The Truth About Easter (Megan Lawton

Transcript: The Truth About Easter

[Intro]

Good morning! For those I haven’t yet met, my name is Megan Lawton. I don’t preach as often as my co-pastor Courtney Clark. In fact, this is only my fourth time delivering a sermon. Ever. If you have heard me preach before, you know those sermons were kind of downers. In my previous three sermons, I spoke on depression, grief, and feeling excluded. So when it came time to choose who’d be delivering this year’s Easter sermon – arguably one of the more high-pressure Sundays due to the fact that it’s a holiday and there tend to be a lot of visitors and everyone is looking to be uplifted – the choice was obvious. Call in the person with the least amount of preaching experience who has a tendency to bum everybody out. And I was happy to answer that call.

My husband was especially worried I wouldn’t be able to deliver a traditional Easter sermon. He warned me multiple times over the past few weeks, “People come to an Easter service to celebrate Jesus and dress in pretty colors and enjoy a day with their families. They aren’t looking to dwell on death or get in the weeds on theology.” So, I promised to keep things light. I suggested I could throw in some humor, but that made him even more worried. As he said, there are times I can be pretty hilarious, and there are also times I can be deeply unfunny. It’s apparently when I think I’m really killin’ it that I’m the least funny. So, I’m sorry to deprive you all of my awesome sense of humor. In fact, I was going to tell you a joke about an Easter egg…but it's not all it's cracked up to be. Hold for laughs…. Don’t worry, that’s one you’ll get on the drive home.

It is an interesting challenge, keeping it light when discussing the resurrection story. I’m someone who really likes to know the nitty-gritty details of things. And this is a story that has a lot of death and pain. Three days before Easter, Jesus is betrayed by one of his closest friends. Then, he’s tortured before being murdered in front of his mother and followers. As He gives a final breath, Jesus asks God why He’s been forsaken. And then there’s a massive earthquake, the temple veil separating God’s presence from the people is ripped in half, and “the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life (Matthew 27:52).” By the way, that last detail is one I really wish we could spend more time on.

There’s a lot of darkness leading up to Easter Sunday, and that dark stuff matters. It matters that Judas, one of the twelve disciples, is the reason Jesus was arrested. It also matters that Judas was then so overcome with remorse, he took his own life. It matters that Jesus was given a crown of thorns and mocked as “King of the Jews.” It matters that Mary, the mother of Jesus, along with many other women, were present at the cross where Jesus died. As Chris Gibson said last week, “Sometimes we rush too quickly to the tomb.” It’s tough to remember why the resurrection matters when we don’t stop and consider all that went into His death.

But, I promise that’s the darkest we’ll be getting this morning. Because three days after Jesus’s death, we find an empty tomb.

As I was researching this sermon, one of the reasons my husband told me to stay out of the theological weeds is because I started going down a path of the various perspectives on Christ’s death and resurrection. And, as tends to happen, that research brought me down a rabbit hole into the theological perspectives on the afterlife. So I found myself casually reading about hell last Friday afternoon. As one does.

Growing up, I was given a pretty specific interpretation of God, Jesus, and the Bible. I was told the Bible is inerrant (meaning incapable of being wrong). I was told each story is literal, historical fact. And I was told each word was inspired by God.

I was not told many of the older books existed for generations before being written down. Or that the original texts were written in three separate languages – Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek – before being translated into English and another modern languages. I certainly wasn’t told the Bible as we know it was largely assembled in the past thousand years. Or that some denominations have additional texts they consider equally as sacred and inerrant as our Old and New Testaments.

Many of us weren’t brought up with knowledge of various theologies. We’re brought up to believe whatever the pastor of our church believes, and, at least in my case, told that is the only way to view scripture and everyone outside of that view and understanding of God is doomed.

Having such a strict definition of Biblical certainty led to a lot of questions as a kid. What about all the people who never attend church? What about people on the other side of the world, brought up in a completely different faith system without access to missionaries, the Bible, or Veggie Tales? How will they know of Jesus, and what if they die before they’re given that knowledge? Are they destined for hell because of some horrible lottery system that gave me the benefit of western Christianity and them the burden of ignorance? Something else that was not particularly encouraged in the church of my childhood was asking questions like these. Instead, I was taught “The Bible has the answers, so stop doubting.”

There’s so much fear that comes with a lack of certainty. Many of us were brought up to believe any question or doubt meant a lack of faith. Faith, therefore, required an unquestioning commitment to what was being taught. I believed I was letting God down every time I heard a lesson in church or read a passage of scripture and thought, “that doesn’t sound right.”

