Sunrise Sermon

Text

John 20:1–10 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.

Main Point

The resurrection was and is inevitable

Characters

A) Mary Magdalene

Had seven demons cast out by Jesus

Luke 8:1-2 “1 Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out,”

One of many women who’d had demons cast out by Jesus, and noe followed Jesus and the diciples and provided for them

First one to the tomb

Came early - before sunrise

Was also at the cross with the other 2 Mary’s - Jesus’ mother, and his aunt Mary wife of Clopas

John 19:25 “25 but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.”

Last at the cross, first at the tomb

She displays gratitude for the grace that has been given to her.

Her gratitude knew no bounds - her life now belonged to Jesus

She had a deep appreciation for what Jesus had redeemed her from

She knew how much Jesus loved her, and that made her love Jesus

She reminds me of the woman who annointed Jesus’ feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair

The pharisees who had invited Jesus to eat with them were disgusted because they knew she was a terrible sinner

But Jesus said to them:

Luke 7:44-47 “44 Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.””

Mary knew Jesus had forgiven her much, so she loved Jesus much

Our problem is we don’t think about how much we have been forgiven

We are righteous in our own eyes

We agree with Jesus in His analysis of the pharisees attitude, and yet too often our attitude reflects that of those same pharisees in how we treat one another

This is so much the case that we don’t like to be reminded that we are sinners

We push against things like regular confession in our church assemblies, and regular prayers of repentance, forgiving one another, asking each other for forgiveness

If only we could see that the more sensitive we are to our sinfulness, and the more we humble ourselves, the closer we actually are to Jesus

Now we see Mary come to the tomb of Jesus… only to find it empty

Her first thought is that Jesus body had been taken by the authorities

It did not even occur to her as a possibility that Jesus had been raised from the dead

So in panic, she runs to call Peter and John

B) Peter and John

This passage always makes me laugh because of the way John describes this scene

I am a very competitive person. If I do something, there is something in me that requires that I must be the best, the first, the fastest, the strongest, etc

For no reason other than just to see if I can do it

I laugh because it looks like we see some of this in John’s description of the scene

John 20:2 “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.””

John 20:4 “4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.”

then in verse 6, we see that it was actually Peter who entered the tomb first, while John waited outside. But John reminds us in verse 8…

John 20:8 “8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed;”

These repetitions are usually there for a reason

Not typical of John’s personality - he is typically more reserved, cautious, conservative

It’s Peter who is the more adventurous, curious, willing to take risks

Peter was the one who walked on water

We see this come out when they get to the tomb - John stops at the entrance and looks in, but Peter marches straight in to see what is inside

(but John reminds us he still got there first)

So why this seemingly boastful behaviour now from John?

Thing is, it actually isn’t prideful at all

When John describes himself as “the one who Jesus loved”, he’s actually displaying a remarkable humility

He’s not saying that Jesus loved him and not Peter

He’s not even saying the Jesus loved him more than Peter

What we are actually seeing is something quite similar to the love that we see Mary Magdalene had for Jesus

Mary was not a disciple from the beginning - she was not a believer. She was outside the religious camp - someone caught up in some sin, and who ended up controlled and possessed by demons.

But from the moment Jesus set her free, her whole life changed and the love of Jesus for her, and her love for Jesus, was all consuming for her.

Now we are seeing the same thing but from the perspective now of a disciple - and one that was extremely close to Jesus for all of his ministry

John is so consumed by the love Jesus has for him, and that he has for Jesus, that his very identity is founded on it and based on it.

