The Death of Death

Easter 2020. The churches are empty, and the shadow of death hangs over our land. Have we, as a society, lost something that we’ll never recover?

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Listen or Read. Your Choice.

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Easter 2020. The churches are empty, and the shadow of death hangs over our land. As Joni Mitchell sang, “Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone….” Have we, as a society, lost something that we’ll never recover? I hope not, but trauma changes people. None of us will emerge from this experience the same. It’s my prayer that this enforced time apart makes everyone realize the value of time spent together. Our God brings life from death. Evil shall not have the last word. So, for Easter 2020, I offer a selection from my forthcoming e-book, The Anointed. This episode merges the resurrection narratives from all four gospels into one story. I pray that Christ, the risen Lord, might breath his Spirit onto this valley of dry bones and grant us revival. Amen.

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Chapter 31

The Death of Death

As dawn broke on the first day of the week, an angel of the Lord appeared at the tomb. The ground shook as violently as the guards themselves, and the angel rolled away the stone and sat upon it. His face was radiant like lightning, and his clothes were white like snow. The guards, for their part, were so paralyzed by fear that they appeared to be dead.

About this time, the Galilean women – Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Salome, and Joanna – had set off for the tomb with the spices they had prepared for anointing the body of Jesus. As they neared the spot, they began to wonder aloud, “Who will move the stone for us?” Although the sun had crept above the horizon, the hillside tomb was enveloped in shadowy gloom when they saw that the stone already had been moved, although it was extremely large. They stepped inside and saw that the body of the Lord Jesus was gone.[i]

Mary Magdalene ran to find Simon Peter and John. “They’ve taken the Lord out of the tomb,” she reported to them breathlessly, “and we don’t know where they’ve laid him.”[ii]

While the other women waited in confusion, suddenly two young men appeared in clothes that gleamed like lightning! The women were terrified and bowed down to the ground in awe.

“Don’t be afraid,” one of the angels said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. Why do you seek the Living One among the dead? Remember what he told you while he was still in Galilee? He said the Son of Man must be handed over to sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again. He isn’t here. He has risen just as he said. Look! Here’s the place where they laid him.”

While Jesus’ words flooded back to the women, the angel continued, “Go quickly and tell his disciples and Peter: ‘He has risen from the dead, and he will precede you into Galilee and see you there, just as he said to you.’ Observe what I have told you.”

The women practically fled from the scene, trembling in astonishment and joy. Yet they were gripped by fear, as well, and said nothing to anyone because of it.[iii]

After receiving Mary Magdalene’s report, Peter and John rushed to investigate. The two ran together, but John was faster and arrived first. He stooped to peer inside and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t enter. Peter barged into the tomb, where he saw the linen burial cloth on the ground, as well as the facial wrap that had been on Jesus’ head. That cloth wasn’t with the others but had been rolled neatly and set aside. John then entered, and he saw and believed. At this time, however, the company of disciples didn’t understand from Scripture that Jesus must rise from the dead, so they parted ways and returned to their homes.

Mary Magdalene remained behind at the tomb to mourn, and as she wept, she stooped to look into the tomb and again saw two angels. They were dressed all in white, with one at the head and the other at the feet of where the body of Jesus had been.

“Woman,” one said to her, “why are you weeping?”

“Because they’ve taken away my Lord,” she answered, “and I don’t know where they’ve laid him.” She turned and saw Jesus standing there, but she didn’t immediately recognize him.

“Woman, why are you weeping?” Jesus asked.

Supposing him to be the caretaker of the garden, she replied, “Sir, if you’ve carried him away, please tell me where you put him, and I’ll take him somewhere else.”

Jesus said, “Mary!”

She cried out, “Rabboni!” (which means “teacher” in Aramaic), and fell upon him.

