What Do You See?

Introduction

It’s early this morning and I know that some of you, probably most of you, have been up since before dark. Now for some of you this is normal. The older you get it seems, the earlier you rise. But for anyone, no matter what time you get up, you will probably find that when you first open your eyes you cannot see very good.

Your eyes need to acclimate. Mine body needs to have coffee in it before I can see anything. I think it might be blinker fluid!

I imagine for these women that were going to the tomb that morning, they had a hard time sleeping over the weekend. They had witnessed Jesus flogged, beaten, and crucified. They hastily laid him in a tomb and didn’t get to finish the burial. They had a mandatory holiday sabbath to observe that would stop them from doing anything until the sun came up on Sunday morning.

I imagine these women like runners at a starting line just waiting for the earliest moment that they could get up and go finish the burial preparations. They were not looking for what they saw.

In fact that’s what we want to talk about this morning. What do you see when you look at the resurrection? These passages are so familiar and it is easy to overlook things. It is easy to see things with the eyes of familiarity and not be able to see what God wants us to.

This morning, I pray that God would open our eyes. I pray that He helps us see clearly what He wants us to behold.

John 20:1–18 ESV

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. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and 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.” 3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes. 11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom 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.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling 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.’ ” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.

1. What They Saw

The stone was rolled away

The tomb was empty

The grave clothes were there folded

Two angels

2. What They Didn’t See

Jesus was not there

3. What They Needed Help to See

It is not until Jesus opens Mary’s eyes that she sees and recognizes Him

Conclusion

We can all go and see an empty tomb. I’ve been there to one of the possible sites. Many others have flooded the traditional site where Jesus was buried. Neither have a body in them.

You can look at all the evidence and try to come to a conclusion on what happened. You could be like the Disciples and Mary and see the grave clothes folded up neatly. You could even see two angels sitting there, but in all of this you won’t see Jesus.

The only way that anyone can see Jesus, the resurrected Son of God, is for the Holy Spirit to reveal Jesus to them.

Our prayer this morning is that He does just that for all of us. For those of us coming to worship Him today, we want to see Jesus. For those who are coming out of tradition or with a family member or friend, we want them to see Jesus. We want them to look on Him and believe. It is my prayer that God will answer that prayer this morning.