WEBVTT 00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:04.000 Well, again, let me welcome all of you who are here joining us. 00:00:04.120 --> 00:00:05.639 Happy Easter to you all. 00:00:07.160 --> 00:00:10.839 A lot of people I know in my life have FOMO. 00:00:11.200 --> 00:00:12.320 It's a major issue for them. 00:00:13.339 --> 00:00:14.540 Fear of missing out. 00:00:15.439 --> 00:00:19.620 They constantly have anxiety that amazing, cool, fun, 00:00:20.120 --> 00:00:22.219 momentous things are happening, and they're not a part of it. 00:00:22.400 --> 00:00:25.580 So they're wired to sort of be where the action is. 00:00:25.640 --> 00:00:28.679 They always want to know the news when it first comes out. 00:00:28.679 --> 00:00:31.920 They always want to be the first to arrive. 00:00:32.579 --> 00:00:34.519 And I've just never identified with that. 00:00:35.340 --> 00:00:36.820 My struggle is not FOMO. 00:00:36.939 --> 00:00:39.719 I'm more of a ROMO kind of person. 00:00:40.140 --> 00:00:42.259 I have relief of missing out. 00:00:42.960 --> 00:00:48.260 And I don't know if anybody else is like me, but in this kind of fast-paced, yeah. 00:00:48.439 --> 00:00:50.879 Who is a ROMO person, okay? 00:00:52.159 --> 00:00:53.600 Here's to the ROMO people. 00:00:53.600 --> 00:00:59.120 Listen, I'm the kind of person who I kind of secretly hope the COVID test is positive. 00:01:02.859 --> 00:01:08.200 I'm the kind of person who when the plans fall through, you know, I might have been looking forward to them. 00:01:08.460 --> 00:01:13.579 But when I find out that we have to cancel last minute and that I am doomed to an evening of locking the door, 00:01:13.659 --> 00:01:16.020 putting on my most comfortable clothes, and watching a movie, 00:01:16.019 --> 00:01:19.299 I'm like as giddy as a child on Christmas morning. 00:01:20.579 --> 00:01:24.840 And because we live in this fast-paced, high-intensity culture, 00:01:25.340 --> 00:01:28.099 where we are hyper-connected all around the world, 00:01:28.619 --> 00:01:32.719 we are always aware of everything that is happening all the time the minute it happens. 00:01:33.099 --> 00:01:34.879 And so it can be nice to disconnect 00:01:34.879 --> 00:01:39.140 and to not know right away when the big thing happens. 00:01:39.140 --> 00:01:45.659 Now, all of that being the case, I think we can all agree that there are some things, 00:01:45.799 --> 00:01:49.760 some events that when they happen, no matter what your wiring is, 00:01:49.799 --> 00:01:54.280 if you're a FOMO person or a ROMO person, everybody would want to be there. 00:01:55.120 --> 00:01:59.000 And of course, the top of the list of those kinds of events would be 00:01:59.000 --> 00:02:04.260 the resurrection of Jesus Christ on that first Easter. 00:02:04.260 --> 00:02:09.640 Because the resurrection is potentially the single most… 00:02:09.640 --> 00:02:10.340 There you go. 00:02:10.599 --> 00:02:14.620 The single most important event in human history, right? 00:02:14.680 --> 00:02:17.500 It's the determining factor of everything else. 00:02:17.800 --> 00:02:20.640 If the resurrection didn't actually happen, 00:02:21.819 --> 00:02:23.939 then as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, 00:02:24.060 --> 00:02:27.400 the entire Christian faith is empty and pointless. 00:02:28.740 --> 00:02:32.379 No amount of memorializing or turning it into a metaphor 00:02:32.379 --> 00:02:34.859 would really change that. 00:02:35.579 --> 00:02:38.539 If it didn't happen, there's no point to any of what we're doing this morning. 00:02:39.560 --> 00:02:41.139 However, if it did happen, 00:02:42.620 --> 00:02:48.419 if someone actually went into the tomb and then came out of the tomb, 00:02:49.460 --> 00:02:53.000 then this is the single most important event in history. 00:02:53.139 --> 00:02:55.139 And what it means is that it's all true. 00:02:55.979 --> 00:02:58.919 That everything that Jesus said is true. 00:02:58.919 --> 00:03:05.239 It means that God has actually put in motion a plan to save and restore all people 00:03:05.239 --> 00:03:09.719 and to bring all of us into a new creation existence. 