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SUNDAY, APRIL 4, 2010

EASTER

John 20:1-18 (The measure of true greatness)

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TODAY’S SERMON THEME:

When we search the pages of history for true greatness, we find that one major characteristic stands above all others. And that characteristic is this: The power over life and death. Nothing else comes close to this standard. And a careful inspection of history shows that only one person had complete authority over life and death, and His name is Jesus. He is the only One who exerted true and unlimited resurrection power. He is the only One who shattered the death barrier. And His power is still available to us today.

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1. When I was very young, I became mesmerized by the whole concept of "greatness." I started reading about great cities. And great leaders. And great countries. And great military powers. And great athletes. I started thinking about greatness primarily because a young professional boxer in 1964 started calling himself "THE GREATEST." And for a while, in the 1960's and early 1970's, Muhammad Ali truly WAS "the greatest" boxer on earth. And then he seemed to just fade away. I started looking through the pages of history and discovered several people who were called "great" as part of their names. I read everything I could about them:

(1) Sargon the Great. The Mesopotamian ruler who lived 4,300 years ago and was one of the earliest of the world's great empire builders.

(2) Ramses the Great. The most powerful of all the Egyptian pharaohs, the one who built great cities and monuments in the second millennium before Christ, and who MAY have been the pharaoh at the time of Moses and the Exodus of the Hebrew people.

(3) Alexander the Great. The incomparable Greek conqueror of the Western world in the Fourth Century BC, the one who helped bring about the Golden age of Greek culture in the west.

(4) Constantine the Great. The Roman emperor who in the year 312 AD was converted to Christianity, and who led the way to the establishment of the Christian faith as the official religion of the Roman Empire.

(5) Charles the Great -- Charlemagne. The King of the Franks, who became protector and defender of the Christian world in the west 800 years after the birth of the Lord Jesus.

(6) Peter the Great. The giant, 6-foot-7 emperor of Russia from 1689 to 1725, who brought Russia almost single-handedly out of the Middle Ages into the modern world.

(7) Catherine the Great. The empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796, who continued the process of Westernization begun by Peter the Great and who made Russia into a European power.

2. By the world's standards, by the standards of history, these were all GREAT people. And we could name others: Hammurabi, Cyrus, Darius, Julius Caesar, Justinian, George Washington, Napoleon, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt. And the great religious leaders of history: St. Peter and St. Paul, St. Augustine, St. Helena, Mother Teresa, Martin Luther, Thomas Cranmer, John Calvin. And the great artists and composers of history: Michelangelo, Raphael, Da Vinci, Bach, Handel, Mozart. All of these people accomplished GREAT things during a specific period of time. All of them exerted GREAT influence during a specific era of history. All of them were GREAT leaders and innovators during their lifetimes. Without question, all were GREAT people. And they richly deserve the name "great" in connection with their names.

3. But at the same time, all of them died. All were buried. And all disappeared from the on-going pages of history -- except as memories of long-ago days. Names from the past. But these names bring me to the main point I want to make on this Easter Sunday. And here it is:

4. Let us look this morning at the greatest story ever told -- the story of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus from the dead. Our Gospel lesson this morning is from John Chapter 20:

(1) The setting. The first day of the week after the Passover Festival, in the old city of Jerusalem -- the week that changed the course of history. It is about the year 30 AD, during the reign of the Roman Emperor Tiberius Caesar. It is during the governorship of Pontius Pilate. And it is one of the most documented events in all of world history -- attested by several eyewitness accounts that are preserved for us in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

(2) The dramatic event. Two days before this, a prophet and miracle-worker from Nazareth -- Jesus -- was put to death by crucifixion . . . on trumped-up charges of blasphemy and sedition. His execution followed a week that saw Him enter Jerusalem to a heroic welcome on Palm Sunday; spend considerable time in the Temple in Jerusalem teaching and speaking to the crowds; undergo a traumatic betrayal by one of his closest friends, Judas; share a final Passover meal in the Upper Room with His apostles; and then undergo 15 hours of torture, turmoil, pain, and mistreatment following His arrest about 10 p.m. on Thursday in the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives, just east of Jerusalem.

