The Resurrection And Empty Tomb

Speaker: 00:00:00

In John 20, we come to the capstone of the entire gospel, the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

2

00:00:06,920 --> 00:00:11,160

Three days after his death on Calvary, Jesus rose from the tomb.

3

00:00:11,560 --> 00:00:15,880

In today's study, we'll examine the details and testimonies of that resurrection,

4

00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:21,160

and we'll see why the words, He is risen, matter to us all of these years later.

5

00:00:22,900 --> 00:00:28,060

The truth of Christianity, it rises or it falls on this one question.

6

00:00:28,580 --> 00:00:31,680

Is Jesus actually risen or not?

7

00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:35,360

Now, let's imagine for a moment that he is not risen.

8

00:00:35,460 --> 00:00:36,980

What would the implications of that be?

9

00:00:37,220 --> 00:00:39,740

Let's say that Jesus died 2,000 years ago.

10

00:00:39,820 --> 00:00:43,040

He was put in a tomb, and then maybe grave robbers took him or something.

11

00:00:43,140 --> 00:00:44,820

Maybe his bones were taken, put somewhere else,

12

00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:48,580

and right now they're rotting somewhere in a crypt or a tomb in the Middle East.

13

00:00:48,580 --> 00:00:51,820

What would be the implications of that if that were true?

14

00:00:52,380 --> 00:00:54,760

Well, at the very least, it would mean that everything we're doing today

15

00:00:54,760 --> 00:00:56,720

is foolishness and our faith is nothing.

16

00:00:57,200 --> 00:01:01,960

The Apostle Paul once considered this exact question in 1 Corinthians 15, the resurrection

17

00:01:01,960 --> 00:01:07,600

chapter. He said, if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty, and our faith is also empty.

18

00:01:07,960 --> 00:01:12,020

And furthermore, we are also false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that

19

00:01:12,020 --> 00:01:18,380

he raised up Christ. If Christ is not risen, Paul adds, our faith is futile, and we are still

20

00:01:18,380 --> 00:01:24,000

in our sins. Now, to be blunt, to be clear, I think we can all agree, if Jesus is not risen,

21

00:01:24,500 --> 00:01:27,840

If there was no resurrection, then we're all naive, and this is just a facade.

22

00:01:28,140 --> 00:01:33,340

And in fact, that's exactly what the secular world believes to be true and believes about us.

23

00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:37,920

But what if, what if Jesus is risen?

24

00:01:38,260 --> 00:01:41,660

What if we can say, not only he is risen, but we can say so emphatically,

25

00:01:41,660 --> 00:01:44,880

we can say Jesus is risen, he is risen, what? He's risen?

26

00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:47,800

Right, let's do that again. Jesus is risen, he is risen?

27

00:01:48,240 --> 00:01:51,740

Right, if we can say that emphatically, if we believe that to be true,

28

00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:57,920

If Jesus is risen, if 2,000 years ago there was a guy who was crucified, died and was buried, put in a tomb,

29

00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:06,760

and three days later he came out of the tomb of his own volition, if that is true, the implications are like nothing this globe has ever seen.

30

00:02:07,260 --> 00:02:10,820

And this is a miracle like nothing this globe has ever seen.

31

00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:17,400

What if in real space and time a man died and then that same man came back to life just because he chose to do so?

32

00:02:17,860 --> 00:02:23,040

Among the many implications we could consider this morning is this one, that death can be

33

00:02:23,040 --> 00:02:28,200

defeated. Don't you want that? Don't you fear death? You should. You're immortal. The clock

34

00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:32,940

is ticking. If death can be defeated, if in fact when we drive by graveyards and we look out of

35

00:02:32,940 --> 00:02:38,840

those tombstones and we see our own future, isn't it comforting? Not just comforting, but wonderful

36

00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:44,200

to know that death at one time in the past has been defeated. And if death was defeated by one

37

00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:51,700

man, then it can be defeated by all man. But how? How, how, how can we attain unto that resurrection?

38

00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:55,500

That's what we're looking at this morning. I'm going to return now. I'm going to look at verses

39

00:02:55,500 --> 00:03:00,120

1 through 10. We're going to see this narrative. We're going to see it for the historical reality

40

00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:04,960

that it is, but then we're also going to see how it has applied to us these 2,000 years later in

41

00:03:04,960 --> 00:03:10,480

our own walk, act, and faith. Let me reread verses 1 through 10. Now, the first day of the week,

42

00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:14,160

Mary Magdalene, of whom Jesus once had cast out seven demons.

43

00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:17,720

Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early while it's still dark.

44

00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:18,540

This is her devotion.

45

00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:21,500

And she saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.

46

00:03:21,580 --> 00:03:22,840

This mighty huge stone.

47

00:03:22,920 --> 00:03:23,740

This is not small.

48

00:03:23,740 --> 00:03:26,460

This is something massive that was rolled in front of the tomb

49

00:03:26,460 --> 00:03:28,620

in order to keep out the grave robbers.

50

00:03:28,880 --> 00:03:29,920

So she comes to the tomb there.

51

00:03:30,020 --> 00:03:32,040

Verse 1, she sees the stone has been rolled away.

52

00:03:32,420 --> 00:03:33,040

So she ran.

