This message was given at Grace Community Church in Minden, Nevada. At the end, we will give information about how to contact us to receive a copy of this or other messages. Amen. Amen. Let's take our Bibles. I promise you'll be able to sit down in a few minutes. John chapter 20. This is God's glorious word. Verse 1. On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb while it was still dark and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb. So she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved and said to them, they have taken away the Lord out of the tomb and we do not know where they have laid him. So Peter and the other disciple went forth and they were going to the tomb. The two were running together. And the other disciple ran faster ahead than Peter and came to the tomb first. And stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. And so Simon Peter also came following him and entered the tomb. And he saw the linen wrappings lying there. and the face cloth, which had been on his head, not lined with the linen wrappings, but rolled up into place by itself. So the other disciple, who had come first to the tomb, then also entered, and he saw and believed. For as yet, they did not understand the scripture that he must rise from the dead. So the disciples went away again to their own homes. But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping. And so as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb. She saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet where the body of Jesus had been lying. And they said to her, woman, why are you weeping? And she said to them, because they've taken away my Lord and I do not know where they have laid him. When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there and 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. Then she turned and said to him in Hebrew, Rabboni, which means teacher. Jesus said to her, stop clinging to me for I've not yet ascended to the father, but go to my brethren and say to them, I ascend to my father and your father and my God and your God. Mary Magdalene came announcing to the disciples, I have seen the Lord and that he said these things to her. This is the word of the Lord and it is the good news. You may be seated. As human beings, we recoil from sadness and sorrow. Nobody is wired to gravitate towards sadness and sorrow. In fact, we do whatever we can to avoid it. Sometimes, of course, it cannot be avoided. But if we recoil from sadness and sorrow, we try to hide ourselves from despair. Sorrow is often associated, of course, with a sense of loss. But despair is bigger than that. It's greater than that. Despair is a complete sense of loss. Despair is the absence of any hope. You think about human experience and maybe even your own life. The times of bitterest despair come upon us when we believe that we have found true joy, only to have that joy be dashed into pieces. and that which we thought was going to bring us joy and happiness and contentment when it is dashed into a million pieces that can't be put back together again, despair can be rolling in like a flood. I think that we have every reason to believe that the disciples had that very frame of mind and heart after Jesus had been crucified. These men and women had spent the last three, three and a half years of their life with the Lord Jesus. And in fact, Jesus was their great hope. And why not? He should have been. Their lives had been transformed. Their lives had been changed. It was through Jesus that they not only learned about the forgiveness of sins, but experienced the forgiveness of sins and learned about an everlasting kingdom and not only learned about it, but entered into what they thought was an everlasting kingdom where Jesus is king. Of course, he's the hope of Israel. His teachings and His miracles had filled this little rag-tag band of followers with hope. And then He was betrayed by one of them. And then He was arrested. And then He was tried. And then He was condemned. And then he was tortured. And then he was crucified. Nailed to a Roman cross like a common criminal. The one in whom they had put their hope was now strung up on a Roman cross like two thieves on either side of him. And hope had disappeared. for the disciples. Now, of course, he told them that this was going to happen. He had started to tell them months before. that the Son of Man must go up to Jerusalem and be handed over, betrayed, and crucified. But on the third day, He will rise from the dead. But I can tell you from reading the Gospels that they did not really hear Him. They were interested in other things. Who was greatest? Eschatology. What did it look like for John the Baptist to come back? And all of Jesus' words went right over their head. They never really heard him, but once he was betrayed, once he was arrested and condemned and then executed, their hope was crushed. There are some of you, and you know what it is, For in one day, for in one hour, for your life never again to be the same, changed. You know what it is to go from being a person of hope and joy to a person who wonders if life is even worth living. That's where the disciples were. They were still devoted, of course, but devoted to who? Devoted to one who now appeared to be to them now nothing more than a memory. It's an amazing thing. Despair and devotion make for some strange companions. And it's that strange companionship of despair and devotion that we see in John chapter 20. In this passage, what we're gonna do is we're gonna look at the first 10 verses and I'm just gonna point out a few details that are really important details. By details, I don't mean insignificant little things that only matter to me. I'm talking about details that change the course of human history. And then we're gonna look at how the resurrection intersects with somebody's real life. The text tells us on the first day of the