Good morning, everybody. It's nice to see you today. I invite you to get a Bible. If you haven't
! got a Bible, you can get one as you came in, or you can just listen. That's okay, too. But we're going to be looking at John's Gospel. I think if you're using one of the red covered Bibles or blue, it's on page 1088.
1,088. John is one of the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. And we're going to read in just a moment. So if you could have your Bibles open, John chapter 19 on page 1088.
Thanks to Ralph for leading this morning and reminding us that today, Easter Sunday, is when we celebrate the bodily resurrection of Jesus.
Now, that's good news, because it's not just the experience of Jesus. The Bible tells us that if we trust in the resurrection of Jesus, if we trust in him, too, we, too, can be raised from the dead to enjoy eternal life in God's eternal kingdom.
So we're going to read this morning, the account of the resurrection, and then we're going to think together about what its message is to us today.
So John 19, starting at verse 38, this is a record, an account of the burial and resurrection of Jesus.
So starting at verse 38.
Later, so this is after the crucifixion of Jesus, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus.
Now, Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders.
With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away.
He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night.
Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about 35 kilograms.
Taking Jesus' body, the two of them wrapped it with the spices in strips of linen.
This was in accordance with the Jewish burial customs.
At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden.
And in the garden was a new tomb which no one had ever been laid.
Because it was the Jewish day of preparation, and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.
So early on the first day of the week, so Jesus was crucified on the Friday, it is now Sunday.
So 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.
That's John, the actual author of the gospel.
So two disciples, Simon Peter and John.
And said, they have taken the Lord out of the tomb.
And we don't know where they have put him.
So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb.
Both were running.
But the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.
He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there, but did not go in.
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 strips.
Finally, the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went inside.
He saw and believed.
But still, they didn't understand from scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.
Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.
Now Mary 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 didn't realize that it was Jesus.
He asked her,
Woman, why are you crying?
Who is it that you're looking for?
Thinking it was the gardener, she said,
Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him and I will get him.
Jesus said to her,
Mary.
She turned towards him and cried out in Aramaic, a local language,
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.
Now, before we think about what this story, this account has to say to us today,
I'm just going to pray a short prayer for us.
Let's pray.
Our Father,
will you please open the eyes of our heart
that we might see the risen Jesus
and understand
what that means for us today.
Amen.
I wonder if you notice that something happened to Mary.
At the beginning of the account,
Mary arrived at the tomb
and is looking for a dead Jesus.
But at the end of the account that we read,
Mary claims to have seen the risen Jesus.
So the question is,
what happened to Mary
to believe that Jesus had risen from the dead?
What caused her to believe in the resurrection?
Well, to help us answer that question,
we're going to look at three things this morning.
We're going to think about the missing body,
then we're going to look at the credible witnesses,
and then we're going to look at a changed life.
So the missing body,
credible witness,
and a changed life.
So first, let's think about
this missing body.
Mary arrives at the tomb
where Jesus had been placed.
People were buried,
usually in a hole
where they had cut into the rock,
and a large big stone
would have been put in front
of the entrance.
And Mary has arrived there.
But something is drastically wrong.
Verse 1 of chapter 20
tells us that
not only has this big,
big stone been removed,
there's no body.
So verse 2,
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.
Her conclusion
is simply
that the body of Jesus
has either been taken
or been stolen.
Someone
has moved
the body.
Now notice,
Mary doesn't think
to herself
as she arrives
at the tomb,
oh,
it's the resurrection.
It's happened.
Jesus is alive.
And she doesn't go
running to the disciples
to tell them,
hey guys,
Jesus is alive.
He's been raised
from the dead.
No,
the only conclusion
Mary comes to is
someone
has either
stolen the body
of Jesus
or taken it away.
There's no suggestion
from Mary at all
that a resurrection
has taken place.
So what happened
to Jesus?
What happened
to the body?
Now I think
that's a question
we all need
to think about
this morning.
Whether we've thought
about it before
or we just dismiss
it out of hand.
what happened
the body
of Jesus?
There was a tomb
and there was
a body in it
but now
there's the tomb
and it's empty.
What
happened?