53

00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:33,880

Verse 2, she ran.

54

00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:37,200

She came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved.

55

00:03:37,440 --> 00:03:37,940

Who is that?

56

00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:38,960

John, right?

57

00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:39,780

Yeah, you could say it louder.

58

00:03:40,060 --> 00:03:43,320

John. We've talked about that in the past. John didn't write his own name in the gospel. He was

59

00:03:43,320 --> 00:03:46,700

humble at this point in life when he penned this letter. He doesn't even name himself.

60

00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:51,720

So he refers to himself as the disciple that Jesus loved, right? So, there in verse 2,

61

00:03:51,820 --> 00:03:55,720

she went to Simon Peter, she went to the other disciple who Jesus loved, and she said to them,

62

00:03:56,080 --> 00:04:01,040

they've taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.

63

00:04:01,380 --> 00:04:05,720

You see, right at this point, she is not considering resurrection. She's not considering

64

00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:10,300

the good news, so to speak. She's considering the bad news. In her mind, what has happened is that

65

00:04:10,300 --> 00:04:16,180

grave robbers have come. They've taken our Lord. We don't even know where his body lays. Verse 3,

66

00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:21,100

so Peter therefore went out, and they're probably angry at this point. They're probably like, who did

67

00:04:21,100 --> 00:04:25,520

this? Who would dare to mess with Christ's tomb? So verse 3, Peter went out and the other disciple,

68

00:04:25,620 --> 00:04:30,100

and they go into the tomb. They ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the

69

00:04:30,100 --> 00:04:35,960

tomb first. And he, stooping down, looking in, saw something interesting, saw the linen clothes

70

00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:40,080

lying there, which is the last thing they would have expected if a grave robbery had occurred.

71

00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:43,940

Newsflash, grave robbers take the linen grave clothes. They don't just leave them all folded

72

00:04:43,940 --> 00:04:48,320

up and the like. So they ran together, saw the linen clothes lying there, and yet the first one,

73

00:04:48,460 --> 00:04:53,100

John did not go in. Verse 6, then Simon Peter came, he followed him, he went into the tomb,

74

00:04:53,180 --> 00:04:57,660

he barreled on in, and then he saw the linen clothes lying there, and the handkerchief that

75

00:04:57,660 --> 00:05:02,920

been around his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but folded together in a place by itself.

76

00:05:03,400 --> 00:05:08,500

Then the other disciple who came to the tomb first, he went in also. He saw and he believed.

77

00:05:08,860 --> 00:05:12,400

For as yet they did not know the scripture that he might rise again from the dead. Then the

78

00:05:12,400 --> 00:05:18,020

disciples went away to their own homes. All right, let's remember, let's revisit the chronology of

79

00:05:18,020 --> 00:05:24,020

what has happened leading up to these verses right here. At three o'clock, three in the afternoon on

80

00:05:24,020 --> 00:05:28,940

the Friday. What we call Good Friday was a very dark Friday indeed. In fact, the whole sky grew

81

00:05:28,940 --> 00:05:34,500

dark because the King of Kings was sacrificed, was placed on the cross. The sky grows dark and the

82

00:05:34,500 --> 00:05:39,440

wrath of God comes down upon him. And at three o'clock, he dies. He dies with three final words.

83

00:05:39,580 --> 00:05:45,780

It is finished. And he gave up his spirit and he died at three o'clock. Now at that point, what

84

00:05:45,780 --> 00:05:49,700

happened? What happened? Jesus is dead. Well, a number of things happened. The veil was ripped in

85

00:05:49,700 --> 00:05:54,940

the temple. There was a resurrection of other bodies nearby. Even the Roman centurion looks up

86

00:05:54,940 --> 00:05:58,740

at this one and says, truly, this was the Son of God. There was a lot of things that happened at

87

00:05:58,740 --> 00:06:04,000

this point. However, interestingly, the high priests and the religious leaders that had

88

00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:09,220

condemned and wanted Jesus to die, at this point, you could show them any sign or any miracle and

89

00:06:09,220 --> 00:06:12,660

they wouldn't be fazed by any of it. They were like, well, all right, all right, this is odd,

90

00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:16,600

the darkness and all that's odd. However, tomorrow's Passover, and you know, because we love

91

00:06:16,600 --> 00:06:21,000

God, we need to get those bodies off the hillside there because it defiles the land to have them up

92

00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:26,440

on the hillside on the Passover. So they go and they tell the Roman authorities, let's hasten

93

00:06:26,440 --> 00:06:30,280

this up. We need to get these bodies off the cross. They're more worried about keeping the

94

00:06:30,280 --> 00:06:34,560

ceremonial laws of defilement and the like than they were about the fact that they just slaughtered

95

00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:39,400

the Son of God. So that said, they want the bodies taken down. If you remember, the Romans go, okay,

96

00:06:39,540 --> 00:06:43,400

so they go and what do they do to the other two thieves? What do they do? Well, they break their

97

00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:47,360

legs so that they'll die faster. So you couldn't push yourselves up. When you're hanging there on

98

00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:51,300

the cross, you had a little footstool that your feet were upon. If they break your legs, you can't

99

00:06:51,300 --> 00:06:55,120

stand up, you can't get any breath, and so you die faster. So that's what happened to the other two

100

00:06:55,120 --> 00:07:00,520

thieves. However, the Roman comes up to Jesus and goes, this one is already dead. To verify that,

101

00:07:00,580 --> 00:07:04,580

to make sure that he wasn't just sleepy or something like that, they used a spear and

102

00:07:04,580 --> 00:07:10,880

penetrated his side, and both water and blood came out. And at this point, the bodies are then

103

00:07:10,880 --> 00:07:15,540

removed. Now that all three are dead after the other two were then killed. Now what happens next?

