Imagine one single dandelion, white with its little helicopters just waiting to take off with the nearest breeze. Lawns and neighbors quake at the sight.

Imagine one person with the flu heading into your grocery store and walking up and down every aisle sneezing and touching everything he or she can find. Almost enough to make you not want to shop there until it’s been thoroughly disinfected.

Imagine one firework soaring high into the sky and exploding into a chrysanthemum so big it fills the entire night and makes everyone go

Ooooh.”

Those are the kinds of things that happen when…one…is scattered.

It is powerful and it brings about a response!

Now, if you take one church and send it out in scattered form with all its individuals preaching the word wherever they went like our Scriptures said last week and you know what? It’s a powerful thing!

Today, we’re continuing our adventures called the Acts of the Holy Spirit and the Apostles by looking at…one…who was scattered.

This one wasn’t a top tier leader or one of the most powerful of the original disciples at first notice. But we should notice him more perhaps because he was a “Come and See” Disciple. Philip was the one chosen by Jesus and then John 1:45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote– Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathaniel responds in a negative fashion saying, John 1:46 “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip.

Philip was going out…scattered…with the message “Come and see” long before he was scattered in persecution and went out as an evangelist with the simple message of Jesus. “Come and see,” Philip says.

The chapter of Acts that we’re looking at today has 3 basic vignettes, little scenes, like 3 acts in a play. All involve Philip going somewhere controversial with powerful results. I’d like to overview them first, kind of like it’s our trip itinerary and then I’ll go into detail.

1. Philip is among the scattered and goes to Samaria—NOTE: unworthy Samaria–to preach the Word. It’s controversial to go there.
2. Controversial scene 2 might be Philip is among the scattered and interacts with spiritual evil in the form of Simon the sorcerer whose motives are suspect. NOTE: he’s interacting with spiritual evil like New Age or Wicca or other religions would be in our day. Controversial!
3. The final scene shows Philip being controversial by going to speak to the Ethiopian who was in a powerful and economic station above Philip and represented the ends of the earth as far as Philip knew. The Ethiopian was likely dark-skinned and Philip was Middle Eastern. The Ethiopian was an official with servants. Philip was just a regular guy. Our day of racial differences and economic injustices and even just economic differences, we look at Philip going to someone of a different race and station as somewhat controversial. It was no less controversial then.

Philip shares the gospel in all these controversial places.

Come and see Jesus, the One who breaks down all barriers of class and race and gender.

When is the last time you interacted with someone who not like yourself? Someone who doesn’t look like you…or think like you…or maybe someone whose socio-economic situation is not like yours?

It can be an uncomfortable experience, but that doesn’t make it wrong. It may be controversial, but one thing we all have in common is that we need Jesus.

Racine—at least from this outsider’s view—has pockets of different demographic categories. Each category seems to be an island unto itself with maybe a brave soul here or there that goes beyond the unspoken boundaries for sake of the Gospel. Maybe to hear it. Maybe to share it. I look at some of you and in my heart, I’m smiling. Because I know you’re here to come and see Jesus…even if on the surface you may be different than I am. I’m glad you’re here and I like that you’ve got a spirit that takes on a challenge.

When Jesus calls us to be fishers of men, He doesn’t mean “keepers of the aquarium” who keep the pump and filter running and clean the algae and gunk off the walls and bottom of the tank.

Fishers of men go out and bring them in…often with no more complicated a message than “Come and See Jesus.”

We need to become scattered and hopefully it will not require persecution to get us to do it.

Hopefully, it’s more like those churches that have signs in the parking lot facing the church. “Your mission field starts here.” Outside the church.

Given the amount of text as we pick up our pace in Acts, I won’t read the entire passage of Acts 8, but I would encourage you to do so during the week. In fact, one of the reasons why I list next week’s preaching passage in the bulletin is so that you can read ahead and learn even more by priming the pump, so to speak.

