The Re-Creation Story

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Scripture Reading by Lady Pepper (Show Slide)

(Show Slide) Thank you Lady Pepper for the announcements and the reading of God’s Word.

Welcome! to everyone and especially those who are joining us for the first time. My name is Pastor Doc, and I will be sharing the Word of God with you today.

Please have your Bibles ready and Take Note’s

Title of the message this Morning

The Re-Creation Story

Main idea:

The story of the empty tomb in John’s gospel is one of re-creation with hints back to Genesis and John 1. The Risen Christ sees Mary just as she is and loves her. The Risen Jesus sees all of us, too, just as we are and offers to re-create us with resurrection life. This is the fulfillment of God saving the world through his Son and not condemning the world.

Prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, we stand in awe of you and your supreme goodness. You are wonderful and beautiful and we are so grateful that your love washes over us and re-creates us. Re-create us into your image. Heal our hurts. Forgive our sins. Help us to love one another the way you love us. Amen.”

Scripture: John 20:1-18, 1 Corinthians 15, Hebrews 2:14-15, John 3:17, Genesis 1:1-2

(All scripture is taken from the NIV unless otherwise noted)

Introduction

Hello Church and Happy Easter! Today’s the day we wrap up our series Letting Go as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came into the world to save it, not to condemn it.

Sometimes we get that backwards, don’t we?

We think God stands in condemnation of us, but really He stands in loving kindness towards us.

Today we are going to see that the empty tomb story from John’s gospel is really a re-creation story, and that’s so exciting!

God is re-creating the world in Jesus Christ, and he wants to re-create us too.

That’s such good news.

Let’s get to the story.

Easter Video

Main Teaching

Read John 20:1-2

John 20:1–2 (NKJV)

1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.

2 Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”

The empty tomb story in John’s gospel begins in darkness.

Mary Magdalene is going to the tomb “while it was still dark” (John 20:1).

The other gospel stories begin later when there is daylight.

Mary arrives at the tomb and is jolted with fear when she finds that the stone had been removed from the entrance.

She runs off and finds Peter and the other disciple, “the one who Jesus loved” (20:2)

and frantically tells them that someone has taken away Jesus’ body and she doesn’t know where they put him.

Mary’s concerns were well founded.

Tomb robbery was common in the ancient world, a crime committed by thieves and pirates.

It was reasonable for her to assume that someone had broken into the tomb and stolen Jesus’ body.

Read John 20:3-10

Peter and the other disciple are alarmed by Mary’s report.

All they know is that the stone was removed and the body was taken.

They both got up and ran to the tomb, the unnamed disciple arriving first.

He bent down and peered into the tomb and saw nothing but the strips of linen.

Peter catches up and goes straight in.

Jesus’ body was gone. Only the strips of cloths that had wrapped his body two days before remained.

Did the bandits remove the cloths before they stole Jesus’ body? The unnamed disciple enters the tomb and assesses the situation.

The scripture says, “He saw and believed” (20:8).

What did he see and believe? Most likely, he “saw” the empty cave and “believed”

Mary’s story that the body had been taken.

The next verse indicates the disciples still did not understand at this point that Jesus had to rise from the dead.

So not only had their Lord and teacher been brutally killed by crucifixion, which was the method of execution reserved for slaves and criminals,

but now his body was gone, stolen. To them the story was over.

Everyone processes grief differently, but as far as we can tell neither Peter nor the unnamed disciple offered Mary, who is weeping outside the tomb, any comfort or support.

I’m sure that the two men were grieving in their own way, but according to John, the two disciples simply walked out of the tomb and returned home.

They just walked right past Mary, who was sobbing.

They did not see or acknowledge her pain.

Read John 20:11-18

Mary stays at the tomb, weeping.

Now, who is this Mary Magdalene?

In Luke’s gospel (Luke 8:2-3) we learn that Mary was someone who had seven evil spirits come out of her.

She was part of a small group of wealthy women who traveled with Jesus and his disciples and “were helping support them out of their own means.”

So, Mary was actually one of Jesus’ patrons.

This means that she had some amount of wealth.

No where in scripture does it say Mary was a prostitute, although somehow she’s gained that reputation.

Nor does it say that prostitution was one of the evil spirits that came out of her.

Prostitutes made just enough money to buy a loaf of bread, which meant they remained right at the poverty level.

It would’ve been impossible for a prostitute to have the means to be someone’s patron.

It’s more likely that Mary accrued her modest wealth by owning some sort of fishing business because “Magdala” was a town known for its fishing industries.

And now the story starts to get interesting.

Still weeping, Mary bends down to look into the tomb, and what does she see? She sees two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been.

The angels ask what seems to be a ridiculous question: “Woman, why are you crying?”

Mary is still convinced that a tomb robbery has taken place.

“They have taken my Lord away and I don’t know where they have put him” (20:13).

At that point, Mary turns around and sees someone who she assumes is the gardener.

She didn’t recognize him, and the fact that the tomb is situated in a garden made her reflexively think this guy must be the gardener.

But it wasn’t the gardener. It was her teacher, her Lord, and her friend, Jesus. But she did not recognize him. He asks her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”(20:15).

Something Beautiful is Emerging

I want to pause for a second because something beautiful is emerging in this story that I don’t want us to miss.

John is showing us how Jesus’ resurrection is a re-creation story.

He’s giving us some hints that point back to both the beginning of his gospel and also to the beginning of Genesis, the first book in the Bible.

How does Genesis open? “In the beginning…” (Genesis 1:1).

And how did John open his gospel? “In the beginning…” (John 1:1).