104

00:07:16,180 --> 00:07:20,120

Well, elsewhere in scripture, we see that there was a wealthy Jewish man. His name was Joseph

105

00:07:20,120 --> 00:07:26,980

of Arimathea. And he asked Pilate if he could take the body and put it in his own tomb. And so

106

00:07:26,980 --> 00:07:33,400

Pilate agrees. Joseph takes the body and it's put in his own tomb. Now after that, there's some

107

00:07:33,400 --> 00:07:37,860

palace intrigue that's going on here before the resurrection. But after that, the chief priest,

108

00:07:37,940 --> 00:07:40,760

They go, hey, hey, I remember he said something.

109

00:07:40,840 --> 00:07:45,420

This Jesus guy said something about, you know, if he died, he wouldn't stay dead three days later and the like.

110

00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:46,940

They said, let's post a guard.

111

00:07:47,080 --> 00:07:50,220

So they went to Pilate and said, hey, let's get some soldiers out here to post a guard

112

00:07:50,220 --> 00:07:55,920

because we don't want any of his disciples going in and taking the body out

113

00:07:55,920 --> 00:07:58,440

and then running around saying he's risen, right?

114

00:07:58,580 --> 00:08:00,120

Let's prevent that from happening.

115

00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:02,200

Let's post a guard.

116

00:08:02,580 --> 00:08:06,420

So as of Saturday night, Jesus is still dead.

117

00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:12,220

the tomb is still locked. It's as secure as it humanly could be made. There are trained Roman

118

00:08:12,220 --> 00:08:19,740

soldiers guarding a tomb of which in front is a giant heavy boulder. And yet, in verse one of

119

00:08:19,740 --> 00:08:24,520

today's text, we see that Mary Magdalene in the morning that first day, in the morning, Sunday

120

00:08:24,520 --> 00:08:29,020

morning, she goes while it's still dark. She approaches this tomb that was secure and locked

121

00:08:29,020 --> 00:08:34,360

down on Saturday. She approaches the tomb and to her wonderment, the first thing she notices is

122

00:08:34,360 --> 00:08:39,780

that the stone, it's gone. This is the one thing that probably been on her mind as she's walking.

123

00:08:39,920 --> 00:08:43,840

Remember what she's going to do. Hopefully she wants to do something with his body to kind of

124

00:08:43,840 --> 00:08:47,880

treat it. Remember it wasn't quite embalmment or anything like that, but they use spices and

125

00:08:47,880 --> 00:08:52,440

perfumes and anointing and so forth. She wanted to show some credit to his body even after he was

126

00:08:52,440 --> 00:08:57,900

dead. So she's probably in her mind as she's going to the tomb, wondering to herself, A, how am I

127

00:08:57,900 --> 00:09:01,600

going to get past the guards? And B, what are we going to do about this giant stone? She rolls up

128

00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:07,200

and neither one's a problem. Now how was the stone moved? What went on there? Well if you looked in

129

00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:11,420

the Gospel of Matthew, remember there's multiple accounts for this. Multiple accounts. There's four

130

00:09:11,420 --> 00:09:15,600

gospel records. This is not just hearsay and things that got spun up in the hinterlands of

131

00:09:15,600 --> 00:09:20,940

the first century. There are gospel records. There are eyewitnesses. And in Matthew chapter 28 we read

132

00:09:20,940 --> 00:09:25,900

that the reason that the stone was moved is because angels came and moved it. And when they showed up,

133

00:09:25,920 --> 00:09:30,500

when the angel shows up, the Roman guards stood like dead men is what it says in Matthew. Now as

134

00:09:30,500 --> 00:09:36,060

a side note those Roman guards you know considering what they saw later on in Matthew 28 we read that

135

00:09:36,060 --> 00:09:39,440

they were starting you know probably to tell people what they saw and the priest wanted to

136

00:09:39,440 --> 00:09:45,320

hush that up no no no no we'll give you money and then you just say the disciples stole the body

137

00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:50,100

and so they took it and this was the priest who bribed them as a side note you ever wonder if

138

00:09:50,100 --> 00:09:55,540

first century Israel was as bad as bad could be yes the chief priests were the ones bribing the

139

00:09:55,540 --> 00:10:01,040

Roman soldiers to hide things about Jesus. Whatever the case here, at this point, again,

140

00:10:01,220 --> 00:10:05,880

verse 1, the stone is gone, and Mary doesn't know what to make of it, so she runs, and she finds

141

00:10:05,880 --> 00:10:09,740

Peter and John. They follow her to the tomb. When they get there, as we've just read, they find that

