John chapter 20. We'll be reading verses 11 through 18. But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet where the body of Jesus had lain. And they said to her, woman, why are you weeping? She said to them, because they have taken away my Lord and I do not know where they have laid him. And when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? She, supposing him to be the gardener, 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, Rabboni, which is to say, teacher. Jesus said to her, do not cling to me. For I have not yet ascended to my father, but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my father and your father and to my God and your God. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that he had spoken these things to her. Well, my friends today, We consider these eight verses, John 20, 11 through 18, and we see that the resurrected or the risen Lord reveals himself to Mary. The resurrected, the risen Lord reveals himself to Mary. As we saw last week, the light has begun to dawn on the early disciples. The light has begun to dawn on the early disciples as to this great event, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But notice today, notice the transforming power of the resurrection. Notice the transforming power of the resurrection. Mary turns from a frightened, Mary turns from a frightened and dismayed woman to one who joyfully proclaims the gospel. From a frightened and dismayed woman in despair to one who joyfully proclaims the gospel. My friends, if we have heard, if we have heard the Master speak to us, then we will likewise be transformed. You know, I've been doing these messages from John. This is now the third week in a row. I've broken from our regular dealing with our confession of faith. We were dealing with the law of God. You know that I did this because of the memorial service we did two weeks ago, specifically with regard to Bill McCoy, who passed away on June 8th. And as I mentioned two weeks ago, what was the hope that Bill McCoy had? Well, first of all, it was the death of Jesus. That's the hope he had, that he had a Savior, that he had one who died for his sins. But he's not a dead hero. He's not a dead leader. He is a risen Savior. And so last week, we looked at the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And now we look at the revelation of that resurrection, the revelation of the risen Lord himself to Mary. And of course, Mary, she's not a leader, right? She's a lay person. She's kind of a simple person, right? probably doesn't have a lot in this world, in the goods of this world, and yet, she was the one that Jesus first revealed himself to. And Mary, in a sense, can stand, therefore, for all of us, can stand for anybody and everybody, because if Jesus was willing to care for Mary, then we know that he can be willing to care for us too. And if we have heard them, the master speak to us, not with physical ears, we don't expect that today, but if the master has spoken to us through his words so that we know when we read the word, we know that this is true, And we know that it is the risen Jesus who has given this word to us through his Holy Spirit. If we have heard the master speak to us, if he has by his word and spirit revealed himself to us, then we likewise will be transformed. So let us look, first of all, at Mary. And as we're doing this, I want to note again that I am indebted to Matthew Henry and his commentary in dealing with this passage, as is often true, is often the case. He was a very wonderful Bible commentator from several centuries ago. Well, first of all then, let us look at Mary. And the first thing we know, that we see here, that sort of brings us up short is the fact that she is weeping. She is weeping. Now, we all know what it's like to cry. We all know what it's like to weep. And that's what she's doing, she's weeping. These are tears, first of all, of sorrow, tears of sorrow. remembering, undoubtedly, remembering the sufferings of Jesus. She was an eyewitness to his crucifixion, remembering his sufferings, but also as she is experiencing her loss. These are tears of sorrow. They're also tears of confusion, tears of confusion, because she still, she doesn't understand, she hasn't figured it out in terms of the resurrection of Christ. But they are also tears of love. You see, Mary Magdalene had been rescued from much, from that demon possession. Mary Magdalene had been forgiven much. And my friends, if we have been forgiven, especially if we have been forgiven much, then we will love much too. And so these are tears of love as she's thinking of her Lord. Second thing we see here besides the weeping is the seeking, the seeking. standing, she was standing outside by the tomb or the sepulcher, the tomb, and now she is seeking because we see in verse 11, as she wept, she stooped down and looked into the tomb. She looked into the sepulcher. And even so, my friends, we must seek for Jesus. With tears, And let me say, let me pause here just a moment and say that not all of us have the same emotions as others, not all of us have the same personalities. I remember one fellow that my father and I ministered to years ago who said, yeah, I believe all of the things about Christ, but he said, but I haven't cried. Okay. And so we had to assure him, well, tears are not absolutely essential, of course. And yet, having said that, we must be affected. We must be affected deeply by the reality of Jesus. These are not just hypothetical things. And so, even so, we must seek for Jesus with tears, tears of repentance, tears of sorrow for sin, tears of wasted opportunities, wasted time, wasted lives, but also with affection, with love. Because indeed, it is not merely