When we last left off with our apostles, Stephen was dead, having been stoned to death for his angel face and powerful argument. Saul who is the same guy as the Apostle Paul—back when he was the arch-enemy of the Church—gave his approval to the angel-faced man being stoned to death. And then this evil Saul went from door to door in his fanatical desire to destroy the Church. He punished.   He imprisoned. He gave his approval and cast votes to have them killed. He was like ISIS in his obsession with killing Christians. He was like ISIS before ISIS was ISIS.

And so the Church scattered.

And they preached the Gospel wherever they went. Philip is a case in point. In Acts 8:4-6, Philip ends up in Samaria, which was a very controversial place to proclaim Christ. The Samaritans were viewed as low-lifes by faithful Jews and they’d go miles out of their way to avoid walking through Samaritan territory because they were viewed as “that bad!” When Jesus is talking with a 5x married Samaritan woman at a well in the middle of the day and turns her into an evangelist, Jesus raises more than a few eyebrows. Ill-repute, female, and Samaritan—that’s 3 strikes against her, but she goes back to her town and says, John 4:29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” The Scriptures don’t say specifically that Philip was among the disciples in that story of John 4, but I wonder if Philip had been among those going into town to buy food and returned to see Jesus doing something controversial and the woman with her Come and see the Christ ministry prepared the way.

So when Philip is scattered, he goes to Samaria. Good enough for Jesus. Good enough for Philip and so he goes and proclaims the Christ. People believe. They pay close attention. They even see him doing miraculous signs and when they see the healing going on, there is great joy in the city.

Scattered Philip. Controversial Samaria. Proclaim the Christ. Healing and Joy abound!

Sometimes I get discouraged. I share the Good News a lot. I talk about Jesus and God never has given me the chance to pray with someone to receive Christ. I’m kind of like #24.

At one point a young preacher went into a jail to do ministry and there was a hardened criminal there. The young preacher shared the Gospel with him and when the criminal prayed to receive Christ as his Lord and Savior, he turned to the young man and said, “Don’t go getting a big head. You’re number 25.” There were 24 others before him who prepared the way ahead of him.

I’m chronically #22-24.

Oh how I wish I were 25…in so many ways!

But Philip is #25 a lot with his Come and See Ministry in Controversial Places.

If Samaria with its low-lifes is controversial Place #1, Place #2 is with spiritual evil. This is not something I would recommend for those who are new believers in Jesus or whose knowledge of the Scriptures is spotty at best. Spiritual evil is nothing to mess with.

Chalk me up to being a total kook, but I remember a time when we lived in MN I went to a lecture on Intelligent Design. It was actually a debate between someone who was a well-known atheist and a guy who was fairly well-known for articulating Intelligent Design. I walked in to the lecture hall and had a really weird feeling. Being in a place with that many God-haters was strange. I felt oppressed. Sorry to say the Intelligent Design guy came across as far less intelligent compared to the godless wonder. I went home and took a shower because it felt like evil got into my skin. When I went to sleep that night I woke up in the middle of the night gasping for air and screaming which of course freaked my husband out. I told him that I could feel in my nightmare that demons were shoving plastic wrappings down my throat to silence me and to suffocate me. I was unable to breathe which is why I screamed. Really weird. I know. To this day, I strongly believe that the demonic can be on or in people and things. And that we go wrong by either believing there’s a devil under every rock or by diminishing spiritual evil to mere fantasy.

Philip, as a longtime disciple of Jesus and very familiar with the Scriptures, encounters Simon the sorcerer in Samaria. Simon was a showman and people loved to see his magic. But when Philip comes in performing actual miracles and preaching Christ, Simon only sees competition. So he watches the crowds who used to follow Simon as the “Great Power” now following Philip preaching the Christ and he wants his crowds back. He feels like if he can only harness the power that Philip has by believing and being baptized, if only he can purchase it with money, then he’ll get his crowds back.