week. Now, even that detail, there's a number of things about that that demand our attention. So, in all likelihood, Jesus is crucified on that Friday. He is buried in the tomb. It all has to take place very quickly before sundown because Sabbath starts at sundown. And so here are the disciples, and stop and think about it, for a full 24 hours, for a full day, they have to do nothing on the Sabbath but rest. And guess what? As they rest, do you think they're resting on that Sabbath? No, I think that they are in turmoil, utter despair. This incredible sense of wanting to do something, the sense of needing to do something is absolutely thwarted by having to observe the fourth commandment. No doubt they wrestled and agonized during that time and probably no one more than Mary Magdalene and Simon Peter. But the text tells us, notice the way it says it. It doesn't say, on the third day. And yet every time Jesus predicted his resurrection, it was stated how? On the third day. But notice throughout the gospels, actually all four gospels do this exact same thing on the first day of the week. The reason that the first day of the week is being emphasized and not just on the third day is because what happens on this first day of the week is going to be a new beginning. It's going to be the inauguration of something brand new. The age to come is going to radically invade this present age on the first day of the week. And from then on out, from that day to this, the first day of the week would be known as the Lord's day. The day that distinctly belongs to the Lord because of what happened. First day of the week. The day after that long Sabbath. Second detail, Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb while it's still dark. Now we know from the other gospels that Mary comes with some other women, but John's focus is on Mary Magdalene, and so Mary comes before Don. You could imagine her just chomping at the bit to get out of the house and be able to get to that tomb. I mean, after all, her heart was aching. She couldn't wait. Don Carson makes this observation, he says, the darkness of the hour is the perfect counterpart to the darkness that still shrouds Mary's understanding. And so here she is, she's distraught, she's distressed, she's in a state of despair, and out of that sense of devotion, all she can think of is getting to that body, to that corpse, in order to tend to it properly and show the respect and the love to her king that he so richly deserved, though dead. But when she gets to the tomb, there's something that is another little minor detail. The stone has been moved away. Now by the way, if you think that's a minor detail, I will tell you that this one detail changes all of human history. Now you have to understand that in all likelihood Jesus was put into a tomb that would have had a substantially large disc-shaped stone that would have been probably put into a little groove that had a decline so that then that stone would be put in front. So it would actually take a few men to move that thing. And she sees the stone moved away. She comes to one conclusion. Now it's a foggy conclusion. It's a vague conclusion. But here's her conclusion. They, whoever they may be, move the body. Once Mary sees this, and of course, grave robbing was something that was common in the first century, and she's looking at the stone that's been rolled away, and automatically she panics and comes to the conclusion they've taken him away. And so what does she do? She runs and goes and tells who? Peter and John. Notice she doesn't, as she's running back, doesn't say, I hope Peter's not the first one to answer the door because, you know, after all, he denied Jesus three times. What a loser. I hope I find somebody else. Peter, in spite of his dismal failure and in spite of his sin, still ends up being the one who has the strength of character and the one who is the obvious leader of the twelve. And so she goes running to go and tell Peter and John, and could you imagine her distress? Could you imagine her getting to the house out of breath? And of course, this whole time as she's running back to the house, she's probably in absolute anguish over the fact that she can't even grieve properly now. All she wanted to do was grieve properly. All she wanted to do was to show respect to her Lord. And now she can't even do that because somebody has taken the body. She gets to the house, I have no doubt that it took everything, everything she had to get those words out. They've taken him. Well, this ends up turning into what I think is just an absolutely marvelous sight. I hope that you won't mind a little sanctified imagination in this. Verse three says in sort of rather a generic vanilla kind of way. So Peter and the other disciple, which is the way John refers to himself, went forth and they were going to the tomb. Now this sounds like maybe they heard the news and said, well, let's take a little stroll out to the garden tomb and see what all of this is about. But lo and behold, that's not what's happening. Verse four, the two were running together. Just as surely as Mary had run back to report they'd taken our Lord, now the two are running. And then of course, John being the writer of the gospel adds this marvelous little detail. The other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter. I love this, I love this. This is an eyewitness account. So as I have this scene running through my head, they start to run and they are running and running hard. And of course, John is the younger man and he's out running Peter, who's probably a little on the thicker side and on the older side. And what I envisioned is Dave and I running and me just... gliding like a gazelle as Dave hobbles along. But then in a rare moment of humility, I thought, what if it was Jason and me? I love this scene. It's just real. It's just real. And here these two are, and they are just running with all of