Well,
the writers
of the gospel,
Matthew,
Mark,
Luke and John,
the primary sources
that we have
for this resurrection,
all claim
that it was
a physical
resurrection,
that Jesus'
resurrection
was a bodily
resurrection,
that he physically
walked out
of the tomb.
Now I don't know
what you think
about that
but not everybody
believes that.
There are many
scholars today
that believe
the gospel writers
have got it
all wrong,
that it's just
made up,
that it's not
true.
At best
they'll say
it's just
an invented
story
that gathered
legs
and it's been
rumoured
ever since.
So there's
one scholar
by the name
of Bart
Ehrman,
he's a
New Testament
scholar
and he
explained
the resurrection
like this.
He said
some of them
referring to
the disciples
began to
say
that God
had intervened
and brought
Jesus back
from the dead.
The story
caught on
and some of
his closest
followers
came to
think that
in fact
he had
been raised.
So somebody
started a rumour
and the rumour
has been spreading
ever since
all these
years later.
What do you
think of that?
Either Jesus
was raised
or he
wasn't.
it's just
a made
up story.
So who's
right?
Well we
want to
listen to
the witnesses
of the
resurrection.
The
credible
witnesses
and that's
what the
gospels
do.
They
provide us
with
credible
witnesses.
There's
at least
three reasons
from this
account that
we have
here that
tells us
why we
can believe
that Jesus
was actually
physically
raised from
the dead.
Let's look
at the
three
different
evidences
that we
have.
First
there's
John
and the
strips
of linen.
So some
people will
claim
the body
was stolen.
Thieves
came along
pushed back
the great
big stone
and they
stole the
body
or
that the
disciples
came along
and they
took the
body so
it looked
like a
resurrection.
But look
at what
John sees
when he
arrives at
the tomb.
We find
out in
verse 5.
He bent
over and
looked in
at the
strips of
linen lying
there but
didn't go
in.
Now what
does this
tell us that
there's
strips of
linen lying
there?
Well we've
just said
that somebody
may have
stolen the
body because
grave robbing
or tomb
raiding were
quite common
at that
particular
time.
The linen
strips that
were wrapped
around the
body with
all those
spices,
well they
were worth
a lot of
money.
So if you
were robbing
a grave
you would
take the
strips of
linen and
you would
leave the
body behind.
But in
this account
it's completely
reversed and
flipped.
It's the
other way
around.
The strips
are left
the most
expensive
items and
the body
is gone.
It doesn't
make sense.
Why would
you take
a corpse
and leave
the most
expensive items
if you
were robbing
a grave?
You see
the suggestion
is that
no one
stole the
body but
that Jesus
was actually
raised.
So there's
John and
the strips
of linen.
Then there's
the other
disciple Peter
and the
burial cloth.
Verse 6
Then Simon
Peter came
along behind
him, behind
John, and
went straight
into the
tomb.
And he
saw the
strips of
linen lying
there too,
as well as
the cloth
that had been
wrapped around
Jesus'
head.
The cloth
was still
lying in
its place
separate
from the
linen.
So there
we can
imagine
Peter
running
into the
tomb
and there
he sees
these
strips of
linen lying
where the
body was
and also
the cloth
that was
wrapped around
Jesus'
head and
he says
in great
detail
it was
lying in
its place
separate
from the
linen.
Now why
this intricate
detail?
Well it
seems that
the way
the strips
of linen
are lying
and the
way the
cloth
for the
head has
been placed
are all
suggesting
that it
contained a
body but
now there
is no
body.
In other
words there
was a
body that
was wrapped
up by
these strips
and by
this cloth
around the
head but
now those
strips of
linen are
empty.
You see
no one
moved the
body.
Jesus
was raised.
So we
have John
and the
strips of
linen,
Peter who
goes into
the tomb
and sees
the cloth
around
Jesus'
head and
then the
third piece
of evidence
is Mary
herself who
sees the
risen Jesus.
John introduces
us to
Mary Magdalene
who is the
key witness
in this
account and
she claims
that she
has seen
the risen
Jesus.
In verse
18 it
tells us
Mary Magdalene
went to the
disciples with
the news,
I have seen
the Lord.
Now the
only problem
with that
is in the
first century
a woman's
evidence was
not counted.
