The following sermon is by Boyd Johnson, pastor of Treasuring Christ Church in Athens, Georgia. More information about Treasuring Christ Church can be found at tccathens.org. Chapter 20 of the Gospel of John begins with a mystery. On the Sunday morning after Jesus was crucified, A woman entered the garden where there was a tomb where Jesus's body had been laid just before sundown on Friday. She knew this was where Jesus's body was taken after he died because she was an eyewitness to his crucifixion. And she saw men take his body down and prepare it for burial and take his body into this very tomb. She also witnessed that after his body was placed in the tomb, a large stone was rolled across the entrance and it was sealed. The woman's name was Mary. She was from the town of Magdala and was therefore called Mary Magdalene or Mary Magdalene. Mary came that Sunday morning to his tomb with four or more other women. just as the sun was rising, but while it was still relatively dark. And their purpose in coming was that they might complete the burial of Jesus or His body with spices and oils, as was the custom of the Jews. But when she and the other women came to the place that they all knew He was buried. What they saw threw them into confusion. The stone that sealed off the tomb on Friday was now rolled away. And Jesus' body was missing. Chapter 20 of John's Gospel begins with the mystery of what happened to Jesus's body. For Mary and the women, this was no curiosity. They loved Jesus. All of them had been followers of Jesus. Mary herself had been healed of seven demons by Jesus. And so they came that Sunday morning early to honor him by finishing the anointing of Jesus's body started on Friday but cut short because sundown came and the Sabbath had begun. But where was Jesus's body? The custody of his body was important not only to these women but also to Jesus's enemies. The Jewish authorities remembered that while he was alive, Jesus said these words, after three days, I will rise. They heard it. Even his enemies heard him say that. And then they were tormented while he was in the grave. They were still tormented. They were tormented when he was alive. They were tormented when he was on the cross. They were now tormented when he was in the grave over the concern now that the disciples would come and steal away his body and fraudulently claim he had risen. That's why they secured the tomb with a seal and with a guard, a Roman guard, to prevent anyone from coming and stealing Jesus's body. But Sunday morning, when the women arrived, the guard was nowhere to be seen. The seal, broken. The stone, rolled away. and Jesus' body missing. Gone. That's not what anyone expected. Even though Jesus had in fact claimed many times that he would die and rise from the dead. In the distress over his death, the disciples' remembrance of what he taught was clouded. The only thing anyone, including his enemies, expected on Sunday morning was that Jesus' corpse would be decomposing in the tomb, the sealed tomb, the guarded tomb, just as they had left it on Friday evening. So what happened to Jesus's body? As we saw last week at the end of chapter 19, there was no doubt that he died. His death was proven by the soldiers' actions to ensure his death. His death was proven by the medical evidence. It's impossible, doctors have now said, for anyone to survive what Jesus endured on the cross. His death was proven by the eyewitness testimony of those who actually saw Him die. His death was proven by the reactions of independent witnesses who removed Him from the cross. And His death was proven by the Scripture's fulfillment of His death. And there was no doubt that He was buried in this very tomb. There were too many witnesses to see Him buried in this tomb For anyone to deny that, and up to the very early morning hours of Sunday, there was no doubt that the tomb had been sealed and shut. The Roman guards stations outside the tomb made certain of that. Now the tomb was open. Now his body was missing. And Mary, who loved Jesus was distraught over the mystery of what happened to it. As we read the first section of chapter 20, we'll find two discoveries that solve the mystery of what happened to Jesus' body. Look with me in John chapter 20 beginning in verse one. 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' 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 lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, woman, why are you weeping? She said to them, I have taken away my Lord and I don't know where they've laid him. Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing. But she didn't 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've laid him and I will take him away. Jesus said to her, Mary, She turned and said to him in Aramaic, 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. Again, there are two discoveries that solve the mystery of what happened to Jesus's body in this passage. First is the discovery of the empty tomb. The discovery of the empty tomb. John writes in verse one, 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. Now as I said, Mary came to the tomb with four or more women. John doesn't mention the other women because the other gospels were already written, the other gospels were already circulated, they were known, and therefore he didn't need to tell everything that happened. And more importantly, he wanted to focus his story on Mary's story, since she was the first person to see the risen Christ. So he narrows his focus, zooms in, and focuses just on Mary. They came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and as they came, Mark tells us that the women wondered how they were going to gain access to the doom since the stone covered the entrance. The stone was much too large for them to move on their own, even though it would have rolled, stone being this shape, would have rolled in a groove. Despite that, it was much too heavy for