Please be seated. Let me again welcome you, and if you're visiting with us today, we're really glad that you're here. Let me invite you, if you have a Bible or the into the Pew Bible, to look with me at John chapter 20 verses 1 through 18. Peter Jennings, some of you will certainly remember the late anchor of ABC News once said an interview about Christianity.
He says, I was raised with a notion that it was okay to ask questions, and it was okay to say, I'm not sure. I believe, but I'm not quite so certain about the resurrection said Peter Jennings. Well, a lot of people in modern America perhaps feel that way, if you do, and we're glad that you're here, I'd invite you this morning to mull it over. To believe in the resurrection, you only have to believe one thing as another said, that with God, all things are possible.
That for God nothing is impossible. That if God is God in any meaningful sense of that word, He can do whatever He wants, wherever He wants, whenever He wants. Well, this morning then we consider the resurrection of our Lord Jesus. Can it have happened?
What kind of resurrection was it? And why does that matter? Let me invite you to consider that from John 20, and we'll read verses 1 through 18. Here now, the holy and inspired word of God.
Now, on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved and said to them, they have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him. So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.
And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came following him and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus's head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed, for as yet they did not understand the scripture that he must rise from the dead.
Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept, she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had laying, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, woman, why are you weeping? She said to them, they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.
Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.
Jesus said to her, Mary. She turned and said to him in Aramaic Robonai, which means teacher. Jesus said to her, do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father, but go to my brothers and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God. Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, I have seen the Lord, and that he had said these things to her.
Amen. This is God's Word. May he write it on our hearts. Let's pray together.
Our Father, glorify Jesus, even among us this day, by the work of the Spirit, help us to see him and grant by your grace that we would know him in his name we pray. Amen. Well, we want to ask from the skeptics perspective, could the resurrection really have happened and then, well, what was it like? What's the nature of it and what's the meaning of it?
What's the blessing and benefit of it today? I hope you'll think this through with me. Can it be true? That's our first question and what's the evidence of the resurrection?
Well, the tomb where he was laid was empty, verses one to ten. Now, if you're a skeptic, perhaps you might say, well, it's not enough just to say that Jesus, you know, did not rise from the dead. I mean, I would say to you, you have to give some kind of historically feasible alternative to the story of the resurrection and the empty tomb. You've got to explain it somehow because on Friday evening, and we actually read this Friday evening, in John chapter 19 at the end, Jesus is clearly and definitively dead.
And Joseph of Erimathea, a rich man and a member of the ruling council of the Jews, a man who had secretly been a disciple of Jesus. Well, he was secretly a disciple because he cared about the opinions of his peers and was afraid. Yet he asked for and he received the body of Jesus and evidently the love of Jesus displayed in his sacrificial death moved Joseph to be courageous enough to identify with Jesus. And so he, despite his fears, asked for the body and he received it in verse 39 of chapter 19, he had the help of Nicodemus, a teacher among the Jews.
And as was the Jewish custom, they wrapped linen around all the parts of the body, limb by limb, with we're told 75 pounds of mer and aloes mixed in. I'm told that that would have been like a kind of a glue. By the time you got that mixture applied to the linen, it would have been like a glue upon the body. Well, they laid Jesus in a tomb and Matthew tells us elsewhere that it was it was closed by the Roman government and a military guard was actually placed so that nobody would disturb it.
And then now here we are in the morning of the Sabbath, the day after the Sabbath, very early on Sunday, some women come to finish the job. Mary Magdalene is specifically mentioned in John. There were others somewhere along the pathway with her and they arrived to see the stone has been moved and the tomb is empty. So what happened to the body?
I mean, that's Mary's question. When she thinks Jesus is the gardener. I mean, where did you put him? Well, the Bible of course says that he conquered the grave.
And but there have been others who have said, can't possibly be that. What are the alternatives that people have said? I mean, these are the things that people have said in not wanting to believe in an empty tomb and the resurrection. Some said he didn't really die that he just fainted on the cross due to blood loss and pain.
And then he revived in the cool of the tomb and rolled the stone away and walked away. And it's called the swoon theory that he swooned. And it's not believable and why for many reasons, one of which is, well, Jesus couldn't have survived the torture and execution of crucifixion because Roman law laid the death penalty on any soldier who let a death penalty prisoner escape. And these are hardened soldiers.
They've crucified people before. They would not have bungled the execution under the threat of their own execution. But secondly, we know Jesus was already dead before they even took him down off the cross. We know that because the soldiers didn't even bother to break his legs to hasten his death, like they did for the thief on either side of Jesus.