their might to get to the tomb to see what Mary is talking about. And then it doesn't stop there. So John, the younger one, gets to the tomb first. Of course, he's faster, he's younger, but he stops. And as he stops, he stoops and he looks in. And as he looks into the tomb, he notices that they're lying on that bed, that stone bed or the linens. And as he's contemplating all of the sudden, the sound of rolling thunder is coming up behind him. And there's old Simon Peter, out of breath, but yet running as fast as he possibly can. And the text says that Peter went in. And I just want to say, John was probably being nice to Peter, because the fact is, is that Peter probably just couldn't stop. As Peter ducks, he ends up in the tomb. Their response as one is totally in character. John's more restrained, more reflective. He contends himself with peering inside, noting the discarded grave wrappings, but here comes Peter right up behind him and rushes straight inside. What else speaks of a eyewitness account is the way that John describes the details regarding the grave clothes, By the way, the fact that the expensive linens were still there. rules out the idea of grave robbing. Grave robbers didn't leave anything behind, they took everything of value. But what's interesting is that as they're looking, and here are the grave clothes, and so that which wrapped the body of Jesus is laying there, and then what is folded neatly is that which was over his face or over his head. And what's interesting is if you think back to Lazarus, Jesus in John chapter 11 says Lazarus come forth and Lazarus comes forth but Lazarus comes forth sort of a little slowly hopping because he's still bound in his grave clothes. Our Lord Jesus didn't come forth from the tomb wrapped in his grave clothes. Rather, he left those behind as he moved into a whole new order of existence. It would be the Lord who left those grave clothes who would be able to enter in through locked doors as the disciples met. Also the same Lord, by the way, who would eat fish with them on the shore of Galilee. So John's standing there. The text tells us that the disciple, verse eight, who got there to the tomb first, when he saw Peter entered, Peter's probably flipping out in there. John enters in and the text tells us He entered, he saw, and believed. John, the more timid of the two, enters, sees, and believes, but believes what? I think that what he's indicating here, because verse nine tells us clearly that they didn't yet understand the scripture that he must rise again from the dead, so all the dots were not connecting yet, but yet I believe that what John is saying is as he entered in and saw the empty tomb and saw the grave clothes just as they were, that there was a spark of hope in him, that indeed Jesus was actually alive. Now don't be too hard on Peter and John that they turn around and go home. They have no frame of reference. There's no manual on what to do in the event that you encounter an empty tomb. They go home. I imagine that they walked home slowly. thinking, contemplating, pondering, talking to each other about what they had just beheld. And of course, in the midst of so much excitement and enthusiasm and perplexity, they leave and leave poor Mary standing there. Verse 11 says, but Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping. Who was this Mary? Let me just tell you a few details about her that we know from the gospels. Jesus changed her life, delivered her from demons, and she in turn had become a devout follower and supporter of the Lord Jesus, the Messiah. Here was a woman who was so deeply attached to the Lord Jesus because he was everything to her. When somebody invades your life and changes you and brings you from darkness to light and from death to life, there is a sense in which that person is now your all. That's why many of us in this room look to the Lord Jesus as the most important person in our life bar none. He's changed us, He saved us, He's forgiven us, He has transformed our lives. And so here she was, a person now of joy and of hope, being brought out of a dark and wicked past, and here she is, and the joy and the hope which she had found in Jesus, now seem to just be dashed to the ground. And as Peter and John leave, she's standing there, still distraught, standing at the tomb, weeping, grief and loss absolutely consuming her. Peter and John may be going home, but she's not going anywhere. Maybe Peter and John said, why don't you come home with us? And she probably gave them the glare of a lifetime and told them, I'm not leaving. I'm not going anywhere. I want to know where Jesus' body is. One writer says the loss of the body is the final indignity, the last straw. Even mourning for Jesus is now violated. And here she is weeping. And so she decides to look into the tomb. I mean, after all, Peter and John had already been inside. And so she looks into the tomb and she sees two men, two angels, and they begin to have a conversation. Verse 13 is an astonishing question if all it is is a question. Woman, why are you weeping? She's in a cemetery. She said to them, because they, whoever they may be, have taken away, and look at this language, my Lord, my Lord, And I don't know where they've laid him. The angel's question, by the way, is not just a question. It's an invitation. It's an invitation for Mary to stop and to think. Mary, what kind of Messiah were you expecting? Your devotion to Jesus is magnificent, but your estimation of Jesus is too small. Mary. no doubt thinking that the two in the tomb must be out of their minds, asking why in the world she would be weeping, turns around and sees Jesus standing there. Now, of course, she's distraught, she's overcome with grief, she doesn't know that it's Jesus, and Jesus said to her, woman, why are you weeping? Again, I imagine Mary probably looked at him, looked back at the angels and what's your problem? Why is