Sermon: Victory and Vindication

 

Texts: Acts 10:34-43; Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24; Matthew 28:1-10

Lectionary: Easter Sunday Year A

It was mid-morning on Friday.[1] Acceding to the demands of religious rulers, Roman soldiers had secured Jesus on the cross and driven spikes through his hands and feet. The cross was raised and then dropped into a hole in the ground.

Any hope and joy that was present earlier in the week had long since evaporated. From his entry into Jerusalem, followed by the overturning of tables at the Temple, and his apparent victories in honor contests with religious leaders all seemed like something from a long-distant dream of another world. What was left was a sense of utter defeat and hopelessness.

The leaders who had demanded Jesus’ crucifixion now joined with the soldiers to mock him. They had secured victory over Jesus. The honor they had been losing to Jesus for the past few years had now been recovered. They had finally shamed and defeated Jesus.

Nearly all Jesus’ disciples had fled and gone into hiding. There was only shame left to be associated with Jesus. And the disciples may have thought that the leaders, perhaps sensing blood and also a potential threat from not completely eradicating Jesus’ movement, they would be coming after the disciples, too.

But many of the women followers and disciples of Jesus remained at Calvary, taking it all in. Perhaps they held out hope that Jesus still might get delivered somehow. But the hours passed, and mid-afternoon, around 3 o’clock, Jesus cried out and died. Simultaneously, a great earthquake shook the earth.

Even so, the women stayed and continued to watch. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons, James and John. This was the same mother who had not too long ago asked for Jesus to allow her sons to sit on either side of Jesus in his kingdom.[2] At that time the two, James and John, had said that they could drink from Jesus’ cup, yet they were nowhere to be seen at the cross.[3] It was, ironically, their mother who remained to bear witness.

As the sun began to make its way toward the western horizon and darkness began to creep in from the east, the women saw Joseph of Arimathea arrive with some of his servants, tools, and supplies. They went up to where Jesus’ now lifeless body still hung. They took the cross, lifted it up out of the ground, and laid it gently back down on the ground. They pried out the spikes and untied the cords that were holding Jesus in place. One of the servants unrolled a brand new, linen cloth. They gently lifted Jesus’ broken, bruised, battered, and blood soaked body up from the cross and onto the cloth. They carefully wrapped the cloth around Jesus, and then carried him off the hill.

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary followed the men down the hill and watched as the body was laid in Joseph’s tomb. They watched as a large stone was rolled in front to seal it. There was a sense of finality about this. Jesus was dead. Jesus was buried. Jesus was gone.

Yet, there was something that these women had heard from Jesus’ mouth that nagged at the back of their minds. It was something about a resurrection on the third day.[4] Amidst their grief and sorrow, there was a pinpoint of hope. Yet, they had seen Jesus die. They saw Jesus get placed into the tomb. They remained silent, and sat down on rocks near the tomb. With tear-filled eyes and heaving sobs, they looked at the large stone covering the tomb and then at one another and back.

It was now getting dark and they would have to return to where they were staying; perhaps the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus in Bethany. They thought about Lazarus, and how Jesus commanded the stone covering Lazarus’ tomb to be moved. They could still hear Jesus’ voice as he called for Lazarus to come out of the tomb. Could something similar happen again? But Jesus was dead. It just didn’t seem possible that Jesus could be resurrected. Who could call Jesus out of the tomb?

Now back in Bethany, the Sabbath had begun. They wanted to return to the tomb, to take care of Jesus’ body as they would have, if they had had time. But that would have to wait until after the Sabbath.

In the meantime, the Temple leaders decided that the priority of the institution, and maintaining their authority and honor superseded that of keeping to the traditions of Sabbath observance that they themselves taught. They went to Pilate and asked for guards to seal the tomb until after the third day. Pilate granted their request, sending a group of soldiers with them, and they ensured that the tomb would be secure.

On the First Day, as the first morning twilight began to pierce through the darkness, Mary and the other Mary quickly exited where they were staying to make their way back to the tomb. Neither had slept. As the first rays of dawn began to rise up over the horizon, they arrived at the tomb. They saw that a large group of Roman soldiers had sprouted next to the tomb, sometime during their absence.

Before they could try to make sense of it, an extremely bright light, much brighter than the sun, seemed to zip down from the still-dark sky, strike next to the stone covering the tomb, and in that same instant a great earthquake shook the ground. From the location where the light struck, a figure emerged and quickly rolled away the stone and sat on it.

Mary and Mary quickly grabbed onto some olive trees that were nearby to keep from falling to the ground. The soldiers were not quite so fortunate, as they tried to steady themselves against the rocks and against one another. But like dominoes, they tumbled to the ground and remained stunned.

