ABSENT ON EASTER (JOHN 20:19-31)

Sermon by Dr Andrew Peh on Easter Sunday 2011

GODISNOWHERE
GODISNOWHERE

Sceptics have often discounted Jesus' absence with 3 theories:

1. Wrong Tomb Theory: The women went to the wrong tomb and so did the disciples. This is easily debunked, because they could have solved this by asking Joseph of Arimathea who was the owner of the tomb.
2. Hallucination Theory: All the witnesses who purport to have seen the resurrected Jesus were so distraught that they all hallucinated about Jesus being alive again etc.
3. Swoon Theory: Jesus only fainted and was not dead when they laid him in the tomb. The cool air of the tomb resuscitated his spirits. This theory is doubtful because Jesus was severely whipped and hung on the cross for 6 hours. He was wrapped in aloes and frankinscence which totalled 70 lbs (pounds). It is hard for him to unwrap himself from these wrappings and burial cloths, to be able to then pile them nicely in the tomb. Moveover, it would take at least 10 men to roll the stone away and this cannot happen without substantial noise which would definitely have alerted the soldiers.
4. Theft Theory: The disciples came and make off with his body in the night. This is doubtful too as they would have to be able to file past the well trained Roman guards to get to his body in the first place.

These theories are just symptomatic of our time: we want to exclude Jesus from our lives.

All the gospel writers spend substantial amount of time to describe their encounters with the resurrected Christ: the proclamation of the angel at the tomb, to Mary Magdalene; the Upper Room encounter when he breathed his Holy Spirit on them; the record of Thomas tangibly seeing the wounds of the resurrected Christ and his immediate response of worship.

These testimonies demonstrate:

1. Believers have Final Victory over death and sin.

James DeLoach, quoted in "When God Was Taken Captive" W. Aldrich, Multnomah, 1989, p. 24.

"I am not a connoisseur of great art, but from time to time a painting or picture will really speak a clear, strong message to me. Some time ago I saw a picture of an old burned-out mountain shack. All that remained was the chimney...the charred debris of what had been that family's sole possession. In front of this destroyed home stood an old grandfather-looking man dressed only in his underclothes with a small boy clutching a pair of patched overalls. It was evident that the child was crying. Beneath the picture were the words which the artist felt the old man was speaking to the boy. They were simple words, yet they presented a profound theology and philosophy of life. Those words were, "Hush child, God ain't dead!"

"That vivid picture of that burned-out mountain shack, that old man, the weeping child, and those words "God ain't dead" keep returning to my mind. Instead of it being a reminder of the despair of life, it has come to be a reminder of hope! I need reminders that there is hope in this world. In the midst of all of life's troubles and failures, I need mental pictures to remind me that all is not lost as long as God is alive and in control of His world."

The empty cross and tomb have decidedly transformed Christian funerals. Paul rejoices in 1 Corinthians 15:55, Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” Yes, while we will weep and cry at the loss of our loved ones, there is this inherent quality: death is swallowed up in victory: that there is hope. Michael Card shared that very well in his song: Love Crucified Arose:

Love Crucified Arose
Long ago He blessed the earth
Born older than the years
And in the stall the cross He saw
Through the first of many tears
A life of homeless wandering
Cast out in sorrow's way
The Shepherd seeking for the lost
His life the price He paid

Chorus
Love crucified arose
The risen One in splendor
Jehovah's sole Defender
Has won the victory
Love crucified arose
And the grave became a place of hope
For the heart that sin and sorrow broke
Is beating once again

Throughout Your life You've felt the weight
Of what You'd come to give
To drink for us that crimson cup
So we might really live
At last the time love and die
The dark appointed day
That one forsaken moment when
Your Father turned His face away
Repeat Chorus

The grave becomes a place of hope so each year when Ps Andrew revises his own funeral worship order (on his birthday), he will plan it in the light of the Resurrection of Christ.

He also shared a relatively new praise hymn written by the great Stuart Townend, the British musician who wrote the favorite praise chorus: In Christ Alone. This new praise hymn is entitled There Is A Hope. The lyrics are rich, both spiritually and theologically. Here they are:There Is A Hope by Stuart Townend and Mark Edwards Copyright (c) 2007 Thankyou Music.

There Is A Hope by Stuart Townend

There is a hope that burns within my heart,
That gives me strength for ev'ry passing day;
a glimpse of glory now revealed in meager part,
Yet drives all doubt away:
I stand in Christ, with sins forgiv'n;
and Christ in me, the hope of heav'n!
My highest calling and my deepest joy,
to make His will my home.


There is a hope that lifts my weary head,
A consolation strong against despair,
That when the world has plunged me in its deepest pit,
I find the Savior there!
Through present sufferings, future's fear,
He whispers, "Courage!" in my ear.
For I am safe in everlasting arms,
And they will lead me home.


There is a hope that stands the test of time,
That lifts my eyes beyond the beckoning grave,
To see the matchless beauty of a day divine
When I behold His face!
When sufferings cease and sorrows die,
and every longing satisfied,then joy unspeakable will flood my soul,
For I am truly home.

Jesus' absence from the tomb brings us into this joy and glory.

Reflection Questions:

1. Where are some of my present sufferings or my future fears?
2. How may the absence of Christ from the tomb give me hope in these situations?