these women to move it on their own. But when they arrived, they quickly realized that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. Taken away. That's a verb in the Greek that implies more than just that the stone was casually rolled back in the groove. It hints at the possibility that the stone was forcefully moved, rolled back and lifted out of the groove. Matthew tells us that an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and He was the one who rolled back the stone. But why? Why was the stone rolled back? Not to let Jesus out. After all, we'll see later on in this chapter that He was able to get into locked rooms without opening the door. The stone was rolled away Not to let Jesus out, but to let the witnesses in. To see that the tomb was empty of his body. Now John doesn't say that Mary looked into the tomb, just that she saw the stone taken away. But the other Gospels tell us that her friends looked into the tomb and found that it was empty of Jesus' body. And Mary, hearing this news and seeing the stone roll away, immediately ran to go get help. She went to the men she knew would care as much as she did that Jesus' body was missing. She went to Peter, the leader of the disciples who had followed Jesus around Galilee and Judea and Samaria and other places for the better part of three years. And she went to John, one of Jesus's closest companions, the one who had also witnessed the crucifixion right along with her. Verse two, 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. Now at this point, she wasn't thinking resurrection at all, but that someone stole Jesus's body. She didn't know who took Jesus, just that they took him. Probably she was thinking that the Jewish authorities had stolen his body. They were the ones who plotted Jesus' destruction. They dishonored him in life. What would stop them from dishonoring him in death by taking him away to deny a proper burial? Sounded just like what they would do. Except that it was Passover. Peter and John wasted no time in investigating Mary's claim. Verse 3, 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. Well, if you were writing this story, you would make note of that too, wouldn't you? You got there first. Hearing her news, they sprinted to the tomb. Their hearts were filled with urgency. What must have been going through their minds as they ran? Was this another tragedy they had to endure? His body being taken away? Was it really true? Was Mary's testimony really true? Did they really take away his body? Or was she just distraught? She didn't see it. John got there first. The other women had already left by now. And as he waited for Peter, he stooped to look in and verse five says, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he didn't go in. Sometimes entrances to these tombs were really no higher than about three feet. And this one was low enough that he had to at least bend over to look inside. The lighting of the morning was bright enough now for him to see inside the tomb, and sure enough, there was no body inside, only the linen cloths that Joseph of Arimathea had wrapped Jesus' body in. That was the first clue to John. that there had been no tomb robbery. The linen cloths that Joseph of Arimathea used to wrap Jesus's body were expensive. No thief looking for valuables would leave those behind. You don't just go down to the local store and get linen cloths for pocket change. Every tomb raider would have taken the linen claws. But the fact that the claws were left behind also deepened the mystery in a way. If someone wanted to take Jesus' body, why would they unwrap Him first? Who would unwrap a decomposed corpse only to move the corpse somewhere else. Would a Jew who hated Jesus do that during the Passover feast? No, according to the Old Testament law, touching a dead body rendered that person ceremonially unclean for seven days. In other words, long enough to miss the Passover feast. It wasn't long before Peter arrived, verse six, then Simon Peter came following him and went into the tomb. He saw the linen claws lying there and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus's head, not lying with the linen claws, but folded up in a place by itself. What Peter saw when he entered into the tomb was undisturbed by John. because John hadn't gone inside yet. He waited for Peter. But when Peter went in, he discovered that Jesus' face cloth also had been left behind, yet folded up by itself away from the linen cloths. I suggested that Jesus's body wasn't hastily taken away. Someone. Took the time. To orderly fold the face cloth and put it aside, someone did this on purpose. John followed Peter in verse 8, then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in and he saw and believed. He saw what Peter saw. Two male eyewitnesses was enough to be admissible in any Jewish court. They both could testify to the same set of facts. The tomb was empty. The linen cloths were left behind and lying there. The face cloth was folded up and put aside. I wonder, how long were they in that tomb before they put it all together? How long before they remembered that Jesus said he would rise on the third day? Did they think back to the first time when Jesus told them he would rise from the dead? It was right after Peter confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah. And Jesus replied to him, Luke 9.22, the son of man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and on the third day be raised. I wonder, did they remember the second time Jesus told them of his resurrection? That was when Jesus took Peter, John, and James up the mount and was transfigured before them. And the next day, he said to all the disciples, Matthew 17, 22, the Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men and they will kill him and he'll be raised on the third day. Did they remember his third prediction of his resurrection as they turned to Jerusalem, journeyed to Jerusalem for