Easter Sunday

Video: The Loud Supper

Introduction

On Thursday night of Holy Week, Jesus met with His disciples in the Upper Room. In this room, Jesus and His disciples celebrated a supper, the Passover meal. The Passover meal is a ritual feast that retells the story of the Israelites’ Exodus from the land of Egypt through symbolic foods, readings, blessings, and songs. The meal commemorates the liberation of the Jewish people from Egyptian slavery and tells of the journey from slavery to freedom. By celebrating this meal with His disciples, Jesus not only commerorated the journey of the Jewish people, but also laid the foundation to what events would soon transpire. Jesus would become the Passover Lamb for not only the Israelite people, but for all humanity. This Upper Room was also where Jesus offered some final teachings to His disciples.

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

Adam and Eve

In the garden of Eden, Satan tempted Adam and Eve with becoming like God by eating of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. The result is separation from God due to sin entering the world. Adam and Eve with cast out of the garden of Eden, however, their story also contained a promise.

Genesis 3:14-15 NLT

14 Then the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild.

You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live. 15 And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring.

He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”

God will provide away for God and humanity to be together again. This has been the work of God since the beginning: to turn grieving to rejoicing.

Noah

A few centuries later, God is looking out over His creation and says this:

Genesis 6:5-7 NLT

5 The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. 6 So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart. 7 And the Lord said, “I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing—all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them.”

Genesis 6:8-22 NLT

8 But Noah found favor with the Lord.

9 This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God. 10 Noah was the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11 Now God saw that the earth had become corrupt and was filled with violence. 12 God observed all this corruption in the world, for everyone on earth was corrupt. 13 So God said to Noah, “I have decided to destroy all living creatures, for they have filled the earth with violence. Yes, I will wipe them all out along with the earth!

14 “Build a large boat from cypress wood and waterproof it with tar, inside and out. Then construct decks and stalls throughout its interior. 15 Make the boat 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. 16 Leave an 18-inch opening below the roof all the way around the boat. Put the door on the side, and build three decks inside the boat—lower, middle, and upper.

17 “Look! I am about to cover the earth with a flood that will destroy every living thing that breathes. Everything on earth will die. 18 But I will confirm my covenant with you. So enter the boat—you and your wife and your sons and their wives. 19 Bring a pair of every kind of animal—a male and a female—into the boat with you to keep them alive during the flood. 20 Pairs of every kind of bird, and every kind of animal, and every kind of small animal that scurries along the ground, will come to you to be kept alive. 21 And be sure to take on board enough food for your family and for all the animals.”

22 So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him.

Genesis 9:12-17 NLT

12 Then God said, “I am giving you a sign of my covenant with you and with all living creatures, for all generations to come. 13 I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my covenant with you and with all the earth. 14 When I send clouds over the earth, the rainbow will appear in the clouds, 15 and I will remember my covenant with you and with all living creatures. Never again will the floodwaters destroy all life. 16 When I see the rainbow in the clouds, I will remember the eternal covenant between God and every living creature on earth.” 17 Then God said to Noah, “Yes, this rainbow is the sign of the covenant I am confirming with all the creatures on earth.”

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

Abraham and Sarah Genesis 12:1-3 NLT

The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”

Abraham obediently follows God’s instructions and moves his wife and everything he has.

Genesis 15:1-5 NLT

1 Some time later, the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.”

2 But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son? Since you’ve given me no children, Eliezer of Damascus, a servant in my household, will inherit all my wealth. 3 You have given me no descendants of my own, so one of my servants will be my heir.”

4 Then the Lord said to him, “No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.” 5 Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!”

When Abraham was 100 years old Sarah became pregnant with a son, Isaac, he would become the father of Jacob; Jacob becomes the father of the Israelites.

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

New Testament

Turning Water into Wine (John 2:1-11): At a wedding in Cana, Jesus transforms water into wine when the hosts run out, demonstrating His power over nature and the joy of the new covenant.

Healing the Royal Official’s Son (John 4:46-54): Jesus heals the son of a royal official from a distance, illustrating His authority and the importance of faith, as the official believes in Jesus' word.

Healing the Crippled Man (John 5:1-15): At the Pool of Bethesda, Jesus heals a man who had been paralyzed for 38 years, showcasing His compassion and power over illness.

