Mitchell could have told you also that the reason for the name doxology is that the Greek word which is translated glory is doxa. So doxology, the study of God's glory or the proclamation of the glory of our creator God. And Larry, as we prayed, I did make confession of my sin of theft of your rule of time again. You can sin knowing full well what you're doing, and you can also sin not knowing you're doing it. All right. John chapter 20. We have read the first 10 verses. Let us stand together for verses 11 through 18. I will pray and then we'll examine this glorious change of direction in the Gospel of John, the Word of God. But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping. And so as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb. And she beheld two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been laid. And they said to her, woman, why are you weeping? She said to them, because they've taken away my Lord and And I do not know where they have laid him." When she had said this, she turned around and beheld Jesus standing and did not know that it was Jesus. And 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 Hebrew, Rabboni, which means teacher. Jesus said to her, don't continue to cling to me, for I am 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 he had said these things to her. The word of God. Blessed Father, thank you for this faithful record of the events transpiring following thy crucifixion. Thank you for the element of joy breaking through from the heavens to a darkened, clouded over earth. We thank you for the glory that you have displayed, Father, through thy Son. We thank you that through the Son we have beheld thee. We have learned of you and what your character is and is like. And we love you, we love you. Now Father, speak through these pages. Speak through this text. Lord Jesus, you said you would come and proclaim the Father's name in the midst of the congregation. Do so today. We are yours. In Christ's name I pray. Amen. You may be seated. John 20, 1 through 18, is a decided shift in direction, a shift of tenor. a shift of ambiance. It's a huge change. And similarly, the Apostle Paul boldly sets forth the gospel's doctrines that he said are of first importance, saying, for I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the scripture, and that he was buried and that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures, 1 Corinthians 15. Indeed, simple reflection on but two New Testament passages reveals the centrality, yes, the of first importance nature of what we found in chapter 19 and now find in chapter 20. Hebrews 9.22 closes Hebrews 9.22, without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. 1 Corinthians 15.17, And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless. You are still in your sins. So these events taking place within the span of three days, taking space within in John's Gospel, chapter 19 and chapter 20, are of first importance, that Christ has died for our sins according to the scriptures, but it's not ended there, but that he has been raised on the third day gloriously. Now pull back for a moment and observe that there are two clear viewpoints, two distinct viewpoints displayed here in our text of John 20. The one, the earth-bound view, the view of things and events facing the trauma of the death of the Messiah, their beloved Rabbi and Lord, that's the earth-bound view. But then there is the heaven-bound view of the same events. which is so powerfully proclaimed in the first apostolic sermon, Acts chapter 2. Listen to this. In fact, turn to this with me, please. Acts 2, 24 through 36, and listen to the apostolic take on what these events brought about of what these events initiated, Acts 2, 24 through 36. Speaking of Christ Jesus, whom God raised up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for him to be held in its power. For David says of him, I saw the Lord always in my presence, for he is at my right hand, so that I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart was glad, my tongue exulted, moreover my flesh also will live in hope. Because you will not abandon my soul to Hades, the place of the dead, nor allow thy holy one to undergo decay. You have made known to me the ways of life. You will make me full of gladness with your presence. And then Peter addresses the crowd and says, brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried and his tomb is with us to this day. And so because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants upon the throne, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, of the Messiah, that he was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh suffer decay. This Jesus, God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. Now listen here. Therefore, having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he, Jesus, has poured forth this which you both see and hear. For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make