Our Scripture reading today comes from the book of John. So we look together this morning at John chapter 20. I'm going to read verses 1 through 10, and then we'll look at verse 29 and verse 31. 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 to the other disciple, 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 toward 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 lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came following him and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there. and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus's head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in and he saw and believed. As for yet, they did not understand the Scripture that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes. And then reading also verse twenty nine. Our Lord's words, Jesus said to him, Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. And then verse thirty one, the final verse of the chapter, But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. Let's pray together. Our Lord and our God, we praise you that you are a God who has made yourself known, that you have spoken through the scriptures, you have revealed yourself through your son of glory. We praise You that You are the One who meets with us as we open Your Word, present by Your Spirit. Lord, we ask that You would speak to our hearts, that You would strengthen and renew us. In Christ's name we pray, Amen. When I was in second grade, Mrs. Winters was my school teacher, and she loved, after lunch, to read a story. Now, on Fridays, we could select the story that she would read from a grouping of books. But in the other days she picked the story. On Mondays, she would oftentimes pick the story, the tortoise and the hare, quite a remarkable story, and perhaps you've heard it before. Monday after Monday, I heard the story of the tortoise and the hare. And that final line of that great fable of Aesop, slow and steady wins the race, was driven home to me. But once you read the story, when you hear something so many times, I began to think about that concluding line. Slow and steady wins the race. And I would often, as I was hearing the story, not thinking about what the tortoise went through. We come to this passage of Scripture. A passage that is very familiar to us. And we read it. Of the empty tomb of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And of the triumph and victory of Christ and of the joy that the empty tomb brings. But to come to this passage and failing to understand what is really at work in terms of what John is communicating isn't just joy and triumph of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It was not just a day of triumph, but we find that it was a day of deep grief. John describes that Mary Magdalene went to the tomb. She went early in the morning, as before dawn had arisen. And she went, as we learn of the Scriptures, with other women. And they went to anoint the body because, as perhaps you know, when our Lord was crucified on Good Friday and as the Sabbath was approaching, as he was placed in that sepulcher of burial and as Joseph Arimathea allowed him to be buried in his sepulcher and as Nicodemus brought spices that the body would be anointed, the Sabbath was approaching very quickly and there was no time to finish the preparation of the body for burial. So the stone was placed over the tomb. And the Sabbath came. And the grief and the heaviness of heart of the disciples and of the women that were there as Christ was arrested, as they saw and heard of the mockery of justice with His trial, and then with His mistreatment and His crucifixion between two thieves. A public spectacle. A scandal. Crucifixion in those days. Perhaps Mary was thinking that she might find solace in taking these spices to prepare the body for a reverent, a dignified, and an appropriate burial. And as she and the other ladies are there, as they make their way to the tomb, they discover that the stone had been rolled away. And John says in his, when he uses the word rolled away, he speaks of it literally being picked up. And as they saw the empty tomb, What was a day and time of grief and anguish went to deeper sorrow. For to Mary and to the women who were with her, the only thing that an empty tomb meant is that the body had been stolen. That the enemies of Christ had taken the body. And as she says, placed it where we do not know. It was indeed a day of grief. A day of sorrow as she ran to tell the disciples. Her running was not like that of a casual jog. Perhaps you might go and enjoy an afternoon or evening run or jog to relax those runners in this passage. And each character is described here as a runner. are not on that casual, comfortable run. It was a worrisome, frantic run. A concern. I'm sure the hearts were beating strongly. And much anxiety and concern. Thirteen years ago, I officiated in a wedding in our sanctuary. And the reception was held at, I believe it was the Women's Center off of Blossom Street. And towards the end of the evening, our son, who was about two years old, was missing. Looked all over the women's building. And my wife came and told me that our son, Peter, was gone. That someone had taken him, is what she told me. And so the adrenaline started. And I looked all around and went outside and was running and was moving pretty quickly. I was a runner in high school. You may find it hard to believe, but I was a sprinter and a fairly quick sprinter then. And I was sprinting and running, straining every nerve to find my son and just the heartache and the uncertainty, the worry and anxiety, the heaviness, the grief, perhaps He was taken. And what a relief it was when someone came to me and saw my frantic face and my hard breathing and stopped me and said that our son was found. I can imagine that that was something that was going through Mary's heart and mind. Her Lord whom she loved. The body was gone. It must have been stolen. And so she tells Peter and John. And they strike out, perhaps not even gathering any details when they receive this news. They make their way, running with great speed to the sepulcher. We find that though Peter started first, that John outpaced him and he made his way to the tomb. But strikingly, he doesn't enter. He's the first there, perhaps with eagerness, perhaps he's younger and has more agility or speed. But it's clear the way John describes it here, that he ran faster and he arrived ahead of. But strikingly, he doesn't enter the sepulcher. Perhaps. He knew that it was a situation that he must be careful about. Perhaps he was waiting for Simon Peter, the scriptures do not tell us why he waited. But he could see in as he stooped down. This sepulcher was probably a cave. This place of burial, as he looked in, he saw the linen cloths that were wrapped around his Savior. I'm sure he was wondering through his mind Why are these things here? The body was stolen. Who would steal a body and leave this? And then perhaps Peter arrived and he, as we find in the Scriptures, without any hesitation, went right into the sepulcher and John followed. And there they discover that the grave clothes are there lying. and the cloth that would be used to keep one's chin up, to keep the mouth closed, the facial cloth that would be wrapped up and around, that it was laying there beside as well. Imagine John, the one whom Jesus loved, the one whom He describes