Race you to the Tomb

John 20:1-10

Mary, Peter and John believed that Jesus’ body had been stolen. Peter entered the tomb and left wondering. John entered the tomb and believed. John’s belief is partial and timid… but it is Resurrection faith.

John had to enter into the mystery and be willing to see the best answer. Resurrection faith requires courage: then and now.

Lin-Manuel Miranda and Patrick Rothfuss

Here is a picture of two men you might not know. I have often heard it said that the best illustrations are the ones you have to explain before you then get to explain what the illustrations explains. Perfect.

So the guy on the left is the creator and former star of the Broadway hit musical Hamilton, one of my absolute favorite musicals of all time. He is also the primary songwriter of Moana.

The guy on the right is the author of one of my all time favorite book series, the Kingkiller chronicle.

Why am I excited? Well, Lin-Manuel is a huge fan of Rothfuss’ books and they announced, a few months ago that they would be making a tv series and a movie of the books. But the main character is a musical prodigy… but guess who is going to be the creative producer? Lin-Manuel Miranda.

This is two of my favorite talented people in the world uniting to create something AMAZING!

Except… what if it isn’t amazing? What if it is… disappointing?

I feel like I have to manage my expectations. Because I have been disappointed before. Because shows get canceled, or turn out terrible. Sometimes authors die in the middle of the series! That happened.

I have to hold myself back from being as excited as I want to be, almost not quite believing that it is even going to happen, to protect myself from the disappointment if it doesn’t.

How sad is that?

How often do we hesitate to believe… because maybe it seems to good to be true?

How often do we miss out on something great… because we were too afraid to be disappointed?

We protect ourselves, I get that. We are careful and cautious because it hurts to be disappointed. We “manage our expectations.”

But there are moments when the signs are there and we need to have the courage to believe.

What if I carried my caution to the extreme. They make the movie and I don’t see it, because maybe it might disappoint. They make the tv show and I don’t watch it. I don’t listen to reviews. I just pretend it didn’t happen at all. And people are telling me it is amazing… but what do they know? They could be wrong or deluded or just pretending…

It is almost always safer to not believe. It is less risky to believe in nothing. But you miss out on just about everything good in life.

What are the things you hesitate to believe? Maybe because they just seem too good to be true?

Do people in this church really love me? Really? Maybe I can’t trust that idea because it would hurt too much to start to believe it and then find out otherwise.

Does God really love me? Does he know me? Does God want good things for me? Really?

Maybe it is as basic as this: did Jesus really rise from the dead? Really? Because this is the fundamental miracle, the proving ground of all Christianity. If Jesus is in that tomb than this all is mostly just empty words.

Did Jesus really rise from the dead? Maybe you’re skeptical… because skeptical is safer. It is less risky… but you might be missing out on something beautiful. On everything beautiful.

Race to the Tomb

The Scripture

John 20:1-10

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.

The Story

It is still dark Sunday morning.

Mary discovers the tomb is already empty. When did Jesus rise? We don’t know, we just know by dawn Sunday morning, it was already empty. No one else was in the tomb when it happened.

Mary running back, pre-dawn. She thought someone had stolen the body!

She runs to Peter and John, who never names himself. “They have taken the Lord!” They are all thinking the body is stolen. What are they feeling? Fear! Someone is disrespecting our Lord, maybe even desecrating his body. In fear they run to the tomb.

John makes it very clear that he outran Peter. Hah ha, I win the race to the tomb… but he did not go in.

He, and the word is descriptive here, he “peeked” in. He glanced in. He looked but only barely. Too afraid? Worried about what he might find? Maybe just worried about desecrating the tomb with his own presence?

Here comes Peter. 2nd place. Trotting up. Peter is older, more tired. But Peter just trots straight into the tomb. No hesitation. He wants to know, he has to know. And Peter LOOKS. He examines. He sees with great sight. He sees the linen cloths lying there, all folded up neatly. The face cloth there, neat and tidy.

Why would someone who stole the body strip away all the cloth and fold it up so neatly? What would be the point of removing the cloth to expose the body? The scene doesn’t make sense.

Peter sees all the details, but it is as if his mind flinches away from the truth. Maybe because it is too good to be true. It isn’t a sure thing yet, and it would hurt too much to be disappointed? I can’t think that it didn’t cross his mind. And Peter thinks… “no, it has to be something else…”

Luke tells us Peter went away wondering…

John I think is inspired by Peter’s courage in entering the tomb. And after Peter, he steps in. He looks. He perceives.

He sees all the details Peter saw, but where Peter saw with great sight, John sees with greater insight.

John perceives and believes.

They all started in fear.

Mary stayed in the garden, weeping.

Peter went back “wondering” what had occurred.

John went back believing. It was a partial faith gained from partial information. Presumably from the folded linen cloths… that’s all the information he really had. But he put that together with the missing body and believed that Jesus had risen. He believed. It was a partial faith, he didn’t yet understand the Scripture and the reasons. It was a quiet faith, he apparently didn’t mention his belief to anyone else at the time.

But John had the courage to step into the tomb and perceive… and believe.

Do you?

Step Into the Tomb

The resurrection has an ongoing meaning in our lives. We will talk more next week about how Jesus’ resurrection operates as part of our salvation, how it transforms the meaning of Jesus crucifixion and death. We are saved by his death and resurrection (and glorification).

But the resurrection means that Jesus is alive, continues to be alive, and continues to be in the business of bringing life and resurrection into the lives of his people.

Is that too much to hope for? Is that too good to be true?

In your mind is a category of things that you expect God to do in your life. You have a label on them, you believe God can do these things.

In your mind is another category of things that you hope that God could do… but you are skeptical that He actually will. It’d be great, but…

You have a label on that bucket too. It is unrealistic. “Not going to happen.”

I can’t say that you’re wrong. Maybe most of them are.

But Peter missed the miracle because he put the resurrection of Jesus in that bucket. Unrealistic. Not going to happen.

John believed and entered into the mystery and glory that was the miracle.

Do you have the courage to step into the mystery and perceive and believe what God has done, is doing in you? For you?

God is working anyway. Your perception and even your belief for most things is optional. You aren’t a wizard, you don’t make these things happen. But I don’t want you to miss out on what God is doing in you and for you. I want you to have the joy of it, the wonder of it, the fulfillment of it. I want you to perceive healing in your life and it to bring you joy. I want you to believe in His love for you, and you be changed by it.

I want you to perceive the empty tomb of history, and believe in the living Son of God, that you may live.

I am asking you to invite God to take some of the things in this “unrealistic” bin, and recognize that is already doing some of those things in your life.

Jesus reached Mary and Peter anyway

Now God loved Mary and Peter to much to leave them in their doubt. More about that later. But he broke through their skepticism, he expanded their bucket for them, he is the author of faith and is capable of breaking right through our barriers. Thank God.

Pray for breakthrough

Jesus, would you break through my barriers. Break through my fear and my caution. I want to enter into the mystery. I want to enter into the miracle. I want to believe in the miracle of your resurrection back then. I want to believe in your resurrected life now. I want to believe in the miracle of what you are doing in me, in my family, in my church…

Give me the courage to enter in, with an open mind and open eyes…

Give me eyes to perceive…

Give me faith to believe