Easter Together
“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. 2So 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!” John 20:1-2
Intro: It was still dark for Mary.
She had just endured the darkest, bleakest Sabbath of her life, because Jesus had died.
Jesus had cast seven demons out of her
Demons that had tortured her for years.
Now he was dead. Jesus Christ age 33. Crucified.
No one else could do for her what Jesus had done.
No one else cared for her,
No one else loved her like Jesus had.
And now he is gone
and she is just sick at her stomach with grief.
It was still dark.
She wasn’t just grief stricken.
I think she was probably disappointed in Jesus..., At least a little bit.
After all he had claimed to be the Messiah
He told the woman at the well if you have seen me you have seen God the Father.
My voice is His voice
If you have heard me you have heard Him.
Mary believed that.
She believed that Jesus was going to liberate Israel.
If He could walk on the water
If He could heal the sick
If He could raise the dead
He could take out some Roman soldiers.
Yet when they came to arrest him Jesus just surrendered.
Then like any other mortal he died.
A compassionate friend? Yes.
The long awaited Messiah? She would have to rethink that on this dark weekend.
Don’t you think she probably felt some anger too?
Furious with the religious leaders who were so jealous of Jesus that they had plotted his death.
Such evil people to say such mean things to try to destroy Jesus’ ministry
Then to plot to harm him and ultimately to kill Jesus.
What haters they were.
How could anyone who claimed to be so Godly share such mean things to try to destroy a man of God?
Mary was probably
Angry at the Roman soldiers who had brutalized the body of Jesus her Lord
They had reduced him to a mass of quivering flesh, then, gloated over it.
Jesus had told her she was supposed to love her enemies
But I doubt that she could bring herself to do that
I doubt there was much love in her heart
On this dark morning.
Early on the first day of the week while it was still dark, Mary went to the tomb.
I think there is a lot for us to learn from Mary about how God can lift us out of darkness and despair.
Mary did something right that first Easter that turned her darkness into daylight.
The other gospels make it clear that Mary did not go to the tomb by herself that morning
Other women by the name of Salome Johanna, and Mary the mother of James accompanied her
And they brought spices to anoint Jesus’ body.
The Jewish people have never believed in embalming,
they just wrapped the body in lien and spices to show respect.
But these women were frustrated because Jesus had died so near the Sabbath
They did not have time to complete the process
So, early in the morning when the Sabbath was over…, they came to tomb to complete the job.
Marks Gospel says as they neared the tomb they began asking each other,
who is going to roll away that huge stone at the entrance?
They had seen Joseph of Arimathea roll a huge stone at the entrance of the tomb
after he had buried
the body of Jesus in his own…, unused tomb.
Evidently the women did not know that the religious authorities had insisted that the tomb be sealed.
Some Roman soldiers were stationed at the entrance to make sure that no one tampered with the body.
The religious leaders were concerned that the disciples might come and steal the body and claim a resurrection
+SLIDE+
So early in the morning Mary Magdalene went to the tomb.
and she saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. John 20:1
Matthew’s gospel gives us some details about what happened just a short time before these women arrived.
+SLIDE+
“the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone away from the door,
and sat upon it…, the soldiers did shake with fear and became as dead men.”
Now when these soldiers came to,
they saw the stone had been rolled back,
the body of Jesus was gone,
They raced to the chief priest of the Jews to tell him what had happened
Instead of arresting them, and punishing them.
The Jewish authorities bribe them, giving them a large sum of money,
If anyone asks you what happened,
just say we were asleep and the disciples came and stole the body
And that false story was told and repeated among the Jewish people
“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!"
Mary Magdalene reacts differently than the other women.
As soon as she here the stone is rolled away.
That the body of Jesus is not there.
She draws a hasty conclusion.
She makes a mistake and believes the body of Jesus has been taken somewhere else by the enemy.
+SLIDE+
Missed out on four proofs that Jesus had risen.
So Mary leaves the others at the tomb
And she races back to Jerusalem (maybe a half mile or so)
to share the information with Peter, and John and the others.
