When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might come and anoint Him. Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” Looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, although it was extremely large. Entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed. And he said to them, “Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you.’”
– Mark 16:1-7
Imagine that you have just begun to read a new book. It is a book by your favorite author, one that you didn’t know was being published. Someone surprises you one day by giving you this book. With great anticipation you sit down to read. You begin with the introduction to the book, which serves only to increase your desire to read on. Finished with the introduction, you turn the page and discover that all the rest of the pages are blank. Thinking this must be a mistake, you contact the publisher, who confirms that this is how the author intended to publish the book.
Your reaction is…?
The answer to that probably includes puzzlement, frustration, and disappointment. This is all based on the fact that your intuition tells you there must be more.
The answer to that probably includes puzzlement, frustration, and disappointment. This is all based on the fact that your intuition tells you there must be more.
The Easter message is an indispensable component of the Christian proclamation. The understand the Christian faith, look first to Jesus. If you find him compelling and follow the record of his life as revealed in scripture, you will inevitably come to the account of his death and attested resurrection. This is central to everything regarding the Christian faith.
The importance of the resurrection is clearly stated in scripture. The apostle Paul says, “For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied. But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:16-20). Because of Easter, Jesus offers us forgiveness, fellowship with God, and assurance of life that transcends even our mortality. Praise be to God!
But is that the extent of the Easter message? You can safely assume, since I have asked the question, the answer is “no.” And you would be correct. Let’s ask ourselves this question. Do we view the Easter narrative as a transaction that took place in the past, or do we view it as an invitation that affects our daily life? It is easy to limit our thinking about Easter to an event that happened in the past. And if we have personally embraced the Easter message, our response of faith is also framed as an event that happened in the past. We focus on what Jesus did, and what we gain when we confess our faith in him. In short, it is a done deal in which we can have confidence as we move forward with our lives. While this is certainly true, it is seriously incomplete.
Think about how the resurrection narrative could have went. We could have been given nothing more than testimonies of an empty tomb and a word from angels. The angels might have said, “See, here is where he lay. You can see that his body is missing, so you can conclude that Jesus is alive. So be of good cheer! Go share the news with your friends, and get on with your lives.” But this is not what scripture records. It is not all that God wants to give us. Yes, God wants us to know the truth of Christ’s resurrection, but God also wants us to have our own first-hand witness of how we have encountered Jesus personally.
We also see from the text the “where” and “how” Jesus wants to meet us. The angel instructs the woman, “tell his disciples that he is going to Galilee; it is there you will see him.” At this, an observant reader of the Bible will say, “But wait, didn’t Jesus appear to his friends right there in Jerusalem?” Yes, he absolutely did. We are told that very evening Jesus appeared to them in a locked room. Again a week later, Jesus appeared to them in the same way. I like to think of these appearances being for the purpose of assurance. In the resurrection of Jesus, the disciples were processing something that strained their comprehension. In our language, it took them a minute. When Jesus appears in these settings, it is to help them believe the unbelievable.
But Jesus has more in mind for us than helping us to believe a claim, even as important as that is. Jesus anticipates ongoing encounters with those who love him, those who have committed to following in his steps, and those whose hearts are open to his presence. These are the daily life encounters that are represented by Galilee. Jerusalem was important, and represents the center of religious life for Jesus’ people. As such Jesus was faithful to encounter people there also. But Galilee was the region of small towns and blue collar workers. People encountered Jesus at water wells, in fishing boats, in town gathering settings called synagogues. He visited in the homes of sinners, taught in open fields, and offered healing to people along any dusty path where they happened to meet. How extraordinarily fitting it is for Jesus’ friends to be told, “Go to Galilee; you will see him there.” Of course they will. This is where they have been seeing him for years.
The apostle Paul tells us that Jesus appeared to He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time (see 1 Corinthians 15:6). Luke tells us that Jesus appeared to the disciples over a period of forty days after his resurrection (Acts 1:3). What the Bible tells us is that Jesus had many post-resurrection appearances to his friends. Other than the instances mentioned in the gospels, we are not given the locations nor the details of their conversations, except that he spoke with them concerning kingdom things. These are what I like to think of as preparation appearances. These encounters remind a disciple of Jesus’ calling upon that person, that Jesus is always near, ready to reveal himself in everyday encounters.
I have been to Galilee. It is a beautiful area, and it is easy to envision Jesus walking the hillsides and traveling by boat on the Galilean Sea. But you don’t have to travel to Palestine to encounter Jesus. You have a Galilee of your own. It is the place you work, the place you have family meals, the place where you lay your head each night for rest. It is the places where you encounter circles of friends and those in your own community. As such, the message of the angel will be fulfilled in your life: “He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him.”
There you can see him, anyway, if your heart is inclined. The writer of Luke’s gospel account gives us a beautiful picture of a Jesus encounter. We are told of two friends of Jesus who, on the very day of Jesus’ resurrection, were walking from Jerusalem on their way to a village called Emmaus (see Luke 24:13-35). While they were walking, Jesus came along side them and struck up a conversation. They were not able immediately to discern that it was Jesus with them. Once they reached their destination, Jesus acted as if he would continue traveling. The friends urged him to stay and enter the house with them. In the act of hospitality and the subsequent breaking of bread, Christ’s presence was made known. It was at that time they became aware that they had sensed Jesus’ presence all along.
What this tells us is that Jesus can be very near in the midst of normal circumstances, and even if we don’t recognize his presence, he is there nonetheless. You and I are going to depart into the world, into our own “Galilee.” I say to you with utter confidence, Jesus is going ahead of you there, and it is his desire that you see him. Will we have eyes to see? It depends on whether Easter to us is a past transaction, an historic event that we commemorate every year, or if Easter to us is an ongoing invitation to seek the living Christ in all of our coming and going.
The Winding Path 