The Greatest ‘Ah-Ha!’ Moments In HIstory

Rev John de Hoog

 

Text: John 20:1-20

Reading: Revelation 1:9-18

 

I once heard a standup comic talking about his work. He spoke about the kinds of moments he wants to achieve in a comedy routine. He wants his routine to be full of “Ha-ha” moments, when people laugh at his humour – “Ha-ha-ha.” But he also wants to achieve one or two “Ah-ha!” moments during his act.

An “Ah-ha!” moment: we all know it, don’t we! It’s when the light bulb goes off above your head and you understand something in a fresh way or for the first time, and all your thinking about a particular subject changes, falls into new lines and new connections. “Ah-ha! Now I see!” Any comedian can get a few laughs if he’s any good, but to aim for a couple of “Ah-ha!” moments is far more ambitious and far more profound, isn’t it.

The passage we have read is full of these kinds of “Ah-ha!” moments – for Mary, for Peter and John, and then for all the disciples.

Really, to call them “Ah-ha!” moments is totally inadequate – these are moments of earth-shattering, history-changing importance. What we read in this passage steers our course, changes our thinking and shapes us for eternity.

Let’s think first about Mary Magdalene. She was probably from the town of Magdala up in the region of Galilee. We first meet her in Luke’s gospel. Luke, the physician who knows about sickness and healing, tells us that Jesus cast seven demons out of her. Just imagine the impact of that!

We don’t know if her demon possession affected her physically or mentally or morally, but Jesus had already had a striking, decisive impact on her life, and she had become a follower of Jesus.

John mentions that she was present at Jesus’ crucifixion along with Jesus’ mother and some other women. Actually all four gospels report this and mention Mary Magdalene’s name. And all four gospels mention that Mary Magdalene was at the tomb early on the morning of that Sunday, that first day of the week.

Already devastated by Jesus’ crucifixion, Mary now suffers an even greater blow. She comes to the tomb when it is still dark, sees the stone removed from the entrance, and the darkness seems to utterly take over her very soul. At once she runs to Peter and John with the terrible news. “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

Not content with killing him in the worst possible way, through the cursed death of crucifixion, Jesus’ enemies have now also stolen the body! What are they going to do? What kinds of indignities are they going to heap upon the body of Jesus, so insulting his memory as well as killing him?

Mary is at an end. Even after Peter and John have been to inspect the empty tomb, Mary, who has come back to the place, remains outside the tomb, weeping. What is left in her life now? All hope has now finally been extinguished.

 

Pause

 

Let’s leave Mary Magdalene there for a few minutes and go to Peter and John. Mary has seen the empty tomb, and has given no thought at all of a possible resurrection. To her there is only one possibility – a grave robbery. The one thing left to her – to grieve outside the tomb of Jesus – even that has been taken away. Imagine her grief, how utterly inconsolable she is as she reports her conviction to Peter and John.

The news prompts Peter and John to run to the tomb. What was in their minds as they ran? We simply do not know. But John tells us about himself in vs 8 after he has inspected the tomb; simply, “He saw and believed.” We’ll come to that in a minute.

But could it be that as John runs to the tomb, even as the light of the dawn of that new day begins to appear, that there is some breaking of light into his mind as well? Could it be that a small seed of hope has been planted in his heart? Could he possibly be remembering the words of Jesus, that he must be killed, and on the third day must rise from the dead? We simply do not know, but it’s a tantalising possibility isn’t it.

John arrives at the tomb first and simply looks in at the strips of linen lying there, but he does not enter the tomb. When Simon Peter arrives, he doesn’t hesitate. We’d expect that from what we know about Peter – he has an impetuous nature. Peter goes right in. Finally John goes in as well.

Now John gives us a few interesting details about what they saw. The strips of linen were lying there, but the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. John must see this as important to record it so carefully. Scholars tell us that such a “burial cloth” was wrapped around the head and under the chin to make sure that the dead person’s mouth didn’t fall open. John has already mentioned such a cloth in Chapter 11 of his gospel as being around the head of Lazarus when he came out of the grave fully wrapped in burial cloths.

I think it’s very likely that John sees a contrast between what happened to Lazarus and what happened to Jesus. Lazarus’s tomb was opened and Jesus called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to the bystanders, “Take off his grave clothes and let him go.” That’s what happened to Lazarus.

But the resurrection of Jesus was so different! Peter and John see the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head folded up and neatly placed to the side by itself. Jesus has risen from the dead inside the tomb, and he has simply taken the cloth that was around his head and folded it up and laid it neatly aside – it’s not something he needs any more now that he is alive forever!

Matthew tells us in his gospel that a mighty angel came down from heaven and rolled away the stone and sat on it. What a great gig to get! How that angel must have rejoiced! But the angel did not roll away the stone to let Jesus out; he rolled it away so that people like Peter and John could go in and see that Jesus had risen from the dead.

What did Peter and John think as they gazed down upon what had been left behind in the tomb? We know something about Peter’s state of mind from Luke’s gospel. Luke tells us, in Chapter 24:12, that Peter “went away, wondering to himself what had happened.” Peter seems to leave the scene still confused.

John tells us something about his state of mind right here in his gospel. Vs 8, writing about himself: “He saw and believed.” But then John adds the curious words of vs 9 “They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.”