the Passover feast for the last time? Along the way, they stepped off the road. He took them off the trail. He took them aside. and said, Matthew 20 verse 18, see, we are going up to Jerusalem and the son of man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified and he will be raised on the third day. Did they remember what he said on Thursday in the upper room after predicting Peter's denials? Jesus said, Mark 14, 28, after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee. Yes. Yes, they remembered. They remembered what he had said. As they were in the empty tomb. and everything had taken place just as he said. So they believed. They believed he had risen. Their faith in Jesus' resurrection was grounded in the fact of the empty tomb and the words of Jesus. At this point, they hadn't yet understood that the Old Testament also, their scriptures also said that Jesus must rise from the dead. Verse nine, for as yet they did not understand the scripture that he must rise from the dead. John writes that to give us an explanation on why when they came to the tomb, they didn't already immediately assume he had risen. Now that they were in the tomb, and the tomb was empty, and they recalled Jesus' words, now they believed, yes, he indeed had risen from the dead, but they hadn't put together that the Old Testament scriptures also said the same thing. They believed Jesus had risen because they now had proof, but eventually they would understand that his resurrection was foretold in the Old Testament texts such as Hosea 6-2. After two days, He will revive us. On the third day, He will raise us up that we may live before Him. Or Psalm 16-10. You will not abandon my soul to Sheol or let your Holy One see corruption. Isaiah 53, 10, it was the will of the Lord to crush him. He has put him to grief when his soul makes an offering for guilt. He shall see his offspring. He shall prolong his days. The will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. That sounds like after death comes life. Having seen the empty tomb and believed in his resurrection, verse 10, the disciples went back to their homes. That is, they went back to wherever they were staying at the time in Jerusalem. Now in contrast to the disciples who left the tomb, Mary returned to the tomb and that leads us to the second discovery that solves the mystery of what happened to Jesus' body, the discovery of the risen Christ. Mary returned to the tomb. Now on the way back, evidently, she didn't see Peter and John leaving, nor did she see the other women who she had originally come with. She still believed that Jesus' body had been stolen. She didn't know any better. And when she got to the tomb, she was alone, or so she thought. Verse 11, Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept, she stooped to look into the tomb. The word there for weeping is not a quiet, constrained cry, but one for sobbing and wailing outside his tomb. She suffered anguish when Jesus died, and now it was as if the wounds had all been ripped open again. Her sorrow had driven her back to the tomb. She didn't know where else to go. Not only was he dead, but now his body was gone. She still couldn't believe it, so she looked inside, verse 12, and she saw two angels. in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, 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. Now, this scene shows how distressed she was. She didn't even acknowledge the strangeness of two men inside the tomb asking her why she cried, much less the fact that they were angels. She is in total disarray. These two angels, in fact, appeared inside the tomb when the other women went inside after Mary left to get Peter and John, after she had gone to go get Peter and John, the women stayed behind and they looked in the tomb, went into the tomb, and these two angels appeared to them. But she didn't know that because on her way, she didn't meet those other women. And by the time Peter and John came, those two angels had evidently disappeared, but now they were back to reveal themselves to Mary as she stooped to look in. They asked her why she was weeping. Not because they didn't know, but to draw her out so that we could get inside her mind, so that we'd understand what she was thinking. She repeated to the angels exactly what she had told Peter and John. They took Jesus' body. I don't know where they laid Him. Now at this point, the angels say no more. because someone else had arrived. Verse 14. Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she didn't know that it was Jesus. Perhaps she heard His footsteps. Perhaps the angels gestured. Perhaps she could no longer bear looking into the empty tomb. Whatever the reason, she turned around and saw Jesus standing behind her, yet she didn't recognize Him. Why not? John doesn't say. It's possible that she was supernaturally prevented from recognizing Jesus just as the disciples on the road to Emmaus were prevented from recognizing Him later on. or possibly she was so upset that her tears kept her from seeing clearly. What we do know is that she didn't expect to see Jesus alive. The last time she saw him alive, he was weak and bloodied from crucifixion. That was her enduring memory of her Lord. She saw Him die. She saw His body prepared for burial. She saw the tomb sealed shut. She was one eyewitness who saw everything related to His death and burial. That's what she remembered. She didn't expect Jesus to be alive. So Jesus also spoke to her. Verse 15, Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? Obviously, he knows the answer. Like the angels, he didn't ask her because he didn't know, but to draw her out. And John writes, Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, Sir, if you've carried him away, tell me where you've laid him and I will take him away. You can just hear her desperation. She supposes him to be the gardener because who else would be in the garden at such an early hour? If