everybody asking me why I'm weeping? Isn't it obvious why I am weeping? And then Jesus immediately follows up with this. Whom are you seeking? Mary, why are you crying? Are you here looking for a corpse? Are you here looking for a dead body? And Mary responds with devotion that's absolutely stunning to me. Sir, if you've carried him away, tell me where you've laid him. and I will take him away. Let's just say Mary is just an average size woman, 130 pounds. Let's say Jesus is just an average size man, say 170 pounds. And here Mary says, just show me where you put the body and I'll take him away. carry. I can't stand to think of my Lord's body anywhere other than where it belongs. Do you think that those words touched our Savior's heart? I'm absolutely sure they did. Because the very next thing that is said is said by Jesus. Mary. Mary. What overcomes her blindness? What overcomes her despair? Here's what it is. Hearing her Lord call her by name. Mary knew that voice. Mary had heard Him tenderly call her name on many occasions before. And it is a clear example of the Good Shepherd calling His sheep by name. Anguish and despair, says one, are instantly swallowed up by astonishment and delight. All with one word, Mary. Mary. With one word, her whole world has just been remade. with just one word. Her shattered life has now been absolutely transformed and Mary turns around and she recognizes the voice and in the revelation of Christ to her, she turns and says, Rabboni. It's a Hebrew expression. Our translations just say, which is translated as teacher. The idea is my own dear teacher. As I was working on this part this week, oftentimes I'll work and have some music playing in the background, and Don Francisco came on. He's alive. He's alive. He's alive and I'm forgiven. Heaven's gates are open wide. He's alive. If you know that song, you know the way it builds, you know the way, and I have no doubt as Mary stood there and said, Rabboni, her heart was reverberating with, he's alive. He's alive. I came looking for a corpse and here he is before my very eyes, alive. Now you know what she does? She does what anybody would do in that situation. You know, if you have kids, you know, and you're at the store and all of a sudden you can't find them. You know that feeling you get? You can't find them. Where'd they go? And then all of a sudden, There's fear that just strikes your heart and your mind starts racing and you're, should I tell somebody? What should I do? And you're fearful that they're gone. And if they're gone, maybe I'll never see them again. And then all of a sudden, the little booger jumps out from the inside the clothing rack and says, boo! You know what you do? You grab them, and you hold them, and you hold them as if to never let them out of your sight again. Then you whip their butt. Now, this is what's happening. Mary, he's a rabboni, and she falls at his feet and grabs onto him as if to say, I am never letting you out of my sight ever again. Jesus says something that seems a little strange to us. Stop clinging to me, verse 17. Stop clinging to me. I think that's the best way to translate the word that typically means to touch. Stop clinging to me for I've not yet ascended to the Father, but go to my brethren and say to them, I ascend to my Father and your Father, to my God and to your God. It's interesting because in the very next chapter, Jesus is going to actually tell Thomas to do what? Touch me. Touch the wounds in my hand. Touch the piercing in my side. Touch, see that I'm real. But here, stop clinging to me, Mary. Mary, you don't need to hang on to me. You don't need to try to keep me here. is if you're guarding me like some sort of dream come true, I have other things I need to do. I actually need to ascend to God. And Mary, you need to go and tell my brethren. And then he says, this is so, I must ascend to my God and to your God. my father and your father. What Jesus does in those words is on the one hand, he reminds Mary who no doubt will remind the disciples. That there is, in fact, a distinction between Jesus and his relationship with God and their relationship with God. But he also, in a very real sense, closes that distance and creates a common bond as that they now will be in union with him as the risen Christ. They will be closer to the Father than ever before. A shared relationship unlike anything they'd ever known. Now go and tell, go and tell, go and tell Peter, go and tell John, go and tell my disciples. Mary came announcing. The text doesn't say it, but I think she ran back. I think she made a beeline right where she knew the disciples were going to be. And she ran back and here, here, here, listen to this. The first evangelist of the resurrection is a woman who had been saved from harlotry and demon possession. And she's given the privilege to be the first herald of the resurrected Christ. I've seen the Lord. I've seen the Lord. What? You sure? You remember in Luke's gospel what actually happens, and I don't wanna go down a rabbit trail, but you remember the two disciples are going back to Emmaus, and Jesus joins them. They don't recognize him, and Jesus says, so what are you guys talking about? Ah, we're talking about Jesus. We thought he was the great prophet, mighty in word and deed. Said he was gonna rise, but a few women said that he did, but we weren't gonna stick around on the word of a few women. Oh, slow of heart and slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken. Mary goes back and says, I have seen the Lord. Isn't that awesome? I've seen the Lord. Here's what he said to me. Now, I want to ask you a question. Why does the resurrection come to us, revealed to us, disclosed to us in in a narrative like this. I mean, why didn't God just give us his word as if it was a police report? At 3.35 a.m., suspect arose and got out of the tomb. Why not just give us this Just the facts. Why not just lay out before