Mary in her haste to be the first to tell the disciples that the body of Jesus is missing
+SLIDE+
1. The Stone Was Rolled Away
Who moved the stone?
The soldiers were not going to move the stone.
Sealing the stone and setting the watch
would have been done by rolling the stone in front of the tomb
And then taking a cord or sting
and attaching it to the wall of the tomb and the other end to the stone itself
and then taking wax and dipping the official ring or insignia of the Chief Priest into this wax
and then stamping that imprint of that ring onto the cord
so that if the stone were rolled back the seal would be broken
and they would know that someone had entered the tomb without permission.
To have been a soldier in charge of guarding something that had this official seal
would have been a matter of life and death.
They would not have simply been facing a reprimand for letting something happen.
They would have been put to death themselves
So these soldiers would have been guarding the tomb with their life.
The disciples could not have moved the stone.
They were hiding behind locked doors in fear of their life,
that they might be the next arrested and crucified like Jesus.
The enemies of Jesus were not going to roll back the stone and steal the body of Jesus.
They wanted to make sure it was locked away safe.
Even if they had been the ones to take the body
They would have produced it later to prove that the claims of the resurrection were false.
Who moved that stone?
The only logical conclusion is God did. An angel of God moved it just as the bible said.
+SLIDE+
The second evidence that Mary missed out on was
2. The Appearance of Angels
Luke’s 24:4 says that while the other two women, who were still at the tomb,
were still wondering about what had happened
“suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? His is not here he has risen!”
Now if Mary Magdalene had seen those angels
If she had heard their testimony
She would not have concluded that the body had been stolen
She would have testified like the rest of these women that Jesus was alive.
The third piece of evidence of the resurrection was the
+SLIDE+
3. A Reminder of Fulfilled Prophecy
The angel said to these women, “Remember how he told you while he was still with you in Galilee: The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.”
Then they remembered his words.”
In all the chaos and confusion of the passion week they had forgotten,
this is exactly what Jesus said was going to happen.
There was one other powerful piece of evidence.
+SLIDE+
4. The Grave Clothes were left behind.
What hurried grave robber is going to take time in the tomb to unwrap the body before they get it out of there?
That doesn’t make sense.
So even before they saw Jesus in person
These other women had sufficient evidence to conclude that Jesus had risen.
But Mary Magdalene missed out on that
She raced back into Jerusalem and said to Peter and John,
they have taken the body of the Lord and we don’t know what they have done.
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.
The other disciple is understood to be John.
John ran faster than Peter and so John got there first
+SLIDE+
5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in.
+SLIDE+
6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb.
He saw the strips of linen lying there,
7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head.
The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen.
+SLIDE+
8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. +SLIDE+
Now what did John see that convinced him that Jesus was risen?
I think he saw those grave clothes still wrapped up in the form of a body
But it is deflated because the body is gone.
Remember where Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus came to bury the body of Jesus
The bible says they brought seventy-five pounds of spices John 19:37
They would wrap the body in linen and pack it with spices
Linen and spices, more linen and more spices
Until the body was wrapped up like a mummy
But what John and Peter see are the grave clothes, laying there like an empty cocoon
If Jesus in the resurrected body could go through walls
he wouldn’t have any trouble just passing through the grave clothes
John says, I tell you when I saw that… I believed.
+SLIDE+
Now where is Mary Magdalene?
I think she is exhausted, but she is running back to the tomb.
She has walked to the tomb
She raced all the way back to Jerusalem
Now she is racing back to the tomb
She can’t keep up with them
Verse 10 Then the Peter and John left and went back to where they were staying.
So Mary Magdalen comes to the tomb but this time she is all by herself.
She is still disheartened, discouraged, confused, saddened
She has no idea that the morning is about to break.
11 Now 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.
This is heavens way of declaring victory.
If You or I had been in charge of the resurrection with our human way of thinking
We would probably
had trumpeters out front of Caiaphas home early in the morning waking him up from sleep
And when he looked out the window
There would have been Jesus standing, waving…
Or maybe fireworks outside Pilots judgement hall of something
But the appearance of two angels is an unmistakable testimony
of the way the powers of Heaven are at work here.
