He Knows Your Name

Transcript

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[0:01] Well, welcome. So glad to see you again, and I do miss you all in person. I am looking forward to the day we can be together again, and it's hard to preach in situations like this, but I'm kind of imagining that you're all here, and that's going to help me through. So, of course, it's Resurrection Sunday. It's Easter Sunday. Our reading for today is John chapter 20, verses 1 through 18, the story of Mary Magdalene and Peter and the Apostle John finding the empty tomb in the garden and trying to figure out what it means. And a little word of introduction before we begin the reading. I want to say that today is a case of mistaken identity. It's a surprising thing, because we think of Easter as being kind of... a very well-organized and well-planned out day, because we prepare for it. We buy treats. We buy the little plastic eggs to hide treats in. We buy food in advance, and we prepare it in advance. We invite friends and family over for an Easter brunch or an Easter lunch. And so Easter, actually, the way we experience it, is a very organized thing.

[1:11] But at the time it happened, the very first Easter, was a very confusing day. It was a very unorganized. And there was all sorts of confusion and misperceptions happening that day. What was happening was that there were some women who were approaching the tomb on Sunday morning. And this was their first chance, actually, to find the body of Jesus. The reason is that Jesus died just before the Sabbath, which begins at sundown on Friday. So he died and he was buried right before the Sabbath began. And once the Sabbath began, there was no worship. There was no work allowed. People had to stay home. They couldn't go out. They couldn't go places. It was kind of like shelter in place. The Sabbath is actually a lot like shelter in place. You're not supposed to do any work. So you couldn't embalm a body, for example. And neither are you really supposed to go too far from your house. A short walk, maybe, depending on the rabbi you had and how they interpreted the law. But you really couldn't go places. So you stayed home, and it was a life-giving thing. You spent time with your family. You worshiped together as a family. You had a special meal together as a family. So they could not go on Friday night because the Sabbath had begun.

[2:29] And all day Saturday they couldn't go. And then sundown on Saturday, the Sabbath ended. So they theoretically could have gone on Saturday night, but it was dark because it was sundown. And so it was too dangerous to go. So they had to wait until Sunday morning to go there safely. And the question is, what happened?

[2:48] In their minds, what had happened to the body of Jesus in these roughly 36 hours since he died? We talk about the third day, and really this does span three separate days, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. But it wasn't three days later. It was 36 hours later, a day and a half later. Would they be able to get into the tomb to prepare his body for a more solemn burial? Would they be able to do that? They didn't know.

[3:13] And so that's what the women are doing. They are doing something. They are moving on in some ways. They're trying to cope with the reality that they're in. The men, on the other hand, actually seem to be doing nothing. They're sitting around scared. And this is a very interesting contrast that arises on Easter Sunday, is that almost always the women are the heroes of the story on Easter Sunday. It's like they paid a little more attention, or they were a little more calm under pressure. The men, not so much. And the men are dejected. They are, admittedly, they're really depressed.

[3:54] Because their Savior, their Lord, had died, and they, in a way, didn't see it coming. Which is odd, because many, many, many times Jesus had said, I'm going to die, I'm going to suffer, and I'm going to be raised again on the third day. And I just, I think they might have remembered that, but they didn't. And that kind of shows just how confusing a day this was. Just what a jumble of things were happening that day. So here's the scene. Mary Magdalene is headed to the tomb, and she finds it empty. So evidently the stone has been rolled away. She goes back and tells John and Peter. They find it empty, and then, with a little searching around, they go home again. And we don't really know what they're thinking at this point, just that they found an empty tomb. And some clothes inside.

[4:44] But Mary stays. And she meets some angels and has a short conversation. But they disappear just as quickly as they appear. And then she meets someone else that she doesn't recognize. She doesn't recognize the person she meets next. And did I mention that this was all a bit confusing? It was a confusing day. There's sort of a fog surrounding this whole day in the minds of Jesus' followers. And really, our Easter's are not the Easter of the Lord. They are a lot more organized compared to them. So, you probably know this, but I'm going to give you a spoiler alert about who this person is that she meets. But I thought this year, with all the internet marketing that we have now, I was going to express the spoiler in clickbait terms. Clickbait. Clickbait is those ads that you see at the bottom of the page of, say, USA Today or something like that. And they have these headlines that are kind of trying to tempt you. To click on them. Because they only tell you half the story and you want to kind of hear the other side of the story. And I think that's, while I find that very annoying, I want us to maybe have that kind of anticipation. So, this is the clickbait version of what is happening next. So, here's one headline.