us the details? And you know, in fact, the Bible does this a little bit, doesn't it? Because 1 Corinthians chapter 15 kind of lays out the facts. I delivered to you the things that were of first importance. I would suggest to you that the revelation of the resurrection of Christ comes to us in narrative like this, Because although the resurrection is historical fact, the resurrection intersects with real life and real people. It's been happening for 2,000 years. The resurrection of Jesus is a historical fact as an eternal truth still continues to intersect with the lives of real people. And so, because the Son of God is alive, we can still encounter Him Today, through his gospel, by the power of the Holy Spirit. And so as I think about this text, I think, first of all, God reveals the resurrection of his son through this magnificent, heart-rending, heart-rejoicing story to remind us that this Jesus can intersect your life. And he can intervene in your life. But the other thing that this text shows us beyond all doubt is this, is that the resurrection of Jesus smashes all of our despair. If you believe in the resurrection of Jesus and you are in union with the one who has been raised up from the dead and is seated at the right hand of God the Father, despair disappears right there at the empty tomb. Oh, it's not to say that the people of God don't know what it is to have sorrow and sadness in this life, but we do sorrow and yet we do not despair because the resurrection of Jesus shatters despair. There's no reason to despair. There's no reason for utter hopelessness. There's no reason for hope to disappear if the tomb is empty. And so here's what Peter says. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has caused us to be born again unto a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Do you know why the resurrection of Jesus shatters despair? We sang it. Oh death, where is your sting? Our resurrected King has rendered you defeated. It's not death that has the final word. It's the resurrected Jesus that has the final word. He looked death in the face and destroyed death by death. And by rising again, he in essence says, death, you are done. If you have that hope, no matter what comes to you in this life, you can't take that hope away. The second thing that is obvious here is that the resurrection of Jesus brings unspeakable joy. Peter, in that very same passage, would say, though you do not see him yet, you believe in him, and though not seeing him now, you believe in him and rejoice in him with joy unspeakable, full of glory. My hero, Jonathan Edwards, wrote, the resurrection of Christ is the most joyful event that has ever come to pass. This chapter, the truth that's right here, the truth of the empty tomb is the best thing you will ever hear. It is the most joyful thing you will ever hear. If you think that your sports team winning the championship is the best thing you'll ever hear, I feel sorry for you. If you think anything is really better than what you're hearing today, I feel sorry for you. There is no better news, there's no more joyful news than this. Jesus Christ has overcome death and hell and the grave. He is alive, He is ascended to the right hand of God the Father Almighty. He ever lives to make intercession for us and one of these days He will return with power and glory to judge both the living and the dead and His kingdom will have no end. That is the best news ever. I love this. Dave Mathis from Desiring God says, Christ has been raised. Day is no longer fading to black, but night is awakening to the brightness. Darkness is not suffocating the sun, but light is chasing away the shadows. Sin is not winning, but death is swallowed up in victory. The greatest joy for me today to get to announce this to you. He is alive. And if you're a believer, you have news to share too. How in the world could you keep this to yourself, right? How in the world could you keep this to yourself? This is the best thing ever, you can't keep it to yourself, you gotta tell somebody. You gotta tell somebody not only the tomb is empty, but what this risen Christ has done for you. And so I say to you today with all earnestness, turn from your sin and trust in the resurrected, risen, victorious, triumphant, living Christ. He can transform your despair. He can make your despair disappear. He can take you out of darkness and bring you into his marvelous light. He can free you from your sins. He can give you life and life eternal and life abundant, and He can give you purpose, and I tell you today, nothing else and no one else can do that for you except Jesus Christ, the Son of God. So believe in Him, trust Him, embrace Him, cling to Him by faith. He will not tell you, stop clinging to me anymore. He is a worthy, glorious, tender savior. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for this precious encounter between Mary Magdalene and your risen son. And oh God, we thank you that you've given us your word not only to inform the mind, but to move the heart And father, we pray today that there would be many among us who for the very first time would believe in their heart that you raised your son from the dead and confess with your mouth their mouth that Jesus is Lord. We pray that there would be many who would call upon your name. Father, be mighty to save. The risen Christ is not without power. His arm is not so short that he cannot save. For indeed, he has as much power today as when he awoke that resurrection morning. And so, Lord Jesus, be mighty to save. Holy Spirit, be mighty to open blind eyes and change out hearts of stone for hearts of flesh and to make the dead live. We ask this in the name that's above every name, the name of Jesus. We hope you've enjoyed this message from Grace Community Church in Minden, Nevada. To receive a copy of this or other messages, call us at area code 775-782-6516 or visit our website gracenevada.com.