Stolen Jesus "Easter Sunrise Sermon"

John 20:1-21

The Message (MSG)

Resurrection!

20 1-2 Early in the morning on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone was moved away from the entrance. She ran at once to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, breathlessly panting, “They took the Master from the tomb. We don’t know where they’ve put him.”

The Bible records that hundreds of people saw and interacted with the resurrected Jesus Christ on many different occasions, from when he left his tomb until he ascended into heaven. The first person of all of them to see living proof of the resurrection miracle was Mary Magdalene, the Bible says. But before Mary saw Jesus, she saw some angels who helped her process what had happened.

Mary went to the tomb early on the first Easter morning with some other women to anoint Jesus' body with spices, which was a Jewish custom to honor someone who has died.

The Gospel of John describes how upset Mary became when she discovered that Jesus' body was no longer there; she assumed that someone must have stolen his body: "So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved [John], and said, 'They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!' (John 20:2).

Alarmed, Peter and John both ran to the tomb and discovered that it was indeed empty. They "saw and believed" (John 20:8) and then "went back to where they were staying" (John 20:10). But Mary stuck around to investigate further.

Have you ever had anything stolen? I can think of two times in my life I have had my bike stolen. When my daddy was living my bike got stolen and when I got home I told my father that my bike was stolen he left the house like the disciples and looked around for me till he found the person that stole my bike and I got my bike back. Now some years latter after I had moved down south my bike was also stolen; but I no longer had a dad to jump to the rescue, So I can recall standing there in my grief over my bike and my sadness and I recall seeing a boy on my bike and now I was much smaller and I did not feel like confronting this older boy, but I also wanted my Bike Back. I remember going back to my moms house and hiding in the house upset about my bike, but I also remember back then we did have much money and that Bike was all I had gotten and I decided that I was not gonna let nobody no matter, how big they were take my blessing from me.

In her book My Daily Walk: Discover the Life of Jesus, Flora Trebi-Ollennu comments: "Mary Magdalene stayed behind even when Peter and John left the tomb.

She wanted to find out what had happened to Jesus. ... I understand Mary because you need to know that if I was willing to fight for a bike; oh how much more would I fight to get my Jesus Back.

Mary Magdalene was the first to see Jesus because she searched for the whereabouts of Jesus without getting tired. Jesus rewards all seek him with all their hearts.

Those who seek Jesus always get to know more of his love, his power, miracles, joy, and other blessings. If you want to find Jesus when it seems like someone has stolen him is you have to hold fast, don’t run home and hide, hold fast, don’t just go and try to find some folks to join you in a pittie party and hide in the Upper Room.

No you do like Mary and look all around start investigating where your Lord is. I am telling You God blesses folks that look for Jesus.

Now when I confronted the young man that had stolen my bike, he tried to say that the bike was his and that his mother had just brought him the same kind of Bike.

What the Enemy did not know is during the times I had been with the bikes we had been through some stuff together and I simply had to point to the scares on the Hands (opps) I meant handle bars, Scares on the Feet (opps) I meant Pedals and the Piercing on the Side I meant the scrap from when I fell off but Got back up and kept riding.

The story continues in John 20:11-13: "Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 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.'"