God's Expectation for Resurrection Sunday

God’s Expectation for Resurrection Sunday

By Pastor Gary Wayne

Text: John 19:40-20:18

As I read through the Resurrection account, one name keeps popping up.
Mary Magdalene. All four of the gospels name her as being there.
She witnessed the ugly crucifixion. She was there when they took the body down and wrapped Jesus in linen. She was there when they placed the body in the tomb and watched as the Roman soldiers rolled the stone in front of the entrance. She was the first one Jesus appeared to that morning.

What do we know about Mary Magdalene?
Magdalene was not her last name, rather she was from a city on the coastline of the sea of Galilee named Magdala.
Jesus had cast 7 demons. (Mr.16:9, Lk.8:2)

The Bible doesn’t say she had been a prostitute.
Some get her confused with a woman who was a “sinful woman” who anointed the feet of Jesus in Lk.7:36.
There was a Mary who anointed the feet of Jesus. But Jn.12:3 tells us it was Mary, the sister of Lazarus and Martha. (Jn.11:1-2) NOT Mary of Magdalene

Most Bible scholars believe she wasn’t a young woman. She traveled with a group of others as a support team for Jesus and disciples, lead by Mary the mother of James and John, made up of women like Mary the mother of Jesus, the mother of Jacob & Joseph. Mt.27:55-56
They were not the same age as Jesus and the 12 disciples, but 15 to 20 years older than the twelve.

Their role was to take care of the needs of the group – prepare food, prepare places to stay, etc.

So she was with this group of women who had bonded together in their service to Jesus, now they were on the way to the tomb to do a gruesome, grisly task.

What was Mary’s expectation when she went to the tomb? They were minimal.
I want to ask this question about Mary’s expectations, because I want to ask you about yours this morning.

The fact is that MANY people going to church on this resurrection morning have about the same expectations as Mary. Minimal.

What were Mary’s expectations? To finish embalming the body.
To see things they way they were.
Why embalm something / someone? To preserve them.

There are some here who have attended MANY church services with the topic of the resurrection.

What do we expect today? On this Sunday celebration?
We expect things to be the way they were last time.
We come expecting maybe to embalm the past, to wrap up our nice memories to preserve them so we can remember them.
Easter is such a beautiful occasion that I want to do something nice.

The reality is likely our expectation for this morning probably has little to do with what God’s expectations are.

If God gave us an invitation to gather this morning to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, what would be His expectation?

What would He expect from me that would take this “normal” Easter Sunday and have Him change my life?

My focus needs to be on Him. Not just a historic event as important as it was.
We need to expect something from God today as we celebrated the Resurrection of Jesus.
Expect the unusual.

Because Jesus is alive, expect to experience things outside your norm.
Because Jesus is alive expect miracles in your: life, home, family, jobs, community, etc.

Expect your prayers to be answered.
Expect to be filled with God – not just another nice Easter service.

It wasn’t the crucifixion that changed the life of Jesus’ followers, it was His resurrection.

Resurrection Sunday is a hinge point in history.
The next hinge point came 50 days later on the day of Pentecost.
These two events caused the followers of Jesus to become the leaders of the Christian life. They went from followers to leaders.

Because of the resurrection and the presence of the Holy Spirit living in us, we can go from observers to leading the message of God’s love.
What is God’s expectation for you this Resurrection Sunday? It’s WAY MORE than just attending a religious gathering.