Taken Away

Can you imagine being Mary that morning? Just think about something like this happening in your life. You head off to the cemetery to put followers on the grave of a loved one, and as you approach you see a mound of dirt- panic fills your heart, as you get closer and closer fear, anger, and pain fill your soul as you find that someone has opened the grave of your loved one and taken them- or so you think....

john 20:11-18 records a conversation between Mary and the Resurrected Jesus outside of the tomb. A heart broken Marty thinks that grave robbers or government leaders are responsible for the disappearance of Jesus’ body. She has no idea at first that she is talking to the person she assumes is gone...

When Jesus approached Mary and asks her why she is crying she responds with “They have taken away my Lord”

Taken away my Lord? What? We are talking about Jesus here- savior of the world, creator of the universe, God’s son, the most powerful and victorious person to every tread this planet, someone does not just “take Jesus away”. What is even more interesting is that Jesus had told his friends and followers multiple times that he was going to die and be resurrected; multiple times, mind you; so when the tomb was empty Mary should have remembered his teaching and been ecstatic, but instead she concluded grave robbers and is trembling in fear and pain.

Well, we stand here and celebrate today because truly they did not take away our Lord- death could not even take him away. The story of Easter is that our Jesus is alive and did not remain in the tomb. Nothing- yes nothing will take him away.

Instead, the Bible claims- it is Jesus who does the taking away. He takes away things and conquers them, never the other way around. Today, in celebration of Easter, lets think about some of the things that our Jesus’ death and resurrection has taken away.

Through his death, Jesus has taken away Sin

In John the Baptist is the first person to publically recognize Jesus’ impact on sin as he proclaimed “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the World.”

Because sin is an offense that separates us from God, it needs to be reconciled or paid for, and because God loves us and wants to be with us he pays the price in his Son, Jesus. As Millard Erickson once said "The cross is a fitting symbol of the atonement, for it represents the intersecting of two attributes or facets of God’s nature. Here it is that the love of God meets the holiness of God. The holiness requires payment of the penalty, and the love provides that payment."

tells us that without the shedding of blood there can be no forgiveness of sin. There is no way around this- blood covers sin, and it is the only thing that can do the job. For centuries and generations men slaughtered animals to provide a temporary covering for their sin, but Jesus Christ came from God to provide a covering once and for all.

The central truth of Good Friday is that the righteous Son of God takes the punishment for your wrongdoing. as says “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

This means that Jesus did not take away sin as in the “thing” of sin- but rather Jesus takes the repercussions of sin- the consequences. Of course there is still sin in the world, people, things, and even nature acts out in rebellion against God- but praise be to God that through Jesus’ shed blood our punishment has been taken away.

The Moose was in the game to score. He took the handoff at the five-yard line from the quarterback and stunted to the right. The right guard and tackle had split the defenders and there was a slight hole in the line for him. Moose instantly was in the hole. He put his head down and fought through the menacing red jerseys. The linebackers were quick and they could hit hard. Everyone was zeroing in on him. The defensive secondary moved quickly up behind the line to plug the hole.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

The Moose hit the first linebacker hard. He lowered his shoulders and put every ounce of strength he had in the hit. The linebacker’s grip slipped and Moose was through the hole and into the secondary. They were quick in their moves to stop him but Moose was determined. He churned his legs toward the goal line as hard as he could. The secondary men lost their grip and suddenly Moose found himself being pushed hard by his fullback and quarterback over the goal line. It was do or die and the Moose was not about to die. In his ear, he heard the referee’s whistle. He couldn’t see anything since he was at the bottom of the pile. But he heard the roar of the crowd. It was the biggest game of the season.

He had loved every minute of playing football. And, he was finally in the game. He had worked as hard as he knew how. But he never got to play in a game. The starting running back had just gotten hurt and the coach was down to the Moose. He was the substitute.

One by one, the referees’ pulled the pile of players off the Moose. Finally, the Moose was free and could see their arms raised signaling a touchdown. He had scored.

Moose got up and jogged over to the sideline where Coach Williams said, “Good job son. Are you okay?”

Moose thought about the scoring play. He remembered the ominous horde of red jerseys that had risen up just when he thought he could score. They had all zeroed in on him, the Moose. He glanced at the coach, took a deep breath, and said, “Never again. I’m done.”