What does Genesis say about the earth? “Darkness was over the surface of the deep” (Genesis 1:2).

And how does our story open? “While it was still dark,” Mary went to the tomb (20:1).

We have darkness in Genesis, and darkness here in John.

And where is Mary standing?

Where is the tomb located? In a garden. And where does the account of Adam and Eve take place? In a garden.

The story of Adam and Eve is one that began with life, but because of sin, ends with death.

The story in this garden began with a death, but because of the goodness of God, ends with resurrection life.

The resurrection of Jesus reverses the curse from Genesis and re-creates the world.

And what did God do after he removed Adam and Eve from the garden?

He placed a flaming sword and something else in front of the Tree of Life to protect it.

What else did he place there? Angels!

And who do we have sitting in the empty tomb dressed in white asking Mary why she is weeping? Angels!

Wouldn’t it be cool if they were the same angels? Like God said to them, “Hey you two, I’m reassigning you. Your work here is done because I’ve abolished the barrier to the tree of life. In fact, my Son is the tree of life. Why don’t you head on over to this new garden where something incredible just happened…”

So those are a few hints from John that this is a re-creation story.

Back to the Story

Jesus, mistaken as a gardener, just asked Mary, “Why are you crying? Who is it you’re looking for?” And Mary, for the third time, states the body has been taken. “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him” (20:15).

And then Jesus said to her, “Mary” (20:16). And instantly, Mary recognized the Risen Lord, her teacher and her friend!

It’s a wonderful thing how Jesus called her by name.

He knows her, he sees her. Peter and the unnamed disciple left the garden without supporting her or acknowledging her pain.

But Jesus sees. He sees her and loves her and calls her by name.

Jesus called Lazarus by name, too.

He had been dead for four days and placed in his tomb.

Jesus had them roll away the stone, and he shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” (John 11:43).

And he came out of his tomb, out of his prison of darkness into new life.

I want you to know that Jesus sees you, too. He knows you. And he loves you.

He doesn’t pay attention to your social media posts or the veneer you wear around others to protect yourself from being truly seen.

He sees you and loves you exactly the way you are.

He sees your hurts, your disappointments, and your resentments.

He sees your hopes and your dreams and the desires of your heart. He sees you. And he loves you.

“Mary.” She gets so excited she shouts, “Rabboni!” Which means “Teacher” (20:16).

he tell her to do? “Go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God’”(20:17).

“And Mary went to the disciples with the news, ‘I have seen the Lord!’” (20:18).

The first garden story ends with them being expelled because of sin and death.

The second garden story ends with Mary being sent out, on assignment, with good news of life and resurrection. Isn’t that cool?

The Resurrection is the beginning of Re-Creation

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the beginning of re-creation.

Jesus says, “I am making everything new!” (Revelation 21:5).

By everything, he means you, too!

His resurrection life and power is available to you, if you want it.

John’s gospel says, “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:17).

God does not condemn you. God has no animosity towards you. Zero.

He loves you. He has reconciled you to himself because of Jesus’s death on the cross.

All you need to do is turn and accept that you’re reconciled.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the turning point of history, it’s when God in Christ began re-creating this world.

And He is going to heal it all. He is going to wipe every tear from every eye, and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things is now passing away (see Revelation 21:4).

Death has been defeated

The fact that Jesus was raised from the dead means that he has overcome death.

Jesus had to endure death — he had to go through it and experience it— in order to overcome it.

There was no going around it or avoiding it. He had to go through it.

And he took it on, endured it, and overcame it.

That means Death itself has been defeated:

“But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:20-23).

And since death has been defeated, we no longer need to live in fear of it:

“By his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death — that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death” (Hebrews 2:14-15). And, “Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where O death is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:54-55).

Have you lived in fear of death?

Let Jesus be our example.

He had to endure it in order to overcome it.

We, too, will one day endure it, but because of Christ, we will overcome it too.

We no longer need to live in fear.

One day, death won’t be defeated,

it will be completely destroyed and gone for all eternity.

“The last enemy to be destroyed is death” (1 Corinthians 15:26).

Notice the Bible says that death will be destroyed, not just defeated. Destroyed, gone, obliterated, no more in existence! That will be a wonderful day!

Conclusion

Jesus is alive. He is risen.

God is re-creating the world through him, and God wants to re-create you, too.

Jesus sees you. And he calls you by name.

There is nothing to fear. Not even death.

Let go of the sin and shame seeking to enslave you.

Death has been defeated and a new life is offered to you.

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” - John 8:36

Do you want it?

Prayer exercise:

consider closing with a guided prayer in which you ask the congregation to bow their heads and picture the Risen Jesus standing in front of them in a garden.

Have them acknowledge that Jesus sees them just as they are.

He sees everything about them, their hurts, their hopes, and their disappointments.

He sees their sin and their rough edges. And he loves them deeply.

Now imagine Jesus looking at you and says your name.

And then Jesus says to you, “I want to re-create you and give you new life.”

Please respond to Jesus in prayer.

I’m going to give you a few moments

and then close. Amen.

Benediction: “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord, because your labor in the Lord is not in vain”(1 Corinthians 15:58)

Let’s pray together.

Salvation:

The Word of God says in:

John 3:16 NKJV

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Romans 10:13 NKJV

13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

If you’d would like to receive Jesus today, please pray this prayer with all of us:

Lord I believe that Jesus is the son of God, and that He died On the cross for my sins and His resurrection from the dead gives me eternal life. I ask forgiveness of my sins, and I accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Amen.

PastorDoc@FaithVision.org

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(Show Slide)

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Closing Blessing

Ephesians 6:23–24 NKJV

23 Peace to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.