00:03:10.099 --> 00:03:13.619 In that case, it means that the whole world needs to know about Jesus. 00:03:14.899 --> 00:03:17.199 And so, if they ever invent time travel, 00:03:17.299 --> 00:03:21.159 like if there's a version of the iPhone that comes out with personal time travel feature, 00:03:21.739 --> 00:03:24.719 that's the first place that we should all go. 00:03:24.939 --> 00:03:26.439 It's the most important event. 00:03:26.439 --> 00:03:29.879 Even though we weren't there, 00:03:30.500 --> 00:03:32.479 and I've long wished I could have been there, 00:03:33.199 --> 00:03:35.979 even though none of us in this room were able to be there, 00:03:36.840 --> 00:03:40.659 God did actually bestow that honor on someone. 00:03:41.659 --> 00:03:43.539 In all of history, God said, 00:03:44.500 --> 00:03:49.919 I want this person to be the first witness to the resurrection of Jesus. 00:03:49.919 --> 00:03:53.000 And that person is Mary Magdalene. 00:03:53.939 --> 00:03:57.560 She was the first witness to the resurrection according to John's gospel. 00:03:58.539 --> 00:04:04.439 And Mary has become since then an example for all people throughout history 00:04:04.439 --> 00:04:08.359 for how we should approach and respond to the resurrection. 00:04:08.899 --> 00:04:14.259 So, I want to look together at John chapter 20 and see what it teaches us. 00:04:14.879 --> 00:04:15.419 Let's pray. 00:04:15.419 --> 00:04:21.120 Lord, we thank you for this celebration this morning. 00:04:21.219 --> 00:04:22.779 We thank you for the sound of bells. 00:04:23.019 --> 00:04:24.180 We thank you for the singing. 00:04:24.379 --> 00:04:25.779 We thank you for all of this. 00:04:26.240 --> 00:04:28.439 And we thank you for what's at the center of it, 00:04:29.240 --> 00:04:30.639 the resurrection of Jesus, Lord. 00:04:30.680 --> 00:04:34.180 We pray that this morning we would come together to look at the empty tomb, 00:04:34.899 --> 00:04:37.620 to contemplate what that means for us. 00:04:37.620 --> 00:04:42.860 Lord, and I pray that you would bring this resurrection life into our hearts, 00:04:43.340 --> 00:04:44.879 even as we consider it together. 00:04:45.420 --> 00:04:47.000 We pray this in your son's holy name. 00:04:47.340 --> 00:04:47.579 Amen. 00:04:49.280 --> 00:04:52.899 So, I want to tell you a little bit of the back story of Mary. 00:04:53.079 --> 00:04:56.780 Mary Magdalene was probably called Mary Magdalene 00:04:56.780 --> 00:05:00.019 because she was from a Galilean village called Magdala. 00:05:00.019 --> 00:05:04.839 And it was on the west coast of the Sea of Galilee, what is now Israel. 00:05:04.959 --> 00:05:06.719 There were a lot of Marys, 00:05:06.819 --> 00:05:09.779 and it was important to distinguish one Mary from another. 00:05:10.039 --> 00:05:11.939 So, she was Mary Magdalene. 00:05:12.539 --> 00:05:16.079 And we learn from Luke chapter 8 that she originally met Jesus 00:05:16.079 --> 00:05:18.579 when he cast seven demons out of her 00:05:18.579 --> 00:05:24.019 and that she had since been dedicated as a follower to Jesus 00:05:24.019 --> 00:05:25.919 throughout his entire earthly ministry. 00:05:25.920 --> 00:05:30.580 It even says there in Luke 8 that she provided for Jesus out of her own means. 00:05:31.520 --> 00:05:32.520 If you can imagine that, 00:05:33.540 --> 00:05:37.220 that she was actually providing and meeting Jesus' needs, 00:05:37.720 --> 00:05:39.759 making sure he got enough to eat, 00:05:40.259 --> 00:05:41.819 making sure he had a place to sleep, 00:05:41.960 --> 00:05:47.240 making sure that his basic human needs were met. 00:05:48.379 --> 00:05:51.819 And Mary became one of Jesus' most devoted followers. 00:05:51.819 --> 00:05:55.680 And this is clear during the final hours of Jesus' earthly ministry. 00:05:55.920 --> 00:06:00.740 By this point, many of his most devoted followers had deserted him. 00:06:02.120 --> 00:06:05.220 And yet, Mary witnessed all of the events. 00:06:06.220 --> 00:06:07.699 She was there for the trial. 00:06:07.840 --> 00:06:09.040 She was there for the torture. 