SERMON: The Most Amazing Morning

John 20:1-18 | Twin City Bible Church | twincitybible.org/media/sermons

The events we cover from Easter morning center on Mary Magdalene's experience and can be divided into two main scenes: the discovery of the empty tomb and the dialogue with the risen Savior.

I.    The discovery of the empty tomb – occurred on the first day of the week when Mary Magdalene visited early while it was still dark. She found the stone removed from the entrance. This was the same stone that the women had wondered how they would move. Upon seeing this, Mary ran to Simon Peter and the other disciple, John, reporting that the Lord had been taken from the tomb. Her initial interpretation was that the body had been stolen. Grave robbing was a serious crime at the time, punishable by death according to a decree by Emperor Claudius.

Peter and John then went to the tomb. John, being younger, arrived first but did not enter. Stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there. Peter then entered and saw the linen wrappings and the facecloth, which was not with the other wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself. This orderly state of the grave clothes suggested that the body was not simply stolen. Thieves would have acted quickly and likely taken the body with the wrappings.

Following Peter, John also entered the tomb, and he saw and believed. John concluded that Jesus had risen from the dead based on the state of the grave clothes and the absence of the body. This belief occurred before he had seen the risen Jesus. However, at this time, they did not yet understand the scripture that Jesus must rise from the dead. John later explained that they remembered Jesus's saying about raising the temple in three days after the resurrection, realizing he was speaking of his body. The disciples then went away to their own homes. It's suggested that John went home to Mary, the mother of Jesus, whom he had taken into his household.

II.  The dialogue with the risen Savior – begins with Mary standing outside the tomb, weeping. Her weeping was likely unrestrained wailing, stemming from the grief of Jesus's death compounded by the disappearance of his body, preventing her from properly caring for it. As she wept, she looked into the tomb and saw two angels in white sitting where Jesus's body had been. They asked her why she was weeping, and she replied that her Lord had been taken away, and she did not know where they had laid him.

Turning around, Mary saw Jesus standing there, but she did not recognize him. This lack of immediate recognition is also seen in other resurrection accounts. Jesus asked her why she was weeping and whom she was seeking. Supposing him to be the gardener, she asked if he had carried Jesus away and requested to know where he had placed him so she could take the body.

Jesus then spoke her name, "Mary". Upon hearing her name spoken in his familiar tone, she recognized him and exclaimed in Hebrew, "Rabboni!" (Teacher). This encounter revived Mary's hope and joy, replacing her despair.

Mary likely clung to Jesus, but he told her, "Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father". This was not a prohibition against touching him but rather an instruction not to try to detain him or think that their relationship would simply revert to its previous form. He indicated that he was about to ascend into his ascended state, after which his followers would have a new and richer form of fellowship with him.

Jesus then gave Mary an assignment: "go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God’". By calling his followers "brethren," Jesus highlighted that they would share in his sonship with the Father. He emphasized the close fellowship between himself and his Father, and between his disciples and both of them. Mary Magdalene obeyed and went to the disciples, announcing, "I have seen the Lord," and what he had said to her.

Here are several key affirmations derived from the text:

o    The resurrection is non-negotiable for Christian faith. If Christ has not been raised, faith is worthless, and believers are still in their sins (1 Corinthians 15:17-19). The resurrection vindicated Jesus as the Messiah and the Son of God.

o    God's ways are not man's ways. God chose Mary Magdalene, someone without status and with a troubled past, as the first witness of the resurrected Christ. This demonstrates God's sovereign wisdom in choosing the seemingly foolish to shame the wise (1 Corinthians 1:27-29), as His thoughts and ways are different from ours (Isaiah 55:8). This also highlights God's sovereign grace available to all sinners.

o    God is not the Father of all people. Jesus's language indicates a specific relationship. Only those who receive Jesus and believe in his name are given the right to become children of God (John 1:12). For those who do not believe, God is their judge, not their Father.