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.
+SLIDE+
Now why did she not recognized that it was Jesus?
There is number of times after Jesus arose
that He wasn’t recognized by the disciples and people he was closest to.
There is something about different about this resurrected body of Jesus that is different.
Not long ago I ran into a person I went to high school with that I had not seen since we graduated.
I had not seen this person in over 30 years.
He had gained some weight and lost some hair.
I tell this person had aged so much that he did not recognize me.
You see the people who have changed over the years and you don’t dare ask is that really you?
So, you look and listen to their voice,
You watch their mannerisms
till you finally recognize oh, yea they have aged but that’s really them.
With Jesus it is just the opposite.
They had known Jesus for 30 years before he began his ministry.
They had fished with him
They had walk along beside him.
Then he starts his ministry.
For three years they are with Jesus and over and over again,
Jesus runs into one conflict after another.
Jesus is confronted on every corner.
We are told the stress on Jesus was so great on his physical body that there are times in the bible
Where Jesus is exhausted and goes off to himself to be alone and rest.
But after Jesus resurrection the effect is just the opposite
For the first time they see…, perhaps a younger looking Jesus than what they last remember.
The stress and toil of the weight of everything Jesus has been going through…, and carrying is gone
It is like they don’t recognize this younger looking, glorified Jesus.
This matters to me
because the bible says that when Christ comes back for us that our bodies are going to be changed.
And we will be like Jesus.
+SLIDE+
1 Corinthians 15:54 “When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."
So I want to give you advance notice, when you see me in heaven, I am not going to look like this.
I am not going to have this with all wrinkles and bulges
I am probably going to look like I did when I was about 19-20 years old.
When I was working all summer using a drill gun.
I hung drywall and built up some muscles.
I was getting lots of exercising everyday
And I want my hair back like it was when I was younger.
In fact I may make some other changes while I am at it.
I may look more like Brad Pitt than I do now,
In fact you may trouble recognizing me.
In fact I will wear a name tag so you will know who I am.
Notice in John 20:15 Jesus asked her, “Woman, 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.”
Thinking he was the gardener.
Interesting the resurrected Christ is not mistaken for a soldier or carpenter, or a shepherd
He is mistaken for a gardener.
The first Adam was put in charge of the Garden of Eden.
To tend it and take care of it.
But he messed it up and we have messed it up ever since.
The second Adam is thought TO BE the Gardner. (Think about that for just a moment)
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
The bible often understates dramatic events.
In the movie the Passion of the Christ it spends at least a half hour to forty-five minutes
going over all the blood and gore of the crucifixion
BUT In the bible it simply says, “there they crucified him.”
I think this is one of those passages that is very understated.
Wouldn’t you like to see this scene as it played out.
Rabboni
Sweet Jesus,
Rabboni
It is you. It is really you.
You see her eyes open wide
She is crying and sobbing with joy.
She grabs a hold of Him and doesn’t let go.
17Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father.
Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father,
to my God and your God.’?”
Understandably Mary did not want to let go of him.
This had been the darkest night of her soul.
Now it is the most joyous brightest moment of her life.
She wanted to hold on…
Have you ever had the experience where you said, I wish we could just stay here forever.
Maybe that night you fell in love
or got married
or held your first baby in your arms.
Or your baptism
or in a church service
Let’s just stay here forever.
On the Mt. of Transfiguration, Peter says to Jesus.
Let’s build three temples so we can just stay here.
But Jesus led them back down the mountain
where they were confronted by the boy who was possessed by demons.
You can’t stay on the mountain top very long.
Life is lived in the valley.
You can’t hold on to a spiritual high for ever.
+SLIDE+
Oswald Chambers said, We are not built for the mountains, for sunrises,
or the other beautiful attraction in life. those are simply intended to be moments of inspiration.
We are made for the valley and the ordinary things of life
and that is where we have to prove our stamina and strength.
Am I talking to somebody today who in the valley?
