Now it's good for us to be together. Let us read from God's Word and we read from John. John chapter 20. We are still in the time when we think of the resurrection. John chapter 20. And we will read from verse 1. John chapter 20, verse 1. Now on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciples, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him. So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going towards the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths laying there. but he did not go in. And then Simon Peter came following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen clothing lying there, and the face cloth which had been on Jesus' head, not laying with the linen cloths, but folded up in a place by itself. And then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed. For as yet, they did not understand the scripture that he must rise from the dead. And then the disciples went back to their homes. But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. And as she wept, she stood to look into the tomb and she saw two angels. And they said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? And she said to them, They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him. Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? Woman, 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. And Jesus said to her, Mary, and she turned and said to him in Aramaic, Rabbuni, which means teacher. And Jesus said to her, Do not think to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God. And Mary Magdalene went and denounced to the disciples, I have seen the Lord, and that he had said these things to her. Now, the resurrection is the miracle of all miracles. It's the miracle of all miracles. Acts 4, verse 30 says, it's the work of God the Father. And the Christian faith stand and fall by the resurrection. Without the resurrection, there's no gospel. There's no letter in the New Testament. There's no faith. There's no preaching. There's no worshipping. There's no hope. So the resurrection is the miracle of all miracles. It shows that the sacrifice that was brought has been accepted. It shows also that Jesus is God. And as he's saying at the end, I'm going to the Father, my Father, your Father. It shows to us that the cross is not just a martyr's death. Because we must remember, many people were crucified at that time, not only Jesus. I mean, next to him, also two that were crucified. But the fact that he was resurrected, that shows that it was not just a martyr's death. No, it was a reconciliation for our sins. It changed also the Sabbath from the Saturday to the Sunday, the Lord's Day. And the reason for that is that we celebrate the resurrection. We don't celebrate the Sabbath on the Saturday any longer, but on the first day, because that was the day of the final victory The cross he paid, it was in the grave. And on the first day, he rose from the dead. And that's what we celebrate every Sunday. Every Sunday, we celebrate the resurrection. And I hope you remember that. So it shows to us that he's alive. Jesus is alive. He was resurrected. He reigned from the dead. And he's alive. The last enemy, were conquered, death. Yes, we will still die, but because of Christ that was re-selected, we will all be re-selected at his second coming. So the big enemy is not any longer our enemy. The death is just now the going through to be with God. It's not something that we must fear any longer. because our sin has been paid for. Therefore, my theme today is the miracle of all miracles, the resurrection. The miracle of all miracles. I want to just look at three things of the resurrection. There's many things, but out of this passage I've gained three that I just want to mention. The first thing is The resurrection in our darkness. The resurrection in our darkness. And the second one, the resurrection works faith. And the third one is the resurrection called you by your name. The resurrection called you by your name. Let's look at the first one. The first one is the resurrection in our darkness. We read here that Maria, on the first day, she came to the tomb. Now, Mary, there are five Marys that we read of in scripture. And this one is identified with the place where she's coming from, Magdala. She's coming from Magdala. So she is Mary Magdalene, to differentiate her from the other one. She's the one that seven evil spirits were cast out by Jesus from her. She was one of the women that were caring out of their own support, out of their own money, out of what they have. They have cared for Jesus and his disciples. Seemingly they were moving with Jesus and they were caring for them. And she was one of those women. She was also the one that was standing at the cross, at the foot of the cross. She was the one that followed Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus when they put Jesus into the tomb. She was the one that we're following. Now, according to the Synoptic Gospels, we read that there were more than just Mary Magdalene that was coming to the tomb. But John is referring just to her. But from verse 2, we can conclude that there were also others with her. Because when she gave the message to the disciples, she said in verse 2, they have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we do not know where they have laid Him. So the other women were also there, but John is putting the emphasis on Mary Magdalene, and that's why we only read here her name. Now, the other woman that Mark 16 is calling Mary is Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and then also Salome. That's what Mark is saying. Now their purpose was they went to the grave, Nicodemus and Joseph of Armentia already put a lot of spices on the body and they've wrapped it with the cloth and they want to add to that. That was their purpose why they were going to the grave. Now we must remember when we read John that time indications and also temperature indications is more than just showing time and just showing temperature. It has also a theological orientation. So if it is saying that it was still dark in verse 1, it was still dark. While it was Because if you read some of the others, it is the other synoptic gospels, they say the sun will already up. But John is one to put our attention to something specifically here, to say, it was dark. And that was, he's now emphasizing Mary Magdalene, and he's referring to her that she is in darkness. She is in