“Stop clinging to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and sisters and tell them, ‘I ascend to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ”

So Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and she told them what he’d said to her.[iv]

After this, Jesus sought out the other women who had fled from his tomb. They fell to his feet and worshipped him, and Jesus told them, “Don’t be afraid. Go and take word to my brothers and sisters to leave for Galilee, and I’ll meet them there.”[v]

So they returned and reported everything to the eleven and the rest of his disciples. Now, those who were telling the apostles that they had seen Jesus were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Joanna, as well as the other women who had been with them, but their story sounded like nonsense to the men, who refused to believe it.[1][vi]

Meanwhile, as all of this was going on, some of the temple police who had been guarding the tomb returned to the city and reported to the chief priests what had happened. These convened the Sanhedrin to decide how to handle the situation. After much discussion, they gave a large sum of money to the guards and said, “Here’s your story: ‘His disciples came and stole the body while we were asleep.’ If the governor hears you were sleeping on duty, we’ll talk him into seeing it our way and keep you out of trouble.”

The temple police who had guarded the tomb took the money and did as they were told. This story was widely spread among the Jewish people, and it’s still believed by some to this day.[vii]

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Later, two disciples were walking to a village named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking about everything that had happened, struggling to comprehend it. During their conversation, Jesus joined them along the way, but God prevented them from recognizing him.

Jesus said, “What’s this I hear you discussing as you’re walking?”

The two stopped and gazed sadly at him. One of them, Cleopas,[2] answered, “You must be the only visitor to Jerusalem who hasn’t heard the things that have happened the past few days.”

“What things?” Jesus asked.

“The things concerning Jesus the Nazarene,” they said. “He was a prophet of powerful words and deeds, which he did in the sight of God and all the people. Our chief priests and elders handed him over to be sentenced to death and crucified, but we had hoped that he was the one who would redeem Israel.

“Yes, and beside all that, which happened three days ago, some of our women told an amazing story. They were at the tomb early in the morning and didn’t find his body. Then they came and told us they’d seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Some of the men went to the tomb and found it exactly as the women described, but they didn’t see him.”

“Oh foolish men, with hearts slow to believe all the prophets said!” Jesus replied. “Wasn’t it necessary for the Anointed to suffer this fate as his entrance to glory?” And from Moses through the prophets, Jesus interpreted the things written about himself in the Scriptures.

They began to approach the village where they were going, and Jesus acted as though he intended to continue on. The two begged, “Stay with us. It’ll be evening soon. The day is nearly over.” So he agreed to stop and eat. It happened that when he reclined at the table, blessed the bread, broke it and gave it to them, God suddenly opened their eyes, and they recognized him. Right then, he disappeared from their presence.

They could hardly contain themselves. “Weren’t our hearts on fire while he was talking to us on the road, explaining the Scriptures to us?!”[viii] That very moment, they left and rushed to Jerusalem.

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The remaining apostles, meanwhile, had gathered with some other disciples in a locked room because of their fear of the Jewish leaders. “It’s true!” they had been reporting to one another. “The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.”

By the time the two from Emmaus found the others, the hour already had grown late. They told of their experiences on the road and how they had recognized Jesus after he broke the bread, and while the words were still in their mouths, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them and said, “Peace upon you.”

Everyone was startled and afraid, thinking they were seeing a spirit.

“Why are you troubled?” Jesus said. “And why do doubts rise up in your hearts?” He showed them his hands and his side. “See my hands and feet. It really is me. Touch me and see for yourselves. A spirit doesn’t have flesh and bones like I do.”

They still couldn’t believe it, being overcome with joy and amazement at seeing him.

“Do you have anything to eat?” he said, and they gave him a piece of broiled fish, which he ate as they watched. The disciples rejoiced when they realized that it actually was the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, “Peace upon you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you.” Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone of their sins, they have been forgiven, and if you retain the sins of anyone, their sins remain.”[ix]

One of the Twelve, Thomas, who was nicknamed “the Twin,” wasn’t with the others when Jesus came. So when the disciples told him, “We’ve seen the Lord!” he answered, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and touch them with my finger, and put my hand into his side, I won’t believe.”

