7 24 2016 “Jesus Arose from the Dead” John 20:1-18
Today we begin to examine John’s account of Jesus’ Resurrection and His interaction with the disciples after He arose from the dead. Collectively, the four gospels share accounts of several resurrection appearances; along with Acts 1:3-8 and 1 Corinthians 15:5-8, there are twelve appearances. The first six are in Jerusalem, four in Galilee and one on the Mount of Olives, and one on the road to Damascus.
Again, the four Gospels differ in some of the details, but that is not to say that they contradict each other in any way. The fact that the individual writers include different details tells us that they did not contrive together in order to write exactly the same story, but each compliments the other in adding some details while all four gospels are firm in their witness and testimony that JESUS INDEED AROSE FROM THE DEAD. Their individual accounts leave no doubt concerning this truth concerning Jesus death and burial: Jesus did not remain in the grave but was victorious OVER DEATH and the GRAVE by the Power of God.
The significance of Jesus’ resurrection affects the whole of Christianity, as Paul later stated in 1 Corinthians 15:17-19: ”And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.” Christ’s Resurrection is the very basis of a living faith, and so we examine John’s account in John 20.
John’s Resurrection account in chapter 20
“Now on 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. 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." 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 (John is speaking about himself here.) outran Peter and came to the tomb first. 5 And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. 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. 8 Then the other disciple, (John) 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.”
John provides evidence that Jesus is risen from the dead.
In verses 1-10 of chapter 20, John provides testimony and evidence that Jesus is indeed risen from the dead! According to the other gospels, the women were well aware of the place of Jesus’ burial, and these facts are assumed in John’s gospel. Mary Magdalene is the first to notice very early in the morning (at dawn) that the stone been removed and that their Lord was gone. This is very important circumstantial evidence. In our courts of law, circumstantial evidence is utilized often in order to make a legal point, and in this case, an empty tomb and Jesus’ abandoned grave clothes testify to a very important truth: Jesus is no longer in the tomb but He has risen.
Again, Matthew, Mark and Luke mention “WOMEN” coming to the tomb, and John only mentions Mary Magdalene, but he does NOT emphatically state that Mary Magdalene ALONE came to the tomb. He mentions Mary Magdalene because in his narrative, it is Mary Magdalene who informs the other disciples and it is Mary Magdalene to whom Jesus will speak in verses 11- 18.
The abandoned grave clothes are important evidence! If the disciples would have planned to steal Jesus’ body in order to contrive a fake story concerning Jesus’s resurrection, why would they first fastidiously remove the grave clothes? That would be preposterous; ”grave robbers” would have simply snatched the body and ran. They would not have unwrapped the body and neatly folded up the handkerchief that had been around His head and placed it apart from the other grave clothes.
The abandoned clothes also negate the generosity of both Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. Their generosity was to provide Jesus with a permanent resting place, but we see that their acts of kindness did not keep Jesus in the grave. The abandoned grave and embalming methodology did not keep Jesus in the grave. He arose in spite of the human efforts to provide Him a permanent resting place; His grave was only intended by God to be a temporary place. That is also the case for every believer: Death has no power over the Risen Lord, nor those who place their hope and trust in Him!
It is interesting to note that Mary Magdalene herself does not recognize the implications as the scene presents itself since she returns to the other disciples, not yet on the scene, and exclaims: "They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him." “Grave robbing” was somewhat common in that age, and Mary evidently believed that the enemies of Jesus had stolen His body, perhaps putting to rest Jesus’ prophecy that He would rise from the dead. Later, between 41-45 AD, Emperor Claudius issued a decree making grave robbing a capital offense.
Peter and John ran together to the tomb, but John made it there first. (This must have been a disappointment to the impetuous Peter, who was usually ahead of everyone else!) The cautious and conscientious scrutiny of John also testifies to an empty tomb: He records, “And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there.” At this point Peter arrives and runs headlong into the empty tomb to discover the same evidence of resurrection that the others have seen, but it is the “one whom Jesus loved”, the one who leaned on Jesus at the last supper several days before who “BELIEVES”. “Then the other disciple, (John) who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed.”
