- WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH JESUS-
WILL YOU DISCERN HIM?
John 20:1-18
Introduction
The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead represents the crescendo of human history. It is the assurance that the promises of God are true. It gives certainty and clarity to the reality of eternal life. It shakes our confidence in this world and builds our hopes on a world yet to come.
The world is talking and thinking about resurrection today -but will it make a difference? For some, it will. For others, it will not. It all depends on whether or not we discern the living presence of Jesus among us!
Our theme, What Will You Do With Jesus? now takes a dramatic turn. No longer are we considering the painful suffering of Christ as he experienced trials, beatings, humiliation, death, and burial. Now we are considering a powerful, victorious, Risen Savior! Will we discern Him? Will we know and acknowledge Him?
Although we know the end of the story, the truth of the resurrection is dawning slowly on the disciples, and John leads us deliberately through this time of realization. It begins early on the morning of Resurrection Day! Mary Madalene goes to the tomb early; sees the stone taken away. Peter and John run to the tomb, find it empty, go home. From here, John places his focus on Mary Magdalene. Everything we know about Mary Magdalene is contained in a dozen mentions of her in the four Gospels. She is often portrayed as a prostitute; or some saying she was the wife of Jesus - but these are unsubstantiated. We know little about her but we do know that she follows Jesus throughout his ministry. While most disciples fled from the cross, she was there. Four words describe Mary’s Resurrection Experience.
1. Mary’s Resurrection Experience
A. Devotion
John 20:1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.
It is not hard for us to imagine the trauma that the disciples have been through at the cross. The brutality of his death had to weigh on all of them. Peter and John have returned to their home. Peter is post-denial, pre-repentance, not in good place. John takes in the details. John notices the folded up face cloth (John’s Gospel alone mentions it.). Peter and John go home, Mary stays behind.
John 20:11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb.
“…loud, unrestrained weeping …” -Lipe. Mary had been rescued from seven demons by Jesus, and she devoted her life to serving him. What did she witness at the cross? How long did the sights, sounds, smells stay with her? Was she still numb after that experience?
J. C. Ryle “Of all our Lord’s followers on earth, none seem to have loved Him so much as Mary Magdalene. None felt that they owed so much to Christ. None felt so strongly that there was nothing too great to do for Christ.”
Nothing could keep her from the tomb, nothing did. Her tears a demonstration of her devotion to Jesus.
B. Angels
John 20:12-13 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.”
Whenever people in the Bible usually see angels, they faint! Not Mary. My impression is that her life experience have left her tough and not easy to shake. In all four Gospel accounts, the angels are said to have appeared only to the women and not to the apostles. Instead of being afraid, she asks the question she asks ?three times in this text: Where is the body of Jesus? The angels did not answer. “Jesus may have been crucified between two thieves, but He had been raised between two angels from heaven.” - Lipe
C. Jesus (John 20:14-17)
John 20:14-15 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.”
We are privy to the amazing and thrilling reality that this is Jesus, but Mary is still focused! What is she going to do with a dead body?
20:16-17 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic,[b] “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
Lipe: “Mary knew that voice; instead of finding the dead body of her Lord, for which she was searching, she found herself face to face with the One who loved her and had died for her - the living Jesus. All of her grief, sorrow, and loss were replaced by joy, happiness, and gain, which she expressed in one Hebrew (Aramaic) word: ‘Rabboni!”
D. Announcement
John 20:18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.
In church tradition, Mary has been given the title of the “Apostle to the Apostles.” …A woman from Magdala is the first to bring the message of the gospel to the apostles. She’s the first to see the empty tomb. She’s the first to see Jesus. She’s one of the only ones to ever hug the resurrected Lord. What an honor! Women weren’t even trusted by courts of law as faithful witnesses. However, the first witness, the witness to the apostles, is a woman. (Bookout)
2. Your Resurrection Experience - what words describe your experience?
Faith.
Tim Keller: If Jesus rose from the dead, then you have to accept all that he said; if he didn’t rise from the dead, then why worry about any of what he said? The issue on which everything hangs is not whether or not you like his
teaching but whether or not he rose from the dead.
1 Corinthians 15:17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.
B. Assurance - the promises of Jesus are true.
Frederick Buechner: "Resurrection means that the worst thing is never the last thing." The resurrection addresses the most important issues. Is there life after death? Do we have any hope to live with God forever? Does my life matter to God? Is there an answer for pain or discouragement I face? We find assurance in the empty tomb - it is a testimony to the ultimate truth of God as a promise keeping God.
C. Acceptance (John 3:16-17)
The cross doesn’t look like an act of love, but it is. Jesus loved all of humanity; even those who killed him. The greatest act of love is to sacrifice oneself for another - and that is what Christ has done for us. In spite of our faults, failures and falls, God’s love stands faithful and we are beloved by Him. The blood of Jesus allows us access into His holiness.
Conclusion
1. The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead represents the crescendo of human history. It is the assurance that the promises of God are true. It gives certainty and clarity to the reality of eternal life. It shakes our confidence in this world and builds our hopes on a world yet to come.
2. What will you do with Jesus? Deny, Dismiss, Dethrone, Desert? Will you discern him? The Gardener was hidden until he called her by name. Jesus is calling you by name today!
Romans 6:4-5 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.
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Discussion Questions for John 20:1-18
1. Why is it important to you that Jesus rose from the dead? Could you still believe in him if he had died and we could visit his tomb?
2. Peter and John, once inside the tomb, find the burial wrappings of Jesus. John’s Gospel alone mentions the face cloth as “ not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself.” (Jn 20:6-7).
- Why are these details important in making the case for the reality of the resurrection of Jesus?
- What does the description of the cloths / face cloth offer to us in terms of what happened / didn’t happen in the tomb?
3. We are not told of the emotional / mental weight of the death ofJesus on the disciples. What are some elements of the loss of Jesus that we might describe as ‘traumatic’ for Peter, John, Mary? How might that shape their reactions to resurrection?
4. John tells us in 20:9 that the disciples as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. From our perspective, this seems obtuse because Jesus was very clear about this. When have you experienced a realization of something that the Bible says, that you had read many times, but it suddenly became clear?
5. Why is Mary called the "Apostle to the Apostles"? Why is it so important a woman first saw the empty tomb and was the first witness of the risen Jesus?
6. From the beginning women have played a vital role in the life and work of the church. Who is a woman that has shaped your faith and experience in the church?
7. Frederick Buechner said, "Resurrection means that the worst thing is never the last thing." What is your reflection on that statement from your experience?
8. Was there anything else you wanted to talk about today or discuss from this text or the sermon?
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Resources
Bookout, Travis J. King of Glory: 52 Reflections on the Gospel of John. Cypress Publications, 2021.
Lipe, David L. Truth for Today Commentary: John 13-21. Resource Publications, 2019.
Ryle, J. C. Expository Notes on the Gospel of John.