142

00:10:09,740 --> 00:10:14,160

it's empty. The stone is gone. At this point, the guards are gone, and most importantly, Christ is

143

00:10:14,160 --> 00:10:18,080

gone, and that's the part they're having trouble wrapping their mind around. Christ is gone, but

144

00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:23,560

the clothes remain, which, as we said before, this is one of the hints from the text that it certainly

145

00:10:23,560 --> 00:10:29,320

was not grave robbers. Grave robbers, when they went to tombs in this time, they went to the tombs

146

00:10:29,320 --> 00:10:35,960

to collect the things in the tombs, not to pick up and first strip naked a dead, scarred, crucified

147

00:10:35,960 --> 00:10:40,260

body. A dead body was not why grave robbers would have gone. They would have gone there for the

148

00:10:40,260 --> 00:10:45,080

clothes, the linen clothes, and the spices that were oftentimes enfolded within the clothes

149

00:10:45,080 --> 00:10:50,200

themselves. The fact that these clothes were there and the body was gone ran in the face of what

150

00:10:50,200 --> 00:10:54,820

grave robbers typically did all right let's look at our next verses let's look at verses 11 through

151

00:10:54,820 --> 00:11:01,860

13 but mary stood outside by the tomb weeping and the others have departed here mary stood by the

152

00:11:01,860 --> 00:11:08,140

tomb weeping and as she wept she stooped down and she looked into the tomb once more she just

153

00:11:08,140 --> 00:11:13,700

couldn't help herself she had to take one more look into the tomb but this time she sees something

154

00:11:13,700 --> 00:11:21,060

Verse 12, as she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head of the slab and the other at the

155

00:11:21,060 --> 00:11:26,560

foot, where the body of Jesus had lain. And then they said to her, so women speak up, they said to

156

00:11:26,560 --> 00:11:34,340

her, woman, why are you weeping? And she said to them, because, because they've taken my Lord. Why

157

00:11:34,340 --> 00:11:40,300

am I weeping? Because they've taken my Lord and I do not know where they have laid him. All right,

158

00:11:40,300 --> 00:11:42,160

So verse 11, she's outside the tomb.

159

00:11:42,220 --> 00:11:43,660

She's weeping, inconsolable.

160

00:11:43,660 --> 00:11:47,420

Whatever you picture, someone weeping where they just can't stop, won't stop.

161

00:11:47,680 --> 00:11:50,000

That's Mary Magdalene in verse 11.

162

00:11:50,100 --> 00:11:50,920

She's outside the tomb.

163

00:11:51,040 --> 00:11:51,620

She's weeping.

164

00:11:51,780 --> 00:11:54,500

Tears are just covering her face, running down her cheeks.

165

00:11:54,600 --> 00:11:55,780

She looks in one last time.

166

00:11:55,840 --> 00:12:00,900

She looks into the tomb, and this time, to her shock, there's two radiant-looking angels.

167

00:12:00,980 --> 00:12:02,020

It says they were dressed in white.

168

00:12:02,100 --> 00:12:03,360

Whatever the case is, they stood out.

169

00:12:03,420 --> 00:12:04,120

This was not normal.

170

00:12:04,220 --> 00:12:05,280

These were not Roman soldiers.

171

00:12:05,440 --> 00:12:06,460

These were not fellow Jews.

172

00:12:06,840 --> 00:12:07,920

She knew this to be different.

173

00:12:07,980 --> 00:12:10,200

There was two angels, and they were seated, one at the head.

174

00:12:10,240 --> 00:12:16,820

one of the foot of this slab where christ had been now again why was she so inconsolable well

175

00:12:16,820 --> 00:12:22,300

we've covered that to some degree for two reasons number one cruel man killed her rabbi and number

176

00:12:22,300 --> 00:12:28,840

two another cruel man took his body and so she is freaking out she's anxious this jesus means so

177

00:12:28,840 --> 00:12:33,880

much to her he came to her and he helped her and he cast out seven demons and he did all these

178

00:12:33,880 --> 00:12:39,780

things with and for her that no one else would give her the time of day and this one this rabbi

179

00:12:39,780 --> 00:12:45,180

that the whole country was chasing after had shown that he desired a personal relationship

180

00:12:45,180 --> 00:12:50,200

with someone that everyone else was happy to be done with. And so she's sad. And furthermore,

181

00:12:50,280 --> 00:12:54,200

why else would she be sad as a side note? Well, here's the thing. Jesus had promised things to

182

00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:58,820

the disciples and to Mary. He promised things that were good about the future, things that were

183

00:12:58,820 --> 00:13:04,060

hopeful. And so when he died, the question is, how can he fulfill those things? When he died,

184

00:13:04,120 --> 00:13:08,880

her hopes seemed to die. There was probably a lot of reasons that she is weighed down with tears.

185

00:13:08,880 --> 00:13:13,760

But then she looks in, and she sees through her tears that the tomb is no longer empty.

186

00:13:14,180 --> 00:13:18,640

Now, I want to linger for a moment on something that would be easy to just run past.

187

00:13:19,400 --> 00:13:23,660

In verses 11 through 13, it interestingly tells us that the angels were seated,

188

00:13:24,060 --> 00:13:27,480

one at the head and one at the foot of this slab.

