Sermon (09-Apr): "Seeing the Lord" John 20:1-18

1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.

2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb.

4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.

5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in.

6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there,

7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen.

8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.

9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)

10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb

12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”

14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

Big Idea:

The objective of this message is to comprehend what it means to be invested in seeing the Lord

From Easter eggs to Resurrection Eggs (SLIDE)

- For me, Easter Resurrection Sunday has always held a special place

- First, growing up as a kid, you look forward to the Easter baskets, egg hunts and candy;

- Year after year, throughout the year,

- It seemed like the fake grass was always left hanging around

- Fast forward…now I’ve accepted Christ and have my own family; the meaning of the holiday changes

- Whether it was my wife preparing a special meal,

- Or our children attending base Easter egg hunts

- The emphasis shifted from the mere tradition of the holiday to the meaning behind the day

- See, not only did my wife create a special meal

- But she also incorporated in our home not the importance of coloring eggs

- She researched, bought, and taught about Resurrection eggs

- The idea of the Resurrection eggs helped visually tell the story of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus

- And this wasn’t any type of pointless lesson just to entertain children

- What she taught was what the Bible declared

- Jesus’ life, death, burial, and resurrection is the foundation of the New Testament

- If you were to take away that foundation and Christ as cornerstone

- You’d miss the point on why Jesus lived…and ultimately died

- She did an awesome job in piquing their interest and stimulating intrigue

- When it comes down to it, in the life of the believer, disciple, Christian; that’s what it truly boils down to

- That’s what I believe that we see, in part, with John, Peter and Mary and what I’d like to share this morning

Transition: We come to see there is a process—a transition if you will—that happens

What we see between them; we see them go…

1) From Interested

2) To Intrigued

3) To Invested

1) From Interested (SLIDE)

3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in.

- The Apostle John as he penned the Gospel of John, in many circles,

- John is viewed as being one of, if not, Jesus’ best friend

- In different parts of this gospel, we see the “disciple whom Jesus loved” or “the other disciple” which we find out is John

- And maybe John was humble enough not to name himself in those situations

- But, when you look back on his presence alongside Peter and James,

- You see that there was a closeness between the four—closer than the 12 disciples

- Yet, I don’t believe there was favoritism

- I think of Jesus with the three and what they experienced with Him—

- From the transfiguration to some of the most amazing miracles

- You realize that there was a deepness to their relationship

- For the most part, I believe it was understood among the disciples

- After all, it was John who leaned over to Jesus to ask Him who would betray Him

- You think about the course of Jesus’ relationship with His disciples individually

- And even as a group together you see that Jesus loved His disciples; He loved His own

- So, when I bring up the point here of going “from interested,”

- I’m referring to this point in John’s journey but the message still can apply to any of us

- Mary delivers the news that Jesus’ body is missing and literally runs off to tell Peter and John

- How do they react?

- Both run off to the tomb as well

- John happens to outsprint Peter and arrives first

- Maybe he was a faster runner or maybe he was more compelled to find out the truth

- I think in my mind that he’s considering, “Is it true? Was this supposed to happen”?

- I’m guessing that questions in his mind were beginning to abound

- With all that is running around in his mind, we see that he shows up at the tomb…

- And he’s looking for answers

- Yet, his action or rather his inaction is a bit confusing

- Once he arrives, he doesn’t “sprint” in like he did on the way over

- No, he stoops or bends over and—in Greek he literally “peeps into” the tomb

- But he doesn’t go in…

- He outruns Peter and arrives first but does not seal the deal

- He doesn’t go in which begs us to ask the question, “what was all the running about??”

- So, John might have been interested…

- But where did it lead him to…

- Then, I think back on the times initially where in my late teenage years

- Where I had an interest in Christ and following God and the result was attending church and few times in a row

- Then maybe once a month or every other month

- See I might’ve been interested in running to attend church figuratively, did I want to go in to “See the Lord”?

- Did I want to peek and see if He was truly who He and others said He was?

- Was I content enough to be distracted the “linen cloths” of just being there—but not willing to go in to actually see the Lord?

- John had already made the trip to the tomb but, at this point, fails to go in first

- It’s been argued that John possibly didn’t enter because of his respect as a Jew for Jesus’ burial place

- Or that he didn’t want to be charged with unlawful entry

- Which could have possibly been the case

-Yet, we see later on (v.8) that he FINALLY (NIV) goes in

Transition: Then we see the action of Peter—one who is intrigued

2) To Intrigued [SLIDE]

6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen.

