“Who is it you are looking for?”

When Mary set out to Jesus’ tomb the question

“Who is it you are looking for?”

never even crossed her mind. Mary went to the tomb looking for the corpse of Jesus so she could give Jesus a proper burial. What Mary got, at first was an empty tomb and more grief. Jesus was not only dead, but now his body was missing and perhaps stolen.

Mary’s first reaction was to run and to tell the disciples. When Peter and John heard Mary say,

“They have taken the Lord out of the tomb,
and we don’t know where they have put Him!”

they took off and ran to the tomb. No doubt what Mary was saying didn’t make sense. Was it her grief speaking? Was it true? They had to see for themselves. What Peter & John were after was the truth.

Peter and John went to the tomb looking for evidence that Jesus’ body was removed from the tomb. Peter and John both got the evidence they were looking for. They saw the remnants of Jesus’ burial clothes. John however got something more he got faith.

Seeing the burial clothes like an empty cocoon from which Jesus emerged he believed. The burial clothes pricked his memory. He recalled Jesus saying he must die so he can rise from death.

The sign of the empty tomb brought more grief to Mary, bewilderment to Peter but faith to John. It reminds me of a story of a woman who became very upset when she saw a sign on the door of the bank which read. “We will be closed for Good Friday.” The bank manager asked the woman what she was so upset about. She said, “Where will I put all my money now? Who will be taking over my mortgage?” The bank manager did not understand her questions so he asked her why she was thinking this way. She pointed to the sign and read it to him. “We will be closed “for good,” Friday.

Like the woman, who miss-read the sign on the bank door there are people who miss-read the meaning of Easter. Some people treat Easter like a tourist attraction instead of a life changing experience.

Today’s question should not be,

“who is it you are looking for?”

It should be, what are you looking for?

Jesus is looking for you and me to embrace Him as savior. Jesus is after you and me to believe that there is no other means for salvation. Jesus said,

“I am the way the truth and the life,
no one comes to the Father but through me.”

Since we believe Easter means that because Jesus died and lived again, we will also will die and live again we usually don’t have a problem embracing Jesus as savior. If that is all you're after this morning, you are selling the resurrection of Jesus short and you are cheating yourself of a life changing and enriching relationship with God.

We are not celebrating an historical event as much as we are making history. Jesus did not just die for you, but He is after you. He is after you and me to act out the glory of Easter. We are to be Jesus hands, feet, voice, serving people everywhere. Jesus is after you to walk as he walked showing mercy, healing the sick, interacting with respect and love.

Jesus is after you and me to be our Lord. Jesus is after you to die daily, to say no to selfish interest and sinful desires of the flesh. Paul said in Colossians,

“So if you have been raised with Christ,
seek the things that are above...
put to death, therefore, whatever is earthly
(vv. 1, 3).

Among those “earthly” things are “fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed” (vs. 5) as well as “anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive language” (vs. 8). Then Paul goes on to describe our “new self,” which includes such traits as "kindness, love, peace, and thankfulness" (vv. 12-17).

Easter is about accepting Jesus as Savior and Lord. It cannot be one or the other. It must be both. Think of your life as a bicycle built for two. You ask Jesus to share the bicycle built for two. All too often we are inviting Him to take the back seat and allow Jesus the front seat and control of the handle bars. This is not accepting Jesus as Lord. This is living life as you want and inviting Jesus along for the ride. Do you want Jesus to be Lord? Then you have to give up the front seat and control of the handle bars. You have put to death the selfish interests and sinful desires.

I don’t mean to be critical of anyone, but I just don’t get why the church is packed on Easter Sunday and empty on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. Speaking for myself, I need to hear and remember the events of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday for Easter to have significance. Only when I remember those horrific events and remember Jesus endured them for me can I truly comprehend the awesomeness of Easter. Dying with Christ, entering into that tomb with Jesus on Good Friday, is the way we Christians annually remind ourselves of the "completing" power of the risen Christ.

I don't know what "incompletes" are keeping you from growing into the fullness of faith and the life God has purposed for you. Do any of these "incompletes” apply to your life:

1. Relational incompletes -- do you have unresolved conflicts with someone, or do you have feelings that have not been expressed?
2. Integrity incompletes -- do you have trouble keeping agreements, or being truthful about people, places and things?
3. Career incompletes -- do you continue to work in a job you hate, or do you fail to do the best job you can?
4. Financial incompletes -- do you have debts that are mounting, and do you have trouble saving as you know you should?
5. Physical incompletes -- do you eat and drink things that you know are bad for you, and do you continue to put off committing yourself to a healthy lifestyle?
6. Personal incompletes -- do you avoid dreaming like you once did, especially dreaming that impossible dream that once set you on fire?
7. Spiritual incompletes -- do you wish to commit 100 percent to God, yet fail to follow a disciplined walk with Christ through daily prayer, Bible study and cell-group fellowship? (Eric Allenbaugh, Wake-Up Calls, New York: Fireside, 1994)

The open tomb on Easter morning forces us to face the "incompletes" in our lives. The open tomb assures us of God's promise to turn all our "incompletes" into "completes." When we find the tomb opened and empty every Easter morning, we are ourselves reborn with the risen Christ. But we are reborn with a specific mission -- to seek out this Christ who once again lives and to allow that Christ to transform our "incomplete" lives into "completes."

Jesus wasn’t after power or fame or recognition. He was after you and me. He came to shape our lives and to complete us.

Reverend Richard Hayes Weyer