“In Search Of Resurrection”

“In Search Of Resurrection”

Text: Luke 24:1-12 (13-35)

© April 8, 2007 by C. Edward Bowen

Back in the late 1700s, a woman from Rhode Island made a rather unusual claim. The woman, by the name of Jemima Wilkenson, claimed that when she was twenty years old she had died, but that God had resurrected her, just like God had resurrected Jesus. And as time went by, Jemima Wilkenson attracted more than 200 followers.

One day she and her followers were standing next to a lake, and so she turned and asked them, “Do you believe I can walk across this lake on top of the water, just like Jesus did?” And immediately they all shouted, “Yes! Yes! We believe you can.” So Jemima Wilkenson said, “Well, in that case, there’s no need for me to actually do it then.” And so she walked around the lake on the dry land.

But the biggest challenge to Jemima Wilkenson’s followers came in 1820 when she died. But doing as she had instructed them, her followers didn’t bury her because she had said that God would resurrect again. But as day after day, and week after week, went by and nothing happened, her followers finally gave up and went their separate ways.[1]

How was it that Jemima Wilkenson was able to attract so many die-hard followers like she did? I think the answer is rather simple. As Christians, we believe that resurrection is at the very heart of our faith. And so if someone comes along and says, “Are you searching for resurrection? Do you want to see it for yourself? Well, then, take a look at me!” – if someone comes along and says something like that, there are people who are going to be tempted to think, “OK. Sure, I want to see resurrection. And if you’re willing and able to show it to me, I’ll follow you.” But eventually, people who do that, like those followers of Jemima Wilkenson, find themselves being disappointed.

I think, to varying degrees, we’re all in search of resurrection. Isn’t that one of the reasons that churches around the world are so crowded today, on Easter Sunday? But where exactly can we find resurrection? How can we go about searching for it and not end up being disappointed?

After all, there were a lot of people searching for resurrection on that first Easter morning, but for the most part they didn’t see it – they didn’t get it. The women ran from the tomb to tell the disciples what the angel had said to them – that Jesus had been raised from the dead – but the disciples didn’t believe what the women said. They considered the women’s words to be nothing more than complete and total nonsense. Based on the words of those women, the disciples didn’t find resurrection.

In order to search for resurrection, we’re told that Peter ran to the tomb to check things out for himself. And even though Peter saw the empty tomb with his own eyes, he didn’t find what he was looking for – he didn’t find resurrection. Because we’re told that after he saw the empty tomb, he didn’t go home believing that Jesus had been raised from the dead. No, he simply went home puzzled and confused about what was going on.

Or there were those two people, Cleopas and his companion, who were walking along that road to Emmaus on Easter afternoon. They were searching for resurrection. And, of all things, as they were walking along, Jesus himself came up to them and started walking with them. But even though they saw Jesus and listened to him talk, for some reason they didn’t recognize him. Even though resurrection was right there in front of them, for some reason they just didn’t make the connection. Even though resurrection was right there in front of them, for some reason they still didn’t find what they were looking for.

But when did Cleopas and his friend finally have their eyes opened? When did they finally find what they were searching for? At the end of the day, as the sun was about to go down, they realized that that “stranger” who had been walking with them was someone who probably needed some help. They realized that that “stranger” who had been walking with them was someone who probably needed some food to fill his belly and who probably needed somewhere to spend the night. And so even though Cleopas and his friend were under no obligation to give of themselves to that stranger, still they decided to welcome him into their home and feed him. And as they did that, as they took the bread that was theirs and offered it to him, all of a sudden at that moment their eyes were opened and they discovered what they had been searching for all along – the resurrection![2]

Or if you read on in the Gospel of Luke, past where we stopped today, you find that the disciples back in Jerusalem had the same kinds of difficulties as they searched for resurrection on that first Easter day. Because we’re told that the risen Jesus came and stood right in front of them, showing them where the nails had gone through his hands and his feet, but they didn’t believe. Jesus even spoke to them, so that they could hear his voice, and still they didn’t believe.

So what was it that finally made it possible for those disciples in Jerusalem to find what they were searching for? What finally made it possible for them to see and believe in the resurrection? Well, we’re told that as the risen Jesus was standing there in front of them, he asked them, “Do you have anything to eat here?” And when the disciples took what they had and offered it to Jesus, it was then that their eyes were opened and they found what they had been searching for – the resurrection.

