All right, well, this morning we've finally come to the moment that many of us have been waiting for in the story of Jesus, the resurrection.
John chapter 20.
The last two Sundays we heard from John about what happened the day that Jesus died.
We heard his testimony about how they crucified Jesus.
We heard how the actions of the soldiers confirmed his death and at the same time fulfilled God's ancient words.
We heard how Joseph and Nicodemus prepared Jesus' body for burial and laid it to rest in the tomb nearby.
All of that on the day of preparation just before the Sabbath began in the evening.
Let's now continue the story this morning reading from John chapter 20.
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.
So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said,
They've taken the Lord out of the tomb and we don't know where they've put him.
So John tells us that it was early on the first day of the week.
Mary Magdalene, one of Jesus' followers, she goes to the tomb and she discovers that the stone,
which had been rolled in front of the entrance, had been removed.
And what's surprising is just how brief John's description of all this is.
The other three gospel accounts tell us in much more detail what happened there at the tomb that morning.
Now John is writing his gospel much later and so perhaps just felt, you know, it's already been said and so I'm not going to focus on that.
John instead seems to focus his account on what he witnessed that day.
And for him, it all started when Mary Magdalene arrived early in the morning with some shocking news.
But for those of you who maybe aren't as familiar with the story, let me just briefly explain what the other accounts tell us about Mary Magdalene and what happened at the tomb that morning.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke all tell us how a group of women, including Mary, went out to the tomb very early in the morning.
Luke tells us that prior to this, on the evening that Jesus was crucified, these women had gone home and prepared spices and perfumes.
These were to put on Jesus' body to honor him.
But because Jesus died quite close to the time that the Sabbath began, they didn't have the chance to anoint Jesus' body with them.
And so they came together to the tomb on the first day of the week.
There was a discussion among the women.
How are we going to roll the stone away so that we can get access to Jesus' body?
But then, when the women arrive at the tomb, they find that the stone is already rolled away.
According to Luke, at least some of the women entered the tomb, but couldn't find Jesus' body inside.
And then after that, angels appear to the women.
And they announced that Jesus has risen from the dead.
The women, of course, were terrified, yet they were also filled with joy.
Matthew tells us that they go running to report all this to the disciples.
But now as we look closely at John's account from that day,
it seems that there was one woman who had a different experience from the rest that morning.
John tells us that Mary Magdalene went to the tomb,
saw that the stone had been rolled away,
and because of what she saw, she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple,
that's John, the author of this account.
And Mary says to them,
they've taken the Lord out of the tomb,
and we don't know where they've put him.
So Mary doesn't say,
guess what, guys?
We went to the tomb, and we saw angels declaring that Jesus is alive.
And then on the way there,
here, we saw him.
She doesn't say that.
Instead, she says,
they've taken the Lord out of the tomb,
and we don't know where they've put him.
So what does Mary Magdalene know at this point?
She only knows that Jesus' body is missing.
And she suspects that the reason is because someone has taken it.
Perhaps thieves.
Or Jesus' enemies.
And where?
We don't know.
So it would seem then that as we bring these accounts together,
that the women, they get to the tomb,
they see that the stone has been rolled away.
Some of them go in.
They can't find the body of Jesus.
And immediately, Mary Magdalene runs to tell the disciples.
And it seems she must have left them before the angels appeared
to declare the news to the rest of the women at the tomb.
So this is the first thing that John remembers that day.
It's Mary Magdalene showing up to the door of the house,
saying,
someone has stolen Jesus' body.
I know it's probably impossible for us to imagine
how Mary might have felt in those moments.
But let's try.
She's just witnessed
the horrific death
of the wonderful man, Jesus.
The one that she's come to believe in as her Messiah.
His death alone had brought her to anguish
and grief like never before.
But now, can you imagine this?
Just days later,
she goes to the place where he was buried
and finds that his remains are gone.
Can you imagine this?
How would that make you feel
if you went to the cemetery
three days after the death of a loved one
only to find that the headstone is out of place?
There's a wide open hole in the ground.
The casket is open.
There's no body inside.
So Mary Magdalene's mind is racing.
She's running.
Who would do such a thing?
Somebody's taken his body.
Now let's try Peter and John.
Can you imagine what it was like from their perspective?
I doubt they got much for sleep
on the nights following Jesus' death.
Probably the horror of what they had witnessed
was just replaying again and again in their minds.