Philip is preaching and baptizing in controversial Samaria with powerful results and the disciples Peter and John come to verify what’s going on. Lots of good and evidence that the Great Commission from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria is happening, but then there’s Simon.

It doesn’t take long for Philip and Peter and John to recognize a phony baloney plastic banana when they see one. What was the tell-tale sign with Simon? How can we tell he did not have a pure heart or motive?

Verse 19. Acts 8:19 [Simon] said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

Wrong answer. You lose. Peter answers (v 20-23), “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”

Acts 8:24 Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”

Sorry. It needs to be Simon says. Peter praying isn’t going to do it. Simon, YOU need to repent. You need to pray. But Peter knows he’s too far gone. And we remember this story of Simon even if we never heard it by the existence of the word “simony” in our dictionary which refers to trying to buy forgiveness, benefits or religious office with money. And now you know!

Controversial Samaria. Controversial Simon. And now Philip is minding his own business, when he gets instruction. The spiritual realm not only contains evil, but praise God: It also contains good!! An angel of the Lord tells Philip “Go south…” And who does Philip see there? An official of the Ethiopians, an important official in charge of the treasury of Queen Candace. He was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah. Isn’t that what you’d do if you were sitting in your chariot?

Acts 8:27 b This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” 30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. 31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.”

This is a good point for a time out. They were not of the same race, of the same station in life, nor were they equally educated. The Ethiopian was the superior and privileged in every way…every way except one. Well, maybe two. We’re told the Ethiopian was a eunuch and Philip would go on to have daughters so maybe that’s a privilege Philip had. But the more important way in which the Ethiopian eunuch was missing something is that he didn’t know Jesus. And Philip did.

Notice that Philip didn’t make the opportunity happen.

He was just obedient to whatever God wanted him to do.

The angel says Go here and Philip goes. The Spirit says Go there and stay near the chariot and Philip goes. God doesn’t require that we make opportunities happen, pounding on the doors of total strangers and saying I’m here to tell you about Jesus. Slam! Door!

Where God calls, He has also prepared the way. The chariot was where it needed to be. The Ethiopian was reading about the Suffering Servant in Isaiah and was mulling over how it really didn’t compute. Philip had the key to understanding.

So Philip launches out of that and into a Come and See discussion and was clearly #25 and miraculously sees some water and at the suggestion of the Ethiopian, baptizes him.

And to conclude this bizarre story, Philip after coming up out of the water, Philip disappears. Poof! He vanishes. The Spirit of the Lord took Philip away only to have him show up at Azotus where he did more “Come and See” Ministry.

So what do I want you to take home from all this?

1. Be willing to associate with people not like yourself. Today’s prejudged low-life is tomorrow’s forgiven brother or sister in Christ. Sure, it can be frightening moving out of our comfort zones. Sure, we might feel like we have nothing in common with them, but your mission field starts at the end of Plymouth’s property line and the neighboring community needs your Come and See ministry as much as anyone else.  I’m sure I’m somebody’s lowlife and I’m glad the ground is level at the foot of the Cross.
2. Be careful when dealing with other religions and spiritual evils. It’s not for the novice or the faint-hearted. You can get yourself in a lot of trouble and spiritual danger. But if God allows you to come into contact with it, stick to the topic of Jesus and His Come and See Ministry and God will protect you. These people need Jesus too.
3. Be aware also of the dangers of money and the desire to let money influence what we do. In the eyes of the Lord, money is useful for us so long as we don’t let it change us our Come and See Jesus Ministry to come and see dollar $ign$.
4. We also need to be willing to let junior members like Philip be free to engage in new ways and controversial places of ministry even while senior members of spiritual maturity verify like Peter and John did. New ways aren’t automatically wrong. Churches that desire to remain in the 1700s will remain in the 1700s. New days require new means of reaching people in their own context. It’s like the Ethiopian needed context to understand. So do younger people who are the Church’s next generation. Without giving them a way of understanding and saying instead “No, you must come to the 1700s!” that church will never grow. We must follow the Spirit of God when He says “Go to the chariot and stay near.” Our worship services and our outreach must appeal first to visitors and our community and not demand that they come to our way of doing things.
5. And finally, a word about prejudice. Leave the judging to God. Unless your job is as a judge. In which case, listen first to learn…which is what good judges do. Listen to the facts before arriving at a judgment. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. 31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.” For all of us, take the time to learn from others without judging who they are or where they come from. Be willing to bring the Gospel to meet them where they are with all their life’s baggage. I have a difficult time with Christians who are their racial or economic identity first and Christian second. The blood of Christ is thicker than the blood of race or riches. To discriminate against someone because you believe they are more privileged than you or are less worthy than you are parallel evils. Leave the judging to God and just stick to the Come and See Jesus Ministry.

