John 20:1
Now the first day of the week Mary
Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the
stone had been taken away from the tomb.
From that day to this for about 2,000 years Christians have
gathered on the first day of the week because of what we see here.
We call it Sunday, but a better name is Sonday;
the day, the Son rose from the grave.
Even though others were with Mary, the Holy Spirit has John
put the spotlight directly on, Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom Jesus
cast out seven demons (Luke 8:2; Mark 16:9).
Isn’t that just like Jesus?
He finds the saddest person in the room, the least likely to
succeed, and He sits down beside them, hugs them, and carries them on His back
to the front of the class.
The name Magdalene likely indicates that she came from
Magdala, a city on the southwest coast of the Sea of Galilee. The city had a
reputation for prostitution.
There’s no solid Scriptural evidence; however, some claim Mary
was the sinful woman in Luke 7 who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears,
and dried them with her hair; then kissed them and anointed them with an
alabaster jar of perfume.
Jesus said of this woman, because she has been forgiven
much, she loves much.
Many, including the movie, Passion of the Christ,
portray, Mary Magdalene as the woman Jesus saved from stoning after allegedly
being caught in adultery (John 8:1-11). Again, there’s no Scriptural evidence
for this either.
The fake, fictional, deceptive, novel “The DaVinci Code” made
the claim that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married.
Some early non-Biblical writings hint at a relationship
between Mary and Jesus. However, there’s absolutely no evidence
whatsoever, and the Bible doesn’t even hint at such a thing.
Mary Magdaline went to the tomb early, real
early, still dark early.
She, forgiven much, loves much.
She probably didn’t sleep a wink.
Is she afraid, since Jesus is dead—will the demons return?
How could life go so dark, so bad, so sad, so fast?
I was getting on track, and then, now…
I don’t want to go back to the way I was.
I thought He was the Answer. When I was near Him, when I could
see Him and hear Him, everything was so clear, I had hope, and peace…
But now?
I don’t know. I. don’t. know.
I just need to get close to Him. Can’t wait for morning light.
I need to be near Him, now.
But I don’t even know how to do that—there’s this big, stupid,
boulder, between me and Him.
I can’t budge it.
I just know, I need to try, to be near Him, to see Him.
And so, she went.
Like the birds start singing before morning; it was still
dark and she was going.
Even though, she thought, He’s dead. She still headed His
direction. Even though it seemed there was nothing more He could do for her—she
still went to Him.
Not for her, but for Him, because she loved Him, still believed
in Him, even when all evidence said she shouldn’t.
Like the Shunammite’s wife who kept
saying, it is well. What? Your son just died. Get out of my way I’ve got
to get to God. 2 Kings 4:8-37.
Like the woman with the issue of blood. It doesn’t matter how many doctors have failed, I just know, if I get to Him, I’ll be made whole. Mark 5:24–34 and Luke 8:42–48.
Like Horatio Spafford, as he passed
over the waters where his daughters died and penned the hymn, It Is Well With My
Soul.
Hebrews
11:1
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not
seen.
Now, can you feel it? While she’s going, something’s happening.
Yes, the bolder was big, the tunnel of night was really dark,
and long, and yet, with every step, more and more, the closer she got to Jesus,
the more the earth shook and by the time she arrived, she could see the
stone had been rolled away. (Matt. 28:2).
God proves
His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans
5:8.
2 Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom
Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb,
and we do not know where they have laid Him.”
Mary, ran to Peter, and to the other disciple, (John).
Her head hadn’t caught up with her heart, so she spoke from fear,
not faith, and said, they’ve taken Him.
Mark 16:7, tells of an angel appearing to
the ladies at the tomb and telling them to go tell the disciples—and
Peter—that He will see you in Galilee.
Peter’s eyes were probably still red from weeping over denying
he even knew Jesus, His Best Friend, His Lord, His Savior.
Listen angels, tell Mary to tell My disciples—and make sure, she tells Peter.
Jesus looks for the saddest person in the room, sits by them,
hugs them, carries them on His back to the front of the class.
Psalm
34:18
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are
crushed.
Isaiah
61:1
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach
good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim
liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners
3 Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the
tomb. 4 So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran
Peter and came to the tomb first.
Must’ve looked like a cross country race.
Mary ran by from the tomb, as fast as she could go.
Then, a few minutes later, Peter and John come flying by on their way to
the tomb… with breathless Mary Magdeline trailing behind.
Also, did you notice, it kind of looks like John is in a battle
between humility and pride?
In verse two he seems to be so humble he won’t even mention his
name and calls himself “the other disciple.” But then without taking a
breath he adds, “Whom Jesus loved.”
Then in verse three he does it again, twice he calls himself, “the
other disciple” but then quickly adds, he outran Peter and won the race
to the tomb.
FYI: Tradition says, Peter was older than John.
5 And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying
there; yet he did not go in.
He, stooping down, because
the typical opening would only be about 3’ high by 2.5’ wide.
Remember this was the tomb of the wealthy Joseph of Arimathea.
A typical rich man’s tomb would be large enough to walk into, with a place to
lay out the body on one side and a bench for mourners on the other side; or
another bench for another body.