John sees and believes. But he and Peter still do not understand from Scripture (and he means from the Old Testament) that Jesus had to rise from the dead.

He sees the grave clothes left behind, he sees the head cloth folded and put away by itself, and the “Ah-ha!” moment comes to him. Suddenly he knows that the only explanation for all this is that his Lord, who was crucified, who died on the cross before the soldiers could get to him, who was taken down from the cross and buried in a sealed tomb, that his Lord has risen from the dead!

He cannot yet give a good solid case from Old Testament Scriptures for believing that Jesus has risen – that will come. He would probably be hard-pressed to defend his belief at this point, but here it is – suddenly he knows that Jesus is alive.

Jesus will provide the disciples with the Scriptural case for his resurrection soon enough. Indeed, he spent forty days appearing to his disciples before he finally ascended to heaven, and during those forty days he gives them the Scriptural reasoning they need to be fully convinced and to be able to convince others. Luke tells us about those times of teaching and fellowship in his last Chapter.

For example, in Luke 24:45, we read of Jesus, “Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, ‘This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.’”

The early preaching of the apostles to Jews in the Book of Acts is filled with proofs that the Messiah promised in the Old Testament would have to die and then rise from the dead.

Here is the way they constructed their argument to Jews:

1. The Messiah promised in the Old Testament is a Messiah who will die and rise again.

2. Jesus of Nazareth died and rose again.

3. The Messiah promised in the Old Testament must be Jesus of Nazareth.

As John stands there in the empty tomb, he is not yet able to construct these kinds of arguments. But he will soon be able to. Jesus will equip him to do so. But in the tomb, he suddenly sees and believes.

It is important to learn to defend your faith. It is important to learn to give a reason for the hope that you have. Jesus sees it as important – he spent forty days after his resurrection equipping the disciples to be able to do so. It must be really important! But do not think that you need to have all the arguments squared away before you can believe. See the empty tomb, and believe!

 

Pause

 

To finish today, I’d like to go back to Mary Magdalene. She has not yet had her “Ah-Ha!” moment. We’ve left her in the bitterest agony, weeping before the empty tomb. There is no thought in her mind that Jesus might have risen. She clings stubbornly to the idea that someone, probably one of Jesus’ enemies, has stolen the body, and she is inconsolable.

It’s impossible to improve upon the magnificent account of her “Ah-ha!” moment. Vs 11 Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realise that it was Jesus. “Woman,” he said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned towards him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).

Just one word turned Mary’s darkness to light, turned her anguish and despair into astonishment and delight, and that one word was the only thing she needed right at that moment. That one word was her own name on the lips of Jesus.

I’m reminded of what Jesus says in Chapter 10 of this gospel. He says of the good shepherd, of himself, “He calls his own sheep by name…and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.”

He speaks Mary’s name, and Mary knows his voice, and she is transformed forever.

Jesus knows all his people by name. Your name stands for who you are as a person. Jesus knows you and loves you as a person, as you are.

 

Pause

 

It seems likely that Mary has fallen to her knees before Jesus and is clinging to him. But Jesus immediately commissions her to be the very first witness to his resurrection. Vs 17 “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to my Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Jesus has already told the disciples that he is returning to his Father. Around the table of the Last Supper, Jesus has told them that he is going to prepare a place for them. He has told them that he is going so that he can send the Holy Spirit to be their Counsellor, to be the one who will bring to their memory and help them to understand all that he has taught them. He has told them that it is better for them that he goes and sends the Holy Spirit to convict the world of sin and righteousness and judgment.

Now he commands Mary to go and tell his disciples that he has not yet gone to be with the Father, but that he is in the process of going.

“Mary, this is not a time for clinging to me as if you will never see me again. No, you will see me again, I’ve not yet gone to my Father. So go now, and tell my dear brothers what I have said, and I will see you again soon. One day soon, in about forty days time, I will finally ascend and won’t be with you anymore, but I haven’t gone yet. So go now, and tell my brothers.”

Can you imagine how Mary must have run this second time! The first time she ran she had all the weight of despair and utter grief coursing through her body, she ran with the most dreadful burdensome load weighing her down.

The second time she runs she feels as if her feet barely touch down; now she is filled with all the energy of astonished delight.

And finally of course Jesus appears to his disciples and confirms that he is alive. And so begins the utter transformation of fearful hopeless disciples into the joy-filled irrepressible witnesses that we read about in Acts.

 

Pause

 

This hasn’t been a sermon filled with amazing new insights and clever new twists on the old story. There is no way to improve on the old story, is there!

Instead, I just wanted us to be able to enjoy again the glory of what happened to Mary Magdalene and to the disciples.

What happened to them has continued to happen to countless millions of people down through the ages since that amazing first Easter Sunday.

But we cannot live on the experience of others, and we do not put our hope in that. Rather, we put our hope in the fact that history changed forever when Jesus rose from the grave.

Jesus has defeated death. Jesus has once for all paid for the sins of sinners. Jesus has been raised so that we might be right with God. Jesus now rules in glory, and will return one day.

The experience of Mary and of the disciples is firmly grounded on these facts of history, and so is our hope. Come and be a part of the countless multitudes that have joined with Mary Magdalene and the disciples in that great hope.

Amen