189

00:13:27,580 --> 00:13:31,820

And presumably, the slab itself was marred with blood from this crucified Jesus

190

00:13:31,820 --> 00:13:32,940

that had been pierced and everything.

191

00:13:33,220 --> 00:13:37,040

So this is probably this bloody slab on which these angels resided.

192

00:13:37,480 --> 00:13:41,000

With that said, it's not an irrelevant detail that they were situated,

193

00:13:41,140 --> 00:13:42,400

one at the head and one at the foot.

194

00:13:42,760 --> 00:13:43,540

Let me ask you a question.

195

00:13:44,060 --> 00:13:45,720

You ever seen the Raiders of the Lost Ark?

196

00:13:45,920 --> 00:13:47,160

You do have to answer. I know the answer.

197

00:13:47,480 --> 00:13:48,980

Picture the Ark of the Covenant in your mind.

198

00:13:49,060 --> 00:13:49,980

Picture it as it's described.

199

00:13:50,060 --> 00:13:52,180

Better yet, picture it as it's described in the Bible.

200

00:13:52,500 --> 00:13:53,900

What do you have on the Ark?

201

00:13:53,900 --> 00:13:58,560

You have this wonderful, amazing box of sorts with poles extending to each side.

202

00:13:58,740 --> 00:14:00,760

It's ornate. It's decorated. It's beautiful.

203

00:14:01,140 --> 00:14:04,920

And on top of the Ark of the Covenant is what we would call a lid,

204

00:14:05,020 --> 00:14:09,000

but what they called the mercy seat, the mercy seat.

205

00:14:09,220 --> 00:14:11,800

This mercy seat was where the priest, the high priest,

206

00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:13,820

from the Day of Atonement would go into the Holy of Holies.

207

00:14:14,060 --> 00:14:16,540

He would approach the mercy seat on the top of the Ark of the Covenant.

208

00:14:16,680 --> 00:14:20,800

He would take blood from the animal sacrifice and he'd sprinkle it on top,

209

00:14:20,900 --> 00:14:23,480

the Day of Atonement once a year in the Holy of Holies.

210

00:14:23,480 --> 00:14:25,460

He'd sprinkle it on the mercy seat on top.

211

00:14:25,780 --> 00:14:28,140

The mercy seat, this is where the presence of God,

212

00:14:28,220 --> 00:14:30,720

the Shekinah glory of God dwelt when they would travel and the like,

213

00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:31,840

the top of the Ark.

214

00:14:32,320 --> 00:14:33,160

Let me ask you a question.

215

00:14:33,740 --> 00:14:36,220

As you picture the Ark, what's on either side of the mercy seat?

216

00:14:37,180 --> 00:14:38,440

Angels, cherubim.

217

00:14:38,700 --> 00:14:45,800

Golden cherubim were designed to occupy either spot on the outside of the mercy seat,

218

00:14:46,240 --> 00:14:48,440

between which the blood was sprinkled.

219

00:14:48,440 --> 00:14:52,580

In a very real sense, Mary Magdalene, when she looked into the tomb

220

00:14:52,580 --> 00:14:56,820

and saw two angels seated on either side of this bloodied slab,

221

00:14:57,220 --> 00:15:03,220

she was seeing the ultimate fulfillment of that which the Ark always pointed toward.

222

00:15:03,740 --> 00:15:07,580

Now, if you just were to go past this text, just reading about where angels were sitting,

223

00:15:07,680 --> 00:15:09,020

that might mean nothing to you.

224

00:15:09,320 --> 00:15:13,900

But I cite it to demonstrate to you, if you were on the outside looking in at matters of faith,

225

00:15:13,940 --> 00:15:16,000

if you're contemplating whether Christianity is true,

226

00:15:16,080 --> 00:15:19,160

what I will tell you is it's not only true in the majors, it's true in the minors.

227

00:15:19,380 --> 00:15:21,980

It's true in the macro, and it's true in the micro.

228

00:15:22,240 --> 00:15:29,160

Every last detail corresponds with shadows and types from other texts and other places within Scripture.

229

00:15:29,160 --> 00:15:34,720

God is a consistent God, even down to where angels sat in the tomb on the day he was resurrected.

230

00:15:35,300 --> 00:15:37,080

So at this point, the angels, they talk to Mary.

231

00:15:37,160 --> 00:15:38,280

They ask her, why is she weeping?

232

00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:40,680

And she says, because they've taken my Lord.

233

00:15:41,040 --> 00:15:42,680

Look at the relational claim she makes.

234

00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:46,960

It would be very easy to say they've taken the Lord, they've taken a Lord,

235

00:15:47,400 --> 00:15:48,580

but she says they've taken my Lord.

236

00:15:49,140 --> 00:15:54,000

Mary was yoking herself as a disciple, a follower of the one who had died,

237

00:15:54,060 --> 00:15:57,740

which in that context, given that he had been crucified, was a risky thing to do,

238

00:15:57,740 --> 00:16:02,500

to tell strangers, I am one of his disciples. That's what she's declaring. She says, I'm one

239

00:16:02,500 --> 00:16:09,340

of his. I'm crying because they have taken my Lord. Could you say the same thing? Let's look

240

00:16:09,340 --> 00:16:13,620

at our next verses. Let's look at verses 14 and 17. These are our last verses in today's text.

