Will Easter Exceed Your Expectations? (John 20:1-22)
GIST: Jesus came to bring abundant life in the midst of brokenness, devastation, despair, emptiness, fear, and death (to name a few ☺️).
Easter is often a springtime activity lacking any lasting meaning. I have four kids, so I get it. I’ve been to the Easter egg hunts.I’ve cleaned up the candy wrappers. I’ve dyed the eggs. It’s easy to get sucked into what we expect this time of year to be like, bogged down by what society has turned it into, assume we already know the “Easter story”, give half-hearted ascent to that message, and move on with our lives. The problem is, the message of Easter shows us how God came to completely exceed expectations. And, if taken seriously, it’s not something we can just walk away from.
Today, I want us to look at the events of the first Easter Sunday as recorded in John 20. We won’t be able to cover everything expressed in these verses, but I want us to consider how Jesus exceeded the expectations of those who first witnessed His resurrection. Here’s our gist, and I really want us to hold on to this truth: Jesus came to bring abundant life in the midst of brokenness, devastation, despair, emptiness, fear, and death (to name a few ☺️).
Let’s walk through this.
I. Brokenness
“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. 2 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.”
Three days after His death, Mary Magdalene, along with several women close to Jesus (as recorded by the other gospel writers), went early in the morning to anoint His body. The sun was just beginning to rise. They were walking toward a tomb expecting to see the disfigured body of a man they’d followed and loved— a man who had poured out His life to show them the love of God. In the case of Mary, this was also the man who had rescued her from demonic possession. It was a somber, heartbroken procession to say the least. The events leading to His death had been jarring and traumatic. Their current circumstances were eery and uncertain. Their expectations were bleak… but the tomb was empty! They expected only brokenness but found none.
II. Devastation
“3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes.”
John records that Mary Magdalene then ran to tell him and Peter what the women found. The two disciples then booked it to the tomb. John, referring to himself only as “one loved by Jesus, adds this little side note about outrunning Peter. There could be a spiritual reason behind this (he was eager to get there, but afraid to enter the tomb), or he might have just been proud of his athletic accomplishment ☺️. Either way, the passage tells us they weren’t looking for a miraculous resurrection. They both probably came expecting to see the aftermath of a grave robbery. Instead, they discovered… folded laundry. Robbers don't typically tidy up after themselves. Jesus, however, left the grave clothes behind because He didn't need them anymore! Peter and John expected a desecrated crime scene but found order.
III. Despair & Emptiness
“11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 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." 14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 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." 16 Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to Him in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher). 17 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.'" 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"--and that He had said these things to her.”
John’s gospel then picks back up with Mary. After this emotional roller-coaster, she was distressed to the point of irrationality. We see this in a couple ways. One, she looked into the tomb and appeared unmoved when angels showed up and asked why she’s weeping. Then, when she turned and actually encountered the risen Jesus, she immediately assumed He was the gardener, and, as such, might have taken away the body. Why? She was heartbroken and expecting only emptiness. Until.. He called her name. She heard His voice, and that changed everything. It does the same for us. Early in his gospel, John records Jesus saying this: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand.” ( John 10:27-28). Mary came expecting despair but found perfect joy.
IV. Fear & Death
“19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." 20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you." 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.”
The day ends back with the disciples. They’d heard Jesus had resurrected, but were still hiding out of fear for their lives (they were the known associates of a man who had just been crucified by the Roman empire). Then, Jesus showed up and gave them hope and purpose. He showed them His scars and filled them with the Holy Spirit. They were afraid and expecting death but found abundant life.
TAKEAWAYS
We all expect things out of life. Often, we are frustrated when these expectations are not met. A frequent accusation against God is that He fails to produce the kind of happiness, prosperity, protection, etc., we feel we deserve or at least need. The problem here is that we're assuming that our expectations are the gold standard. We don't allow for there being a better plan in mind.
C.S. Lewis put it better than I ever could: “It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.”
Stephen Curtis Chapman expressed the same thoughts in his awesome song, “See The Glory”: “What is this thing I see/ going on inside of me?/ When it comes to the Grace of God/ Sometimes it's like/ I'm playing GameBoy standing in the middle of the Grand Canyon./ I'm eating candy sitting at a gourmet feast./ I'm wading in a puddle when I could be swimming in the ocean./ Tell me what's the deal with me?/ Wake up and see the Glory!”
Now, please don’t misunderstand me. I don’t want this to feel like a blindly optimistic graduation speech. I’m not saying if you come to Jesus life will be easy and all the pain of this world will just dissolve. That’s not true at all. This world will still hurt. There will still be brokenness, and devastation, and despair, and emptiness, and fear, and death. BUT, Jesus came to conquer sin, so it and its effects no longer have to have dominion over our lives because He came offering us rescue. If we believe in Him and give Him control of our lives, we’ll be saved; we’ll be His. Therefore, knowing we are looking forward to a day when life will be exactly as He designed for all eternity should change the way we see the pain of this world now.
We see brokenness but know He came to make all things new.
We face devastation and remember He’s still sovereign.
We watch as He transforms despair into joy & hope.
We feel consumed by emptiness…until we find belonging in Him.
Our fear dissolves into faith.
Where there was once only death, we can now experience abundant life!
Don’t let the despair you’re dreading cause you to miss out on the hope He promises! Will you let the truth of Jesus exceed your expectations this Easter?
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