Breaking the Law Again - Easter 2013

Luke 24:1-16

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. ²They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³but when they went in, they did not find the body. ⁴While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. ⁵The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. ⁶Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, ⁷that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again.” ⁸Then they remembered his words, ⁹and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. ¹⁰Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. ¹¹But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. ¹²But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.

¹³Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, ¹⁴and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. ¹⁵While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them, ¹⁶but their eyes were kept from recognizing him.

The Word of God for the People of God

Breaking the Law…Again

Most of us have heard the Easter Story a million times if we've heard it once. But maybe that's the point - We need to hear this story...OUR story.  This is where we, as Christians get our identity.  Not only do we need to hear the story, but we need to find our place in the story.  Where do we fit in? What is the meaning for us? What does Easter do for us?

There is little that is new that can be said about Easter.  Maybe this is a slightly new take from things you've heard, but it is still the same story.

Jesus was an outlaw. "Good Guys" didn't get crucified. "Good Guys," as I'm using the term refers to the people who toe the line, follow the rules and don't challenge authority.  If that's what a "Good Guy" is, Jesus was not, in his earthly ministry, a "Good Guy." He crossed every boundary he could find, and he challenged all earthly authorities that challenged the authority of God.

Jesus was an outlaw in that he didn't fit into the Roman Government's standards of what was acceptable.  He challenged the status quo.  What was this business of a "King of the Jews?" Was he a challenge to Caesar?  This sounded like treason - That's a crime punishable by death!

As we lead up to the Easter Story, Jesus was tried by a "Kangaroo Court." He was tried on trumped up charges and false accusations. His closest friends abandoned him in his time of need. He was betrayed by one of his own disciples for money. Did his closest friends buy into the false accusations that Jesus was an outlaw? Or, were they just afraid?

At that time, the Jewish authorities and the Romans had a tense relationship.  Jesus challenged both.  Let me be clear.  I am not against Judaism.  Jesus was not against Judaism - He was Jewish! He challenged those who did not take God's promises and teachings seriously.  When it came to Rome, Jesus was not against authority - He was against oppression.  He still is today!

In his challenging, Jesus broke the law and "had" to be punished.  Jewish law did not allow him to be killed, so the Romans did the killing.

Jesus was laid in a tomb, a huge stone - one that couldn't be moved by just one or two people, but rather one that took several strong people, and then with a lot of effort - was placed in front of the tomb, sealing it.

Sealing is an interesting word.  It sealed the tomb shut, but it also sealed in a different way.  From ancient to modern times, leaders and rulers have seals to mark official documents.  In Roman times, wax would be put on a document and Caesar would put his ring in the wax to put his seal on the document making it official. We can compare that to a notarized document today.

Jesus tomb was not only sealed shut, but it was sealed with all the authority of Rome.

Then, Jesus did the unthinkable!  He broke the law again!  After all, Resurrection is Against the Law!  It is against the law of biology, the law of life and death, the law of physics, and the law of Rome!

Jesus defeated the last power that this world held - Death. He also defeated every power known to this world that holds people in oppression by bringing God's Kingdom into reality through his Illegal Resurrection.  

Through the Resurrection, Jesus created a new way for people to live. No longer are we bound by greed, oppression, hatred, and fear. We can now live in hope because our God is alive! Times will get tough, but victory is around the corner! The old is gone and the new has come.

God's Kingdom made a breakthrough on Easter.  The battle was won. We now live in the time between the decisive battle and the "signing of the peace treaty." The Kingdom includes Heaven - which is a very important part - but it also includes now! The Kingdom is within us, and it can spread from us to others. We can live by the Kingdom, or by the ways of the world. The choice is ours.

Did you notice the disciples couldn't believe the women? They were probably too busy being "real men"...and hiding.  Finally, Peter decided to have a look at the crime scene - he just couldn't believe, because he too knew that Resurrection is Illegal!

In our final scene, we have the people walking to Emmaus and talking about the events.  They are transfixed - Resurrection is Against the Law!  Jesus joins them, but they don't recognize him.  Why not? They don't recognize him because he broke the law one more time. You see, Jesus wasn't resuscitated. He was resurrected. If he were resuscitated, he would have just started breathing, and his heart would have started breathing again.  But, he was Resurrected.  He had his Heavenly Body - not his old body.  This is against the law - It's against the law for the old to be made new!

But, we are promised that one day, our bodies will be reunited with our souls, and our bodies will be in a heavenly state. We don't know what that will look like, but we know we will recognize each other. We know that whatever it will look like, it will glorify God as God reconciles creation back to the way it was intended in Eden.

Then, the Law that was Broken will Become the Law!