Sermon John 20:1-18 They Saw and Believed

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Beaver Dam and Pitts Creek Churches

Sermon John 20:1-18 They Saw and Believed

Easter, April 20, 2014

Happy Easter! This is the day we have been waiting for. Our forty days of preparation are over and it is time to rejoice. Jesus Christ is risen! He is risen indeed. Let's pray.

Jesus, victorious Lord, I exult in your resurrection. As I sing “alleluia” with my voice, let my life embody “alleluia” as a testimony to your love and a witness to your eternal life. Amen.¹

Let's start by reviewing what happened. Jesus was arrested, tried and executed on a cross. A couple of the religious leaders who believed in Jesus removed him from the cross and placed him in a nearby tomb. There is no question about it. Christ was dead. His disciples took their usual sabbath rest on Friday evening through Saturday. Let's see what happened early Sunday morning.

NIV John 20:1 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. 2 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 made her way to the tomb in the dark. All of her hopes and dreams had been crucified the previous Friday. She had spent the weekend in the fog of grief for the death of a loved one. Then when she arrived at the tomb what she saw, or more specifically, what she didn't see scared her to death. Jesus was missing from the tomb. So she ran to get help. Here is what happened.

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. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes,

The two disciples have seen the empty tomb and discarded grave clothes. The head cloth was neatly folded. And we are told that one of them believed. What did this disciple, the one Jesus loved, believe? I think that he believed what Jesus had told him at the supper on Thursday night. Listen to what Jesus had said.

John 7:33-34 ³³ Jesus said, "I am with you for only a short time, and then I go to the one who sent me. ³⁴ You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come."

So the disciple must have believed that Jesus had died, and his spirit went to heaven to be with God. This would have been consistent with first century thought. Our bodies die, return to dust, and our spirits go to heaven. Most people today would be comfortable with this belief as were the two disciples. So they went back home to grieve the death of their dear friend, Jesus. But as Paul Harvey used to say, let's look at “the rest of the story.”

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."

Mary's grief is almost overwhelming. Not only had Jesus died, but now something has happened to his body. Mary must have been very angry at what was happening. Everything was spiraling out of control. Then, the most surprising thing in scripture happened.

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).

Suddenly Mary's grief turned to joy. Jesus was alive! He was right there in front of her. She recognized his voice. All she wanted to do was give him a big hug. Let's hear what Jesus has to say.

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.'"

Jesus is doing what he said he would do. Death on a cross could not stop him. He was a alive, physically alive. He was not a spirit or ghost. He was physically alive, resurrected from the dead. Let's get back to Mary.

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.

The Gospel of John is filled with twists and unexpected endings. But no ending is more surprising than this one. Jesus' spirit had gone to heaven, paradise, with the soul of a man crucified at his side. But then his soul returned from heaven and entered his dead body. God made his heart to beat and blood to flow. His lungs filled with air. He stood up, folded his grave clothes, walked out of the tomb, and waited around for a chance to talk with Mary.

At first Mary did not recognize him. She thought he might be a gardener or something. But then she heard his voice and recognized it as the voice of the Good Shepherd. By seeing and hearing Jesus she became the first of many people who witnessed his resurrection from the dead. Jesus told her not to hug him because he had not yet ascended to heaven. We learn from this that Jesus will ascended to the father with his physical flesh and blood body where he lives today in heaven at God's right hand.

The resurrection of the Jesus Christ is a sign or miracle. It's purpose, as is the purpose of all signs in the gospel of John, is to bring people to faith. People see the sign and hear what it means and then come to belief. So what does this all mean? And what is it we should believe? For this explanation let's turn to the Apostle Paul.

1 Corinthians 15:3-8 ^NIV 1 Corinthians 15:³ For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, ⁵ and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. ⁶ After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, ⁸ and last of all he appeared to me also.

So according to Paul the resurrected Jesus was seen by many reliable people. Since there were many trustworthy witnesses of the resurrection, we can believe their testimony. The story we heard today is true. It is an historical fact. But what does it all mean? Let's go back to Paul.

1 Corinthians 15:17-22 ¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. ¹⁸ Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. ¹⁹ If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. ²⁰ But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹ For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. ²² For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is proof that one day we too will be resurrected from the dead. When believers die our souls go to heaven to be with God. But then at the end of time a new world will be created with a new Jerusalem and our graves will be opened, our bodies will be recreated and reunited with our souls. And we will live forever under the lordship of Jesus Christ in the Kingdom of God. This is the promise of scripture.

Revelation 21:1-5 ^NIV Revelation 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." ⁵ He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

You have heard about the sign, Jesus' resurrection from the dead. You have heard testimony from Mary and many other witnesses who saw it. You have heard that this means that you too will one day be resurrected from the dead to eternal life in the Kingdom of God. The sign is right there. The explanation make sense. There is only one question remaining. Do you believe it? Do you believe that Jesus was resurrected from the dead? Do you believe that one day you too will be resurrected to live in his eternal kingdom? Do you believe these things? I think you do or else you would have found something else to do today. You believe that Christ is risen! He is risen indeed. Alleluia, let's pray.

Heavenly Father we thank you and praise you for your promise of resurrection to eternal life. Strengthen our faith. Send your Spirit to bring everyone to belief this day. This we pray in the name of the one first raised from the dead, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

1Kimberly Long, Feasting On the Word Worship Companion (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2013), 138.