Searching for the Living Christ

Luke 24:1–7 ESV

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.”

Introduction

We are living in times of deep despair. Yes, our intellectual minds have access to more knowledge than ever before. Our medical institutions are developing procedures and prescriptions that address a multiplicity of needs. And our scientific communities innovate technologies at an almost exponential rate. Yet, with all of the progress and achievements at our disposal, we have yet to conquer the basic human problems that plague us at a very personal level.

We struggle to find solutions to the broken heart.

We wrestle with options to fight mental illness.

We continually battle to stem the tides of racism.

We constantly seek ways to deal with hatred and violence.

We persist in our efforts to eliminate poverty and homelessness.

We unceasingly grapple with social injustice and economic inequity.

We furiously fight to protect our children from the immoral ideals they learn at school

It is these things that keeps us on our knees in the midnight hours. These are the things that replaces our joyful smiles with tears of anguish. These are the things in life that keeps us coming boldly to the throne of grace, that we might find help and relief in times of need. These are the things that keeps our eyes looking towards the hills from whence cometh our help because we are looking for peace, we’re looking for solace, we’re looking for answers, we are looking for the living Christ!

In our text, several of the women who knew Jesus personally have been separated from Him because of the crucifixion. These are people whom Jesus has touched, they have either seen or experienced His miracles, they have been awestruck by His teachings, and have been recipients of the power of His love. Now, their separation from Him has caused a desperation that has them up early in the morning trying to find a way to experience His presence once again.

I think it is important to note here, that desperate times will have you on a search mission for God. This is because deep down in the core of our ontological being, there is something there that knows to call on God when things for us get bad. And there is nothing worse than to be in a situation where you know you need God, but you are unable to find Him!

You need Him when its 3:00a and your child is still not home.

You need Him when you have been diagnosed with cancer!

You need Him when your marriage is on the verge of divorce.

You need Him when you have more bills than money to pay them.

You need Him when you are struggling to live right but your past just won’t leave you alone.

Even Jesus, while He was dying on the Cross at Calvary felt the almost indescribable anguish of being separated from God when He said, “My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?” (Psalms 22:1)

Now, here we are in Luke 24, witnessing the desperation of people who are looking for the Christ on the morning of His resurrection, but they are not searching for the living Christ. And there some in this church right now, who are in need of Jesus Christ, and you are looking for Jesus Christ, but you are not searching for the living Christ.

Now, lets explore our Scripture text and see where we have gone wrong in our search.

They Went to the Wrong Environment - v. 1a - “… they went to the tomb”

These women were in a state of deep despair, destitution, disillusionment, and depression, and the last place they needed to be was in an environment that supports and promotes the growth of those very things.

The environments we place ourselves in are incubators of that environment. An incubator provides an atmosphere of development and growth in that environment.

If you are in an environment of despair, the environment itself becomes an incubator of desperation.

If you are in an environment of chaos and confusion, the environment itself becomes an incubator of mental and emotional instability.

If you are in an environment of gross immorality, the environment itself becomes an incubator of bad decisions and sinful behavior.

These women were already in depression, they were already in despair, and they were already in a dead situation, so why in the world would you go into an environment that perpetuates whats already wrong? Why would you go to a tomb? A tomb is where dead things are found, a tomb is where you find darkness and decay, so why would you go to a tomb if you are already in a dead situation?

Environmental issues is the problem that many of us have right now.

Your finances are jacked up, but you go to the club.

Your family is falling apart, but you keep hanging out with your crew.

Your marriage is on the rocks, but you keep having lunch with your “friend” of the opposite sex.

Your spiritual and moral life in a shambles, but you’re still making or accepting the booty calls.

You know you need to change, you know you need to be more responsible, you know you need a major course correction for you life, but you won’t change your environment!

You need to be around people who can contribute to your positive path in life.

You need to be in places that don’t cause you to compromise your spiritual principles.

You need to seek after things that can be used as tools to help you build a Godly character.

They Had the Wrong Expectation - v. 1b - “…bringing the spices which they had prepared”

Let me begin this point by telling you that it is a very good thing to be looking for Jesus. In fact, Isaiah 55:6 says, “Seek you the Lord while he may be found, Call you upon Him while He is near.” So, looking for Jesus is not only a good thing to do, it is a commandment we have been given.

But the women in our text are indeed looking for Jesus, but they are looking for a Jesus who meets their preconceived expectations of what they want to find in Jesus. The text says that they were bringing spices (Gr. aroma) with them. These spices were used to embalm the dead, and provide a sweet smelling atmosphere in the tomb. This means that these women had expectations of finding a Jesus who was dead, and who would be incapacitated and silent while they carried on with what they were doing in a dead situation.

In his book, Christ and Culture, theological ethicist, H. Richard Niebuhr - Discusses various ways of how the church views Jesus - a Christ of Culture, in this view Niebuhr says, - “… the New Testament Jesus gets replaced with an idol that shares his name.” This means that people in general, including some Christians, don’t want the biblical Jesus, but they want to have a Jesus who fits snugly inside the pockets of their wordly and carnal desires.

Even today, in this very congregation, there are people here who are looking for a dead Jesus whom they can dress up and sweeten up with spices, so that he will accept whatever kind of life you want to live.

