Rev. Terry Breum St. Mark Lutheran Church, Lindenhurst, Illinois Easter Sunday April 05, 2015 "He Is Alive!" John 20:1-18 (ESV) [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. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ. Amen. Walking to the tomb Mary Magdalene and her small band of woman were carrying spices to pour over the dead body of Jesus. They were discussing amongst themselves who would roll away the stone that sealed the tomb containing the corpse of Jesus. Joseph of Arimathea donated the tomb for he truly believed Jesus was the Son of God. Little did he know that very soon his donation would be given back to him and something far better namely Someone, 1
Jesus. The same women who knelt at the foot of the cross were the very ones walking to the tomb, except Mary the mother of Jesus. She was not present. I can only imagine the mood of the ladies. I think the darkness of the hour mirrored their emotions. It was well before sun up somewhere between 3:00am and 6:00am in the morning and darkness was everywhere. It is not an uplifting experience to travel to a cemetery. So much had happened to Jesus and these ladies in such a short time. Thursday was a wonderful day as preparations for the Passover were made. But on Friday morning at 9:00am the bottom dropped out of their world. The One they loved dearly was nailed to a cross and by 3:00 in the afternoon Jesus breathed his last. The sadness of the moment, well there are not words to describe. That intense grief was still with them. Now all they could do is pour stuff over a dead body. The Jews did not embalm the dead nor did they do cremations. They bound linen wrappings around the dead and poured over the wrappings myrrh and aloes to keep the stench at bay for as long as possible. Jesus was the most hated person in the surrounding region. For Joseph of Arimathea to ask for the body of Jesus was to put his life on the line. For these ladies to journey to the tomb was risky business. By showing their love of Jesus the Jewish leaders could ban these women from synagogue worship or have them tried in a way that put their lives in jeopardy. The women truly loved Jesus and their love for him outweighed all other concerns. I believe they did this in darkness so as not be seen. Friends when you truly want to serve the Lord Jesus Christ, your primary motivation in doing so is Jesus great love for you proven by his death on the cross. And your motivation for serving the Lord Jesus is your love for Jesus. There are persons here today who got up real early this morning to cook for the Easter Breakfast. Yes, they wanted to provide food for us, but underneath it all, these cooks are connected to the Lord Jesus Christ and it is that connection, that relationship with Jesus that motivated them to roll out of bed and get to work early preparing breakfast. Friday and Saturday there were a lot of persons working hard to get this sanctuary ready for Easter worship. From ironing, to the placing of flowers, musicians practicing, welcome center setup, money being counted, and a ton more of work, why, because they know the love of Jesus and they love Jesus. This morning as I filled out the checks for the offering I honestly asked myself. Why am I giving this money? I have a lot of other places where this money could be used. Friends, the ladies risked their very lives to go to the tomb because they knew so deeply the love of Jesus. We give our offerings because we love Jesus. Our primary motivation in serving Christ is the love of God. God s love given to us and our hearts fills us with love for 2
Jesus. That is why we worship the Lord Jesus in church every week, out of hearts filled with the love of Jesus. We just can t stay away. We are drawn back week after week year after year. It is that plain and simple. You could not keep these women away from the tomb. Maybe you are a little tired of serving Christ. You see things that disappoint you and you wonder why you should even care. You wonder why more people don t pitch in. And the answer is so simple. You keep serving because the Lord Jesus loves you so much. You were put on this earth by Jesus to serve. You keep caring because the Lord cares. You don t quit serving until the Lord takes you home. And then the Lord will richly reward your service unto him. The greater you serve Christ here, the greater your reward there, in heaven. God sees all that you do for him. None of your work done out of love for Jesus goes unnoticed. And no one will be more richly rewarded or honored in heaven than Jesus because no one has served or suffered more than Jesus. Jesus did this out of love for the Father and love for you. It is not easy to see in the dark. In the darkness they saw something that horrified them. The stone had already been rolled away and the body of Jesus was nowhere to be found. Grave robbery was huge in those days. Their sadness was now multiplied. Mary Magdalene ran to find Peter and John and tell them what they had discovered. They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him (John 20:2). Peter and John took off running, John outrunning Peter and arriving first at the tomb. John peeked into the tomb and saw what Mary Magdalene said was absolutely correct. The body of Jesus was gone and he saw the linen cloths lying there. John did not enter the tomb. Peter rushes by John and goes directly in. The Bible says, He [Peter] saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus head, not lying with the linen clothes