Tears.
Questions.
Wanderings.
For Peter,
I tried.
I tried to fight in the garden,
but he told me to stop.
He told me to put my sword away.
And again and again,
I imagine the memory of Jesus' piercing gaze
in the courtyard
right after he had denied
having known Jesus.
And then all that followed
as they brutally beat him
and killed him.
For John,
the memory of those words
that Jesus had spoken to him
while up on the cross,
here is your mother.
And the other words too,
I am thirsty.
It is finished.
And the spear.
And the blood.
Can you imagine after all that
and sleepless nights
waking up to the sound
of someone knocking frantically on the door
and you open up
and here is Mary Magdalene
out of breath
fighting back tears
and frantic saying,
somebody has stolen his body.
So Peter and the other disciple
started for the tomb.
Both were running,
but the other disciple outran Peter
and reached the tomb first.
That's, by the way,
one of the clues
that John is the one writing this.
Only he would have known
if he arrived a split second
before Peter.
The other disciple outran Peter,
reached the tomb first.
John bent over
and looked in
at the strips of linen
lying there,
but did not go in.
There's this moment of pause
as John arrives at the tomb
and we don't know
what John is thinking here.
He's looking in,
he's seeing the strips of linen
lying there
where Jesus' body was
and it's like he just
doesn't know what to do.
He freezes.
Who knows?
Maybe he was thinking about
whether it would make him
unclean to go in there
or was he just processing
like, whoa,
Mary's telling the truth.
His body, it's gone.
Verse 6,
Then Simon Peter came along
behind him
and went straight
into the tomb.
He saw the strips of linen
lying there
as well as the cloth
that had been wrapped
around Jesus' head.
The cloth was still
lying in its place,
separate from the linen.
You've got to love Peter.
He may not have been able
to outrun John,
but he was going to get
into that tomb first.
Picture him jumping down
in there
and then just staring,
speechless.
There's the strips of linen
that his body was wrapped in.
There's the head cloth.
Quite literally,
not in this translation,
but in most of the other ones,
the head cloth folded up
in a place by itself.
Hmm.
If this is the doing of thieves,
this is strange.
Why would they have
unwrapped the body
in the middle of the theft?
Why not just take the body
wrapped as it was
if that's what they were after?
And if it was the valuables
that may have been buried
with the body,
wrapped with the body,
I mean,
why not take the head cloth
as well
in the custom of the day?
That was one of the most
valuable things
buried with the person.
Often very ornate,
high-quality cloth.
And did they fold up
the head cloth
during the theft?
Or was that one of the women
who were here earlier
that did this?
Like, what's going on here?
Finally, the other disciple,
John,
who had reached the tomb first,
also went inside.
He saw
and believed.
And then John has
this side comment here
that he makes.
He says,
they still did not understand
from Scripture
that Jesus had to rise
from the dead.
Then the disciples went back
to where they were staying.
So John finally goes
into the tomb
after seeing Peter do it
and he sees for himself,
yeah,
there's nothing in here.
There's nobody in here.
No body.
The cloths lying there.
The head cloths still there.
And in that moment,
John says,
he believed.
Now there's lots of speculation
here about what John believed.
Believed what?
Some suggest
that he just believed
that the body was stolen.
But it can't be.
It's got to be more.
I think John's side comment
in verse 9
gives us a clue
about what he believed.
They still did not understand
from Scripture
that Jesus had to rise
from the dead.
Rise from the dead.
That's what John believed.
He saw.
And he believed.
Jesus really had risen
from the dead.
He really had come back
to life.
And I think the side comments
there, you know,
it's kind of an admission.
You know,
up until that point,
even though Jesus
has been talking about
rising from the dead a lot,
I'll be honest,
me, Peter,
the others,
we still hadn't got it.
We still didn't see
that that's how his story
was going to go.
He would die
and then rise back
to life.
So John tells us
that this moment
as he goes down
into the tomb
and looks
at where the body
was laid,
that's the moment.
I believed it.
Now at this point,
I want to zoom out
and switch to
camera 2,
as it were.
The Gospel of Luke
tells us a little bit
about what we just read
from a different angle.
There's a man
named Cleopas
later this very day
walking to a town
nearby called Emmaus
with his friend
and according to Luke,
Jesus appears
to Cleopas
and his friend
and walks with them
on the road
to Emmaus.
But Cleopas
and his friend
don't know
that it's Jesus.
