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The Re-Creation Story
The Re-Creation Story
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.
Main Teaching
Read John 20:1-2
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.
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!”
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.
Try to picture this in your mind as I read the account to you this morning....
Read John 20:3-10
So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb.
Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.
He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in.
Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there,
as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen.
Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.
(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)
Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.
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
Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb
and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
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.”
At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
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.”
Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
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.’ ”
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.
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 lady of ill-repute...so to say. That came down from bad theology and one sermon hundreds of years ago. She was Mary from the village of Magdala.
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 begins the re-creation of 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 us. And he loves us. He sees us as we really are, not as we pretend to be. He sees us and loves us exactly the way we are. He sees our hurts, our disappointments, and your resentments. He sees your hopes and your dreams and the desires. He sees you. And he loves you.
“Mary.” She gets so excited she shouts, “Rabboni!” Which means “Teacher” (20:16).
And what does 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.
SLIDE
Jesus says
Revelation 21:5 By everything, he means you, too! His resurrection life and power is available to you, if you want it.
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
SLIDE
John’s gospel says, John 3:17
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
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. You don’t have to think “He can’t save me.” He already did…He died and rose for you. Now, in order to receive it...you need to … for lack of redundancy.… you need to accept it. It’s a gift. His prayer is now … please believe.
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.
SLIDE
Here’s a great verse you’re all probably familiar with
‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death... or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
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:
SLIDE
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.
For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.
And since death has been defeated, we no longer need to live in fear of it:
SLIDE
Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that 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.
SLIDE
When this corruptible body is clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body is clothed with immortality, then the saying that is written will take place: Death has been swallowed up in victory.
Where, death, is your victory? Where, death, is your sting?
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.
SLIDE - READ TOGETHER
The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
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.
SLIDE - READ TOGETHER
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
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. And then, have them imagine Jesus looks at them and says their name. And then Jesus says to them, “I want to re-create you and give you new life.” Ask them to respond to Jesus in prayer. Give them a few moments to consider this in their minds, and then close. Amen.