241

00:16:13,700 --> 00:16:21,860

Verses 14 through 17. Now, when she had said this, she turned around and she saw Jesus. She saw Jesus

242

00:16:21,860 --> 00:16:26,900

standing there, only she did not know that it was Jesus. So Jesus said to her, woman, why are you

243

00:16:26,900 --> 00:16:32,220

weeping whom are you seeking he draws out questions and she's supposing him to be the gardener said

244

00:16:32,220 --> 00:16:38,040

him sir if you've carried him away tell me where you have laid him and i will take him away and

245

00:16:38,040 --> 00:16:43,740

jesus said to her mary jesus said her mary and she turned and said him rabboni which is to say teacher

246

00:16:43,740 --> 00:16:49,080

and jesus said to her do not cling to me there's some idea that she rushed to embrace him held him

247

00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:53,240

as tight as could be he says do not cling to me for i've not yet ascended to my father but

248

00:16:53,240 --> 00:16:59,640

go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and to

249

00:16:59,640 --> 00:17:06,600

your God. All right. In verse 14, Mary turned from the angels to see Jesus. One minute she's talking

250

00:17:06,600 --> 00:17:10,460

to the angels. Next minute she looks over her shoulder and there he is. But, but she doesn't

251

00:17:10,460 --> 00:17:14,560

recognize him. Now there could be a lot of reasons why she didn't recognize him. Not the least of

252

00:17:14,560 --> 00:17:19,480

which is the last time she saw him, he was a bloody beat up mess. But beyond that, remember she's been

253

00:17:19,480 --> 00:17:23,580

crying. She's a consolable. It could be tears. It might be that in that relational context,

254

00:17:23,580 --> 00:17:26,840

she didn't meet the eyeline of the one she was talking to. Whatever the case, we don't know.

255

00:17:26,840 --> 00:17:31,380

She didn't recognize it was him at this time. In her own mind, she had no reason to think it was

256

00:17:31,380 --> 00:17:36,800

him. She was looking for a dead body, not looking for a live Jesus at this moment. With that said,

257

00:17:36,900 --> 00:17:42,000

this is ironic. Mary didn't recognize the very one that she had come to find, the very one she

258

00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:46,640

was weeping over. The source of her affection, the object of her tears, was standing right next to

259

00:17:46,640 --> 00:17:52,920

and she didn't know it spiritually speaking let me ask you a question how often is that true of you

260

00:17:52,920 --> 00:17:57,420

how often are you going through some hardship some difficulty something terrible has gone on

261

00:17:57,420 --> 00:18:02,920

in your world and you wonder where is God where is God in the darkness I'm feeling where is Jesus

262

00:18:02,920 --> 00:18:07,820

I'm going through this heartache this hardship I'm crying I'm inconsolable where is he where is he

263

00:18:07,820 --> 00:18:14,820

well here's the thing he's right next to you in the same way he's right next to Mary Jesus is with

264

00:18:14,820 --> 00:18:19,380

us in our pain with us in our heartache with us in our hardships that was the great promise of

265

00:18:19,380 --> 00:18:24,460

the shepherd psalm psalm 23 yea though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death certainly

266

00:18:24,460 --> 00:18:27,960

a place where you cry and weep and there's heartache and hardship and the like yea though

267

00:18:27,960 --> 00:18:35,180

i walk through the valley of the shadow of death i fear no evil why because thou art what with me

268

00:18:35,180 --> 00:18:39,700

because you're with me yes it's hard yes i don't like it and yes this is terrible and yes today

269

00:18:39,700 --> 00:18:44,780

stinks, but I can face today and I can face tomorrow with this knowledge that you are with

270

00:18:44,780 --> 00:18:51,500

me. You are with Mary. You are with her in her time of anxiety and fear, and you revealed yourself to

271

00:18:51,500 --> 00:18:57,620

her by saying her name. In this particular case, Mary's standing there. She's weeping. She's crying

272

00:18:57,620 --> 00:19:03,940

out. She's broken. There's a fog of grief hanging over her. But in verse 16, she hears her own name

273

00:19:03,940 --> 00:19:09,040

on familiar lips. Sometimes it only takes a word to dispel the anxiety and fear from our own minds

274

00:19:09,040 --> 00:19:13,440

and hearts. She hears her own name from familiar lips, and in that moment, in a heartbeat, her

275

00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:18,060

grief is shattered, and it's replaced with joy. And so she does hear what you would expect anyone

276

00:19:18,060 --> 00:19:22,520

to do. In this case, she rushes over and embraces them. You know, so many theologians have looked

277

00:19:22,520 --> 00:19:26,380

at this and tried to interpret this all sorts of different ways as far as what might be going on

278

00:19:26,380 --> 00:19:30,900

here. Why did he say, don't cling to me? It's more a matter of she rushed over to hold him as if she

279

00:19:30,900 --> 00:19:35,580

would never let him go, and he wanted to explain it to her. Mary, it's me. Now, I need you to do

280

00:19:35,580 --> 00:19:40,640

something for me. I need you to go. I need you to go, and I need you to tell the disciples. Tell

