“Why do you look for the living among the dead?”

Luke 24:1-12

Pastor Tom Johnson, March 31, 2013

The women followed Joseph of Arimathea to see where he laid the body of Jesus. After seeing the tomb where he lay, they prepared more spices and ointments to show their respect and express their grief for their Lord who died. It was early dawn—still dark when the women entered the tomb. It must have been frightening to enter a dark tomb in twilight. It must have frightening to discover that Jesus’ body was missing. And it must have been even more frightening for two angels to appear out of thin air. Their appearance was radiant. They illuminated the tomb where Jesus once lay. The angels see the irony and humor of the situation. They ask, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?”

Who says God does not have a sense of humor? How else do we explain this one-liner from the angels? And what sort of insight do angels bring to us in this well-timed joke? “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” Literally, “Why do you look for that which is living in the midst of those things that are dead?” Or, “Why do you look for the Living One among the dead ones?” With these words, they invite us to imagine how angels see history. They saw Satan and other angels fall from grace and cast out of heaven like lightning. They saw how death entered into the world through our first parents, Adam and Eve. They have witnessed how every generation in human history has had to contend with the plague of death. They know Paul’s words are true in Ephesians chapter two when he says we are all born in trespasses and sins.

For God’s perfect angels, who have never tasted death or will ever experience death, the world is in the truest sense a place that is dying. They look at us, and they see the tragic reality that we live in the midst of death. It is the closest thing to a true zombie apocalypse. The angels who have never sinned—the angels who never die look at our world as broken and disease-ridden with a race of creatures who are the living dead. They see the irony of creatures groping in the dark for that which is dead. They see how often we look for life in the midst of death. They see us looking for pleasure and escape from things that actually rob us of true living. They see us living our lives outside the reality of the resurrection.

Why do we seek the living among the dead? Why do we look to be enlivened by those things that possess no life-giving power? Why do we live our lives as if meaning, happiness, and life can be found in temporal things?

Of course, the angels’ question not only poke fun at the futility of human living and striving for things that will never truly benefit us. Their words also celebrate a  great turn of events that will forever change human history. “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here.” You are barking up the wrong tree. It is not the dead you seek? Jesus’ body can no longer be found in the tomb or among those who have been buried. He is not here, just as he said. Remember how he said he would be arrested, mocked, beaten, and crucified. Remember how he took upon himself the sin of the world—all the evil, temptation, and burden of broken humanity—even death itself. He lived, did good, healed, suffered, and died. But he is not dead. He is the Living One—the source of life and life itself. Death could never have victory over Jesus. Scripture says that “God raised him up, having freed him from death, because it was impossible for him to be held in its power” (Acts 2:24).

The angels’ question reveals God’s sense of humor and his angels who have the privilege and joy of being messengers of such good news. They are also a picture of our lives as children of light. Scripture says, we will shine even brighter than the midday sun (Matt 13:43). And so, we are looking into a mirror of future joy when we look at these angels. It is with radiant smiles and bright angelic eyes that the angels crack this Easter joke. It is with joy and a triumphant tone and energy in their voices that they ask, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” And because he lives, our place is not with the dead either. Our destination is the great company of the living. We seek and trust in the Living One who is, who was, and who is to come—the one who gives us eternal life.

“He is not here, but has risen.” The Living One has been raised in power. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We come to the Father through him. In him is life. And he is the Life of all humanity.

We don’t need to fear. We don’t need to grope around in the dark. We don’t need to search and journey in futility. He is risen. Jesus is the Living One.