John 20:11-18 - Mary's Testimony - Sorrow to Joy

Intro:

John 20 – Testimonies of Jesus’ resurrection.

Vs. 1-10 – John

Vs. 11-18 – Mary Magdalene

Vs. 19-29 – Thomas

Isn’t it great to hear someone’s voice after going a long time without talking to them?

Ex.: A good friend you haven’t seen for years. A family member you haven’t talked to for a long time

Coming back from a trip to mainland… Get back into Okinawa… Hear the Okinawan accents… So happy to be back… Just the sound of people talking in Okinawa puts me at ease.

How about when you hear God’s voice?

Through the Bible… through a message… through a circumstance… through a conversation … in times of stillness …

It brings comfort… conviction… hope… passion… encouragement… ease of mind…

Mary’s testimony focuses on the sense of hearing.

Her life will change when she hears a single word.

And as we look at Mary’s testimony…

We will see 3 three truths about hearing God’s voice.

1. God’s Voice is Distinct from Spiritual Experiences

2. Gods’ Voice Resonates through Relationship

3. God’s Voice Reveals His Character & Will

I. John 20:11-13 - God’s Voice is Distinct from Spiritual Experience

Background – *What happened so far? *

(*Show picture of garden tomb*)

Mary didn’t leave the tomb with Peter and John; she stayed behind weeping.

She wasn’t able to get past the fact that Jesus’ body was gone.

She was still in shock that someone would steal his body.

As Mary stands weeping next to the tomb, she stoops down to look inside.

Peter and John had seen the linen cloths, and the face cloth folded up.

Mary saw something they did not see - 2 angels!

The angels were dressed in white and were sitting where the body of Jesus had been.

The angels asked Mary a question – “Why are you weeping?”

*What do angels usually say when they begin speaking? – Don’t be afraid.*

Mary’s response shows that her distress was deeper than any fear she may have felt – “They have taken away my Lord and I do not know where they have laid him.”

Amazingly, Mary wasn’t distracted by the two angels in the tomb.

Spiritual experiences are no substitute for being in the Lord’s presence.

It’s possible that the angels didn’t show themselves to Peter or John because Peter and John would have gotten distracted and missed the evidence of Jesus’ resurrection they had seen.

They might have gone back to the other disciples and said, “We don’t know what happened to Jesus’ body, but, man! We met two angels in the tomb! You guys should have been there! It was the coolest experience ever!”

Spiritual experiences are exciting, but they can also be distracting. They can keep us from experiencing God’s presence and from hearing his voice.

Ill – Elijah– 1 Kings 19:11-13 - Elijah had some amazing experiences in his lifetime … he experienced God’s miracles … prior to this passage, he had experienced God rain down fire upon his offering as he stood alone in a showdown against hundreds of prophets of the false god Baal … but in these verses, we find Elijah at a weak point in his life … he had traveled to a specific mountain because he knew he needed to hear God’s voice … and God appeared to him …

1 Kings 19:11–13 (ESV)

And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

1 Kings 19:11–13 (新改訳2017)

主は言われた。「外に出て、山の上で主の前に立て。」するとそのとき、主が通り過ぎた。主の前で激しい大風が山々を裂き、岩々を砕いた。しかし、風の中に主はおられなかった。風の後に地震が起こったが、地震の中にも主はおられなかった。 地震の後に火があったが、火の中にも主はおられなかった。しかし火の後に、かすかな細い声があった。 エリヤはこれを聞くと、すぐに外套で顔をおおい、外に出て洞穴の入り口に立った。すると声がして、こう言った。「エリヤよ、ここで何をしているのか。」

A strong wind tore the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces. An earthquake shook the earth. A fire raged. But the Lord was not in any of these things.

Elijah waited through these amazing sights until he heard the still, small voice.

The Lord’s voice is what Elijah longed to hear.

The Lord’s voice is what Mary longed to hear as well.

It may have been the first time Mary had seen an angel. But she wasn’t satisfied. She longed for the voice of her Lord.

II. John 20:14-16 - God’s Voice Resonates through Relationship

As Mary turns away from the angels, she sees a man standing nearby.

She assumed that man was the gardener.

Why didn’t she recognize Jesus?

Maybe because of her tears…

Maybe Jesus kept her from being to recognize him…

Maybe his appearance still bore the scars of his beard being torn out… over and over in the gospels, we read of people to whom Jesus revealed himself not being able to recognize him

Isaiah 52:14 (ESV)

As many were astonished at you— his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—

Isaiah 52:14 (新改訳2017)

多くの者があなたを見て驚き恐れたように、 その顔だちは損なわれて人のようではなく、 その姿も人の子らとは違っていた。

Jesus asks Mary two questions.

