Resurection Sunday: The Lesser
Easter Last Words • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Introduction
Video: James The Less
How many of us can say that is true of us?
“I do not mind having less of me if it means having more of Him.” ?
Because we are going to be focusing on this morning, because...“Christ Is Risen!”…He is risen indeed.
Welcome to the culmination of our Passion Week Celebration where we remember the last week of Jesus’ life here on earth. What a great description for the events of this week: Passion.
The week began with crowds who passionately proclaimed Jesus’ arrival as He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey (who may or may not have been named Jasper).
He went into the Temple where he threw out the money-changers and humiliated the religious “false” teachers despite all their rigged tests.
Then He went on to teach the people mind blowing, soul-touching truth even as he was healing the blind and the lame to show He had authority to teach in such a way.
It is hard to imagine the kind of energy, excitement and what we might say “Passion” that filled the Temple early in the week...
Tension
But that is not really the way that we use the word this time of year is it? At least not in Church.
Have you ever wondered why when the Church talks about “The Passion Of The Christ” they mainly focus on His suffering? Today the word “passion” has a connotation of excitement, energy or positive emotions but that is not where the word began.
It came from the Greek word πάσχω (pascho) as Jesus used it to foretell of his death to his disciples in Mark 8:31
Mark 8:31-32a (ESV)
31 And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he said this plainly.
That Greek word traveled through the Latin language in the word “passionem” and then to Old French to give us “passion”. All the while maintaining it’s meaning “to endure great suffering” and it was typically applied to the suffering of Jesus.
But our Easter series this year is called “THE LAST WORDS OF JESUS” and those were all spoken while He was on the cross. That was our focus as we left the building in painful silence on Friday Night. But we only find value in doing that on Friday Night because we remember that Sunday’s coming. That is where we are today and today it is all about… “Christ Is Risen!”.... He is risen indeed!
Yes, so even though “passion” was a word that used to mean suffering, over the years it has morphed into something closer to “any lasting controlling emotion”. And so we can apply that idea of passion to our celebration of the resurrection as well.
It certainly was a part of the Disciples experience when Jesus just appeared in the room after his resurrection. They must have had a flood of emotions racing through their hearts, minds and bodies. They had to have been “Terrified, Excited and...Happy”.
Not just because Jesus appeared to them, but because they had a very real sense that this has changed everything for everyone. Something had universally changed for all of humanity. Jesus had “put death in its place”. Jesus had put “death” to “death”. He had conquered death so that we might truly live.
And what I love about the idea of looking at the Resurrection from the point of view of James the Lesser is that it takes the reality of Jesus’ resurrection and makes it accessible to us no matter who we think we are.
James was privelaged to be one of the 12 disciples of Jesus and an eye witness to these event and yet…we don’t have much of his story recorded for us in Scripture. In fact, there is just as much written about his mother in here than there is written about him. Isn’t that crazy?
And at the same time it is wonderful... because it helps us to remember how our focus when it comes to this celebration should really not be grounded in our significance, or how significant we think ourselves to be, but in how significant the resurrection of Jesus is. .
“I do not mind having less of me if it means having more of Him.”
Or to quote John the Baptizer,
John 3:30 (NIV)
30 He must become greater; I must become less.”
Let’s stop for a moment and pray into that together, will you.
Truth
James the Lesser received the surprise of his life that first Easter Sunday, but he was not alone in this. It seemed that God decided the “lesser” ones needed to experience the surprise of Jesus’ resurrection from the tomb first.
When was the last time that you were truly surprised? Maybe it was somebody sneaking up on you or jumping out from behind a doorway. Perhaps it was an unexpected gift that somebody gave you or even a surprise birthday party somebody threw for you. Often times a surprise party like that will involve having people park far away and then walk to the house and hide behind the furniture in the dark and when the guest of honor opens the door and turns on the light everyone jumps out and yells - SURPRISE!
Now some of us hear that and think, “Awww, that sounds like fun” but others of us…we are having a mild heart attack even thinking about that. We may even being looking over at loved ones saying “Don’t you dare”
But one of the things that we find throughout Jesus’ story is that He loved to surprise people. Not really the “hide behind furniture” kind of surprise but something more like “Wow, we did not see that coming” sort of surprise.
So on that Easter Sunday morning when Jesus rose from the grave, He surprised everyone when he gave a particular group of “lesser” ones the surprise of their life.
