The Servant We Serve

There is a quote that is attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi which goes something like this: “Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary, use words.” I both like and dislike that quote. I dislike it because I see the way that some Christians twist those words as a justification for never telling anyone about their faith in Jesus. They might just go with the tagline of “my life is my gospel witness” and never say a word about Jesus to anyone outside of Christian circles. Saint Francis never meant that line to be an excuse for keeping our mouths closed. His intent was never that we should remain silent about our faith. But the reason that I also like that quote at the same time is because it speaks to the truth that our Christian witness is more than words we say. The actions of our lives have the power to either reinforce our words of gospel witness, or completely undermine and destroy any words of gospel witness.

This ought to be self-evident in our world and in our culture even outside of religion. Perhaps you have heard terms like “put your money where your mouth is” or “walk the talk.” Our world around us absolutely recognizes and understands hypocrisy. We know it when a person says one thing, but then does another thing. When the actions do not match the words, then the words become pretty empty and meaningless.

We have been talking for several weeks during this season of lent about the servant nature of Christ. And all along the way we have been pointing to the ways in which we as followers of Jesus are called to have the heart and identity of a servant too. Or to put it another way, God desires for us to be people who walk the talk. The actions of our lives ought to reflect the gospel we proclaim. On a day like this—Resurrection Day; Easter—it is a good moment for us to pause and consider not only the fulfillment of this gospel message we celebrate today, but also the way this gospel is the complete center of everything we strive to do as people who echo the servanthood of Jesus.

Isaiah 65:17–25 NIV

17 “See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. 19 I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. 20 “Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; the one who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere child; the one who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed. 21 They will build houses and dwell in them; they will plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22 No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They will not labor in vain, nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the Lord, they and their descendants with them. 24 Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,” says the Lord.

John 20:1–18 NIV

1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” 3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying. 11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 13 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.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. 15 He asked her, “Woman, 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.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). 17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” 18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

John’s version of the resurrection story includes striking detail that the other gospel writers do not include. John seems to have a clear goal in mind behind his rendition of the story. Look at a few of the key features. He notes the way that all the grave linens are neatly left behind. It would not be unheard of in the time of the Bible for grave robbers to take advantage of a situation like this. The linens used for embalming were valuable, and spices mixed into the wrapped layers of those linens were even more valuable. When Mary and the women find the open tomb on Sunday morning and see that the body is missing, the immediate assumption of everyone is that grave robbers have struck. But that initial impression becomes immediately confusing and doubtful when John goes out of his way to note that the valuable parts of what grave robbers are after are not taken; it is left behind. And not only is it left behind, it is left right there on the enabling bench inside the tomb. Grave robbers coming in the night to steal the body of Jesus is not a plausible explanation here. Something else must have happened.

John’s writing points towards believing the gospel message

Jesus actually is raised from the dead Jesus actually is the divine Son of God

And, of course, something else did happen. John never refers to himself by his own name in his gospel. In this particular story in chapter 20 John refers to himself as the “other disciple” who goes running to the tomb along with Peter. For whatever reason, John wants us to know that he a better runner than Peter. Even though Peter is the first one to go inside the tomb, John just wants to set the record straight; he was there first. And then John says this.

John 20:8–9 NIV

8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)

Alright, what an interesting observation for John to tell us. He believed. What exactly did John believe, I wonder? I mean, in the very next verse he goes on to explain that the disciples did not yet understand from scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead. So, what is it that John believes at this point of the story. Let’s back up and remind ourselves of the whole reason John writes his gospel in the first place.

John 1:6–7 NIV

6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.

John 1:18 NIV

18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

John makes clear at the very beginning of his gospel that the goal of his writing is for others to hear this testimony concerning Jesus and believe. In particular John wants people to know and believe that Jesus is the divine Son of God, that Jesus is part of the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is what John believes with all his heart. It is a belief that is baked though his entire gospel. I think it is also the reference he is making here in chapter 20. It is here at this moment which John begins to catch, perhaps for the first time, whom exactly this rabbi is that John has been following around for the past three years!

