They Didn't Know

At the Tomb on Easter Morning

They did not know that He is Risen! (He is risen indeed, Hallelujah).

Like you are this morning, Mary Magdalene was an early riser, at least she was on that first Easter morning. She did not rise with the sun. She rose before the sun, and she did not rise early with joy in her heart. She had no joy in her heart as she rose that morning, because she did not know that He is risen! (He is risen indeed, Hallelujah!)

She did not arrive at the tomb as the sun rose. She got there while it was still dark. But there was enough light - from the moon and the stars - that she could see the stone was rolled away. In the city of Jerusalem, and in her heart, it was still dark, because she did not know that He is risen! (He is risen indeed, Hallelujah!)

Mary Magdalene did not witness the resurrection. We do not know the hour of the resurrection - no more than we know the hour when He will return. We only know that when Mary Magdalene arrived, in the dead of night, the victory had already been won, death had been defeated, because He is risen! (He is risen indeed, Hallelujah!)

Mary Magdalene was distraught, beset with grief - when she rose early, when she arrived at the tomb while it was still dark, when she saw that the stone was rolled away. She was distraught. They had killed her Lord. She had watched Him die. She had buried Him. And now they had stolen his body. This was the truth as she saw it, because she did not know that He is Risen! (He is risen indeed, Hallelujah!)

She ran to find others who were as distraught as she was. John does not tell us that she trudged back into town to find the disciples. She ran! She did not run with joy to find Peter and John. She had no joy, because she did not know that He is Risen! (He is risen indeed, Hallelujah!)

When she found Peter and John, they did not know that He is risen! (He is risen indeed, Hallelujah!)

We do not know if Peter and John were together, or if she ran first to Peter’s house and told him, “quick, come with me!” before running to John’s house. She was not there to spread good news of great joy, because she did not know that He is risen! (He is risen indeed, Hallelujah!)

When we last saw Peter, he had denied Christ three times on Friday morning. And the rooster crowed. And he went out and wept bitterly. The only thing that had changed for Peter in the past three days is that his Lord had died on the cross and had been buried in the tomb. Was Peter any less distraught on Sunday morning than he had been on Friday morning? Peter did not know that He is risen! (He is risen indeed, Hallelujah).

When we last saw John, he alone among the apostles was with the women at the foot of the cross to watch Jesus die. John tells us that the women who were there at the cross with him were Mary, the mother of Jesus, and her sister; Mary the wife of Clophas and Mary Magdalene. The last instruction that John received from Jesus was “Behold your mother,” so John had taken Mary, the mother of Jesus, into his home from that day. When Mary Magdalene went to get him on this first Easter morning, did she wake him up? Was everybody still asleep? Was anybody still asleep? Did Mary, the mother of Jesus, who was at John’s house, get the report from Mary Magdalene, that the stone was rolled away, that they had stolen the body of Jesus? Did John gently comfort her, “It’s okay, mother, I’ll go check it out. We’ll find where they have taken him.” Because they did not know that He is risen! (He is risen indeed, Hallelujah!)

On the run back to the tomb, this was not a run of joy, but Peter, John and Mary Magdalene did run back to the tomb. They are distraught. First, they have killed our Lord. And now they have stolen His body. They are beside themselves with worry, anxiety and grief. Because they do not know that He is risen! (He is risen indeed, Hallelujah!)

John is keeping pace with Peter for a while. But then, his anxiety overcomes him and he rushes ahead. “Peter, you’re on your own. I’ll see you when you get there.” Reaching the tomb first and looking inside, John sees the linen cloths lying there, but he does not go in. John does not know that He is risen! (He is risen indeed, Hallelujah!)

When Simon Peter gets there, huffing and puffing, hair matted own, sweaty and red faced, he does go into the tomb, while John is standing outside. John take great care to tell us what Simon Peter saw. The linen cloths are lying there. Had the body been stolen, the thieves would not have taken the time to remove the linen cloths. The body of Christ had been buried with much myrrh. The myrrh, mixed with the oils, would have formed a glue that adheres the linen cloths to the body. The removal of these linen cloths was not a simple matter. To those who have eyes, the fact that the myrrh-soaked linen cloths are lying there is proof that He is risen! (He is risen indeed, Hallelujah!)

But Peter and John and Mary Magdalene did not understand this proof as they looked at it. The head cloth was folded and sitting in a place by itself. Amidst the chaos of the crucifixion and of the tomb, John sees this one detail. Our God is a God of order, not a God a of chaos. As he recounted this scene several decades later, John would recall the face cloth, not lying in the pile of linen body cloths, but folded up neatly in a place by itself. And John, going in to see these things, saw and he believed that He is risen! (He is risen indeed, Hallelujah!)

Peter and John went back to their homes. Did they return with the same haste that they had come to tomb? Did Peter believe, as John did? When John got back home, what did he tell Mary? How did she hear this message from the disciple that Jesus loved, “Mother, He is risen!” (He is risen indeed, Hallelujah!)

But Mary Magdalene did not return home, as Peter and John had done. She stayed at the tomb, standing outside and weeping - distraught, forlorn, grief stricken. Still, she did not know that He is risen! (He is risen indeed, Hallelujah!)

