We're going to begin our reading of Scripture this morning in chapter 19 of John. John 19. We're going to pick it up where we left off Good Friday evening with 38, verse 38. John 19, verse 38. And after this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him leave. He came, therefore, and took the body of Jesus, and there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about 100 pound weight. And in the original, that's the Roman weight of a, that's about 12 ounces. So we're talking approximately 75 pounds of our weight. And then took they the body of Jesus and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new sepulcher, wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus, therefore, because of the Jews' preparation day, for the sepulcher was nigh at hand. The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early. And what we have here is our text, the first ten verses. I'm not going to read that again. Pay attention to these 10 verses. First day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early when it was yet dark unto the sepulcher and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulcher. Then she runneth and cometh to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved and saith unto them, they have taken away the Lord out of the sepulcher and we know not where they have laid him. Peter therefore went forth and that other disciple and came to the sepulcher. So they ran both together and the other disciple did outrun Peter and came first to the sepulcher. And he stooping down and looking in saw the linen clothes lying, yet went he not in. Then cometh Simon Peter following him and went into the sepulcher and seeing the linen clothes lie, and the napkin that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself, then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulcher, and he saw and believed, for as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again unto their own home. But Mary stood without at the sepulcher weeping, and as she wept, she stooped down and looked into the sepulcher and see if two angels in white sitting, the one at the head and the other at the feet where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back and saw Jesus standing and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir. If thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him and I will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself and saith unto him, Rabboni, which is to say master. Jesus saith unto her, touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my father. but go to my brethren and say unto them, I ascend unto 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 unto her. And we read that far in the word of God. We know by a comparison of this event as it's found in other scriptures that early Sunday morning, as Mary Magdalene leaves her home to travel to the tomb of Jesus, that something very, very unusual happened the homes and the dishes and the windows and the ground within and all around Jerusalem began to shake violently from what we read was a great earthquake. Even more unusual was that this was the second time in three days that this had happened. And this was not an aftershock, but the greater quaking of the earth. By this quaking, we read the graves were opened, and many whose graves were opened were raised out of those graves and walked about Jerusalem. That opening occurred with the first quake, and yet the scriptures call the second quake the greater. Also unusual was that coinciding with that great earthquake An angel descends from heaven to the earth. We read that he came down with the appearance of a flash of lightning and was wearing a cloak as white as snow. The place where he came to earth was this garden that we read about in the Holy Scriptures. He walked over to a certain great stone that had been previously guarded carefully by Jewish soldiers and sealed by their order, and he rolled away that great stone and then sat down on it. No wonder. The soldiers who had been guarding that tomb with their own life became so afraid that they eventually fled. But prior to those two events, something even more unusual happened, something that had never happened before in the history of the entire world. One, named Jesus of Nazareth, who we read in the scriptures was born of a virgin, the Virgin Mary, and who had been cruelly crucified and declared dead, not only by the Roman soldiers, but all who witnessed it, and whose body had been hastily prepared and lovingly placed by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, two of his secret Pharisee followers, placed him in that rock tomb, and from that tomb he came forth alive. About that event we read that two disciples, Peter and John, believed. But the fact is that no one actually saw Jesus arise from the dead. It simply happened. So that all that remained was the empty tomb and some clothes. which is what Peter and John saw, and by which they themselves came to believe Jesus was raised from the dead. Consider with me this morning, believing the resurrection. We first consider what we believe, the event, Secondly, we consider why we believe, the evidence. And thirdly, by what we believe, which is faith, the faith, the evidence, the event, the evidence, and the faith. The fact of the resurrection is