But the closer I’ve grown to God over the past several years, the less certain I’ve felt about the details in scripture.

[Part 1]

There’s something very interesting that happens when reading the resurrection story in the Bible. Especially as someone looking for certainty and historical accuracy.

The story of Jesus’s resurrection is told in all four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, but it’s told four different ways. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Mary Magdalene goes to Jesus’s tomb with at least one other woman.

Matthew 28 says, “After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.” I love this by the way. “The other Mary.” As someone who grew up with a common name, I very much identify with this. “Oh yeah, there’s ‘main character’ Megan and then “other Megan.” I guess it’s better than having some sort of physical descriptor like, “mustache Megan” or “the Megan who smells weird.”

So anyway, Matthew begins with the two Marys going to the tomb at dawn. Then there’s an earthquake, an angel arrives and rolls back the stone at the entrance to the tomb, frightens the guards, and says to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him’ (Matthew 28:5-7).”

The women, “afraid yet filled with joy (vs. 8)” ran to tell the disciples, when Jesus met them on their way and told the women, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me (vs. 10).” Matthew’s account also includes a note about the guards of the tomb telling the chief priests what happened, and the priests bribing the guards to tell anyone who asked that Jesus’s disciples came in the night and stole his body. Then, eleven of the disciples (the twelve minus Judas) went to Galilee where they saw and worshipped Jesus, though some doubted. Jesus then commissioned the disciples to “go and make disciples of all nations (vs. 19)” and that’s the end of the book of Matthew.

Mark 16 begins in a similar fashion. This time, Mary Magdalene is with Mary, the mother of James (who yay, gets a better descriptor this time!), and a third woman named Salome. As they arrive at the tomb, the stone has already been rolled away and a man is sitting where Jesus’s body should have been. The man says, “Don’t be alarmed… You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you (Mark 16:6-7).” The women fled the tomb, but “they said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid (vs. 8).”

So we’re already seeing some differences in the two stories. Two women vs three. The women present for the angel’s arrival vs arriving to find the angel sitting in the tomb. The women going straight to tell the disciples what the angels say vs being too afraid to say anything. Mark 16 continues with a note on verses 9-20 saying “The earliest manuscripts and some other ancient witnesses do not have verses 9–20.” Just something interesting to keep in mind.

Verse 9 begins, “When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping. When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it. (vs. 9-11).”

Verse 12 continues, “Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either. Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen. (vs. 12-14).” Then Jesus commissioned the disciples to spread the gospel to the world before He was taken up into heaven. And that’s the end of the book of Mark.

Matthew and Mark have some differences, but in general they tell the same story. Mary and one or more other women arrive to the tomb at dawn, speak with an angel who tells them Jesus has risen, and they are to tell the disciples. On their way home, Jesus appears and confirms He has risen and the disciples are to meet Him in Galilee.

Luke is where things start to deviate. But first, a quick note about the history of the books of the Bible.

The author of Matthew is believed to have been writing to a community of Greek-speaking Jewish Christians, telling the story of who Jesus, the Messiah of Israel, was and how Jesus is an authoritative interpreter of the law, as one risen from the dead and uniquely endowed with divine authority. Matthew’s purpose was largely to show Christ’s fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy and to show how the Jewish people and the Gentiles could move forward together. “Gentile” just means someone who isn’t Jewish.

Even back in Jesus’s time there was a lot of concern over the “right” way to be Jewish, and after Christ’s death and resurrection, there was even more concern over the “right” way to be a follower of Christ, whether a Jewish person should believe in Jesus as the Messiah, and whether a Jewish person and a Gentile could both call themselves “Christians”. It’s believed the book of Matthew was written to answer a lot of these questions.

Scholars largely believe the book of Mark was intended to preserve the memories of the disciples and those who knew Jesus, and was written with the purpose of sharing Jesus’s message and mission with the world rather than to document an historical account of Jesus’s life.

On the other hand, the author of the books of Luke and Acts intended to give an accurate historical account of Jesus’s life and ministry. The author takes the perspective of an historian. They wanted to share not only what happened, but what the events meant.

The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are referred to as the “synoptic gospels” because they include many of the same stories, often in a similar sequence and with similar or identical wording. This is in contrast to the book of John, which is very different in the material contained in the gospel, its theological emphasis, its chronology, and even in the fact that some of the differences straight up contradict what’s in the first three gospels.

So after promising not to get too in the weeds, why did I just make you go through a history lesson? Because it’s important to understand why each book was written before we put too much emphasis on any one version of the events.

