The Lutheran Hour
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"Where Do You Put a Risen Lord?"
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Text: John 20:2
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Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed. In a world fragmented to souls tortured and in torment, the words of resurrection life are proclaimed today: Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Christians of North America, put away your frail and feeble “Happy Easter.” Join your voices with those of the heavenly host, with the heroes of faith, with your brothers and sisters around the world who today, in recognition of the life that comes through a living Lord, shout the saving salutation: “Christ is risen.”
Years ago, when vice president George Bush represented the U.S. at the funeral of Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, the senior Bush was deeply moved by a silent protest he observed. Brezhnev’s widow stood motionless by the coffin of her husband, the former communist dictator. Then, just as the soldiers touched the lid, just before they closed the casket, she performed an act of Christian courage and hope–she reached down and made the sign of the cross over her husband’s chest. There, in the stronghold of secular skepticism, at the heart of heaven-denying humanism, the wife of the man who had run the machinery of a godless government, showed everyone her heartfelt hope that her husband had been wrong. She showed all there to see, that she for one, believed in a living Lord. In Russia, communism today has come and gone, but a living Lord remains. In Russia, Christians say, “Kristos voskres! Vostinu Voskres,” Christ is risen. He is risen, indeed.
For those for whom today is merely Easter, a day to wear your Easter bonnets with all the frills upon it so you might be the grandest lady in the Easter parade; for those whom this day is only marked by Easter egg hunts and monitoring your children less they develop a green-sheen from engorging great chunks of chocolate chickens and bunnies; for those whom this day is merely a celebration of life but not eternal life–let me, as simply as possible, share the basic Good News and facts of Christianity’s celebration.
For humanity, the story begins with our first ancestors being banished from the perfect garden that God had constructed (Genesis 3:23). Adam and Eve had sinned, and now we’re paying the promised penalty for their error (Genesis 3:17-19). The Lord said they would die. They would die in time. They would die in eternity. Worst of all, they were helpless before this hurt. The story, which begins there, should have ended there. But the story continued. God inserted a promise of hope (Genesis 3:15). He said, “I will send My Son and He will take your place. He will lead a perfect life for you. He will die for you. Then, to show that His work is acceptable, He will rise from the dead.” “To be saved”, God continued, “you need only believe in My Son as your Savior” (Romans 10:9).
For thousands of years, God’s people waited for the Savior to come. During that time, the Lord gave them other clues, other identifiers, which would point to His Son as their saving substitute. God said, “The Savior would be born in Bethlehem” (Micah 5:2). God said, “The Savior will be the Son of a virgin” (Isaiah 7:14). God said, “The Savior would be rejected” (Isaiah 53:3). God said, “The Savior would die on a cross” (John 3:14). God said, most unbelievable of all, “The Savior would rise from the dead” (Hosea 6:2). By the time God was done with His heavenly hints, everyone should have been ready for the Savior’s arrival. They should have been. But they weren’t. You really can’t underestimate humanity’s ability to mess things up.
So, it came to pass in those days, about 2,000 years ago, a Child was born. He was born in Bethlehem, of a virgin, just as God had said. Lest anybody miss this wondrous event, the Lord sent some of His angels to clue the world. “Good news. Great joy” (Luke 2). That’s what the angels said. “Unto you is born a Savior, Christ the Lord.” Some shepherds caught on and went to see this thing which had come to pass. But most folks, with being busy about one thing or another, missed the coming of the Christ. That’s what the Savior was called, Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ grew up–He became quite a person, too. Oh, not so much in His looks. He probably wouldn’t have been a movie star (Isaiah 53:2). But He was somebody special. He healed the sick, not of things like colds from which people normally get better if you leave them alone. He healed them of things like leprosy and blindness and being paralyzed. He healed them of things you won’t read about in the New England Journal of Medicine. He cast out demons, and every once in a while He brought somebody who was dead back to life (Luke 7:22). Did the world follow Him? Did they beat a path to His door? Some did. Most didn’t. Some actually hated Him and said all kinds of nasty things about Him. No, you can’t underestimate some people’s ability to mess things up.
Jesus did more than a myriad of mighty miracles. He said some very smart things. He taught people how to love and how to forgive and what was truly important in life (Matthew 7:29). But Jesus taught more than a treasure trove of truths. Jesus also fulfilled all of His Father’s laws (2 Corinthians 5:21). He beat off temptations that trip up the rest of us. Jesus did what we couldn’t do. But the story doesn’t stop there. Jesus is more than a good example of good deed doing. Remember what I told you about those predictions that had been made? Jesus fulfilled all of them. Every single prediction God had made describing His Son, fit Jesus to a “t.” He didn’t miss one of them (Luke 24:44).
