The Resurrection - Easter Sunday

3 Weeks of Easter Resurrection - John 20:1-18 April 20, 2025 Good morning, Happy Easter! Thank you for celebrating with us at Thornydale Family Church. Easter, believe it or not, is a difficult day for preachers - at least it is for me. It's a familiar story. It's one that is difficult to find something to preach that is "new" or different, as the story itself doesn't change. In fact, the story itself is simple, Jesus rose from the grave. I'd argue that most people know that is why we celebrate Easter. I was reminded of this story that I've heard a few times: A man took a vacation to Israel with his wife and mother-in-law. During their time in the Holy Land, his mother-in-law unexpectedly passed away. The following day, the husband met with the local undertaker to discuss funeral plans. "In cases like these, there are a couple of options to choose from," the undertaker explained. "You can ship the body home for $5,000, or you can bury her in the Holy Land for just $150." The man took a minute to think about it, and then announced his decision to ship her home. The undertaker, intrigued by his decision, said, "That's an interesting choice. Can I ask why would you pay $5,000 to ship your mother-in-law home, when you can easily bury her here for $150?" The man promptly replied, "About 2,000 years ago, a man died and was buried here. Three days later he rose from the dead, and I can't take that chance!" See, even this guy knew the story of the Resurrection, and seemingly believed it enough to let it drive his thinking. In a way, he's not wrong, the fact of the Resurrection should shape our minds and hearts, but obviously this isn't exactly what that means. Obviously, this morning, we're going to spend our time discussing the Resurrection of Jesus as we close out our Easter series on this beautiful Easter Sunday. This week, we'll look at John's account from chapter 20. Please follow along as I begin at verse 1 and I'll read through verse 18: 1 NOW ON THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK MARY MAGDALENE CAME TO THE TOMB EARLY, WHILE IT WAS STILL DARK, AND SAW THAT THE STONE HAD BEEN TAKEN AWAY FROM THE TOMB. 2 SO SHE RAN AND WENT TO SIMON PETER AND THE OTHER DISCIPLE, THE ONE WHOM JESUS LOVED, AND SAID TO THEM, "THEY HAVE TAKEN THE LORD OUT OF THE TOMB, AND WE DO NOT KNOW WHERE THEY HAVE LAID HIM." 3 SO PETER WENT OUT WITH THE OTHER DISCIPLE, AND THEY WERE GOING TOWARD THE TOMB. 4 BOTH OF THEM WERE RUNNING TOGETHER, BUT THE OTHER DISCIPLE OUTRAN PETER AND REACHED THE TOMB FIRST. 5 AND STOOPING TO LOOK IN, HE SAW THE LINEN CLOTHS LYING THERE, BUT HE DID NOT GO IN. 6 THEN SIMON PETER CAME, FOLLOWING HIM, AND WENT INTO THE TOMB. HE SAW THE LINEN CLOTHS LYING THERE, 7 AND THE FACE CLOTH, WHICH HAD BEEN ON JESUS' HEAD, NOT LYING WITH THE LINEN CLOTHS BUT FOLDED UP IN A PLACE BY ITSELF. 8 THEN THE OTHER DISCIPLE, WHO HAD REACHED THE TOMB FIRST, ALSO WENT IN, AND HE SAW AND BELIEVED; 9 FOR AS YET THEY DID NOT UNDERSTAND THE SCRIPTURE, THAT HE MUST RISE FROM THE DEAD. 10 THEN THE DISCIPLES WENT BACK TO THEIR HOMES. 11 BUT MARY STOOD WEEPING OUTSIDE THE TOMB, AND AS SHE WEPT SHE STOOPED TO LOOK INTO THE TOMB. 12 AND SHE SAW TWO ANGELS IN WHITE, SITTING WHERE THE BODY OF JESUS HAD LAIN, ONE AT THE HEAD AND ONE AT THE FEET. 13 THEY SAID TO HER, "WOMAN, WHY ARE YOU WEEPING?" SHE SAID TO THEM, "THEY HAVE TAKEN AWAY MY LORD, AND I DO NOT KNOW WHERE THEY HAVE LAID HIM." 14 HAVING SAID THIS, SHE TURNED AROUND AND SAW JESUS STANDING, BUT SHE DID NOT KNOW THAT IT WAS JESUS. 15 JESUS SAID TO HER, "WOMAN, WHY ARE YOU WEEPING? WHOM ARE YOU SEEKING?" SUPPOSING HIM TO BE THE GARDENER, SHE SAID TO HIM, "SIR, IF YOU HAVE CARRIED HIM AWAY, TELL ME WHERE YOU HAVE LAID HIM, AND I WILL TAKE HIM AWAY." 16 JESUS SAID TO HER, "MARY." SHE TURNED AND SAID TO HIM IN ARAMAIC, "RABBONI!" (WHICH MEANS TEACHER). 