John chapter 20 verses 1 to 18. We're taking a break for a few weeks from our series in
1 John, so we're looking at the Easter story today. Next week we have a guest, Seth Lewis.
Seth Lewis? It's not Lewis. It is Lewis, yeah. Seth Lewis from Yaw will be coming to speak
and then the following Sunday we'll be looking at the big question of yes or no, the marriage
referendum and then we'll get back to 1 John. But we're not taking a complete break from 1 John,
it's the same author. John's Gospel also wrote the letters of 1 and 2 and 3 John, so
we're going to look at this together and I've asked Joe, it's good to have Joe back with us as well,
from his studies and Joe is going to read for us this morning. Thank you.
Hello.
John 20 from verse 1.
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 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, who was behind him,
arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that
had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. Finally,
the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.
They still did not understand from scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.
Then the disciples went back to their homes, but 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 have taken my Lord away, she said, and I don't know where they have put him.
At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
Woman, he said, why are you crying? Who is it that you are looking for?
Thinking he 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,
Rabboni, which means teacher. Jesus said, Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the
Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, I am returning 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.
Thanks very much, Joe. Well, please keep your Bibles open there in John 20. We're going to pray
and ask that God would help us to understand perhaps a familiar story to us, but that would be fresh
and that it would encourage us. Let's pray.
Father, we thank you for this true story, this eyewitness account, this record of those who first came to the empty tomb
and encountered the risen Jesus.
Father, we thank you for this true story, this is our prayer.
And it is our prayer that as we listen, as we read and engage with your word,
that we too, by the power of your Holy Spirit, would encounter the risen Lord Jesus.
that he would meet us where we are today.
Whether we believe, whether we doubt,
or whether we don't yet believe.
Lord Jesus, would you please come
and speak to us
and teach us what this resurrection means
for us today.
We ask this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Well, Jesus has already died.
He's been buried.
And we read this in chapter 20, verse 10.
Then the disciples went back to their homes,
But Mary stood outside the tomb, crying.
I think we can all identify with Mary
because we've all been there.
We've all experienced the heartache and pain
of losing a loved one.
With family and friends, we've stood round the grave
as we've said goodbye to those we deeply care for.
For Mary, this is the end.
All she has left are memories.
It's the tragic end of a life
that has been cut short,
33 years of age.
And her friend, the one who had healed her life,
restored her life,
is gone.
Death is always painful
because it robs us of our friends
and it steals away our joy.
Now, while tears are understandable,
we do not need to grieve like Mary.
You see, on at least three different occasions,
Jesus had said that he must suffer many things,
that he must be killed,
and after three days, rise again.
Jesus could not be clearer.
Three times we know he said this publicly,
I will be killed,
but I will rise.
So if Mary knows this,
why is she still crying at the tomb?
You see, while we all want the resurrection to be true,
like Mary,
we can struggle with disbelief.
And even if we do believe,
we can still have doubts
and wonder if this is just a made-up story.
For Mary,
the resurrection of Jesus
simply could not have happened.
You see, Mary came looking for a dead Jesus.
Look at verse 1.
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.
Now we might think,
as we follow along with Mary,
that she was on her way to see
if the resurrection had happened.
But we've got to get into the head of Mary
because she didn't have a belief in the resurrection.
Mary was actually just like
another character in John's Gospel,
Martha.
Keep your finger in John chapter 20
and go back to John chapter 11.
John chapter 11.
Here we meet a different Mary
and she's with her sister Martha.
And their brother Lazarus has just died.
And Jesus has arrived.
And this is what Jesus says to Martha.
Let's read verse 23 of chapter 11.
Jesus said to her,
Martha answered,
I know he will rise again in the resurrection
at the last day.
You see, Martha was a Jew.
She believed in a general resurrection.
A resurrection that would only happen
at the very end of time,
or as it says there in verse 24,
on the last day.
Jews, even Greeks, Romans,
they didn't believe that a person would rise from the dead
in the middle of history.
Religious or non-religious people at that time
did not have in their thinking a resurrection in time.
It wasn't part of their belief.
So go back to chapter 20.
