The women at the tomb were surprised by Easter. Amazed and filled with wonder at Jesus' Easter eucatastrophe. And so are we.
Every once in a while, you come across a good movie or film with a great plot twist or a surprise ending. Like the ending of Planet of the Apes when Charlton Heston falls on a sandy beach, a collapsed Statue of Liberty in front of him. Or when Luke Skywalker finds out Darth Vader is his father. Or when you get to the end of the Lego Movie and find out the whole thing has been taking place in a young boy's imagination.
Jesus' resurrection from the dead is that kind of story as well. It's the story of a surprise ending we – and the women at the tomb and the disciples – didn't see coming. It's the greatest of all plot twists, a plot twist of grace and joy that sounds too good to be true. It sounds crazy. We all know dead men tell no tales except on Easter when Christ the firstborn of the dead walks out of his tomb and gives the best surprise ending of them all.
Jesus' Easter eucatastrophe sounds too good to be true, yet it is. Because here's the thing about this story. It isn't science fiction or fantasy, and it didn't take place in a galaxy far, far away. But in Jerusalem, nearly 2,000 years ago, with eyewitnesses who saw Jesus crucified, dead, and buried on a Friday afternoon. This story happened in real human history for real people like you and me. A real death on a real cross for real sinners with real sin. A real burial in a real tomb for us all. And…spoiler alert. His tomb is empty. The stone is rolled away. Christ is risen.
And yet, this shouldn't have been a surprise. Jesus had told his disciples many times exactly what he was going to do. Like Babe Ruth calling his home run with an outstretched bat, Jesus told them he was going to be betrayed, handed over to the religious authorities, mocked and shamefully treated, then crucified, dead, and buried and on the third day rise again.
And yet, the women came on that first day of the week, at early dawn, to the tomb, taking spices they had prepared to finish Jesus' burial from Good Friday. And yet, the disciples, when they heard the women tell them the unexpected, joyous good news, thought it was an idle tale, a nonsense story, something too good to be true.
They had forgotten that when it comes to God's saving work, he is the king of the gracious and the unexpected endings. He is the author of more plot twists than any New York Times best-seller. He has pulled off more surprise endings than anyone in history.
This is the God who gave Abraham and Sarah the unexpected, promised son Isaac when they were old and barren. And now the Seed of Abraham has sprung forth with new life from the barren wasteland of the grave.
This is the God who led his people, Israel, with the abyss in front of them and Pharaoh's hordes behind them, through the Red Sea on dry ground. And now this God in human flesh has made a greater exodus through death and out alive again three days later.
This is the God who swallowed up his prophet Jonah only to spit him out again on a beach three days later. And now the Greater Jonah has swallowed up death by his death, and the earth has spit him out again in resurrected glory.
And today, the God of Abraham, Isaac, Moses, Jacob, and Jonah, reveals that he is still the God of surprise endings and plot twists of grace for you.
What did the women find when they came to Jesus' tomb that first Easter morning? Something unexpected. A surprise ending they didn't see coming. They expected to find the body of Jesus. But instead. They found the stone rolled away. And when they went into the tomb, they did not find the body of Jesus. They witnessed the greatest surprise ending in all of history. They heard the announcement of the plot twist to top all the plot twists that had come before and would come after. They heard the unexpected yet gracious and joyous good news.
"Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise" (Luke 24:6-7).
The women at the tomb were surprised by Easter. Amazed and filled with wonder at Jesus' Easter eucatastrophe. And so are we. In the greatest plot twist in the greatest story of all, we are not merely readers or bystanders. Because Jesus died and rose and walked out of the tomb, we are drawn into this surprise ending. This tale, as old as the tomb of Jesus, is for you. Jesus' cross is for you. Jesus' resurrection is for you. The Good Friday cry of victory, "It is finished," is for you. And the joyous, unexpected, good news of Easter Sunday is for you, too. Christ is risen!
Because of Jesus' death and resurrection, the story of our lives also ends with a plot twist of God's grace. The story of your life doesn't end in the grave. That's only a resting place. Until that great and joyous day when Christ returns – as he promises – and calls out our name as he did for Lazarus and Jairus' daughter and Ezekiel's valley of dry bones. And then the angel will sound the trumpet on yet another surprise ending, the resurrection of all flesh. Your resurrection in the body. Out of the grave and into the new heavens and the new earth. Out of this story of fallen and broken things and death and tears and into a never-ending story in the presence of our crucified and risen Lord. A story and kingdom and feast that has no end…and which goes on forever. In which every chapter is better than the one before.