an intellectual exercise. But if we know Jesus, there is real communion with him. And this is something that those of us that are more intellectually oriented sometimes can struggle with. Those of us in the Reformed faith can perhaps struggle with more than others. But yet, there must be this reality that if we believe then that faith is going to affect us deeply. It's going to affect us in terms of the very essence of who we are, and that's the point. So she was weeping, she was seeking, and yet she was also not being comforted. Her faith is still weak. Alas, she doesn't know how to find the comfort and peace. Well, so we see Mary then. Can you see her in your mind's eye? Can you see Mary weeping? A woman weeping, overwhelmed with emotion. There she is. She looks inside the tomb. And now we come to the two angels. Notice the description of these two angels. They are sitting at the head and at the feet. It has been suggested this shows their care for the entire body. That is to say they were, of course the body was no longer there, but where the body had lain, at the head and at the feet, their care for the entire body, the actual body of Christ, but also the mystical body of Christ, namely his church. And these two angels then are suggestive of the two cherubim that were at either end of the mercy seat. at either end of the mercy seat, as in Exodus 25, verse 18, where you had the angels at either end of that mercy seat, overlooking the mercy seat in the Old Testament. But notice that these angels do not have flaming swords as the angels that guarded the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve were cast out You remember the angels guarding that Garden of Eden as God cast them out of paradise, cast them out of that perfect place. No longer do they have these flaming swords, but rather they are welcoming. And now that the final sacrifice has been offered, now that the atoning sacrifice has been made, now that God's wrath has been appeased, now that the final propitiation, the satisfaction of God's wrath, God's wrath being poured out upon his son, now that that has happened, now that Jesus was able to say it is finished, now we are welcomed into the presence of God. They were sitting at the head and at the feet. They were dressed in white, which of course would denote their purity and holiness, but also pointing to the bright state of glory into which Christ was now risen. Now, what was their purpose? Well, at least four things. Number one, to bear witness. How many do you need to bear witness? In the Old Testament, two or three. Here you have two to bear witness, to certify he is not here, he is risen. Secondly, their purpose was that to honor the Son, the Son of God, as they are these heavenly messengers that have been sent in order to honor the Son who of course is now risen from the dead. Thirdly, their purpose is to comfort the saints. Angels are heavenly messengers, to comfort the saints. And fourthly, to indicate the victory over the powers of darkness. There was a hidden battle that was going on that we only see glimpses of, we only see hints of in terms of the sufferings of Jesus. We know that he was tempted by Satan early in his ministry. We know that he had conflict with demons and so forth. What we often overlook is the fact that as he went to the cross, Satan was active. As Christ went to the cross, Satan was also active. and undoubtedly tempting, buffeting, engaging in spiritual warfare as we're leading to the climax of the crucifixion. And perhaps Satan thought, well, he's dead. We've done away with him. But of course, Jesus rose victoriously over death. And so these angels then are there to indicate the victory over the powers of darkness, these bright, shining angels. Well, that leads us then to the third figure, and that is, of course, Jesus himself. It's been said that the Lord is nearer to his people than they think or imagine. How many times have we gone through life and wondered, where is God? Where is he? But you know, he's been there all along. And that's what we find here. Here, he tenderly deals with Mary. He says to her, Why weepest thou? Why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? You know, in John chapter 10, in John chapter 10, Jesus talked about the sheep. In verse three, to him, the store, the doorkeeper opens and the sheep hear his voice and he calls his own sheep by name and leaves them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them and the sheep follow him for they know his voice. And so my friends, Jesus is the good shepherd and he calls us by name. You remember David? Remember David when, King David, when he was wanting to show love and compassion to one of the descendants of Jonathan? That one lame boy, Mephibosheth? And you remember that scene where Mephibosheth This lame young man appears before David and what does David say? David says, Mephibosheth, Mephibosheth. And even so, Jesus shows his love, his compassion to us, to you and to me. He shows, he shows his compassion to you and to me. He says, Lydia, Samuel, Johnny, Heather, James. He says to you and to me, he calls us by name. Here he says, Mary, Mary, that's all he has to say. Mary, her eyes had been hidden up until this point. Some people say it's because her eyes were dim with tears, but I think it's probably better to say that her eyes, that she just like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, didn't recognize Jesus. I think there was a supernatural, withholding of this revelation in terms of who he was. But when he says, when he calls her by name, he says, Mary, Mary, then she recognizes him immediately. And so when she recognizes him, she calls him Rabboni, which means master or teacher. My friends, we