00:06:09.259 --> 00:06:15.360 She was there at the moment on the cross when Jesus breathed his last. 00:06:16.780 --> 00:06:19.360 She saw him placed in the tomb. 00:06:19.360 --> 00:06:26.160 And in John 20, she's coming to pay her respects and potentially finish the job. 00:06:29.060 --> 00:06:34.900 When she arrives and sees the stone rolled away and she sees the empty tomb, 00:06:36.180 --> 00:06:38.920 her first thought is obviously the resurrection. 00:06:40.340 --> 00:06:41.780 No, that's not her first thought. 00:06:41.860 --> 00:06:45.580 Her first thought is the kind of thought that we would probably have, 00:06:45.920 --> 00:06:46.620 grave robbers. 00:06:46.620 --> 00:06:52.199 So, she's upset that people may have stolen the body of Jesus. 00:06:52.379 --> 00:06:54.879 She immediately runs to go get Peter and John. 00:06:54.980 --> 00:06:57.620 They run all the way back to the tomb to see for themselves. 00:06:58.040 --> 00:07:01.800 But even though the tomb is empty, Peter doesn't know what to make of it. 00:07:01.860 --> 00:07:03.560 And John tells us in verse 9, 00:07:03.819 --> 00:07:06.100 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, 00:07:06.660 --> 00:07:07.899 that he must rise from the dead. 00:07:07.920 --> 00:07:09.300 They're not expecting this. 00:07:09.300 --> 00:07:13.920 But then even after they leave, Mary stays. 00:07:14.680 --> 00:07:15.819 She's so like Mary. 00:07:16.480 --> 00:07:19.900 She stays and she weeps by the tomb. 00:07:20.220 --> 00:07:23.420 And then she turns to look in the tomb again and she sees two angels. 00:07:24.020 --> 00:07:26.580 But she doesn't even realize what she's looking at. 00:07:26.639 --> 00:07:30.379 She has only one thought in her mind, and that is finding Jesus. 00:07:31.080 --> 00:07:32.699 And so, they ask, why are you crying? 00:07:32.699 --> 00:07:37.279 And she says, in essence, I'm not leaving until I get to the bottom of this. 00:07:38.979 --> 00:07:41.519 That's exactly the kind of thing we would expect her to say. 00:07:42.500 --> 00:07:45.599 Even when she turns around, though, and sees Jesus, 00:07:46.039 --> 00:07:47.920 she doesn't yet recognize Him. 00:07:48.899 --> 00:07:53.240 She thinks He's the gardener, because they were, in fact, in a garden. 00:07:54.159 --> 00:07:55.659 And look what she says. 00:07:55.719 --> 00:07:58.319 She says, are you the one who took Him? 00:07:58.680 --> 00:07:59.959 Just tell me where He is. 00:08:00.300 --> 00:08:01.180 I'm going to go get Him. 00:08:01.180 --> 00:08:03.439 Still devoted. 00:08:04.620 --> 00:08:07.600 And then Jesus speaks her name. 00:08:09.100 --> 00:08:10.980 And she recognizes Him. 00:08:11.699 --> 00:08:14.079 And she cries out, teacher. 00:08:15.500 --> 00:08:20.579 And then Jesus sends her to tell the disciples the good news. 00:08:20.780 --> 00:08:23.480 And so, she goes to tell them, and she announces the good news. 00:08:23.800 --> 00:08:25.620 I have seen the Lord. 00:08:27.439 --> 00:08:31.000 So, there are a couple of things that, as we consider this story together, 00:08:31.000 --> 00:08:37.799 we can learn about how to approach and respond to the resurrection of Jesus on Easter. 00:08:37.919 --> 00:08:44.919 We see something about how people come to faith, and we see what to do with our faith once we have it. 00:08:44.919 --> 00:08:47.179 How people come to faith. 00:08:47.179 --> 00:08:47.939 How people come to faith. 00:08:47.939 --> 00:08:54.240 Faith is the product of a couple of things that happen at the same time, a convergence of two things. 00:08:54.240 --> 00:09:00.039 It's the product of honest inquiry meeting divine grace. 00:09:00.840 --> 00:09:03.919 It is honest inquiry meeting divine grace. 00:09:04.879 --> 00:09:06.159 Honest inquiry. 00:09:06.340 --> 00:09:11.620 On the one hand, Mary is, I think, a phenomenal example of honest inquiry. 00:09:11.879 --> 00:09:12.840 And what do I mean by that? 00:09:12.840 --> 00:09:18.860 I mean that Mary genuinely, honestly wants to know the truth of the empty tomb. 00:09:20.259 --> 00:09:23.440 She's not coming with any preconceived notions. 00:09:23.680 --> 00:09:26.480 She's not coming with any kind of confirmation bias. 00:09:27.259 --> 00:09:31.440 She genuinely wants to know what happened and where to find Jesus. 