anyone might know what happened to the body, it would be him. And if he knew, she would take his body somehow and give him a proper burial. He didn't know what happened to the body. for the very reason that he wasn't the gardener. Only one word was necessary to take away her blindness. Jesus said to her, verse 16, Mary. What a tender moment from Jesus, ever so gentle. A bruised reed he will not break, a smoldering wick he will not snuff out." So gentle. When she heard her name come from her Lord's lips, she knew it was Him. Just one word and her blindness lifted away. And she saw clearly who was standing before her. Sheep hear his voice. And he calls his own sheep by name and they follow. And the sheep follow him as he leads them for they know his voice. Jesus said that. John 10 verses 3 and 4. She knew. She turned and said to him in Aramaic, Rabboni, which means teacher. She was taken by complete surprise. She was astounded. Now calling him teacher certainly wasn't the most robust theological names for him in this moment. But we shouldn't be too harsh with her for not calling him Lord or Christ or God. The faith that she had was true, even if her understanding of him was not yet complete. This wasn't a confession of his identity, it was an expression of her dear relationship to him. My teacher. She was the first person ever to see the risen Christ. She was the first witness of his resurrection. Now nothing, nothing about what we know of Mary Magdalene reveals her to be an otherwise important person in society. But just as Christ was born in Bethlehem, and revealed to the lowly shepherds. So. Jesus revealed himself first. To a woman. Of no reputation. I think that's. Emblematic. Of Jesus is love for women. Who at this time. in that culture could not testify in a court. But he went to the woman first. How sweet it is for those of us who are not famous, who are not powerful, who are not born into nobility, to nevertheless have our name called by our Savior. Just one word was sufficient to take away her blindness. So only one word of the Lord is necessary to take away our blindness and give us everlasting life. She reacted the same way you would have. She grabbed hold of him. She couldn't bear losing him again. Not this time. But Jesus said to her in verse 17, do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. In other words, though I will ascend to the Father, I've already told you that, though I will ascend to the Father, that's not yet. There's no need for you to cling to me as if you're going to lose me, I'm here a bit longer. He needed her to leave him in that moment. because as the first person to see him resurrected, he needed her to go on mission. He needed to commission her as a missionary. He said, verse 17, go to my brothers and say to them, I am ascending to my father and your father, to my God and your God. Verse 17, there may be no sweeter words in all the Bible than verse 17. Before, Jesus' followers were called servants, even friends, but now his followers are called brothers. That means that all of Jesus' true disciples have now been brought into the family of Jesus. Now the Father has adopted us. Now Jesus is our brother. The adoption papers were signed with blood on the cross. We're His. Therefore, The Father of Jesus is now our Father. The God of Jesus is now our God. So Mary Magdalene, the first to see Jesus back from the dead, went and announced, love that word, angelo. The noun form is where we get angel or messenger. She heralded this to the disciples I have seen the Lord." And that he had said these things to her. No one saw Jesus rise from the dead. But many saw Jesus risen from the dead. There are no witnesses to the moment of resurrection. But there are many witnesses to Jesus having been resurrected. 1 Corinthians 15 says over 500. What happened to the body of Jesus? The answer from this passage is clear. He rose from the grave. That's why the tomb was empty. He was not there. He is risen. And what was the resurrection proof of? that everything that Jesus said was true. He is God. He is the Christ. And that everyone who forsakes their sin and believes in him will have eternal life. Let's pray. Father, echoing in our hearts right now are those words that we sing in the song. Hallelujah, what a Savior. Hallelujah, what a Savior we have who is risen from the grave. There is no tomb that has the bones of Jesus. No tomb at all. Because he is not there. He is risen. And now we know from your scriptures because we believe them. That he sits at your right hand right now right now as we talk to you he is at your right hand. Interceding for us. Alive. In the body. That came out of the grave. And one day we believe He'll come again in His body, in His glorious body, and take everyone who truly has thrown themselves upon His feet, repenting of their sin, trusting wholly and only in Him for salvation. All who've done that, He will come back for and take us to Himself. And He will judge this world. All who have not trusted in Christ will be judged. And He will throw them into the lake of fire where there is everlasting torment and no hope and no grace. So we pray, Father, for all who are here, for all who hear this message, for all who hear The message of the gospel from our lips as we go out from here, we pray. That all would come to saving faith this Easter. And their hearts would be given new life. We pray you would do that, Father. In your son's name. Thank you for listening to this message from Treasuring Christ Church in Athens, Georgia. Feel free to make copies of this message to give to others, but please do not alter the content in any way without permission. Treasuring Christ Church exists to spread a passion for the fame of Christ's name in Athens and around the world. We invite you to visit Treasuring Christ Church online at tccathens.org. There you'll find other resources available to you and information about our upcoming gatherings.