Witnesses of Resurrection (Easter Sunday)
OT Lesson: Jeremiah 31:1-6 (CEB)
At that time, declares the Lord,
I will be the God of all the families of Israel,
and they will be my people.
The Lord proclaims:
The people who survived the sword
found grace in the wilderness.
As Israel searched for a place of rest,
the Lord appeared to them from a distance:
I have loved you with a love that lasts forever.
And so with unfailing love,
I have drawn you to myself.
Again, I will build you up,
and you will be rebuilt, virgin Israel.
Again, you will play your tambourines
and dance with joy.
Again, you will plant vineyards
on the hills of Samaria;
farmers will plant and then enjoy the harvests.
The time will come when
the watchmen shout from
the highlands of Ephraim:
“Get ready! We’re going up to Zion
to the Lord our God!”
NT Lesson: John 20:1-18 (NRSV)
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. 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.’ Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went towards the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes.
But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. 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.’ When she had said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?’ 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.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni!’ (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, ‘Do not hold on to me, because 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.”’ Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’; and she told them that he had said these things to her.
Sermon
Introduction
The First Witnesses
Early in the morning after the Sabbath, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb to see Jesus. According to the gospels, those people who visited the tomb are slightly different. Gospel of John mentions Mary Magdalene1 but does not specify that she was the only one. Gospel of Matthew mentions Mary Magdalene and the other Mary.2 Gospel of Mark mentions Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome.3 Gospel of Luke has more detail as usual and mentions Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and other women4 who had come with Jesus out of Galilee.5 You may think that the lists of the gospels conflict. But the think is Luke gave us the full list and the other gospels gave us the partial list according to their view point. Still some people may not be happy with this explanation. And this is actually one of the big things that non believers attack the credibility of the gospels: “All four gospels say different things. How can we trust them in the first place? So everything in the gospels is not true including the resurrection.”
In 2019 June, the President Trump went to England and met the British Prime Minister and the Queen when she was still alive. So it was on the news of every media. Then I found something interesting. The headlines were all slightly different. One says, “Trump Visits UK.” And others were like, “Trump and Melania Visit UK,” and “Trump and Ivanka Visit UK.” So which one was telling the truth and which ones were lying? Or because the names were slightly different, does that mean they are all lying and Trump didn’t actually fly to London? The titles were changed according to the viewpoint of the newspapers. Even though the headlines of the newspapers do not agree with each other, we all know that none of the newspapers were lying and that Trump indeed went to England and met the Queen. Beside those three who were named and mentioned in the newspapers, there were so many other people who went to London together—hundreds from the Secret Service and many other cabinet members, even though none of them were named in any of the news articles. So likewise, even though the gospels mentioned different names, they are all telling us the truth, and we can trust and believe all four gospels.
They Were Chosen for Reason
So we all know at least one thing. That all the first witnesses of the resurrection were entirely women. Isn’t it interesting? These days, the gender issue is very delicate and some people tend to see everything according to the gender. But I assure you that it is not a gender issue. Jesus is not a sexist or reverse sexist. God did not choose the witnesses because they were women, or God did not exclude others because they were guys. God chose them individually because they proved that they were worthy.
They Were Diligent
Today’s gospel reading begins with this line: “Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark.” Those women went to the tomb while it was still dark, maybe 4 or 5 in the morning. And they had to get up earlier than that. They did not sleep late like 10 in the morning. God chose them because they were diligent. God uses all kinds of people, and that includes even the enemies of God and those people hostile to Christ. For example, apostle Paul was so hostile against the Christianity and persecuted Christians severely, even murdering some of them. And yet God converted him and used him. Because even though Paul was wicked and one of the worst enemies of God, he was diligent—diligent at persecuting Jesus.
They Risked
While those diligent women went to the tomb, what were the disciples doing? They were afraid. They hid and locked themselves in a house. Actually they had a good reason to be afraid. The exact situation was that they tried a coup and to overturn the government, and failed. On the way to Jerusalem, the disciples were all talking who is going to be the Prime Minister and who is going to be the commander of the army and so on when Jesus becomes the king after the successful coup. On Palm Sunday, the disciples saw the enthusiastic support of the people and believed that the coup would succeed. But it failed. What comes next when they fail a coup? In 21st century democracy countries, they may just end up in a prison for many years. But there was no such thing like democracy back then. In those days, a treason or a failed coup lead to executions of themself and also their entire family. The disciples could not go out because they knew that they would be executed as soon as they were found. They were afraid and they locked themselves in.
Then how come those women were able to go out? Were they safe? Not really. Men can be executed after a trial in those days. Women, especially widows and unmarried women, can be executed without a trial. So those women were more vulnerable and more in danger. They went out not because they were safe. They went out even though they were in greater danger. They risked their lives. Many times, we are too afraid. Too afraid to talk about Jesus. Too afraid to talk about resurrection and salvation to our friends because they might be upset. Many times we don’t even try because we are too afraid. But if we lock ourselves in out of fear, then we can never witness the resurrection of Christ. Only when we risk and break out the fear, we can see the risen Christ.
They Were Loyal
I was going to finish my sermon here but let me add one more thing. Jesus had thousands of followers, not Twitter or Instagram, but in real life. But among those followers, there were two distinctive groups; the twelve disciples of course, and the women from Galilee. And these women came all the way from Galilee to Jerusalem following Jesus. The disciples were always with Jesus on the so-called stage that everybody can see them. They even controlled the crowd. Whenever people wanted to meet Jesus in person, they first had to get the permission from the disciples. They sat at the table with Jesus at the Last Supper, not serving but being served. But the women all the way from Galilee were always behind the scene. They did not get any attention. Nobody noticed them. People despised them simply because they were women. At the Last Supper, they were not able to sit at the table but they were serving Jesus and the disciples.
Conclusion
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