Easter- John 20

Easter- John 20 | MPS

Prayer:

Intro:

Good morning and Happy Easter!!

“He has Risen!”……“He has risen indeed”

Kids, did you like the egg hunt yesterday?

kids, do you like mysteries?

maybe you like puzzles, mazes, or guessing games where you need to ask for clues

maybe you like to play detective at home

Kids, do your parents like mysteries?

maybe they watch TV shows or read books with police and detectives

we all like mysteries

we like solving them

how do you do that?

investigate, follow clues, stick to the facts and then you can probably solve the mystery

Today, we are solving a mystery

its called: The Mystery of the Empty Tomb

John 20:1-10 introduces us to the mystery:

The Sunday morning after Jesus died on the cross and was buried in a tomb (v1)

Mary, a dear friend of Jesus, went to the tomb to visit his body and mourn him

she’s walking through the garden and arrives at the tomb when……

(v1) she SAW

“saw” x4

what tools do detectives use?

magnifying glass!

why? to see!

seeing and observing with our eyes is so important when solving mysteries

istep 1: use our eyes to see clues and get all the facts

First we are told what Mary SAW

the stone rolled away

anybody like to go get the mail for mom and dad and open the envelopes?

imagine you go the the mailbox and you SEE all the mail in your mailbox was already opened!

what happened?

somebody touched your mail, somebody messed with, something’s up!

thats what Mary thinks, so she runs to go get her friends Peter and John

now we have 3 witnesses

Mary, Peter and probably John

they all run back to the crime scene, pull out their magnifying glasses and take a look around

what did the 3 witnesses see?

Stone rolled away

an empty tomb

discarded linens

What did they not see?

the one thing they were searching for: Jesus’ body

step 1: use our eyes to see clues and get the facts

What are the facts we know right now?

Jesus Body is missing. its gone- fact

Step 2: use our minds to creates some ideas (theories) of

what happened and

who did it

Who opened the tomb? What happened to the body?

Mary acts like a detective

step 2: has a theory

Mary says “They took” Jesus and “they hid” Jesus

v2 “They have taken the Lord…we do not know where they have laid him”

she thinks someone stole the body of Jesus and is hiding it

***oddly enough, they unwrapped it before taking it!!

Who is “they?”

a good suspect has 2 things:

motive- reason

means- way

whoever stole Jesus body needs 2 things:

a reason to steal it

way to steal it

Who is has the motives and the means?

Disciples could have the motive, but they don’t have the means

soldiers were posted out front the tomb to avoid people tampering and robbing

Pilate and his soldiers had means, but no motive

The roman government wanted the Jesus problem over and people to settle back into submissive peace

zero motive

Caiaphas and his soldiers had means but no motive

the jewish religious leaders wanted the Jesus problem over with- back to to being in power

they thought they won!

no reason to steal the body

Mary’s theory doesn’t add up

fact: Jesus body is missing

Mystery: What happened?

importance of solving this mystery: a bigger (biggest) question

is Jesus God and everything he say and do true?

or is Jesus man, the bible man-made and everything a lie?

This is the biggest mystery in the world

this is the most important mystery we each need to solve in our lives

kids, got your magnifying glasses ready? Bibles open? ready to look for more clues?

Mary is still in the garden, lets join her

See through the eyes of 3 people

P1: See through the eyes of Mary (11-18) Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene 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.

vv11-15 Mary “sees”

angels

Jesus

but doesn’t seem to recognize them as angels- may have looked just like men, dressed in very white clothes

doesn’t recognize Jesus

she thinks he’s a gardener

why are you weeping?

repeats her problem: the mystery and her theory of what happened

then she “sees” Jesus but doesn’t recognize him- she thought he was the gardener!

why are you weeping?

restates her problem, even blames Jesus- the gardener for being a grave robber!!

Jesus speaks and she sees him

“Mary”

“Rabonni”

Mary is sad and is seeking Jesus

Mary is on the right track and sees Jesus

Mary hears Jesus’ voice and sees clearly

application- what do you believe about the resurrection? What do you believe about Jesus?

you are the detective today

many people come to faith just as Mary does here

there is some brokenness or some emptiness in our life

new or old

we seek, we stumble, we see

Jesus just calls us by name

one moment he’s just a gardener, the landscaper-

someone we might use once in a while to clean our lives us

the next he is our Rabbi and our Lord

teacher, savior and king

Transition:

Mary sees and believes

The disciples are confused

P2: See through the eyes of the disciples (19-23)

Jesus Appears to the Disciples 19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

locked doors

scared, hiding

Jesus enters

they see him

Jesus speaks

they hear him

“Peace be with you”

Others are scared, confused, hiding, Jesus seeks them out and finds them

not even locked doors can keep him out

P3: See through the eyes of Thomas (24-31)

Jesus appears to Thomas 24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” 26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

conclusion:

The Purpose of This Book 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

come and see….come and believe!