One writer
explains it
like this,
women were
thought by
educated men
to be
gullible in
religious matters
and especially
prone to
superstitious
fantasy and
excessive
religious practices.
That was how
people
considered
the evidence
or the
account of
a woman.
They would
never give
evidence in
court,
it just
wasn't
accepted.
It would
work against
you.
So why
on earth
if you
were making
up a
story about
a resurrection
why would
you have
a woman
as the
first
eyewitness
account?
It wouldn't
help your
case at
all.
So the
only plausible
reason for
including Mary's
testimony is
because she
actually was
the first
person to
have seen
the risen
Jesus.
And that's
why John
records it.
Now I
wonder what
you think
about that
evidence,
what John
saw, what
Peter saw,
what Mary
saw.
Well I
never met
my grandfather
on my
mother's side.
he had
died eight
years before
I was
born.
I've never
met him
but I
have every
reason to
believe he
is a real
person.
I don't
have film
footage,
there's no
voice recordings,
there's no
Facebook account
or Instagram
account that he
was on.
I just have
the eyewitness
accounts of
my mother
and my
father who
have told
me stories
about him.
And I
have a
newspaper
article about
an award he
won for his
garden.
So although
I've never
seen Francis
Walton
Edwards,
I look at
all the
evidence and
I come to
the conclusion
that yes,
it's true.
And John,
the author
of the
gospel,
is providing
us with
evidence,
not that
Jesus was
just a
real person
who lived
way back
in history,
but he's
giving us
eyewitness
accounts so
that we can
believe in
the historical
bodily
resurrection of
Jesus.
It's something
factual,
something
historical.
In fact,
John himself
believed the
evidence.
Did you see
that in
verse 8?
After Peter
had gone
into the
tomb,
the other
disciple who
had reached
the tomb
first also
went inside.
He saw
and
believed.
But,
verse 9,
they still
did not
understand from
scripture that
Jesus had to
rise from
the dead.
Yes,
they'd come
to believe.
Yes,
they weigh
up the
evidence.
Jesus has
been raised.
But what
does it all
mean?
You might
say,
well,
so what?
He was
raised from
the dead.
What does
that mean
for you
and for
me?
Well,
let's follow
Mary's
encounter
with the
risen Jesus
and we
will see
that this
missing
body,
where we
now have
credible
evidence
for a
resurrection
changes
people's
lives.
Look at
the life
changing
impact the
resurrection
had on
Mary.
We're going
to consider
five things
about the
account of
Mary that
impact and
affect us
as well.
First,
notice the
despairing
loss of
Mary.
In verse
11,
we're told
that Mary
stood outside
the tomb
crying.
As she
wept,
she bent
over to
look into
the tomb
and she
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?
Now,
doesn't that
sound very
insensitive
and very
unloving?
If you
saw somebody
in a
cemetery
crying,
you don't
need to
ask them,
why are
you crying?
We know
the reason
why they're
crying.
Because for
most of us,
we've been
there too.
Death
hurts.
Death
robs us
of our
loved ones
and death
steals away
our joy.
Mary is
struggling
with a
despairing
loss.
Her
close
friend
Jesus
is
gone.
He's
dead.
And to
add to
her grief,
there's
no body.
There's
nowhere to
come.
You see,
death
confronts us
all with
this agonizing
grief.
And there
is nothing
we can do
to stop
it.
Death
comes
to us
all.
And like
it was for
Mary,
death
can leave
us
with a
deep
despairing
loss.
Maybe
that's what
you've
experienced
as you've
watched a
loved one
go.
The
aching,
heartbreaking
agony
of a
deep
despairing
loss.
But not
only was
there
despairing
loss
for
Mary,
there
was a
spiritual
blindness.
In
verse 14,
as she's
asked about
what
happened,
she says,
why have
they taken
the Lord
away?
She says,
I don't
know where
they've
put him.
At
this,
Mary
turned
around
and saw
Jesus
standing
there,
but she
didn't
realize
that it
was
Jesus.
Now,
Mary
isn't
blind,
and she's
not stupid
either.
She sees
Jesus,
but she
doesn't
actually
realize
it's
Jesus.
In
fact,
verse 15
tells us
she thinks
Jesus is
the gardener,
the one
who looks
after the
area.