thine enemies a footstool for your feet. Therefore, let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified. Glorious, glorious, eternally wondered at and jubilantly praised is the second Adam, who is our Lord Yahweh, Jesus Messiah, gloriously raised from the dead, risen with a glorified body, to whom God the Father said, sit at my right hand. Until, catch this, see it in your eye, I make your enemies a footstool under your feet. That's power. Never before, never before has the created realm done what the angelic realm now did. as they bowed low in obeisance before a man, and in the flesh man, the man who is fully God and fully man, and who is even at this moment seated upon the throne of God Almighty at the Father's right hand. in whatever sense it makes to speak in spatial terms, S-P-A-T-I-A-L, that thrones wide, but both father and son are seated on it. So while the disciples weep in terrified confusion, thinking all is lost, heaven, heaven echoes with regal exultation amidst triumphant praise as a loud voice proclaims, now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come. for the accuser of our brethren has been cast down. Reflect with me. It's quite the contrast between the earthward view and the heavenward view, is it not? And which of the views is temporal and which one's eternal? And this is why children of God live with one foot upon earth, we have to, but one foot planted in heaven, we get to. So where do you predominantly camp your thoughts? That's a huge question. It's a huge, laden with pastoral concern. and implications, where do you typically camp your thoughts? On the temporal, in the temporal? All the things done yet? All the bad things happening? All the negative happenstances coming your way? Or on the eternal glories that shall be ours forever? The answer to that depends heavily. It doesn't depend. The answer to that causes the way you cope with life. And it shows whether you like it or not on your face. Cain, why are you angry and why has your face fallen? I didn't know it fell. It falls. The face reflects the heart. Well, explanation. It is of no small import that all four Gospels place great emphasis upon the empty tomb. And specifically, the empty tomb witnesses to the fact that the resurrection of Jesus was fully physical. The resurrection of Jesus was fully physical. He's a flesh and blood man, even now, seated in the immense presence of almighty God the Father. If we truly believe that God performed the stupendous act of raising Jesus from the dead, we will not quibble nor even be concerned how he did it. I don't even go there. Why would I go there? How did he do it? I don't know. He hasn't told me. I don't need to know. I know that it happened. So the bodily resurrection of our blessed and beloved Lord Jesus is theologically of tremendously great importance. Tremendously great importance. Showing that the whole of creation is to be redeemed. The physical no less than the spiritual. Romans 8, look with me at that. It's a go-to place for people struggling physically, struggling with health issues, struggling with a loved one who's perhaps dying. Romans 8 verse 11, just file that away, not 9-11, not 7-11, 8-11, Romans 8-11. But if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit who indwells you. We shall be fully physical as we are spiritual in heaven forever. There's glory in that, particularly the older you get. Back to John 20. John tells us that Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, where despite the darkness, she finds the stone removed. And what is striking here is that the stone, or the verb rather, removed, means literally, it really only has the meaning of to lift up, to take up. I just took up this sheet of paper. That's the word there. It is not the word we would have anticipated. Now, placement of a closing ceiling stone in front of a hewed out tomb meant rolling a rounded stone down a groove into its final resting place. And movement of that stone back up that slope would be rather monumental. Not something effected by one person, I should think. John's verb strongly implies that this stone had been lifted out of its groove and moved away from the tomb entrance. That's the import of what he has said. We're talking many hundreds and hundreds of pounds. Now question. Why might God see to the lifting and placement of a stone weighing perhaps a ton entirely out of the groove and away from the tomb? Why would God do that? Sheer, empirical, implicitly clear, without words, evidence that something supernatural just took place here. Well Mary sees this and in great distress runs and tells Peter and John that the body of their Lord has been taken away. Calvin comments, there was certainly nothing more of earthly grandeur in the disciples than the women. Do you understand his thought? It was the women who followed him who supplied the needs of feeding all 13, plus others at times, men. They supplied the needs. Our Lord, it was