If you are not now…, you will be someday.
Are you discouraged about some events in your life?
Mary’s actions suggest three things that we can learn.
1. Mary went to the place where it was most likely something positive would happen.
In fact she went back a second time to look for something positive.
When you get down the inclination is to withdraw from people.
Or maybe to gravitate to old sins or old habits and addictions.
Or maybe to seek revenge with someone who is responsible for your being down where you are.
You cannot allow your feelings to control your behavior.
The bible says there is a way that seems right unto man
But in the end leads to death.
You have to be very careful not to allow your feelings to dictate your actions
When you are discouraged put yourself in a position where something positive can happen.
I heard about a college student who was really struggling with his faith.
He did something that he really didn’t want to do
He got up and went to church.
In church that morning his faith was renewed.
But it had nothing to do with the sermon, or the singing.
It was during the service that he happened to look over and he saw a fellow student
who he knew had been having a very difficult time in class who was bowing his head praying.
He thought to himself.
If that person can do it and have faith I can too.
He left that day renewed in spirit.
Because he put himself in a position where something positive could happen.
Even when you are down.
You come to church.
You read the bible
You fellowship with Christians people
Psalm 1;1 says blessed are those who walk not in the steps of the ungodly.
I never have understood why when things get tough
Instead of people pulling closer to where they found their faith
And where their Christian friends are
They push away from church and stop coming…
That makes absolutely no sense what so ever does it?
Here is the second thing Mary did.
2. She recognized the presence of Jesus.
Mary recognized the presence of Jesus when he called her name.
You and I probably are never going to hear Jesus audibly call our name while living here on earth.
The primary way that God speaks to us is through the bible
Hebrews 1:1 says, In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son,
So we should not be expecting a vision of God speaking to us through a burning bush.
Instead we are to be about searching the scriptures.
And seeing Jesus in everyday occurrences.
A husband and wife were on vacation
As they were leaving the hotel the husband went to get the car to load their belonging.
As he was driving around the parking lot to the front of the hotel
His heart went into cardiac arrest.
With his foot still on the gas he plowed into the front of the hotel trapping himself inside the car.
But it just so happened that there was off duty EMS worker
inside the hotel lobby who saw what happened.
She assessed the situation, realized he was having a heart attack
She said, unless we get him out of the car he will be dead in less than 5 minutes.
There was a grounds keeper working nearby who had a shovel
They used to the shovel to break the glass on the car
And were able to pull the man out
The EMS worker performed CPR for 17 minutes until the Ambulance arrived, saving the mans life.
They got the man to the hospital.
He was in a coma for three days.
Finally he awakened and the family was delighted that he had all his faculties and his thinking was clear.
Finally the man said, “How long have I been out?”
The brother in law quipped, “Donald Trump is still President but Rosseana Barr is Secretary of State.
I am not going to try to make that any funnier than it already is.
Since then this man has looked up the EMS who saved his life to thank her.
She said, you don’t need to thank me.
I have been an EMS for little over 12 months and I trained for almost two years before that
I have been waiting all this time to save someone’s life.
She had been waiting for the moment about 3 years
She had been training
She had been praying for strength that God would give her the clarity
of what to do and say to save someone’s life.
This story is not about heroics as much as it is about what Jesus Christ did for both her and him that day.
Imagine preparing for three years to save someone’s life.
Jesus said, he who has ears to hear let him hear.
Maybe you hear Jesus calling your name.
+SLIDE+
We ought to be living as though Jesus died yesterday, rose this morning,
and is coming back this afternoon everyday.
One last thing Mary did right was
3. she followed the instructions of Jesus and shared her testimony with others.
“Mary Magdelene went to the disciples with the news. “I have seen the Lord.”
And she told them that he had said these things to her.” John 20:18
You want to get out of the blues
You want to lift your spirits
Simply go tell other people the difference Christ has made in you since you became a Christian.
Nothing will lift your spirits like evangelism.
Especially when you say to someone.
Would you like to pray to receive Christ as your Lord and Saviour
And they actually say Yes, I believe I do.