Let’s circle back to the next account in Luke, chapter 24. Again, we have a group of women, including Mary Magdalene, and “the other Mary,” the mother of James, arriving at the tomb early in the morning. This time, the stone is rolled away and two angels “in clothes that gleamed like lightning (Luke 24:4)” were at the tomb with them. The angels asked, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! (vs. 5-6)” before the women returned to tell not only the eleven disciples, but all the followers with them. Again, the men did not believe the women. But, in this story, Peter runs to the tomb, sees strips of linen on the ground, and “went away, wondering to himself what had happened (vs. 12).”

In Luke’s account, Jesus doesn’t then appear to the women. He appears to Cleopas and Simon, who don’t recognize him until after they share a meal together. Then, as the two men were telling the other disciples what happened, Jesus appears, says “Peace be with you (vs. 36),” shows the scars on his hands and side, eats a piece of broiled fish, and helps the disciples understand how his death and resurrection were a fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies. Then, Jesus is taken into heaven and that’s the end of the book of Luke.

I love the details each author thought were necessary to include. “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” Such a great question that immediately tells you exactly what’s going on. Peter finds strips of linen on the ground. Jesus eats some broiled fish.

Finally, we come to the book of John, the fourth account of Jesus’s resurrection. In John 20, Mary Magdalene alone goes to the tomb and finds it empty. She immediately returns and tells two disciples, Peter and likely John, who go running to the tomb together. “Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first (John 20:4).” Obviously a very important detail that needed to be mentioned in retelling this story. The two believed Jesus was gone, but did not fully understand the resurrection yet.

After Peter and the other disciple, “who had reached the tomb first (vs. 8)” – it’s in the Bible twice so I guess it must be really important – after the two disciples left the tomb, Mary Magdalene returned and met two angels in the tomb. They simply asked “Woman, why are you crying? (vs. 13)” Mary didn’t answer, she just turned around. Then, she saw Jesus, but did not recognize him. Jesus also asked why she was crying. “Thinking he was the gardener (vs. 15),” Mary asked if he knew where Jesus had been taken. In verse 16, “Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, ‘Rabboni!’ (which means ‘Teacher’).”

Jesus tells Mary to tell the disciples Jesus has risen, which she does. Then, John also has Jesus appearing to the disciples at dinner, saying, “Peace be with you (vs. 19)” and showing the scars on his hands and side. John 22 says, “And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit,’” which is a pretty notable exclusion from the three previous gospels. The book of John also includes a separate dinner a week later where Thomas, absent from the first dinner, sees Jesus and is shown the scars on Jesus’s hands and side, and another meeting when Jesus appears to his disciples by the Sea of Galilee.

[Part 2]

Four gospels. Four accounts of Jesus’s resurrection. Four stories with either minor or pretty significant differences. I saw one explanation that said, “Historically, the church hasn't viewed these discrepancies in the accounts as evidence of error, but as evidence of authenticity because these represent different traditions based on eyewitness accounts. We know that eyewitness accounts in court often differ in details.” I’ve gotta say, that just feels like a cop-out to me. It’s like saying, “The fact that they’re so contradictory is how we know they’re all true.”

That’s not to say I believe the discrepancies represent error. Thinking back to that history lesson I forced you to sit through, we need to remember the four gospels were written with four different purposes in mind. The author of Matthew wanted his readers to know it’s possible to be both Jewish and a believer in Christ’s divinity. The author of Mark included more personal details of everyone involved, and really helps the reader get a sense of what each person in the story felt throughout the course of the morning. The author of Luke gave a pretty straightforward story that largely focused on the men, making it more likely to be received by the people of the time, and the author of John gave a whole theology lesson about doubt and belief around the story of Jesus’s resurrection, as if a man returning from the dead wasn’t enough of a lesson in itself.

So where does certainty come in when you’re met with questions about whose story is accurate and which version got it ‘right’? Maybe certainty isn’t the point.

American Christians in 2022 come from a storytelling tradition where accuracy matters in our acceptance of a story. Any time I see “based on a true story” before a movie or TV show, I immediately start Googling to see exactly what elements of the story are fact vs fiction. And I’ll be honest, sometimes learning a part of the story was fictionalized impacts my enjoyment of the movie.

There are so many ways to verify the accuracy of stories, it’s hard to accept the truth of a story as distinct from the accuracy of a story. But when the gospels were written, the original readers came from a storytelling tradition where accuracy mattered a lot less.

