The Objective and the Subjective

Introduction

Who knows what ‘objective’ means?

And who knows what ‘subjective’ means?

Objective means something that is unbiased, factual rather than an opinion or feeling.

Subjective is something more personal, individual, which can be influenced by feelings or opinions.

But to really understand the difference betwee the two, it is much easier to use an example.

Here’s an objective statement:

There are 4 seasons

Here’s a subjective statement:

Autumn is the best season

Now, I want you to tell me if the following are subjective or objective statements:

Pineapples on pizza are gross

‘Baby’ by Justin Bieber is the best song ever

Spicy foods are hot

This is tricky, because ‘hot’ can refer to temperature (objective) or personal perception of spiciness (subjective)

The Mona Lisa is a valuable painting

This is tricky! Could be either

This person is good looking

Now the reason I’m talking about this is because the passage today also has an objective aspect, and a subjective aspect. So why don’t we read the passage together.

Read John 20:1-18.

The Objective

So there is a very objective aspect to the story that John is telling. What he is trying to tell us is that Jesus rising from the dead was a fact. It happened, it’s reality. It is objective. How does he show this to us?

Well John gives us a very detailed account about how after Jesus died on the cross, his tomb was found empty. Mary goes to the tomb, finds it empty. She is really shocked because she thinks graverobbers have stolen the body of Jesus, so she runs to Peter and John telling them about the empty tomb. So Peter and John also run to the empty tomb to see for themselves, and they find it empty without his body. And later on, we see Mary coming back to the tomb, and a person comes behind her and talks to her, asking her why she is crying, and it turns out that this person is Jesus himself, who had risen from the dead.

Now there are a few details in this story that are really important, because they really tell us that what John is trying to tell us is that this story of Jesus dying on the cross, and miraculously rising from the dead, is not a myth, it’s not just a story, but it’s actual history, it actually happened, it’s real.

Read John 20:1 “1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.”

The fact that there are even women in the story as a witness/demonstrate that Jesus rose from the dead points to the fact that this is a true story, not a story that John is making up. This is because 2000 years ago in John’s time, the inclusion of women in the story would have made it unreliable, it would have discredited it to the whole public. If John was to truly lie and make this up, to try and fake a story about Jesus rising from the dead, he wouldn’t have included women in the story at all! But he does, so that actually adds to the truthfulness of the story, because rather than trying to forcefully convince people, he is just telling the story as it is, which includes the wonderful witness of the women.

Read John 20:3 “3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb.”

This is another important detail. Notice how it is not just Peter alone, or John alone, that goes to the tomb. It is Peter and John. The fact that there are two people is important, because the tradition back in John’s time was that for someone to give accurate witness in court, you need at least 2 witnesses for a trustworthy testimony. So by having both Peter and John in the account, John is telling us almost like a witness in court, this is what really happened. Just like giving witness in a court of law, John is clearly telling us the historical facts of what he saw.

And finally, there is just an immense amount of detail in this story. You’ve got the detail of the exact time of the event, which was the first day of the week. You’ve got the story of Peter and John running together, but John specifically says that John ran faster than Peter. The detail where John looks in but he specifically says he did not walk inside. The detail of the linen cloths he saw inside with the face cloth lying separately folded up. You’ve got the detail of the conversation of Mary with the angels and Jesus. And there are so many other details and evidences I could point to.

All these different details really bear the marks of an authentic, true, first-hand witness account. This is not a 3rd person account, where someone who wasn’t there is just writing a story from the stuff he’s heard. This really shows this is a 1st hand account - this was written by someone who had seen, heard, felt, smelt, all these things. It was vivid in his memories, and he was able to write these things down for us to read 2000 years later.

And this objective aspect is really important. Because it shows us that the Christian faith, is not a wishy-washy religion, based on theories, philosophy, abstract ideas about things we can’t see or feel. The Christian faith is based on historical fact. The Christian religion is fundamentally based on Jesus Christ, who died on the cross, who was buried, but he rose from the dead, and he ascended into heaven. John is at pains to say that as ridiculous as it sounds, this is not a myth or made up story, it’s true, because he saw it with his own two eyes.

The Christian faith is first and firemost not about ideas, or being a good person, or being loving and nice to each other, or coming to church. Although all these things are important, Christianity is first and foremost based on a historical fact: Jesus died and rose from the dead. That is the objective part of our faith. And just like how it says John believed in verse 8, we also need to believe this historical reality.

The Subjective

But there is a subjective part as well. Our faith isn’t just facts like the ones you memorise for an exam. There is a deeply subjective, personal component to it. The Christian faith isn’t just cold hard facts, but something that is personal to each and every one of us, whatever our walk of life. The gospel isn’t just objective truth, but that truth comes and meets you, wherever you are in life.

We can see that through Mary. Mary was a woman whom Jesus had rescued from 7 demons (Luke 8:2). And as you read this account from John, you can see a woman just completely heartbroken and devasted because she had just lost someone she loved dearly and cared for. She was completely devastated because she thought that someone had just taken the body of her Jesus away, and she was desperate to get his body back.

But in that dark moment in her life, what happens? Let’s read: John 20:15–16 “15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).”

Jesus, calls her by her name, Mary, and she immediately recognises him as the one who she thought had died, and her sadness is turned into joy. She was reunited with the one she loved, with the one who gave her all hope and joy in this world.

And that’s why the resurrection is important. Because it is not just a thing that happened 2000 years ago, but it means we can also meet Jesus today, just like Mary did 2000 years ago. Even though Jesus has ascended into heaven and is not physically here with us like he was for Mary, He has sent us his HOly Spirit, and we can personally meet Christ today. And this encounter with Christ is life-changing. He comes to transform our lives, which may be filled with brokenness, sorrow, fear; he changes that into the same gladness and joy of finding Him alive, just like Mary 2000 years ago.

Conclusion

God can sometimes feel distant. But today’s passage encourages us in a few ways:

Sometimes Christianity feels like a myth, unscientific, not real. But today’s passage assures that our faith is based on a historical fact, a reality, on truth. The resurrection of Christ was real and it truly happened.

But sometimes Christianity feels just like a distant fact, irrelevant to us, just something that happened 2000 years ago. Just another fact of history like world war 1, which has no relevance to me whatsoever today. But today’s passage corrects that thinking as well, because our faith isn’t just something that happened 2000 years ago, but that historical fact is something that can change my life, and your life, today. Jesus not only rose from the dead, but he is still alive today. And he wants to be in personal relationship with each and every one of us. Just like how he called Mary by name, he calls us each by name.

Read John 10:3–4 “The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.”

When he calls us by name, we recognise his voice, and we follow him because our lives are transformed by him personally. And being transformed isn’t always this dramatic conversion story, or an intense emotional experience. Just like how these verses tell us, being in personal relationship with Christ is first and foremost being called by Christ, recognising that calling, recognising that the true king and Lord over our lives is Jesus, and following him. And following him means thinking, acting, and speaking in a way, that is fitting for a follower of Christ.

Ending Song: Amazing grace (non-Chris Tomlin version)