March 7, 2004 Sermon - Baldwin Christian Church

John 20:1-18

Chapter 19 ends with the brave actions of two unlikely characters, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. Jesus had just died on the cross, so Joseph boldly asks Pontius Pilate for the body while Nicodemus gathers up a fortune in burial spices. On that pivotal day in human history, it wasn't only the weak things chosen by God to do the work. Somehow, these two men of stature and power in Jerusalem were able to overcome fear of what other people might think about them or what other people might do to them, and somehow they gave Jesus a proper burial before sunset that day. When we begin chapter 20, a new day is dawning. It's three days later, and we're greeted with another unlikely character, Mary Magdalene, coming to the tomb just as the sun is rising (just after THE SON arose). This chapter is, in my opinion, the most important chapter in the Bible. To be a Christian means that the very hinge to your faith is found in these verses.

It's not enough to believe:

that Jesus was the Son of God, Immanuel (God with us)
that He was born of a virgin
that He lived a sinless life
that He worked many great signs and wonders
that He was crucified in fulfillment of prophecy

If we believe these things about Jesus, but we don't also have the same conviction about His victory over death, then our faith is in vain, and we are then (as Paul would say) the most miserable people in the world. In order to be in communion with His Spirit, we have to reach the point in our lives where we figuratively stoop down and look into the tomb where Jesus was laid to rest, and a point where we enter in so that we can "see" for ouselves that every Word He said was (and is) the truth.

If you read this chapter with understanding, it will add to your faith in Jesus Christ. And, to the hope you have in Him, it will add courage! John focuses on the central characters, but he leaves out some of the details of what was going on that morning in and around Jerusalem, so we have to jump around a little in the other gospels in order to understand it all better. For all you Bible students, the harmonious chapters are Matthew 28, Mark 16, and Luke 24. Whenever I study in God's Word, the number one tool I rely on (other than my trusty KJV Bible) is the Strong's Concordance. Every single word in the Bible is referenced there, and every word is defined alongside the original word in the Aramaic, Greek, or Hebrew form that it was translated from. The reason I mention this is because the English language just fails to get the point across sometimes, and it especially falls short when we compare it to the Greek language. For example, when we say the word "love" in English, it can sometimes cause misunderstandings, and as Amy Carmichael said, "If I can allow the least shadow of a misunderstanding, then I know nothing of Calvary love." If we were to say the word "love" in the original language of the New Testament (Greek), we would have four completely different words to clearly represent what kind of love we're expressing. I suppose this helps the folks in Greece avoid misunderstandings, but for us English-speaking types, we can get into trouble because there's only one word for love, and at least three different ways that the hearer might interpet what we mean by it. John chapters 20 and 21 are wonderful places to do in-depth study, especially on the word "love." We're not going to touch on the different meanings behind the word "love" today because I think I'm already going to have a hard enough time keeping you all awake, but if we were to study this chapter in-depth, we could not only learn more by studying the words translated as "love," but also the three different words translated into English as "seeing." Going back to the orignal text is very helpful in trying to understand this very complex chapter. The translators didn't come up short in these passages, but our English language does. Going into the finer points of even just the first half of this chapter would take me several days to explain, so I'll spare you that discomfort, and just recommend that you study it word-for-word on your own with one finger in the KJV, and one finger in the Strong's.

Jhn 20:1 The first [day] of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.

The other gospels tell us that it was more than just Mary Magdalene who came to the tomb, probably the same group of women who served Jesus all during His ministry, but she is the only one mentioned by name in all four gospels. This faithful group of grieving women were coming to the tomb, thinking they would annoint the body of Jesus with spices, but they had forgotten something. In one of those humorous Biblical moments, as they approach the tomb, somebody in the group suddenly remembered that there was a giant stone sealing the entrance of the tomb, and Mark tells us that "they said among themselves, (oops) Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great."

Jhn 20:2 Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.

Mary Magdalene was a "can-do" person. Did she stop and scratch her head, or fall to her knees and weep? No, she immediately took off running. Her duty as the Lord's servant was to tell her brethren what she saw. Because of the gentle nature of the words "laid Him," it would seem that she was thinking the "they (who) have taken away the Lord" might have been Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, and of course the "we who know not where" refers to the other women with Mary who John fails to mention.

Jhn 20:3 Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre.

Peter and John instantly started out of the house and were coming to the tomb. Even though she must have been exhausted from three terrible days and nights of grieving, and out of breath for having just run all the way from the tomb, confused, crying, and physically spent, but her love perseveres, and she makes it back to the tomb in verse 11.

Jhn 20:4 So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre.