The world is filled with people who need to know Jesus. Some are in controversial places. Some are in our families and talking about Jesus with them is controversial and uncomfortable. Just remember that sometimes all we need to do is to say “Come and See” even when someone’s prejudice says, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” When we wonder if anything good can come out of going into Samaria? Or interacting with those practicing atheism and New Age religion? Or can anything good come out of talking to someone who is black or white or female or male or divorced or in prison or on drugs or homeless or in prostitution?

It’s remarkably simple: Come and See Jesus. And yes, come just as you are. Let’s pray.

Philip, one of the original twelve disciples of Jesus, has a controversial “Come and See” ministry.  He is scattered during the persecution recorded in Acts 8 and begins preaching in Samaria with powerful results.

The message “Philip’s Come and See Ministry” was first preached at Plymouth Congregational Church of Racine, WI on April 19, 2015 by Barbara Shafer.  Click this link to listen on YouTube.

Part of what I do in my life outside of Plymouth is to answer people’s Bible questions over email and through a web site called AllExperts. Oh, I get all kinds of questions. Dear Abby sorts of questions about relationships. Questions about what God thinks of homosexuality, tattoos, Christian hypocrisy, etc.

One of the more frequent questions I get is, “What is the unforgivable sin and did I just commit it?” Related to that one, I suppose, is “Can God ever forgive me for what I’ve done?”

Why would God ever forgive me knowing that I’ve done so much to slap Him in the face? And then there’s usually a parade of things that ought to make any Christian cringe and maybe that’s why some people write it out…just to get a reaction…especially with the public questions. But most, particularly the private ones, I think are really trying to find out if they’ve crossed some imaginary line between God being willing to save a wretch like me and Nope. No dice. Not even the blood of Christ can deal with that one. You crossed the line into unforgivable territory.

Let’s be clear: The Unforgivable Sin from Matthew 12:31-32 and Luke 12:10 ( “And everyone who will speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him”) isn’t that easy to commit. It takes a thoroughly depraved heart to commit this. Lots of people say bad things about Jesus and He says those can be forgiven. But blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (to say that the work of God is credited to Satan) means that there is no sacrifice left. If Satan did the work of salvation, there is nothing left since only the blood of Jesus covers sin. You deny God’s proof of Jesus’ perfect sacrifice—the coming of the Holy Spirit—and you’ve denied your only way. You’ve closed your only door. That’s why that sin of attributing God’s work to Satan is “unforgivable”.

To the questioners on AllExperts who are really worried, I spend a lot of time talking about the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice and haul out my list of people whom God loved and saved and even used for ministry in a powerful way.

