Who Do You Want To Be? (John 20:1-18) Series

Let's start today by reading from 1 Corinthians 15 (NRSV):

15 Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters,[a] of the good news[b] that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, 2 through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you—unless you have come to believe in vain.

3 For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, 4 and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters[c] at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.[d] 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them—though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.

12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; 14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain.

Everything in Christianity, and for us, rises or falls based on Jesus' resurrection. If Jesus didn't rise from the dead, everything we are doing is a massive waste of our life. It's for this reason that Paul, in 1 Corinthians, reminds them about the facts of Jesus' resurrection. Jesus was seen by lots of people, publicly, in lots of places.

Now, when we read the Gospel of John, our natural tendency, I think, is going to be to focus on the factuality of Jesus' resurrection. We will notice the specific details AJ (author of John) gives us. We will write down who Jesus appears to.

We can do this, and it's okay to do this. But if we stop at this, and think we've done our job, we are going to miss the point. I'm pretty sure that AJ doesn't give you these stories to defend the truthfulness of the resurrection.

These stories are written more to answer the "so what?" question. What difference does it make for you, on a practical, daily basis, that Jesus rose from the dead, and ascended to his Father in heaven?

As we read today's passage, we are going to find ourselves focusing mostly on how people respond to the risen Lord. And we are going to feel a pull, hopefully, to change how we live. It matters, today, that Jesus rose from the dead, and ascended to his Father.

Let's start in John 19:38, and then push ahead.

(38) Now, after these things, he asked Pilate-- Joseph from Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus-- now, a secret one because of the fear of the Judeans--

that he might take away Jesus' body,

and Pilate allowed it.

Then, he came,

and he took away his body.

(39) Now, also Nicodemus came--

the one coming toward him at night at first,

bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes of about 100 (Roman) pounds.

(40) Then, they took Jesus' body,

and they wrapped it in linen cloths with the fragrant/embalming spices,

just as the custom of the Judeans, it is, to prepare for burial.

(41) Now, there was at the place where he was crucified a garden,

and in the garden a new tomb,

in which no one yet was buried.

(42) Then, there, because of the day of preparation of the Judeans, because near, the tomb was, they buried Jesus.

Verse 1:

(1) Now, on the first day of the week, Mary the Magdalene comes early in the morning,

[while] dark still being, to the tomb,

and she sees the stone having been taken away from the tomb.

What time of day does Mary come to the tomb? AJ (Author of John) tells us, two different ways. It's early in the morning. And, while it's dark.

Last week, when Nicodemus helped bury Jesus, AJ reminded us that Nicodemus first came to Jesus in the dark. That's important for understanding who Nicodemus was-- he was someone who loved the darkness, who didn't want his wickedness exposed, who was scared of the Judeans. Darkness is a symbol for lots of negative things, but above all, it's symbol for a lack of faith.