WOMEN
WOMEN
These people had followed him for quite some time. They saw His crucifixion and they watched as His body was placed in the tomb. But it was not any of the 12 disciples this time, not even James the Lesser. It was a group who in that day and culture would have been viewed as even “lesser” than him.
Because Jesus gave a group of - woman - the surprise of their lives that morning.
Now this would not be a surprise to us, why should it matter that they were women? But in the first century women were viewed as some of the lesser people in society. Certainly lesser then the men.
In that day and age a woman’s testimony would not even be admissible in court unless it was collaborated by a man. The city dealings and all legal proceedings went through the men in any family. The word of a woman carried little weight, so God surprises everyone by having a group of women be the first to testify about the resurrected Jesus.
And among this group of women was…James the lesser’s MOM!
The role these women played is mentioned in all four of the Gospels but each one seems to have a different list as to who was all there. Mark gives us some of the names in this group as they watched the crucifixion at a distance but he also emphasizes their role in Jesus’ earlier ministry in Galilee. He says...
Mark 15:40–41 (ESV)
40 There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 41 When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.
Throughout the story of Jesus we see him engaging and empowering those that the culture would say were “lesser”. He ate with tax collectors and sinners. He called fishermen and zealots to be his disciples. He valued women more than any other rabbi by teaching them and giving them significant roles in His ministry. None of these roles were more important than to be the first to testify of the empty tomb.
This role that they had was significant because is shows how God values everyone, even the people that a culture would call “lesser” but it was also served as an intentional part of his plan to convince skeptical people of the truth of the resurrection.
One of the reasons the Easter story is so hard to dismiss as anything but the fact is because it was common knowledge that the women were the ones who told the disciples. If anybody but God were writing history, they would have re-written it as men who were at the tomb to get this information first. They would not have picked the supposedly insignificant group of women whose testimony would not even have been admissible in court.
Typically the ones who write the history books are the victors in history. The winners are the ones who get to write the story, so they often write it in ways that make them look good. If this was a re-write then they would have chosen a group of men such as Peter, John, even James the Lesser would be better to advance the story.
But that’s not how God works; He works through the least expected, the lowly and the seemingly insignificant because often they are the ones to be first to give God the glory for all He has done through them. And God had an important role for these women.
Again from the Gospel of Mark chapter 16 we read...
Mark 16:1 (ESV)
1 When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him.
So the Jewish day began and ended at Sundown in accordance with the creation order that we find in Genesis. After each day of creation we read, “And there was evening and there was morning the first day”. So the Sabbath day, or their day of rest began on what we would call Friday night at sundown and went to sundown on Sat. That is when these women went out to buy these spices to bring to the tomb. When the Sabbath was past but since it was not safe to travel at night they couldn’t do anything with them until the next morning. Sunday morning.
Mark 16:2-3
2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?”
Bringing spices would have been as common as someone bringing flowers to a grave today to show their love, honor and respect for the person who has died. The difference this time was that this was a very special tomb. A very expensive and elaborate tomb. They probably had never brought spices to a tomb like this before and on their way there they remembered what they had seen when Jesus was placed in the tomb.
Matthew tells us that after Jesus had died..
Matthew 27:57–61 (ESV)
57 When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. 59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud 60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock.
And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.
So these women knew right where to go because they were there just two nights earlier, but that had forgotten about the stone and now they were not sure how they would be able to follow through on their anointing the body with spices. But they got there and…back to Mark it says:
Mark 16:4–8
4 And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed.
6 And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.”
SURPRISE!!! You came to anoint a dead body but “CHRIST IS RISEN”…He Is Risen Indeed.
Not only were these women, these so called “lesser ones” the first to hear the good news about Jesus, they were entrusted with the mission to “go”…go tell his disciples..and Peter...that he has risen and will meet them in Galilee.
PETER
PETER
It’s interesting, don’t you think, that Peter is named separately from the rest of the Disciples. It gives us the impression that among all all of the other Disciples, Peter especially needed to know about what has happened. Why do you think that is?
Was it because Peter was a leader? Could be. Several times in Scripture Peter stands out as a spokesperson for the group.
Was it because Peter had a bold faith? Maybe. He was the only one to step out of the boat and walk on water
Was it because Peter was closest to Jesus? He certainly was a part of the inner circle of three disciples who were closest to Jesus.
These are all good reasons for the messenger to single out Peter…but I think it stems from something else. Something specific to this particular moment in time. Sure, Peter had displayed great courage, faith and leadership before, but I suspect he has other things on his mind right now.
