray. Storm clouds above the noisy falls threatened to explode with lightning, wind and rain. In the midst of the thundering noise and bitter chill, a spindly tree clung to the rocks at the edge of the falls. But then they saw it: On one of the branches of the little tree, a little bird had built a nest. Content and undisturbed in her stormy surroundings, she rested on her eggs. With her eyes closed and her wings covering her little ones, she manifested a peace that transcended all earthly turmoil.
That’s actually a perfect representation of the kind of peace God brings. One of the great misconceptions about the Christian faith is that some people think once Jesus comes into the picture everything is going to be serene and placid. No more pain, no more sorrow. But the peace that Jesus brings doesn’t mean you’re going to have a trouble free life from that moment on. Instead the peace Jesus brings is the confidence that no matter what comes at you, good or bad, He’s going to be right there with you every step of the way. You can have his peace in the midst of the storm, not unlike that little bird on her nest next to the waterfall.
Do you have that kind of peace in your life? Do you have the confidence that, no matter what, Jesus is with you? When Jesus stands among us we can be confident that is true.
PURPOSE
The second thing Jesus brings when he stands among us is purpose. In verse 21 of the passage we read, after Jesus says “Peace be with you” he announces his purpose for the disciples. It’s a purpose you and I share as believers today. He says, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
I recently set myself the goal of reading the top 100 novels of all time. I found a list and started on it two weeks ago during spring break. So far I’ve read five of the classics of literature (five very short ones I might add). It’s interesting, but in reading these great stories something has become clear to me. I guess I knew it all along, but it’s really been hammered home as I’ve read some of the classics of literature. This great truth is that you can live a long time without thinking about such things as "meaning" and "purpose" in life. But in the end, if you want to have a happy and healthy life you’re going to eventually have to deal with these issues in your life.
Ralph Barton, a famous cartoonist of a former generation, left a note
pinned to his pillow before committing suicide. The note read: “I have had few difficulties, many friends,
great successes; I have gone from wife to wife, and from house to house,
visited great countries of the world, but I am fed up with inventing devices to
fill up twenty-four hours of the day.”
I don’t know what all was bothering Ralph Barton, but clearly what he suffered most from was an empty life. He tried to fill the emptiness with relationships, material possessions, and busyness. He was successful in his work and he was probably well liked. His problem was that his life was empty—he felt as though his life had no meaning.
In Mitch Albom’s book, “Tuesdays With Morrie” the author chronicles the final months of his former college professor’s life as he slowly dies of Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS). Their rekindled relationship turned into one final “class” that included some great lessons in how to live. At one point Morrie says, “So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half asleep even when they are busy doing things they think are important. This is the product of chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning."
The One who said, “I come not to be served, but to serve” (Matt. 20:28) understood this. The One who said, “just as you did it to one of the least of these…you did it to me” (Matt. 25:40) understood this. The One who said, “Those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it” (Matt. 16:25) understood this. We all need a purpose in life that’s bigger than ourselves. Jesus came to bring us that purpose. When Jesus stands among us he announces his purpose for our lives, a purpose that’s not about “me” but about “others” “As the Father has sent me, so also I send you.”
Do you want to be happy? Do you want a life that matters? Then fill it up doing what Jesus did with his life—loving and caring for those around you! Do that and I’ll guarantee you that your life will never seem empty again! Jesus comes bringing us a purpose that pulls us from the bleak, dark, closed space of self-absorption and sends us out beyond our locked doors to share God’s good news and to serve others.
POWER
The third thing Jesus brings when he stands among us is power. Immediately after He extended his peace to the disciples and commissioned them with a purpose in life, Jesus gave them power for living. Verse 22 says, “When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’”
Just as our relationship with God depends totally on what God has done through Jesus Christ, so the power to live the Christian life also comes totally from God. To live the Christian life as God intends, we must continually draw upon God's power, through the Holy Spirit. It’s just as simple as that and there is no other way.
Sadly, many believers live totally powerless Christian lives. We’re like
the beautiful float that suddenly sputtered and quit one New Year's Day, as it
headed down
But when Jesus stands among us we don’t have to live without power—because
He brings the Holy Spirit when he stands among us. When a hurricane hit
No one should live in a neighborhood without power where everyone else
has it. And no believer should live without God’s power—given by Christ through
the Holy Spirit—but many of us do. Today Norena’s house is flooded with light and hot water is
flowing through the pipes for the first time since that terrible night fifteen
years ago when the winds of Hurricane Andrew took her power away. As believers
we have access to another wind—the wind of the Holy Spirit—the breath of God as
John describes it in today’s passage. Jesus has breathed that power on all
those who call him Lord. We don’t have to live in the dark any longer. We are not
powerless. Instead we have his peace, his purpose for our lives, and his power
to live those lives. We can step forth into God’s light.
How about you? Are you living
in the darkness? And I don’t mean the darkness of sin. The disciples huddled
together in that darkened room behind locked doors weren’t in the darkness of
sin—they were in darkness of powerlessness. If you are then remember this: When
Jesus stands among us he breathes the Spirit’s power into us. What did he say
in verse 22? “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
And they did.
These three things are what Christ brings to us when he stands among us: peace, purpose, and power. If there is any such thing as a “secret to life,” in my mind these three constitute it. Anyone who has the peace of God, something God-given to do with his or her life, and the power with which to do it, has a great life to live. Did you realize we have these three things?
Right now, even though the tomb is empty, some of us remain paralyzed by the kind of fear that causes us to shut ourselves in behind locked doors. To you Jesus comes speaking a word of liberating peace. “Peace be with you – come forth!”
Right now, even though the tomb is empty, some of us continue to live empty lives like Morrie described to Mitch Albom—drifting aimlessly, searching for meaning in life with relationships, material possessions or busyness instead of through the purpose God gives. To you Jesus comes announcing your life’s mission. “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” As a postscript to the empty tomb you and I have a significant purpose in our lives to fulfill. It may be to go overseas to share the gospel, or maybe just across the street. Maybe it’s to share God’s love with a family member, or to serve in a soup kitchen, but you do have a purpose, we are a sent people.
Right now, even though the tomb is empty, some of us feel powerless and hopeless. Like Norena down in South Florida after the winds of Hurricane Andrew took away her power we’re sitting there in the darkness feeling alone and powerless. And you’ve been sitting in that condition for years. To you comes the Lord Jesus, breathing his Spirit into your life. Receive God’s power for living in your life. Refuse to feel helpless—God is in you!
This morning we’re going to conclude our service with the Sacrament of Holy Communion. Communion is all about remembering. I don’t know that we’ve ever celebrated Communion on the Sunday after Easter, but what a perfect time it is to remember what he has done for us. If you read the post-resurrection accounts—all the “Empty tomb postscripts” there is a theme of remembrance running through them. Last week we heard the two angels say to the women, “Remember how he told you that he would be handed over to sinners and crucified, and on the third day rise again?” (Luke 24:7). And the travelers on the Road to Emmaus recalled how their hearts “burned within them” as he spoke to them (Luke 24:32). And so in a moment we will come to the Lord’s Table and again “remember.” As we do let’s remember his peace, and his purpose for us, and his power for living. Let’s pray.