In previous years they probably did compete for the best fishing holes in the sea of Galilee, and it seems that the death of Jesus hadn't quenched the rivalry between Peter and John. The KJV doesn't fully convey the emphasis John placed here in the original text, but the NASB does: "The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter and came to the tomb first." All that needed to be said here is that John arrived first, and saw the empty tomb before Peter did, but for reasons beyond my understanding, John was compelled to include this verse. He may have been "the disciple that Jesus loved," an apostle, but he was still just a human being, and John had his faults just like the rest of us do. Poor Peter, we so often remember his denial of Jesus and we like to think that we wouldn't have done that, but we lovingly remember John as the disciple who stayed with Jesus until the very end, thinking that we would have been like him. Even though he probably wrote this almost fifty years after the Resurrection Day "footrace," and a few years after Peter's death, John is still poking fun at him, and Lord willing, we'll try to understand why when we get into the next chapter. (phileo vs. agapao rivalry here) As for this verse (John 20:4), right now I can't see anything other than John's pride coming out. I will admit that (for me) this adds to the authenticity of the writing, because a hoaxer would probably try to be more virtuous.

Jhn 20:5 And he stooping down, [and looking in], saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in.

Jhn 20:6 Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie,

Jhn 20:7 And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.

Uh-oh! This means the shroud of Turin is a phony!

Jhn 20:8 Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.

Jhn 20:9 For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.

"Must" - the religous leaders sure were scared of this word. They SEALED the rock covering the sepulchre. They placed guards around it. They were probably thinking about Psalm 16:10 (For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.). Jesus had repeatedly told the disciples that He would have to die, and be risen from the dead, but its seems that all the emotions and sorrow clouded their memory. That didn't happen with the religious council. They remembered Jesus' words very well. Our enemies usually remember our words even better than our friends do.

Mat 27:62 Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation (the day after Jesus was crucified and buried), the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate,
Mat 27:63 Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.
Mat 27:64 Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.
Mat 27:65 Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make [it] as sure as ye can.
Mat 27:66 So they went, and made the sepulchre sure (to make firm, to make secure (against harm), to be made secure), sealing the stone, and setting a watch.

After the earthquake shook, and the stone rolled away, Matthew 28 tells of the bribe that some of "the watch" took from the religious council. In another bit of Biblical humor, these soldiers were told to say, "His disciples came by night, and stole him [away] while we slept." I'm sorry, but I wouldn't be able to contain my laughter if one of these soldiers told me that the disciples came and stole the body while all the watchmen were asleep. A three year-old child could poke holes in that story.

Jhn 20:10 Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.

Luke mentions (24:12) that as they walked away from the tomb, Peter was "wondering in himself at that which was come to pass." No reason to stick around because Jesus was gone.

Jhn 20:11 But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, [and looked] into the sepulchre,

Jhn 20:12 And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.

Jhn 20:13 And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.

This time she doesn't say, "we" know not where they have laid Him. Because she is alone, she says, "I know not where." These are angels, but she doesn't get all excited about seeing them, and doesn't really give them the time of day. She's focused on one thing, her impulse to grieve over the body of Jesus. She didn't know it was Resurrection Day, and the angels didn't tell her because Someone else is going to.

Jhn 20:14 And when she had thus said, she turned herself back (away from the tomb, away from the angels), and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.

Mary doesn't recognize Jesus. Was it because her eyes are so flooded with tears that she can't see clearly? Could be, but I doubt it. The brutal torture Jesus endured at the hands of the temple guards and the Roman soldiers caused Him to be disfigured more than any man. They had even plucked out His beard. We get the idea that Jesus was all better after the Resurrection, that He was back to normal, or in a new body, but that just doesn't jive with scripture. Later in this chapter, Thomas needed physical proof in order to believe that Jesus was resurrected, so Jesus said, "Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust [it] into my side: and be not faithless, but believing." The wound was still open, and it must have been one of life's great moments for Thomas, because the only thing he could say was, "My Lord and my God." Later on, when the apostle John was shown heaven, he wrote, (Rev 5:6) "And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain," and the "Lamb" has a capital "L" here. If you go back to Exodus and Leviticus and read about how the Passover lamb was slain, it's not a pretty sight, that is unless you know the reason why it was killed. In Zechariah 12:10, speaking of the time when Jesus comes again, it says, "...they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for [his] only [son], and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for [his] firstborn." Yes, Mary had seen Jesus die, and she'd been at His burial, but even so, how could anyone recognize Him in this state of disfigurement, much less expect to see Him standing outside His tomb?

Jhn 20:15 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.

