Sunday Morning Service (John 20:1-18)

John 20:1-18

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“Seeing, Hearing And Doing!” •  4.12.20  •  Calvary Christian Fellowship, Resurrection Sunday Service

Intro.

- On this day, Christians around the world celebrate and proclaim the historical and victorious event of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

- Having been certified as dead, laid in a sealed Roman tomb for three days, that Sunday 2,000 years ago changed history. Death was defeated and all who believe in Christ have a new hope!

- The centrality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ to the faith of Christianity cannot be argued against. Every doctrine of the Bible hangs upon it's veracity.

- Think about it: If Jesus comes and lives perfectly, only to die without raising, He would have been no better than Muhammed, Krishna or Ghandi.

- Thankfully, on this morning, we celebrate the single event that separates Christ from all others! Think about the implications. He called every part, from death to resurrection.

- Every word that He has said, every promise that He has made, He has the power to keep, especially that which concerns the salvation of all that have believed upon Him for all time!

- But, on that specific, first resurrection day, things were not nearly as definitive. There were more questions than answers, more darkness than light, more confusion than clarity.

- In fact, I might say, that if it had been left to His people, we might never have had a message to give! The resurrection message might have died on the day that it occurred!

- Thank God He never fails! Our passage will unfold in the following way:

I. We'll See What They Saw (v.1-10)

II. We'll Hear What She Heard (v.11-17)

III. We'll Do What She Did (v.18)

Text

I. We'll See What They Saw (v.1-10)

• John 20:1 : "Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb." : Jewish people consider Sunday to be the beginning, the first day of the week and at the first possible moment, Mary Magdalene is on her way to Joseph of Arimathea's tomb.

- It was early and still dark. The ancient people of Israel began their day with the sunrise. This means that she must have been arriving around 4 AM.

- Mary alone is mentioned by John but she did not come alone. Mark 16:1 mentions an additional Mary and Salome. Why does John not mention the others?

- It may be that she was left alone when the fearful events of that early morning took place. Matthew 28:2-4 describes an earthquake and the appearance of an angel.

- His appearance caused the guards to shake with fear and become like dead men! The shock of the earthquake alone may have caused the other ladies to head back.

- Verse 2 suggests that they might have fanned out seeking for information. Not Mary.

- Mary Magdalene is from the Galilean town of Magdala. Luke 8:2 tells us that Jesus had exorcised 7 demons from her. You are not going to scare or stop her from getting to Jesus!

- Mary is coming to the grave out from that loyalty, with the intent of annointing the Lord's body with even more spices, according to Mark 16:1.

- All she wants to do is finish caring for the dead body of Jesus, but her devotion to Him is about to lead her to an amazing discovery.

- Having come to the tomb, she saw that the nearly 2 ton stone had been rolled to the entrance, had now been rolled away, leaving the tomb open and exposed to the elements.

- The Jewish leaders had been afraid that this might happen which is why there had been a detachment of soldiers assigned to the tomb.

- Scholars assert that this was a set of 4 soldiers who were relieved by another 4 soldiers on a three hour rotation, ensuring fresh bodies and eyes. (Matthew 27:65)

- Additionally, they had the tomb sealed with an official Roman cord, bound with wax, broken on penalty of death. (Matthew 27:66) When Mary shows up, all of this is gone!

- John doesn't tell us that she looked in, but it's inferred by what we see in verse 2.

• John 20:2 : "Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, 'They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.'" : Mary has to run to find Peter and the other disciple whom Jesus loved, which would be the author himself!

- The last time Peter was seen, he was sobbing uncontrollably at his denial. It's wonderful that John was there to pick him up! That's what the body of Christ does!

- We may not be much help to each other, but we will hope to be as much help as possible!

- These brothers comforted each other during incredible distress, but these pillars of the early church missed their most important meeting!

- Even Mary, who loved Jesus and listened to His every word, comes with an alternate explanation of what had taken place!

