Sermon Tone Analysis
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Three Questions
John 20:1-18
I’m going to name some characters from a television show that I grew up with and then I’m going to ask you to name the show.
Ready?
Don’t just shout it out though, wait.
Bert and Ernie; the Cookie Monster; Grover; Oscar the Grouch
Sesame Street
Those were all Muppets, but one of the earliest human characters on the show was a man named Mr. Hooper.
Do any of you remember him?
He had the store.
His name was Will Lee and he was on Sesame Street for thirteen years before he died of a heart attack in 1982.
The producers were faced with a dilemma.
How were they going to explain death to the 10 million children who watched the show?
They could have just made up a story about Mr. Hooper retiring to Florida, but instead they decided to tell the children he died.
But because this was public television, they didn’t want to mention anything religious or spiritual.
So on the day of the show Big Bird walks out and says he has a drawing to give Mr. Hooper and says, “I can’t wait to see Mr. Hooper again.”
Then they said, “Remember Big Bird, we told you that Mr. Hooper died.”
Big Bird said, “Oh yeah, I forgot.
Well, I’ll give it to him when he gets back.”
So, someone puts their arms around Big Bird and says, “Big Bird, Mr. Hooper isn’t coming back.”
Big Bird asks, “Why not?”
And the answer was, “Big Bird, when people die, they don’t come back.”
The gospel of Sesame Street isn’t good news at all.
What a sad message to teach children: “When people die, they don’t come back.”
But that’s not the message of Easter.
The good news of Easter is because Jesus came back from death that we can live after death as well.
If you have your Bible (and I hope that you do) go ahead and open them to John chapter 20.
All four gospels record the events of that first Easter morning but we are going to spend our time looking at John’s account.
Today, we are going to look at what happened to Mary Magdalene that Sunday morning after the crucifixion.
Mary was one of the eyewitnesses of the resurrection.
She was the last one at the cross and the first one at the tomb.
She had to answer three questions that day, and these are the same three questions each of us must answer today.
So, let’s pray and we’ll go straight into His Word.
Pray!
The first thing we see is:
Easter Sorrow
After the two disciples returned home, Mary peeked inside the dark tomb and she saw a couple of angels.
The angels asked her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”
Why are you crying?
That’s the first question:
Why are you crying?
You can tell these angels never took a class in counseling because you’re never supposed to just ask WHY someone is crying.
The question “Why” is too threatening and not supportive enough.
It’s like when a husband asks his wife, “WHY are you crying?”
And then he doesn’t understand why that question makes her cry even more!
Not too many husbands have been trained in counseling either!
To her credit, Mary didn’t respond to the angel by saying,
“How dare you ask me that question?
Can’t you see what I’m going through?
Can’t you see that we are here at a burial place?
This is a tomb in case you haven’t noticed.
I’ve lost someone.
Not that you seem to care”
Instead she simply says, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.”
Then Mary turned around and saw a man that she assumed was the gardener.
That makes sense because the Bible says that the tomb was carved out of a limestone cliff inside a garden.
We also know this tomb belonged to Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy man who was a secret follower of Jesus.
It was a new tomb in which a body had never been placed.
She didn’t recognize him, maybe because of the tears…
15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?
Calling her “woman” wasn’t rude.
It would be like us asking, “Ma’am, why are you crying?”
The angels asked the question out of curiosity.
They probably thought, “This woman should know that Jesus is alive, so why is she crying?”
But Jesus asked the question out of compassion.
He loved Mary and His heart was moved by her tears, “Why are you crying?”
He knew the answer, but He wanted her to say it.
And she had answered honestly, “They have taken my Lord away, and I don’t know where He is.”
She didn’t say, “No reason.
I’m fine, really.
I just got something in my eye.”
That’s a question Jesus is asking you today.
“Why are YOU crying?
Why are you hurting?
Why are you upset?”
And you need to be honest with Him.
Don’t just sniff and say, “I’m not.
I’m really okay.
There’s nothing wrong.”
He already knows why you’re crying; He just wants you to admit your pain.
There could be as many different answers to that question as there are people here today.
Even for those of us who know the Lord, tears are a real part of our existence.
As Horatio Spafford wrote in his famous hymn, there are times when, “Sorrows, like sea billows roll.”
What are you going through right now that is causing you pain and sorrow?
Mary isn’t the only one who has stood in a cemetery while fighting back tears.
You may still be hurting from the death of a loved one.
You may be hurting because of a recent diagnosis you or someone you love has just gotten.
Your eyes may be filled with tears because of problems with your children.
The list is endless.
But Jesus sees your pain and He cares about your pain.
The Bible says that He is our High Priest who is touched by the feelings of our weakness.
None of us are immune from tears.
The truth is that tears come to all of us, and when Jesus asks, “Why are you crying?”
It’s time to take off the mask and honestly admit your pain.
Only then can you move on to accept healing.
When you do, then you’re ready to experience God’s promise found in Psalm 30:5:
…Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.
We often learn our greatest lessons during times of sorrow.
There was Easter sorrow followed by:
Easter Seeking
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