but folded up in a place by itself (John 20:6-7). When Lazarus was raised from the dead he needed help getting out of the linens. But Lazarus was raised from the dead only to die again. Jesus was raised in a glorified body that would never die again. His body simply passed through the linen wrappings. We do not actually know when this happened. The stone had to be moved so the people would realize the great miracle. The way the linen wrappings remained in the tomb discounts the theory that Jesus body was stolen. If grave robbers came in, they would have taken him bound in the linen wrappings. Or they would have left the linen wrappings in a mess, not all in order. John looked and believed that Jesus was risen from the dead. John is the first person to believe in the risen Christ. The Bible says, he saw and believed (John 20:8b). He believed because of the absence of Jesus body, the undisturbed grave clothes, and the neatly rolled up facecloth (John 3
MacArthur, John 12-21, pg 369). The Bible says, for as yet they did not understand the Scripture that He must rise from the dead. Peter and John returned home, leaving Mary alone at the tomb. It was the absence of Jesus than convinced John. On the other hand it is the appearance of Jesus to Mary Magdalene that convinced her Jesus had overcome death and risen from the dead. This was to be Jesus first of many appearances what we call post resurrection appearances. Verse 11, But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. Verse 12, And she saw two angels in white. In the depths of her grief she more than likely did not know these were angels in human form. They asked her (vr 13-14), Woman, why are you weeping? This question is a gentle rebuke. The time for mourning was over. It was time for great joy. Mary responds, They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him. Having said this Mary turned around and saw Jesus standing but she did not know it was Jesus. Why Mary did not recognize Jesus immediately we do not know. It may have been as simple as her eyes being filled with tears. She did not in any way know or understand anything as of yet about the resurrection. When a person is in excruciating grief one s perceptions are not all that clear. Jesus repeats the words of the angels (vr 15). 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. Friends, Mary saw Jesus die. There was no doubt in her mind that Jesus was dead. She saw blood and water pour out of Jesus when they pierced him with a sword. Verse 16, Jesus said to her, Mary. When Mary heard Jesus say her name the light came on. The one who had been in the depths of despair was now on the highest mountain. Jesus is alive. Now she understood. It was the absence of Jesus that convinced John. It was the Presence of Jesus that convinced Mary Magdalene. She clung to him and did not want to let him go ever. Friends one day you too will hear Jesus say your name. On the day of your homecoming, Jesus will speak your name and it will be the most wonderful voice you have ever heard. No one loves you more than Jesus and when hear him speak your name you will be filled with love, joy, and peace. You will be in heaven. He will say your name because He knows you. Those who do not know Jesus will not hear their names at death. This is why it is terribly important for you to recognize the risen Christ now so you can be with him when it is your time. 4
Jesus says to Mary (vr 17), 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. Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, I have seen the Lord and that he had said these things to her. I close with these two comments. At Trinity Lutheran in Ingleside where my wife is the pastor there is a man whose name is Dave. Dave s son is a soldier in Iraq. One day Dave was asked to attend a meeting in downtown Chicago. It was an important meeting, so important that the press would be there. Dave agreed to attend not knowing what was planned for him. I do not remember the name of the building where this occurred but let me tell you what I do remember. Dave was there in the meeting and when he looked up there was his son, the surprise guest, just home at that moment from Iraq. Dave did not know at all the surprise that he had in front of him. This had all been planned for months, but Dave did not know. When you see your son home from war it does something to you. I will never forget the love that I saw between Dave and his son. Some of you have lost sons and daughters to death. God has already planned the day when you will be reunited. This is the beauty of the resurrected Christ. Those who die in Christ are still alive. God has planned the reunion and your sadness will be no more. The love of God will overwhelm you. God s goodness wins the day. One last thing. Joseph of Arimathea donated the tomb for Jesus body out of love for Jesus. But it was a temporary donation. Jesus rose from the dead to die no more. Every grave, every tomb, every urn is only temporary. One day all who die in Christ will be together again with brand new glorified bodies to die no more. Our bodies may be in the grave for more than 3 days but soon and very soon, we are going to see the King. Every grave is temporary. We are heading toward our eternal dwelling place where Jesus will call you by name. You will recognize Him instantly being changed completely into his likeness for you will see Him face to face. And it is all because of God s amazing grace that saves us and leads us home. Amen and Amen. 5