You want a Jesus who is ok with your nasty attitude.

You want a Jesus who doesn’t mind your dirty disposition.

You want a Jesus who is down with your vulgarity and profanity.

You want a Jesus who is cool with your down-low relationships.

You want a Jesus who looks the other way while you get lit at the club.

You want a Jesus who pats you on the back even though your life is an immoral and sinful train-wreck!

You want a dead, incapacitated, and silent Jesus!

If this is the Jesus you are looking for, I have some news for you, you will not find him!

The real Jesus is not dead, because Mark 16:19 says He was received up into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

The real Jesus is not incapacitated, because Matthew 28:18 says that all power in heaven and earth was given unto Him.

The real Jesus is not silent, because John 6:63 says that the Words the He speaks are spirit and they are life.

I need a Jesus who can take out my heart of stone, and give me heart of flesh.

I need a Jesus who can order my steps in His Word.

I need a Jesus who can hide His Word in my heart so that I won’t sin against Him.

I need a Jesus who can create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within me.

I need a Jesus who can call me out of darkness into His marvellous light.

I need a Jesus who can bring me up out of the miry clay.

I need a Jesus who can pick me up, turn me around, and set my feet on solid ground.

They Were Wrong About the Evidence - vv. 2-3a - “They found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. So they went in…”

In these very powerful portions of our text, we learn a very important lesson about our perception of reality. The lesson can be summarized in the wise words of most of our grandparents whom I told each of us the very same thing, and what they said was this, “Everything that looks good to you, is not good for you!”

Life always presents us with a proverbial, “fork in the road”. A fork in the road is a critical point in our lives where we are forced to make life changing decisions about the the direction our live will take. It is at these crucial junctions in life that we find ourselves confronted with making a personal choice that is so impacting to our future, that sometimes we look towards heaven and say, “Lord, show me as sign!” The good news is, God will give you a sign, but the bad news is, now I you have to interpret the sign!

The women in our text were already heading to the wrong environment, they already had the wrong expectation, and now they are being forced to interpret the evidence of the stone already being rolled away from the tomb. Is this Evidence an Invitation to go in, or is this Evidence simply Inspiration to move on?

These sisters, took the sign of an open tomb as evidence of an invitation to “go in”, and let’s be honest in the house today, some of us are in the jacked up situations we are right now because we went in, like Drake, “I’m going in, I’m going in, I’m going in, and imma go…!”

It looked like a good business deal, so you went in.

It looked like it was a clear opportunity for success, so you went in.

He said the magic words, “I love you, baby”, so you went in.

You thought she was “ride or die” for a brother, so you went in.

But just like these women at the tomb, when they did go in, found out right away that Jesus was not there which means God is not in it! We need to stop putting ourselves in dead situations that God is not in. This was not evidence of an invitation to go in to a dead place where Jesus can’t be found, the rolled away stone was evidence of inspiration to help them understand that what they were looking for was not here, so you need to keep it moving!

You say you’re my friend, but you talk about me behind my back? Keep it moving.

You want all my time during the week, but you can’t get up and go to church with me on Sunday? Keep it moving.

You want to do EVERYTHING married people do except put a ring on it! Keep it moving.

What you need to understand is this, if God is not in it, I don’t want it!

If God’s not in it, I don’t want your time.

If God’s not in it, I don’t want your money.

If God’s not in it, I don’t want this relationship.

If God’s not in it, I don’t want your name.

If God’s not in it, I don’t want it!

They Received a Word of Elevation - vv. 4-7 - Closing

As I close this message, I think it is important for you to know and understand, that even though these women were in the wrong environment, even though they had the wrong expectations, and even though they had the wrong interpretation of the evidence, God was still able to give them a Word of elevation.

These women were already inside the tomb, and they were already in turmoil because they did not know what to do next. The reality for most of us in here today, is the fact that like these women, we are already in a dark and lifeless tomb, we are already in what seems to be a dead situation and we don’t know what to do!

But there is some good news for you. It is at times like this, after the bad decision was made, while you are in the middle of a dark and dead place, after you have run out of ideas, after all your options have been exhausted, this is the very point that God will send in a Word to change your course and send you in the right direction!

When these women got inside the tomb, they saw two angels who had a Word from God. They asked these women why they were seeking the living Christ in a dead situation? They said, He is not here, because He is risen!

And God is speaking His Word to someone in this church right now. You have been looking for Jesus in low-down places, you have been looking for Jesus in jacked up environments, you have been looking for Jesus in dead situations, but just like the angels told the women in our text, you won’t find Him in any of those places, because Jesus is no longer a dead sacrifice, now He is a risen Savior!

Bill and Gloria Gaither wrote a song that says it like this,

“God sent His Son they called Him Jesus

He came to love heal and forgive

He bled and died to buy my pardon

An empty grave is there to prove My Savior lives

Because He lives I can face tomorrow

Because He lives all fear is gone

Because I know He holds the future

And life is worth the living Just because He lives”

Because He lives, I am more than a conqueror.

Because He lives, No weapon formed against me shall prosper.

Because He lives, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Because He lives, There is nothing that can separate me from the love of God.

Because He lives, I have peace that passes all understanding.

Because He lives, I have joy unspeakable and full of glory.

Because He lives…