Sunday April 4, 2010 John 20:1-18

Welcome, Easter is upon us. I hope each one of you has a nice Easter with family and friends. As you are sitting down to your dinner think about the sacrifice it took from one person to make this possible. What He gave for us. When I was learning to write thank you notes my mother had us include in the note what we would use the gift for, if possible. Compose a thank you note and let Him know how you are going to use His gift. Make it a sacrifice that stings a little bit. An easy sacrifice isn’t really a sacrifice; it is giving out of our abundance. A sacrifice that hurts is given out of our poverty, be it our time, our money or anything else.

We will use John for our Sunday text instead of Luke 21:1-12. It is essentially the same story.

V1 The first day of the week would be Sunday. No one had visited the tomb on Saturday as it was the Sabbath and there were limits on travel for that day. Mary has come early – it was still dark – possibly before 6:00 AM. The darkness also has another significance, Mary is still in darkness, she doesn’t understand. When she got to the tomb the stone at the entrance had been rolled away. It hadn’t been rolled away so Jesus could get out but so that everyone could look in.

V2 She ran to tell Peter and probably John (the one whom Jesus loved). She thought that someone had taken the body from the tomb.

V3 Peter and John started running to the tomb to verify Mary’s story. Women in at that time could not be a witness in a Jewish court of law, only men could. Here the men believe her witness and run to discover what has happened.

V4 Apparently one disciple was in much better shape than the other-perhaps he belonged to a gym-and beat Peter to the tomb.

V5 John arrived first and bent down to look into the tomb. He saw (noticed) the linen wrappings laying there.

V6-7 Peter finally got there and entered the tomb. He saw (studied for clues and tries to comprehend) the linen wrappings lying there (Greek literally=lying there still in their folds) as if the body had left without disturbing the wrappings. The cloth on Jesus’ head had been neatly folded. What has happened? If anyone had come to remove the body they would have taken the wrappings too. This is something more than a stolen body.

V8-10 John then enters the tomb. He saw (understood, it clicked) and believed. He had been present at the crucifixion and heard Jesus’ teachings. With the evidence now present before him he “got it”. He had started to understand what Jesus had predicted about his death. A fuller understand would come later from scripture but the seed that Jesus had planted was beginning to grow. The disciples returned to their homes.

V11-12 Mary is still outside of the tomb weeping and gazing into it. As she is looking in she notices two angels sitting in the tomb.

V13 The angels question her as to why she is crying and she replies that someone has taken the body of her Lord and she doesn’t know (she is still in darkness as in verse 1) where they have put it.

V14 Mary turned around and saw (noticed as John had in verse 5) Jesus standing there but didn’t realize it was Jesus. We don’t know why, maybe his appearance was different.

V15 Jesus then spoke to her and she still didn’t recognize him. He questioned her just as the angels had but added “whom are you looking for?” She assumes he is the gardener and maybe he knows where the body is or maybe he has done something with it. All she wants to know is where is the body so she can take it away and give it a proper burial.

V16 Jesus now speaks her name “Mary”. This catches her attention as it is a familiar voice and she turns to face him. She now sees (understands) that it is Jesus and calls out “Rabbouni!” She is delighted beyond words. Jesus is standing there with her, he isn’t dead! She probably moves to hug him in her joy. Remember in John 10:27 Jesus teaches that the sheep are his and they know his voice.

V17 Jesus said do not cling to me but go to my brothers and tell them I am ascending to my Father and your Father. Not only is He my Father but He is my God too. This was possibly the first step in showing Mary that while Jesus was alive in bodily form their relationship would be different from now on. He would eventually transform himself from visible to invisible however he would remain with them just as he is with us invisibly. He is telling a woman to go witness to the men and give them a message. Had this been a fabricated story the author would have not written that a woman gave valid witness to the most important event of their lives. He has also changed his relationship with his disciples to that of brothers. They are now members of his family.

V18 Mary left to tell the disciples her exciting news. SHE HAS SEEN THE LORD! She now has understanding of his teachings and He has sent her to inform the disciples. She tells them all that Jesus has told her.

It’s interesting that Jesus first appears to a woman, not one of the disciples. A woman gives witness to his resurrection. Women were not regarded very highly in that first century society yet Jesus elevates them in status. He allowed them to be his disciples (Mary of Bethany) which no other rabbi would have every dreamed of doing. He treats them with respect. He values them. A subtle theme emerges from the gospel accounts. Jesus goes to the lost and in his association with them he is never reduced but they are always elevated by his presence. Another theme also comes to light, that of seeing. They progressed from a seeing of noticing to a seeing of understanding. How often do we see but not see? In other words notice but don’t understand? Our faith can be a progression if we continue in it. We don’t always fully comprehend at the beginning of something. We need to persevere and struggle with things of faith.

An interesting note: I once learned of a concept in Bible study called “The Principle of First Mention”. Compare the term you have just read to where it first appears in the Bible. Here we read of the tomb in a garden. Where was ‘garden’ first used in the Bible? In Genesis where Adam and Eve lived. Here we have a gardener. Who is the first ‘gardener’ in the Bible? God, when he walks in the Garden of Eden. What happened in that first garden? Adam and Eve disobeyed and fell. What happens in this garden? Jesus is revealed as resurrected. We have an indication of a new restoration of the former garden. Eve was the first to fall in Eden, the first garden. Mary, a woman, is first to witness in this garden. The result of disobeying in the first garden was death. In this garden Jesus has defeated death by his resurrection and new life. A new beginning to humanity is being reclaimed, restored and renewed to the gardener-God. Since Jesus is the gardener now, he must be from God. All is being reversed.