Joel Dubois, professor of World Mythology for California State University, writes,

“In the modern period, with the growing influence of rational scientific views of the world, the term ‘myth’ has more and more come to denote stories that are false, and this is the most common use of the word today… Mythic storytellers both past and present, on the other hand, have typically assumed that reality is too complex to grasp by means of any one method of analysis, and so have relied heavily on stories to provide a glimpse of that complexity. For them, stories about mythic worlds were in an important sense more real than accounts of observable facts. Such storytellers… pointed out hidden connections between invisible mythic realities and the ordinary people, places, things and events that they and their audiences daily experienced.”

The Bible’s first readers were used to a world where myth was the primary way humans understood the world. To the first readers of scripture, it didn’t matter whether something was certifiably accurate – the accuracy of a story had little bearing on its acceptance of truth or its application to their daily lives.

[Part 3]

So what does that mean for us today? If our ability to bring truth out of a story is dependent on the accuracy of that story, then it does matter if every word in the Bible is completely accurate. And if that’s the case, it does matter whether there was one angel or two at the tomb. Whether Mary Magdalene went by herself or with a group of women. Whether Jesus appeared first to the women or to the men. Whether John beat Peter in a foot race, and what kind of fish Jesus was eating post-resurrection.

If the accuracy of every detail matters, it also greatly matters whether the resurrection story itself is the historic account of a miracle – of a man, fully human and fully divine, experiencing a literal death at the hands of the state and then literally returning to a new life here on earth – or whether the entire story is a metaphor for the new reality God is ushering in.

Unfortunately, we’re two millennia removed from Christ’s life and death. The Bible we have as our record is a cobbling together of stories from dozens of authors written over hundreds of years, retranslated over time with some stories added in and others taken out.

And yet, with all of these changes and translation differences and alterations in our cultural understanding of myth and truth, we still end up with a story that is true. There is truth to Jesus’s life and message. The truth of the story is the incredible power of redemption. The hope of resurrection in the face of devastating circumstances. God’s power over death.

And Jesus’s life and message are also considered historically accurate, at least by our modern understanding. University of North Carolina religious studies professor and atheist Bart D. Ehrman says, “[The New Testament’s] central claims about Jesus as a historical figure—a Jew, with followers, executed on orders of the Roman governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate, during the reign of the Emperor Tiberius—are borne out by later sources.” Jesus’s life is corroborated by Josephus, an historian of first-century Palestine who wrote about “Jesus the so-called-Messiah”, Tacitus, an historian of the first-century Roman Empire who wrote about Jesus’s death by Pontius Pilate, and other first-century non-Christian authors and politicians, such as Roman governor Pliny who wrote about early Christians worshipping Christ as God.

As far as verifiable certainty of Christ’s resurrection, there isn’t much proof we can offer. There are historical contradictions, and refusing to question those discrepancies isn’t a show of faith. But maybe it’s okay to be uncertain.

Maybe we need to be less concerned with the accuracy of each story in scripture. Maybe the certainty of every detail matters a lot less than the truth of the stories we’re being told.

When we read these four versions of the resurrection story, there are several truths that stand out. First, women were essential to the story of Jesus’s resurrection. They were the first to see the empty tomb and the first to share the gospel – the good news that Jesus Christ has risen. Second, Jesus came to his disciples to help them make the connection between the prophecies they grew up hearing about the promised Messiah and the reality of His death and resurrection. That Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah, and His resurrection is ushering in a new reality for both Jews and Gentiles. Third, what’s called the “Great Commission”. Jesus’s directive to his disciples to go into the world and share what they know. To make disciples of all nations. To bring the message of repentance and the forgiveness of sins to all.

In each gospel account, the disciples questioned what they had heard. Even those who believed Jesus had risen didn’t understand what they were seeing or hearing. Mary does not recognize Jesus in John’s gospel. Cleopas and Simon don’t recognize Jesus in Luke’s account. In the book of Matthew, the disciples met Jesus on the mountain in Galilee. “When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted (Matthew 28:17).” In each version, Jesus has to open the minds of his followers to understand what’s going on. Jesus is the one making the connection between what the prophets said about the coming Messiah and what the disciples were witnessing in Jesus’s death and resurrection. John’s account specifically includes the story of Thomas refusing to believe Jesus has risen. Thomas says, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe (vs. 25).”

In each account, Jesus in some way rebukes the disciples for their lack of belief. Not because they questioned the accuracy of the stories, and not because they did not recognize Him at first, but because they were missing the truth of what was being shared. The disciples were being told, in some accounts by Jesus Himself, that death had been defeated and a new promise had been made. Instead of focusing on the truth of the resurrection story, the disciples were stuck in the accuracy of Jesus’s literal death and resurrection.

