John 20:1-18 - Kids Camp

John 20:1–18 (ESV)

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. 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.” So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes.

But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 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.” Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 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.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 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.’ ” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.

Intro:

Question:

Have you ever lost something Important?

Keys

Wallet

Story:

My brother at an amusement park

1. Scene 1: Mary finds the tomb empty!

John 20:1 “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 wan and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple”

Mary came to the tomb early in the morning

Still Dark

The stone was rolled away!

What would you have thought??

What would you have done?

Mary doesn’t even look in, she runs to get Peter and the other disciple.

Expectation and reality didn’t line up!

Imagine a time where reality and expectation don’t line up in your life. (Going to school for a normal day, you get there and the school building has caved in on itself)

How would you feel?

What would you do?

Expectation: Mary expected a closed tomb

Reality: Mary found an open tomb!

She was shocked!

2. Scene 2: Peter and John find the clothes and believe! (John 20:2-10)

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.” So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes.

So Mary runs back to the disciples

You can imagine her out of breath saying “They’ve taken him! Jesus Is gone, the tomb is open! We don’t know where Jesus is!”

She’s horrified!

Peter and John (the one whom Jesus loved) run to the tomb!

John beats Peter there but waits for him to go in!

John did see the linen clothes, that’s weird he must of thought!

Why would someone unwrap Jesus’ body!!

How disgusting, how nasty, a body wasting away for 3 days!

So John and Peter go in!

And what do they do?

The verse tells us they “BELIEVED”

It reminds us that they didn’t believe yet or understand that Jesus was going to rise from the dead!

The disciples had spent 3 years with Jesus, travelling from place to place, eating with him, singing with him, praying with him, listening to his teaching!

They never really understood the main thing Jesus came to do!

Their expectations were different from reality!

Expectation: Jesus would come and become the king of Israel and fight off their enemies!

Reality: Jesus would come, die for the sins of his people, rise again and reign over all the earth!

This passage shows us what we must do to become a Christian,

first we must SEE

Who Jesus is and what he came to do!

Explain who he is:

Explain what he came to do:

Second we must BELIEVE

Believe that it’s true/real

Believe the message he shares

God

Sin

Jesus death/resurrection/ and return!

3. Follow Him

Repentance

Vs. 18 and 9 tell us they saw and believed! and in vs. 10 they return to their homes!

And the scene goes back to mary!

3. Scene 3: Mary finds two angels

John 20:11-13 “But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 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.””

So Mary is standing at the tomb weeping, picture her:

Cryng about Jesus, where did he go???

Suddenly she sees 2 angels sitting at the tomb, one at the head and one at the foot!

They ask her: WHY are you weeping?

She says: They’ve taken away my Lord! He’s GONE! and I don’t know where he has been laid!

Mary hasn’t yet beleived that he rose from the dead, she hasn’t yet understood!

Has there ever been something you just coudn’t believe? You had to see it with your own eyes?

Leafs drafting Matthews

Marchand Biting another player!

Ezra broke his leg!

Russia invading Ukraine

We’ve seen Mary and the disciples see the empty tomb, the folded clothes, even angels and yet Mary still doesn’t beleive!

So the scene turns to another character!

4. Scene 4: Jesus finds Mary

John 20:14-16 “Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 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.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).”

Now Jesus is standing therebut she doesn’t recognize him!

Like when your best friend gets a new hair cut and changes his clothes!

He sounds and looks the same but you don’t know it’s him!

Remmeber the last time Mary saw Jesus, it was at his death on the cross! All bruised, bloody, beaten, weak, in rags dripping with blood!

So obviously she doesn’t recognize him!

But Jesus speaks to her personally and it clicks! He says “Mary”!

The familiar voice of her Lord and Saviour opens her eyes to see who he is and that he lives!

Mary rejoices and shouts Rabboni! She clings to him and finds comfort that He’s alive and well!

Jesus’ response is interesting here, he doesn’t hug her and tell her see I’m ok, lets go for a walk and talk a while!

No the scene turns to what Jesus is about to do next.

5. Scene 5: Jesus Send Mary to the 12!

John 20:17-18 “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.’ ” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.”

Jesus says: Don’t cling to me, I’m not yet at my final destination. This is just a step in the process! Where I am going is to my Father’s side!

So Jesus sends Mary and tells her to go to Jesus’ disciples who he calls His brothers! And tell them that I am going to ascend to Heaven!

Mary goes and announces,

“I Have Seen the Lord” And tells the disicples that Jesus is going to ascend to the Father!

From here John moves on in the story to 2 other appearences before addressing the main point on why He is appearing to them and why he paused on his way to the Father!

John 20:29 ESV

Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Blessed! Happy! Are those who believe without seeing!

Have any of you seen Jesus Physically??

NOPE!

We haven’t seen him! We can’t see him! But we can believe in him!

Why should we believe?

This was the belief of Christians in the first century (Both Christian and Pagan scholars agree)

The people closest to the events believed them to be true!

2. Many of the eyewitnesses those who saw Jesus after he rose from the dead. Died for believing this!

a. If it wasn’t true why were so many willing to die instead of giving up the lie?

3. The historical evidence shows that: the grave was empty; the grave clothes were neatly left behind; the stone enclosing the tomb was rolled away; the body of Jesus was never found; the grave had been guarded by Roman soldiers; and no one ever claimed to have stolen the body. The presence of the grave clothes are significant. It was the spices attached to the cloth that had value. Anyone removing the body for profit or mischief would have taken the wrapped body away and separated out the valuable mixture at their leisure. In fact the placement of the grave clothes, like the placement of the stone, perfectly fits with the resurrection as the cause, rather than with human agency as the cause.

Historical evidence cannot prove that Jesus was stolen!

Rather it gives evidence to the fact that He really did rise from the dead!

4. All of the witnesses knew Jesus before his death, they would recognize him! The accounts tell us they heard his voice, touched his skin, ate with him, talked with him, embraced him. None of them beleived he would rise from the dead before his death, they didn’t understand so it was a shock to them and not planned by them!

5. Christianity grew fast right where these events happened! Within weeks there were many beleivers, if the story were a lie than someone would have been able to disprove it! There was serious opposition and persecution of the first Christians! And yet none were able to see, look here is the body, it’s all a lie!

They opposed Christians but they could never disprove the resurrection! Nor the thousands of other miracles that Jesus did!

6. These events were not isolated but predicted! This wasn’t God changing his mind and finding a way to save his people! THIS WAS ALWAYTS GOD”S PLAN!

We have historically reliable records of the Old Testament that both pagan and Christian scholars agree are reliable! And they testify to the resurrection!

7. Lastly, you’ll find that the more you read and understand the Bible, it testifies more accurately to everything you feel, experience, and know! The truth’s in it are unchanged and deeper than the deepest well!

So WHAT SHOULD WE DO?

Listen to what John tells us:

John 20:30–31 ESV

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 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.

We should beleive in the Son of God!

Beleive in his life!

Beleive in his death!

Beleive in his resurrection!

Why?

So that we may have life!

John tells us earlier in his gospel that Jesus came that we may have life and life to the full!

Jesus tells the samaritan woman at the well that he has water that will make her never thirst again!

The point is that the meaning, purpose, and fulfillment we long for, we thirst for is found in Jesus alone!

Augustine wrote: “Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you.”

Friends, He rose from the dead! He appeared to many! And He ascended to the Father, where he now calls you,

Beleive and find life!

So the question this morning is: “Will you”

Let’s Pray!

Psalm 39:7 ESV

“And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.