She
sees,
but she
doesn't
actually
see.
Yes,
she sees
the empty
tomb,
and she
sees the
strips of
cloth,
but Mary
can't
see what
it all
means.
She's
got
spiritual
blindness
to the
resurrected
Jesus.
She's
stuck in
despairing
loss.
She has
no hope,
and she
has no
joy.
She's
blind
to what
has
happened.
Now,
that can
be true
for lots
of people.
we can
know
information
about
Jesus,
we can
learn about
things he
did and
things he
said,
but we
are
spiritually
blind to
what the
resurrection
actually
means.
So,
despairing
loss,
spiritual
blindness,
and the
third thing
we learn
from Mary
is about
God's
gracious
revelation.
Look at
verse 16.
Jesus
said to
her,
Mary,
she
turned
towards him
and cried
out in
Aramaic,
Rabboni,
which means
teacher.
Now,
there's two
ways for us
to think
about how
Mary
recognized
Jesus.
First,
you could
think,
well,
it must
have been
the way
that Jesus
said Mary.
It was
that kind
of accent
that Jesus
had,
and it
was just
the way
he said
it.
Mary,
for whatever
way he said
it,
it was just
something he
said that
Mary goes,
oh,
it's Jesus.
That's one
possible way
of thinking
about it.
But there's
another way
to think
about it,
and I
think this
is what
John wants
us to
grasp.
When Jesus
says Mary,
however he
said it,
it was a
personal call
of the
risen Jesus.
In other
words,
it was his
gracious
intervention
in her
life that
opens her
spiritual eyes
that reveals
Jesus
to Mary.
you see,
all of us
are born
blind
to who
Jesus
is.
As we've
said,
we can
know
information
about him,
but that's
the extent
as it
goes.
And unless
Jesus
opens up
our spiritual
eyes,
or the
eyes of
our hearts,
we will
never truly
understand
who
Jesus
is.
We must
have a
personal
encounter
with the
risen Jesus.
I'm not
saying a
face-to-face
one-on-one
with the
physical
Jesus
right here
and now,
but that
our eyes
would be
open,
the eyes
of our
heart,
to spiritually
see and
know who
he is.
And that's
what's
happening
now.
Through
this
written
and recorded
eyewitness
account of
the
resurrection,
the risen
Jesus,
through his
word,
today in
2026,
is calling
us by
name.
Johnny,
listen to
me.
Trust
me.
Know
who I
am.
Now,
if you
have never
ever had
an encounter
with the
risen Jesus,
I
encourage you
to ask
him to
open up
your
spiritual
blind
eyes,
open up
the eyes
of my
heart,
so that
I might
see and
understand
who Jesus
is.
So,
despairing
loss,
spiritual
blindness,
joyful
intimacy.
You see,
once Mary
can truly
see,
she
hugs
Jesus
with all
of her
might.
She
wants to
be with
him and
never leave
him.
Do you
see that
in verse
17?
Jesus
said,
do not
hold
on to
me,
for I
have not
yet
ascended
to the
Father.
Mary,
understandably,
wants Jesus
to say,
she doesn't
want him
to leave,
she wants
to be
with him
forever,
but Jesus
interrupts
her and
says,
Mary,
don't hold
on to
me,
because I
must
ascend to
the
Father.
Why
does
Jesus
have to
go to
the
Father?
Well,
when Jesus
goes to
be with
the
Father,
he's
going to
send the
Spirit to
his people.
Go back
with me to
John chapter
14.
Just a few
pages back,
John chapter
14.
And
verse
15.
John
chapter
14,
verse 15.
Jesus
is speaking
to the
disciples.
this is
before he
has been
crucified
and buried
and he's
teaching them
and he
says,
if you
love me,
keep my
commands.
And I
will ask
the Father
and he
will give
you another
advocate to
help you
and be
with you
forever,
the
Spirit of
Truth.
truth.
Well,
who's the
Spirit of
Truth?
Well,
let's go
back down
to verse
23.
Jesus
replied,
anyone who
loves me
will obey
my teaching.
My
Father will
love them
and we,
that's
Jesus and
the Father,
will come
to them
and make
our home
with them.