About a week later, the disciples were gathered as before, but this time Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut and locked, Jesus suddenly stood in the midst of them and said, “Peace upon you.” He regarded Thomas and said, “Reach out your finger and touch my hands. Stick out your hand and put it in my side so that you can stop disbelieving and start believing.”

“My Lord, and my God!” Thomas responded.

“Because you’ve seen me, you have believed? God blesses those who haven’t seen, yet believe.”[x]

Chapter 32

That You May Believe

Not long after that, Jesus showed himself to the disciples again. It happened like this: Simon Peter, Thomas (the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, James and John (the sons of Zebedee), and two other disciples were gathered at the Sea of Galilee.

Peter said, “I’m going fishing.”

“We’ll come with you,” the others agreed. They set out in the boat but caught nothing all night. As day was breaking, Jesus stood on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see clearly who it was.

He called out to them, “Children, you don’t have any fish, do you?”

“No,” they replied.

“Cast the net to your right, and you’ll find something.”

So they cast it as he said and found that they weren’t able to haul in the net because of the size of the catch. John, whom Jesus loved, told Peter, “It’s the Lord!” When Peter heard this, he put on his shirt (he had been stripped for work) and dove into the sea. Since they still were about 100 yards from shore, the other disciples followed in the boat, hauling the net loaded with fish.

By the time they landed, they found a charcoal fire already prepared with fish and some bread. “Bring some of the fish you just caught,” Jesus said.

Simon Peter went and helped drag the net onto the beach. Although it was full of large fish – 153 in all – the net wasn’t torn.

“Come,” Jesus said, “have some breakfast.” He took the bread and fish off the fire and gave it to them.

None of the disciples thought to ask, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord. This was now the third time he had shown himself to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.[3]

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these do?”

“Yes, Lord,” Simon answered, “you know that I love you.”

“Tend my lambs,” Jesus said.

A second time he asked, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

“Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

“Shepherd my sheep.”

For the third time, Jesus asked, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt that Jesus had asked him a third time, “Do you love me?” He answered incredulously, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”

“Tend my sheep,” Jesus replied. “The truth is, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and do whatever you wanted, but when you grow old, you will stretch out your arms for someone else to dress you and take you where you don’t want to go.” (He said this to symbolize the type of death by which Peter would bring glory to God.)[4] Afterward, Jesus said, “Follow me.”

Turning around, Peter saw following them the disciple Jesus loved, who also was the one who had leaned over to Jesus at supper to ask who would betray him. So Peter asked, “Lord, what about this man?”

“If I want him to remain alive until I come,” Jesus said, “what difference does that make to you? You follow me.”

Because of the way that Jesus phrased his answer, the rumor spread among some of the brothers and sisters that John would not die. But Jesus didn’t say that John wouldn’t die. Rather, he simply said, “If I want him to remain alive until I come, what difference does that make to you?” (The disciple Jesus referred to is the same one who recorded this testimony.[5] He wrote these things down, and we know that his testimony is true.)[xi]

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After this, the eleven headed to the mountain in Galilee that Jesus had specified. There, he appeared to more than 500 of the brothers and sisters at once.[6] These worshipped when they saw him, although some doubted. Jesus addressed the gathering: “All authority in heaven and Earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples in every nation. Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach them to do everything I commanded you, and surely I am with you every moment of every day, even to the very last one.”[xii]

Following his suffering and death, Jesus showed himself to be alive by many convincing proofs, appearing to his apostles over a period of 40 days and speaking to them about the kingdom of God.

“While I was with you,” Jesus said, “I taught you that all things written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Jesus was the key that unlocked the Scriptures to their understanding. He said, “Thus it is written, that the Anointed should suffer and rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be announced in his authority to every nation, beginning from Jerusalem. You are my witnesses to these things.”

Following their meetings in Galilee, Jesus shared a meal with them in Jerusalem, and he commanded them not to leave the city, but to wait there for what the Father had promised.

“As you heard from me,” Jesus said, “John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. I will send the promise of my Father upon you, but remain in the city until power from above overshadows you.”