Oh man, I'm really beginning to like Mary Magdalene. She turned away from the angels because they weren't helping her find her Lord's body, so she asks the next Guy she sees if He knows where the body is, and tells Him that she'll carry it away if He'll just tell her where it is. The lifeless body of a man's man (He endured the beatings. He was a carpenter.), a body that probably outweighed her by quite a bit, and she would carry Him all by herself. I think that's cool. Hey, love bears all things, love endures all things! When the love is true, the heaviness of love's object doesn't matter (This gives a little hope to us single, overweight types.). I mean, she's on a mission, but her mission is about to change!

Jesus had cast out seven demons from Mary Magdalene (Luke 8:2). The scriptures make it pretty clear that demons don't particularly care about our well-being, so I would imagine that Mary endured much pain and she probably exhibited some pretty strange behavior, but Jesus saw something in her that nobody else did. Jesus made a radical change in Mary's life, and if you're like me, Jesus has changed you radically, too. If you know someone, if someone you love is in torment, if they exhibit strange behavior, Jesus can change them radically, too. If we could only see ourselves through the eyes of Jesus...

Well, here she is, all alone and looking desperately for His body. Devotion. Was she the greatest disciple? All the boys did was fight over that position. All Mary did was serve. Of all the people who loved Jesus, who would He choose to be the first to see Him?

Jhn 20:16 Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni ( hrab-boo-nee' ); which is to say, Master (Teacher. She was His disciple, His student.).

John 10:3 (the Good Shepherd) To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.

She recognized His voice only after He called her name. In one brief second, Mary Magdalene was raised from the depths of despair to the heights of joy. The One that she watched die, the One she thought was dead, He's alive! No matter what language this was written in, or translated into, it all falls short of describing what she felt at this moment. The only language that conveys the meaning of this verse is the language of love.

It's obvious that Mary asked "the Gardener" if He knew where the body of Jesus was, and then she immediately turned back to look toward the tomb, still full of sorrow and confusion, but then she heard "the Gardener" call her name, and I see whiplash injury when I picture the speed at which she turns back to Him. Only two words were spoken in this verse: "Mary," and "Rabboni." The best moments in life are usually the ones in which very little is said. Words just make things more complicated, so I'll take a hint and wrap up this message with the next two verses.

Jhn 20:17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and [to] my God, and your God.

We too need to reach a point in our lives where we look toward the tomb. The brokenness of the tomb, of being crucified and dying with Jesus, that we need to face. We need to face the sorrow, the grief and confusion of the tomb, yes, and for some of us that needs to happen more than once a day. Jesus calls our names, but it's so hard to hear Him above all the hub-bub in our lives. He gave Mary a mission here. There wasn't time for a bunch of emotion. He's commanding us to do the same thing: Go and tell the brethren. He didn't say to Mary, "Go tell the guys who abandoned Me." He could have, but He didn't. He calls me His brother when I deserve to be called what I really am, a despicable wretch, unworthy of what He did for me. He alone changed our relationship with the Father. Because of Jesus we no longer have to say "our" Father. Because of Jesus, each and every one of us here today can now say "my" Father.

To some of you here today, Jesus is asking you, "Why are you still weeping?" To some of you He's asking, "Who is it (what is it) that you are seeking?," and to all of us He's saying, "Go tell My brethren. Encourage them. Don't cling to worldly things, they'll only let you down, and don't cling to Me. Hey, I came and I finished My job so that you can now "cling" to the Father, to My Father, and to your Father. Now get going!"

Jhn 20:18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and [that] he had spoken these things unto her.

There are many wonderful things in these verses that I haven't shared with you today. I simply ran out of time. There's many wonderful things in these verses that you can keep in your heart, things that add strength to your faith, but there's one more thing I want you to know. Jesus chose to reveal Himself to Mary first for a good reason. He knew how the doubters and naysayers would attack His Word, and He's given us many things to prove that every Word He said is true. Think for just a moment about the time in which this book was written. Nobody would ever believe a story like this, a story about a suffering Savior who arose from the dead on the third day, just as He had foretold, and to have the first witness to His resurrection be a woman. Think about it. Women had practically no civil rights in those days, and in that culture. John was a Jew, and it's a foregone conclusion that He wrote this gospel. What Jewish author of that day would invent an amazing story like this, and then spoil it by putting this unlikely character, Mary Magdalene, as the first witness to the most important event in the whole story? This is another one of things that let you know, that let me know, that every word in this book is true, and you know what else it shows? It shows that it doesn't matter what you've been through, or what people think about you, what matters is that God can and will lovingly choose you. He chooses you, and when you step out in faith and obedience like Mary did, He then gives you the power to do great and mighty things.

1 Corinthians 15:14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
1 Corinthians 15:17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.