MPC, 31st March 2002.John 16:16-22; 20:1-31 - "Paradigm Shift"
Phil Campbell MPC, 31st March 2002.
Have you ever had a PARADIGM SHIFT? A TOTAL CHANGE in perspective on something? An about turn in the way you've looked at life?
There's a book by Joel Baker called PARADIGM PRINCIPLES; it's for people in business. It's about the importance of recognising the need to CHANGE PARADIGMS. To switch to a new perspective. And to illustrate the point he tells a story. Which I'll reconstruct as best I can.
There's a businessman with a holiday house in the country. Along a long and winding road. It sits there through the week, and every weekend he drives there in his stately Mercedes. It's a long road, with lots of turns. But he knows it well. Knows every bend. Every tree. Because he's driven it so often.
And so as he drives there for his Easter weekend, he gets the shock of his life when around the bend up ahead of him comes a Porsche, sliding sideways on the road. The driver struggling to get control. Fishtails to the left and to the right. And he's thinking THIS IS GOING TO BE THE END OF ME. Because the Porsche seems to be heading right for him on the wrong side of the road.
As he hits the brakes the driver of the Porsche veers back to the right side of the road in the nick of time. It's a convertible. He sees the driver is a beautiful woman with flowing black hair. And as she sweeps past she yells at him at the top of her voice, she yells PIG! PIG!
Now that's not fair, he says to himself. Of all the nerve. Here she is on MY ROAD, here she is careening all over the place, here she is nearly wiping me out and she's got the hide to call me a PIG?
At which moment he sweeps around the bend that he knows so well… and smashes full speed into the PIG that's standing in the middle of the road.
Now there's an example of someone who NEEDED a paradigm shift. Who needed to see things in a whole different way.
And didn't. Who had all the information he needed. But had pieced it together completely the wrong way. For starters, he thought he knew everything that mattered. Every tree and every turn. But he didn't know the UNEXPECTED. As well as that the car swerving round the corner, he assumed was just a lunatic driver. But it was someone SWERVING TO AVOID THE PIG. And third, when he heard the warning, he took it as an insult instead. To make sense of what was going on, he needed a paradigm shift. A whole new perspective.
As it was with the disciples of Jesus on the first Easter Sunday.
Interesting, if you read ANY of the gospel accounts, the disciples come out looking pretty ordinary. Which is sort of curious… or at least very honest… when you realise it's the DISCIPLES who wrote the gospels down. And passed them on. In ALL THE GOSPELS, the disciples just can't figure out what Jesus is talking about, when he warns them beforehand that he's going to Jerusalem to DIE. And then he'll RISE AGAIN.
In John's gospel it's a bit more subtle. But if you have a look at John chapter 16 from verse 16, you'll see what I mean. Jesus says to them, "In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me."
Which is I guess a little bit vague. In a little while… YOU'LL SEE ME NO MORE. And then after a little while… YOU WILL SEE ME.
I mean, what on earth's he on about? And they're confused. Some of his disciples say to one another, verse 17, WHAT DOES HE MEAN? "What does he mean by saying, 'In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,' and 'Because I am going to the Father'?" They kept asking, "What does he mean by 'a little while'? We don't understand what he is saying."
Let's be honest. They're CLUELESS. And if it wasn't for the benefits of 20/20 hindsight I guess we'd be CLUELESS too. Not going to see me, going to see me. What, he going on a HOLIDAY or something? A Cruise? You won't see me, you will see me.
Now Jesus can see they're missing the point. So he says to them, "Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, 'In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me'?" TOO RIGHT WE ARE.
20I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. 21A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. 22So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.
Now I don't know about you. But I think there's every possibility the disciples are just as much in the dark by the time he's said that as they were before. He's talking in riddles. A woman giving birth to a child has pain; but when her baby is born she forgets the pain because of her joy. I mean, we know that. And it's AMAZING too isn't it. I know when Louise had Nathan, midway through the labour she was saying NEVER AGAIN. And then five minutes after he was born she was saying THAT WASN'T TOO BAD. Then when you get teenagers it's back to NEVER AGAIN.
But the point is, WHAT'S JESUS TALKING ABOUT? Going for a while, coming back, time to MOURN, then TIME TO CELEBRATE?
In a sense the disciples have got everything they need to make sense of the first Easter Sunday. But it just hasn't clicked.
And so when you come to the first Easter Sunday morning; the disciples confused and frightened and disillusioned by the crucifixion on Friday; when you've got Mary Magdalene coming to the tomb in the pre-dawn darkness and just able to make out the rock's been ROLLED AWAY from the entrance, it's no surprise she jumps to exactly the wrong conclusion.
Turn over to John chapter 20 with me. A few pages; maybe a few weeks after what Jesus has said in chapter 16. And verse 2, after she's found the stone moved from the front of the tomb, she comes racing back to Peter and John, and she says to them, "THEY'VE TAKEN THE LORD OUT OF THE TOMB… and we don't know where they've put him!"
Peter and John head for the cave. Verse 5, John - who as the writer follows the custom here of not mentioning himself by name – he calls himself THE OTHER DISCIPLE – he says "the OTHER DISCIPLE outruns Peter and gets to the tomb first." And verse 5, he bends over and looks in at the strips of linen, the burial cloths lying there… but doesn't go in. But Peter, when he catches up, is in like a flash. Into the tomb, sees the linen strips. As well as the burial cloth from around the head. But NO BODY.
Now has the penny dropped yet? I'm going away for a while. FRIDAY. But after a short while YOU'LL SEE ME AGAIN. Sunday. A woman in labour is in ANGUISH. Friday. But when the NEW LIFE arrives, there's JOY. Sunday.