281

00:19:40,640 --> 00:19:46,000

them I'm ascending to my Father and to your Father, to my God and to your God. He sent her out with a

282

00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:50,100

mission. She encounters the risen Christ. He sends her out with a mission to share the good news. As

283

00:19:50,100 --> 00:19:55,420

a side note, that's our calling as well. Now, as we look to wrap up here this morning, I want you

284

00:19:55,420 --> 00:20:02,520

to consider something interesting in the perception that she had about this one. This one she refers

285

00:20:02,520 --> 00:20:08,580

to as a gardener initially. You know, way back in the book of Genesis, Genesis chapter 3. Remember,

286

00:20:08,900 --> 00:20:13,640

Genesis chapters 1 and 2 went really well. Genesis chapters 1 and 2, God is just spinning the cosmos

287

00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:17,680

into creation. He's creating everything, and as he created things, he said, it's good, it's good,

288

00:20:17,740 --> 00:20:23,000

it's good, it's good, it's good. But then comes chapter 3. In chapter 3, the serpent, who's more

289

00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:26,680

clever than all the beasts of the field, enters into the garden, tempts Adam and Eve. They succumb

290

00:20:26,680 --> 00:20:31,700

to temptation just like that. They sin, they commit cosmic rebellion against the very creator,

291

00:20:31,700 --> 00:20:37,860

against the king and because of the sin because of this rebellion they are cast out of the garden

292

00:20:37,860 --> 00:20:44,080

you know back before the fall before biting into that shiny fruit before the fall they interacted

293

00:20:44,080 --> 00:20:48,780

with god regularly they interacted with god they interacted with christ why because it wasn't the

294

00:20:48,780 --> 00:20:52,320

spirit it wasn't the father it was christ they would have walked and talked within the cool

295

00:20:52,320 --> 00:20:57,140

of the afternoon that's exactly what scripture says they used to do initially before the fall

296

00:20:57,140 --> 00:21:01,400

everything was wonderful they're living in a garden it's beautiful it's a type of heaven so

297

00:21:01,400 --> 00:21:05,000

to speak. It's a type of heaven. There's no heartache. There's no hurt. There's no sickness.

298

00:21:05,160 --> 00:21:08,940

There's no sin. There's no brokenness. There's none of these different things. There was nothing

299

00:21:08,940 --> 00:21:15,580

painful, hurtful, or dangerous. And they lived in this beautiful, pristine utopia. And as they

300

00:21:15,580 --> 00:21:19,520

lived in this environment, they had regular interaction with the one who made the environment.

301

00:21:20,100 --> 00:21:25,920

We see that they would walk and talk with God in the cool of the afternoon, but then the fall.

302

00:21:26,260 --> 00:21:30,140

And this one who they used to walk and talk with enters into the garden. And this time as he enters

303

00:21:30,140 --> 00:21:34,000

in the garden, their reaction is not to go walk and talk to them. Their reaction is to do what?

304

00:21:34,340 --> 00:21:39,020

They hide. They hide because they're ashamed. They know what they've done. Jesus enters into

305

00:21:39,020 --> 00:21:42,960

the garden and calls out to them and they're hiding. Now to, I guess, to make a long story

306

00:21:42,960 --> 00:21:48,660

short, at this time Jesus says a number of things. First of all, he tells them what they've done.

307

00:21:49,080 --> 00:21:53,400

The naughty deed that they've done will involve their being sent out from the garden into a world

308

00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:56,980

that is dark and hurting, into a world where there will be toil and sweat on their brow.

309

00:21:57,100 --> 00:22:00,440

before it was easy. Doing work in the Garden of Eden was wonderful. You wouldn't even call it

310

00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:05,240

work. They were given dominion of creation. They were naming animals left and right. It was a great,

311

00:22:05,380 --> 00:22:10,080

great time. But then God says, because you did this, because you chose rebellion, you are going

312

00:22:10,080 --> 00:22:13,880

to get the fruits of rebellion. And the fruits of rebellion include being removed from the garden,

313

00:22:14,100 --> 00:22:17,620

out into the cursed earth, so to speak. And as you were there, you were going to labor,

314

00:22:17,740 --> 00:22:20,960

and you're not going to like it. It's going to be hard. It's going to be difficult. And beyond that,

315

00:22:21,040 --> 00:22:26,840

at some point, you are going to die, because the wages of sin is death. So the very gardener that

316

00:22:26,840 --> 00:22:27,960

They had walked and talked with them.

317

00:22:28,020 --> 00:22:30,300

The cool of the day, they spent all this time with who they loved,

318

00:22:30,340 --> 00:22:33,980

who formed them, who breathed the breath of life into their very body,

319

00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:35,280

into their being, into their very lungs.

320

00:22:35,380 --> 00:22:37,740

This one who they had enjoyed this close communion with.

321

00:22:38,280 --> 00:22:40,740

This gardener had told them, you must go.

322

00:22:41,400 --> 00:22:43,560

And at the outside of the garden, as they departed,

323

00:22:43,700 --> 00:22:44,820

you could look over their shoulder.

324

00:22:44,940 --> 00:22:45,500

What did they see?