The figure on the stone called out to the women, “Don’t be afraid. I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He isn’t here, because he’s been raised from the dead, just as he said. Come, see the place where they laid him.”[5]

Could it be true? They quickly glanced at one another. With fear but also a glimmer of hope, they cautiously approached the now-open entry to the tomb. And then they went in. As their eyes adjusted to the dimmer light, they searched for Jesus’ body. On Friday they witnessed him being placed inside. And yet they saw nothing coming out of the tomb just now.[6] They had seen the soldiers outside. Why would they be here if the body had somehow been moved the day prior?

Jesus’ body was not inside. How could that be? It doesn’t make any sense. Except… What Jesus had said was true, and what this being outside said is also true, confirming what Jesus said.

They exited the tomb. The being spoke to the women once more. “Now hurry, go and tell his disciples, ‘He’s been raised from the dead. He’s going on ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there.’ I’ve given the message to you.”[7]

Mary and Mary were given the first message of the resurrection and commissioned to relay the message to all the other disciples! They looked at one another again, and no words had to be spoken. With great excitement but also great fear, they began to run. They were about to head into full sprint, something they hadn’t done since they were little girls. That’s when they suddenly realized they were about to run into a man who seemed to appear out of nowhere. They tried to put on the brakes. They stumbled around. They grabbed onto each other to keep from falling headfirst to the ground.

“Greetings!” said the man they had almost run into.

The two women immediately recognized the voice and having had a chance to look into his face, they realized it was Jesus! It was true. Jesus was raised from the dead. Jesus is alive! Now they fell to the ground and took hold of Jesus’ feet. They worshiped him.

The military power and might of Rome could not keep Jesus in the tomb. In fact, his resurrection has turned the soldiers, who were there to keep Jesus in the tomb, almost like dead men. All of the plotting by the temple and religious authorities to keep Jesus shamed through death had been turned upside down. Now it would be they who were shamed for their treatment of Jesus and it was they who would have to find some way to explain their actions.

The political state might look to its ability to use violence and death, and the threat to use them, as the ultimate projection of its power and strength. Power and control are the world’s means of maintaining authority over its subjects. But Jesus’ resurrection is a reversal of the world’s systems. Jesus’ resurrection is victory over all the world’s domination systems. Jesus’ resurrection is vindication that his way and his kingdom is the only way to life.

Jesus’ way and his kingdom is a reversal: instead of amassing power, it gives it away. Instead of looking out primarily for oneself, it looks out for the well-being of all. Instead of force and compulsion, freedom. Instead of coercion, persuasion. Instead of violence and its promotion, peace and its tools. Instead of death and the tools of death, life. Instead of fear; hope, love and compassion.

Then Jesus said to the two women, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers and sisters to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”[8]

They resumed their running. It was as if supernatural strength and endurance carried them on wings.  Praising God, rejoicing, and laughing with excitement, they sprinted toward the place where they knew the other disciples were still hiding, cowering in grief and fear.

The rest of the story is, in part, found with us. We are the beneficiaries and inheritors of that original message, entrusted to two Marys.

Jesus is alive! Christ is risen!

May the God who creates, raise us to new life again.

May the God who accepts, raise our capacity for love and compassion.

May the God who unsettles, raise our discomfort with the ways of this world.

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[1] Most of the imagined narrative given here is based on Matthew’s account of Good Friday through Resurrection Day. Other accounts occasionally fill in a few details and some creative license has been taken to flesh out the narrative. However, I have done my best to stay close to the Matthean text while providing for continuity.

[2] Matthew 20:20-23.

[3] Traditionally, John 19:26-27, where “disciple whom he loved” is found is taken as referring to the disciple John. If that is the case, then it would mean that at least one male disciple remained near the cross. But there is debate as to whom the phrase refers to. It may be an editorial addition by the author of the gospel according to John (whose authorship we do not know) for this gospel’s own theological reasons. The Synoptics only mention women as remaining near the cross. Other individuals whom scholars suggest might be the “disciple whom Jesus loved” include Lazarus and John Mark. C.f., Who Was John the Apostle? The Beginner's Guide - OverviewBible (https://overviewbible.com/john-the-apostle/)

[4] Matthew 20:17-19. C.f., Borg and Crossan, The Last Week (chapter 4), discussion of the unnamed woman who anointed Jesus in Mark 14:3-9 where among the many women disciples who followed Jesus, this woman appears to have understood Jesus’ predictions of his suffering, death, and resurrection. Thus, it may be that other women disciples may have also had some degree of understanding that Jesus would be resurrected in some manner.

[5] Matthew 28:5b-6 (CEB)

[6] Matthew’s account comes closest to where any description of the actual event of the resurrection takes place. If Jesus’ body had appeared from the tomb, it should be found here. But it is not. The other gospel accounts only note that the tomb is already open and empty.

[7] Matthew 28:7 (CEB)

[8] Matthew 28:10 (CEB)