- If it’s one thing that most people know about Peter is, He doesn’t need much of a prompting…

- Unless you are asking him to walk on the water

- When Peter arrives while John is busy hesitating, Peter does just what Peter will do…

- He goes in

- Undeterred by John’s inaction and Jesus’ linen cloths left behind,

- I believe that Peter is intrigued with the thought of “Seeing the Lord” again

- He may have been out run but you wouldn’t outdare or be bolder then Peter

- So, he presses the issue a little deeper

- Whereas John hasn’t verified anything for sure yet,

- Peter goes further to see for Himself and verify the issue

- If you remember, this is the same Peter who told Jesus that he would never leave Him

- Only to deny Him when it counted the most

- This is the same Peter that would weep bitterly after the cock crowed thrice

- Of which I truly believe set Peter on course to his ultimate destiny in establishing the New Testament church

- Here, and now, after the conviction of denying Christ

- Peter doesn’t want to wait and see what happens

- He’s now intrigued with the idea that Jesus’ body is now gone

- He’s intrigued with the possible fact that this could be true

- At times, aside from my first stop at simply being interested, there was the drive to go deeper

- Not satisfied on being on the outside of knowing who Jesus is

- The desire was to find out more and to see Him for Who the Bible says that He is…for myself

- If there were ever a time not to depend on someone else’s “not going in,” this would be the time

- To go from being interested to intrigued is partly about going beyond what you’re familiar with—past your comfort zone

- In this instance, Peter was all about it

- He was all about going in to see for himself

- Peter had to know

Transition: He was not merely interested; he was intrigued

3) To Invested [SLIDE]

- So, we see that concerning the resurrection, John was interested and Peter was intrigued

- But, when it comes to Mary, she went to another level; she was invested

- How so?

- Let’s look at it

- She’s devoted; she starts off early in the morning…

- She notices the stone removed from the entrance of the tomb

- So, Mary sprints directly to Peter and the “other disciple” (John)

- And in the midst of all that is going on between Peter and John

- Mary remains…

- This one devoted follower— a disciple in every way except by name

- She does something that not either of them—who are deemed disciples and followers—does

- Mary waits around…in patience and with, I believe, expectation

- Regardless of what it is costing her, Mary invests herself and her emotions

- Her investment in Jesus didn’t stop at death;

- Remember she was right there at the Cross of Christ

- And it didn’t stop at the tomb

- When Mary saw that the stone had been rolled away, I imagine her heart dropped and that’s twice now

- The very One who saw through her former lifestyle

- Jesus saw who she was going to become and now He’s missing

- Her arrival at an empty tomb shook her to the core

- She hastily found the disciples and made her way back to the tomb

- Keep this in mind…

- Where others are content on not pursuing any further,

- When you are invested in what you’re pursuing; it’s something different—it’s deeper

- I’m not saying there won’t be complications in the pursuit but, obviously, it’s not suited for everyone

- Some are good with being interested; others good with the intrigue

- But, if you’re like Mary and want to pursue, ask questions… and invested

- You become expectant of God to do something spectacular

- She was invested to the point that when Peter and John have long gone

- Scripture says,

10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

- Mary remained…

- Are you willing to remain?

- When you are faced with difficult times, challenges, and doubts, will your devotion wane?

Closing

- As I close, the answer to those questions help decide whether you are interested, intrigued or invested

- It’s okay to start interested but you don’t want to end there

- Then, on the other hand, to be intrigued will only carry you so far

- But those who are invested—are devoted, inquisitive, persistent and more expectant to see the Lord

- Will you be that one?

- One verse that I didn’t cover was v.9,

9 They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.

- In context, that verse points to Peter and John, but really it applies to Mary…and possibly us

- Whether you’ve just been interested, intrigued, or invested, this Resurrection Sunday we must understand…

- That He had to die and that He had to rise from the dead

- Because if He hadn’t, our opportunity for salvation and Heaven would be forever out of reach

Closing Prayer:

Heavenly Father, I ask you to forgive me for all of my sins known and unknown, I renounce them all. Lord Jesus, come into my heart. I receive you now as Lord and Savior of my life. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He died for me and arose and sits at the right hand of God praying for me, interceding for me. Lord Jesus, I give you everything. I thank you for saving me, delivering me and setting me free, in Jesus’ name!