a women's ministry that supplied the needs of our Lord, and that often happens in churches too. But as Christ was pleased to reckon them as the principle, the first witnesses to his resurrection, on this single ground the testimony is entitled to the greatest deference and not liable to any objection. As to the priests and scribes and whole people, and even Pilate, nothing but gross and willful blindness, preventing them from firmly believing that Christ was risen. All of them therefore deserved that seeing they should not see." Isaiah 6. Yet Christ revealed himself to his little flock. Calvin Well verses 2 through 10 Observe the response of Mary along with Peter John and the women who were with Mary the other gospels say there were other women in attendance with Mary Magdalene and while they did not have faith in his resurrection it is astonishing the zeal with which they physically approached the site and Calvin had some very interesting pastoral thoughts here. Listen to his words. Some seed of faith remained in the heart, quenched for a time that they were not aware of having what they had. That's why Peter went out and wept bitterly. He did not know what was still in him, by God's grace. We must believe that there was some concealed root from which we see fruit was produced and from this seed at length sprang a true and sincere faith which leaving the sepulcher ascended to the heavenly glory of Christ. May our glorious Savior Jesus be regally worshipped in heaven this day, because of the sweet aroma of faith arising before his throne. Glory, glory to the Lamb, for worthy is the Lamb, the man Jesus Christ, gloriously risen and ascended on high at the right hand of God the Father. Well, brethren, when Scripture speaks of the feeble beginnings of faith, it says that Christ is born in us, and we, on the other hand, are born in Him. Hmm. Feeble beginnings sometimes. But these disciples, Calvin's words, must be placed almost below infancy, being ignorant of the resurrection of Christ. And yet, the Lord nourishes them like a mother nourishing the child in her womb. Formerly, they resembled children, had made a little progress, but the death of Christ had shattered them so that they must be again begotten and formed, as Paul says of the Galatians, my little children with whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you. Pastoral application. Let us manifest, exercise great patience with others, and even ourselves, but particularly with others. For we know not the inner workings of the Spirit of Christ and another, much less do we understand those workings in ourselves. He is the master gardener, tending his flock, his chosen gifts to his beloved son. But those that you love, in which you wonder, is there a seed of faith left in them? What they don't need is you talking about them. In the home or out. What they need is encouragement and prayer. And oh, they need modeled for them what faith truly looks like. It's how Christ tends us. Well, the disciples arrive and stooping in, they see the linen wrappings. Peter enters the tomb and beholds this face cloth rolled up in a place by itself. Here's Chrysostom's fourth century comment. Neither if any persons had removed the body would they before doing so have stripped it. What's the point? Why would you take all the wrappings off? In fact, if I'm going to steal a corpse, I'd just as soon not touch the flesh. Amen? Why would you strip the wrappings off it? Nor if it had been stolen would they have taken the trouble to remove the face piece, the napkin, and roll it up and place it in a place by itself. They would have taken the body as it was. But it is on this account, this is significant, John tells us by anticipation that Christ's body was buried with 75 to 100 pounds of myrrh, which was set up like glue, and chrysostom says, not less firmly than lead. That everything was gone, the body's gone, but all the cloth is there, speaks. Clearly, something supernatural, something out of the norm, something that could not be empirically witnessed perhaps, but can be empirically seen, has taken place. Calvin challenges, and this needs to be addressed. It amazes me how much of evangelicalism is caught up in what Calvin touches on here before its time. Calvin challenges the falsehood of the Papists, the Papists, Pope, Catholics, who add a fabulous miracle which they have contrived that the likeness of Christ's body is continued to be visible in the linen cloth. I appeal to you, if such a miracle had been wrought, would nothing have been said about it by the evangelist, who was so very careful to relay events which were not of so great an importance? Let us be satisfied with this simple view of the matter, that Christ, by laying aside the tokens of his death, intended to testify that he had clothed himself with a blessed and immortal life. Calvin hadn't even heard of the Shroud of Turan, and yet he addresses it. Now observe verse 9. Yes, the disciples had oft heard