also hear Him speaking to us, just like in John chapter 10. We also hear Him speaking to us, do we not this morning? Do we not hear Him speaking to us? We must, we must hear Him, not with our physical ears. but with the ears of our heart, we must hear him speaking to us as he tells us of his death and resurrection and ascension and love and mercy and compassion and care and sovereignty as he tells us today, as he calls us by name. Here he says. Mary. And then he instructs her. He not only speaks to us, his sheep, speaks to Mary, but he instructs her, touch me not, or cling not to me. Now, he must still, you see, ascend to heaven. His words to her do not imply that he is incorporeal like a ghost, okay? His words do not imply that. Rather, he is indicating that he no longer belongs to this world. That's the point. Mary would no longer have the same relationship with him, he would soon ascend to heaven. And so he's saying, don't hang on to me, don't cling to me, I must go, I must ascend, I no longer am, I no longer belong to this world, if you will. And so he says, don't stay here, go and tell your brethren. And so he then sends a message to his disciples. Notice, he is not ashamed to call us brethren. This apparently is the first time that he refers to us, refers to his disciples as brothers, as brethren, if you will. He says, go to my brethren and say to them, And what is she to say to them? I am ascending to my father and your father and to my God and your God. Notice here the unity of father and son. He talks about my father and my God. He also condescends and says my father and your father, my father and your God. But notice something very interesting. He does not say, our Father. He is distinguished and preeminent. He is distinguished from his brethren. Yes, we are all sons of God, but he is the Son of God, the only begotten Son of God. Yes, we understand that We have a heavenly Father who is our God in heaven, but yet Jesus's relationship as the second person of the Trinity is distinct, it is distinguished, it is unique, and he is preeminent. And so, very precisely, he says, say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father and to my God and your God. Now, his ascension into heaven, of course, is not his final ascension into heaven. It's not what we see in Acts chapter two, where Jesus ascends into the clouds, but it is rather a reuniting of father and son as part of Jesus's glorification. Now, I have three points of application today. The first is this. with regard to spreading the good news, with regard to spreading the good news. Mary was obedient to Jesus's instruction and she evangelized. And my friends, in the same way, we too should evangelize. Remember that what we read today from Isaiah 43, verse 10, plural, y'all, ye are my witnesses, says the Lord. Ye are my witnesses. And again, verse 12, I have declared and saved, I have proclaimed, and there was no foreign God among you. Therefore, ye are my witnesses. Mary then was obedient to Jesus's instruction. evangelized, she was a witness to the resurrection of Christ. And even so, we too are to be witnesses to the power, the grace, the glory of God, and indeed to the resurrection of his son, Jesus. And so we must be engaged in spreading the good news. Secondly, by way of application, taking comfort that Jesus bottles up every tear. Now in a few minutes, we're gonna be singing from Psalm 56. Psalm 56 is a beautiful psalm. In verse eight, we read, you number my wanderings, put my tears into your bottle. Are they not in your book? This, of course, is the psalmist speaking to God, acknowledging the fact that nothing escapes his notice, but more than that, that he treasures up the tears. God collects our tears, puts them into his bottle, and writes them in his book. He's concerned. about all of our sorrows? Do we go through difficult times in our marriage? Do we go through difficult times in health, in life? Are we frustrated with friends? Are we frustrated with jobs? Are we frustrated with ourselves? Are we those who weep when the world does not keep the law of God, but more especially are we those who weep when we do not keep the law of God? Do we have tears of sorrow and regret? Do we have tears of affection and love? Psalm 56 tells us that God treasures up all those tears. And that's what you see here, because Jesus says, Mary, Harriet, Paul. He calls us by name, and we should take comfort that he does, and he treasures up every tear in his bottle. Thirdly, trusting in Jesus as the risen and ascended Lord. Now, this is a trust that is not merely academic. It is a trust. It is a faith that affects you personally and directly, personally and directly, so that you are able to say in faith, in love, in submission with affection. Rabboni, teacher, master. As you hear, as you hear Jesus. My friends, are you hearing Jesus? Young people, are you hearing Jesus today? Are you hearing Jesus today? Are you hearing his voice? Are you hearing him? And are you trusting in him? not as a dead hero, but as the risen, resurrected, ascended, glorified Lord and Savior. May God give us the grace, like Mary, to have this risen Lord revealed to us. Amen. Will you please stand for prayer? And Father, we do pray that thy Holy Spirit would work in our hearts, would work the work of grace. May we hear Jesus. May we hear Jesus this day. May we hear him with the ears of faith. Hear him say to us, come unto me. May we hear him call us by name and assure us the truth of the gospel. and of his love and mercy for us. We pray in Jesus' name, amen. In closing, let us turn to Psalm 56. Be gracious unto me, O God, for man would me devour. Psalm 56, after the benediction, we will sing 103D as a closing doxology.