hopelessness. Man, she's hopeless because she loved the Lord and now her rabbi is dead. She saw him on the cross. She saw how the soldier put the spear into his side. She saw how the blood and the water was pouring from his side. She was following them to the grave and how Jesus was put into the grave. Everything she was hoping for. This is the Messiah, the one that will bring salvation and freedom. He's dead. He's dead. Everything is a lie. He was not what he said he was. He's dead. And we know that death is not eternal. And that's why John wants to say, it was dark. Her whole life was shattered. It was dark. It was hopeless. And that's how she is coming to the grave in darkness. Now, perhaps you are sitting here today. Perhaps your life is also in darkness. Perhaps your life is also in the Magar. Perhaps you are depressed. Perhaps you are living in fear. Perhaps you are living with grudges that is making you dull. Perhaps your finances is in chaos. and your sin is making it dark around you. You're in darkness because of your sin. Perhaps you also feel God is dead. Like Mary, Jesus is dead. Perhaps in your situation it also looks like He is dead. And it's in this situation where she's now starting to realize And then suddenly she looked up, looked there in verse one, and she saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So in the darkness she saw, but the grave is open. And immediately what she was thinking was that now he's not just dead, but his body has also been stolen. His body has been taken away. And she don't know where they've laid him. And she ran for help. She reported to the disciples, to Peter and to John, because John is referring to himself here as the disciple whom Jesus loved. And they report to them and said, listen, he's not just dead, he's gone as well. He's been stolen. expect the resurrection. They did not understand the words of our Lord. Although He said clearly that He will die and He will be resurrected, they did not get that. They were just still in darkness. And that's the second thing. First one is the resurrection in our darkness. The second one, the resurrection We see how the two disciples, after she reported to them, how they ran to the grave. They ran together. But John was a younger man than Peter, and he outran Peter. And he first came to the grave, John, and he looked in and he saw there is the cloth. So he ran, verse 2, and went, no, verse 3. So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were both running, verse 4. Both running, but the other one outran Peter. And verse 5, stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. He saw the linen cloths lying there. So John came, he looked in, he saw the cloth. Now remember, the body were wrapped in these cloths and it was full of spices. I can almost say in our terms, like a kind of Vaseline, with all these spices in. stick together. And here, in the same form, and in the same shape, and in the same position, was these cloths. But there were no body in them. So perhaps he dipped in at some places because Jesus was resurrected. So John looked in and he saw, but here is the linen cloths. But he realized there's no one in it, because he could see. And then Peter came in, and Peter did not stop. We know Peter. Peter, when Jesus washed his feet, he refused. And later he said, no, but not just my feet, but shower me, bath me, my whole body there. We know Peter, how he was taking his sword in the Garden of Gethsemane and he cut the ear of Malchus, but later the small maid coming and he could not stand against her. He denied the Lord. We know how when Jesus was on the land later, they were on sea. And when they realized it's Jesus, they jumped into the sea. So Peter, that's Peter, and he ran into the tomb, and he was looking, and he saw, yeah, here is the cloth in the same shape, same position. It's lying there, except the cloth that's around the face. They've put a separate one around the face to keep the chin up, that the mouth would not fall open. for Peter it stays a mystery. John saw it and it is saying he came to faith, he believed. So the resurrection worked in John and John when he saw it, he believed. Now it seems it's just the in it, because as they continued and Jesus appeared more and more to them, he was believing with a more sure faith, but he believed. So because the cloths were there in the same position and the same shape, they knew Jesus was resurrected. Just to prove that, if you think of John, John 11 verse 43, can you remember when Jesus was calling Lazarus out of the grave? Then Lazarus was coming out, jumping out, because he could not get himself out of those linen. And then Jesus said, So a living person could not just get out of the cloth and take it off because he was abounded by it. But here is the cloth. It shows it's the resurrection, the new spiritual body. Physical, yeah, but also the new body. So it's the miracle of the resurrection that worked faith in John. John saw it and John believed. It is saying there, then the other disciple who had reached to first also went in and he saw and he believed. Now verse 9 is saying, for as yet they did not understand the scriptures that he must rise from the dead. So we don't know exactly what they believed, but that was to say they did not fully understand what the scriptures were explaining to them. And they returned. But that's what the resurrection wants to work in us. It wants to work faith in us, that Jesus is alive. So in our darkness, The third thing, first one, in our darkness, it's the resurrection. The resurrection works faith in us. But the third one, the resurrection calls you by your name. Those two disciples, they returned. But it's Mary, verse 11, that stood weeping at the grave. She continued to stand there and she wept. Remember, she's in darkness. She's in darkness. She wept. She's hopeless. She can't understand what happened. She's devastated by all these things that happen in her life. And she cried bitterly. And then she stooped down to look into the tomb, verse 11, and verse 12, and she saw two angels sitting there where the body of Jesus had lain, one at his head and one at his feet. She looked in, and here she saw two angels. I don't know if you have seen angels. I've not seen angels in white clothes. Perhaps I've seen them in normal human form that I don't know. But here, that is the thing of it. She looked in, and she saw two angels. But she's not amazed. She's not asking them