They don't recognize him.
And this is what
Cleopas is saying
to Jesus,
even though he doesn't
know who he's
talking to,
about what happened
earlier this morning.
He says to Jesus,
in addition,
some of our women
amazed us.
They went to the tomb
early this morning
but didn't find
his body.
They came and told us
that they had seen
a vision of angels
who said he was alive.
Then some of our companions
went to the tomb
and found it just as
the women had said.
But they did not see
Jesus.
So this is what
Cleopas and his friend
remembered.
Notice the sequence
here.
The women go to the tomb
early in the morning.
They don't find
his body.
And before some
of our companions
go to verify it,
that's Peter and John,
what happened?
The women,
plural,
came
and told them
that they had seen
this vision of angels
who said that
he was alive.
So there's another
angle here.
There's a context
that Luke supplies.
Before Peter and John
run to the tomb,
they heard from the
women,
plural,
about the angels
saying Jesus was alive.
Now Mary Magdalene
never said anything
about angels
or about Jesus
being alive.
She just said,
they've taken his body
and I don't know where.
So it would seem
that before
any of the angels
appeared to the women
at the tomb,
Mary left and ran.
But then it would also
seem that before
Peter and John
came to the tomb
to verify,
the women had caught up
hot on her heels
and they shared
what they had
seen
on their way.
Now look to John
chapter 20
verse 8
and I think it makes
a little more sense.
As John
went inside the tomb,
he saw
and believed.
Believed what?
He believed
what the other women
had been reporting
right before this
that they had
seen angels,
that Jesus was alive.
He really had risen
from the dead.
So Mary Magdalene,
it seems,
missed out
on the angels,
on seeing Jesus
alive with the other
women on the way
according to the
Gospel of Matthew.
Or did she?
Verse 11.
Now Mary stood
outside the tomb
crying.
Interestingly,
John doesn't even
tell us that she
came back
to the tomb,
but it's implied
that she must have
followed after
Peter and John.
Peter and John
obviously
ran there
full tilt.
Mary had already
done a fair bit
of running
and probably just
got there
after.
Peter and
perhaps Peter and
John had even
left.
At any rate,
Mary gets to the
tomb and John
tells us that she
stood outside the
tomb crying.
As she wept,
she bent over to
look into the
tomb and saw
two angels
in white
seated where
Jesus' body
had been,
one at the
head
and the
other at
the foot.
They asked
her,
Woman,
why are you
crying?
They've taken
my Lord away,
she said,
and I don't
know where
they've put
him.
At this,
she turned
around and
saw Jesus
standing there,
but she did not
realize that it
was Jesus.
He asked
her,
Woman,
why are you
crying?
Who is it you
are looking for?
Thinking he was
the gardener,
she said,
Sir,
if you've carried
him away,
tell me where
you've put him
and I will get
him.
Jesus said to
her,
Mary.
She turned
toward him
and cried out
in Aramaic,
Rabboni,
which means
teacher.
Jesus said,
Do not
hold on to
me,
for I have
not yet
ascended to
the Father.
Go instead
to my
brothers and
tell them I
am ascending
to my
Father and
your Father,
to my God
and your
God.
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.
So Mary
Magdalene
didn't miss
out.
God had
something special
just for her.
Moments
earlier,
Peter and
John had
been in
the tomb.
They
didn't see
any angels.
They never
saw Jesus.
But now
Mary Magdalene
takes one
more look
into the
tomb,
and can you
imagine the
shock on
her face
as she
sees these
two angelic
figures clothed
in white?
Yes,
in white,
sitting there
on the
place where
Jesus'
body had
been laid.
The angels
ask her why
she's crying,
and Mary
still doesn't
seem to know
the truth of
what's really
happened.
She says,
they've taken
my Lord
away.
I don't
know where
they've put
him.
She still
seems to
think that
somebody's
stolen
Jesus'
body.
And for
some reason,
maybe,
we don't
know,
maybe the
angels are
looking at
her,
and then
they look
up behind
her at
Jesus.
For some
reason,
Mary turns
around and
sees Jesus
standing there.
John tells
us that she
doesn't
recognize him.
The man
says,
why are you
crying?
Who is it
you're looking
for?
We don't
know why
she didn't
recognize Jesus.
There's all
kinds of
thoughts about
this.
Was it
Mary's tears?
Was it
just the
excitement of
the moment?
