Easter Sunday: He is Risen!

Jesus is Risen!  Just like he said!  Join Rev. Dr. Aimee Copley Mulder in a holy week reflection on John chapter 20.  It's time to celebrate our risen Savior!

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SPEAKER_00 0:00

All glory to God. This is Amy Cockley Mulder. It's Holy Week. And so I'm so glad you chose to join me. Please continue to listen to my podcast every single day this week as we walk the last week of Jesus together. The last week where Jesus was on the earth before he was crucified. This Holy Week is a time for us to set aside moments where we really think about what Jesus did for us. Holy Week. Join me here at all glory to God.

SPEAKER_01 0:46

Doesn't matter if you're young or alive. All that matters is you answer the door when Jesus comes to change your life. And it's about time we give it up to God. And I catch free. All the glory to God. And let's give all the glory to God.

SPEAKER_00 1:50

Every Easter morning of my life, while my Nana was alive, she would call all of her kids and all of her grandkids and anybody she could a hold of. And she would go, He is risen, and we would say, He is risen indeed. And then we'd hang up. It was that long of a conversation. And to be honest, tomorrow I have a timer on my phone where I will call my son in college in San Diego and say, He is risen. He is risen indeed. It's a wonderful tradition that I hope that I carry on forever and pass along to future generations. Because today on Easter Sunday, this is important news that Jesus, not only that Jesus died, but that he rose again on the third day, just like he said. So as we um reflect on John chapter 20, I just want to let you know that I am so excited about this news. And sometimes life, circumstances, and challenges and people are kind of annoying, and all of those things kind of beat the excitement out of me on this truth. Easter week and holy week is a really heavy week for pastors. We have to do a lot of things. And sometimes the busyness of the week can beat out the gloriousness of this truth. But as I sit here on Saturday, I'm not doing this on Sunday, as I sit here on silent Saturday talking about Easter Sunday, I have this fresh excitement because it is an incredible thing that Jesus, 100% human and 100% God, died and rose again. And it really is the truth, the doctrine, the glorious soil that I grow my life from. Jesus is risen. John chapter 20. And we're gonna read this from the message just to kind of make it come closer. Sometimes it's a story that's familiar. It's kind of fun to hear it in more um accessible language. John chapter 20. Early in the morning on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone was moved away from the entrance. She ran at once to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, gasping for breath. They took the master from the tomb. We don't know where they've put him. Peter and the other disciple left immediately for the tomb. They ran neck and neck. The other disciple got to the tomb first, outrunning Peter. Stooping to look in, he saw the pieces of linen cloth lying there, but he didn't go in. Simon Peter arrived after him, entered the tomb, observed the light linen cloth lying there, and the kerchief used to cover his head, not lying with the linen cloths, but separate, neatly folded by itself. Then the other disciple, the one who had gotten there first, went into the tomb, took one look at the evidence, and believed. No one yet knew from the scripture that he had to rise from the dead. The disciples then went back home. So we have this incredible scene. Now I want you to understand this is the most amazing thing that's ever happened to the disciples. It is a historical event that has started the Christian religion and, you know, caused wars. I mean, this is an incredible moment. But John, in his retelling of the moment, needs to let you know, ego gets in there that he beat Peter to a foot race and that he believed first above anyone else. Just to let you know, John put himself in this story quite profoundly. But here we have Mary Magdalene, and we know that she's with other women as they're going to anoint the body. But John, for his purposes, isolates on Mary Magdalene, and we'll know why in a minute. And Peter and John run to the tomb. And I just don't want us to move quickly past the beautiful moment that the linen and the kerchief were neatly folded. That's that shows such intentionality to Jesus' resurrection. You see, John gives us this detail because it's what happened. That's what I believe. But he also gives us this detail to understand that Jesus rose from the dead and wanted people to know that he was there, his body did die and he had arisen. The kerchief being neatly folded shows us this beautiful intentionality of God. God is saying, I conquered death on purpose, and I conquered death with this great intention of showing who I am. Let's continue through verse 11 to the end of this beautiful story of the resurrection. But Mary stood outside the tomb weeping. As she wept, she knelt to look into the tomb and saw two angels sitting there dressed in white, one at the head, the other at the foot, where Jesus's body had been laid. They said to her, Woman, why do you weep? They took my master, she said, and I don't know where they put him. After she said this, she turned away and saw Jesus standing there, but she didn't recognize him. Jesus spoke to her, Woman, why do you weep? Who are you looking for? She, thinking he was the gardener, said, Sir, if you took him, tell me where you put him, so I can care for him. Jesus said, Mary. Turning to face him, she said in Hebrew, Raboni, meaning teacher. Jesus said, Don't cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go to my brothers and tell them, I ascend to my father