- "Someone has taken away the Lord and we don't know where they have laid Him!" She didn't run to share a miracle. She ran out of panic at being left out of the loop!

- She was at least partially right: Someone had taken Him out of the tomb! Jesus took Himself out of the tomb! Oh, with just a little adjustment, she would have gotten it right!

- Mary, the Lord's most ardent follower, assumes that Jesus is still dead and that His dead  body had just been moved. At least, her panic moved the disciples to action. Verse 3.

• John 20:3-7 : "Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself." : These two flew out of the coop, running to the place of the tomb. It's John's gospel so naturally, he outran Peter and yelled "FIRST!" when he got there!

- John was still a late teenager when this story took place. At the time that he wrote his gospel, he was at least an octogenarion! "I used to run..." He's the first disciple to peer into the empty tomb!

- As a good Jewish boy, he would not have wanted to be defiled by entering. He did look, scanning the scene at hand with an investigator's eye, seeing only the Lord's linen cloths.

- Think about the mystery that he is trying to put together. Who would take His body and why would they take it without also taking the cloths? That doesn't make sense!

- John is still looking intently when Peter comes lumbering up behind him. John is a sleek running machine, but Peter is a power lifter! What a great picture of these two personalities.

- John was the youngest of the disciples, while Peter was likely the oldest. John carefully looked in, not sure what to do. Peter impetuously dove into a dark, open tomb!

- Forget tradition! Peter was going to inspect that tomb thoroughly! I'm grateful that God uses all type of people, the ones with sensitivities and the ones without!

- When Peter entered the tomb, he discovered arrangement. The cloths were not simply discarded or thrown off.

- The linen clothes that covered His body were still in place and the handkerchief was folded together in a place by itself! He "saw" all of the evidence at hand.

- This word is quite different from the word that we took note of earlier and indicates yet another difference between Peter and John. The word here is "thereo."

- Our word "theory" comes from this word. Peter was actively "theorizing," seeking to discern what was meant by what he was seeing. He's puzzled, but he's actively trying to put things together.

- While he was still thinking, John overcame his hesitancy and stepped in to the tomb. Verse 8.

• John 20:8-10 : "Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again to their own homes." : John stepped in and of the first group at the tomb, he was the first to see and believe!

- Mary saw and did not initially believe. Peter saw, "thereo," and was theorizing. Some are theorizing today as well as they look yet again into the empty tomb.

- "What does this event mean and why is it important to me all of these years after the fact?"

- If you are a skeptic and have joined us this morning, I'm glad that you are here looking again at the empty tomb. Truly, in our integrated society, it's an inevitable yearly activity.

- God welcomes you and invites your theorizing. However, don't be misled. God desires that you would move beyond witnessing history and developing theory. God wants you to believe!

- John came first and scanned as he stood outside of the tomb. When he came into the tomb, he did not "theorize." He saw, the Greek word being "eido."

- The word reflects an understanding of the implication, which led him to a conclusion, which issued in his belief!

- His experience was teaching him but it was weak because scripture was not yet understood!

- At this point they did not know, understand the implication of the scripture that said He must rise from the dead! What scripture are they talking about? John is referring to Psalm 16:8ff.

- David, inspired by the Spirit of God, wrote that God would not allow His Holy One to see decay. Most believed, including the disciples, that this spoke of King David.

- Their experiences on this day taught them to look at this verse with different eyes! Listen to Peter explain this on the day of Pentecost.

• Acts 2:29-36 : "Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, 'Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.' Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.'" : Psalm 16:8ff as well as Peter's quotation of Psalm 110:1 reveal that the Resurrection and the Ascension were attested to in the Old Testament!

- I hope this encourages you. The day of the resurrection was a day of confusion. As the disciples spent time with Jesus and the Word of God, confusion gave way to clarity.

