The Tomb Was Empty

A couple of years ago there was a chrysalis, a caterpillar’s cocoon, hanging from the Japanese Maple just beside our driveway. Every day we checked it. Sometimes more than once a day we checked it. But, it never seemed to change. The kids were anxious and then, the barrage of questions came: “When is it going to open? Did we miss it? Is it in there?” And I had no answers.

Luke’s story of the resurrection of Jesus is just as dissatisfying. As I was preparing this sermon, I ran across a resource titled “Projectable Sermons.” The idea is to provide sermons by great preachers for every Sunday of the Liturgical Year. Since almost no one preaches on Luke’s resurrection story, and since the one for Easter this year was by the new female pastor at Riverside Church in New York City, Rev. Amy Butler, and I hadn’t heard her preach, I was intrigued. I clicked on the link and sat back to see what she said about Luke’s telling of the resurrection story. And she began by saying, “I know it is Luke’s turn to tell the Easter story this year.” But the way Mark tells the story has engaged my imagination, so I am going to preach from Mark. We preachers have a tendency to skip over Luke’s turn to tell the story.

Luke’s story leaves us with questions. Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the Mother of James, and the other women went to the tomb. And when they got there the stone that had been rolled in front of the opening was rolled away, and they stepped inside and did not find the body. The tomb was empty. Remember, Luke is careful to tell us that they had come with Joseph of Arimathea on Friday to place Jesus’ body in the tomb. Luke writes, “They saw the tomb and how his body was laid.” So it is not that the women have come to the wrong tomb. They haven’t looked in the wrong place for Jesus’ body.

It is gone. And as they stand there perplexed, two men in dazzling clothes suddenly were right there standing beside them. “Remember how he told you, remember before you even came to Jerusalem, when you were still in Galilee. Remember what he told you, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.”

“Could it be?” they wondered. They remembered Jesus’ words. They hadn’t understood them at the time at all. Luke tells us that the women go back to the eleven disciples and the rest of Jesus’ followers who were in hiding, mourning the death of their mission. They had given up their careers, their families, their lives to follow Jesus. And now he is dead, and if they aren’t careful they might just be close behind. And the women start talking about these two men in dazzling white clothes, the Greek word is the same word used to describe flashes of lightening. “Remember how Jesus talked about the Son of Man – that he was going to be handed over to sinners and crucified and on the third day rise again? His body is gone. The tomb was empty.” I can just imagine them all talking at the same time, talking over each other, seeing the looks of confusion on the faces listening and trying, but failing, to communicate that this was no ordinary missing body story.

Luke says, “But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.” It sounded like nonsense.

Peter runs to the tomb to see for himself. The tomb was empty. Luke says, he stooped and looked in, saw the linen cloths lying by themselves, and he turned around and went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

There is no Easter joy in Luke’s story. Like the chrysalis hanging on the Japanese Maple beside our driveway, nothing has been seen to come out of the tomb, and nothing seems to be in the tomb. So, now what?

The women are left with a story no one believes. The disciples are left in hiding, mourning and now wondering what has happened to the body of their Rabbi. Peter has seen the empty tomb and is now wandering, even the body of the Lord is gone.

It’s no wonder that preachers don’t like to preach Luke’s story of the resurrection. How does this story declare the Good News that Jesus is risen! Even the words of the two men that meet the women in the tomb have been edited over time. Early versions say, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.” Later versions have added, “He is not here, but has risen.”

I think I like Luke’s version so much because it is so accurate. You know how we know it is accurate? It’s a terrible story! Monks, as they copied the story, tried to make it better by adding that he is not here but has risen. The story is unsatisfying. It makes the disciples look bad. Jesus told them what was going to happen, then it happens, and then the women bring them the news from these men who are as bright to look at as lighting, and the disciples think they are talking crazy talk. Peter goes and looks for himself and walks away, directionless, adrift in the world.

If this weren’t exactly how it happened, Luke would not have written it down. The Good News in this story is not how Jesus’ followers reacted. They reacted just like every group of followers acts when the leader is taken from them by death.

British historian Arnold Toynbee wrote a monumental 12-volume work titled, “The Study of History.” In it he notes that there are 4 kinds of saviors that have appeared throughout the course of human history: the politician with a scepter in hand, the philosopher with a book in hand, the military leader with a sword in hand, and the savior who has presented himself as a demigod. All have succumbed to the same enemy – they died. Death won.

The only one to conquer death is Jesus. 37 of those who have claimed to be the savior died after a trial, but in all other cases, that was all. No hint of resurrection. There is no hint even in Greek mythology of resurrection. Mohamed is dead, the Greek gods have vanished, the Roman gods are gone, statesmen, politicians, philosophers have lost to death. The resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth was a distinct event in history without parallel.

Other followers have tried to continue the movement that their leader started. But not Jesus’ followers. They were truly followers. He was dead, they were hiding. Maybe they’d go home and start fishing again.

Other followers have tried to explain and “clean up” the story of their leader’s death. But not Jesus’ followers. They were truly despairing. He was dead, and hope was gone.

And then something happened. And this is the Good News of Easter. Peter, the same Peter who walked away from the tomb that day in a fog, despondent, THAT Peter starts preaching and healing, he gets arrested for his teaching and he still doesn’t stop, and Neil read one of his sermons this morning. “We are witnesses,” said Peter, “to all that Jesus did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by handing him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.”

Those witnesses are the reason we know that Jesus is Lord, risen from the dead.

The tomb was empty. And still, they cowered in fear. They were not ready to spread the Good News of God’s love. Hope was lost. Over the next several weeks, we will be looking at the stories of those who saw Jesus after he rose from the dead. Because it is only when they see Jesus that the followers of Jesus become witnesses with a mission and a story to tell. It is only after they see Jesus that their despairing turns to rejoicing and their hope is alive.

And because Luke tells us that they weren’t expecting Jesus’ predictions to come true, the women didn’t even think about the predictions when they saw the empty tomb until they were reminded by the two men who appeared to them there, the others didn’t believe the women when they came and told all that they had seen and heard, and Peter went to see for himself and left only knowing that the tomb was empty. Because Luke tells us how confused and distraught they were even after they saw the empty tomb. Luke tells us how dead Jesus’ mission on earth was. And so we know that nothing less than seeing Jesus, resurrected and alive, would have transformed them so completely. Therefore, we can have confident, hope-filled, life-giving faith that Jesus rose from the dead and is alive. With the faithful throughout the ages, we proclaim with joy “Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed!”