a central fact to the gospel. Even though the Scriptures declare we know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified, and we preach nothing but the cross, the fact is the Scriptures also teach that without the resurrection, the crucifixion was for nothing, and all of our faith would be vain if it were not true. The fact is that Jesus himself died in order to the end to the goal that he might be raised from the dead. And as we saw and have seen many times before, this was Jesus' own expectation when he went to the cross. We sang about that when we sang Psalm 21. You may remember that Jesus himself began his ministry by referencing the resurrection. When the first time he casts out the buyers and the sellers, he prophesies that they will destroy this temple. referring to his body as John himself says, and I will raise it the third day. Jesus said to the Sadducees and to the Pharisees who asked him for a sign, even though he was working mighty miracles, that he would give them no sign at all except the sign of the prophet Jonah, meaning the sign that he would be raised the third day. If you examine the preaching of the apostle John, the apostle Peter, and the apostle Paul, After Jesus is poured out in his spirit upon the church, you will discover the resurrection, the resurrection, the resurrection. The gospel is not simply Jesus died, but he who died is raised. To that end, Or for that reason, the event itself is very, very important. Without the event, there is no gospel. And we may see and will see that without believing that event, there can be no salvation. The fact of the resurrection of Christ on the third day is taught in this Gospel according to John and told, importantly, from the viewpoint of Mary Magdalene, a woman out of whom Jesus had cast seven devils early in his ministry, and from her name it is evident she is from the area of Galilee called Magdala. We read that early in the morning, while it was still dark, yet early enough that it was no longer, the Jewish Sabbath, or Saturday, Mary left her home, wherever it was in Jerusalem, her temporary home, because she was from Galilee, and she began to walk to the place of the graves, this garden where there were tombs hewn out of a cliffside outside Jerusalem. Her destination was the grave of Jesus. She knew about the location of that grave because she herself had witnessed Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus busy preparing the body of Jesus and then placing it in this brand new tomb that Joseph himself owned. We read that there were three women who witnessed this. Mary Magdalene, one called the Other Mary, and that would be the mother of one called James the Last and Joses, or Joseph, and then another, Salome. Salome is the wife of Zebedee, and the mother of the Apostle John, who writes this Gospel, and the Apostle James. We read in the book of Matthew that while Nicodemus and Joseph were doing their work, they stood a ways off and watched. We're told in the Gospel of Luke that Mary is followed or accompanied by other women The total amount is unknown. Besides Mary Magdalene, we know that included are others whom Luke says had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities by Jesus and who ministered unto Jesus when he was in Galilee of their substance. And then it lists one, Joanna, who is the wife of Cusa. And Cusa is none other than Herod's own steward. Another is listed who is named Susanna. Matthew adds that included in this group is the other Mary, that is the Mary who is the mother of James the Less and Joseph. And Mark adds, Salome, that is the mother of James and John. We read, she left early. All the gospel accounts make note of this. And that's the Bible's way of saying that she went out of great, great love, because this was important. It was important not only to Mary, but to all these women, that they go to the tomb to do what they wanted to do. There may have been also a practical reason, which is that they likely feared that the longer the body of Jesus was lying in that tomb in the hot weather of the area, the more decay would make the handling of his body very difficult, if not impossible. The subsequent actions and the purpose for which these women went shows that they never expected the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. The purpose of these women that morning was not to go to the tomb to see if it was empty, but they went to the tomb expecting it to be full. And they expected to add more spices to the body of Jesus. We read in the accounts that before the Sabbath began, in fact, these women began to prepare spices to add to those that Joseph himself, in great love, some 75 pounds of spices had already placed around the body of Jesus before he wrapped it up in linen cloth. Some, exactly because that number is so incredibly high, want to change that amount to perhaps an hundredth of a pound. But the fact is, that was the amount. And it was the amount that was considered to be proper and right for royalty. And so we see in this a certain faith of Joseph that Jesus is the King, the King of the Jews, as He was crucified for being and His great love for Jesus. Nevertheless, the reason the women came was not because they expected Jesus to be risen, and that's surprising. because Jesus had repeatedly and plainly