• Adam. He was told “Don’t do this one thing” and what did Adam do? He did the one thing and started all humanity on a crash course to hell. It’s because of Adam that all men die. But then again, it’s from sinner Adam that perfect Jesus came to redeem us.
• Abraham. He was hand-picked by God to be the great patriarch and he was given the wonderful covenant promises of a chosen people. But he was willing to lie to Pharaoh and deep-six him, simultaneously selling out his wife as just his sister… out of fear for his own life. Patriarch lies and sells out Matriarch. Hmmmm.
• Moses. He was a murderer and a coward and told God to make someone else do it. He rebelled a lot, made God so angry that God was going to bump him off until his wife Zipporah made Moses a “bridegroom of blood” by circumcising her son and throwing the foreskin on Moses’ feet. Yikes. Whatever. The Bible’s got some weird stuff in it. Anyway, God was going to kill Moses and then relented and did what? Made him the deliverer out of Egypt and the receiver of the Ten Commandments inscribed by the finger of God. Moses is called God’s friend and spoke with God face-to-face. A big turnaround for Moses!
• David. King David. After God selects him to be king out of nowhere and gives him a wonderful life, David wants more. So he broke half of the 10 commandments including coveting, adultery, and murder. Yet he was later called a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22).
• The Apostle Peter. He was a lyin-three-times-denyin’ braggart turned coward whom Jesus restored to leadership and the one who would carry the Church into its new beginning as Jesus’ hand-picked leader of the disciples.

Then there’s Saul. Today’s Saul. In his own self-assessment, later on in life he writes, 1 Timothy 1:15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners– of whom I am the worst.

Saul. There are few people in Christendom who are held in higher Christian regard than the Apostle Paul (the Roman citizen with the Greek name Paul) whose Jewish given name was Saul, the same person who identifies himself as the worst of sinners.

Saul exemplifies for us what is the answer to “Can God ever forgive me for what I’ve done?” Saul, Paul, worst of sinners knows that the answer is YES! Praise God, Yes! God is supremely forgiving!

To give Saul some context, let’s read what the Scriptures say and then let’s apply it today with a few principles and responses. We left off with Stephen saying

Acts 7:56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.”

Today in our continuing adventure of the Acts of the Holy Spirit and the Apostles, Stephen is dead, stoned to death by the Sanhedrin while the false accusers laid their clothes at the feet of Saul. Luke, the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts introduces the principal character of the remaining chapters. Luke introduces him as a killer and a persecutor. Because that’s who Saul was.

Acts 8:1 And Saul was there, giving approval to his death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2 Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3 But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison. 4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.

Remember how Jesus said that the disciples would be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth? It’ starting.

Remember our old cycle: Pure Church, Powerful Church, Growing Church, Persecuted Church? It’s continuing. With Saul.

I’d like for you to view Saul, for a moment as being like Jihadi John, the terrorist who beheaded the journalist James Foley. Or like one of the terrorists who beheaded the Coptic Christians in Libya. Saul not only approved of Stephen’s death, but he began a systematic persecution of every Christian he could find. (Not at all unlike what we see with ISIS today!)

• For some, the persecution would be captivity like those Japanese hostages held by ISIS before their murders or the Christian school girls like with Boko Haram a full year ago now!
• For some the persecution would involve being driven from their homes and scattered from their homeland like what we have recently seen with the Nazarenes, the Iraqi Christians and even the Yazidis (who are not Christians at all!)
• And for others it would be death by stoning. We don’t see that in this passage per se, but later on, as the Apostle Paul is describing his life, he says Acts 22:4 I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, 5 as also the high priest and all the Council can testify. I even obtained letters from them to their brothers in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.
• And Paul also says this about himself. Acts 26:10 And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. 11 Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. In my obsession against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.
• And yet, Paul later on says 1 Timothy 1:13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.

Could God ever save someone who had persecuted Christians and put them to death?

Yes. And then God could make him the most powerful evangelist to walk the planet, send him to the entire Gentile world, and have him write 13 epistles comprising nearly half of our New Testament and appearing as a major character in Acts and writings of the other apostles.

Could God ever save someone who had done a whole bunch of awful things? Yes. And furthermore, it’s why Jesus came.

Let’s take a look back at our first encounter with Saul and notice a few things. Principles and Responses

Acts 8:1 And Saul was there, giving approval to his death.

• Principle 1: People who don’t know Jesus cannot be expected to live like those who are redeemed.
• Response: Our response to them needs to be prayer and grace even while we cling tightly to our faith.