Even though he was a close disciple o Jesus - maybe even the closest - he still realizes, like Mary, that he is a sinner, and Jesus is His redeemer

So he is no longer “John” - no, no… he is someone who Jesus loved

You see if John wanted to, he could have kept referring to himself as “John” in his narrative

the man who was a disciple from the very beginning

the man who had a very close relationship with Jesus

the man who shared a special affection with Jesus

the man who Jesus entrusted with the care of his own mother, and to whom Jesus referred to in ch19 when he said to his mother - “behold your son”

So John had many claims to fame as John the disciple

If competitiveness or boasting was his angle, he could have just referred to himself by name

But because of gratitude for Jesus, and humility from knowing that Jesus loved him… and amazement that Jesus loved him…

Even this great disciple doesn’t see himself as that John…

He is “the disciple whom Jesus loved”

Imagine if we all had the same sense of humility and amazement at God’s grace for us…

the same understanding of what we deserve, and the same gratitude to Jesus for redeeming us…

Then I am not Nick, preaching elder at Cambridge Baptist. I am a disciple who Jesus loves

Siyabulela is not the senior pastor at Cambridge Baptist, speaker on Link FM, theological educator and holder of bachelor’s degree in theology… he is a disciple who Jesus loves

John is not full time elder at Cambridge Baptist, worship leader, leader of Forever Mercy, care ministry for the fatherless, father, husband, tennis player of note… he is a disciple who Jesus loves

Roger is a disciple who Jesus loves

… etc

Let us all be nameless and have no reputation other than this - that Jesus loves us

None of us are so-and-so who gave x,y and z to the church or has been at the church for the nth generation or who led a, b and c ministries for the church...

Imagine, if like John and Mary, our identities were fixed to nothing else, other than the fact, that Jesus loves us?

C) Us

So in both Mary and John we see humility, gratitude, affection and love for Jesus, rooted in their understanding that Jesus loved them

This is fitting, and consistent with every believer we see in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation

As Paul says:

2 Cor 5:14-15 “14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.”

Having heard this, we may feel rightly convicted if we recognize in ourselves this morning, a lack of such affection for Jesus… a lack of love… a lack of gratitude… a lack of that humility…

and in its place we see in ourselves self-righteousness, boasting, complaining…

But we might be tempted to make the excuse for our lack, that Mary, Peter and John were after all close to Jesus - they lived with him, talked with him, ate with him

But you see, still they were not as fortunate as we…

They did not have the full revelation of God, but we do.

You see, Mary, Peter, John, and every other anxious and afraid visitor to the empty tomb on this morning, had walked closely with Jesus

They had heard him preach, and say on more than one occasion that He must die and on the 3rd day be raised

and yet, now that it has come to it, they’re standing inside and outside of an empty tomb where Jesus’ dead body should be laid, with grave clothes in order and face cloth neatly folded next to them…

… and the possibility that Jesus had actually been resurrected as He had promised, has not even crossed their mind yet

Only now, that John stands in the empty tomb, looking at the grave clothes lying there in order, and the face cloth folded neatly next to them…

only then does the scripture say, that John believed

because, as verse 9 says clearly, John 20:9 “9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead.”

Years of being with Jesus - but they did not understand, did not have the full picture, the full revelation of God

But WE , my friends, have the full picture.

We know because the Scriptures declare from Genesis to Revelation, that it was God’s plan from the very beginning, that Jesus must die and be raised again to redeem those who believe in Jesus

We know that the death of Jesus was necessary, and the resurrection of Jesus inevitable, a necessity and a certainty, because God cannot deny Himself, and God cannot break His promises

Conclusion

What does that mean for us?

We celebrate today the resurrection of Jesus, because we believe and know that this was a historical event that actually took place

we celebrate because we know that the cross was the greatest demonstration of love that ever was

we celebrate that it was not just a general love, but a personal demonstration of God’s personal love for each one of us that believe in Him and love him

so much so that our whole identities and the very reason we do anything is rooted in that love God has for us

we celebrate because His resurrection means that His sacrifice on our behalf was complete, and His atonement accepted, and our sins forgiven

and we celebrate because just as the resurrection of Jesus on the 3rd day was inevitable and necessary because it was promised long ago and beforehand by God…

so also we know with certainty, that the second coming of Jesus and our resurrection from the dead and to eternal life is also inevitable and necessary, because it too, has been promised long ago and beforehand by God