You would think people would have applauded and appreciated Him. You would think they would have clung to Him and clutched at Him. You would think they would have worshiped Him and stood in awe of Him. You would think that. But you would be wrong. They didn’t do it back then. They don’t do it now. Never underestimate people’s ability to mess things up.
Back in Jesus’ day, some very powerful people got upset with Him. His church bribed one of Jesus’ disciples to betray Him. They conducted fake trials to condemn Him. They paid witnesses to lie about Him. They had their verdict upheld by a weak official who was threatened by them. And then, Jesus Christ, the One born in Bethlehem of a virgin; who had fulfilled a hundred prophecies and more; who had done everything we couldn’t; who healed a slew of sick; who brought the dead back to life; who rejected one temptation after another, was nailed to a cross. That’s right. They nailed Him to a cross. They laughed as He died. You can’t underestimate people’s ability to mess things up.
And Jesus died. The Roman execution squad made sure of it. In Jesus’ case, under the watchful eye of all those folks who really hated him, the soldiers made a spear stab into His side, into His heart. Blood and water came out of the wound (John 19:34). For those of you who like forensics, that means the red blood corpuscles had separated from the clear serum. That only happens after a person has been dead for a while. Dead Jesus was quickly buried by His friends and family members in a borrowed tomb. His enemies placed a guard at the tomb. They made Jesus’ grave as secure as they knew how (Matthew 27: 64-66).
As for His friends, they went home that night, heartbroken, discouraged, depressed. Those of you who have buried someone you love know that feeling. They went home that night prepared to give Jesus a proper burial, as soon as they could. After that, well, they would do what everyone does. They would mourn for a while. Then they would try to pick up their lives the best they could. As the years passed, they would have thought about Him, but each year His memory would become a little less sharp, a little more faint. In a 100 years, Jesus would have been forgotten, a footnote in the Roman record books known only by a handful of historians. It should have been that way.
But the Gospels do not end with Jesus’ death and burial. Jesus does something quite unexpected. He rises, and in that resurrection, despair and despondency are defeated. Depression and dejection are conquered. Desolation and death are crushed as the Christ comes back to life. Unbelievable? Unexpected? Sure, Jesus had said He would die (John 12:40). Certainly, He said, He would rise (Matthew 27:63). But nobody expected it. When one of His friends, Mary Magdalene, went to the tomb, she was shocked to find it empty. Who can blame her? You who have buried someone close to you, don’t go back to the grave expecting to see an empty hole. If you DID come upon an empty hole, you wouldn’t think. “Wow, my friend has come back to life.” You would come to the same conclusion that Mary did: “Someone has taken Jesus’ body and I don’t know where they put it.” You would be outraged. You would be worried. You would be a lot of things, but one thing you wouldn’t be is believing your loved one had risen from the dead. These things don’t happen. But that is what happened. Jesus did rise.
That is why Christians today say, “Christ is risen.” It is a truth that has changed the world. Your calendar is changed to mark His birth and coming. Our day of worship is changed to mark the day of His resurrection. The landscape is changed as churches, with crosses that are empty, cover the land. Our courts are changed by their reliance upon the Judeo-Christian ethic. Cemeteries are changed from places of endless wailing and weary weeping to a stopping place before an endless reunion. Christ is risen. This is the truth that has changed the world.
It is God’s truth that changes our lives. Christ is risen. In Arabia, our brothers and sisters in the faith, greet the dawn of death’s defeat with the words: “Al Massiah qam!” Christ is risen! A quarter of the globe away, Latin Christians say “Vivet”–He lives! The Christian Copts of Egypt are proudly proclaiming: “Pchristos aftooun.” The glory that was ancient Greece is once again recaptured in the wonderful words: “Christos Anesti!” Christ is risen!