John cannot deny the reality of Christ’s actions right here in front of him

Even if John and the other disciples did not yet piece together all the ways that Jesus brings fulfillment to the Old Testament, right here in this moment when John is observing an empty tomb he cannot deny what he sees and believes at that moment. Even though it takes a while for John and the disciples to grasp that meaning of Christ’s actions, John cannot deny the reality of Christ’s actions right here in front of him.

the story itself shows the confirmation of its details | women as witnesses, valuable linen and spices left behind in the tomb

Yet, apart from John (and Peter), it is Mary who gives the first expression of this witness. Mary is the first one to have seen and spoken with Jesus after he is raised form the dead. Here again, the story itself shows the confirmation of its details. Back in that time, women were not allowed to testify in court. The culture back then would have held that women could not be credible witnesses. If this entire resurrection story were a made up fairy tale, there would be no sense to having women be the first witnesses. If John and the other disciples were trying to concoct their own conspiracy theory about Jesus being alive, they most certainly would not use the testimony of women as proof. Once again, the details of the event itself speaks to its authenticity.

the disciples now have a different relationship Jesus moving forward from the resurrection

The interaction is a bit odd. First off, Mary does not seem one bit phased at seeing angels sitting in the tomb. And then she proceeds to have a conversation with them. Next up, she does not recognize Jesus standing beside her at first. Perhaps this is John’s way of telling us that Mary needs to arrive at a moment of accepting and believing what she sees happening around her. However, once she does recognize and believe, she is so convinced that she grabs onto Jesus. Jesus has to respond by telling her to let go. Biblical commentators are not in agreement about the meaning of this interaction. Many think it is John’s way of pointing towards the different relationship Jesus has with his disciples moving forward from the resurrection. There might have been some instinct on the part of the disciples to pick up where they left off now that Jesus is back. John acknowledges that they did not yet realize how the actions of Jesus have changed the world. There is no going back to the way it was before.

Mary is instructed to go and tell her own story is tied together with Christ’s story

Instead, Jesus gives Mary an instruction. Go and tell the others about what you have seen. And this is exactly what Mary does. She gives witness. She uses words. She tells the story. And these words of faith and testimony in Jesus are not isolated. Mary’s gospel witness is joined together with her own story, the actions of her own life. We know the origins of Mary’s story from Luke’s gospel.

Luke 8:1–3 NIV

1 After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; 3 Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.

Mary’s story is complex. Her own life is changed because of Jesus. She gives back by becoming a devoted servant of Jesus, supporting him and the other disciples. And now she becomes the very first person to witness and share the gospel story. We have talked in previous weeks of the many different ways we are called to be servants of Jesus, and to serve others on behalf of Jesus. We have talked in previous weeks about the reasons why Jesus chooses to be a servant and the reasons why we follow Jesus in the path of service. Today on Resurrection Day, we see in the example of Mary the connection between actions of service and words of witness. Mary’s example of service is accompanied by a story; it is a story I imagine begins with an opening like this: “let me tell you what God has done in my life…”

the reason Jesus chooses to become a servant: restoration of shalom (by redeeming our relationship to God)

the reason we follow Jesus as servant in this world: restoration of shalom (by living as people redeemed by God)

We all have a story like that. Somewhere and somehow in your life God has always been there and God has always been at work. Let the words and the actions come together. There is a reason we live to serve the God who gave himself to serve us. It is a reason that centers upon the good news of the gospel. Your life has a story to tell. Let that reason be known. God is in the business of restoring the shalom of his creation. That restoration of shalom took a giant leap forward through the death and resurrection of Christ. God restored his relationship with you. The reason we continue to serve is because God joins our acts of service into his continuing restoration of shalom in this world. Yet, that restoration began with what God has done for you and me. It is centered in the gospel. Always let your continuing actions of service in this world be a reflection of that shalom which first came to us through the cross of Jesus.