So Close, Yet So Far Away Series

John 20: 1- 18

So close, yet so far away

1 Now 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 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, 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. 11 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.

I want to give you some homework to help you solidify in your minds the various appearances that our Lord Jesus’ did after His Resurrection. Here are the passages from the other 3 Gospel writers which I hope you will look up and read;

Matthew 28:1–10

Mark 16:1–8

Luke 24:1–12

Now to assist you in understanding the proper sequence of our Lord’s appearances I want to take all 4 Gospels and put them in the order they occurred.

The Resurrection occurrences begin with Our Lord Jesus Christ rising from the dead very early Sunday morning.

We next come to John’s remarks we see in today’s study along with Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:1and Luke 23.55-24.1

1 Now 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.

Notice please the statement -‘The first day of the week’. Here we find the reason why the church established Sunday as the day to meet for services.

Very early in the morning while it was still dark a group of several women gathered to anoint the body of Jesus. Mary has been sent ahead with ‘the other Mary’ by the women who were preparing spices and ointments for Jesus’ burial. Their greatest concern would be as to how they could roll the stone from the entrance so as to minister to Jesus’ body. To their amazement they found that the large stone had been moved. Not sure what this meant one Mary went back to report to the women while Mary Magdalene raced to let Peter and John know.

The stone had in fact been removed by an earthquake connected with an angelic visitation. It was not necessary for the resurrection of Jesus that the stone should be taken away, but it was necessary so that the emptiness of the tomb could be seen.

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.”