and to your father, my God and your God. Mary Magdalene went telling the news to the disciples, I saw the master, and she told them everything he said to her. I love this story in John, where we get this personal connection between Mary Magdalene and Jesus. And she she is overcome with this body being gone. They know he's not there, and that's significant. They know how heavy the stone is that was rolled away. They know that a miraculous event had happened. But I I love that Mary gets this moment by herself with him for a minute. And she looks and sees this guy talking. Why are you crying? And she's like, look, they took him. I don't know where he is. This despair, I've already seen, I've walked with Jesus in his life. I've seen him create miracles, I've seen him raise people from the dead and make the blind man see and make the lame walk. And now I came to anoint his body with burial, and his body is not there. I've already seen him crucified, and I just wanted to do my duty to the body like we always do, and there is not a body to care for. And that's what she says. Tell me where you took him so I can care for him. And then Jesus says her name and she knows it's her teacher. And Jesus says, Listen, don't cling to me. Don't cling to me. Because I have some work to still to do. I've got to go ascend to the Father, and I go to my God and their God. And go to my brothers and tell them what's happened here. Mary Magdalene goes and tells them, I have seen. Now, they don't really believe her, you know, it's a whole thing. They're amazed that Mary Magdalene has seen the Lord. But I love that this moment of Jesus' first appearing is to Mary. For Mary was an apostle. She was with the disciples, she saw all the things, she was with the group the entire time. And it gives such amazing clarity and um clarity that Jesus appears first in this telling in the Gospel of John to Mary. John doesn't insert himself in this part of the story, he lets what happened be the truth. What an intimate moment. Mary, teacher. Jesus comes close to her and calls her by name. I love that Jesus doesn't even resurrect. We're trying to go for credibility. He doesn't sound a gong and say, look, everybody, I've risen, ha ha ha ha. See ya, suckers. I'm gonna go ascend to the Father. He totally just appears to Mary, who no one will believe, that has seen the master, and he makes sure that they have this beautiful moment in which Mary, Magdalene, has never been the same after. Jesus is intentional with everything. He folds the clothes and he appears to Mary after he has been raised from the dead. That's the Jesus that I can never get used to. That's the Jesus that I am amazed by continually. When you look at how all of the actions of Jesus are recorded, and we have four Gospels on purpose. So we have four different perspectives, four different contexts, and we get the kind of the full picture through all of those tellings. But there, this intentionality, like I am going to raise from the dead and I'm going to fold the clothes so you know that it wasn't an accident. So you know what? No one took my body, that I conquered death in this moment. And then when I appear again, I'm gonna look Mary Magdalene in the eyes, a woman that no one believed in, a woman that probably suffered from mental illness, which is why she was so marginalized in society, and then came to be this beautiful apostle and evangelist. And I am gonna appear to her first. And I am going to call her by name, call her by name so that she knows that it is me. That is the Jesus that we follow on this Easter Sunday. It is celebration time. So as you go and you eat ham and you hunt Easter eggs, which by the way, I still don't really understand why we're looking at bunnies and chicks for Easter. Every friend that I've had from another country is like, what are we doing with these bunnies and chicks? But go anyway, have fun hunting your Easter eggs, have fun doing all of the Easter things, but never forget that as Christians, this Easter Sunday means that God Himself died and rose again and we declare his name. It is more than a celebration, it is a beautiful moment of, it's more than a celebration. It's a beautiful moment of identity. We are Christians, we serve the risen Lord. We can say, where death is your sting. You're not going to get a hold on me, death, because I serve someone who conquered death. We are people of the risen Jesus, the Jesus that walked on the earth, loved the marginalized and the lost, um, ordained his disciples who were just common fishermen. This God was intentional to be for the least, the lost, the left out, and the looked over. And he looked Mary Magdalene in the eye and said her name. And she knew she had encountered the resurrected Jesus. This is who we are. So I do say all glory to God, like the name of my podcast today. All glory to God. We serve a risen Savior. He's in the world today through you. You are the hands and feet of the risen Jesus in your world today. And he is calling your name. So look up, whether you believe it or not. The risen Jesus is calling your name for a precious purpose that only he can give you. And maybe the purpose is to keep going. Maybe the purpose is to find joy where you did it. Maybe your purpose that Jesus is calling your name is for you to stop complaining about what is and start clinging to what will be. But we are the risen people serving the risen Savior. He is alive. He is risen. This is all glory to God. Amy Copley Mulder. Join me for my regular scheduled programming next week. I will not be doing a podcast every day. It'll just be my twice-a-week time. And I just want to say to you one more time this is Amy Copley Mulder saying he is risen.

SPEAKER_01 15:08

So it's done, it's the bad time. Give it up. So that's give all the glory to God.