Christ describe what they now saw with their eyes. They had heard him speak, they had rebuked him at times. And so while having some beginning of a clearer understanding of him, yet they're still far from true faith, true trust with knowledge of the one in whom they put their trust. Application. Hence, too, we may draw a useful instruction, Calvin's words exact, that we ought to ascribe it to our carelessness when we are ignorant of what we ought to know about Christ. because we have not profited as we ought to have done by the scriptures which clearly reveal the excellence of Christ." End quote. Be a man of the book. Be a woman of the book. Be a boy, be a girl of the book. Know your Bible. Read your Bible. Be soaked in your Bible. Chapter 20, 10 through 12. The men go back home. Mary stands weeping. In a hospice situation of death, ER, trauma, it is often the men who want to leave first and the women who stay lingering. It's just wisdom to know that, wisdom to ponder why. And who's healing fastest, and who's shutting it all down inside. Well, Mary stands weeping, and as she weeps, she stoops, looking in the tomb, and what does she see? Two men, two angels, John tells us, in white, sitting, one at the head and one at the feet of where Jesus lay. One commentator says, Christ, by the commencement of the glory of his kingdom, by the honor which the angels render to the sepulcher, Not only is the ignominy of the cross taken away, but the heavenly majesty of Christ shines forth from that tomb. 14 through 16. Woman. Jesus says, Mary is standing, 14, she turns, When she had said this to the angel, she turns and beholds Jesus standing there and did not know that it was Jesus. Let's pause for a moment and dive into doctrine for a second. The placement of the angels on either end of Christ's body is highly suggestive. of a remarkable thing that we touched on a year ago, maybe longer. From the Reformation Study Bible, the placement of the angels on either end of the stone platform is incredibly suggestive of the two cherubim on the Ark of the Covenant, their wings overshadowing the mercy seat. That's the Reformation Study Bible footnote on John 20, verse 12. Very instructive is the Greek word translated propitiation. Now track with me. I don't follow rabbit trails abruptly without thoughts. The Greek word translated propitiation, hilasterion, is quoted by Paul in Romans 3, 25, where Paul writes, speaking of Jesus, whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in his blood through faith. 1 John 2, 1-12, the apostle will say, Jesus Christ the righteous, he himself is the propitiation, same word, for our sins. 1 John 4, 10, John will repeat what he said in chapter 2 and speak of God sending his son, the propitiation for our sins. It's the exact same Greek word being translated, noun, in Romans 3, 1 John 2, 1 John 4, and also Hebrews 9. Take your Bibles if you're fast. Hebrews 9, 4 through 6 is a ninth chapter is a description of the tabernacle's furnishings, the temple's furnishings. And while speaking of the Ark of the Covenant, we'll describe the Ark of the Covenant in the sixth verse, it was covered on all sides with gold, and above it the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. You say, what's the point? The point is, that in Hebrews 9 verse 6, that literally says that the cherubim overshadowed the propitiation. It's the same word. Helasterion is translated propitiation four times. It's in the publicans prayer. He says, God be propitiated towards me in the verb form. But in Hebrews 9, Hebrews 9, this word is not translated propitiation, but the same concept is seen in this description of the mercy seat over which the cherubim shadowed, protected, because it was there that God spoke to Moses, above the mercy seat. And here in John, Well, we have angels in white sitting at the head and the feet. I suspect they had been there for three days because that's where cherubim are overshadowing the mercy seat. point, practical application to the student, particularly of John. John will lay bombshells in front of you that, to examine it, you plunge into a Mariana Trench suddenly with depth of doctrine and theology. Second doctrine. Christ says to Mary, touch me not or better stop clinging to me. Christ pointed out the design of his resurrection was not such as they had imagined it to be. What were they thinking of? A return of the physical man to their physicality and locale. but that after returning to life he would triumph in the world by his ascension to heaven and he should enter into the possession of the kingdom which had been promised to him and be seated at the right hand of God the Father there to govern the church by the power of his poured out Holy Spirit. So there's great emphasis in Christ's word, I ascend, for Christ stretches out his hand to his disciples that they may not seek their peace, contentment, and happiness anywhere else than in heaven. Don't build your happiness here. Enjoy