Isn't that
incredible?
Let's go
back to
chapter 20.
Jesus is
saying,
the Spirit
will be
sent by
the Father
and the
Son so
that we
might have
fellowship
with the
Father and
the Son.
By the
Spirit,
if we are
trusting in
him,
we can
enjoy the
love of the
Father and
the love
of the
Son.
There will
never be a
moment where
we will be
without him.
They will
make their
home in
us.
You see,
when Mary
was hugging
Jesus,
she had
him for
that moment
in time.
But Jesus
could go and
walk anywhere
and then
he wouldn't
actually be
with Mary.
But because
he goes to
the Father,
he sends
the Spirit,
the Spirit
of the
Father and
the Son,
so that
they could
be with
Mary forever.
Look at
the end of
verse 17.
Jesus says
to Mary,
go instead
to my
brothers and
tell them,
I am
ascending to
my Father
and your
Father,
to my
God
and your
God.
God
the
relationship
that Jesus
has with
God the
Father
can also
be our
relationship.
God is no
longer some
distant,
absent being
away out
there,
but through
and by the
resurrection,
he is present
with us,
giving joy
and hope
and life.
You see,
when our
spiritual eyes
are opened,
when the
risen Jesus
graciously
reveals himself
to us,
we enter
into an
unending,
unbreakable,
joyful intimacy
with the
Father and
the Son.
So a
joyful
intimacy
leads
finally
to a
new
purpose
in our
life,
a new
purpose
for our
life.
Mary's
life has
been
transformed.
There's
literally a
joyful step
in her
run.
Verse
18,
Mary Magdalene
went to the
disciples with
the news,
I have
seen
the Lord.
And what
good news
it was,
before she
was weeping,
she was
crying,
she was
in a
state of
deep
despairing
loss,
confronted
with this
death,
there was
no hope,
but now
she's seen
the risen
Lord.
There is
confident
hope.
Jesus,
who died
on the
cross on
the Friday,
was buried
and is
raised to
life,
is now
with us
forevermore
as we
place our
trust
in him.
By his
resurrection,
Jesus
has crushed
death to
death,
he has
destroyed
the grave,
defeated
our enemy,
the sting
is removed
and despair
is gone.
He comes
to us
to offer
us life
in all
its
fullness.
us.
Now,
of course,
none of
this is
saying
that that
means now
death is
easy.
No,
there's a
sense in
which Mary
was right
to grieve
because death
breaks what
is special
and it
ruins what
is good.
Death will
always be a
painful curse.
Yet we
know that in
our suffering
we have
the Spirit
of God,
the Father
and the
Son living
within us
to bring
us and
embrace us
with their
love and
comfort
every moment
of every
day.
and I
want to
underline
that today.
If any
of you
are
suffering
and
struggling
because you
have lost
someone close
to you,
know this,
that the
Father and
the Son
by the
Spirit
can make
their home
in you
and they
will embrace
you with
their love
and comfort
you as
we trust
in him.
And so
we can go
with a
new purpose.
Like Mary
we can tell
the good news
that Jesus
is risen.
He's alive
and he
can radically
change
your life.
You see
our hope
is not in
the stuff
of fantasy.
What we're
reading here
in this
gospel account
isn't just
made up
nonsense.
Our hope
is in the
bodily
resurrection
of Jesus.
Almost
2,000 years
ago
he died
on a cross,
he was
buried
and he
was raised.
And the
ones who
trust in
him
will one
day hear
the voice
of the
risen Jesus
and we
will be
raised
to eternal
life
in his
eternal
kingdom
forever
and forever
without
end.
I hope
that each
one of us
can go
joyfully
this morning
not in
despairing
loss
but filled
with hope
and say
I too
have seen
the Lord.
Let's pray
together.
Father God
help us
if we
have any
doubts
or any
concerns
or any
struggles
as to
the
reliability
of the
resurrection
that you
would indeed
open our
eyes
the eyes
of our
heart
that we
might see
and
experience
the risen
Jesus
in our
life.
Help us
to go
with
assurance
that Jesus
is indeed
risen
and has
come to
live with
all who
will trust
him
now
and
forever.
Thank you
for this
account
and thank
you for
Jesus.
Amen.