On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem,

• Principle 2: Since its inception, the Church has always been persecuted.
• Response: Expect suffering and pray for the persecuted Church.  Even better, this week think of someone you hate.  And pray for them.  Every day!

and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.

• Principle 3: God uses suffering for His purposes, even to spread the Gospel
• Response: Trust in Him

2 Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him.

• Principle 4: It’s OK to mourn our losses and it’s not a lack of faith when we do.
• Response to losing pillars of faith: Mourn but don’t worship them. I’m convinced that’s why we don’t have Stephens’ bones or Moses’ bones or Abraham’s. The temptation is always to make a shrine out of them. Mourn but don’t worship them.

3 But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.

• Principle 5: Destroying the church on earth doesn’t destroy the Church in the spiritual realm.
• Response: Press on! In spite of persecution and intimidation, stand up for Jesus! God’s Kingdom continues to advance and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it.

4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.

• Principle 6: Scattering is actually beneficial in God’s economy.
• Response: You’re not too tiny to make a difference. The work of God is not done in the huddle of the Church, it’s done on the field as we each defend and advance, run plays and score big. Yes we’re a team…but a team of individuals.

No one is beyond recovery until that final moment. Saul could tell you that.

As the Church was watching and fearing Saul, the great persecutor of the Church, they had no idea they were witnessing the formation of a brilliant theological scholar, a missionary even more zealous for Jesus than he had been against the Church, and a heart thoroughly broken because he knew how awful he was.

May we be quick to recognize our own sins and be thankful as Paul was when he wrote:

1 Timothy 1:12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. 13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners– of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.

The Apostle Paul known as one of the most admired Christians and the foremost apologist, evangelist, and missionary for the Christian faith didn’t start out that way.  Today, meet Saul (going by his circumcision Jewish name instead of by his Greek name.)  Back then, he was the foremost persecutor of the Church.  Get to know him in this way and understand better how completely transformed and broken he’d become on a road to Damascus when he meets the Risen Lord.

(This message was first preached by Barbara Shafer at Plymouth Congregational Church of Racine, WI on April 12, 2015.)

Easter Message 2015: The Emptiness That Does Not Disappoint

Something empty often brings a sense of disappointment.

• Bite off the head of the chocolate bunny and find it’s hollow, not solid. Bummer.
• Play Monopoly at the Jewel Food Stores and get a game code to check online. Log in. Enter your password. Carefully enter the code number. Sorry this is not a winning code. Bummer.
• Get a package in the mail with no return address of note. Get excited! Open it up. Nothing but a fake key and a piece of paper telling you that some company will give you top dollar for your car. You like your car. You’re not going to sell your car.
• Publisher’s Clearinghouse. You could be a winner! Or not.
• Go to the garden center and buy a flat of impatiens only to find out that 1 out of every 4 pods is just dirt. Bummer!

The empty tomb that Easter morning didn’t bring a sense of disappointment. It was far too confusing and alarming to be disappointing. That sense of alarm and confusion would persist as each disciple dealt with his or her feelings about what was going on.

If you were to read the parallel account to our Scripture reading this morning, the one found in John 20:1-18, you’d find Mary Magdalene, Peter and John. They’d all have different reactions to the empty tomb.

John 20:1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” 3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes,11 but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. 15 “Woman,” he said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'” 18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

Reactions?

• Mary Magdalene wept and told “the gardener” that she’ll go and carry Jesus’ body back herself and put it back in the empty tomb if he’d only tell her where he’d put Jesus. But Jesus shows her that He’s very much alive. No need to put Him back in the place of the dead.
• Peter looks in, goes in, and concludes the tomb was empty. No body. Grave clothes folded up. No need to investigate further. He didn’t understand.
• John, the beloved disciple, looks in. Then after Peter goes in, John enters in and believes that it’s empty. He still didn’t understand what Jesus had been talking about. Rise from the dead? What’s that?
• The guards knew that it was empty and they were afraid for their lives.
• The Jewish leaders heard that it was empty…and they were angry…

…which brings us to our preaching passage this morning from Acts 7:54-56 which for those of us who make Plymouth our home church, we know that we’ve been slogging our way through the Acts of the Holy Spirit and the Apostles for quite a while. Some of you may be thinking,

Aren’t you going to give it a rest, even on Easter? Come’on!