So here's Mary arriving at the tomb.
She's not looking for a risen Jesus.
She's looking for the dead Jesus.
And even when Mary does see Jesus,
look at verse 14.
At this she turned round
and saw Jesus standing there,
but she did not realise that it was Jesus.
Even though she was there in his presence,
it was just outside of her thinking
that he could be there.
There was simply no hope of a resurrection.
In fact, Mary's only conclusion
is that the body has been stolen.
So look at chapter 20, verse 2.
So she came running to Simon Peter
and the other disciple,
the one Jesus loved,
and said,
they have taken the Lord out of the tomb
and we don't know where they have put him.
It's quite clear,
Mary had no belief in a resurrection.
Someone must have taken the body.
In fact, when she does see Jesus,
she thinks he's actually responsible for the theft.
So look at verse 15.
Woman, he said,
why are you crying?
Who is it you are looking for?
thinking he was the gardener,
she said,
sir, if you have carried him away,
tell me where you've put him
and I will get him.
It's just a comical scene, isn't it?
The risen Jesus is being accused by Mary
of stealing the dead Jesus.
You see, Mary is not yet a convinced believer.
She is just like people like us.
She's like the person we work with
who sees death as the end
but has no category of thinking
of life beyond the grave.
To them, it's just not possible.
People we work with,
people that we know,
they may have some kind of confused thoughts
about becoming part of the material world,
but a physical, bodily resurrection
is simply not part of their thinking.
Mary's also like the person
who is just anti-God.
They spend their time thinking of reasons
why the resurrection can't be true.
They are sceptical.
Jesus didn't die.
Jesus didn't rise again.
His body was just simply stolen.
They make up things.
So the question for us here is,
are we like Mary?
Are we looking for a dead Jesus?
Or do we just think that the body was stolen?
Do we disbelieve what has been written?
And even if we do believe this story,
do we have a little nagging doubt
in the back of our heads
that somehow this has just been made up
and it's not really true?
Well, like Mary,
we can know with absolute certainty
that the resurrection is true.
We have evidence to believe.
First,
the body was not stolen.
Have a look at verse 5.
Mary is gone to tell two of her friends.
In this account here,
it's Peter and John.
And we pick it up in verse 5.
This is John.
He bent over and he looked in
at the strips of linen lying there,
but he did not go in.
Then Simon Peter,
who was behind him,
arrived and went into the tomb.
He saw the strips of linen lying there.
Now,
in the first century,
burials are very different
to what they are now.
But what you did then
was that you would wrap
the dead body
in strips of layered cloth.
One layer would be put on
and then it was covered
in spices and perfumes
to help with the process
of decaying and the bad smell.
Then there would be another layer,
then more spices,
another layer,
and so on and so on.
So tell me this.
Why would anyone stealing a body
take the time of unwrapping it all?
It doesn't make sense, does it?
Why would they leave,
as it says in verse 6,
the strips of linen lying there?
And as Peter looks into the tomb,
the way that it says he saw,
he's thinking,
he's pondering,
what?
No body,
strips of linen,
what's going on here?
A stolen body,
you would take the strips of linen cloth
with you,
all wrapped up,
especially a body like Jesus's
that had been battered and bruised
and pierced with a spear.
A body that had been mangled like Jesus,
you wouldn't want to unwrap that.
But look what else Peter sees
in verse 6 and 7.
He saw the strips of linen lying there
as well as the burial cloth
that had been around Jesus' head.
The cloth was folded up by itself,
separate from the linen.
Now again, think about it.
If you're a thief,
why would you go through
the whole intricate detail
of folding up the cloth,
placing it all neatly in a pile?
Thieves don't hang around.
They get in as quick as possible
and they get out as quick as possible.
They're not concerned about
leaving things nice and tidy.
So the theory of the stolen body
doesn't stand up.
In fact,
if we're going to accuse the disciples
of stealing the body,
then we have to deal with the fact
that nearly all of the disciples
suffered a martyr's death,
crucified some of them,
killed because of their belief
in a resurrection.
And why would you allow yourself
to be killed
over something you knew wasn't true?
