The Loud Supper

John 20:1–20 “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. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that…”

“When Jesus speaks of grieving being turned to rejoicing, he’s speaking of a work God has been up to since the very beginning...”

Grieving turned to rejoicing...

“When Jesus speaks of grieving being turned to rejoicing, he’s speaking of a work God has been up to since the very beginning...”

This has been the work of God since the beginning: to turn grieving to rejoicing

t this first story ends with a promise that God will turn such grieving to rejoicing (Genesis 3:15).

After every story, please repeat with me the refrain on the screen with me this morning.

Abraham and Sarah grieving their inability to conceive, which gives way to a sudden pregnancy, even in their old age

Jacob or Joseph, Esther or Ruth, David or Elijah — and certainly Job.

Water into wine

Jesus Heals an Official’s Son at Capernaum in Galilee

Jesus Heals an Invalid at Bethesda

Jesus Feeds 5,000 Plus Women and Children

Jesus Walks on Water

Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind by Spitting in His Eyes

Jesus Raises Lazarus from the Dead in Bethany

“This work usually took some time. It often meant some loss. And it always had some mystery mixed in. But throughout the Old Testament and on into the unfolding story of Jesus, there was God, ever and always turning grieving to rejoicing.”

“All of this brings us to the Upper Room late on a Thursday night, and those words from Jesus: ‘Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.’

Jesus knows, of course, what’s about to happen — that he will be struck down.

And while his disciples are struggling to hear, let alone comprehend, let alone believe, what Jesus has said is about to happen to him, it has to be nagging at them — the possibility that their Teacher, their friend, is about to meet his end.

And into this darkness of that Thursday night, Jesus audaciously says, ‘You are about to enter into such grieving. And your grieving will be made all the deeper when the world is rejoicing over what you are grieving. Their rejoicing will increase your grieving because their rejoicing might have you believing that there is good reason to be grieving. But your grieving will be turned to rejoicing.”

“And then onward he marched to his death on that Friday. And I wonder what it was like for the disciples throughout that Saturday and on into the early hours of that Sunday...” And from there, imagine the scene aloud.

Saturday and on into those early hours of Sunday, the disciples were back in the Upper Room. Imagine how it surely was quiet, except for the sound of weeping — the sound of grieving

wonder aloud if there in the Upper Room on that Saturday and on into the early morning hours of that Sunday the words from Thursday echoed back to them: “Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.”

Read John 20:1–20

John 20:1–20 ESV

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. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes. 11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 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). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her. 19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.

“This has been the work of God since the beginning: to turn grieving to rejoicing. And this was the work of God at Easter: to turn grieving to rejoicing. And this has been the work of God since the new beginning of Easter — to turn our grieving to rejoicing. In the first sermon in the series, we agreed that Jesus, the Bread of Life, satisfies our deep hunger. And then we agreed on Palm Sunday that Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, wins our deep battles. Today, we agree: Jesus, the Risen One, turns our deep grieving to rejoicing.

Jesus, the Risen One, turns our deep grieving to rejoicing.

while the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus was the key moment of God’s work in turning humanity’s grieving to rejoicing — in that, “as we’ve discussed earlier in our series, it was the moment humanity’s enemy, sin, and humanity’s greatest enemy, Death, were defeated” — it was not the end of God’s work of turning our grieving to rejoicing.

“And so this has been the work of God since the new beginning of Easter — to turn our grieving to rejoicing.” And once you’ve stated it, you can add: “And this has been his work, hasn’t it? Think with me...”

Refrain on screen.....

smaller-scale and larger-scale stories of God turning grieving to rejoicing. Point to the story of Peter’s restoration. Point to Paul’s conversion. Point to healings that took place in the earliest days of the church. Point to the beauty of the breakthrough experienced by the Ethiopian eunuch or the Philippian jailor. But go larger-scale, too. Point to the thousands who cried out to be saved at Pentecost in Jerusalem. Point to the Gospel reaching Gentiles who were desperate for Good News. Point to the Gospel going to distant lands never before reached by even the Jewish faith of old. Point out how a map of the reach of the early church matches and surpasses the reach of the Roman Empire itself. Point out that just as the prophet of old promised, a light came to those who walked in darkness.

Grieving turned into rejoicing.

“I do not know if you — yes, you — are shut up within some Upper Room and the day is Saturday and you wonder over and about the work of God. Will he turn this grieving to rejoicing? What I can say to you is what Jesus said to his disciples in that Upper Room on the Thursday before their own Saturday — and what he said to them, really, on the Sunday after: ‘Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.’ I will tell you what I’ve been saying from the start, proven true again and again by stories of old and stories from today: This is the work of God: to turn our grieving to rejoicing.

“And one day, the work of God will have been completed and there will be an ending to our grieving altogether.”

“It will be all rejoicing and no grieving.”

one day, the work of God through Jesus will have been completed and there will be an ending to our grieving altogether

“Throughout this series titled ‘The Last Supper,’ I’ve played off of the imagery of a supper or a meal — even in the sermon’s titles. The Least Supper. The Lord’s Supper. The Last Supper. For this sermon? I went with ‘The Loud Supper.’ Why? Because I’ve always wanted to end this series with a nod a to supper mentioned in another of John’s writings. It’s in the Book of Revelation. It’s a supper mentioned at the end of all things. Let me tell you about it, by reading about it for you.

Read with me Revelation 19.6-9

Revelation 19:6–9 ESV

6 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. 7 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; 8 it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. 9 And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

we are wed to Christ, and thus to God, and in it all, heaven and earth are once again wedded together. And so there’s a supper in celebration

“have to think it’s going to be a loud supper. Because the old has gone and the new has come. Because the work God has been doing since the beginning, and since the new beginning, has been completed. Because now there is only rejoicing, because now there is no more grieving, because now there is no more suffering.”

Read Revelation 21.1-4

Revelation 21:1–4 ESV

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

This has been the work of God since the beginning — to turn our grieving to rejoicing

This has been the work of God since the new beginning of Easter — to turn our grieving to rejoicing.

• Jesus, the Risen One, turns our deep grieving to rejoicing.

• And one day, the work of God through Jesus will have been completed and there will be an ending to our grieving altogether.