To those of you wondering that, I would assert No, I’m not going to give it a rest because it tells the rest of the Easter story. I’m kind of like Paul Harvey today. Telling you the rest of the story.

Because the Easter story doesn’t end with simple emptiness and a total mystery.

When we last left off with Stephen, the first martyr of the Church, he was defending himself against false accusations by religious leaders who hated Jesus and hate those who follow Jesus. One of those hated people who took Jesus at His Word was Stephen and Stephen’s outcome parallels in human ways that of Jesus who was the Son of God in addition to the Son of Man.

For those of you who know that the Easter story began with Jesus’ birth, His 3 year ministry, continued with the persecution and Crucifixion of Jesus Christ, He was buried in a tomb which was sealed with a great big stone, and then suddenly he’s vanished. (Just as He said, if only they’d understood back then).

According to KosherTorah.com the writer Rabbi Ariel Bar Tzadok describes the power of the spoken word,

Do not underestimate your own power of speech. I do not have to challenge you to remember the last time you said something to someone that either elevated him or her or put them down. Indeed, our speech creates many things. It can create joy or it can create anger. What we say can start a war or avoid one. Speech and words, whether in spoken or written form are the most powerful weapons in the world. Indeed, even the magical word “Abracadabra” reveals this lesson. Unknown to most the word “Abracadabra” is actually a Hebrew phrase, which means “I create (A’bra) what (ca) I speak (dab’ra).” In light of all this mysticism, we understand now very well why the words we speak have tremendous power. Therefore, when we say that we will do something, our words are creating that reality. When, we therefore, do not keep our word; we are in essence destroying a part of creation. This is a horrible spiritual crime.

Reasons enough to be careful with our speech. But when you think of the power of the spoken word as a created reality and moreover, the spoken Word of God as a CREATING reality, there is the power of God that was well beyond anything magical or mystical. Jesus said He’d rise and He did. Of course, Jesus said a lot of other great things too, and we’d be wise to listen to and follow them all! Stephen did.

So when Stephen crowns his defense with the truth from Scripture: Acts 7:52 Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him– 53 you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it.” 54 When [the religious leaders- they] heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.

That is, Stephen died.

He was stoned to death… the first martyr of the Church and a powerful apologist for the Christian faith. His words echoed the created reality of Jesus’ powerful final words. “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46).  Father, forgive them for they don’t know what they’re doing (Luke 23:34).  Stephen’s last words  “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”  Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” are a human echo of those divine last words from the lips of our Savior, our Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, who is the Christ. And after speaking this reality of the Son of Man standing in heaven, Stephen died.

So here’s the rest of the story! How did Jesus get up there?

How could Stephen look up and see the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God?

Because Jesus wasn’t still in the tomb! The tomb was empty. He had to be somewhere. And far from being a disappointment, this was the glory of God on display. There was nothing to see in the tomb but some grave clothes. The physical reality was empty tomb. The spiritual reality was complete and full. Jesus is the Christ. He is Risen. He is Risen indeed!

• In a day and age in which Christians shrink from speaking publicly about their faith in Jesus Christ out of very real fear…
• In a day and age in which Christians are persecuted in ways from economic and legislative bullying to being executed by stoning, gunfire, being burned alive and physical beheadings, even as recently as at the university in Kenya where Christians were murdered because they are Christians…
• In a day and age known for its empty lifestyle bereft, devoid, emptied of all morality…
• In a day and age of hopeless co-pilots crashing planes into mountainsides taking innocent passengers to their deaths because misery loves company and a secular world is shocked at the emptiness of conscience…
• In a day and age in which words have NO meaning, truth has NO home, we’re told everything is relative and what’s true for me and what’s true for you is a matter of personal choice…
• In a day and age known for a rotting, cancerous, core of dishonesty, falsehood, tons of clutter to disguise the lies being told, and we have a bunch of willing accomplice media cheerleaders for the devil who says God doesn’t exist and no one should point a finger of judgment or some Bible at you and ruin your good time…

In a day and age of all that, what do Christians have?