They broke their legs. When they came to Jesus, they realized he was already dead, didn't break his legs. Though they did stab him, pierced him in the gut and water and blood flowed out, which is a sign of the lapsed lungs, which is actually how you expire under crucifixion. If you haven't expired under the pain, you eventually suffocate.
Well, thirdly, imagine the absurdity, which is perhaps what you leap to first. Imagine the absurdity. If Jesus had survived the scourging and the crown of thorns and the beatings and the crucifixion itself and he wakes up in the tomb, rolls away, the stone, walks out, appears to marry in the other disciples and appears to them in good health. Well, how did that happen?
Or if he appeared as an injured, staggeringly injured man who had just escaped a narrow possibility of death, how could they then worship him as the divine Lord? I mean, that would make no sense. Mangold as he was, he didn't swim. He didn't actually not really die.
He really died. Well, they found me too empty, some would say, but they went to the wrong tomb. I mean, chapter 20, verse 1 on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early while it was still dark to finish the job begun by Joseph and Nicodemus. I mean, you know, it's dark.
It's spooky, scary, maybe she's grieving. Maybe she went to the wrong place. I mean, this is Mary Magdalene here out of whom the gospel says Jesus had cast seven demons having received much from Jesus. She loved Jesus much in return.
So she was last at his cross and first at his grave. But what if she went to the wrong tomb? Well, a couple of things. Once she had already been there with Joseph and Nicodemus, she knew the correct tomb.
Secondly, she went and told Peter and John who came running ahead of her. And they had, oh, wasn't it wonderful? They had this little foot race to see who could get there first. I mean, so she didn't lead them astray to the wrong empty tomb.
They went on their own knowing, of course, where it was. And I love how John here describes himself in verse 2 as the disciple whom Jesus loved. He was not, of course, denying that Jesus loved all the disciples or loves you. But John wrote this book.
This is John's self description. Who am I? I'm the one that Jesus loved. And then he can't help himself.
He's very human. We had a foot race and I want. I beat him. And but of course, true to his own nature, more timid, I think, than Peter, he went to the opening and looked in.
But Peter, when he gets there, he just boldly, yes, Peter does. He just boldly walks right into the tomb. They both see the empty tomb. And John who got there first, got there because he knew the correct tomb is what I'm saying.
And Peter got there second, not having run as fast as John. And yet he went also to that same tomb, which if you want bragging rights in a foot race, you don't get them if you if you end the wrong destination. John and Peter both went to the right place. And besides if it was the wrong tomb, as many have noted, as many have noted much of what I'm telling you, it would have been a simple thing for the Roman authorities or the Jewish authorities to go to the true correct tomb and bring out the body of the dead Messiah and squash the messianic movements.
But they didn't because the tomb was empty. So what is it that Mary think actually happened? Well, she actually hints at the possibility of some kind of conspiracy, perhaps, or at least some sort of mistake. Somebody came and took the body out.
We weren't even done wrapping it. And they moved him. And we don't know where he is, she says. And she told Peter and John, they've moved the body.
And so here's the third explanation of the empty tomb. People have said, well, somebody took the body. And of course, who? Well, some said it was the Roman or Jewish authorities.
Now we have to ask why? Why would the Jewish leaders steal the body? The last thing they wanted was for Christians and Jewish converts to announce a living Messiah after they had crucified him. That would be absurd then to move and hide the body and perpetuate what they considered to be the myth.
The Roman leaders, of course, why would they do it and risk people giving allegiance to Jesus instead of Caesar as Lord? Plus they had set a guard to watch the tomb and a seal on the tomb to secure it. It would require a whole guard of soldiers to be in on a deceit who would then have to say something like they fell asleep, which was a dereliction of duty punishable by execution. They're not likely to have done that.
So if not them, then who? Some people have said, well, it's common thieves, grave robbers, if you like. They're looking to profit. But of course, Jesus was poor.
So while they went into the, they went to the tomb of a rich man, when they got in there, it was a poor man who had nothing buried in the tomb with him, except one expensive item, the linen, which as I said would have been almost like kind of glued to his body and the linen was left behind. So they didn't steal that. And the face cloth is folded up. And what thief in a hurry to steal valuables would unwrap the body while it was still in the tomb and then fold up a napkin and leave it there.
They wouldn't take the time or the trouble. If there was something to steal or if they stole even the body, but then you say, okay, not the Roman authorities and not common thieves. But what about the disciples? This is one people say, the disciples stole the body.