[6:04] Mary Magdalene got up real early to find Jesus' body. You'll never guess what happened next. There's one. Another is. Mary tried this one simple trick to get to the bottom of the mystery. And then finally.

[6:21] The person she doesn't recognize turned out to be somebody really important. Her friends will never believe what he had to say to her. So, there you have it. We still haven't told you who it is. But we'll get there. Just listen as we read the gospel. And I'm going to save you the trouble of having to click on any links. If you see a link on your screen right now, don't click it. Just keep listening and we'll read the Bible passage. So, here's our reader. John chapter 20 verses 1 through 18. And it goes like this. 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 our Lord out of the tomb. And we don't know where they have put him.

[7:16] So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in 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 cloth was folded up by itself. And he said, The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. Finally, the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside.

[7:50] He saw and believed. They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, Woman, why are you crying?

[8:22] They have taken my Lord away, she said, and I don't know where they have put him. At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. Woman, he said, Why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?

[8:46] Thinking he was the gardener, she said, Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him. Jesus said to her, Mary. She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, Rabboni, which means teacher.

[9:06] Jesus said, Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God. Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news, I have seen the Lord. And she told them that he had said these things to her. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for this word. And we ask that you would add your blessing to it in Jesus' name. Amen.

[9:39] So, I think we get it. This mystery person is Jesus. And I want us to focus in, and in really kind of a short time, because there's not much left here, is what it is that brings Mary from confusion to clarity. Alright, what is it that brings Mary from confusion to clarity? And you'll find it in verse 16 if you're following along. You can read it at home. But it reads like this. Verse 16 says, Jesus said to her, Mary.

[10:12] That's it. All this confusion up to this point is really undone with one word. There's no sort of great exposition on the past. There's no rehashing of all the prophecies about how he would be raised from the dead. There's no sermon from the scriptures about how God can work through death and make new things out of our brokenness, despair, and sin. All of that is true. But none of that happened there. All that happened was that he said her name. He said her name.

[10:49] And in that moment, you could say the scales fell from her eyes. She saw Jesus when she heard him say her name. And that's our Easter lesson, really in a nutshell. Is that Jesus knows your name. And Jesus calls your name. Wherever you are right now, right at this moment, he is calling you now.

[11:16] And when he calls your name, he sort of pulls you out of this fog that you are in. And we have a fog. There's no doubt. There's been a fog. You can't really see it right now, but mentally there has been a fog in my mind for weeks now. All sorts of other things are pulling away at my attention. And some of them are things that I really do need to pay attention to. So they're not bad things. But in this moment, I want to be spoken to by Jesus and hear my name called by Jesus. So that I can learn to focus on what is really important. So there's all these other cares and there's all these other things that we think are important. We have all these other projects and plans and designs for our own lives. Some of them are good and some of them honestly are foolish. And also we have all our designs for who Jesus ought to be. We saw a little bit of that. We saw a little bit of this last week. Is he the king? Is he going to come in and crush our political opponents? Win a few arguments for us? Or is he going to come and never really challenge us? Is he just going to come and be nice, friendly all the time?

[12:23] You see, all of that goes away when he calls your name. It disappears like a mist on a warm morning by the sea. Jesus knows your name. He is who he says he is. And you see it when you hear it. He has died and he's been raised again. And he's the source of eternal salvation. And he is keeping his promises.

[12:48] What's wonderful is that Jesus knew this day was coming. This day in the garden with Mary. And he even told his disciples about it. If we go back ten chapters. Ten chapters. John chapter 10. Where Jesus talks about himself as the good shepherd. Go ahead and find it. You could pause. Go ahead and find it. John chapter 10 goes like this. Some parts of it. I'm going to read a few verses to you. Verse 3. The watchman opens the gate for the shepherd, and the sheep listen to the shepherd's voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all of his own, he goes on ahead of them. And his sheep follow him because they know his voice. The sheep know his voice. Jesus says, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. And isn't that what he's done on the cross?

[13:49] He also says, I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me. He calls her by name. And she sees him for who he is in that moment. And he does the same. Here it is. All of it right now. Jesus says, I call my sheep by name. I know my sheep and my sheep know me. When he calls her name, she knows it's him. And all the confusion falls away. And the only thing left now is the follower and her savior in the garden.

[14:25] Nothing else matters in that moment. And so that's my wish for us this Easter. I want you to hear the shepherd's voice. He's calling your name right now. He's the source. He has risen from the dead. And he has saved you. Let's pray.

[14:48] Father, thank you for your word. Help us to hear our savior calling our name.