Not Much Drama

Here is you a little Easter Sunrise pop quiz?

What is the longest gospel in the Bible?

That would be Luke.

What is the longest book in the New Testament?

That would also be Luke.

So why is Luke’s account of the resurrection so short?

Listen to Luke’s account from Luke 24:1-8

Luke 24:1–8 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.” And they remembered his words,

This man who states in the introduction of his book Luke 1:3 “it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,”

That this man’s account of the most phenomenal moment in history is so - well - bland.

There is no real build up - no tension really at all.

To me at least, Luke told the story from the point of view of a man who wasn’t surprised.

Verse 6 explains his attitude: Luke 24:6 “…Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee,”

It’s like Luke is saying, “He told you he was going to do it. He did everything He ever said He would do.

“Why are you surprised?”

Does that say anything to you?

The resurrection changed nothing and yet the resurrection changed everything.

The resurrection changed nothing about Jesus, His mission, the Father’s plan, the Spirit’s work.

All of that has happened exactly like the Bible said - hasn’t it?

Every last bit of it.

The only parts we can’t guarantee are the parts that haven’t happened yet.

But seeing that the Lord is batting 1000 right now - I suspect He will never hit a slow roller to first.

It will all happen - all of history

All of your life - will happen exactly as the Lord has planned.

The resurrection was a part of God’s plan.

No surprise when it happened.

Nothing changed with God’s plan when Jesus was raised to new life.

But everything changed for you and me.

Listen to what Jesus said in John 17:3 “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”

So, if I am hearing Jesus correctly, when we know the Father and trust Jesus, we have eternal life right that moment.

Do you agree I’m understanding that correctly?

So if that is true, doesn’t that remove some drama from our lives?

I mean, think about it.

Let’s take something silly - I had asthma when I was young - running for any distance wasn’t a thing.

My buds and I played football in granddad’s front yard.

After every play the guys would give me a second to get my breath before we ran another play.

But when I tried out for organized football, nobody cared about the chubby boy who couldn’t breath.

Tragedy, right?

But in the scheme of my life, what will happen for me in the next 200 years?

How much of a tragedy are those few years, really?

Do the things we get so upset about and ruminate over and make ourselves angry and frustrated over

Think about those things - will we even remember them 50 years from now?

The resurrection takes some of the hurry off - it removes the urgency of “it’s got to happen now.”

The resurrection should calm us down a bit.

I can hear us asking ourselves, “Does this really matter in the grand scheme of things?”

And for a lot of the drama we have in our lives, that answer is no.

But even in the real drama

My two oldest children have been really affected by what’s going on in politics right now.

A couple of their jobs are in jeopardy.

Without the resurrection, I can understand panic.

You only have so many years to establish a career and make an impact and accumulate wealth.

But after the resurrection

I think to myself, “I wonder what wonderful thing will the Lord deliver to my kids when this is over?”

Because of the resurrection, the measure of our success hasn’t really changed from God’s original goal.

It’s defined in terms of family and eternity.

On this earth, the Lord told us to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.

For eternity, the Lord told us to, what?

Be fruitful and multiply and make heaven crowded.

His mission really never changed.

The resurrection really should be our tranquilizer.

A tranquilizer is something you take to make you tranquil.

Calm. Contented.

I can see having a different level of contentment if we realize that we’ve got all the time in the world to get things done.

No, the resurrection doesn’t encourage laziness or complacency.

But the resurrection does encourage contentment and the exorcism of drama.

Who knows what we will see, do, think, smell, taste and hear in the next 200 years?

Because of the resurrection, I never have a moment in my life where I don’t have something to look forward to.

Every single day promises us a new adventure.

When Mary Magdelene and the other women woke up on Day Zero - resurrection day.

They had no clue the adventure they were about to go on.

Every day you and I wake up is a day for a new adventure.

And because of the resurrection, there will never come a morning that we will not wake up.

Pray with me: (and offer the blessing)