It doesn't weigh up.
It doesn't stand up.
In other words,
the evidence points to a resurrection.
The other piece of evidence
for the resurrection in this story
is that the first witness
to the empty tomb
is a woman.
In fact,
it's the same in the other gospel accounts.
She is the first witness,
Mary Magdalene,
as she comes to the tomb.
Now, why is this important?
Is it because women never lie?
Don't think so.
It's important because
a woman's testimony
was not acceptable.
Listen to this historian,
Josephus,
who was writing at the time.
This is what he writes.
He says this,
But let not the testimony
of woman be admitted
on account of the levity
and boldness of their sex,
since it is probable
that they may not speak truth
either out of hope of gain
or fear of punishment.
I don't agree with it.
I'm just stating
that was the way it was.
In the first century,
a woman's testimony
was not admissible evidence
in court.
You didn't have a woman say,
oh, I saw that,
because they didn't trust them.
In other words,
if you wanted to prove
the fact of the resurrection,
you would never use
the witness or testimony of woman.
That would only undermine
your evidence.
Writers of that time
never used women
to back up their case.
So why does John do it?
Well, the only reason
John would tell it like this
is because Mary
was the first witness.
Because it was true.
She was the first eyewitness
to the tomb.
The tomb was empty.
Jesus was raised.
You see,
faith in the resurrection
is based on facts.
Christianity is not subjective.
It is objective.
It is based on reality.
People say religion
is something that takes
the place of facts.
That's not true.
Christianity is built
and founded on
the truth of the historical,
personal, bodily
resurrection of Jesus Christ.
So the message
from this story is
believe in the resurrection
not because it's a nice story
or because it feels right
or we'd like it to be true
but believe it
because it is true.
But we need more
than just evidence.
We also need grace.
Like Mary,
we need an intervention
from the living Jesus.
First,
we need a personal intervention.
Have a look at verse 11.
There's Mary
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?
Now this is not
a sympathetic question.
They're not handing out
the tissues here.
It's a rebuke.
Mary,
why are you crying?
You don't need to be.
Jesus asked the same question
in verse 15.
Woman,
he said,
why are you crying?
Who is it
you are looking for?
You see,
if Mary was left
at the tomb crying
in verse 11,
if that's where
the story ends,
she would never,
ever come to believe.
On her own,
she would not
have understood.
She had heard
the words of Jesus
saying,
I'll die
and I'll rise again.
She's seen
the empty tomb,
but she still
doesn't understand.
It still hasn't
triggered inside her mind.
It hasn't
hit her heart.
It took more
than just evidence.
It takes
a personal
intervention
from the risen
Lord Jesus.
And that's
what happens.
At first,
in this very
comical scene,
here we have Mary
crying her eyes out
and this person
arrives in verse 15,
says,
why are you crying?
Who is it
you're looking for?
And she thinks
it's the gardener.
It's the caretaker
who looks after
everything
and says to him,
well,
why have you
taken him away?
Or sorry,
verse 15,
sir,
if you've carried
him away,
tell me where
you've put him
and I'll get him.
But then Jesus
called her
personally
by name.
Verse 16,
Jesus said to her,
Mary.
Jesus
takes
the initiative
and he comes
to this
disbelieving,
doubting
woman
and he calls
her
personally
by name,
Mary.
She turned
towards him
and cried
out in Aramaic,
Rabboni,
which means
teacher.
This is the
personal
intervention
into her
life that
causes her
to see
that this
is Jesus.
And this
is the
intervention
we all
need in our
lives
if we are
to believe.
well,
you might
say that's
great.
Wasn't
Mary lucky
to have
been there?
Because if
the risen
Jesus turned
up right
here,
right now
and he
walked
through
those
doors
and he
called
me by
name,
Johnny,
I'd
believe.
Would you
believe?
So do
we expect
Jesus to
turn up
and sit
beside us
and call
us by
name?
Well,
listen to
what Jesus
says.
Have a look
at verse
29.
It's a
little further
on in
the story.
Here we
meet a
different
person who
was disbelieving
and doubting.
His name
was Thomas.
And he
encounters the
risen
Jesus
too.