00:09:31.440 --> 00:09:38.640 When she first comes to the tomb, she's not even remotely considering the possibility that Jesus has risen from the grave. 00:09:38.800 --> 00:09:43.560 And John tells us that the disciples did not yet understand the Scriptures about the resurrection. 00:09:43.920 --> 00:09:48.120 And I think for most of us, it's easy to look back at this story that is 2,000 years old 00:09:48.120 --> 00:09:52.800 and to assume that the disciples all expected this, that they all got together and they said, 00:09:52.900 --> 00:09:56.580 well, you know, Jesus has been killed, but we want to keep the movement going. 00:09:56.700 --> 00:09:58.940 We want to keep the, you know, great things were happening. 00:09:58.940 --> 00:10:04.180 And so, if we just sort of fake a resurrection, we'll steal the body, we'll tell the whole world that He rose from the dead, 00:10:04.240 --> 00:10:09.400 we'll continue pressing forward, and nobody even has to know that our leader was defeated, right? 00:10:09.680 --> 00:10:13.400 The problem is that doesn't actually hold up under scrutiny at all. 00:10:13.500 --> 00:10:16.640 They actually, not only did they not expect that this was going to happen, 00:10:16.720 --> 00:10:20.700 but they stood to gain nothing from the movement continuing, 00:10:21.200 --> 00:10:23.740 other than a couple of hundred years of severe persecution. 00:10:23.740 --> 00:10:31.820 I think there's this idea that people were more gullible back in the past, 00:10:31.899 --> 00:10:38.120 that they were more superstitious, that the idea of resurrection was far more plausible in a pre-scientific world. 00:10:38.720 --> 00:10:40.360 And that's simply not the case. 00:10:40.740 --> 00:10:45.360 C.S. Lewis rightly labels this kind of assumption chronological snobbery, right? 00:10:45.360 --> 00:10:50.779 The idea that we are somehow inherently smarter than people who lived before us. 00:10:51.000 --> 00:10:51.820 Simply not true. 00:10:51.820 --> 00:10:56.620 The idea of resurrection was no more plausible to them than it is for people like us. 00:10:57.060 --> 00:11:00.480 And so, honest inquiry means that you're willing to look at the evidence for the resurrection, 00:11:00.820 --> 00:11:03.100 you're willing to let go of any preconceived notions, 00:11:03.720 --> 00:11:05.960 you're willing to check your confirmation bias, 00:11:06.260 --> 00:11:08.800 and you come with a genuine desire to know the truth. 00:11:09.100 --> 00:11:12.840 And, you know, there is compelling evidence for the truth of the resurrection. 00:11:13.879 --> 00:11:17.980 We have, for instance, eyewitness account reports of the resurrection. 00:11:17.980 --> 00:11:23.379 And, you know, scholars used to claim that the Gospels were written hundreds of years later, 00:11:23.500 --> 00:11:26.460 and so it was easy to say, well, they just made all of this up. 00:11:26.680 --> 00:11:29.800 But that thinking is actually pretty outdated. 00:11:30.019 --> 00:11:35.440 The most recent scholarship has determined that these accounts were written much earlier than previously thought. 00:11:35.940 --> 00:11:39.980 There's a great book on that by Richard Baucom called Jesus and the Eyewitnesses. 00:11:39.980 --> 00:11:44.899 So, these accounts were written within the lifetime of people who were around when it happened. 00:11:45.139 --> 00:11:47.320 And that actually leads to the second point, 00:11:48.259 --> 00:11:52.620 all of the random details that are included in the Gospel accounts. 00:11:52.779 --> 00:11:59.220 The enormous amount of specific details, like specific names of people and where they're from, 00:11:59.220 --> 00:12:03.920 like the person whose ear gets cut off is named Malchus, right? 00:12:04.139 --> 00:12:06.519 And he's a servant in the temple. 00:12:06.600 --> 00:12:07.759 You can go find him. 00:12:09.379 --> 00:12:15.460 These details are baffling if you're trying to make a story up. 00:12:15.620 --> 00:12:19.940 Because if you're trying to make this up and convince the world that something happened when it didn't, 00:12:20.120 --> 00:12:22.700 you would want to make it as obscure as possible. 