and saying, listen, where is the Lord Jesus? No. They ask her. Woman? No. They said to her, why are you weeping? And she said to them, look at it. She's not realizing what's happening, because in the darkness, and that's sometimes our problem. Sometimes we are so dark, we are so demacar, we are so confused, that we don't realize what God is doing. God sent two angels to be there, to give her a message. And when they asked her, why are you crying? She said, I cry because the body is gone. She don't ask, what is the message you want to give me? She said, no, they took the body. They took the body of our Lord. And look also, they asked, woman, why are you weeping? And then later, After she said that, she did not realize, she did not click what's going on. Then she turned around and she saw, here's another man behind her. And she thought he's the gardener. And he asked the same question, why are you weeping? But he also asked, whom are you seeking? Now, if there was a body, then he would ask, what are you seeking? Because if it was the gardener, he would ask, what are you seeking? Because that body was a what? Not whom are you seeking? So she must have clicked here also. He said, why is he asking me whom? And she said the same. She said, no, if you took him, please tell me where he is now that I can go and find him. Can you see how our darkness can blind The problem, the sin, whatever it's in your life that's dark, that's prohibiting you from seeing the resurrected Lord. That's what we must ask, that that can be removed. So she asked him, if you took him, tell me where. And then there's a sermon. A one-word sermon, Jesus said to a Mary, he called her by her name. In the Greek, it's Miriam. He said, Miriam. And when he said, Miriam, she realized, this is the Lord Jesus. A one-word sermon, Miriam. It differs, eh? The Lord is doing it differently. You remember at the sea, Gio said to them, throw the net on the other side. They said, but we've tried all night. He said, no, throw it on the other side. And when they caught that multitude of fish, they realized it's the Lord. It was revealed in that time, in that way. The emos, the people of emos, how they walked with him, they could not see him. But when he broke the bread, Here is the Lord. The Lord is not working the same with all of us in the same way, but you know all of us must have somewhere here our name, whatever your name is. Put your name in here, because somewhere in your life there must be a time that he called you to Bohol, or whoever, when I call you, say, Tunzi. Have you heard it? Have you met with Him? Like Miriam here, like Mary here. Mary's darkness disappeared. She realized, but her Lord is not dead. Her God is not dead. He is here. He's alive. And everything turns into happiness. And she said, Rabbuni, my dear rabbi, my dear rabbi. And she ran to him, and she held him. And then Jiyu said, don't hold me. Do not cling to me, for I have not ascended to the Father. Some translations say, don't touch me. Well, I think that's not a good translation because later when Thomas was not at the first appearance, at the second one, Jesus said, come and touch me. Touch me. Put your finger, put your hand. So it's not just a matter of touch. Jesus wanted to tell Mary, do not hold on to me. Things have changed. Things have changed. The relationship will be different. The relationship will not be the same anymore. It will not be as I'm walking with you in these past three years. It will differ because I'm going to my Father and we know He will send the Spirit to be with us. So now it's walking in truth and by the Spirit. So that's what she is saying here. It's not that she could not touch him, that he was a ghost. He was touchable because it was a resurrection. But he said, don't cling to me. I think this is a good translation. Don't cling to me. Don't think. Things are just the same as always. Isaiah 43, saying, by your name, I've called you. By your name, I've called you. Have you heard your name? Have you turned to the Lord? Have things changed in your life? Have you been saved from the darkness of sin to life? Or are you just here, just here? On the outside, things are all right, but inside, it's not all right. Perhaps when you are making food, perhaps when you are driving, or in the taxi, or walking, have you heard His name? Your name? Have you responded to His name? Have you seen Him with eyes of faith to say, but He saved me? Have things changed in your life? Or is it just the same? There's a problem. Things must change when we meet with him. And even if we've met with him, many times he call us on our name to refresh to us, I'm alive. I'm alive even in this situation. But if you've never heard his name, hear it today. But there's one thing still left. Jesus said to her, Jesus said to her, do not cling to me, for I have not ascended, verse 17, to the Father, but go to my brothers and say to them, I'm ascending to the Father and your Father, to my God and your God. It's the one thing left. If you say, I've heard my name, I've changed, then He's sending you to spread that message, to tell others. We will all do it in different ways then. We'll all do it in different ways. Perhaps you'll end up trapped. Perhaps you'll just speak a word. Perhaps you'll preach on the street. It will be all different. But we all, if we say, I've heard my name, and by His grace, He's changed me, May we all have the command to go and tell others about the resurrection. There's no need to stay in your darkness. There's no need to stay in demagoguery. You can come to the Lord. The miracle of all miracles has happened. The Lord Jesus is alive. Let us pray. Lord, we thank you for your goodness. We thank you for the resurrection. We thank you that you conquered death. But Lord, that you conquered our darkness as you've conquered Mary's darkness. And she would see the light, she would see the living Lord. I pray, Lord, that you will work in us and that no one here will continue to live in darkness. but that you hear our name, not just once. I can say continuously that we hear our name to hold on to you, to respond to your call upon our lives, to share the wonderful message of the resurrection. Be with us, Lord. Live there some year among us that has not heard your name. their name. Please, Lord, will you call them now? Will you touch their hearts, their minds, that they can respond? Thank you, Lord, that we can trust you for that. In Jesus' name, Amen.