As she wept, she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where they had laid the body. Have you ever been so grief stricken that there is no room for any other emotion? No room for fear or anger or joy of compassion? This is where Mary Magdalene is as she weeps outside the tomb. She is so overcome with grief that the angels did not even have to tell her, “Do not be afraid.” There was no room for fear. There was only grief and heartache, because she did not know that He is risen! (He is risen indeed, Hallelujah!)

As the angels are asking her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” and she responds, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him,” her resurrected Lord is standing beside her and witnessing this exchange. As she turns and sees Him, she does not even realize that this is Jesus, because she did not know that He is risen! (He is risen indeed, Hallelujah!)

Even when He first speaks to her, she does not realize who He is. It is not until he gently calls her by name, “Mary,” that she realizes He is risen! (He is risen indeed, Hallelujah!)

And she went and told all the disciples - not just that the stone is rolled away, but that He is risen! (He is risen indeed, Hallelujah!)

For much of that first Easter morning, Mary Magdalene, Peter and John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, did not know that He is risen! (He is risen indeed, Hallelujah)

But their knowing the truth is not what made it the truth. The resurrection, Jesus’ victory over the last enemy, death, did not occur when Mary Magdalene saw that the stone was rolled away. It did not occur when Peter and John beheld the empty tomb. It did not occur when Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene. Before any of these things happened, Jesus had won the victory. It was unknown to all of humanity, but it was still the truth that He is risen! (He is risen indeed, Hallelujah!)

At the Red Sea

The truth does not depend upon our knowing it, or anyone knowing it. In our Old Testament reading, God had declared the redemption of His people from the bondage of Pharoah in Egypt. Their redemption did not come when they realized they were saved. Their redemption came when God called Moses at the burning bush. God told Moses what he would do in Exodus 12, when He instituted the Passover.

English Standard Version Chapter 12

For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. 13 The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.

English Standard Version Chapter 12

And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as a statute forever.

As Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt, as Pharoah and the whole host of the Egyptian Army pursued them, they did not know that the Lord had delivered them, much less that He is Risen! (He is risen indeed, Hallelujah!)

The children of Israel had their backs against the sea. They cried out to the Lord and they complained to Moses, “Why have you brought us out in the wilderness to die? Why did you not just leave us in oppressive slavery to Pharoah in Egypt?”

These children of Israel, pursued by Pharoah and his army - all his host, his chariots and his horsemen - were terrified. They could not see the deliverance of the Lord. All they could see was their deaths. Fathers stood with mothers and children, clutching them, knowing that they were about to be slaughtered. They were confident in only one thing - they would die. It would be horrible and painful and sure.

But they did not die on the banks of the Red Sea, as families clutched each other, cursing Moses and crying out to the Lord. As the Lord commanded, Moses lifted his staff, and the sea parted, and the children of Israel walked across on dry ground. But Pharaoh and his army, as they pursued the sons of Jacob across the sea were not spared, for the sea returned and covered the army of Pharaoh - all his host, his chariots and his horsemen. Not one of them remained. It is good that our assigned reading this morning does not end with the deliverance of Israel and the destruction of Pharaoh and his army, but continues in the first verse of chapter 15, when they sing the song of celebration, when they recognize that the Lord delivered them, just as He has delivered us, because He is risen! (He is risen indeed, Hallelujah!)

Paul

The Passover that was instituted in Exodus 12 was taught to all of the children of Israel throughout their generations. A young man named Saul had heard about it from his father and from his rabbi. As a young man, Saul had studied under Gamaliel, whose school was in Jerusalem. He would have been a teenager or a young man when Jesus was crucified, died, was buried, and resurrected. It is possible, even likely, that he may have been in Jerusalem at that time, but Saul did not know that He is risen! (He is risen indeed, Hallelujah!)

He held the coats of those who stoned Stephen and he persecuted The Way, because he did not know that He is risen (He is risen indeed, Hallelujah!)

As he recounted to the Corinthians, the risen Christ appeared last to Paul on the road to Damascus, as one untimely born, and that was when Saul, who would become Paul, knew that He is risen (He is risen indeed, Hallelujah).

That changed everything for Paul, and it changes everything for us.

Today

We are here today because we know that He is risen! (He is risen indeed, Hallelujah!)

We sing glad songs of salvation. We join David in proclaiming, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures forever.”

Just as Peter and John hurried to the tomb, so do we. But we do not hurry with their anxiety; we hurry to that empty tomb because we know what we will see - that He is risen! (He is risen indeed, Hallelujah!)

There are many in this world who have no more comfort than Mary Magdalene had when she rose before dawn to go the tomb. Just like Mary Magdalene, they do not know that He is risen! (He is risen indeed, Hallelujah!).

Sometimes we can get overwhelmed by the cares and worries of this life. We hear of wars and rumors of wars. We hear of violence and calls for violence. We see things in this world that would make us believe that hell is empty, for all the demons are here. We see a culture that has been given up to their dishonorable passions. And we can forget that the victory is won, because He is risen! (He is risen indeed, Hallelujah!).

The victory is won, and that victory is not dependent on our ability to see it or remember it. The victory was won before Mary Magdalene arrived at the tomb and saw that the stone was rolled away. Just as Mary Magdalene knew the victory was won when He called her name, you will hear Him call your name. But the victory will not be won on that day, when you hear Him call your name. It is already won, for He is risen! (He is risen indeed, Hallelujah!)

Do not fear, only believe. In the name of our Risen and Victorious Savior. Amen.