- For the believer in Christ, endowed with His Holy Spirit, the answers will always be found In scripture! Let's move on to verse 11.

II. We'll Hear What She Heard (v.11-17)

• John 20:11 : "But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb." : Mary had come back to the tomb with Peter and John, but none of them chose to share what the other thought! What a sad picture!

- Mary is left standing outside the tomb in the throes of uncontrollable lament! The tense of the verb indicates that she went on and on, her sobs intensifying with each passing moment.

- Why did she weep in this manner? She has no answers. The supernatural possibility has not entered her heart!

- As tears flooded her eyes, she looked again into the tomb. Had she missed something? 

- You have to see a moment of sovereign grace here. She is heart broken and devastated and just about ready to walk away, but something prods her to look again.

- How many Christians have had this same experience? They are on the verge of a breakdown, at a loss for answers, ready to step out into whatever oblivion they might choose.

- Then, they look again. They open their minds and hearts and decide that there may be something that they missed. Maybe there was a clue that the rising sun would reveal to her.

- Whatever prompted this and every moment like it, you can be sure that it was God behind the scenes, working to turn heartbreak into joy! Aren't you glad Mary looked again?

- For those of you who are struggling now, look again! This time, she'll hear. Verse 12.

• John 20:12,13 : "And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. Then they said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping?' She said to them, 'Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.'" : As she peered in, two angels had found their way to their seats! Their placement is no accident.

- When the ark of the covenant was constructed, Moses was instructed to construct the ark with two angels sitting on opposite sides on the top of the box, peering over onto the mercy seat.

- The mercy seat was where the blood of the lamb was sprinkled from the High Priest! The Angels were sitting over the place where the blood of the Savior had pooled!

- I believe this is where John made the connection between the Mercy Seat and Jesus, the "Propitiation" for our sins and the sins of the whole world! (I John 2:2)

- The grave was conquered and the King made it His throne! In an incredulous moment, they asked her, "Why are you weeping?" (Only angels . . . )

- This was not the time for tears, especially those of sorrow. Mary's answer reveals again how clueless she was. This is the second time she has had to repeat her question.

- Anyone who knows what a frustrated woman sounds like, knows what they angels were facing! All she wanted was Jesus' physical body. Verse 14.

• John 20:14,15 : "Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?' She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, 'Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.'" : This is just classic. The Angels have talked to her and she just turns around to begin another conversation!

- In the rest of scripture, when people encountered an angel, they generally come close to losing all of that is left in their digestive tracts! Not Mary Magdalene.

- Then, Jesus is right in front of her and she thinks that He's the gardener!

- Somehow, she thinks He's responsible for removing the Lord from His place and will take on the responsibility if He just let's her know where He is! And technically, she's right! He did move Him!

- Mary's love for Jesus was outstanding. In her mind, she was prepared to pick up a dead body, wrapped heavily in cloth with over a hundred pounds of burial treatment! "No problem!"

- She's just going to drag Him wherever once she finds Him! She's ready for duty and it won't be a problem because of her great love for Him. She won't have to worry about it. Verse 16.

• John 20:16,17 : "Jesus said to her, 'Mary!' She turned and said to Him,  'Rabboni!' (which is to say, Teacher). Jesus said to her, 'Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’" : This scene feels like an inside joke. "She'll figure it out guys. Just wait!" She didn't and Jesus can't take it!

- "Mary!" He chuckles!" C'mon, you can't be serious!" That was the moment of revelation and believe it or not, it's the moment that each of us needs!

- You can look all that you want and attempt to put the pieces together, but until you hear the Spirit of God calling your name personally, you will never respond! How does that faith come?

- Romans 10:17 tells us that faith come by hearing and that, by the Word of God! Jesus said that His sheep would hear His voice! (John 10:27)  Have you heard Him speak to you?

- He calls even now for you to believe what the Resurrection proves, that He is the Son of God who has taken your sin and shame and is the Way you must travel and the life that you are lacking!