told them to expect it, and even emphasized it would be on the third day. Significantly, one detail in the Holy Scriptures is that it was actually in the very territory of Magdala, and likely even at the same time when Mary Magdalene was relieved of her seven devils by the Lord Jesus, that the Pharisees and the Sadducees traveled up from Jerusalem to see Jesus and to ask Him for a sign. Blind to the very fact that Jesus is casting out devils, and healing even women from their infirmities, as the passage makes note, they dare ask for a sign. And Jesus at that time, already early on, said, there will be no sign but the sign of Jonah that is coming forth from death, from the bottom of the grave or the sea to rise again. The point of this is to show how impossible it is to receive the things of the kingdom of God, even for a believer, and especially for a believer if his heart is filled with carnal thoughts. It is not simply the women, as we're going to see, who did not believe in spite of the explicit and repeated words of Jesus himself, for Peter and John do not come to believe before the time that we read here. The trouble is that although there is a certain faith by which they believe Jesus is the Messiah and the Christ, there is yet also much unbelief that blinds them, that stops their ears, and the root of it all is a certain carnality, a looking for an earthly kingdom, a certain looking for earthly things. So that even with regard to the resurrection, there may have been that kind of earthly looking. The point is, they did not expect what they were about to see. This explains the concern that the women have, including Mary Magdalene, which is how are we going to roll that stone And the Bible parenthetically tells us, and it was great, away from that large hole and room that was carved out of the rock. There are a number of differences in the biblical narrative here. And I hesitated whether to bring them up this morning or save them for this evening, but I think it would be good to recognize them now. I'm going to read to you, first of all, the account of this in the book of Matthew, chapter 28, verses 5 through 8. We read, there was an angel sitting on a stone who said to the women, who are earlier identified as Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, fear not, for I know that ye seek Jesus which was crucified. He is not here, for he is risen as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And they departed quickly from the sepulchre This is after they heard a few more things. "...with fear and great joy, and did run to bring his disciples word. And as they went, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail! And they came and held him by the feet and worshipped him." That's the account in Matthew. Here's what the gospel according to Mark says, chapter 16, 1 through 10. Mary Magdalene, the other Mary, and Salome came to anoint him. And they looked and saw that the stone was rolled away, for it was very great. And entering into the sepulcher, they saw a young man, that is an angel, sitting on the right side, and they were affrighted. and he saith unto them, be not affrighted. Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified. He is risen, he is not here. Behold the place where they laid him. And they went out quickly and fled from the sepulcher, for they trembled and were amazed. Neither said they anything to any man, for they were afraid. Now Jesus appeared first to Mary Magdalene, and she went and told the disciples that had been with him as they mourned and wept. Then we have this in the gospel according to Luke chapter 23, verses 55 through chapter 24, verse nine. The women which came with him from Galilee came unto the sepulcher, found the stone rolled away, entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. And as they were afraid and bowed down their faces to the earth, They said unto them, why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen. Remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee? And they remembered his words and returned and told these things unto the leaven and all the rest. purpose in reading those is to show that there are differing narratives with regard to the resurrection that we are required, because the scriptures cannot be broken, to reconcile as much as we are able. And from this differing narrative, several things are certain. Number one, the first witnesses of the resurrection are all women. We don't know exactly how many women, but it's a number of them, and they are the first witnesses. Secondly, exactly to drive home the point, likely, that all these witnesses are women, the gospel narratives frequently speak of them Collectively. Collectively. As a group. And yet, we know from this narrative that they do not all arrive at the same time. And so they do not even witness all the same things. That's important to understand. Number two. The first angel, at some point, disappears. And then he reappears with another angel, to some of the women at least, in the tomb itself. Thirdly, although certain details in the message of the angel are different, the message to all the women, and whether that occurs at one time or as many as three times, it's essentially the same message. You seek Jesus. He is not here. He is risen. Lastly, we know from the reaction of