John 20:1-9: He’s Alive!

Presented to Swift Current Corps, 31 March 2013,
Presented to Nipawin Corps, 15 February 2009,
Presented to CFOT, 10 April 2006.
By Captain Michael Ramsay

This past week of course, some of us men were blessed enough to go to men’s camp. Men’s camp is always good. There is food and Bible study and food and games and food and prayer and then food and church services and food and then of course before you go to bed at night there are always snacks, just in case you happen to be hungry.

Another thing that we really enjoyed about men’s camp was a movie we saw – Fighting the Giants. It is really good and I recommend it to everyone actually but it got me thinking about some of the older movies I have seen. Have you ever seen any of those old black-and-white horror movies where technology isn’t quite what it is today and the monsters have all that disjointed movement and the white make-up starts to come off Count Dracula’s face or the Wolf Man just looks like a fellow who hasn’t shaved for a week? Some of my favourites are those old Frankenstein movies where the Doctor yells out “He’s alive!” He’s alive!!” It’s great.

Have you read the book or watched the movie based on Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein? In the book, Dr. Frankenstein has assembled this new creation from corpses of criminals: one on his left, and one on his right side. The doctor really believes that the creature will live. He has faith. He is so emotional. There is still a lingering doubt when he goes about all his experiments - an unknown - but he has faith. It gets to the point though where all his faith is seemingly in vain; he’s done everything he can think of and it doesn’t work. Impossible – it seems - everything was for nothing.

I remember Grade 6 Math. - Speaking of impossible things that seem like they are for nothing - I didn’t get it. I always had to do my homework before I was allowed to play and it was that Grade 6 Math that got me –algebra – yuk! I always got that sinking feeling when I heard, “Do your math…” After it has been ½ an hour, I can see my friends playing outside and I don’t get it –my math- so I get really upset and feel like just throwing things…by the time I am finally finished my friends are gone – I missed my chance. They are gone

Do you ever get like that? You work at something: you tie up all your energy into it. You try, you ask for help, you believe but…you missed you chance…you’re friends have gone home. You’re powerless.

That brings us to John 20:1-9, imagine what it was like at the tomb. Mary’s coming to greet Peter and John it is that same sinking feeling; it must have been just like mom saying, “Boys, have you finished your homework? You can’t go play until your Math is done.” They’re struggling. They look and their friends are leaving. It is too late. He is gone. They rush as quickly as they can to the tomb…but he is gone.

It is difficult to believe. Can you imagine? They worked hard; they gave up their work and their life and for three years they pinned all their hopes on Jesus. He was supposed to be the Messiah who would deliver them and all Israel from the Romans. He was supposed to wield such power and authority that, as recorded in Mark 10:37, John and James fought over who would sit on his left and who would sit on his right when he came into the kingdom.

John even abandoned his father right in the middle of attending to the family business. They took a gamble. They took a massive gamble and now it looks as if all is lost. Jesus died. He died on the cross and now he is gone! Apparently grave robbers were not uncommon at this time. Actually they were quite common. The Romans had to even pass laws to prevent it so I don’t imagine that the disciples were too concerned that the soldiers were there; but they would be concerned that the body wasn’t. Did the soldiers move it to protect it? Did someone steal it? Did Jesus’ opponents take it and desecrate it? All these questions must be racing around in their heads.

As Luke 24:12 verifies, they run to the tomb when they first hear from Mary about the body. They don’t just walk. John outruns Peter. It is like they are racing. John gets to the tomb. He just stands there. Looking in, he isn’t recorded as saying anything. He just stands there. Peter catches up and bursts into the tomb. This moment seems terrible…really.

So much for this powerful Messiah…so much for even a rallying point…so much for everything. They pinned all their hopes on Jesus –his power and authority -and now those hopes must feel just as empty as the tomb…how could they believe he was going to deliver them from the Romans; how could they believe he was powerful enough to free them from their rulers;

Today, how can we believe he had the power to set the captives free? How can we believe when children still die? How can we believe in this powerful ‘prince of peace’ when there are still wars…and more than ever before? How can we believe in a God that seems powerless to stop people from starving? How can I believe in a God that would abandon me in my time of need? He is supposed to be here. So where is he? Where is he when my friend Eric dies in a helicopter crash en route to his own wedding? Where is he when my aunt (a minister) is beaten to death by an ‘addict’ in need of a fix? Where is he when a relative kills herself after a failed armed robbery attempt – leaving her lifeless body for her daughter to find? Where is he when my cousin dies, leaving her husband and two young girls behind? Where is he when I am struggling with my kids and family? Where is he when I want to pack it all up and just go home – where is he? How can I believe in this powerful God and resurrected Christ when all this is happening?

We have all heard the stories about predators who stalk children through the internet. We have all read in the papers these past few years that some people actually associate God’s name with things like ‘Iraq War’, ‘Abu Garib’, ‘Guatanamo’, ‘residential school abuse’… How can we believe? You know the divorce rate is the same inside the church –if not higher than– outside? Would you believe me if I said that there were more homosexual unions presided over by clergy than by secularists? Really. Where is he, this Jesus who was supposed to be powerful enough to defeat this sin and death? How can we possibly be expected to believe. Where is he? Where is he?

In the text, back at the tomb, where is he? Where is he? Peter rushes past John into the tomb. Do you see that? In the tomb… his clothes are still there? Why are they still there? Grave robbers would just take everything and go. The grave clothes are not disturbed; why aren’t they? Grave robbers don’t take great care of clothes. They would not have unwrapped the body…the Romans also would have just moved the whole body. Where are the footsteps leading up to the body? The burial cloth that had been around his head is actually folded up.

