John 20: 1-18
Key Scripture: John 20: 1-18
1 Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. 2She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
Darkness to Light: The light that changes everything
Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters.
Genesis 1:3 Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.” And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day.
1 Peter 2:9b…As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.
As in the beginning, light comes into darkness and changes everything.
What proved the resurrection?
3Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. 4They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in. 6Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, 7while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. 8Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed— 9for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead. 10Then they went home.
The debate is never whether the tomb was empty or not - only why it was empty.
John understood that the discarded wrappings and an empty tomb wasn’t the mysterious disappearance of a body - it was evidence of victory because it meant that Jesus had come back to life!
The Centrality of the Resurrecton
When John saw the empty tomb and the linens laying there, he believed and understood what the scriptures had been pointing to. At that moment, everything Jesus had been saying for three years suddenly made sense.
If you believe in the resurrection, it changes everything. If it is true, the only response is to follow Jesus with everything.
The resurrection of Jesus shifted human history. The entire world has been impacted and influenced by the message of Jesus.
The Gospel is incomplete without the resurrection. The death of Jesus on the cross is essential. It’s the death of Jesus guarantees that we can receive forgiveness, but it’s the resurrection that means we can enjoy new life both here on earth and into eternity
Romans 4:25 He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God.
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
11Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. 12She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. 13“Dear woman, why are you crying?” the angels asked her.
“Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”
14She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him. 15“Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?”
She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.”
16 “Mary!” Jesus said.
She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”).
17 “Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
18Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” Then she gave them his message.
Mary Magdalene is one of the most faithful disciples in the New Testament.
She is another in the pattern we see of people encountering God and then we see them “Go and Tell.”
We are each called to take this call personally. Live on mission. Your story makes a difference.
1 Peter 2:9b…As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.
Isaiah 53:4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! 5 But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. 6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all. 7 He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. 8 Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream. But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people. 9 He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave. 10 But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands. 11 When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins. 12 I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier, because he exposed himself to death. He was counted among the rebels. He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.