the women, even though in the narrative it's often considered collectively, Individually, they did react differently. We read of fear and joy. We read of fear and amazement. We even read of fear and unbelief. None of them, however, consider what John himself provides by divine inspiration. and that which he himself knew." John writes about Mary. And from his report, it's clear that she either arrives alone before the others, or if she came with one or two others, As soon as she saw the empty tomb from afar, and without going any closer, and without looking inside or seeing the angels, she immediately ran back to Jerusalem, while, if there were others, they continued on. We also know it was Mary who told the disciples, but initially not all of them, She told only Peter and John for whatever reason. And we know thirdly, that she came back. She returned alone. And that is when she saw two angels, and then Jesus, who appears to her first before anyone else. This morning we consider especially the reaction of Peter and John upon hearing this report of Mary, and notice her report isn't, I've seen angels, I've looked in the tomb, I believe the resurrection, but they've stolen the body. And even when she sees Jesus, supposing him to be the gardener, she's going to assume the body has been taken. We'll consider that tonight. Peter and John, for whatever reason, are gathered together. Perhaps still because they're staying somewhere near the upper room or in the upper room. They leave together and they run because they believe that report of Mary. And notice that. They run, expecting the body to be gone because it has been stolen or something has happened. Not because they believe Jesus. Not because they believe what Jesus has told them repeatedly again and again. In fact, John makes a note of it. They ran and they went and they looked because they believed not yet the Scripture. Verse 9. And we're told that John, likely because he's the younger of the two, gets to the tomb first. When he arrives, he stoops down and looks into the tomb, but he doesn't enter. Shortly after Peter arrives, he immediately enters the tomb, more closely examines what's inside, and he sees what John saw from the outside. And what they saw was more than an empty grave. You see, an empty grave all by itself is not proof of what they would come to believe. An empty grave only proves all by itself that the body is gone. that in fact it could have been stolen. It could have been removed by a gardener. Any number of things could have happened to account for an empty tomb. But not what they saw. What they saw was evidence of a resurrection. So we consider this evidence. do so, first of all, pointing out that there has to be this kind of evidence. There must be. There couldn't just be an empty tomb all by itself, by which they would come to believe. And that has to do with the nature of faith. This whole business that we're going to explain this morning and even tonight is a major point in the book of John that proceeds all the way to the end of the book. The nature of faith and how we come to believe. And it begins with understanding that faith does not believe in nothing. Faith believes in something. In fact, we may say faith believes in evidence. Sometimes we imagine that faith believes in nothing or just believes arbitrarily because that's the charge of the scorners. That's the charge of the unbelievers. That's the charge of the rationalists. They say man can only believe what he can touch, what he can empirically see. He can believe only tangible evidence. And that's what belief is. And we know that's not true. So we can react by imagining, well, we just believe things. We just believe things without any evidence whatsoever, without any reason whatsoever. And that's not true. Proof is the very definition of faith itself in Hebrews 11. What is that definition? It's not, you will notice, faith is a certain knowledge and a hearty confidence. It's not faith is believing, but faith is the substance of things hoped for. Faith has to do with substance, hoping in a substance. And If you don't quite know what substance is referring to, it adds a parallel, and evidence of things not seen. So Peter and John see a substance, and they see an evidence of something, and by that they believe. What they saw was irrefutable evidence that would lead them to believe that the tomb is not empty simply for any reason, but that Jesus was raised from the dead. That irrefutable evidence that they saw was the grave clothes lying there. We read John saw them first. From the outside of the tomb, he saw them. At least he saw a certain aspect of them. And then when Peter arrives and enters in and examines more closely what John saw from the outside, John 2 enters, and they see the whole thing. And what they see is the way the clothes are arranged, and especially something to do with the napkin that is mentioned in detail. So that means we have to know something about how bodies were prepared for burial in those days, which is that, if possible, they were prepared with spices, and not to embalm them, as is sometimes charged, but in care for the body, because the Jews believed the bodies would be raised up someday. And so they buried, they didn't burn, they didn't cremate, they buried and they buried with respect and