00:12:22.820 --> 00:12:25.279 You would want to make it as impossible as you could 00:12:25.279 --> 00:12:28.720 for anybody to fact-check the claims that you were making. 00:12:29.220 --> 00:12:34.639 But Christianity, from the very beginning, allows itself to be openly falsifiable. 00:12:36.080 --> 00:12:39.480 It claims that all of these events are public knowledge, 00:12:40.100 --> 00:12:43.759 that there were lots of people, lots of eyewitnesses who saw the risen Jesus, 00:12:44.279 --> 00:12:45.639 hundreds of eyewitnesses. 00:12:46.379 --> 00:12:48.779 You know, Paul says to Agrippa at one point in Acts, 00:12:49.000 --> 00:12:51.340 you know that these things did not happen in a closet. 00:12:51.519 --> 00:12:52.379 Everybody knew. 00:12:52.899 --> 00:12:54.899 It was news all around town. 00:12:55.500 --> 00:12:57.100 And so, it allows itself. 00:12:57.100 --> 00:13:00.180 So, other religions say, well, you know, we have all of this, 00:13:00.259 --> 00:13:03.600 but it's all been revealed to this one specific person. 00:13:04.460 --> 00:13:09.560 God came, and when nobody else was around, an angel appeared and revealed all of this to this one person. 00:13:09.820 --> 00:13:13.279 And now this one person is the bearer of all of this news, 00:13:13.360 --> 00:13:15.060 and you're just going to have to take their word for it. 00:13:16.040 --> 00:13:17.399 But Christianity is not like that. 00:13:17.480 --> 00:13:20.080 Christianity has lots and lots and lots of people, 00:13:20.080 --> 00:13:23.600 multiple accounts of the same events written from different people, 00:13:23.700 --> 00:13:25.960 different perspectives, but all agreeing on the same thing. 00:13:26.560 --> 00:13:27.440 Jesus rose. 00:13:29.920 --> 00:13:33.240 And then the third thing that we would look at is the fact that, 00:13:33.480 --> 00:13:36.320 as this sermon is focusing on, the primary witnesses were women. 00:13:37.460 --> 00:13:41.560 In this culture, if you wanted to make up a credible story to convince the world of something, 00:13:41.620 --> 00:13:42.340 like the resurrection, 00:13:42.740 --> 00:13:45.080 you wouldn't use women as your primary witnesses. 00:13:45.080 --> 00:13:49.160 And it's a shame to say that looking back from our perspective, 00:13:50.900 --> 00:13:52.420 but that's the case. 00:13:52.520 --> 00:13:54.759 Women's testimony wasn't even legally admissible. 00:13:56.020 --> 00:14:00.440 And yet the gospel writers clearly tell us that the first witnesses to Jesus' resurrection 00:14:00.440 --> 00:14:03.180 were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Jesus, 00:14:03.639 --> 00:14:05.080 Joanna, and other women. 00:14:07.080 --> 00:14:10.000 So, if you wanted to make up a credible story to convince the world of something, 00:14:10.120 --> 00:14:12.120 you would never use women as your star witnesses. 00:14:12.120 --> 00:14:16.379 And so, we have to ask, why would the gospel writers include this detail? 00:14:16.779 --> 00:14:20.440 I mean, you can even imagine them, as they're writing it, kind of wincing 00:14:20.440 --> 00:14:24.060 and saying, nobody's going to believe this. 00:14:25.440 --> 00:14:30.399 The only explanation that makes sense of all of this is that it actually happened. 00:14:31.600 --> 00:14:34.980 So, if you're here and you're not sure what you believe about the resurrection, 00:14:35.519 --> 00:14:36.860 let me just ask you this. 00:14:36.980 --> 00:14:38.419 Are you an honest seeker? 00:14:38.419 --> 00:14:41.559 Are you at least willing to look at the evidence? 00:14:42.059 --> 00:14:47.839 N.T. Wright's resurrection of the Son of God is an absolute must-read 00:14:47.839 --> 00:14:54.360 because it goes into incredible detail on things that I'm just touching on here this morning 00:14:54.360 --> 00:14:56.799 about the truth of the resurrection. 00:14:57.939 --> 00:15:01.079 About 10 years ago, NPR did an April Fool's Day prank. 00:15:01.839 --> 00:15:05.240 And I don't know if you all celebrate April Fool's. 00:15:05.240 --> 00:15:09.060 I'm not a huge fan of April Fool's, but my kids love April Fool's. 00:15:09.139 --> 00:15:14.000 And so, this past year, for instance, we found fake cockroaches in just about everything in our house. 