Well, then you have to ask, why would they do that? I mean, for a joke, for profit, there's not it for prestige and proclaiming resurrection. Well, no, I mean, think about what happened to them and nothing proves sincerity like martyrdom. The fingers mathematician philosopher Pascal said, I believe those witnesses who get their throats cut and the disciples were witnesses, the apostles witnessed to the resurrection.
And for their witness, we know that they were hated, they were persecuted, they were actually communicated, variously imprisoned, tortured, exiled, crucified, boiled alive, roasted, beheaded, disemboweled, and fed to the lions. As one said, that's not really a perk. Why would you lie and get yourself in such profound trouble? In fact, people lied to get themselves out of trouble.
When you've lied, usually it's to put yourself in a better light. Why would you lie to put yourself in a worse light to get worse trouble? Now, it's none of these things. The empty tomb is best explained by the historical fact of the resurrection to believe otherwise would be to call God, a liar, and God's word deceitful when you actually have no other plausible alternative.
You should believe in the resurrection. Well, what is the nature of that of this resurrection in which you should believe? Well, the appearance of Jesus in a body means the resurrection is physical. You see that verses 11 to 16.
I mean, verse 11, Mary is weeping. It grieves her that Jesus was mistreated in life, and now she thinks his body has been mistreated in death, and she's weeping. Verse 14, she sees Jesus standing there, but doesn't recognize him. Now, that's perhaps because of the dim lighting before dawn, maybe because of the tears that are in her eyes, or maybe because the last sight she'd had of him was his mangled, whipped, pierced dead body, and it just never occurred to her that the man standing there could be him.
So she thinks he's the gardener. But it's Jesus, of course, in verse 15, he says to her, woman, why are you weeping? In tenderness, he speaks to her, perhaps aiming to get her to think it through. Had she not heard him predict both his death and resurrection?
Well, of course, she had, but she hadn't believed it, like the other disciples had believed. Why are you weeping? He asks, shouldn't you be rejoicing? Who are you looking for?
You're looking for me. I'm right here in front of you. And yes, he looks like a gardener to her. I mean, he has a common human form.
He speaks like a man. She says into verse 15, sir, if you've carried him away, tell me where you've laid him. And then he says to her, just her name, Mary, and immediately, she recognizes him immediately. She says, oh, teach her.
And then you get the sense that she embraced him. Whether she fell at his feet and grabbed his feet or she hugged him, she clung to him is the language of she touched him. And this is why Jesus then will have to say, now, Mary, don't cling to me. Go tell everybody else.
I'm alive. And so what do we see here? We see that Jesus is entirely real and has a genuine human body. She's not seeing some disembodied spirit, a ghost, something she can't touch.
The resurrection here is physical. It's not theoretical. It's not metaphysical. It's metaphorical.
She clings to him. It's not that, as some have wanted to say in the history of the church, Jesus is risen in our hearts, even though he isn't really risen from the dead. No, no, he's really physically risen from the dead. He came out of the grave with his soul reunited to his body made whole, made healthy, made immortal.
And again, you have to explain these appearances of the resurrected Jesus in some way. If you're a skeptic here, some people have said, well, it's not that Jesus really rose from the dead. It's that Mary and the other witnesses were hallucinating or that they saw something that wasn't there. This is an explanation some give.
But of course, there are too many witnesses. Hallucinations happen in private, generally individually and they're very subjective. Yet Christ, we know, appeared not only to Mary Magdalene and to a group of women and to the disciples without Thomas and a week later to the disciples with Thomas and then two disciples also on the road to Emmaus and to the fishermen on the seashore within whom he broke red and he appeared to James his own brother. And he even appeared to 500 people at one time, the Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15.
And that's about as public as you could get. And the point of Paul writing that Jesus appeared to all these people, including 500 at one time, is if you don't believe me, there are lots of people you can go talk to who saw him risen from the dead. Plus, hallucinations like a mirage usually last a few seconds or minutes, I'm told. This one hung around for 40 days.
And well, if it wasn't a hallucination, some have said, well, then it was wish fulfillment. That is, they so expected the resurrection. They so wished for it to be true that even though it didn't happen in their minds and hearts, they believe it happened. The problem with that is, well, they didn't expect it to happen.
Mary didn't expect it. She's there to finish the burial on the third day, not to see Jesus risen on the third day. Besides, John tells you that they had spent three years with Jesus. They'd heard him speak of his death and resurrection plainly multiple times.
And get verse nine, John tells you for as yet they did not understand the scripture that he must rise from the dead. They didn't get what Jesus was talking about when he talked about it. They weren't wishing for it. They hadn't even yet believed in it.