As you read through the Gospels, you find that a major theme that Jesus stressed was: “Those who try to save their lives will lose them, but those who are willing to lose their lives for the sake of Jesus will gain them.” Basically I believe what Jesus was saying was that those who spend their whole lives just holding on to what they have, they’re going to end up missing out on what Jesus is all about. But those who are willing to take what they have and run the risk of losing it by offering it to others who are in need, they are the ones who are going to have their eyes opened. They are the ones who are going to have their eyes opened to see what Jesus and the resurrection are all about.

For instance, here’s a little quiz question for you. What is the only miracle that is recorded in all four of the Gospels – and in fact is recorded two different times in the Gospel of Matthew? It’s not the story about Jesus walking on the water. It’s not the story of Jesus opening the eyes of a blind man in Jericho. It’s not even the story of Jesus bringing the dead man Lazarus back to life. No, none of those miracles are recorded in all four of the Gospels. No, the only miracle that is recorded in all four of the Gospels – and twice in the Gospel of Matthew – is the miracle where Jesus took those few pieces of bread and fish and multiplied them to feed a large, hungry crowd.

I believe that particular miracle was told so often in the Gospels because, perhaps more than anything else that Jesus did during his ministry, that miracle got to the heart of what Jesus was trying to get his followers to understand. Do you recall how that story goes? A large crowd of people, thousands of people, had gathered around Jesus all day long to hear him preach and teach. But then when the day was almost over, when the sun was almost getting ready to set, the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Send them away, Jesus. Send the crowds away and let them fend for themselves for dinner.”

But Jesus said, “No, you feed them.” Well, right away the disciples complained, “But Jesus we don’t have enough. We only have a few small pieces of bread and a few measly scraps of fish. What is that among so many people? No, we need to hold on to what we have. We need to keep it for ourselves. Because if we give what we have to this crowd around us, it’ll all be gone, and there won’t be anything left for us to eat.” But Jesus insisted that they go and do what he told them to do – to take what they had, even if it didn’t seem like it was much, and give it to the people who were there who needed their help. And what happened when they did that? Not only did everyone in the crowd get more than enough to eat, but there were baskets upon baskets of food left over. And when that happened, the crowd and the disciples had their eyes opened and they believed – they believed in Jesus and in the power of God.

The sad fact is that much of the world has never learned that lesson that Jesus was teaching through that miracle. The sad fact is that many people in the world spend their whole lives just hanging on to what they have, refusing to take what they have and to offer it others for fear that there won’t be enough for themselves, for fear that if they take what they have and use it to help other people they might put their own comfort, their own security, their own well-being at risk, and they’re not willing to do that.

It’s like when the Titanic hit that iceberg and began to sink. At that moment there were 2,223 people on board. But the Titanic was equipped with only twenty lifeboats, which had a total capacity of just 1,178. But at the end of that fateful night, only 705 people survived. If you do the arithmetic, that means that 473 more people could have been loaded onto those lifeboats and had their lives saved. So why weren’t they loaded into the lifeboats?

Interviews conducted after the shipwreck revealed why. As passengers got into the boats, they demanded that the boats not be filled to capacity for fear that the boats might not be actually able to hold as much weight as they thought. And so one lifeboat, for instance, that was designed to hold at least 40 people, was set sail with only 12 people in it.

And when the Titanic finally went under, and as hundreds of people screamed for help as they flailed about in the icy waters of the Atlantic, the lifeboats hesitated to go back and pick up more people. In at least one boat, the wealthy men on board paid the crew members not to row back and get more people. They did that because they were so fearful to hold on to what they had – their own personal safety, their own personal well-being – that they were quite content to let those people in the water die, even though in their boats they had the resources and the space to have saved literally hundreds of those people.

It turns out that only two of the twenty lifeboats ended up rowing back to rescue people. But by the time they got around to doing that, they were able to save only three people. Everyone else – 1,518 people – had either drowned or frozen to death.[3]

There are people all around us in the world who are calling out for help, calling out for help with physical needs and emotional needs. There are people all around us who are crying out for help to save them from hunger, to save them from loneliness, to save them from despair. How do we respond to those cries? Do we do what so many people do, and just hang on to what we have – our time, our money – and refuse to give what we have to others for fear that there won’t then be enough for us as well? Or are we willing to take what we have, and even if it might not be an easy thing for us to do, are we willing to take the risk and reach out and share with those who need our help and trust that somehow God will provide?

On that first Easter day, it was only after Cleopas and his friend gave what they had, it was only after they gave their bread to that stranger, that their eyes were opened and they found what they had been searching for – the resurrection. On this Easter day, and on every day that follows, may you also find what you’re searching for. As you take what you have and offer it to those around you who need your help, may you discover for yourself the truth and the power of those words that Easter angel proclaimed – that Jesus Christ is risen! That he is risen indeed!