honor, with sweet-smelling spices, especially not to preserve. And then they wrapped that body after they had washed, cleansed it, and anointed it with spices, with linen strips of cloth. The whole body, except for the head and the neck. What they did with the head and the neck is they covered the face and the neck area with a napkin that was either bound around the head or the neck. What they saw was the way the clothes were lying there and the napkin also. First of all, the clothes were lying there. And what it means isn't what we usually say if your mom comes into your room and says, clean up all those clothes lying there. They're just in a disorganized heap and in a mess. The idea here is something carefully arranged. That's what that word means, something carefully arranged. And the idea is that Although the clothes are all there, they're undisturbed. The strips are not unraveled and lying in a heap in the corner, but they're still wound together as if they were wound around a body, only they've collapsed because there's no body there. No body to hold up those clothes. They're just collapsed. They're flat. There's nothing in them. And secondly, they see that the napkin has not been removed from the head, but the napkin is lying exactly where one would expect it, disconnected from the clothes where the head ought to be. This is evidence because There is no physical possibility that this could be. It's physically impossible for those grave clothes to be found there in that tomb in that manner unless Jesus has risen from the grave. And by that, meaning He has risen through the clothes and through the rock. If someone had stolen the body, and the grave clothes were there, they would have had to unravel them. They would have had to untie the napkin and place it somewhere else. But that's not what happened, and it didn't happen because Jesus arose. Now something else, and we'll be brief here, because we can consider this tonight also. This is not only evidence of the fact of the resurrection, but the nature of the resurrection. What they come to believe is that this resurrection isn't like any other human resurrection up until then. It wasn't like the resurrection of the widow of Nain's son, or of Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Or even like those who had come out of the graves and were walking in Jerusalem. Those walking in Jerusalem could only come out of the graves because the earthquake had rattled the lids off their sarcophaguses outside of Jerusalem. But that's not the way it was for Jesus. If anyone had been present in the tomb at the moment of the resurrection, they would have noticed either that the body of Jesus simply disappeared, or else it was transformed into a spiritual substance that simply passed through the grave closed in the rock itself. That's all. It wasn't necessary for the angel to roll away the stone so Jesus could get out. It was necessary to roll away the stone so that normal human beings could look in. Jesus was showing, in the first place and very briefly, that he was raised in the very same body in which he was born, The same body that was crucified there in the grave. Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified dead, buried, and Jesus was raised again the third day. Jesus is his body, and his body was raised, not a different. But Jesus was also showing how remarkably different in quality was that body. Now, Jesus is going to show that again and again. A week from now, he's going to pass right through a solid wall or a locked door and appear to his disciples. He's going to do this again and again, but it begins with the resurrection itself. The quality of that body has changed. Oh, it's still a substance. He still walks, he still talks, he still eats and drinks, but quite a bit different than the way you do. That's what Peter and John came to believe, the fact of the resurrection, and also they knew something of the nature of that resurrection, that it was quite a bit different than that of Lazarus. We want to conclude this morning by looking at the faith that believes the resurrection. First of all, the faith of Peter and John. The fact that Peter and John come to believe, and John emphasizes it here. He's going to make this point again and again in the remainder of his Gospel. He's pointing out how important faith is to believe the resurrection. When we read that, we must understand that that faith by which they believed The resurrection displaced unbelief that previously was there, unbelief that blinded them even to remember what Jesus himself repeatedly taught them in his own words, an unbelief rooted in their own carnal, fleshly lusts. In fact, we may say, speaking as men, if it had remained, they would have been disqualified as apostles. Why? Because apostles had to be eyewitnesses who saw the resurrection and believed it. An essential qualification. In fact, we may say it would have been impossible for them to receive new revelation from God as apostles. Which is one reason why we read that the cause of their unbelief, or the result of it was, they knew not yet the Scriptures. Notice it doesn't say they didn't know yet what Jesus said, or they didn't remember it, but they did not know yet the Scriptures, that is, the written Word of God. That's the close connection here between