Looking in, saw, in the original text this
is the word, blépō, meaning to see with discernment. To see something
physical, with spiritual perception.
John looked in, saw the graveclothes, empty; and
something started to click.
6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw
the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the handkerchief that had
been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded
together in a place by itself.
The handkerchief: Greek, soudarion; a head cloth,
for the dead.
In the original text, the Greek word for, saw, is theōréō,
it means to look upon and contemplate, for the purpose of analyzing.
It’s the root of the word, theatre. People watch and
analyze a performance.
John paused to discern the meaning of what he saw.
Peter rushed in to gather facts and analyze what he saw.
The linens and the head cloth just lying there, folded.
It was obvious the body wasn’t stolen, a grave robber would’ve
taken the whole body, graveclothes and all.
This was a mystery.
When Joseph and Nicodemus prepared His body for burial, they’d
have wrapped, like a cocoon, strips of linen smeared with ointments and aloes
and spices.
There’d be no way to remove the body without creating a mangled
mess of the strips of cloth.
However, the way the scene is described, the body of Jesus
simply evaporated out of the cocoon and the cloths simply folded in upon
themselves right where they lay.
8 Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he
saw and believed. 9 For as yet they did not know the
Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. 10 Then the
disciples went away again to their own homes.
Here the Greek word for, saw, is horaó, and means to
see, to perceive.
John saw, perceived, and believed.
Oh yeah, and in case we missed it the first time—he (the other
disciple) was the winner of the tomb race.
So, he wasn’t only first to the tomb, but also first to
believe.
Then, they went home.
Remember, it was really early when Mary got
them, maybe they hadn’t had their coffee yet.
11 But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped
down and looked into the tomb.
But Mary stayed.
Who’s forgiven much, loves much.
12 And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at
the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
Notice the angels, on Divine assignment, didn’t appear to Speedy
or Petey.
But they do to Mary.
Jesus looks for the saddest person in the room, sits down
beside them, hugs them, carries them on His back to the front of the class.
13 Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”
The word “Woman” was a respectful term, like, ma’am, or
my lady.
On the outside this may sound like a dumb question.
It’s a funeral. Someone is crying in front of a fresh dug grave, and you ask,
“Why are you crying?” That’d be a dumb question.
But we’ll see, that here, this is not a dumb question at all.
She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know
where they have laid Him.”
Why didn’t John explain to her what he perceived and believed?
14 Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing
there, and did not know that it was Jesus.
The fog of grief can become so overwhelmingly thick that we
don’t even recognize Jesus standing right in front of our eyes.
But make no mistake, He’s right there, with you.
Isaiah 61:1
Psalm 34:18
15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?”
Okay, we won’t dare say Jesus asked a dumb question, so, this
is actually a smart question.
Why are you weeping? Because, He whom you’re seeking isn’t
dead, but alive, and standing right here with you.
Your grief will never be too strong, or too deep, for His
relief, to reach.
His peace, His hope, His joy, is ever near.
Yes, we weep because we weren’t created for grief.
But we weep with this first day of the weak, in
our tears; Sonday in our sorrow.
Easter in our tears.
She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have
carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”
Of course, she herself couldn’t carry Him away, but in our
passion to find our Lord, we ought not ever consider any weight, any cross, too
heavy to bear.
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!”
Of all the sermons she’d ever heard from her Lord, that one
word was the best sermon of all.
That one word, explained everything, made all the difference, for
eternity.
Don’t miss the message.
Mary, a woman.
Mary from Magdala, the town of harlots.
Mary, the woman, from the town of harlots, who was demon
possessed.
Mary, the woman Jesus chose for His grand appearance, out of
the tomb.
She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher).
With that one word, she knew Him.
With this one word, she calls Him.
17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to
My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending
to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’ ”
Do not cling to Me.
He is not saying, “Touch Me not.” In the
original text, He is telling her to let Him go. Okay Mary, stop clinging
to Me. We both have places to go, people to see.
Then, He chooses Mary as the first missionary of His resurrection.
Go to My brethren.
This is the first time we hear Jesus call them, brethren.
Now that He’s paid in full the penalty of sin and death; the divorce
decree that separated them has been torn asunder.
Now the family can be reunited, so now, He calls them, brethren.
I am ascending to My Father.
He entrusts Mary to carry His travel plans to His brethren.
This triggers the memory of Him saying, He’s going to His
Father’s house to prepare a place for them; and then, return to receive them. John
14:1-3.
18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord,
and that He had spoken these things to her.
The law courts of that day would not even recognize the
testimony of a woman… but Jesus did.
Isn’t that just like Jesus?
He chooses the saddest person in the room, the least likely to
succeed, and sits down beside them, hugs them, and carries them on His back to
the front of the class.
Preparing this message, I had just loaded the picture on the
right to PowerPoint on my laptop. Then just like that as if on cue, my daughter Kayla,
texted me the picture on the left with the words
Eternal Everlasting Love
Let’s pray.
Thank You, Lord Jesus, for living, and dying, and
rising, so we could be, one with You, again.
Thank You for coming to us, in our weakness, our
sorrow, our tears.
Thank You for Your Eternal Everlasting Love.
We love You, forever.
Amen.
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