00:15:14.039 --> 00:15:18.379 So, if you're ever at our house and you see a cockroach, I can almost guarantee it's fake. 00:15:18.480 --> 00:15:19.320 So, don't freak out. 00:15:19.440 --> 00:15:20.580 And please do come back. 00:15:20.580 --> 00:15:29.300 But about 10 years ago, NPR, they did a prank on their readers and they posted a fake headline that said, 00:15:29.420 --> 00:15:32.560 why doesn't America read anymore? 00:15:33.540 --> 00:15:35.160 It's a fake headline on social media. 00:15:35.440 --> 00:15:40.720 If you clicked on the link to actually read the article, it would say, you know, April Fool's. 00:15:40.800 --> 00:15:43.680 And it kind of made this joke about congratulations. 00:15:43.920 --> 00:15:46.480 You were actually willing to read the article, right? 00:15:46.800 --> 00:15:47.700 But guess what happened? 00:15:47.740 --> 00:15:48.420 You know what happened. 00:15:48.419 --> 00:15:50.339 This is on social media. 00:15:50.559 --> 00:15:53.599 So, the comment section immediately blows up. 00:15:53.799 --> 00:15:58.419 People read the headline and they just start getting defensive and angry and thrashing the article. 00:15:58.519 --> 00:15:59.399 See, this is the problem. 00:15:59.479 --> 00:16:00.360 I read all the time. 00:16:00.399 --> 00:16:01.379 I read books and magazines. 00:16:01.579 --> 00:16:03.459 If you put out stuff worth reading, then I would read it. 00:16:03.500 --> 00:16:04.120 Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. 00:16:04.219 --> 00:16:06.059 And people just go nuts, right? 00:16:06.620 --> 00:16:08.139 And it was this delicious irony. 00:16:08.299 --> 00:16:10.339 America doesn't read anymore. 00:16:10.639 --> 00:16:12.299 You didn't even read the article, right? 00:16:12.879 --> 00:16:13.819 So, I love that. 00:16:13.879 --> 00:16:14.959 I thought that was really brilliant. 00:16:14.960 --> 00:16:20.440 But when it comes to the resurrection, don't just read the headline. 00:16:22.019 --> 00:16:29.100 Don't just hear the idea, the claim of the resurrection and immediately react and say, oh, there's no way that could have happened. 00:16:30.800 --> 00:16:32.940 The invitation is to be an honest seeker. 00:16:33.400 --> 00:16:34.420 Click the headline. 00:16:36.900 --> 00:16:37.620 Read the evidence. 00:16:37.780 --> 00:16:38.400 Read the accounts. 00:16:38.399 --> 00:16:44.199 Be open to changing your mind. 00:16:45.720 --> 00:16:52.819 Now, having said all of that, honest inquiry is necessary, but it's not sufficient. 00:16:53.759 --> 00:16:56.620 It's necessary, but it's not sufficient for genuine faith. 00:16:57.699 --> 00:17:01.860 And this is where honest inquiry has to encounter divine grace. 00:17:01.860 --> 00:17:07.839 Notice that when Mary first sees Jesus, and God blessed John for including this detail. 00:17:08.140 --> 00:17:09.759 It completely changes the story. 00:17:10.620 --> 00:17:14.160 When she first sees Jesus, she doesn't recognize Him. 00:17:15.059 --> 00:17:16.960 She thinks He's the gardener. 00:17:18.339 --> 00:17:23.819 It's not until He speaks her name that she recognizes Jesus. 00:17:24.200 --> 00:17:26.860 He's clearly different in some way. 00:17:26.960 --> 00:17:30.920 It's the same Jesus, but this is His glorified, resurrected body. 00:17:30.920 --> 00:17:36.980 And there are occasions when people at first do not recognize Him following His resurrection. 00:17:37.240 --> 00:17:39.400 So, she doesn't recognize Him. 00:17:39.840 --> 00:17:41.680 And yet, there's more going on here. 00:17:42.420 --> 00:17:51.000 There's a point at which her openness to meeting Jesus has to encounter His call, His willingness to meet her. 00:17:51.000 --> 00:18:04.980 It brings us back to John chapter 10, when Jesus teaches us that He is the great shepherd, and that He calls His sheep by name, and they follow Him and listen to His voice. 00:18:05.500 --> 00:18:10.980 Now, He has risen, and He's the great shepherd, and He has to call His sheep by name. 00:18:11.079 --> 00:18:13.079 So, He calls out to Mary. 00:18:13.079 --> 00:18:15.439 The point is this. 00:18:15.539 --> 00:18:26.879 No one can be intellectually persuaded into faith, no matter how much evidence there is, no matter how many wonderful books full of great arguments there are. 00:18:27.539 --> 00:18:31.819 Nobody can be intellectually persuaded into faith. 