My Redeemer Lives for sure

Job 19:23-27

Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

In the name of Jesus, the resurrection and the life. Amen.

You know many things. You know multiplication tables and arithmetic, you know historical dates and figures, you know trivia and important facts. When you remember your school days, you think about all the things that you learned and all the things you know. But there’s a big difference between the facts and figures that you know and the realities that you experience. So, not only do you know that 2 plus 2 is four and 3 times 3 is 9 and that the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, but you also know that 6:30 is early in the morning, that Easter lilies and eggs and bacon make an interesting combination of smells, and that everyone’s Easter clothes are splendid. Knowing something isn’t just about recalling the facts and figures, but about your own experience of reality and truth.

The reality and truth are serious in Scripture, too. The suffering has been real. The insults and the mockery bring tears to the eyes. The betrayal of friends hurts. The sores and wounds of open skin are revealed. That’s the reality that Job has been living in. Oh, it’s the reality for Jesus, too - but hold that thought. For Job, he’s been suffering. His friends have been accusing him of deceiving them and lying about some hidden evil that he did in the eyes of God. For some reason that no one knew, Job’s property had been carried away and his children had been killed and his body broke out in sores. Those were all facts and figures that Job could recite. But then, He went on to say something else that He knew: “I know that my redeemer lives, and with my own eyes I will see God!” He knew that. That knowledge isn’t just something you can recite or quote, but something that Job confessed. It is still the truth, and it is still reality. For Job, this isn’t disconnected history or math or a grammatical rule, but the way that things are for him. His skin can be destroyed. He can suffer. Terrible things might happen to him. Still, he will see God, his Redeemer because the Lord lives. And that’s the truth.

Notice how personal this is for Job. He talks about his eyes and his flesh and his sight. This isn’t abstract or merely factual, but it’s personal. Job has been through all kinds of misery and pain, and he still hopes. That’s hard for us to understand. What about you? When you suffer, when your hopes and dreams seem crushed, when life is difficult - do you still hope, or do you give up? You at least feel that tug to give up. Here you are, on Easter, but that doesn’t mean that life hasn’t been a struggle recently. Perhaps you have done battle just to get here this morning, and not only because the alarm went off so early but you wonder if any of this faith and this connection to Jesus is worth it. Maybe you are struggling with grief or a body that isn’t working like it should or you have a difficult relationship with a family member. Perhaps you doubt that you are good enough to come to church on Easter because you have habitual sins that you can’t seem to control and your emotions and reactions show your sinfulness. Again and again, you see your struggles and your shortcomings, and you wonder, “If I’m not hopeful like Job, and if I’m not sure about how strong my faith is, is there room for me?”

That’s a question that Mary Magdalene could relate to. She had seen the body of Jesus taken from the cross and laid in the tomb. She had prepared the spices and perfumes that they were going to wrap with his body. When they got to the tomb, it was open and there was no body. When she told Peter and John about the open tomb and missing body, she assumed that someone had taken Jesus’ body away. When Peter and John went back home, she was by the tomb, weeping. Even when she looked into the empty tomb and saw two angels in the tomb and talked with them, she was still fixated on the idea that someone had taken Jesus’ body. She asked if He had taken the body. That’s when Jesus called her by name. She greeted Him as her teacher, and she grabbed hold of Him. She saw that her Redeemer lived! No one had taken His body, because He was there and He was alive.

When you’re in the middle of something stressful or traumatic, you know what it’s like to be fixated on an idea. You just can’t shake it. For Mary, she was convinced someone had taken Jesus’ body until her mind was changed. Perhaps your thoughts are fixated on the problems of this world, or on your health, or about your family or your financial stability. Job gives us something else to fixate on - I know that my Redeemer lives, and with my own eyes I shall see God! Focus on that. That’s the most important thing, not just today because it’s Easter, but each and every day because Jesus is the King of all creation who makes all things the way they should be. Your suffering pales in comparison to Jesus’ resurrection. The problems of this world are no match for Jesus, and everything else that you can find to worry about is set right by Jesus, the resurrection and the life.

For Job, for Mary Magdalene, and for you, Easter is personal. This isn’t a mere historical fact or something to consider as a “theory” or a truism. On Easter, your Redeemer lives! He has come into creation. He was born and He died - but He also rose again to save you and to redeem you from your sin. This is the most important truth, not just of human history, but of your life. What matters to you? Just this - that Jesus lives! Notice the other very personal thing that He says to Mary: “Tell my brothers that I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” Jesus counts Himself as a brother of His disciples, and boldly says that they share a God and Father. Jesus counts Himself as one of us, and He counts us with Him. We don’t deserve that, but Jesus does it anyway.

Today, we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection because He is the firstborn from the dead, and He brings us eternal life. It doesn’t get more personal than that. Rejoice in the resurrection of Christ your Lord. Your Redeemer lives and stands on the earth, and you see God! Alleluia! Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia! Amen.