17 JESUS SAID TO HER, "DO NOT CLING TO ME, FOR I HAVE NOT YET ASCENDED TO THE FATHER; BUT GO TO MY BROTHERS AND SAY TO THEM, 'I AM ASCENDING TO MY FATHER AND YOUR FATHER, TO MY GOD AND YOUR GOD.' " 18 MARY MAGDALENE WENT AND ANNOUNCED TO THE DISCIPLES, "I HAVE SEEN THE LORD"-AND THAT HE HAD SAID THESE THINGS TO HER. I want to keep things simple this morning. Here's our main idea: Through the example of Mary, we can correctly respond to the Resurrection of Jesus. Particularly, we can learn a lot from Mary Magdalene from this passage. You may have noticed that she is prominent in this account. We actually don't know a lot about Mary, aside that all four Gospels mention that she was present at both the Crucifixion and the Resurrection of Jesus. Luke first introduces her as one that Jesus cast demons out of. But, in general, her story is instructive. Unfortunately, many who were healed or ministered to by Jesus stopped following Him once they were satisfied, Mary stayed by His side, and as we read here, she was (at least one of) the first to see Him when He rose. One of the things we can learn from Mary's example here is how to respond to the resurrection. So, that's the question, or thought, that I want to focus on this morning. So, let explore further ... HOW TO RESPOND TO THE RESURRECTION Again, using the example of Mary from our passage this morning, we first acknowledge that ... * I must seek the Risen Lord (vv. 1, 11-14) o John only mentions Mary Magdelene here, but the other accounts tell us that there were at least two other women that went with her. o John's account also tells us that she went "when it was still dark," while the others use words like "early" or even "dawn." o In John's account, we see that verse 1 tells us that Mary went to Jesus' tomb. Now, this is where we go to the other accounts to understand why she was going there so early in the morning. Mark and Luke tell us that she went (with Mary and Salome) to anoint Jesus' body with spices. o This is interesting because it really reveals that the women (nor the disciples, illustrated by Peter and John's reaction) did not expect Jesus to have been resurrected, as the spices they brought would have been for the purpose of honor and devotion, and to mask the smell of the decomposing body. o But here is what we do see from our passage this morning, Mary sought the Lord. We see this clearly in verses 11-14, don't we? o Her heart was broken by the fact that there was an empty tomb, and no sign of her Savior. o We can learn something from this, because the empty tomb was not enough to believe in the resurrected Lord. o An encounter with Jesus - as we will see momentarily - is what everyone needs to come to complete faith. o Verses 8-10 tells us that John and Peter believed, but after further study, I believe this to mean that they believed that Jesus was no longer in the tomb, because verse 9 tells us that they didn't understand the Scriptures, and verse 10 tells us that they returned home. o How do we encounter the Lord, then? According to John ... * I must listen to the Risen Lord (vv. 14-18) o I really love this account. o When Jesus spoke, Mary must have known something was up. She even accused Him of being the gardener and taking Jesus' body. o Evidently, grave robbing was a common occurrence in those days. o But you know what wasn't? The resurrection of the dead. o It was when Jesus called her name, that she knew it was Him. o Why? o Maybe because of what Jesus said in John 10:27, where He stated, MY SHEEP HEAR MY VOICE, AND I KNOW THEM, AND THEY FOLLOW ME. o This interaction between Jesus and Mary shows the personal relationship that she had with Him. o And as disciples, we are to also have this type of personal and intimate relationship with Jesus. o One that when He calls, we listen and act. Which we see her do in verse 18. She does exactly what Jesus asked her to do. o There's another aspect to this encounter, and that is that we respond by ... * Looking at the Risen Lord (vv. 16-17) o As Jesus calls her name, she turns and looks to Jesus. o I want to pause for a moment because we're seeing