Was it
that Jesus'
appearance
after he
rose was
slightly
different than
before?
We don't
know.
Whatever it
was, she
didn't
recognize him,
not at
first.
And she
thought,
well, maybe
he's the
gardener that
looks after
this place.
Maybe he
took the
body.
Sir, if
you've carried
him away,
tell me where
you've put
him and I'll
get him.
I'll take
him.
Now, we
don't know
what she was
thinking here,
but everything
changes in
an instant
when Jesus
addresses her
by name.
Perhaps
in the same
way he
always had
said her
name before.
Mary.
Instantly, it's
like the scales
fall from her
eyes.
All of a
sudden, she
realizes that
it's Jesus
right there in
front of her
and she
grabs onto
him, clings
to him, and
won't let
go.
Can you
imagine how
sweet this
moment must
have been?
The man she
watched die,
now alive,
right here,
in my arms.
Jesus
says, do
not hold
on to me
or cling
to me,
for I
have not
yet ascended
to the
father.
Go instead
to my
brothers and
tell them,
I am
ascending to
my father
and your
father, to
my God
and your
God.
Again, there's
a lot of
conjecture about
these words as
well.
How come he
tells Mary not
to hold on
to him?
Is he about
to ascend to
his father
right now?
Some people
kind of see
two ascensions,
that he goes
up to heaven
now and then
he goes up
again 40
days later.
There's a lot
of speculation.
Is it, or
is it something
else?
Is it that
Jesus hasn't
yet been
glorified and
it's not
appropriate for
her to touch
him, but
then why is
it okay for
Thomas just
a week later?
And I'm not
going to go
into all of
that and the
speculation there,
but maybe it's
just something as
simple as this.
Mary doesn't
want to let
go of the
one that she
felt she'd
lost and
she's just
hanging on
for a long
time and
maybe Jesus
is basically
just saying,
you can let
go of me.
I'm not
going anywhere
yet.
I'm going to
be around for
a little while.
Go tell my
disciples.
And Mary does.
She heads back
to where the
disciples are with
this news.
A totally
different message,
a totally different
report than before.
I have seen
the Lord.
Big change.
Well, this is
the first encounter
with the
resurrected Jesus
that John tells
us about in his
gospel.
And it's a very
special moment,
a very personal,
private moment
between Jesus
and Mary Magdalene.
Jesus shows
himself alive
to her even
before he shows
himself alive to
Peter and to
John, the
disciple whom
Jesus loved.
And this is
just the
beginning.
All the
disciples will
see him alive
as well, but
we're going to
save that for
next Sunday.
In the couple
minutes that we
have left here,
what are we to
make of all this?
What are we to
do with this?
What should our
response be?
Well, when we
compare John's
account of the
resurrection to
the other
accounts, Matthew,
Mark, Luke,
we see that it's
quite different.
I'll be honest,
I love Matthew's
account best.
Right off the
get-go, early in
the morning, Matthew
invites you right
into the action,
the angels
appearing, the
excitement.
You can just
feel the joy.
You can feel the
fear.
You can feel the
adrenaline as they
run to tell the
news.
things.
And then, to
see Jesus on the
way, and they
worship him.
I love Matthew's
account, but John's
account is so
different.
John invites us to
consider things from
his perspective.
Instant surprise and
joy all at once right
there in the morning
wasn't how it felt for
everyone.
There were some of
us that day who
never saw the
angels.
Think about this.
At what point here
does John see
Jesus alive?
We haven't even got
to it yet.
It's coming.
We'll talk about it
next week.
It's later the same
day in the evening.
For Peter, it will be
later this afternoon.
What does John
remember most from
that morning?
He remembers Mary
Magdalene finding
him early in the
morning, telling him
that the body had
been stolen.
He remembers running
to the tomb with
Peter, finding it
empty.
And then, after
going back to where
he was staying, he
remembers Mary
Magdalene coming
back again with a
totally different
report.
I have seen the
Lord.
there was joy, but
it didn't break into
John's day in the
same way.
There was joy for
Mary, but it was
different than for the
other women.
For John and Peter, I
mean, they had, think
about this, they had
heard what the women
were claiming.
They went to the
tomb.
No angels.
No sight of Jesus.
Luke tells us that
after Peter went in
and saw the linens
lying there, he went
away wondering to
himself what had
happened.
John tells us,
though, that when he
saw the linens lying
there, he had a
different response.