John records clearly here, “THE EMPTY TOMB”. Jesus had been crucified-John was there. Jesus had been buried-John was here where Jesus body had been placed and now His body is missing from the tomb. While it is true that the empty tomb in and of itself does not prove the resurrection of Jesus, in Jewish thinking, without an empty tomb there would be no resurrection; the Jews demanded proof, and the empty tomb is evidence of a resurrection. John SAW and BELIEVED.
Remember that John is writing this years later and he is reflecting that, in retrospect, after these events had passed, these disciples were finally coming to a rudimentary understanding concerning Jesus prediction that He must rise again. Later in this chapter Thomas does not believe without first seeing and John writes in verse 31: “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His Name.” Believing in His Name is inclusive of ALL that Jesus is and ALL that He did as revealed to us in His Word, and so the is the empty tomb is proof that Jesus paid the wages of sin, which is death. Forgiveness and life is in Him and His Work alone. John saw and believed.
Mary Magdalene meets the risen Lord.
Look at verse11-18 and read Mary Magdalene’s resurrection experience: “But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. 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. 13 Then they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him."
14 Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" 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." 16 Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to Him, "Rabboni!" (which is to say, Teacher).
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.' " 18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.”
Sometime after Mary had told Peter and John about the empty tomb, Mary returned to the tomb and two angels visit her in her grief; remember that angels are God’s messengers, revealing God’s Word to those whom God chooses. Here the angels question Mary regarding her deep sorrow, and when she gives them her response she turns to see and hear Jesus questioning her in a similar fashion, but initially she does not recognize Him, probably out of unbelief, skepticism, or grief. There are other occasions where individuals did not immediately recognize the risen Lord as Jesus. It could also be supernatural hindrance; simply that Jesus withheld His identity and revealed Himself according to God’s timetable.
In any case, Mary has had MORE time to consider the evidence of Jesus’ resurrection, but she still is sure that someone had stolen Jesus’ body until Jesus calls her by name, saying, “MARY.” Consider that she had witnessed His suffering and torturous death. She saw him wrapped and laid in the tomb. Accepting Jesus’ resurrection was extremely difficult.
When she recognizes Him, it made me think of what Jesus had said earlier in John 10:27-28: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” Mary did not recognize the risen Lord until she heard His voice and saw Him. Even without recognizing Him at first, she still referred to Him as “my Lord”, which tells us that Jesus is the whom she served and that she had given her devotion and thanksgiving to Him for His goodness to her. When she refers to Him as “Rabboni”, we understand that she humbles herself before her Lord and accepts Him as her Master, not just a learned teacher. She definitely uses terms of endearment and respect to honor the Lord Jesus.
Evidently Mary falls in worship and grasped Jesus’ feet as in Matthew 28:9 when Jesus responds: "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.'” What Jesus is telling her is to stop holding me as if I were to disappear permanently. This is a time for joy and a time for sharing the good news of my resurrection.
Part of Jesus’ meaning here is that He was not going to return to the life that Mary and His disciples knew before because in 40 days He would ascend to the Father and return to the Heaven from which He had come. Jesus is in the process of ascending to the Father in much the same way as He was in the process of laying down His life. He wanted Mary, and us to know, that He would certainly complete EVERYTHING that He had promised, including His Ascension, and that He would do that in His resurrected body.
We see that Mary began to immediately share the Good News that she had seen the Lord, and there is no doubt that she exclaimed, “I have seen the RISEN Lord; He is not dead, but He is risen just as He promised.” Her testimony should also be our testimony, because we have seen the Lord with eyes of faith, believing all that has been written about Him for our salvation. Amen!
I. John provides testimony that Jesus is risen from the dead.(1-10)
A. Mary Magdalene testified to the stone being removed and Jesus being risen.
B. An empty tomb and abandoned grave clothes testify to Jesus’ resurrection.
C. The cautious scrutiny of John testifies to an empty tomb.
D. Believing in Jesus’ Name includes believing in the empty tomb: The empty tomb is that Jesus paid the wages of sin which is death.
II. Mary Magdalene provides testimony that Jesus is risen from the dead. (11-18)
A. Mary had time to consider the evidence but did not recognize Jesus until she heard His voice and saw Him.
B. Mary uses terms of endearment and respect to honor the Lord Jesus: “my Lord” and “Rabboni”
C. Mary began to share the Good News: “I have seen the “RISEN” Lord.”