- She cried out "Rabboni!" There are three ways that one can speak to a Rabbi and each reflects a deeper level of reverence. "Rab," "Rabbi" and "Rabboni!" Mary could only use one!

- She called out to Him with all of her love and then attached herself to Jesus' body, more than likely His feet! "You got away from me once, you're not getting away from me again!"

- I can almost hear Jesus laughing and saying this to her. "Don't cling to me Mary!" Why? Because He had not yet ascended to His Father. This doesn't mean that He has business elsewhere.

- Neither does He alert her to this because she is hurting or hindering Him! He is telling her two things. First, He's going to be ascending to the Father, but it's not now. She'll have time.

- She will see Him many more times over the next 40 days. He will be appearing to and teaching His followers some very valuable lessons before He permanently ascends.

- However, the second thing is more meaningful to her and to us. What had Mary Magdalene come to find at the tomb? What was she obsessed over? His physical body!

- Jesus is telling her, "Don't get tied to my physical body! You are not going to relate to me this way any longer. My presence through my Holy Spirit will be with you always!"

- Beleivers have been given His Holy Spirit who never leaves us and is with each of us eternally! Ours is to know Him through His Spirit and Jesus tells us that it's better this way!

- We have the capability of having a deeper walk with the Lord simply because we can never be parted from Him! His mind, His heart and His love are known and expressed to and through us!

- His resurrection brings us into intimate contact with Him hourly, which begs a question.

- Mary obsessed over His physical body. How much more do we desire His spiritual and abiding presence? I pray that you are redeeming this hour of trial and making your homes a temple!

- Jesus commissions Mary to be the first Apostle to the Apostles! Go and tell them this message. Jesus would be ascending to His Father and their Father, to His God and their God!

- We are so closely united to Christ, that we are brought into the very Family of God!

- Jesus doesn't just make us citizens. His blood makes us His family! V. 18.

III. We'll Seek To Do What She Did (v.18)

• John 20:18 : "Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her." : God gives the greatest news in the world to a woman who had once been possessed by 7 demons! This is just like God!

- At Christ's birth, God gave first dibs to a bunch of shepherds in a field! His first disciples were common fishermen! His best witnesses were formerly blind, demon possessed and even Samaritan!

- The Rabbis of this time believed that the law should be burned before entrusting it to a woman! To say the least, giving the news to a woman of this era was fraught with challenge.

- In fact, if a woman was the only witness to a crime, the case was thrown out for a lack of eyewitnesses! How about that Ladies!? The Resurrection turns everything around!

- All God wants is a willing vessel and he had that in Mary, who could not wait to give the news of what she had seen. "I've seen the Lord!" She stared at Him and saw Him conclusively alive!

- Our best blessing is to tell the world around us what it is that we have seen Jesus do in our lives. "I used to be, but now I'm." I've seen Him change my attitude and my desires.

- I've seen Him touch and change lives that could not have been changed otherwise!

- Mary had seen the Lord and now she was sent with a Word from Him! She spoke what He had spoken to her! This is the essence of evangelism and the essence of exposition.

- You and I do not make up a message. He has given us a message. He gives us a testimony and He gives us a duty to tell the World these things.

- What a joy it is to reach out of the well of your own heart and experience and tell the World why it is that you are the way that you are! It's all because Jesus is alive!

Conclusion
- You have had a chance to look into an open tomb, empty of it's previous inhabitant. What do you see? Are you taking in the scene, trying to figure it out, or have you come to believe?

- You have had a chance to hear from the Savior that death could not stop. He called Mary's name and He is calling your name right now! He loves you and beckons you to hear His message!

- You have had the chance to see and hear. What will you do about it? What will you tell your friends and family? What message will they get from you? Your opinions? Your desires?

- Let it be that you simply deliver His message: He is risen and has gone to His Father and will come again to bring us with Him, that where He is there we may also be!