The Gospel of John Series Part 14: Resurrection Life

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

John 20:1–2

With the benefit of hindsight we read these words knowing what’s to come. But for Mary, and then followed by John and Peter, it was still unclear.

Until his crucifixion, the disciples thought that Jesus the Messiah would set up a kingdom and restore Israel’s former glory like in the time of David and Solomon. And then, when he died on that cross, everything got dark.

What they didn’t know was that the glorification of Jesus is him on that cross. 

And though, as he gave up his life, the darkness seemed to have won, but the light of his glory remained.

Revelation chapter 5 says that on the throne sits one who is worthy to reveal and fulfill all that has been promised by God. And this one on the throne is a lamb who had been slain. The crucified Jesus is the promised king of God’s eternal kingdom.

So, if we want to see an everlasting kingdom established, it will be a kingdom of the cross. The entire Gospel of John communicates this as the way of glory and power for Jesus. Not political or military power, but sacrificial power.

And the Gospel is also written with the understanding that the common human experience is that of needing the resurrection life that Jesus offers.

John 20:31 “these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” 

It is in our nature to search for life everywhere except in him. This is because we cannot comprehend the sort of life Jesus offers. It is totally unlike any other life. 

This is not hyperbole. I am not being dramatic. We do not naturally understand what Jesus is offering because we can’t imagine it. There is no equal offer to be found in the world.

So, I can and will tell you this morning what Jesus is offering. But, it will not be I who convinces you that it is true, to compel you to desire and receive his life.

The first followers of Jesus knew, because Jesus himself told them, that he would be killed and that he would rise from the dead.

John 2:19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” The temple he had spoken of was his body. 

In Matthew 16:21 it says that, “Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things… that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” 

Yet, as Jesus lay lifeless in the tomb, they hid away in fear. They grieved. There is no indication that they actually expected Jesus to rise from the dead.

Why did they not believe Jesus when he said he would rise again? Why did Mary say, “They have taken the Lord… we don’t know where they have put him!” Why did she assume the empty tomb was the result of human activity? 

And why didn’t the disciples respond, “Well of course, Mary, Jesus said he would rise from the dead on the third day!” It’s the same reason we struggle to see what Jesus is doing, even when he is standing right in front of us. 

Jesus was right in front of Mary, and she didn’t recognize him until Jesus made himself know by calling Mary by name. Thomas heard the testimony of those who had seen him, friends he trusted, and he still doubted.

Even if you have heard the testimony about Jesus, seen people baptized, and are hearing once again this morning the familiar resurrection story told at Easter. 

Even if you know the message of the gospel, the stories taught in Sunday school, the message proclaimed in popular hymns. 

It is still possible to miss what Jesus wants to do in and through you.

The religious leaders in Jerusalem could not see it.

We read in John 5:39–40 Jesus speaking to religious leaders: “You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.” 

They couldn’t comprehend a Messiah that looked like Jesus.

If we want only the Jesus we already find useful, appealing, or manageable, we will miss Jesus himself whose life is transformative, satisfying, and lasting. 

The day after Jesus fed the 5000, the people went looking for him. When they found him, they asked him for more bread. 

John 6:26 – Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.” 

There is no beauty in Jesus that we find desirable unless our vision for what is beautiful is adjusted. 

There is no gift from Jesus that we find appealing unless our understanding of what is useful is transformed. 

There is no glory or power on display through Jesus that we find worthy of receiving or worshipping unless our definitions of glory and power are changed.

In Isaiah 53:2, which is understood as a prophecy about the Messiah, it says that he has “no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.” 

The common Christian experience is to reduce Jesus to what we find desirable or useful, like the people who wanted more bread. We shrink him down to a digestible portion.

And we wonder why people aren’t convinced. We say, Jesus can do this or that for you, and the response is, I know a different way I can get this or that. Why do I need Jesus?

So, as I share briefly about resurrection life, it will only be transformative if the Holy Spirit does the transforming. You don’t need to set aside reason or intellect. You can think through what I’m saying. And you can agree or disagree. 