“Why are you weeping?” The same question the angels asked.

“Who are you seeking?”

While any other person who saw her might assume she was simply morning, Jesus knew that her tears came from a heart seeking her Lord.

Matthew 7:7 (ESV)

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

Matthew 7:7 (新改訳2017)

求めなさい。そうすれば与えられます。探しなさい。そうすれば見出します。たたきなさい。そうすれば開かれます。

Jesus knew Mary’s heart – that she was seeking after him.

She tells Jesus, “If you have taken him, just tell me where he is and I will take him away.”

I don’t think it is realistic that she would be able to carry Jesus’ body very far … but that’s how much she longed for her Lord.

Jesus shows her the one she is seeking.

He says to her, simply, “Mary.”

She recognized Jesus’ voice right away and cried out, “Rabboni!” (“Sensei!”)

Even though Mary didn’t recognize Jesus physically, she knew his voice.

It was not the voice of a gardener, it was the distinct voice of her Lord.

Voices are recognized through relationship.

Ill – When you are at Rycom… Looking for your friend… You hear so many voices around you… But one voice stands out above the rest – the voice of your friend calling you.

Pets are the same way…

Helping on the ranch … when the owners would call out, the cows would start coming in … didn’t work for me

Used to have a cat at my parents’ house … I could try to call her all I want, but she wouldn’t answer me … But as soon as my mom would say, “Missy,” she would walk right over

John 10:14–15 (ESV)

I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.

John 10:14–15 (新改訳2017)

わたしは良い牧者です。わたしはわたしのものを知っており、わたしのものは、わたしを知っています。 ちょうど、父がわたしを知っておられ、わたしが父を知っているのと同じです。また、わたしは羊たちのために自分のいのちを捨てます。

Jesus is our Good Shepherd. He knows his sheep and his sheep know his voice. They follow his voice.

When Jesus called to Mary, Mary recognized the voice of her Good Shepherd. Immediately, she was filled with joy at hearing his voice. She had found the one she was seeking for.

III. John 20:17-18 - God’s Voice Reveals His Character and Will

Mary clings to Jesus’ feet, not wanting to let him go; not wanting to lose him again.

But Jesus tells her, “Don’t cling to me. I haven’t ascended to the Father yet.”

Jesus’ mission was not quite finished. He had died on the cross. He had risen from the dead. Next would fulfill his glorification – to ascend to heaven and sit down at the right hand of the Father.

Jesus gives Mary a mission to complete.

He tells her to go to his brother – the disciples – and tell them that he would be ascending to “my Father and your Father, to my God and your God”.

As Jesus speaks about the disciples as brothers, he shows that salvation is complete

Everyone who is in Christ has become a child of God and a co-heir with Jesus Christ.

Jesus’ message was the same as he had been saying all along: I am going back to the Father … I am going to prepare a place for you.

Words reveal the character and desires of a person.

Ill – As you talk with a friend over coffee, the topics of conversation, the words spoken, the words not spoken, etc. They reveal the character and desires of that person.

Their plans, their wishes, their thoughts about this and that, etc.

When God speaks, his words reveal his character and his desires – his will.

Jesus did not just say, “Well, it was good seeing you..” But he gave her a task to complete based on what he himself was doing at the time.

He was going to be ascending to heaven … She was chosen to be the messenger to tell the news to the disciples.

Hearing God’s voice leads to testimony.

Mary went to the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them what Jesus had said.

Her encounter with Jesus led to powerful and joyful testimony about Jesus.

Conclusion

What can we learn from Mary’s testimony?

Mary sought after the Lord. She wanted him more than even an amazing spiritual experience.

When she heard Jesus’ voice, she recognized it and immediately responded.

When given a mission, she went right to it, testifying of her encounter with the Lord.

The Lord desires for us to be quick to hear his voice.

He is your Good Shepherd; you know his voice.

Whether it be a word that stands out in the Bible, or a word spoken in a Bible study, or word spoken to your heart in a specific situation… Don't let that word slip away.

What if I don’t know how to hear God’s voice? The question is not “how” to hear his voice – we can hear his voice when he speaks to us because we are his sheep.

The question is …

Are we listening?

What do we do when we hear his voice?

Ignore it? Doubt it? Think about it? Obey it?

The Lord desires for us to be quick to respond to his voice.

When God speaks … he will give us peace and encouragement … comfort and hope … but he will also give us a word to obey

Ignoring it, doubting it, or thinking about it over and over leads to disobeying the Lord’s words.

But faithful obedience to the Lord’s word is how we glorify him in our lives.

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