Pastor Tom
Johnson, April 20,
2014
The two Marys go
to visit the place where Jesus was buried in the twilight early that Sunday
morning. The dawning of a new week was moments away. The sun is already sending
its light from behind the horizon—a foretaste of a new day! But before this
light reveals itself, there is a flash of blinding light and a loud crack. It
is followed by a huge boom that shakes the ground. The source of this
earthquake is an angel sent from heaven to earth. When this angel
completes his supersonic, inter-dimensional journey, he rolls away the huge
stone that covered the mouth of the tomb where Jesus once lay. The angel sits
on the conquered stone ready for his next mission—to extend the earthquake from
shaking the ground to rattling the bones and skulls of the guards. This was such a
visceral shaking of their being, that their fear drove these trained soldiers
into a catatonic state. They went from mighty men guarding a tomb to powerless,
lifeless creatures laying on the ground—“like dead men” our text says. The angel’s
appearance was “like lightning.” His entrance from heaven to earth was like a
thunderbolt that extends from the highest heaven we observe to the ground
beneath our feet. Like lightning, the sound and force of impact is so great it
that it shakes the ground and feels like it will overwhelm you.
Last year, my family and I saw a bolt of lightning hit the top of a building in Austin, Texas as we drove through. It was just ahead of us. It burned the retina so that when you blinked you still saw the negative of the brilliant image. Traffic slowed. Smoke rose from the building. Years earlier, Johanna and I were moving into married student housing for graduate school. It started raining so we weren’t able to bring our things in. So we sat in this empty shell of an apartment—tile floors and cinder block walls and ceiling with the windows open since it was a very warm day. A flash of blinding light and a cannon blast of sound poured into our room! I remember the ringing in my ears and the electric tingling of hair on my arms and head standing on end.
When the experience of this finally grips the two Marys—and with the two soldiers laying there stunned on the ground, the angels first words to them is “Do not be afraid. I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said.” (I hope the guards heard every word!) Like the lightning that burst into their lives moments before, so the news of of the resurrection infuses them with joy and mission. According the Matthew’s account, these two women are privileged to be the first to proclaim the good news. They leave the tomb “with fear and great joy,” our text says. Their fear is no longer the dreaded terror of the blast of angelic lightning but the awe and wonder of God who raised Jesus from the dead.
“With fear and great joy” they run to tell the disciples the glad tidings: “Jesus, lives! He does not trail behind us in death. He goes ahead of us in life and victory!” On their way, they are struck by another thunderous encounter—Jesus himself who suddenly appears before them and says, “Shalom!” They fall down now, not as those who are struck in deadly fear, but reverential worship of the risen Lord. They take hold of his feet and cling to him not wanting to let him go—he who so strongly took ahold them into his loving grip. But they must go. Jesus sends these evangelists on their way. Fear and joy compel them. The love of Jesus fuels them. The good news of a God who goes before us to meet us drives them forward. “Go to Galilee! Jesus will meet you there!” Like the angelic lighting that brought in that new day early, early Sunday morning, their message will bring hope and healing to the grieving disciples.
Lightning is
many times brighter and many times hotter than the surface of the sun. It is
just a millisecond flash here one moment and gone the next, so the angel
quickly came and disappeared. So is the news
of Jesus risen from the dead. It is a foretaste of the glory to come. “Fair is
the sunshine, Fair is the moonlight, Bright the sparking stars on high; Jesus
shines brighter, Jesus shines purer Than all the angels in the sky!” John’s vision of
Jesus is of a person that outshines any light of creation. Even the seraphim
and cherubim—these angels of light—must shield their eyes from the blinding
light of the risen Savior. In the new
heaven and earth, there will be no need for sun and moon, for Jesus the Lamb of
God will be the lamp and light of our eternal home. And we are his children of
light, like lightning, who will shine more brightly than the midday sun!
Last year, my family and I saw a bolt of lightning hit the top of a building in Austin, Texas as we drove through. It was just ahead of us. It burned the retina so that when you blinked you still saw the negative of the brilliant image. Traffic slowed. Smoke rose from the building. Years earlier, Johanna and I were moving into married student housing for graduate school. It started raining so we weren’t able to bring our things in. So we sat in this empty shell of an apartment—tile floors and cinder block walls and ceiling with the windows open since it was a very warm day. A flash of blinding light and a cannon blast of sound poured into our room! I remember the ringing in my ears and the electric tingling of hair on my arms and head standing on end.
When the experience of this finally grips the two Marys—and with the two soldiers laying there stunned on the ground, the angels first words to them is “Do not be afraid. I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he has been raised, as he said.” (I hope the guards heard every word!) Like the lightning that burst into their lives moments before, so the news of of the resurrection infuses them with joy and mission. According the Matthew’s account, these two women are privileged to be the first to proclaim the good news. They leave the tomb “with fear and great joy,” our text says. Their fear is no longer the dreaded terror of the blast of angelic lightning but the awe and wonder of God who raised Jesus from the dead.
“With fear and great joy” they run to tell the disciples the glad tidings: “Jesus, lives! He does not trail behind us in death. He goes ahead of us in life and victory!” On their way, they are struck by another thunderous encounter—Jesus himself who suddenly appears before them and says, “Shalom!” They fall down now, not as those who are struck in deadly fear, but reverential worship of the risen Lord. They take hold of his feet and cling to him not wanting to let him go—he who so strongly took ahold them into his loving grip. But they must go. Jesus sends these evangelists on their way. Fear and joy compel them. The love of Jesus fuels them. The good news of a God who goes before us to meet us drives them forward. “Go to Galilee! Jesus will meet you there!” Like the angelic lighting that brought in that new day early, early Sunday morning, their message will bring hope and healing to the grieving disciples.
Lightning is
many times brighter and many times hotter than the surface of the sun. It is
just a millisecond flash here one moment and gone the next, so the angel
quickly came and disappeared. So is the news
of Jesus risen from the dead. It is a foretaste of the glory to come. “Fair is
the sunshine, Fair is the moonlight, Bright the sparking stars on high; Jesus
shines brighter, Jesus shines purer Than all the angels in the sky!” John’s vision of
Jesus is of a person that outshines any light of creation. Even the seraphim
and cherubim—these angels of light—must shield their eyes from the blinding
light of the risen Savior. In the new
heaven and earth, there will be no need for sun and moon, for Jesus the Lamb of
God will be the lamp and light of our eternal home. And we are his children of
light, like lightning, who will shine more brightly than the midday sun!
“Jesus lives!
The vict'ry’s won! Death no longer can appall me; Jesus lives! Death’s reign is
done! From the grave will Christ recall me. Brighter scenes will then commence;
This shall be my confidence” (LSB #490, v. 1).
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