Signs of Life
John 20:1-18 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. 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!" 3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 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. 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. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes, 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. 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." 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. 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." 16 Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher). 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.'" 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.
Intro: What if there really was a fountain of youth? Why would it be so desirable? B/C people are looking for life! They want energy, beauty, a quest, a challenge, an adrenaline rush – anything that lets them know they are alive. Even those who intentionally hurt themselves may do so just to feel alive.
-Life is such a valuable commodity that we spend millions of dollars searching for signs of life in outer space. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory designs, builds and operates the world’s most sophisticated and advanced radio telescopes. Scientists from around the world use these powerful tools to study the Sun, planets and other objects in our own solar system, as well as distant stars, galaxies, and other mysterious objects many millions, or even billions of light-years away. So far they haven’t found any evidence of intelligent life out there. There are sounds and there are things to see, but they have not been able to discern anything that could be considered communication with other life forms out there. Yet the quest continues b/c life is valuable! Life is the hot commodity.
-Back on earth, life is usually valued here. When the call is given, sirens go off, and ambulances, fire trucks, and law enforcement are given the right of way. People stop what they’re doing and make way to help them get to the person in need. Why are people willing to stop their busy lives and think about someone else? B/C life is valuable!
-In emergency medical situations, first responders are taught to check for signs of life before they proceed with emergency treatment. If there is a pulse or if the person is breathing, they will do all they can to keep the patient alive b/c life is valuable. If a person stops breathing or their heart stops, medical personnel are taught to perform CPR and use all means available to get life flowing again. Life matters! It is expressed as one of the unalienable rights of each human being in the Declaration of Independence: All men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights: among these are the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
-So, on what we often call Easter Morning, when Mary came to the tomb to see Jesus, we have no indication that she was looking for signs of life. Jesus had died and that’s what she expected to find – a dead Jesus. His followers were grieving. Even though Jesus had spoken about His resurrection ahead of time, they did not understand. Nobody was expecting life when they first came to the tomb! They were expecting death! Luke tells us in his account that the women had come to prepare the body of Jesus for permanent burial, bringing fragrant spices. So when they saw the empty tomb, some of them began to see signs of life. It wasn’t a case of denial or wishful thinking. Maybe Jesus really was alive! Maybe the signs of life they saw that pointed to the resurrection of Jesus were really signs of life for them! Because Jesus had risen from the dead, they too could anticipate a future bodily resurrection along with living a resurrected life now!
-So, what were some of the signs of life we find in the story of the resurrection? We could talk about the various appearances of Jesus to His disciples after His resurrection - to more than 500 people at once. We could talk about how Thomas not only saw signs of life, but needed to see the signs of His death as he touched his pierced hands and feet and the hole in His side. We could talk about the soldiers who were knocked out by the power of God and woke up to an empty tomb. But today I’d like to keep our focus on John’s account of the resurrection. I’ve identified 5 basic signs of life that helped His followers see that Jesus, their hope and source of life, was no longer dead.
1. The Rock that Rolled
(God can move a heart of stone. He can remove hindrances so people can see who He really is and know His life-changing, life-giving power!)
2. The Empty Tomb
(Our old dead life can be replaced by God’s new life in us!)
3. The Empty Burial Clothes
(The trappings of our old dead life can be removed – old sinful habits and addictions… they can be broken by the same power that raised Jesus from the dead!)
4. The Two Angels
(These messengers attested to the fact that Jesus was alive! God’s message to us is that we too can live!)
5. The Physical Appearance of Jesus to Mary
“I have seen the Lord!!!”
(After the other disciples saw the Lord, that was all the tangible proof they needed to go on and share the good news about Jesus throughout the known world – even though it would cost them their lives – and it did!)
Peter - widely believed to have been either beheaded or crucified (upside down) in Rome.
Matthew - arrested in Ethiopia and there nailed to the ground with short spears and beheaded.
John - John faced martyrdom when he was boiled in a huge basin of boiling oil during a wave of persecution in Rome. However, he was miraculously delivered from death. John was then sentenced to the mines on the prison island of Patmos. He wrote his prophetic Book of Revelation on Patmos. The Apostle John was later freed and returned to what is now modern-day Turkey. He died as an old man, the only apostle to die peacefully.
James, the brother of Jesus - thrown over a hundred feet down from the southeast pinnacle of the Temple when he refused to deny his faith in Christ. When they discovered that he survived the fall, his enemies beat him to death with a club. This was the same pinnacle where Satan had taken Jesus during the temptation.
Bartholomew, also known as Nathanael - a missionary to Asia, he witnessed in present-day Turkey and was martyred for his preaching in Armenia, when he was flayed to death by a whip.
Andrew - was crucified on an x-shaped cross in Greece.
Thomas - stabbed with a spear in India during one of his missionary trips to establish the church there.
Matthias (the apostle chosen to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot) - stoned and then beheaded.
Paul - tortured and then beheaded by the evil Emperor Nero at Rome in A.D. 67.
James (son of Zebedee) was beheaded by King Herod in Palestine.
Philip was crucified.
-Some people are willing to die for what they truly believe in, but not for a lie! So, if someone says that the disciples were following a plot to trick people into thinking that Jesus was more than a man, that doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. And if they were somehow deceived, this would have required such a mass deception, that well over 500 people claimed to their dying breath that they saw Jesus in the flesh, in person, after His resurrection.
-What signs of life are you waiting for? What will it take to convince you that Jesus is alive, God is real, there is a heaven and hell, judgment day is coming, and we will all stand before Almighty God to give an account for how we lived and loved down here? Would it take a miracle? Would somebody have to come back from the dead to show you that Jesus is real? That already happened and was confirmed by hundreds of witnesses as we have mentioned. Jesus will make another appearance, but He will only come for those who are trusting Him for their forgiveness.
-There are signs of God’s life all around you. Even creation speaks of who God is and points to His existence. Every true Christian around you is a sign of life! They have called on the Lord and were forgiven and transformed by God’s grace! What signs of life are you waiting for? What will it take for you to call on the Lord, asking Him to be your forgiver and leader? Some people turn to God at their lowest point in life. Others turn to God when they come to the understanding that life is meaningless without Him. There are many good reasons to come to God in faith, but I don’t know of any good reasons not to follow Him.
-Let’s bow our heads for a moment. One of the greatest signs of life is the awesome way God speaks to us in our hearts. Some of you are feeling that right now. You know God is talking to you right now. Something is going on inside of you that you don’t fully understand. You can sense God drawing you closer to Himself, but you might also have thoughts and feelings that make you want to run the other way. Who’s going to win? Will you listen to the Lord and call on Him? If you are ready to make that decision to confess your sins to God and receive His forgiveness and follow Him, would you just slip up your hand so I can pray for you?
-Lord, I’m coming to You to ask for Your help. I need your life in me. Please forgive me for all the wrong things I’ve said and done. Help me to feel your peace and know that you are close to me. I want You to be the leader of my life. Lord, do whatever you want to do in my life. I give myself to You. Amen.
