A Burial Cloth Tells The Easter Story
So, where is Jesus now? As we read from John 20:1-9, let's go with Peter and John this Easter dawn as, "A Burial Cloth Tells The Easter Story." April 4, 2010.
Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!
If you had to make a list, how many reasons can you think of for going to a cemetery? Other than interest in history or going for a stroll in a park-like setting, I can think of only two – to attend the committal service of a friend or loved one or to put flowers on a grave. At a committal service people hear words of comfort from Scripture that carry them through a time of sorrow. Flowers on a grave are a way of saying, “We remember our loved one, our friend.”
But sometimes, when there has been a death in the family, people go to a cemetery not thinking very clearly. They may say things like, “We are going to the committal to say good-bye to Uncle Harry,” or “We are going to put flowers on Aunt Mabel’s gravestone because she enjoys beautiful surroundings.” In 1971, there was an episode of The Odd Couple in which Felix wanted to spend a chunk of money for a down payment on a grave plot with just the right shade so that when his time came he wouldn’t get too much sun. Statements and actions like that demonstrate an unclear understanding of death and life after death.
Mary of Magdala wasn’t thinking too clearly either on that first Easter Sunday. She went to the [Jesus’] tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and [John] and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” Peter and John must have been shocked. “Mary, we’ve just gone through the worst three days of our lives as we watched Jesus suffer and die. Now you’re telling us the body is stolen? Please! Say it isn’t so!” and off they ran to see for themselves, confused, trying to clear their minds. Let’s go with Peter and John this Easter dawn as, A Burial Cloth Tells The Easter Story.
Neatly folded
What did Peter and John expect to see when they got to the cemetery? I imagine they expected to see that Mary was wrong, that she had been looking at the wrong tomb, or that the authorities had come to make sure Jesus was indeed dead and moved the stone but left the body in place. But what did they see? Johnbent over and looked at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The linen strips and burial cloth were there, but Jesus was gone. How could that be? What story did the linen strips and burial cloth have to tell? We won’t need a
Consider the possibilities. Maybe Jesus’ body had been drained of so much blood and had lost so much weight from the torture he went through that his body shrunk in size and was lying almost paper-thin under the linen strips. The disciples would have to peek under to find him. No! That’s ridiculous. Maybe the Jewish authorities had gotten permission from Pilate to move the body and rebury it. No! The burial cloth would have been gone, too. Maybe the body had been stolen as Mary suggested. No! The burial cloth for Jesus’ head was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. Thieves would not have left the tomb neat and in order. The linen strips would have been crumpled in a corner and the burial cloth tossed aside in a heap. The folded burial cloth left only one explanation. It was telling a story, the Easter story, the greatest miracle of all time. Jesus was not dead. He was alive. He had risen from the dead.
Imagine how the disciples’ hearts were thumping with amazement and excitement! They were thrilled to know their friend and teacher was alive. They were looking forward to spending more time with him, listening to him, going out to lunch, going fishing, having a good time. But they were also still a bit confused. They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead. Later, the “had to rise” part came into focus. Think of it. If Jesus had remained in the grave, we would have to wonder, “Since the payment of sin is death, and if he’s still dead, is he still paying for sin as though he’s not done yet?” If he remained wrapped in burial cloth, we would have to wonder, “Is the grave his permanent home? Will it be ours?”
From a human point of view burial seems so final. A body is laid in a coffin. The lid is fastened tightly. The coffin is lowered into a cement vault. The cement cover is cranked down into place. Then six feet of dirt are pushed onto the coffin. We’ve seen a loved one or a friend buried or slid into a mausoleum shelf. If there was no Easter story, we would have to assume they will never get out. We will never get out. But Jesus promised, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live even though he dies. And whoever lives and believes in me will never die”(John 11:25-26). That means that during a committal service we only bury an empty shell.
