It should not have come to this. From a human perspective, Jesus did nothing wrong. He deserved none of what he received last week. Knowing his enemies were plotting his demise, he should have at least been able to trust and count on his own disciples.
Yet it was one of his own disciples that set in motion the tragic events that unfolded on Thursday and Friday of the week he died! Well, at least he might be able to depend on his most assertive disciple to rally a small group to attempt a small-scale rescue… but instead even that disciple denied him.
Then, when standing trial before the religious leaders, someone ought to have stood up and pointed out the obvious corruption and unfairness with which Jesus was being treated. More than anyone else, they were supposed to be the moral compass of society. And then Pilate – of all people the one with the most power to put an end to the injustice being carried out, which he himself attested to – caved and catered to the crowds to crucify Jesus! None of it should have happened.
What is on your plate in life right now that should not have happened the way it did? I can imagine there are all sorts of responses to that question swimming around in your heads right now…
Whatever it is, why do you suppose it played out that way? What caused it? In some cases we are on the receiving end of tragedy or trauma that is completely outside of our control. Sometimes that can be completely accidental; other times completely intentional. Evil or wickedness took place and it was carried out against us. A natural disaster. A negligent driver. A malicious criminal. Such things are outside of our control, but can directly impact us, leaving us reeling unexpectedly from something that should never have happened to us.
Other times things happened that should not have… because of a role that we played. Perhaps a direct result of our own actions – or lack of action. Suddenly the spouse I saw myself spending the rest of my life with has become public enemy number one. And, as much as I might try to plead innocence – to myself even if no one else will listen! – I can’t deny that I played a part.
I feel like I’m merely the victim on the wrong side of office politics, but it’s clear to others how tangled up in all of it I actually was, even if I don’t see it myself.
I wonder why my kids’ lives are turning out to be such a mess, and I’m faced with the realization that their childhoods were too often littered with my leftovers and the lost “laters” of my misplaced priorities.
So here we are, dealing with whatever is on our plate that wasn’t supposed to happen the way that it did.
Come with me to a place where a number of events also took place that never should have happened. You know what else should not have happened the way it did? Any of what is recorded for us in the opening verses of John 20. That shouldn’t have happened, either.
Not just because Jesus shouldn’t have died in the first place, but Jesus’ tomb should have had zero visitors that first Sunday morning. There shouldn’t have been any women showing up with spices expecting to carry on Jewish burial rites. There need not have been any sprinting back and forth between the tomb and disciples expressing shock and confusion over a missing body.
None of that should have happened either, between the Old Testament’s teachings about the Messiah’s reign never ending and Job’s confession that his Redeemer lived, and Jesus’ own words that promised he would rise again. None of it should have happened – from Jesus’ suffering and death to the initial disciples’ dismay over his empty tomb!
Look at Mary. Mary could relate to the devastation of things that shouldn’t have happened the way they did. She just wanted her Jesus, but was distraught over not even being able to honor her Lord properly in his burial because she was convinced someone else had done something with the body.
But at her lowest low, Jesus appeared to her, and he didn’t do so to shame her. He didn’t show up to take her to task for not knowing that he was going to rise from the dead. He didn’t angrily scold her with a questioning rebuke, “What on earth are you doing here at the tomb? Why didn’t any of you listen when I told you I wouldn’t stay dead but would rise again in three days? How could you be so dumb?”
None of that from gentle Jesus. Instead, Jesus tenderly revealed himself to her as much more than the gardener; as her Savior God who had come back to life. He softly spoke her name and God’s divine hand removed whatever veil it was keeping Jesus’ identity a mystery and she suddenly saw him – not just with her eyes but with a heart exploding in faith that had just what was needed at that time: her risen Savior.
Alive. With her. Caring for her. Of all the people on the earth to show himself to, at that moment so soon after his Resurrection, he came to Mary. And despite everything that shouldn’t have happened, everything was suddenly right.
Jesus lives to give you the same confident hope. Hear the blessings attached to faith in the risen Jesus: “righteousness” (Ro. 4:23), “new life” (Ro. 6:4), “bear[ing] fruit for God” (Ro. 7:4), “be saved” (Ro. 10:9), “he will raise us also” (1 Co. 6:14). Jesus holds out these blessings to you and to all who believe he has left death in his dust, destroying its stranglehold on us.
Do you get why Mary was so elated to see her risen Jesus? Though she didn’t have these Scriptures we do to spell out these realities of the Resurrection, she knew them by faith. She knew that death had not permanently claimed her Christ, so neither could it – or Satan – permanently claim her either. Her risen Jesus meant that whatever shouldn’t have happened or should have happened no longer mattered. All that mattered was the present reality of a very much alive Jesus.
“Should have” and “shouldn’t have” too often cloud our lives. We let past regret cause present regression. We thought we were over it. We thought we had moved past it. But then Satan, never one to see the need for being innovative or cutting edge when it comes to nagging God’s people, resorts to the tried and true. He whispers in our ears ever-so-softly, “Remember how you mishandled that in a way you shouldn’t have? I bet things wouldn’t be the way they are right now if you would have handled that differently.” And seemingly out of nowhere, this thing that perhaps hadn’t bothered us for years suddenly sidetracks us and whatever positive path of trajectory we were on has been hijacked and we start to backslide.
When those moments hit you, notice something about the account from John 20. Look where Mary and the others did not go to. They didn’t return go to the cross. Why not? Duh, you say, because Jesus had already been crucified on Friday. He was no longer on the cross anymore. That’s why they went to the tomb.
Exactly. Jesus was no longer on the cross. He had already been crucified. That means your sin has already been paid for. That means every should have and shouldn’t have has already been paid for. On Easter Sunday, they didn’t find Jesus still at Calvary on the cross continuing to pay for their sins. He had already completed that sacrificial work, emphasizing it with finality through his “It is finished,” spoken from the cross. There was no more need to return to the cross. Just as there is no more need to revisit every should have and shouldn’t have from your past. They’ve already been paid for.
But it gets better. Not only was Jesus not on the cross still suffering for sin; he wasn’t in the tomb, either! John’s narrative of what happened on that first morning seems to gradually crescendo our confidence bit by bit. Mary arrives to see the stone rolled away, but there is not any initial further inspection.
What exactly did the empty tomb mean? He lived and lives, yes, but don’t let it be lost on you what that means! It means that his payment for your sin and mine was accepted by the Father! It meant there was no need for do-overs or for you to somehow complete what Jesus started on Good Friday with your own piled-on penance or some other satisfaction that you imagine God still needing. As it turns out, Jesus’ payment was sufficient – he wasn’t on the cross or in the tomb! And having assured her of his resurrection by personally appearing to her, he then sent her to spread the word. And she did just that.
Let’s do the same. Our Conquering King Lives! It shouldn’t have come to this, but your eternity is secure because it did.