This is what Jesus could have done. The crowds had turned away. The authorities were after him. The church had rejected him. The menacing horde of people had all zeroed in on him. The crowd chanted, “Crucify him, crucify him.” It was the perfect time to quit.

But, Jesus had just told the Father a few hours earlier, “I am not going to do what I want, but what you want.” He meant it. He didn’t give up like the Moose. He had you on his mind. He wanted you to have eternal life. He loved you. He was determined to be your substitute.

Through his death, Jesus has taken away Death

In Paul is teaching about the resurrection of the dead- his main point is that because Jesus overcame death by resurrection, we too will be resurrected from the dead at God’s appointed time. Towards the end of the chapter in verses 55 and following you can almost hear the passion in Paul’s voice as he quotes from and Hosea 15:14- ““Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” he goes on to encourage us “ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”

58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain

Your labor- your work- all the things you are battling for the cause of Christ, it is worth it, church; it is not in vain. This day, this Resurrection Day reminds us that we are being made into his likeness and one day we too will bypass the sting of death and be united with God in new life forever. Or, as Peter said in 1 Ptr 3:18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.”

55  “O death, where is your victory?

English Standard Version Chapter 3

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,

O death, where is your sting?”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

James S. Hewett, former pastor of Saratoga (California) Presbyterian Church shares this story: “A little boy and his father were driving down a country road on a beautiful spring afternoon. Suddenly out of nowhere a bumblebee flew in the car window. Since the little boy was deathly allergic to bee sings, he became petrified. His father quickly reached out, grabbed the bee, squeezed it in his hand, and then released it. But as soon as he let it go, the young son became frantic once again as it buzzed by the little boy.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

“Dad sensed his son’s terror. Once again he reached out his hand, but this time he pointed to this hand. There still stuck in his skin was the stinger of the bee. “You see this?” he asked. “You don’t need to be afraid anymore. I’ve taken the sting for you.”

Through his ascension, Jesus has taken away our helplessness

In Jesus gives his last teaching to his disciples- and the highlight of the teaching is his explanation of why it is better for them that he dies and leaves them. The crux of the matter- the Holy Spirit. Jesus says to them “I am going to die, and then be raised, and then ascend- and all of this is good for you.” And he then gives them a promise- the Holy Spirit. And listen to the words and phrases he uses to the describe this Spirit and its ministry in the Bible-

v15 v& 26- Helper or advocate; who will teach you all things

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

- prays and intercedes for you

- wisdom and understanding

it gives power

- convict of sin, bring righteousness, guide and lead all men

Remember, up until Jesus there was no way for men to alter their spirit- they just had to “try harder” and offer their sacrifices when they messed up. It was a perpetual cycle of live, sin, sacrifice, repeat. But through the ministry of Jesus Christ that all changes- as he states in we can be BORN AGAIN and tells us that we can be new creations.

It compares to a story of a boy asking an old man about his extreme wealth:

Without the Holy Spirit the church could not exist. It is He who inspired the writers of Scripture, and He who dwells in every Christian, giving us life in Christ. All our efforts are dust and ashes apart from Him.

A young man asked an old rich man how he made his money. The old guy fingered his worsted wool vest and said, "Well, son, it was 1932, the depth of the Great Depression. I was down to my last nickel. I invested that nickel in an apple. I spent the entire day polishing the apple and, at the end of the day, I sold the apple for ten cents.

The next morning, I invested those ten cents in two apples. I spent the entire day polishing them and sold them at 5:00 PM for 20 cents. I continued this system for a month, by the end of which I’d accumulated a fortune of $3.50. (pause) Then my wife’s father died and left us ten million dollars."

When Jesus died for us He sent us the Holy Spirit, enriching us with all we need to live in Him.

So we can celebrate today, church- because nothing- NOTHING has taken away our Jesus. Yes, he has gone away. In that same passage that we read about the Holy Spirit Jesus says that he is going away to prepare a place for us. He is going to prepare a place for us with his father in Heaven- in paradise; together with our Lord.

Remember, friends, in his sacrifice one the cross Jesus prepares the way, but it is his ministry after the cross when Jesus prepares the destination and empowers us with everything we need to get there through his Holy Spirit.