00:18:32.179 --> 00:18:33.839 Jesus has to call your name. 00:18:33.839 --> 00:18:40.599 In other words, God has to open your heart to the truth of the gospel. 00:18:40.720 --> 00:18:49.720 The good news is, if you are genuinely seeking to know Jesus, Scripture says that you will find Him, or rather, He will find you. 00:18:51.000 --> 00:18:56.319 So, if you're even curious about it, if you're even thinking, man, I should really, I should pick that book up. 00:18:56.319 --> 00:18:57.359 But that's interesting. 00:18:57.579 --> 00:19:02.179 That's probably a sign, with all due respect, that Jesus is already calling your name. 00:19:04.059 --> 00:19:06.359 So, the first thing that we see is this. 00:19:06.399 --> 00:19:08.740 This is something about how people come to faith. 00:19:08.839 --> 00:19:12.839 It's the coming together of an honest inquiry and divine grace. 00:19:13.460 --> 00:19:16.119 But we also see something else. 00:19:16.359 --> 00:19:19.859 What do we do with our faith, those of us who come to faith? 00:19:19.859 --> 00:19:26.779 You know, I've read this story hundreds of times, as you probably have as well. 00:19:27.199 --> 00:19:31.599 And yet, there's, you know, the great thing about the Bible is you can read it again and again and again and again, 00:19:31.639 --> 00:19:34.139 and there are always details that you see that you never saw before. 00:19:35.039 --> 00:19:36.139 That's a living text. 00:19:37.319 --> 00:19:42.259 And so, I noticed something the past couple of weeks as I was looking at this. 00:19:42.259 --> 00:19:53.339 In the Greek version of John's gospel, Mary is always referred by John, she's always referred to in the Greek version of her name, Maria. 00:19:54.160 --> 00:19:54.420 Right? 00:19:54.460 --> 00:19:57.539 So, whenever he's talking about Mary, he's talking about, he refers to her as Maria. 00:19:58.299 --> 00:19:59.819 That's the norm in John's gospel. 00:19:59.819 --> 00:20:11.099 But curiously, in this place alone, when Jesus speaks her name in the garden, he uses a Hebrew name. 00:20:12.259 --> 00:20:15.259 Not Maria, but Miriam. 00:20:16.079 --> 00:20:18.200 He calls her Miriam. 00:20:19.539 --> 00:20:24.720 Now, John's gospel is full of double meanings and symbolism. 00:20:26.680 --> 00:20:31.460 Bible commentators point out that this is very intentional on Jesus' part. 00:20:32.539 --> 00:20:35.200 Who do we know in the Bible who's named Miriam? 00:20:36.680 --> 00:20:37.099 Right? 00:20:37.140 --> 00:20:41.440 This is an allusion to Miriam, the sister of Moses in the Old Testament. 00:20:41.440 --> 00:20:42.960 Now, who's Miriam? 00:20:43.340 --> 00:20:45.080 She's not just the sister of Moses. 00:20:45.740 --> 00:20:51.779 In Exodus chapter 15, God miraculously delivers His people from bondage in Egypt. 00:20:52.160 --> 00:20:53.759 They pass through the Red Sea. 00:20:53.880 --> 00:20:56.240 They are saved from certain death. 00:20:56.920 --> 00:20:59.559 They walk on dry ground and they come out the other side. 00:20:59.559 --> 00:21:11.639 And then it says in Exodus 15, Miriam, the prophetess, took a tambourine in her hand and began to sing about God's glorious victory and deliverance through the Red Sea. 00:21:12.279 --> 00:21:15.139 And we need to see what Jesus is saying here. 00:21:15.399 --> 00:21:16.879 He is commissioning her. 00:21:18.019 --> 00:21:19.220 He's commissioning her. 00:21:19.779 --> 00:21:23.279 You are no longer merely Mary Magdalene. 00:21:23.279 --> 00:21:29.339 You are no longer merely the woman people used to know as demon-possessed. 00:21:31.399 --> 00:21:35.299 Now, from this day forward, you are Miriam, the prophet. 00:21:35.299 --> 00:21:48.919 And I am sending you out to announce to the world the good news of God's glorious victory, not merely through the Red Sea, but His deliverance for all people everywhere. 00:21:48.920 --> 00:21:55.300 I don't think it's a coincidence that Mary mistakes Jesus for a gardener. 00:21:55.480 --> 00:21:59.160 It's no coincidence that all of this takes place in a garden. 