And we
pick it
up in
verse 28.
Thomas
said to
him,
my Lord
and my
God.
Then
Jesus
told him,
because you
have seen
me,
you have
believed.
You've
seen me
and you
believe.
Now look
at this.
Blessed
are those
who have
not seen
and yet
have
believed.
Jesus
says,
even
though you
can't
see me,
even
though you
cannot hear
an audible
voice,
you too
can still
believe.
And it's
all because
of my
gracious
intervention
in your
life.
You see,
as we
follow
Mary on
her journey,
as we
watch her
get closer
to the
tomb,
as we
watch her
look into
the empty
tomb,
name,
as we
see her
crying,
as we
hear Jesus
call her
name,
as we
follow along
with Mary,
we too
are looking
at the
evidence for
ourselves
and we
are also
hearing the
call of
Jesus
into our
lives.
Through this
story of
Mary,
Jesus is
calling each
one of us
by name,
personally
calling our
names so
that we
will follow
him and
trust him.
Blessed are
those who
do not
see,
but yet
believe.
You see,
most of the
time we
think that we
can get
through life
all on
our own.
If I
want to
believe,
well,
I'll believe
if I want
to.
If I want
to follow
Jesus,
well,
then that's
something I
might do
when I'm
a bit
older.
But that's
not how
it works.
It takes
the personal
intervention
of the
risen Lord
Jesus by
his Holy
Spirit to
open up
our spiritual
ears and
our eyes
so that we
see and
that we
hear the
call of
Jesus calling
us personally
by name.
Follow
me.
Mary
heard the
call.
she saw
the
evidence
and it
changed and
transformed
her life.
And this
is what
happens,
and this
is what
happens to
us as it
happened to
Mary when
we believe
the resurrection,
when we
put our
confidence in
the risen
Jesus.
We're going
to look at
four things
really quickly,
four things
that happen
when we
believe that
we can take
away with
us.
Here's the
first one.
God is
present with
us.
Look at
verse 17.
Jesus
said to
Mary,
do not
hold on
to me,
for I
have not
yet returned
to the
Father.
Don't
hold on
to me,
Mary.
You see,
when Jesus
returned to
the Father,
he promised
that he
was going
to send
the Holy
Spirit.
You can
have a look
back in
John chapter
14 or
just simply
listen.
In John
chapter 14,
Jesus is
speaking and
he says,
I will
ask the
Father and
he will
give you
another
counsellor to
be with
you forever,
the Spirit
of truth.
He says,
I will not
leave you
as orphans.
I will
come to
you.
And then
he says
this wonderful,
comforting and
reassuring words.
Jesus says
in verse
23,
My Father
will love
him and
we will
come to
him and
make our
home with
him.
So Jesus
is saying
to Mary,
as she
grasps who
Jesus is,
you don't
need to
hold on
to me,
Mary.
You can
let go
of me
because you're
never going
to lose
me.
I am
going to
return to
the Father
and when
I return
to the
Father,
the Father
and Jesus
by the
Spirit,
we will
come and
live in
you.
We will
not leave
you as
orphans.
God will
be present
in your
life,
dwelling
within
you,
making
your life
his home.
The
resurrection
means that
Jesus is
present with
us in
our lives.
God's
life.
The second
thing is that
we can enjoy
a personal
relationship with
this living
God.
Back in
chapter 20,
verse 17,
let's read it
again.
Jesus says,
don't hold
on to me,
for I've yet
to return to
the Father.
Go instead
to my
brothers and
tell them,
I am
returning to
my Father
and your
Father,
to my
God and
your
God.
Jesus
enjoyed the
most intimate
and personal
relationships with
the Father.
The Son
enjoyed the
Father and
the Father
enjoyed the
Son.
They were
one together
in that
perfect
intimacy.
And that
is what we
now have
if we
believe in
the resurrection.
Look at
what God,
Jesus,
says to
Mary.
I am
returning to
my Father
and your
Father,
to my
God and
your
God.
We have
a living
God who
is not
only with
us,
but he
is speaking
to us
through his
word.