blessings. But you've got to have one foot in heaven while you have one foot upon the earth. Now let me tell you, the words have been said to me, well I won't tell you exactly what words, but let me say this. If I were preaching in Burma, they would get and not stumble over exhortations to live with one foot in heaven and one foot on earth. If I were preaching to the Christians in Iran, they would get it. Christians through the centuries have gotten this. And days are going to come when God's people here are going to need to live their lives this way. Much more, we are here until he calls us home. One foot's got to be here, but one foot's got to be in heaven. Long ago, Augustine drew attention to what Jesus says here in verse 17. particularly the words, move past the stop clinging to me for I've not yet ascended to my father, but the words, I ascend to my father and your father and my God and your God. Augustine said, he sayeth not our father in one sense, therefore is he mine in another sense yours. By nature he's my father, by grace he is our father. My God under whom I also am as man, your God between whom and you, I am the mediator. Do you see he's become one of us, but he's far more than just us. The Father is Father to Him from eternity past. We are now sons and daughters with God the Father by adoption through grace. God is His God because they are of one substance. Read Psalms 45. He is our God because He is Creator and we are creature. Oh, the blessed joy of this, the foundation of our privilege. Well, Christ imparts to us the very fountain of blessings for believers can safely and firmly believe that He who is the God of Christ is our God. And he who is the father of Christ is our father. And Christ has dictated this to us with his own mouth. Blessed be God for Jesus Christ. Final application. Consider Mary Magdalene. We're introduced to her in verse one. We return to her in verse 11. Mary Magdalene, who Mark 16, Luke 8 tell us seven demons had been cast out by Jesus. Christ had brought her out of the lowest hell that he might raise her above heaven. Wow. But why the preference of women? Clear, there's no contradiction, gospel account to account. It was to the women he appeared first. Why? Even particularizing she of whom had been demonized. You think she had some psychosocial issues? Or at least prior. But it does not belong to us but to the judge to choose between the apostles of the women, even particularizing Mary. Clearly it pleases the Lord. It does please the Lord by means of weak vessels to display His gloriously tender love amidst His power. Look at the tenderness of his approach to her. Verse 13, the angels say, woman, why are you weeping? One thought, do you notice the angels precede the Lord's question with the same question? Huh, think on that. They didn't say, hey dude, how you doing? They say the same thing Jesus will say. They're thinking like him. Hmm. The angels, verse 13, give no response because she just said, I don't know where they have laid him. Verse 14, when she had said this, she turned around and beheld Jesus. Mary apparently withdraws very abruptly from engagement with the two in white. The question might come, what caused her to withdraw so abruptly from the two in white? From Chrysostom onwards, commentators have said it was because she heard a noise and or the angels suddenly disappeared. When Jesus comes, they're out of there. And Jesus says to her the same thing that he said, they said. Woman, who are you seeking? and then says, Mary, Mary. My beloved friend, brother and sister, Christ is speaking today. He's speaking your name. Perhaps you are hearing, sensing that pull, that tug of being drawn into relationship with him. He said, come to me, all who are weak and heavy laden. We have many of us who are among that number. Come to me, all who are weak and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me. For I am meek and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. One wiser than I said, but I confess the truth of it. When Christ places a cross upon one of his children, the heaviest end of that cross is on Christ's shoulder. Embrace that, know that to be true. Father, we thank you. We thank you for the tenderness with which you have met us in Jesus Christ. Jesus, thank you for the tenderness of approach to Mary, just speaking her name. You said my sheep will hear my voice. She did. We have. And we come, Master. Place your yoke on us. Let us learn from you. Because we confess that the rest and the peace that you give is heavenly. Praise God it's not earthly. Now here it says, we pray, Lord, some need to come. They are not with you. They don't have a mediator. Some are struggling in their walk with you. Lord, strengthen their faith, draw them, cause them to hunger, but be glorified and praised as the man, the Christ, the Messiah ascended to heaven, seated at the right hand of God the Father. Be forever praised, we pray in Jesus' name, amen.