In fact, John tells you that it's then what he saw the empty tomb that he did come to believe. He came to believe in the resurrection that is not because he saw the risen Savior, but because he saw the empty tomb, which also ought to help you who haven't with your own physical eyes seen the risen Savior to know that it is quite possible. In fact, many millions and millions have believed without yet seeing him face to face, though we one day will. Well, John believed because the tomb was empty and Mary and the other disciples saw the risen Savior.
So this isn't wish fulfillment and so on. There are all kinds of things that people say. Some people say, well, this is just really a myth. It's just a legend.
It's just a story that got told over time and around eventually came to be believed, even though it never really happened. The problem with that is twofold. One, the way that actual myths and legends, the of extraordinary things that don't really happen in life, the way those things come to be believed is that the story gets told year after year and decade after decade and it gets embellished over time until finally way down the road, people believe something that they have no way to access historically as to whether it was true or not. But the gospel proclaimed Christ, crucified and Christ risen from the very beginning and was written down in many multiple books by many authors.
There wasn't time for a legend to develop and the second reason you know it's not a legend is this, as others have noted. The first witnesses included the women. I mean, it's Mary who runs to say the tomb is empty and if you were writing, sorry ladies, if you were writing in their day and their generation, you would not have made women the first witnesses to the empty tomb or the resurrection. And that is because in their day, you would have been like them prejudiced against the testimony of women.
It's just a historical reality that the word of women in that generation was not believed. You couldn't as a woman testify in a court of law. And so if you were making up a story, you wouldn't have the first witnesses be the people nobody believes on the face of their own testimony. It's not a myth.
It's not a legend. Jesus really in soul reunited with body and stepped out of the tomb alive forevermore. And what's the point? Well, it's not just that it's true though it is and that you have good reason and every good reason to believe it and no good reason not to believe it.
It's not just that. I mean, John did write his account in the Gospel of John in order that you would believe and by believing have eternal life in Christ. He wants you to believe. But it's not just that.
There's more to it. And we see it in verses 17 and 18. Notice this language, Jesus said to her, do not cling to me for I have not yet ascended to the Father, but go to my brothers and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father to my God and your God. Let me highlight three blessings we receive because Christ is risen first.
His resurrection guarantees the future of ours. I mean, this is the Christian's hope. Death could not hold him. Death could not defeat him.
He is victorious over the grave. And he is the first fruits guaranteeing a much greater harvest of others who will likewise rise from the dead to glory. I am the resurrection and the life says Jesus. He who believes in me though he died, die physically yet shall he live.
And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. That is they will never perish spiritually. They will be raised even physically and they will have life eternally. Our bodies will go to the grave in weakness and mortality, but we will be raised in power and immortality.
But there's more than that. His resurrection guarantees that. It also grants us access to the Father's presence. That is verse 17.
Jesus said, I'm ascending to my Father and your Father. We share in common God the Father. So don't cling to me here and now. Don't think you can hold on to me in this world Mary and never let me go because I'm not staying here.
The resurrection is a stop on the way to the ascension that I might eventually sit at the right hand of the Majesty on high ruling the universe until I come back. That's why she shouldn't hold on to him here. He rose to ascend and says I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me.
But you who believe in me, you do come to the Father who is my Father and your Father. He gives us access to the Father who one day we will see face to face. And then middle verse 17, he tells Mary, I mean that's not a popular message I know, to say to you that Jesus is the way and the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except through him. That's never been a popular message but it is a glorious truth that there is a way to the Father and God has made the way.
You don't have to have mystery about it. You don't have to have uncertainty about it. You don't have to fumble your way because you're lost already but in Christ he brings you to the Father. And notice how gracious Jesus is when he says such things.
He says Mary verse 17, go to my brothers. He calls the disciples brothers. Brothers belong to the same family. They share the same inheritance.
He doesn't say as another put it, go tell those faithless backstabbing cowards that if they grovel I might think about forgiving them. No. He died to forgive them, to secure their forgiveness and the certainty of it. So his resurrection guarantees our forgiveness for all who trust in him.
If you were then wrestling with believing, notice how Jesus isn't harsh with those who haven't believed in him. Jesus is patient and long-suffering and gracious and eager to meet with his well cowardly backstabbing betraying disciples who abandon him in his hour of need. But he's more gracious than we are. Then he's ready to forgive and he's ready to forgive each and every one of us likewise.
Put your hope in him. He purchases our forgiveness. He grants us access to the Father and he guarantees our everlasting future. Let's pray.
Father thank you for the gift of your Son and Jesus thank you that you endured great sorrow and misery on our behalf. And then you rose to guarantee our joy and our well-being. Grant each heart to believe in you in Jesus name. Amen.
Amen. Let's stand together and sing.