Himself as the other disciple here. wondering what is happening. Why are these things arranged so in such order? This is not a scene of a robbery. Why would they take the body and leave the cloths? As he saw the evidence of an empty tomb and of the cloths there, the day for John began to change. from a day of great grief to a day of dawning faith. We read in verse 8 that John says that he saw and believed. It's a lot easier for us to answer exactly what he saw, for he saw the grave cloths in an orderly fashion. But what is it that he believed? If we look at the next verse, in verse 9, John, as he writes this Gospel, says, For as yet they did not understand the Scripture that He must rise from the dead. Certainly, our Lord Jesus Christ spoke to His disciples over the course of His three years of ministry that He would die and that He would rise He spoke of the sign of Jonah. He described himself as the one who would be like the temple that would be destroyed and would be rebuilt. He spoke to them that he must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed. But on the third day, be raised. I think John As he was there in this empty tomb, seeing the grave cloths in an orderly fashion, began by the grace of God to understand that something wonderful had happened on that day of great grief. That the tomb was empty. That his body could not be stolen. That the Lord must be alive. He must be risen. And certainly he couldn't understand all of the biblical teaching concerning Christ and His resurrection, as he mentions here in verse 9. He didn't understand the context of what the Bible is teaching in the Old Testament or all of the theology, but it was dawning in his heart and his mind. He saw and he believed. It's striking that the description of Peter as he left the sepulcher in Luke's Gospel is that he went away wondering to himself what had happened. And perhaps John himself was still wondering the same type of thing. What exactly has occurred here? To understand exactly what it is that John saw and believed. I think he gives us a clue later on in this chapter. John describes how that the disciples were all together. All eleven of the disciples. And that the Lord Jesus appeared to them. Actually, one disciple was not there. The disciple Thomas. And there were ten that were gathered. And the Lord appeared. And Thomas asked them, questioned our Lord's appearance to the other disciples, expressing His own desire to see and then He would believe. And then eight days later, as the eleven disciples were gathered, our Lord came and appeared to them all and asked Thomas to touch His wounds. And then our Lord said, put your finger here and see my hands and put out your hand and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe. And then Christ said, Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. And the Lord here, in His words to Thomas and to all the disciples, I think are underscoring what John himself experienced. John saw the linen cloths. And he believed. He had not yet seen the risen Lord, but he knew that the Lord was alive. That death had not conquered Him. that indeed the Savior must be risen. It was a day of great grief. It was a day of dawning faith for the Apostle John. It was a day in which he acknowledged in his own words, his own confession of faith in his risen Lord of glory, Jesus Christ. But we find in this passage as well, that it was also a day from which John wants us to believe that Jesus is the Christ. John said that he saw and he believed. And then he records how Thomas saw and believed as he saw the risen Savior. But in verse 31, at the end of the chapter, He reminds us, but these things are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing, you may have life in His name. Here, this passage comes to a crescendo as John, as he is given various witnesses, He gave a description of Mary who saw the risen Savior, and of how Christ appeared to all the disciples except Thomas, and then how Christ appeared to them all. He speaks of how Peter and John were eyewitnesses of the empty tomb in Old Testament law, where two would bear witness to establish a valid and credible witness to an event. And now he writes how that the purpose of his book, of this great Gospel, that it has been written to you, those who originally received his Gospel, and even down to us today, that we too might believe and that we might know that Jesus is the Christ. The appointed Redeemer. The long-promised Messiah. and that His resurrection, this empty tomb, is a sign, it is a vindication of His work on the cross and of its acceptance before the Father. You know, our faith hinges on the resurrection. If our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was still in the tomb, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians, we would be without hope. There would be no forgiveness of our sins. So the whole of our faith hinges on the resurrection of Jesus Christ and His resurrection. That glorious empty tomb is an indication that Christ indeed died for our sins and that He rose again, according to the Scriptures, for our justification. My friends, as we come to this passage, we must examine our own hearts of our own faith in Jesus Christ. Can we say with John that I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God? The glorious promise is those who do come to the Savior find and have life, just as He is the One who is life and the One who is risen from the dead and gives life forevermore. That is the glorious hope. That is the comfort of our own hearts to know that our risen Savior imparts spiritual life. That we can be born again, born from above and know His mercy and His grace and have fellowship with Him. by his own spirit that he sent. Michael Angelo was a great, great artist. As he traveled and saw great works of art throughout Europe, he noticed that a great preponderance of the artwork showed a savior on the cross. And Michelangelo said, why are art galleries filled with so many pictures of Christ upon the cross? Christ dying. Why do artists concentrate upon that passing episode as if it were the last word in the final scene? Christ dying word on the cross. It is finished. speaks of the fact that He was there for just a few hours. But to the end of all eternity, Christ is alive. Christ rules and reigns. And He is triumphant. My friends, let us be strengthened by the empty tomb. By the victory of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Let us be those, though we have not seen, May we be those who truly believe, and as we believe, that Jesus is the Christ, the anointed Redeemer and Savior of God's people. As we believe and come to Him, we find life in His name and life to live in this world and forevermore. Let us give thanks to God for His mercy and His grace. Our Lord and our God, we praise you for this passage of your word. We thank you, our God, that through it we learn of the empty tomb of Jesus Christ, that he is the one who has fulfilled all the righteous demands of your law and that his sacrifice was acceptable in your sight. Oh, Lord, cause us. to believe, to know with certainty that Jesus is the Christ. And may this belief make all the difference, knowing Your grace and Your power. Cause us this day to be people who live in hope of a risen Savior. Cause us to live in newness of life for the honor and glory of Christ our King. In His name we do pray, giving You thanks, Amen.