Seeing Jesus again in Jerusalem prompted them to ask, “Lord, now are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”[7]

“It isn’t your place to know times or dates that the Father has established by his own authority. Instead, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria and even to the ends of the earth.”

After he had given these instructions, Jesus led them out as far as Bethany, where he lifted his hands and blessed them. As he finished speaking, he was lifted up while they watched until a cloud obscured him from their sight. The apostles were staring intently into the sky while Jesus was leaving when suddenly two men in white clothing stood beside them.

“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here gazing at the sky? Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will return in the same way that you have watched him go.”[8]

Filled with joy, they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, which is just a short walk, and retired to the upstairs room where the apostles were staying. They, along with the Galilean women, Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers, all with one mind devoted themselves to prayer and remained constantly in the temple, praising God.[xiii]

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If everything that Jesus did were written down one after the other, even the whole world might not have room for all the books that would be written.[xiv] Jesus performed many signs witnessed by his disciples that aren’t included in this book, but these have been recorded so that you may believe that Jesus is the Anointed, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.[xv]

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[1] All of the evangelists agree that the first witnesses to Jesus’ resurrection were women. Like the despised shepherds who came to see the infant Jesus, women were not regarded as trustworthy and their testimony was rarely admitted in Jewish legal proceedings, which explains the reaction of the men. Had the evangelists been inventing a story, they certainly would not have identified women as the first eyewitnesses.

[2] This is probably not Clopas, Mary’s husband, although it is possible. Spelling variations are common in ancient literature.

[3] John could be referring to the fact that this was the third time that Jesus showed himself to a group of his disciples. Most likely, though, John is referring just to the appearances that he has recorded so far in his book. He took a similar approach by numbering seven signs that Jesus performed.

[4] Peter was crucified in Rome in A.D. 64 during Nero’s persecution. Mark, who worked closely with Peter in Rome, wrote his gospel about this same time based upon Peter’s recollections. (Nero also executed the apostle Paul.)

[5] It is easy to understand why the elderly John, writing about 15-20 years after Peter’s death, would want to quash a rumor that he would not die before Jesus returned. John died in A.D. 98 on the Isle of Patmos, where he had been exiled by the Emperor Domitian. His brother, James, was executed by Herod Agrippa I in A.D. 44 (Acts 12:2). As far as we know, John is the only apostle to die of natural causes.

[6] The meeting in Galilee seems certain to be the appearance mentioned by Paul in I Cor. 15:6. Since this event had a set time and place (Mk. 16:7, Matt. 28:10), one would expect word of it to spread among his disciples, resulting in a crowd. (As always, however, simply witnessing a sign does not guarantee belief.) Writing in the early 50s, Paul’s implicit challenge was that any of his readers could visit Galilee and find still-living witnesses to verify his word.

[7] Even at this point, Jesus must reshape his disciples’ expectations of the Anointed. He does not deny that he is the Davidic king, but instead he redirects their priorities from speculating about the unknowable future to serving as his witnesses.

[8] After 40 days of intermittent appearances, it seems psychologically necessary for the apostles to witness Jesus’ physical departure in order to understand that he truly would not appear again until the consummation of the kingdom of God.

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[i] Matt. 28:1-4, Mark 16:1-4, Luke 24:1-3, John 20:1

[ii] John 20:2

[iii] Matt. 28:5-8a, Mark 16:5-8, Luke 24:4-8. Mark 16:9-18 does not appear in the oldest manuscripts and is not included in the narrative.

[iv] Luke 24:12, John 20:3-18

[v] Matt. 28:8b-10

[vi] Luke 24:9-11

[vii] Matt. 28:11-15

[viii] Luke 24:13-32

[ix] Luke 24:33-43, John 20:19-25

[x] John 20:26-29

[xi] John 21:1-24

[xii] Matt. 28:16-20, I Cor. 15:16

[xiii] Luke 24:44-53, Acts 1:3-14

[xiv] John 21:25

[xv] John 20:30-31

Tagged as: Resurrection of Christ, Easter.