3.27.16 Easter Youth Sermon

Whom do you Seek?

John 18:3-8
3 So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons.4 Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” 5 They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.”[a] Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.6 When Jesus[b] said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.7 So he asked them again, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” 8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.”

John 20:11-16
11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her,“Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic,[b] “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).

Like children on an easter egg hunt, we are forever on a hunt for "something" that will make us happy. It doesn't matter what is in the egg, all that matters is that everyone else is doing it. So when Jesus asks us, "Whom are you seeking", suddenly everyone stops dead in their tracks because we discover that we don't actually know what we're searching for.

The soldiers were looking for a criminal, Mary, a corpse. But the resurrection of Jesus Christ shows us that what we have really been looking for is a powerful savior who has defeated death. But it is only when we hear Jesus calling us out by name that this power and wonder is directed toward us, and suddenly the message becomes deeply personal, and even transformational.

Whom are you seeking? More importantly yet, has Jesus found you and called you by name?