A number of years ago, while I was still in seminary, Sam and I happened to be driving by a cemetery the week before Easter. There was a huge banner over the front entrance proclaiming, “Easter Sunrise Service Here on Easter Sunday.” My first thought was, “What a strange place to have an Easter Sunrise service.” But then I remembered that the first Easter took place at sunrise – in a cemetery – and it all made perfect sense.
In Jerusalem there are two separate locations claiming to be the tomb of Jesus. That’s not unusual – there are two locations claiming to be most of the places that are associated with Jesus. Yesterday I read a sermon, the whole of which discussed which tomb was the right location – I thought what a waste of a sermon. The location itself is not so important – but what happened there is!
The two locations are the Garden Tomb and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. We visited both while we were in Jerusalem. The church of the Holy Sepulchre is a huge building covering an area larger than most city blocks - and the last five stations of the cross along the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem are inside the church.
You go to one chapel to see the place where the cross was – and another to see where they gambled for his clothing, etc. There are a lot of side chapels, and then you stand in a long line waiting to go into the little grotto where the tomb is supposed to be. That was in the news recently because it was closed off to the public to be refurbished. It reopened several weeks ago to be ready for Easter. The church is a busy place with lots of people and a lot of ambient noise. There is really no place to go and be still and just absorb what it is all about.
A story is told about one of the keepers of the Holy Sepulchre who was found sitting on a bench at the Garden Tomb. A worker at the Garden Tomb knew who he was and asked why he was there. The man answered, “I know we have the right location of the tomb – but the garden here has the right feel.”
Picture yourself – early in the morning you are grieving the loss of the one your love, the one you have pinned all your hopes and dreams on. It is early spring – the flowers are beginning to come out and the birds and bees and butterflies are flitting around – and yet you wonder how life can go on.
Every gospel interpretation of the empty tomb is a little different. Matthew’s gospel is an apologetic – Mary Magdalene and the other Mary are both listed as witnesses to the crucifixion and death, the burial and the resurrection.
In this way Matthew refutes stories that the disciples stole the body, and that Jesus didn’t really die. In Jewish law, there must be two witnesses to establish any fact. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were both witnesses and they vouch for the certainty of death, of the burial, of the empty tomb, and of the risen Lord.
Matthew wants to be sure that we understand that Jesus did not raise himself. There was an earthquake – that served to open the tomb, but Jesus was already gone. There is an angel but he is simply the messenger – he did not raise Jesus. God and God alone raised Jesus from the dead. God validated and vindicated Jesus – his life, his message, his ministry.
The empty tomb is important – and the message of the angel – both served to give them hope, but the women didn’t really understand until Jesus met them on the path – and they were able to touch him. Even though the angel told them he was risen – it is the witness with their own eyes in which they experienced truth.
Part of the power of the resurrection is in its unexpectedness. Yes, Jesus had predicted it, over and over, but none of them had understood it – therefore they did not expect it. They went to the tomb to be near and to mourn and to weep. And when they arrived, they found joy to replace the tears – they found hope to replace despair.
The angel told them, “Go quickly and tell…” When Jesus met them on the path, he told the women, “Go and tell.” They went – and they told.
Why do we still remember a man (a backwater preacher/teacher) who lived 2000 years ago – who never held a government position or conquered a nation – who never traveled more than 100 miles from where he was born? The reason is because those who were witnesses went and told others who also told others. That telling has come down through the centuries to us.
One minister ended his sermon on Easter Sunday saying, “Maybe you came here this morning looking for Jesus – sorry, he’s not here….” I understand the sentiment – but argue the fact.
Jesus is here! Any time two or more people gather in his name, he is in the midst of them. Turn around and look at your neighbor – the person next to you. Look around at everyone who fills this place and know that – not only has Jesus risen from the dead – but because he is risen, Jesus is here today. Because he is risen, we have hope for the future. Because he promises that we will rise also, we know that our lives have significance beyond the grave. Because he is risen we can share in his kingdom both here on earth and in heaven. Because he is risen, we are called to continue the story - to go out and tell others:
Jesus Christ is alive. He is risen from the dead and he stands among us. He brings the certainty of life after death. Certainty that this world is not our ultimate home, but that there is something more waiting for us beyond the grave. Christ is risen!
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