John 20:1-18 April 10, 2011
Today we will be looking at John 20. Previously in John, we saw the hopelessness that Jesus’ loved ones must have felt at the crucifixion. And we can understand why the thought of resurrection seemed so out of the question. At their own expense, they buried Him in an honorable way. It was Friday when Jesus was placed in the tomb and the Sabbath began that evening. The first day of the week began on what we call Saturday evening. By Sunday morning, Jesus had technically been in the grave three days.
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. We can tell a lot about this tomb, and we think the opening would have been about three feet high and two foot wide. It probably had a round wheel like stone that sealed the entrance. Inside would be benches along the walls on three sides or a semicircular arch with a bench built into the wall on which the body was laid to decompose. The other Gospel writers tell us Mary Magdalene came with other women. The ladies had come on the third day as was customary for Jewish people to mourn the dead and add spices to what had already been placed with the body. The spices were to cover the smell of decomposition. They certainly weren’t there because they expected Jesus’ resurrection. The women probably didn’t know that the stone had been sealed by Rome or about the guards that had been there as that took place after the beginning of the Sabbath. When they arrived, the stone sealing the entrance was already moved out of the way. An angel had moved it, not to let Jesus out, but to let the world in to see the tomb was empty. The grave being left open would have caused them to fear grave robbery or desecration by the enemies of Jesus. Grave robbers were such a problem in that time period that the emperor Claudius would declare it to be a capital offense. The value of the spices, linen, and treasures buried with the dead was a great temptation for people to steal them. 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!" Apparently Mary went on ahead of the other women with her arriving while it is still dark, but the others are described as arriving at Sunrise. Mary ran to tell the disciples before the other women saw an appearance of angels. After re-telling the story of the empty tomb she went back. The other women also went to the house where the disciples were hiding and told them of the angel announcing the resurrection of Jesus. Though they all heard, only Peter and John acted on it. 3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Whether they ran to confirm the fact that the tomb was empty or if they had hope that Jesus had risen we don’t know. Either way, they knew something was going on and they wanted to get to the bottom of it. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Since John is writing this gospel, he is the only one that would have known that detail. John, the youngest, outran Peter, the oldest. It’s not surprising, nor does it seem out of place that John wouldn’t go in, while bold Peter goes straight in. 6 Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there,7 as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. John used a more intense word for the way Peter looked at the grave clothes. The head cloth seemed to be right where it had been on the body of Jesus. The strips of linen that held the spices are mentioned, but the body shroud may have been taken by Jesus for clothing. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. Peter’s presence in the tomb helped John to have the courage to go on in. What he saw there convinced him that Jesus had risen from the dead. Lazarus had needed assistance to get out of the grave wrappings as told in John 11; Jesus went right through His. The seemingly impossible prediction of rising in three days had come to pass. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) The word for Scripture here is singular. It would be that evening, with the help of Jesus, that they would be able to start to connect the dots with Jesus’ life and many prophetic expressions in the Old Testament. If they would have already made those connections, it would have been easier for them to believe the words of Jesus that after three days He would rise from death. Our connection of the Word with our daily life is what gives us faith to believe what Jesus is doing each day. 11 but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. Mary finally saw the angels that the other women had seen. Apparently Mary has not yet heard what they told the other women. (Matthew 28:5-7) 5 The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you."
13 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." We must sometimes really confuse angels. Her Lord is risen from the dead, made it possible for her to have eternal life, made her justified before God and she’s crying! Where was her faith? The angels must feel that way about us at times too. We have all that Mary had and more. We have the Word in our hands, two thousand years of church history, the presence of the Holy Spirit and we go about whining. I can just hear those angels, where is your faith? You are a chosen son or daughter of God. The righteousness of Christ has been credited to you. You have everlasting life!” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. Through her tears and with her last recollection of Jesus as a lifeless mangled corpse, she assumed it was the only other man that would be there that early, the groundskeeper. 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 have put him, and I will get him." Jesus asks the same question the angels asked, but also added the “who”. There He stood! Sometimes we are crying our eyes out, asking for Jesus to show up and help us through our difficulty, and all the while He is right there speaking with us. Our tears blind us from the answer right in front of us. Jesus has a way of breaking through when we are truly seeking Him. 16 Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher). How did He break through? He called her name. She knew how He said it. She knew the sound of His voice calling to her. Perhaps He had a special way of saying it to distinguish her from all the other Marys. (Proverbs 8:17) says 17 I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me. ; (John 10:4) 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. It is the same for each of us. Jesus has a way that breaks through our preoccupation with daily routines. For the Apostle Paul and many of us, it is a recollection of our conversion. The Spirit of God has a phrase and a memory to break through to me, and He has a way to break through to each and every one of you. If you don’t know what it is already, ask Him to show you. We’ll each have our own special name, like the way Jesus called to Mary Magdalene. I imagine it will have something to do with the way He tenderly speaks to us even now. 17 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.'" I think that Mary had just gone through the most heart wrenching physical separation of her life. She finally found someone who loved and valued her. She finally found a reason to believe she was truly made in the image of God, and then that person that had brought so much healing to her soul was brutally murdered. Suddenly there He was, alive again, and she didn’t want to ever let Him go. Jesus knew her heart and did not want to cause her more pain. She could not cling to His physical presence. He must ascend to the Father. The cycle of what He had come to do was almost complete. He would not allow her to be attached to His physical presence because it was time for her to know His spiritual presence. The wording of that command gives us some insights as to the change that resurrection had brought. Notice that Jesus doesn’t say He is ascending to our Father and God. There is a difference in our relationship with God and His. He is the only begotten Son. Our relationship with God is based on Jesus’ relationship with God. But also notice that for the first time Jesus calls the disciples “brothers”. In spite of the great difference of Creator and creation, we have been adopted as sons of God and accepted as brothers of Jesus.
18 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. Mary will be the first in a string of people to be witnesses of the resurrection. Peter will see the Lord. (1Corinthians 15:5) 5 and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. Cleopas and his friend will too. (Luke 24:18) 18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, "Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?" Then Jesus will appear to the whole group. Everyone needs to look at the empty tomb and realize what it means. Jesus has conquered death. God accepted His sacrifice for our sins, and we can rise to new life with Him. The Resurrection means Jesus has reconciled us with God. (Romans 4:25) says 25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. We must have a personal encounter with Jesus that brings us to a personal relationship that is intimate. He is our rabboni, Master & teacher. And finally, if the relationship means that much to us, we will surely tell those that we meet of how He has changed our life. We will tell them how the grave is empty and that He lives within our heart. He’s alive, and that makes all the difference in this world and the next!
Pastor Bob Hickox
570-412-9202
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