But, one thing I ask of you, and it is this: Be honest with yourself about what you expect of Jesus.

As I pray now, reflect on this question and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth:

Do I want to exchange my life for the life of Jesus?

The Life of Jesus

Life in Jesus begins with encountering the life of Jesus. By that I mean, his earthly life. His human experience. John begins his Gospel by making it clear that Jesus came to show us the perfect representation of who God is. 

John 1:14 “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” 

John 1:18 “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.” 

Colossians 1:15 “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” 

As we become increasingly familiar with the life of Jesus, by reading about him, spending time with his people, and in prayer, we will learn to know the actual Jesus.

We will have increasing clarity about how to live in the way God intends for us to live.

And this is not so much about imitating the actual activities he did throughout his earthly life. 

We have a relatively small glimpse into a few years of his life. And during those years, he lived as a nomadic Jewish rabbi. 

What then is it about Jesus’ life we are meant to imitate?

This brings us to the next point…

Life in Jesus

When Jesus appeared to his disciples and made himself known to them, he was not a different person from the Jesus they followed before his crucifixion. 

He was and still is the same Jesus. The resurrection did not remove his humanity. It didn’t remove the wounds inflicted on him by the crucifixion.

Resurrection is not Jesus abandoning the sacrificial self-giving nature that led him to the cross. He is not moving on to something else. 

The resurrection is the vindication and approval of the sacrificial way of Jesus. And without the resurrection, we cannot see the sacrifice for what it is. 

The cross then remains tragedy, bewilderment, and darkness.

So, to embrace life in Jesus is to embrace the self-giving love revealed on the cross.

What then is it about Jesus’ life we are meant to imitate?

We are called to imitate the character and pattern of his life: his love, humility, obedience to the Father, self-giving service, and trust in God through suffering.

When Jesus breathed on the disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit,” he invited and empowered them to live his life. 

To join with God, the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, in the life-giving work that was intended from the beginning. 

Genesis 2:4–7, 15 “This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created, when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens… Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”

The breath of God is the breath of life. And just as God breathed life into humanity, so now God breathes life again. 

This time, it is life that moves toward restoration instead of destruction. It is resurrection life. 

All who have encountered the life of Jesus, and who want life in Jesus, will receive the same Holy Spirit who brings about the transformation so that the new life of Jesus takes over. 

No longer destined to destruction, but to resurrection. 

And when we surrender ourselves to this new life, we become living witnesses to what God has done, is doing, and will continue to do.

This culminates in life with Jesus.

Life with Jesus

The resurrection opens our eyes to the glory of the crucified Christ.  It also sets before us an alternative path. 

We are invited to participate with Jesus in his life, to be transformed into his likeness, but also to join him in resurrection, now and when he returns.

Upon the embodied return of Jesus, all of humanity will be resurrected. Everyone who ever lived will be alive again on the earth. And, depending on how we respond to the offer of Jesus, our lives with or without Jesus will continue. 

Those who have encountered the life of Jesus and agreed that there is no better life than life in and with Jesus, will live forever with him in his renewed kingdom. 

It will be resurrection into eternal life. The revelation given to John describes it this way:

“Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” … I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God… 

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” 

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” 

There was no temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 

The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp…

“Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.” 

The invitation I extend to you today is not just about the promise of eternal life in some vision of paradise that you or others have come up with.

The invitation is to encounter the life of Jesus, to experience life in Jesus, and to put your hope in eternal life with Jesus.

But this invitation is not from me. I am the audible voice, but the invitation is from Jesus. 

If he has revealed himself to you, and if you want his life, then you can respond by coming to this table. 

Your yes to Jesus is to eat the bread and drink the cup of communion. 

The bread is the body of Christ. The cup is the blood of Christ. The bread is the suffering of Jesus. The blood is the promise of Jesus. The suffering of Jesus was validated and accepted by God, proven in the resurrection of Jesus. The promise of Jesus is the very same resurrection. 

If you want it, even if for the very first time, come.