their apostleship and their future work and their present unbelief. Now, don't misunderstand, it's not as though they had any faith whatsoever. We know John still believed in Jesus because he obeyed Him at the cross concerning his mother. We know Peter had faith because when he betrayed Christ and Christ called him out, he wept bitterly. That is, in repentance over it. And only true faith can believe in the resurrection. That's why it's so important. The resurrection is naturally, physically impossible. There's no earthly physical evidence to prove the resurrection as such. There's no science by which it can be observed. There's no human eyewitnesses that remain. The fact is, we all know from experience, no one has ever escaped death or risen from the dead as Christ did. Always remember that. If you doubt that we are saved by faith, The proof of that is the resurrection. And yet, there's indications here that are going to progress that Peter and John did not believe yet with the highest form of faith. Why? Because it was still based on something that is seen. And that's another reason we read, for as yet they knew not the Scripture. It's pointing out something. You know, we have a saying, right? Seeing is believing. And we often imagine to ourselves, perhaps in our own unbelief, or when we become frustrated over the rejection of the Holy Gospel and the Scriptures by so many, we say to ourselves, maybe if we were there, maybe if they were there, maybe if we could see with our own eyes, or maybe they could see with their own eyes, What if we were there to see the miracles? And what if we were there right at the tomb and saw the resurrection? Then surely we wouldn't have those doubts. Surely those people wouldn't reject the Holy Gospel. But that's not true. There were Jewish guards who knew the Scriptures, who were set by scribes and Pharisees who knew the Scriptures. And they saw the same evidence. In fact, they saw the angel come down. They saw the angel. They saw him open the tomb. They saw inside that tomb. They saw all that evidence and they did not believe. The Jewish leaders heard all that same evidence from their own soldiers, their own guards. They remembered, strikingly we read in Scripture, that He said He would rise again. Isn't that interesting? The disciples forgot, but the Pharisees didn't. Oh, they knew. That's why they posted the guards in the first place. But when they get this information back, what do they do? They pay them off, tell them to go tell everybody the disciples stole the body. You see, what we see isn't really ever the highest form of faith. You see, true faith believes evidence, of course, but it's always spiritual evidence, not physical evidence. It's the kind of evidence that one finds only in the Holy Scriptures. That's why we read that. That's why John puts that in there. He understands the point Jesus is going to drive home. These are apostles. They're living at this time. But what about the rest of the church? What about those that come and follow? We'll never see the tomb. We'll never see the clothes. The angels. In fact, we've never seen Jesus. But we're called to believe the resurrection. We're called to believe it simply because God says so in His Word. And that's it. This is exactly the point Jesus is going to make to Thomas in seven days. Thomas! Because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed. Blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed. Referring to us. Referring to many, many who will believe the resurrection without any physical evidence whatsoever, including the evidence of curiously, humanly impossible arranged closing. You see. That's the greater, the firmer faith. This is the faith of the Holy Spirit that will be poured out in 50 days. Faith that invigorates and enlivens the disciples that begin to preach the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ to the salvation of souls through faith in the same events. Faith that is given by the Holy Spirit of Him who rises from the dead as the firstfruits The faith that comes with eternal life. So the calling to us this morning is believe the resurrection. And then live that way. Quite striking that as soon as we read the two disciples believed, they went home. They went home. You would think they would run to all the other disciples and tell them. You would think they would run all over Jerusalem. Now that wasn't indifference. That too is in God's hands. What's going on there? And they were showing really the fruit of faith in the Christian life. And those that believe, they go about their living. Now Jesus still has some more things to teach them about that. Let us do that. Let us go home this morning. Let us, having come here and peering into the tomb, entering into the tomb and seeing by faith what is there by the Word of God, let us go home and live by that faith. Amen. Let us pray. Our Father which art in heaven, O Lord our God, we thank thee for the truth of the resurrection of Jesus Christ of Nazareth from the dead, that he who died now lives, continues to live, and by his life we also live. And the great fruit of this firstfruits from the dead is that we might receive faith that believes in him as such. So grant us such faith, strengthen our faith so that we might live before thy face in Jesus' name, amen.