325

00:22:46,020 --> 00:22:48,620

They saw a fiery sword guarding the way in

326

00:22:48,620 --> 00:22:51,480

with at least two cherubim blocking the way.

327

00:22:52,060 --> 00:22:54,000

Man was evicted from the garden.

328

00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:56,820

But then here, today's text, John 20, what happened?

329

00:22:57,440 --> 00:23:02,080

Jesus, the gardener, returned, so to speak, to pay the price of his people.

330

00:23:02,520 --> 00:23:03,960

He paid the price that we should have paid.

331

00:23:04,300 --> 00:23:05,320

He lived the life we should have lived.

332

00:23:05,360 --> 00:23:06,420

He died the death we should have died.

333

00:23:06,520 --> 00:23:07,380

All this is true.

334

00:23:07,480 --> 00:23:10,520

And on Calvary, it pleased the Father to crush the Son.

335

00:23:10,600 --> 00:23:12,680

The gardener returned, and he went to the cross.

336

00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:15,360

But after three days, he was no longer dead.

337

00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:17,780

After three days, we see that he is risen indeed.

338

00:23:17,780 --> 00:23:22,880

And interestingly, interestingly, when Mary first looks up, her first words to her are,

339

00:23:23,040 --> 00:23:25,040

Sir, he must be the gardener.

340

00:23:25,080 --> 00:23:29,060

That said, this morning, it's wonderful to know that although we have sinned,

341

00:23:29,260 --> 00:23:31,020

although we have broken the laws of one greater than us,

342

00:23:31,020 --> 00:23:37,800

and although we deserve unlimited, infinite condemnation and distance between himself and us,

343

00:23:38,140 --> 00:23:41,500

that God has looked down upon us in our fallen state and determined to do something about it.

344

00:23:41,560 --> 00:23:44,720

On Calvary he did. He sent his own son to pay the price that we should have paid.

345

00:23:44,860 --> 00:23:47,820

The good news is today this means not only are you forgiven,

346

00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:52,640

not only is your sin sponged away, not only are you forgiven as if the slate has been wiped clean,

347

00:23:53,020 --> 00:23:55,440

But there's something more profound that has happened than that,

348

00:23:55,540 --> 00:23:57,720

that sometimes we don't consider even on Easter Sunday.

349

00:23:58,040 --> 00:24:01,380

On Easter Sunday, we oftentimes think about the payment that was made

350

00:24:01,380 --> 00:24:02,920

and the resolution that came from that.

351

00:24:02,980 --> 00:24:03,980

Now you and I are forgiven.

352

00:24:04,140 --> 00:24:04,820

So we nod our heads.

353

00:24:04,900 --> 00:24:06,160

We say, okay, I am forgiven.

354

00:24:06,500 --> 00:24:07,700

But God didn't leave it there.

355

00:24:08,220 --> 00:24:12,220

You know, if you go to the courtroom and a judge stamps not guilty and sends you out,

356

00:24:12,660 --> 00:24:14,980

does that judge have a relationship with you thereafter?

357

00:24:15,380 --> 00:24:15,740

No.

358

00:24:15,840 --> 00:24:16,880

Does he care about you thereafter?

359

00:24:17,120 --> 00:24:17,380

No.

360

00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:18,640

He simply says you're not guilty.

361

00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:19,520

God could have done that.

362

00:24:19,660 --> 00:24:22,240

Not guilty, payment received, go and sin no more.

363

00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:23,980

He could have done that, but that's not what he does.

364

00:24:24,540 --> 00:24:27,220

Instead, what God does is he applies a word

365

00:24:27,220 --> 00:24:29,220

that we don't spend enough time thinking about,

366

00:24:29,300 --> 00:24:30,900

and it's the word adoption.

367

00:24:31,520 --> 00:24:32,460

He says, you're forgiven.

368

00:24:32,860 --> 00:24:34,980

Now, I want you to live with me.

369

00:24:35,760 --> 00:24:37,360

And I not only want you to live with me,

370

00:24:37,920 --> 00:24:39,360

I want to be your father,

371

00:24:39,740 --> 00:24:42,120

and I want you to be my son or my daughter.

372

00:24:42,720 --> 00:24:43,860

This morning, if you were forgiven,

373

00:24:43,940 --> 00:24:45,020

that is a wonderful thing.

374

00:24:45,100 --> 00:24:47,320

You are spared from the condemnation that is your due.

375

00:24:47,660 --> 00:24:49,540

But I want you to rejoice in something more than that.

376

00:24:49,540 --> 00:24:50,680

You are part of God's family.

377

00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:52,720

You are his son, you are his daughter,

378

00:24:52,840 --> 00:24:55,500

and that's not going to change tomorrow when you mess up.

379

00:24:55,880 --> 00:24:57,560

The God who made you loves you.

380

00:24:57,980 --> 00:24:59,840

You can take it to the bank because it's sealed

381

00:24:59,840 --> 00:25:01,580

by that which was most precious to God,

382

00:25:01,940 --> 00:25:03,840

the blood of his own son poured out on Calvary.

383

00:25:04,300 --> 00:25:04,880

Let's pray.

Share Episode

Shownotes

Transcripts

Follow

Links

Chapters

Video

More from YouTube