Feeding the Five Thousand (John 6:1-14): Jesus miraculously feeds a crowd of 5,000 with five loaves of bread and two fish, highlighting His ability to provide and the abundance of God's grace.

Walking on Water (John 6:15-21): After feeding the five thousand, Jesus walks on water to reach His disciples, demonstrating His mastery over the elements and His divine nature.

Healing the Blind Man (John 9:1-12): Jesus heals a man who was born blind, illustrating His power to bring both physical and spiritual sight.

Raising Lazarus from the Dead (John 11:1-44): In one of His most profound miracles, Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead, affirming His authority over life and death and foreshadowing His own resurrection.

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.

What’s Next

“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.”

(PAUSE) “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...”

In the Upper Room, throughout Saturday and early Sunday the disciples sat in awkward silence, no other sounds than that of weeping - the sound of grieving. And then they here Jesus’ words again, “Very truly I well you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.” I wonder maybe, just maybe the disciples spoke those words of Jesus to themselves and to one another, again and again. Your griref will to turn joy. Your grief will turn to joy. Your grief will turn to joy. They had to be grieving and trying to believe, grieving and trying to believe. And then.

John 20:1-20 NLT

Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. 2 She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

3 Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. 4 They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in. 6 Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, 7 while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. 8 Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed— 9 for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead. 10 Then they went home.

11 Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. 12 She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. 13 “Dear woman, why are you crying?” the angels asked her.

“Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”

14 She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him. 15 “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?”

She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.”

16 “Mary!” Jesus said.

She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”).

17 “Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

18 Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” Then she gave them his message.

19 That Sunday evening[b] the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. 20 As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy 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. On Palm Sunday we agreed that Jesus, is 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.

D Day

June 2, 2024 marked the 80th anniversary of WW2’s D-Day. A ‘D-Day’ is set apart as a day in which a major action is undertaken that has potential to change the course of a war. Well

beyond the ‘D-Day,’ is a ‘V-Day’ — a day in which the enemy surrenders and victory is finalized and complete. Easter is a sort of D-Day — a new beginning that has changed the course of the searing work from grieving to rejoicing — and V-Day rests beyond. And God continues his work to bring that end about. A new day is marked as having started in the dark of midnight, and over time, light stretches and reaches into every corner. Day has come, but all of its effects have yet to be realized in the early hours.

And so this has been the work of God since the new beginning of Easter - to turn our grieving into rejoicing.

We read of a persecuter of the early - Saul of Taursas - encountering the risen Christ and becoming one of the most prolific church planters in history.

Thousands cried out to be saved at Pentecost in Jerusalem. Grieving turned to rejoicing led to the explosion of Christ followers in the early church; if you were to take a look at map of the early you would notice that the boundaries of the early church surpassed those of the Roman empire.

This has been his work. Jesus, the Risen One, turns our deep grieving to rejoicing.

We all could share stories of Jesus turning grieving to rejoicing. It’s still happening around us today.

I do not know if you and I — yes, you and I— are shut up within some Upper Room and the day is Saturday and we wonder over and about the work of God. Will he turn this grieving to rejoicing? What I can say 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. His work usually takes some time. It often means some loss. And it always has some mystery mixed in. But God is ever and always turning grieving to rejoicing.

The Loud Supper

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

Why is the message called The Loud Supper?

Revelation 19:6-9 NLT

6 Then I heard again what sounded like the shout of a vast crowd or the roar of mighty ocean waves or the crash of loud thunder:

“Praise the Lord!

For the Lord our God,[b] the Almighty, reigns.

7 Let us be glad and rejoice,

and let us give honor to him.

For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb,

and his bride has prepared herself.

8 She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.”

For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people.

9 And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” And he added, “These are true words that come from God.”

We are wed to Christ, and therefore to God, and in it all, heaven and earth are once again wedded together. There’s a wedding supper in celebration - I can’t help but think that it is going to a loud supper. The old has gone and the new has come. The work God has been doing since the beginning, and since the new beginning, has been completed. Because now there is only rejoicing, becuase there is no more grieving because now there is no more suffering.

Revelation 21:1-4 NLT

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.[a] 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

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 - to turn or grieving to rejoicing.

Jesus, the Rise 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.

He is Risen!