Sermon – John 20:1-18 – “I Have Seen the Lord”

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Sermon – John 20:1-18 – “I Have Seen the Lord”
Beaver Dam and Pitts Creek Churches
April 4, 2010

Listen to this sermon.

Happy Easter! This is the joyful day when we remember the amazing events one Sunday morning two thousand years ago. We have been preparing for the celebration for six weeks by walking with Jesus, step by step, to the cross. We have watched as a disciple of Jesus, Judas, walked away from the Light of the World into darkness of unbelief. This darkness blinded the religious and Roman authorities in Jerusalem who arrested Jesus and executed him on a cross. This darkness continued as Jesus’ dead body was placed in a tomb sealed by a large stone. And in the scripture that you heard earlier this darkness continued until the first day of the week when Mary Magdalene woke up and made her way to the tomb. Today we will finally see the light shining in the darkness that the darkness cannot overcome.

But first please pray with me. “God of mercy, we no longer look for Jesus among the dead, for he is alive and has become the Lord of life. From the waters of death you raise us with him and renew your gift of life within us. Increase in our minds and hearts the risen life we share with Christ, and help us to grow as your people toward the fullness of eternal life with you, through Christ our Lord.” Amen. (Book of Common Worship p. 316)

Mary woke up before dawn on the first day of the week. She had a hard time sleeping. Jesus had died just three days before and her grief seemed to get worse every day. She just couldn’t stop thinking about Jesus and the awful things that happened to him, the humiliation and being executed on a cross. She just couldn’t wait any longer. She had to get to the tomb. Ordinarily she would be afraid to walk the streets of Jerusalem alone, especially at night. Jerusalem was a dangerous place especially during the Passover feast. It just wasn’t safe for a woman to be wandering about alone in the dark of night. But her grief overwhelmed her fears and she ventured out into the darkness alone.

When she arrived at the tomb she was confronted with her worst nightmare. The stone sealing the tomb had been moved away. Jesus’ body must have been stolen, she thought. So Mary, now terrified, ran back to where she was staying screaming at the top of her lungs for help. The disciple that Jesus had told to care for Mary came running to see what was wrong. Peter was with him and they ran all the way to the tomb. On arriving at the tomb he bent over gasping for air and peered inside the small opening. Peter, right behind, crawled into the tomb. Then other disciple crawled in. And they saw that it was empty. The burial cloths had been neatly folded. So they knew that this was no grave robbery. Something else had happened. But what was it? What happened to Jesus’ body? Where was it? Frightened by all of this the two disciples ran home and locked the doors leaving behind, alone, in the dark, at the tomb, a frightened woman, Mary Magdalene. And this brings us to today’s scripture.

John 20:11-18 11 but 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. 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. 15 "Woman," he said, "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." 16 Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" 18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her.

“I have seen the Lord!” These are the words that an excited Mary Magdalene said to the disciples when she returned to the upper room. How can this be? Jesus was dead, crucified. The Bread of Life fed no more. The Light of the World had gone out. The Living Waters had dried up. The Gate for the Sheep was closed. Or so everyone thought in the darkness of unbelief. But when The Good Shepherd called the name of one of his sheep we discovered that Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life. That morning as Mary looked in the tomb the light of belief pierced the darkness of doubt and she believed what Jesus had been saying all along that he would be lifted up on a cross to die, and then would be resurrected to new life and ascend to his father in heaven. And now, the promise was complete.

What is this promise? In the third chapter of John the sixteenth verse we read, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” So the promise is that if you believe you will walk in the light and receive the blessing of eternal life. And now we know what it is that we must believe to receive this blessing. We must believe what Mary Magdalene saw and reported to the others that Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead. Believe in the resurrection in your hearts and receive the blessing of eternal life.

Peter, who had denied that he was a disciple of Jesus on that fateful night of darkness and unbelief, listened to what Mary said. And after listening to her testimony and remembering all that he had seen and heard, Peter began walking in the light of belief that promises eternal life. Later he confessed his faith in this way:
Acts 2:22-36 22 "Men and women of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. … 29 "Brothers and Sisters, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear … 36 "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

So I urge you to believe in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Some of you, like the beloved disciple, will see an empty tomb and some folded up grave clothes and that is all you need to believe. Others, like Peter, need to hear from all the witness and evaluate what they say. Study the Bible and hear the voices of all the witnesses to the resurrection. And others, like Mary Magdalene, will need to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd calling your name. Pray that Christ will call you to belief. The way you come to belief is not important. What is important is that you do belief, because if you believe in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead then you will be blessed with eternal life.

As a result of Mary’s testimony the followers of Jesus Christ did not scatter. They began meeting on Sunday mornings, the first day of the week, a working day, to here the stories about Jesus and his resurrection. These groups became churches and the stories they heard were written down in the New Testament. And we are still here, two thousand years later, listening to the same stories and coming to belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

We don’t know what happen to Mary Magdalene after that morning. She was the first to see the risen Jesus Christ. And she had the courage to tell others what she had seen and heard. Her testimony was included in all the gospel accounts of the resurrection. It is possible that like an earlier Mary, Moses’ sister, that Mary Magdalene was a poet. And so, maybe, she wrote the poem that begins the Gospel of John.

John 1:1-14 NRS John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4 in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. 9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. 12 But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth. Amen.