Some scholars believe Mark 16:14 was added in a later retelling of the book of Mark and was not a part of the original text. Remember, the book of Mark was written largely to preserve the memories of the disciples, so it’s interesting that any part may have been added into later versions. This verse, which reads, “Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.”

At first glance, this verse seems to confirm the need for certainty. We’d better believe the accuracy of the resurrection story or we’re showing a lack of faith and a stubborn refusal to believe. But I don’t think that’s actually what this addition means. Before Christ’s death, the disciples weren’t the bastion of faithfulness. In fact, Jesus repeatedly, in all four gospels, across circumstances, told His followers they were missing the point.

In Luke 9:37-56 alone, Jesus rebuked his disciples six times. He rebukes their unbelief, their inability to understand Jesus’s upcoming betrayal, and their pride and intolerance. Several times throughout Jesus’s ministry, when He was in the middle of making a point about the truth of His message, the disciples began asking which one of them would be the greatest. Which one would sit by Jesus’s side in heaven. Which one of them did Jesus love the most.

When Jesus rebukes His disciples on the day of His resurrection, I don’t think He’s paying attention to their lack of belief in the accuracy of the details. I think He’s saying they’ve missed the point entirely. For three years, Jesus has been telling the disciples the truth of His life, ministry, and impending death. Rather than listen to or believe the truth of that good news, they repeatedly got distracted by the details. What could they be certain of? Certainly Jesus was too busy to be bothered by children. Certainly Jesus was too powerful to allow Himself to be arrested and murdered. Certainly Jesus’s crucifixion meant the end of His ministry and message.

[Conclusion]

We can’t let the accuracy of the story take away from the truth in the Word.

I truly don’t believe God expects certainty in our beliefs. That doesn’t match my understanding of scripture or of God. The God I’ve come to know is so much bigger than the boxes we put Him in based on our imperfect brain’s ability to conceptualize omnipotent, omni powerful eternity. He’s also a God who’s big enough to handle our doubts and questions.

He’s a God who gave us these scriptures, with all their inconsistencies and contradictions, to tell the unified story of a God who desperately wants to be close to the people He created. A God who told us how to engage with one another, with the environment, and with ourselves. A God who loved us so much, He gave us a prophet who knew He would be murdered by the state, but chose to spend His life speaking truth to power and showing us how to better love one another.

The resurrection matters – not because it’s an insulated story that may or may not be historically accurate. It matters because it’s one piece of the story of Jesus. This Jesus, who told society’s outcasts they were loved by the God who created them. This Jesus, who saved a woman’s life by pointing out the hypocrisy of the religious elite.  This Jesus, who said children, widows, orphans, tax collectors, foreigners, and prostitutes matter. This Jesus, a refugee, an enemy of the state, a rabbi more concerned with justice than theological certainty. His life mattered. And His death mattered.

The story of the resurrection is true because it speaks to the enduring love of God and God’s power over death. The story of the resurrection is true because it comes after the story of Jesus who, knowing He had already been betrayed by one of His best friends, washed that friend’s feet and shared a Passover meal and communion with him. The story of the resurrection is true because the focus is not on the details of Jesus returning to life with the disciples, but on the bigger picture of Jesus creating a new life for every one of God’s beloved people.

I can’t say with absolute certainty exactly what I believe regarding the accuracy of scripture. While I was writing this sermon, I kept second-guessing elements of my beliefs. But the beautiful thing is, I really don’t think it matters. The historical accuracy of every Bible story, even Jesus’s resurrection story, doesn’t change how I see God’s purpose play out in my life.

I believe I’ve been called to love God and love His people well. And I believe loving people requires radical inclusivity. Justice. Humility. And seeking the Divine in every person I encounter. When we love people well, we open the door to that person seeing God in us and potentially seeking God in themselves. And I think that is the truth in the story of the resurrection. That’s the hope we’re given in the midst of devastating circumstances.

A hope that says everyone has access to salvation, and by increasing love and embracing God’s goodness, we can help more people love themselves and see goodness in others.

And that’s the incomprehensible hope we celebrate on Easter. We have access to salvation. We already have God’s love. Whether Jesus’s resurrection is a literal, accurate story or myth and metaphor speaking to God’s impact on our lives, we serve the resurrected, living God who defeated death and made a way for you to find everlasting peace. So, may you find that peace. May you live as someone who knows they are made whole and fully loved by God.

Let’s pray.

[Prayer]

And now we’ll take communion together. This serves as a reminder that Jesus meant it when He said, “It is finished.” Death is defeated. And the table is open to everyone. Jesus didn’t stop anyone from participating in His promise, and neither do we.