John 20:1-8
1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed 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 Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. 4 The two were running together, but the other disciples outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there, 7 and the cloththat had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed;
(New Revised Standard Version)
INTRODUCTION:
For too many people, Easter is an ending. The season of Lent is now over. The time of self-denial and sacrifice is finally passed. Holy Week is finished. Good Friday has come and gone, and for too many Christians it truly "is finished."
There is a scene in the movie "Jesus of Nazareth" where Caiaphas, the High Priest and a group of soldiers come rushing to Jesus’ empty tomb that first Easter Sunday (At the service at Camp Ground I was able to show the clip) In it, there is a discussion of what has happened to the body of Jesus. The solder in charge tells Caiaphas that it would have been impossible for anyone to have come at taken the body because his soldiers, along with some of the Temple guard, were there all night guarding the tomb. Caiaphas then walks in to the empty tomb and, as the camera zooms in on his face whispers, "Now it begins. Now it all begins."
Although the account in the movie is not Scriptural, I use that scene to show that - at least in the movie - Caiaphas is the only one who truly "gets it." You see, little by little the evidence of the empty tomb is being discovered
Mary has come to the tomb and sees the stone has been rolled away. She rushes back and tells Peter and John that someone has stolen his body.
John outruns Peter to the tomb - stops at the entrance - stoops down, looks in - sees the linen clothes lying on the floor of the tomb, but won’t go any farther.
Finally Peter gets to the tomb - probably not slowing down one step - he enters the tomb and sees the same burial clothes that John has seen, but then he sees something different - over there - the cloth that had covered Jesus’ face - folded up in a place by itself.
Verse 8 tells us that John then goes into the tomb with Peter, "...and he saw, and believed." Believed what?
Did he believe that Jesus had risen from the dead?
That was Jesus had said was going to happen! Over and over and over again He tells them, so it that what they believed?
NO! The next two verses (9 & 10) tell us: "For as yet they did not understand the scripture, that He must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes." (NRSV).
They believed the same thing that Mary believed: they believed that someone had come and stolen, or at least moved, Jesus’ dead body.
They believed that early Sunday morning - three days after the crucifixion of Jesus - to be the end!
BUT EASTER IS NOT AN END - NOW IT BEGINS!
I). The beginning of joy rather than weeping.(read John 20:11-18)
A). In John 16:20-22 Jesus tells His disciples that He has come to turn their sorrow into gladness - their weeping into Joy.
- He tells them in verse 22: "So you have pain now; but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you." (NRSV)
B). At the tomb, Jesus asks Mary a question - the same question He asked His first disciples back in John chapter 1: "Whom are you looking for?"
- Mary recognizes Jesus because he calls her by name. Jesis is the Good Shepherd who knows his own and calls them by name, and Mary is one of His sheep who knows his voice.
- Immediately her tears of sorrow become tears of joy - a joy that no one can take away from her.
- She is now able to go to the disciples and proclaim, "I have seen the Lord."
II). Easter is the beginning of peace rather than fear. (read John 20:19-21)
A). We’ve talked before about the fear of the disciples after the death of Jesus.
- If you notice the Scripture, after Peter & John return home, verse 19 says, "...the doors of the house where the disciples met were locked for fear of the Jews."
- What kind of fear? Fear that the Jewish leaders would come and do the same thing to them that they had done to Jesus!
B). But suddenly Jesus appears inside that locked house and once again proclaims to them one of the great message of the gospel: "Peace be with you."
- In John 14:27, just before His crucifixion,Jesus tells His disciples, "Peace I leave with you: My peace I give to you. I do not give you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid." (NRSV)
- Easter fulfills the promise of the gift of His peace!
III). Easter is the beginning of grace rather than judgement (read John 20:24-29)
A). Too often we wrongly call this passage of Scripture the story of "Doubting Thomas". But that really misses the point of the story:
- The disciples’ announcement to Thomas that "we have seen the Lord" is a mirror image of what Mary had told them earlier.
- But was Thomas’ reaction any different now to what theirs had been earlier? No.
- The disciples were still found in a locked room - doubting what Mary had told them about seeing the Lord. Why should Thomas’ reaction be any different? Yet we call him "doubting."
B). The real story here is the story of God’s abundant grace through Christ Jesus.
- How would our reaction to Thomas have been? Would we have said, "You don’t believe me? Well forget you then!"
- Thomas had proclaimed that he would not believe that Jesus was alive until he saw the nail prints in His hands and feet and put his own hand in Jesus’ pierced side.
- So when Jesus appears He takes every one of Thomas’ demands - his doubts - and meets him there and shows Him God’s grace!
- Easter is the story of God meeting us where we are - with all our doubts, all our skepticism, all our demands - and giving us His grace.
IV). Finally Easter is about relationship rather than religion (read John 20:30-31)
A). Back in verse 17 Jesus tells Mary, "Go to My brothers and say to them, ’I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and to your God."
- On Good Friday the youth had a lock-in at the church and that relationship with God was the theme of the night.
- Relationship with god and relationship with one another.
B). Easter has accomplished that relationship.
- Because Christ is alive, what is true of His relationship with God the Father is now true of those who believe in Him!
- His God is now our God - His Father is now our Father!
- And through that believing - through that relationship - we have life!
NOW IT BEGINS....NOW IT ALL BEGINS! That’s the story of Easter.