Funny, we're told the first disciple then comes in, and he sees. And at the end of verse 8 he BELIEVES. Just not quite sure WHAT he's believing at this point. Because verse 9 makes it clear. They still didn't understand. They still didn't understand from Scripture that Jesus had to RISE FROM THE DEAD.
They know something big has happened. The Porsche has come careening round the corner. But they don't get it. They're still in the dark. And so Peter and John go home for breakfast. Leaving Mary standing outside the tomb with the tears streaming down her face. And verse 11 says, as she's weeping she bends down to look in the tomb again, and there are two angels there, in white. Sitting where the body had been. And they ask her, WOMAN, WHY ARE YOU CRYING?
Now can I remind you again of something Jesus said back in chapter 16? Because this is a cue. Jesus said, in a little while you'll see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me. He said, I tell you the truth, YOU WILL WEEP AND MOURN while the world rejoices. YOU WILL GRIEVE… BUT YOUR GRIEF WILL TURN TO JOY.
And she'd be thinking what is there to be JOYFUL ABOUT. I mean, they KILLED JESUS on the FRIDAY, now they've STOLEN HIS BODY on the Sunday. Every reason to be GRIEVING. Why not? "They've taken my Lord away," she says to the angels; and I don't know where they've put him.
At which point she turns around, and sees through her tears in the dawn light the figure of a man. And she doesn't realise it's Jesus. Who asks her exactly the same question as the angels.
Woman, why are you crying? Because, you see, this is EXACTLY WHAT JESUS HAD BEEN TALKING ABOUT. For a little while you WON'T SEE ME. Then you will. For a LITTLE WHILE it's time for grieving. BUT THEN IT'S TIME TO CELEBRATE.
But Mary thinks she's talking to the Gardener. I mean, it can't be Jesus she's talking to because JESUS IS DEAD. She says, "SIR, If you've carried him away, tell me where you've put him and I will get him." Give me back the body. So I can get on with anointing him like I was going to.
Can you see, right up to this point the penny hasn't dropped. Until Jesus says her name. In what I guess is a very familiar tone. Verse 16. "Mary."
And for the first time she turns fully around. Turns toward him and cries out in Aramaic, TEACHER. And tries to wrap herself around him.
Now there's a PARADIGM SHIFT. Because for Mary I guess everything she ever assumed about LIFE AND DEATH was suddenly turned upside down. I mean, imagine you're watching Dudley Moore interviewed on TV tonight. And they try to say it's a LIVE INTERVIEW. You'd say you've got ROCKS IN YOUR HEAD. Dudley Moore DIED THREE DAYS AGO. I saw it on the news. Bump into him in the street, you'd say, gee, that's amazing, that guy looks JUST LIKE DUDLEY MOORE. The last thing you'd think is it's actually HIM.
Mary Magdalene's VIEW OF THE WORLD has just been totally turned upside down. In the same way EVERYONE ELSE'S is about to be. Who meets the RISEN JESUS.
That same night, it's the disciples. In a locked room for fear of the Jews… when suddenly Jesus is there with them. Showing them his hands and his side. Where the nails were. And the spear went in.
And they've finally GOT IT. You won't see me for a while. And that's the time for tears. Then you'll SEE ME AGAIN. Which is the time for JOY THAT NOBODY CAN EVER TAKE AWAY.
Verse 20, John says, the disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. And he commissions them – he says, as the Father sent me… now I'm sending YOU.
Commissioned to spread the news. To preach the forgiveness of sins. To tell the world about the RESURRECTION OF JESUS. To go out and turn old paradigms upside down. Of what life is. What death is. Of what's REALLY REAL.
The end of the chapter we've been looking at, John says this. Verse 30. "Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. There were too many to write down. BUT THESE ARE WRITTEN, says John, so that you MAY BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS THE CHRIST… and that by believing, YOU MAY HAVE LIFE in his name."
Now there's another paradigm shift, isn't there? Maybe one you need to come to terms with. That somehow by believing that Jesus is THE CHRIST, the KING… that somehow that includes YOU… in the sort of LIFE that goes beyond DEATH.
There's lots of DEATH around, isn't there? And lots of people these days seem to be saying LIFE isn't really worth living. Like the sad story of Nancy Crick down at the Gold Coast. She's battling cancer and she says she wants the RIGHT TO DIE. Whenever she wants. So we should legalise euthanasia. And people are saying, yeah, why not? And teenagers – killing themselves at rates like never before. Because they can't see that life's worth much.
Or those SUICIDE BOMBERS, who strap on explosives and blow themselves up in crowded restaurants in Israel.
Can I say as you ponder on issues of life and death, there's almost a warning here. And you need to listen to the expert who can put things in their right perspective. Because maybe if we ask the right questions of the right person, there's a SHIFT OF PURPOSE. Even in our suffering.
And out of the resurrection of Jesus there are all sorts of implications. That the rest of the New Testament teases out. That we Christians don't GRIEVE as others grieve who have NO HOPE. Because we have a REAL HOPE.
That we Christians don't live without PURPOSE or chase after WORTHLESS THINGS. Because we have an ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE. And that if you haven't come to terms with Jesus in this life, euthanasia might not be the quick fix it looks like. And a suicide bombing might not be the passport to glory that those young Palestinians think it is.
Because in the end there's only ONE EXPERT… on life and death issues. And that's the dead and risen Jesus Christ. And we all need a paradigm shift… a shift of LOYALTY … to him. A shift of VALUES. To his. A shift of PERSPECTIVE. Like Mary Magdalene. And those first disciples. Whose grief turned to joy on that first Easter Sunday… in a most unexpected way.