One day a coroner is going to sign a death certificate with my name on it. An undertaker is going to fold my hands over my chest as I lay in a coffin. Dirt will cascade on top of the cement cover of my vault. But, if I pay attention to the story Jesus’ burial cloth is telling, I won’t see the coroner’s signature. I won’t feel my hands being folded. I won’t hear the soil slide over me because I won’t be there. This body will only be an empty shell in my grave. Jesus’ neatly folded burial cloth is telling us that Satan did not win and that Jesus is not paying and paying and paying some more for your sins and my sins and all sins. No! He’s done with that. That burial cloth tells us that he is alive, and because he came back from death, at my death my soul will keep on living, and one day my body will be we will be raised, glorified, perfected, rejoined to my soul, and I’ll be really alive with Jesus. And that will happen to you, too!
Not needed
As Peter and John left the tomb on Easter morning, another question must have popped into their heads, “Jesus is alive. But where did he go? Where is he?” If they had their thinking caps on, they would have remembered that he told them, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me”(John 16:16). But where and when would he show up? They did not know. So, they headed back to Jerusalem. Later that day, Jesus kept his promise and made several resurrection appearances. First, he appeared to Mary of Magadala, then to the other women who had come to the tomb on their way back into town, then to Peter privately, then to two disciples on the way to the little village of Emmaus, that evening to ten disciples gathered in a room in Jerusalem, a week later to the ten plus Thomas. The Bible records other appearances over a span of forty days – in Jerusalem, in Galilee, and on one occasion to more than five hundred followers. All these appearances reassured the disciples that Jesus is alive.
But it must have been frustrating as they wondered where he was in between appearances, when he would show up again, and how long he would stay. “Stay with us, Jesus!” the disciples begged, repeating the thoughts and feelings of Mary of Magdala when she first saw the risen Lord. She grabbed onto his ankles and didn’t want to let him go. But Jesus told her, “Don’t keep holding on to me, for I have not yet returned to my Father”(John 20:17). In other words, “Don’t keep hanging on to this human form that you see. When I return to the Father, then I will be making use of power to be everywhere. Then I will be with you always as your living Lord, using my power for you. I won’t need a burial cloth and your soul won’t either.”
So where is Jesus now? Let the burial cloth tell us more of the Easter story. It was not only neatly folded to tell us Jesus is alive, guaranteeing our forgiven status with God. It was also not needed, guaranteeing that he is alive and working for us. Jesus has not turned the burial cloth into a bathrobe so that he can sit on a distant cloud relaxing with his feet up in the air. No! He has turned the burial cloth in for heavenly work clothes as he intercedes for us, preserves us, and empowers us.
That’s right! Empower us. The burial cloth tells us that our soul has no need for a burial cloth either. We don’t have to cover up our trust in Jesus or our life for him. We have nothing to be embarrassed about as we make decisions to follow him, even though others may laugh and make fun of us. Let them! They might simply be jealous that we’ve got a resurrection mind-set, a Jesus-empowered, positive outlook that even on the darkest days – even with a cancer diagnosis or a shortage of funds or frustration with the daily arm-wrestling between our sinner side and our believer side – we are alive with Christ Jesus and will be forever.
When you have suffered the loss of a loved one and have to make funeral arrangements, you may not be thinking clearly and may misspeak. You might say some things that you really don’t mean like, “Pastor, will you have a prayer for Uncle Harry?” Of course, we know that we don’t pray for the dead. Uncle Harry is already with God and needs no prayers to improve his status. Or you might find yourself saying, “Let’s go to the cemetery to visit Aunt Mabel.” But Aunt Mabel is not really in the cemetery. She is with God in heaven.
The story of Jesus’ burial cloth helps us think more clearly. Jesus once wore a burial cloth. He wore it for us. Now he wears a crown of victory. We will wear one, too. In fact, we’re wearing one now. Why? Because Christ is risen. He is risen indeed! Amen.
Preached at Grace Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, WI (www.gracedowntown.org) on April 4, 2010
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