We have an empty tomb and a spoken reality. He is Risen.

We have the emptiness that does not disappoint!

He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

We have the Word of God proven true. We have an empty tomb and a full heaven. Full because He is alive! We have the true Word of God spoken from the lips of Christ and all the prophets before Him to tell us that God Himself created a way for us to return to Him. So that we could be born again, not in the pattern of this world with its physical imperfections and lies of self-salvation, earning our way to heaven by being good people in our own eyes with our lie of relative truth and flimsy self-standards of morality. No!

We could be born again in the pattern of holiness, in the spiritual realm where truth lives on. Truth lives on! He rose from the dead! Truth. Lives. On. The tomb may be empty but heaven is full. Jesus is alive and Stephen saw it as sure as anything. The Son of Man was standing there at the right hand of the Father in heaven! We have the emptiness that does not disappoint and the fact we can count on is this: because God spoke the Resurrection and brought it about by His power, it gives us confidence to speak up about Jesus, to live by His pattern of love and grace, to live in light of the Last Day of Judgment, and to know eternal life in Him.

This emptiness does not disappoint because if Jesus rose from the dead (and He did) as believers upon His Name, we will someday rise too! His created reality works on our behalf. So, like Stephen, we can be bold witnesses, filled with the Holy Spirit whom Jesus promised and whom God faithfully sent to be His ongoing presence with all genuine and true believers in Christ’s redemptive work on the Cross and His powerful resurrection. And now I would like to close in prayer.

God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

…First, that if anyone does not know Jesus as both Lord and Savior, today would be the day they see beyond the empty tomb to the fullness of heaven because Jesus rose from the dead and offers eternal life to all who believe in His death for their sakes as payment for their sins. Lord God, please hear our prayer.

…that You, O God, would make us bold to tell people we know about Jesus. The days are fewer in number and time is of the essence! Lord God, please hear our prayer.

…that You, O God, would remind us that Truth matters because Truth is a person: Jesus is the Way the Truh and the Life and no one comes to the Father apart from Him

…that You, O God, would convince us that words have power and words have meaning. That You created this world out of nothing by simply speaking everything into being. That You have power to create and kill and destroy and to throw in hell. That’s what Your Word says. And Your Word is true. But that You also made a way by Your grace because You love us and are patient with us, not wanting anyone to perish but for all people to come to repentance and a saving knowledge of the true words of Christ. Lord God, please hear our prayer.

…that You, O God, would help us to speak up and speak out to a culture that worships empty things…things of man, things of government, things of politics…and to show them by the graceful words we speak that we desire for them to know the fullness of joy in Christ in place of the empty things of this world. They would know the emptiness that does not disappoint—the empty tomb and a full heaven—in place of the empty things that cannot save! …that You, O God would give us words to speak, creating that reality of hope to a world desperately in need of it and trying to find it in empty places.

…that You, O God would continually show us the empty tomb and the Son of Man at the right hand of the Father in heaven and to know as Stephen did, Jesus Christ, the glory of His Resurrection, the meaning of salvation in Him, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the hope eternal—a hope that does not disappoint—because He is Risen. He is Risen indeed. Amen!

The Easter message “The Emptiness That Does Not Disappoint” was first preached at Plymouth Congregational Church of Racine, WI on April 5, 2015 by Barbara Shafer.  Listen on YouTube by clicking this link.

Sermon text versions of messages are also available on SeminaryGal.com in the chapel sermon archives.