something very important here. o There's been a progression here. o First, I need to seek after the Lord. * The bible teaches us that God has revealed Himself to everyone in Creation. In other words, no one really has excuse not to believe in God. * However, because He gives us free will, we can choose to follow Him. * Many refuse to do that. It's possible that I'm speaking of someone here this morning. You can change that. Right now, by choosing to follow Him. o That's why it is important for us to begin by seeking God. After we begin to seek Him, He invites us to follow Him. * Many hear that call, but as already noted, not everyone answers that call. * So, this progression of seeking after the Lord must lead to answering the call to follow Him. o Then, and only then, we can look at Him. * Seeing Him for who He is, and falling down to worship Him, and to serve Him. o When Mary calls out to Him, she acknowledges who He is. * Her personal Savior. * Her "RABBONI" o You can sense the love in her response. o Now, Jesus' response - admittedly - is odd. He tells her not to cling to her. * Either she began to - or did - embrace Him, or He knew that she was about to embrace Him. * But why did Jesus react this way? I don't know. John doesn't tell us. * But, the rest of His response, however, tells us that He was still about His Father's business, and that there was still more to do. o This leads us to our final response to the Resurrection. * I must tell others about the Risen Lord (vv. 2, 17-18) o A couple of weeks ago, we looked at 1 Corinthians 15, Paul's account of the Resurrection. o In that account, Paul lists many of the people who could testify to seeing the Risen Lord. o But Paul notably omitted Mary and the other women. o We concluded that he did this because Paul was presenting a legal case of Jesus' resurrection. o In those days, the courts would not recognize the testimony of a woman, but Jesus did. o People say that the Bible is misogynistic, I'd challenge them to explain this. o We cannot ignore this. o First, if someone was to make up a religion during that period, there is no way they would use a woman's testimony to do so. o Second, if a formerly demon-possessed woman could be one of Jesus' closest disciples, and one of the first witnesses to His resurrection, then friends, there is hope even for even those who seem hopeless or unreachable. o This is one of the beauties of the Christian faith, Jesus levels the playing field. Through His life, death, and resurrection, He shows us that we're ALL in need of a Savior. And He further shows us that He is that Savior. o This is why our response MUST include telling others of Jesus. o This is exactly what Mary did. First, when she saw the empty grave, she ran to Peter and John - two of the leaders of the early church, then she later, after seeing the Risen Lord - ran and told the others. o Notice the difference between verse 2 and verse 18. * In verse 2, He is gone! * In verse 18, He is Risen! I've seen Him! And guess what friends, we can still proclaim that very thing that Mary proclaimed almost 2,000 years ago. He is Risen! We saw this morning that: through the example of Mary, we can correctly respond to the Resurrection of Jesus. That response begins with seeking after the Lord Jesus. The Risen Christ. Many of you have already done that, you have heard His call and have answered it. You have seen Him work in your lives and the lives of others. Maybe for you, your next step is to tell of Him more. Maybe some of you have not answered that call. I urge you today, that if you have not done that, please answer His call today. He is calling you. If you want to do that today, please see me or Pastor Pat, or one of the elders after the service, we'd love to talk to you more about that. But as we close this morning, we will continue with a word of prayer, and during that time, the worship team will come up to the stage and close our time with another song to worship our Savior. Let's pray. 2