He says, that was the
moment he believed.
There's a saying in
English that we have,
seeing is believing.
And usually what is
meant by that is that
until a person actually
sees something unlikely
for themselves, doubt
and disbelief are to be
expected.
There's something
powerful about seeing
something with your own
eyes, about witnessing
it firsthand.
And yet God in his
wisdom decided that not
everyone would experience
the resurrection of his
son the same that day.
The men never saw the
angels, only the
women.
And it seems Mary
Magdalene at first was
forgotten, missed out.
You know, sometimes we
may wonder, why is my
life going so differently
from that other
person's life?
How come this particular
area of my life is such
a struggle, but for that
person it seems so easy?
And yet God in his
wisdom has arranged our
lives differently for a
reason.
And at the end of the
story, nobody misses out.
Most of the women, on the
one hand, they couldn't
deny that they'd seen the
angels saying Jesus was
alive.
And yet here on the other
side is Peter and John
and Mary.
Could this be true?
They hadn't seen it.
John tells us here with his
own personal testimony
though, that seeing is not
required for believing.
In fact, that's what faith
is.
It's trusting.
It's believing the truth
that God has revealed even
when you can't see it.
Even when you don't feel it.
Sometimes God gives us the
opportunity to see things
all at once.
Just like the women saw, the
angels and Jesus.
Other times God arranges our
lives differently so that we
learn to trust him before we
see, before it all makes
sense, before we feel as we're
supposed to feel, like Mary and
John.
As Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5
verse 7, he said, we walk by
faith and not by sight.
What about you?
What are the things that are
going on in your life right now
that you wish you could see?
You wish you could see God's
purpose for it.
You wish you could know
firsthand how God is using this.
Why is he allowing this?
Why doesn't he do it different
for me like he's doing it for
someone else?
Let me encourage you.
Think of Mary Magdalene's story
that day.
Could it be that God has
something special for you
like he did for Mary?
Something just for you?
Think of John's experience.
In the meantime, while you
wait for your turn, while you
wait for Jesus to appear, to
answer your prayer, to act in
this circumstance, will you
trust him?
Will you believe?
This is John's invitation to
you.
To do what he did.
To put your trust in Jesus, the
risen Lord.
Even though you can't see him.
And he's going to have more to
say about that.
One final thing that really just
struck my heart this morning
as I was reflecting on all of
this again.
I was touched.
You know, you look at the other
accounts of Jesus' resurrection
and in almost every other case,
Jesus appears to a group.
Or in the case of Emmaus, to two
men, a couple, a couple of guys.
Now he does appear to Peter by
himself at some point in the
afternoon, but it's not described
in detail.
This is the only resurrection
account, appearance account of
Jesus to an individual.
And I got thinking about that.
What's the significance of this?
What's the meaning of this?
Was it because Mary was extra
special?
Prominent?
Influential?
Well, not really.
I mean, she's not mentioned that
much in the gospel accounts, in the
story.
In fact, in these days, the men were
regarded as the more prominent in
that culture, in that society.
She was a woman.
And who was she?
I mean, we don't really know all the
details of her life.
All we know is this little snippet
that's told us that she was one who
Jesus had cast seven demons out of.
I got thinking about this.
Jesus made a point of appearing to
her one-on-one.
Sometimes we may be in that place
where we just, we believe that Jesus
loves the church, the group.
But what about me?
The individual?
Just me.
Insignificant me.
Who am I?
Does he really care for me?
That Jesus took time out of this day
to appear to Mary one-on-one, I think
answers the question for us.
She never missed out.
She was not forgotten.
Says to us, to each one of us
as individuals, yes.
He cares for you.
He loves you.
He desires relationship
with you.
Even if your feelings are telling you
the opposite or something else,
not a single one of you
is forgotten
or will miss out.
This is the kind of love
that Jesus, the good shepherd,
has for his sheep.
Let's pray.
Father in heaven,
we thank you for this account
that you've preserved so well for us.
And I pray that you would press it
into each of our hearts.
Lord, you alone know
the deepest part of the struggles
that we carry with us.
The hard things.
The moments where we feel alone
and confused
and don't know what's going on
or why this is happening.
And I pray that you would speak
your love
and your grace
to each of us.
Just as you did to Mary.
As you made yourself known to her,
would you reveal yourself to us?
Would you let us know
of your love again
and your care?
We ask this in Jesus' name.
Amen.