You see a few day earlier Peters bold personality had gotten him into trouble. During their last supper together - pun intended - Jesus told all his disciples that they would all abandon Him that very evening.
Matthew 26:31 (ESV)
31 Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’
Jesus even quotes the prophecy that this will fulfill and still...bold and brash
Matthew 26:33 (ESV)
33 Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.”
Really Peter! Really! You are just gonna throw the rest of the disciples under the bus like that? Hang them out to dry? Like “I get it Jesus, how you might think all those “lesser” disciples will bail on you but you gotta know that I never would.”
Matthew 26:34 (ESV)
34 Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.”
And when you read through the three times that Peter denies Jesus you can’t help but see a relatable progression. The first time he just tries to avoid the question and change the subject but it progresses all the way to his yelling out...
Matthew 26:74–75 (NLT)
74 ... “A curse on me if I’m lying—I don’t know the man!” And immediately the rooster crowed.
75 Suddenly, Jesus’ words flashed through Peter’s mind: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny three times that you even know me.” And he went away, weeping bitterly.
Why “the disciples and Peter” ? I think it is because Peter went away. He wasn’t with the other disciples. He had thrown them under the bus. He had promised that he would remain strong even if you “lesser ones” faulted. But when the time came, Peter ran just like the rest of them. Even afterwards, when he returned to watch Jesus from a distance, he denied Him again...three times.
I am sure there were times when Peter felt like the go to leader of the disciples, but this was not one of those times. He had failed Jesus. He had ran. He had denied him…3 times. This weekend, Peter was feeling like “the lesser”. And I think that is why the messenger said…tell the disciples, but make sure you tell Peter too. Jesus is not letting him go.
Now three of the Gospel writers include many names from the group of women who were sent to the disciples, but John focuses in on just one. Maybe that is because the disciples were not all together, especially not Peter, so they split up to make sure that they all knew.
Either way, John tells us that it was a woman named Mary Magdalene who found Peter. John would know because he happened to be with Peter at the time.
John 20:3-10 (ESV)
So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in.
That is how John liked to talk about himself, in the second person, but being that he was younger than Peter he was clearly a bit faster. Needless to say, what Peter lacked in speed he made up for in drama.
6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed;
(Christ is RISEN! He is risen indeed)
The big idea is that Jesus is just full of surprises, and often times those surprises are designed for people who feel like they are less than.
The first person Jesus revealed himself as the Messiah to was a Samaritan Woman he met at a well. She had a sinful past and shady present! …SURPRISE! John 4:1-42
In the Temple courts Jesus forgives a woman who the religious leaders caught in adultery…SURPRISE! John 8:1-11
When Jesus heard his friend Lazarus was sick and dying he waited 3 days to go to him…but then he raise him from the dead…SURPRISE! John 11:1-45
Jesus walked by a funeral procession of the only son of this distraught widow, so he stops the coffin and tells the young man to get up…SURPRISE! Luke 7:11-17
On the cross, Jesus assures a dying convict next to Him that they will be hanging out in Paradise later that day…SURPRISE! Luke 23:39-44
And the greatest Surprise of all was that after Jesus was publically crucified by professional executioners so that we know that he was deader than dead…and then three days later, He wasn’t.
Luke 24:36–43(ESV)
36 As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” SURPRISE!
37 But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. 38 And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?
39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”
Luke 24:44–48 (ESV)
44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures,
46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things.
Application
And Jesus is still patiently opening our minds to the Scriptures today through the power of the Holy Spirit. And He still meets us right where we are, especially if we are thinking of ourselves as somehow lesser.
Maybe you feel like James. You know you are a disciple of Jesus but you don’t really feel like a significant part of the mission. SURPRISE! The resurrection of Jesus makes your life significant. Seek more of Him in your life and less of you.
Or Maybe you feel more like the women in this story. No one expected these women to play a significant role in God’s plan to rescue the world but SURPRISE! The resurrection of Jesus has us talking about the faithful ministry of these women some 2000 years later. Imagine what role God might have for you.
Or Maybe you feel like Peter. You have tried to lead well in your family, with your friends or even here at church but you know that you have just failed something awful. SURPRISE! The resurrection of Jesus means that repentance for the forgiveness of our sins is for all. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and then he will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Even the big stuff.
Landing
All of this is because CHRIST IS RISEN…HE IS RISEN INDEED!
Yes! I invite the worship team up, I’ll pray and then lets praise Him Church... for all that He has done for lesser ones like us.