Then John understands. Sort of… - This is important as recorded in Deut. 19:15, a matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses - Here we have our two witnesses and John understands. He believes – and this is important – the word for belief in this context doesn’t just designate an understanding or an acknowledgement. It designates faith! John understands that Jesus is risen and he puts his faith in him. He believes - even if he doesn’t understand the full significance of it yet – he is empowered and quite possibly, even now, has a full faith in the power of the resurrection.

This is exciting. He’s alive! He’s alive… like when Dr. Frankenstein has assembled his creation. The doctor really believes that the creature will live. He has faith. And then the excitement! “He’s alive!” “He’s alive!” Can you imagine the even greater excitement as Jesus is raised from the dead? He’s alive… he’s alive.

John doesn’t necessarily fully (and Peter certainly doesn’t yet) understand but he believes. He doesn’t understand yet what that all means- or what it looks like. He doesn’t even comprehend the prophesies that this fulfils but he believes. He has seen the evidence – the strips, the rolled away stone, the folded burial cloth, the other first hand witnesses - and he believes. He believes in the power of the resurrection. He doesn’t know how but he believes he will set the captives free; he doesn’t yet know how but he believes …

He has conquered sin and death in our world today and we can believe. We can believe the evidence that he was resurrected; He has defeated sin. We can believe He has provided a way for children to live, who would otherwise die. We can believe in he is this powerful ‘Prince of Peace’ who has provided a means to end wars. As it is written in Isaiah 2 verse 4, "…nation shall not lift up sword against nation; neither shall they learn war any more." We can believe in this God who by his power has made it so that people don’t need to starve – He has produced more than enough food for the entire world already. We can believe the evidence of the power of the death and the resurrection. We can believe he has defeated death. I believe in God who neither abandons nor forsakes me in my time of need; we can believe He never gives us more than we can bear. He is here. He is here. He is here! He has conquered and all we have to do is believe and follow.

Half a lifetime ago, I woke up on Sunday morning. I was broke and I didn’t have money for coffee. I found a dollar in my pocket. That was great except that the Lord said that this was His dollar. He wanted it. I didn’t really understand what was happening; however, He said it again and I believed him of course. I went to the local coffee shop before church as I always did and the whole time I kept fingering the coin in the pocket of my black leather jacket as people bought me coffee. I was waiting to see when God would ask for this dollar. He wasn’t giving me opportunity to spend it really and besides I knew it was His.

Anyway to make a long story short, my friends, some of whom weren’t saved yet followed me the church to see what God wanted the dollar for. The strange thing is – I don’t really remember to this day what it was for– but I remember the impact. He asked me to give it to someone and all my friends with me knew it. We knew it. We didn’t understand entirely but this is the resurrected power of the resurrected Christ. Now I still don’t understand entirely why He wanted this dollar or what it was used for but I truly believe that He used that dollar for His purpose. This was a witness to my pre-Christian friends who accompanied me to Sunday school that day from the coffee shop. I still don’t fully comprehend but we saw and we believed. Some of them are no longer pre-Christian. Some of them are now believe. We believe in this, we believe in the power of the resurrected Christ.

And you are invited to believe also -to believe fully in the power of God and the resurrected Jesus. He is not dead. He is alive and the evidence is there that we can really believe – not in only an historic event but in a real personal and powerful Jesus. One who was and is; one who has provided and continues to provide through the power of his death and resurrection; one who asks for coins or other things that we simply do not understand, one who asks that we have faith, that we trust, that we believe fully in him. Today believe…and follow.

Please bow in prayer with me: “Dear God, we believe in you. We believe that by your death and resurrection, you conquered sin and death and we are sorry for the times when we have not had that real life-changing belief in your power in my own life. Amen.”

This day as we quieten our hearts and minds, let us reflect on how our belief in the resurrected Lord is impacting our lives. He is doing powerful things in our lives, in our lives right now that we do not and may not ever understand. The Lord wants to use you to do His bidding. Now’s the time to believe, to really believe, not just in a theoretical Jesus but one who has risen from the dead and is asking you to follow him.


http://www.sheepspeak.com/
---
Beasley-Murray, George R. Word Biblical Commentary. Vol. 36. Waco, Texas: Word Books, 1987.

CBC News, “Canadians Among 27 Charged in International Child-porn Sting.” Cited 16 Mar. 2006. No pages. On-line: http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2006/03/15/childporn060315.html

Earle, Ralf, Harvey J.S. Blaney and Charles S. Carter. The Wesleyan Bible Commentary: Matthew –Acts. Vol. 4. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1979.

Lenski, R.C.H. The Interpretation of St. John’s Gospel. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Augsburg Publishing House, 1961.

Matera, Frank J. John 20:1-18. Interpretation 43 no 4 (Oct 1989): 402-406.

Minear, Paul S. We don't know where, John 20:2. Interpretation 30 no 2 (Apr 1976): 125-139.

O’ Day, Gail R. The New Interpreter’s Bible. Vol. 9. Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon Press, 1995.

Project Ploughshares. Cited 16 Mar. 2006. No Pages. On-line: http://www.ploughshares.ca/

United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation Statistics. Cited 15 Mar. 2006. No Pages. On-line: http://www.fao.org/es/ess/index_en.asp

United Nations World Food Programme, “WFP lauds Pope's commitment to humanitarianism.” Cited 16 Mar. 2006. No Pages. On-line: http://www.wfp.org/english/?ModuleID=137&Key=2039

World Socialist Movement, ‘How Could We Feed the World.” Cited 15 Mar. 2006. No Pages. On-line: http://www.worldsocialism.org/wsm-pages/food.html