(3) The events of Holy Saturday. Just one day before -- yesterday -- the Garden Tomb that held His scarred body was ordered sealed by the Roman governor, who stationed a small contingent of soldiers to guard it. It is important to remember that Roman soldiers who left their post, or fell asleep at their post, were subject to severe punishment, including the death penalty.

(4) The events of this morning. Our Gospel lesson tells us that Mary Magdalene, one of the followers of the Lord Jesus, went long before sunrise to the tomb, probably carrying spices and ointments to complete the job of preparing the body -- a job done hurriedly about 4 p.m. on Friday by Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea. Mary thus becomes one of the most courageous people in history. Fear. Doubts. Questions. Uncertainty. Darkness. Evil. She set aside her fears and went to care for her Lord’s body. She discovered that the large stone covering the tomb was lifted up and hurled aside, the soldiers were nowhere to be found, and the tomb was empty. She ran back to the Upper Room with the horrible news (grave-robbers had stolen the body?), and Peter and John ran back, looked in the tomb, and confirmed the news.

(5) The divine encounter. Peter and John left the garden, undoubtedly perplexed and fearful. But Mary Magdalene stayed. Such was her indomitable courage. She then encountered two angels, dressed in white, inside the tomb. “Woman, why are you weeping?” they asked. She replied: “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where He is.” At that precise moment, she turned around and saw another person, someone she thought was the gardener. “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you seeking?” the man asked her. Mary replied: “Sir, if you have taken Him away, please tell me where He is, and I will go to Him.” At that point, the Risen Christ said to her: “Mary!” Her eyes were opened and she recognized that Jesus was standing there in front of her. “Rabbouni!” she said to Him.

(6) The “apostle” to the apostles. Mary Magdalene thus becomes the first eyewitness to the resurrection. She returns with the news to the Upper Room -- “I have seen the Lord.” She is the apostle to the apostles.

5. From that moment, nothing in history would ever be the same.

(1) Jesus appeared repeatedly over the next 40 days to His closest friends. He shared meals with them, teaching them in detail about the Kingdom of God. He appeared to the apostles in the Upper Room, to Peter, to James, to two travelers on the Road to Emmaus, and to more than 500 people at one time.

(2) Their lives were changed forever. Nothing in their world would ever be the same. They were transformed from frightened followers into enthusiastic evangelists -- messengers of the Good News that Jesus had conquered DEATH and the GRAVE. They were transformed by their encounter with the Risen Christ, whose resurrection shattered the bonds of death. Their witness, through the power of the Holy Spirit, became the most powerful force on earth. Lives were changed. Hearts were transformed by the simple message: “I have seen the Lord.”

(3) And so it is today. Once a person encounters the Risen Christ, that person is changed forever. The power that shattered death at the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem is still capable of transforming lives today.

6. The magnificent LOVE of God, in Christ Jesus, shows for all time that DEATH will never more have the final say in our lives. God’s LIGHT will always overcome darkness. God’s HOPE will always overcome despair. God’s TRUTH will always overcome falsehood. God’s LOVE will always overcome hatred and evil. History confirms that TRUE GREATNESS -- unlimited, eternal GREATNESS -- is available to us through our Risen Lord.

7. AND HOW do we access this GREATNESS? HOW do we make contact with the true signs of heavenly greatness? Jesus tells us how:

In Matthew 18 . . . the apostles asked Him -- in very direct, almost blunt words -- who is the GREATEST in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Jesus responded in an extraordinary way: By taking a small child and placing the child in the midst of them, and then saying: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Therefore, whoever becomes humble like this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.”

When we serve others in Jesus’ name -- in humility and faithfulness -- we are following the example of our Lord Himself . . . and making contact with Him, in all His heavenly, eternal greatness. When we open our hearts to others, in service and compassion, we are following the example of our Lord Himself. We become GREAT in His eyes.

On this day, may we all come into contact with Him . . . just as the apostles did on the day of His Resurrection.