He communes
with us
by his
spirit and
he's listening
to us as
we pray.
We can
enjoy a
relationship
with the
living God.
The third
thing that we
have because
of the
resurrection
is we've
got a
new purpose
for life.
Look at
verse 18.
Mary Magdalene
went to the
disciples with
the news,
I have
seen
the Lord.
I have
seen the
Lord.
And she
told them
that he
had said
these things
to her.
Before
we saw
Mary at
the tomb
crying.
She had
no hope.
She had
no purpose.
This was
the end.
There was
no meaning
for Mary
beyond the
grave.
That was
it.
It was
all over.
But now
all of
that has
been
completely
changed
and
transformed.
She now
has a
life to
live.
She has
been given
a commission.
She has
been sent
by Jesus.
Go and
tell them
that you
have seen
me,
that I
am alive,
that I
live.
And
followers
of Jesus
who know
the presence
of Jesus,
who have
that personal
relationship
with him,
have this
wonderful
privilege
of bringing
this news
that we
know the
risen
saviour.
The risen
saviour is
the hope
for our
broken,
suffering
world.
He will
come again
and judge
the world
with justice
and he
will raise
up all
those who
love him.
That
is
our
future.
That is
the hope
for our
broken
worlds.
And the
final
thing that
we have
because we
believe the
resurrection
is the
promise
that death
is not
the end.
Surely
this is the
big point
of the
resurrection,
that death
has been
defeated,
the grave
has been
destroyed.
Death is
not the
end.
Because
Jesus lives,
we who
believe like
Mary will
also live.
There will
be that
great reunion
of all
those who
love him
gathered
together from
throughout all
of history.
And we
will share
with the
Lord Jesus
in his
eternal
kingdom where
there is no
more suffering,
suffering,
no more
pain,
and there
is no
more death.
There will
be no more
funerals to
attend,
and there
will be no
more crying,
because Jesus
has risen.
listen to
these words
that Jesus
spoke at
the funeral
of his
friend,
Lazarus,
and he
speaks those
words to
us.
Jesus
said,
I am the
resurrection
and the
life.
He who
believes in
me will
live even
though he
dies.
And whoever
lives and
believes in
me will
never die.
Do you
believe this?
Let's pray.
Our Father God,
we thank you
that we
have a
risen
Lord,
a risen
Saviour.
The evidence
is there
before us
that he
rose from
the grave,
the folded
grave clothes,
the eyewitness
accounts.
We thank you
too that you
call us
by name,
speaking to
us personally,
saying,
see and
listen.
we thank you
that this is
all true.
And we
thank you
that because
this is
true,
we have a
personal,
living
relationship
with our
eternal God,
present,
living within
us,
his power
at work
within us,
providing us
with this
purpose
to bring
hope to
a broken
world,
and the
guarantee
of life
to come.
We thank
you that
life is
all sorted
from beginning
to end
because
Jesus
lives.
Would you
please help
us if we
disbelieve
to see
clearly who
you are?
And would
you please,
if we do
believe,
ground these
truths into
our hearts
so that
we live
with confidence,
trusting you
every step
of the way.
We ask
this in
Jesus'
name.
Amen.
We're going
to sing as
we close
our time
together.
It's really
a song about
the story
we've just
looked at
together.
See what a
morning,
gloriously
bright,
with the
dawning of
hope in
Jerusalem.
The second
verse,
see Mary
weeping,
where is
he laid,
as in sorrow
she turns
from the
empty tomb.
Here's a
voice speaking,
calling her
name, it's
the master,
the lord,
raised to
life again.
Let's
celebrate this
wonderful truth
that Jesus
is alive.
Amen.
Daunting of hope in Jerusalem.
Home is a great road to fill with life.
As the angels announce, Christ is risen.
Amen.
Thank you.
Let's pray. Father, we give you our thanks for the risen Lord Jesus.
We pray that you would help us, like Mary, to declare to others that the Lord is risen,
to tell this true story so that others may have the hope of life to come,
the presence of God and the relationship with him.
Father, go before us and help us, we pray.
In Jesus' name we ask.
Amen.
Thank you.
Amen.