00:21:59.519 --> 00:22:03.440 It's no coincidence that Mary sees angels in the garden. 00:22:04.120 --> 00:22:17.019 For a first-century Jewish person who was saturated with Old Testament imagery and for a gospel writer like John who loves symbolism, all of this would point back to a very familiar story. 00:22:17.019 --> 00:22:24.139 Adam and Eve, the first gardeners, who failed and rebelled against God. 00:22:24.599 --> 00:22:26.879 And they were cast out of the garden, and what happened? 00:22:27.519 --> 00:22:31.359 God placed an angel with a flaming sword to keep them out. 00:22:33.039 --> 00:22:42.379 But here, the resurrected Jesus comes as the new gardener, the new Adam to succeed where the first Adam failed. 00:22:42.380 --> 00:22:48.920 The angels are there in the garden as they were, but no longer to keep people out. 00:22:49.680 --> 00:22:51.860 They invite Mary in. 00:22:52.460 --> 00:22:59.440 And all of this means that Jesus has achieved a victory that is exponentially greater than the Exodus in the Red Sea. 00:23:00.400 --> 00:23:05.620 Through His death and resurrection, Jesus has given birth to a new humanity. 00:23:05.619 --> 00:23:15.039 And so when we meet and encounter Jesus as our honest inquiry meets His divine grace and He calls out our name, He is also commissioning us. 00:23:15.159 --> 00:23:20.059 We are entering into a new humanity with a new restored purpose. 00:23:20.219 --> 00:23:28.679 We're picking up the mantle that was laid down in that first garden, and we're doing what we were created to do as we are sent out by Jesus into the world. 00:23:28.680 --> 00:23:36.400 So for those of us who come to faith, this shows us what to do with our faith. 00:23:36.539 --> 00:23:37.799 Faith is meant to be shared. 00:23:38.980 --> 00:23:46.660 Like Mary, we need to be willing and even joyful to say to the world, I have seen the Lord. 00:23:47.799 --> 00:23:49.200 I have seen the Lord. 00:23:49.759 --> 00:23:50.580 I was curious. 00:23:50.740 --> 00:23:56.019 I was inquiring, and somewhere along the way, He met me, and He called my name. 00:23:56.560 --> 00:23:57.320 Come and see. 00:23:57.320 --> 00:23:57.340 Come and see. 00:23:58.680 --> 00:24:04.660 So this is, I believe, why Mary is such a beautiful example for all of us to consider. 00:24:05.440 --> 00:24:12.000 She shows us how people come to faith, that honest inquiry meets divine grace as Jesus calls our name. 00:24:12.660 --> 00:24:14.960 And then she shows us what to do with our faith. 00:24:15.019 --> 00:24:22.880 As we said at the very beginning, when it comes to the resurrection of Jesus, if it didn't happen, then our faith is empty and pointless. 00:24:23.100 --> 00:24:28.620 But if it did actually happen, then it is the single most important event in all of human history. 00:24:28.680 --> 00:24:37.160 It means that all of this is true, that God is offering the opportunity for us to become a new humanity, preparing for a new world. 00:24:37.700 --> 00:24:42.240 And that means that the whole world needs to know about Jesus. 00:24:42.240 --> 00:24:43.819 Let's pray. 00:24:43.819 --> 00:24:48.640 Lord, we thank You for this encounter. 00:24:48.779 --> 00:24:49.940 We thank You for Mary. 00:24:50.140 --> 00:24:53.000 We thank You for the incredible example that she sets. 00:24:53.460 --> 00:24:55.660 I pray that she would inspire us. 00:24:55.740 --> 00:25:02.160 I pray that she would challenge those of us who are not sure what we believe to pursue truth. 00:25:02.160 --> 00:25:12.340 I pray that for those of us who do believe, she would inspire us to share our faith and to discover in Jesus Christ our true identity. 00:25:12.900 --> 00:25:19.320 Lord, that we would recognize as He speaks our name, that we would recognize the purpose for which we were made, Lord, 00:25:19.560 --> 00:25:21.560 and that You would give us the faith to pursue it. 00:25:22.140 --> 00:25:23.740 We pray this in Your Son's holy name. 00:25:24.180 --> 00:25:24.440 Amen. 00:25:24.440 --> 00:25:24.560 Amen. 00:25:24.560 --> 00:25:24.600 Amen. 00:25:24.600 --> 00:25:24.620 Amen. 00:25:24.620 --> 00:25:24.660 Amen. 00:25:24.660 --> 00:25:24.680 Amen. 00:25:24.680 --> 00:25:24.700 Amen.