Suddenly Surprised

Fifty2 Sundays ~ Listening for God

    Matthew 28:1-10 was the scripture for the resurrection story presented in Sunday’s sermon. Perhaps my favorite verse in that text is verse 28:9 “Suddenly Jesus met them.” This verse encapsulates what most anyone might say the first time they encounter the risen Christ. At least it was so for me.

     I had a belief that there was a God – but Jesus was not part of my belief. I had heard about Jesus of course—but I held him out to be a phony and certainly not relevant to me or my life. And I probably secretly resented those who told me that I needed “to be saved” and “only Jesus could save me” and that there was no other way to God except through Jesus. That all changed when somehow ‘suddenly’ I came to faith. Little did I realize that God had been reeling me in (think fishing reel) over quite a period of time-and so when I moved from unbelief in a risen savior-to faith-it was sudden and I do not pretend to know or understand how it happened except to say it did.

     Jesus spent thirty three years on earth and the last three were his years of ministry. His crucifixion and what led up to it (his arrest, trial, etc.) began on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Mt 26:17) when he instituted the Lord’s Supper. That night Jesus was betrayed (Mt 26:21), then arrested (Mt 26:47-55) and overnight tried before the teachers and elders of the law (Mt 26:517-66). The next morning Jesus stands before Pilate who asks him if he is “King of the Jews” and finding no basis upon which to charge Jesus (Luke 23:4) he sends him to Herod (Lk 23:7). Herod initially takes pleasure in seeing him but because Jesus did not respond to his questioning-he and his soldiers mocked him and sent him back to Pilate (Lk 2311-12). Pilate tried to appease the angry mob by offering to release either Barabbas or Jesus. The crowd chose Barabbas (Lk 23:25). Jesus was then flogged, his clothes divided up and he was crucified all before sunset on a Friday sometime between the 6^th and the 9^th hour (Lk 23:44-46). He is buried in a tomb (Mt 27:60) and a stone rolled across the opening to the tomb and a guard posted to keep it secure (Mt 27:63-66). Saturday was the Sabbath. Sunday morning Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary” went to the tomb (Mt 28:1) and they encounter the angel who rolled back the rock and showed them that the tomb was empty (Mt 28:5-7). The angel tells them to go tell the disciples to meet him in Galilee. The next thing that happens is the women suddenly encounter Jesus.

     All of us know life can change in a second. What is of greatest value or matters the most can become crystal clear in a brief moment-when facing a tragedy – we suddenly get grounded in the critical. Jesus had tried to prepare his disciples for the tragedy of his death upon the cross—they did not get it until they got it-and his resurrection was a surprise. I believe—this is the way God works. We cannot know when or what he will do until he does it and then it will happen suddenly. I imagine we will be surprised when Jesus returns to earth, it is certainly something to look forward to—along with our own resurrection-which will no doubt happen suddenly-as in the "twinkling of an eye" (1 Corinthians 15:52).