Many of you have seen the movie “El Cid.” El Cid is the 1,000-year-old story of Rodrigo Diaz, Count of Bivar. He was a Spanish knight who almost single-handedly, if legends can be believed, saved the kingdom of Spain from the Moorish invaders. The movie is based on truth. Rodrigo was a remarkable man, a legendary leader. The movie spoke the truth when it showed his many victories. The movie told the truth when it showed his death. It told the truth when it depicted his generals, who, in their desire to stop a widespread panic among the troops, tried to pretend their leader was still alive. The movie was accurate in showing his corpse being dressed in armor, strapped to his horse, and a sword tied in his hand. The movie shows just as it happened, the body of the dead leader, charging out the gates of the city, leading his men against the enemy. Yes, the movie El Cid is quite accurate up to that moment. Then, in the interest of providing a happy ending, the movie starts to lie. The movie shows the Spanish forces, with El Cid’s body in the lead, routing the frightened moors. It didn’t happen that way. The dead body fooled nobody. The Moors didn’t buy it. The charge failed. The Spaniards were defeated and ran away. And the point of the story is this: the body of a dead man is a poor leader.
The body of a dead man cannot lead men into battle or souls into heaven. That’s why I, echoing Mary, ask “What have you done with the body of the living Lord?”
From the time of the Roman emperors who attempted to erase the name of Jesus by murdering His people, until this very Sunday, people in authority have tried to roll the stone in front of the tomb. You are aware of the hatred Muslim extremists have directed against the Lord of life. They wish to roll the stone in front of the tomb. They want to stuff His body back into the grave. In some Islamic lands, the fear of the living Lord is so great that the death penalty is prescribed for anyone who converts to His cause.
“What will you do with the body of a living Lord?” In this country of religious freedom, where the Bible is freely printed and distributed; where the church has access to radio, press and television, many are trying to stuff the living Lord back into His grave. Too many politicians roll out references to religion at ballot casting time, but after they’ve been installed into office, it becomes painfully evident that in their hearts, the stone is still in place. In our land where mothers conveniently abort their God-given children, for too many the stone is still in place. In this land, founded upon the tenets of Christianity, drugs are in demand, drive-by shootings frequent, pornography is prevalent, morality is maligned, values are valueless and old-time religion is a way for hucksters to separate people from their cash. If we are to judge the impact of Easter by the way many Americans lead their lives, we are compelled to confess: the stone remains in front of the tomb and the living Lord is ignored.
Turn to the halls of education and ask, “What will you do with the body of a living Lord?” With the Bible banned from our nation’s classrooms, with college professors using their position of power to put down any answer that proclaims a student’s faith in a living Lord, the stone remains. Ask scientists, “What will you do with the body of a living Lord?” Many of them will say, “Push Him back into His grave. Keep the stone in front of the tomb. God is beyond empirical investigation.”
Ask the business world, “What will you do with the body of a living Lord?” With the rape of corporations and the ruin of countless lives, the business world has shown its readiness to stuff the living Lord back into His grave and roll the stone in front of the tomb. The principles of Christ are good for a pastor or a simple fool in the pew, but they have no place in the dog-eat-dog business world. Forget Jesus’ words of love–it’s every man for himself. Forget giving unto others, because your job is to ‘get all you can.’ Ignore feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the imprisoned, because you’ve got to watch out for number one. In the business world, the stone stays in front of the tomb.
But in the church, surely in the church, the Lord must be living. On Easter Sunday every church member must be shouting for all the world to hear that the stone has been rolled away. Never underestimate people’s ability to mess things up.
I sadly confess, too few pulpits proclaim Christ crucified and risen. They hem and haw saying, “Jesus rose in spirit but not in body.” They say, “As long as we do good, Jesus’ ideas live on.” In some seminaries and in too many pulpits, the resurrection is questioned and the living Lord is ignored. “What will you do with the body of a living Lord?” Forget the movers and shakers of the political world who legislate against the Lord of life. Forget about the pseudo-smart who place their intelligence above the Lord’s. Forget the pretend pastors who use their pulpits to promote a sorry substitute for the Savior’s salvation. Instead, today believe this wonderful truth: Christ is risen!
So this resurrection Sunday I ask those of you who listen on the radio, “What will you do with the body of a living Lord?” It’s hard to underestimate the sad mistakes human beings can make. Don’t make this one. Believe, believe like the martyrs who were willing to suffer rather than deny the truth of a living Lord. Believe like the persecuted Christians of Indonesia who will shout today: “Kristus telah Bangkit.” Believe like believers of the West Indies, whose words need no translation: “Krestos a uprisin!” Believe. Call us at Lutheran Hour Ministries. Let us tell you more about the living Lord. Today we say, “Christ is risen.” By the Spirit’s power, let your hearts and minds and souls respond, “He is risen, indeed.” Amen.
Note to print subscribers: In place of this week’s “Mailbox” section, the broadcast features special Easter music.
From everyone here at Lutheran Hour Ministries, may God grant you and your loved ones a blessed Easter!