Mary's Love, Jesus' Love

Good morning. My name is Matthew Capone and I'm one of the pastors here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church and it's my joy to bring God's word to you this morning for Easter Sunday we're stepping out of our series in the book of Romans and we are picking up where we left off on our good Friday service if you were here on Friday you know we read through the entirety of John chapter 19 and so now we turn to

John 19 · chapter mention

John chapter 20 with the story of the resurrection. Now there are multiple stories actually going on here in this one story. There is the story of Simon Peter. There's the story of John but the biggest story outside of Jesus' resurrection of course is the story of Mary Magdalene. I'm not going to spoil it for you. I'm not going to tell you up front. I just want you to ask. We're going to ask what is so special

John 20 · chapter mention

about Mary and why does Mary in these 18 verses get more screen time than anyone else? Why does Mary steal the show? We're going to look at two things. We're going to look at Mary's love and Jesus' love and you don't need to remember it because it is the sermon title. It's on page 7 of your worship guide. In fact I invite you to turn with me there to John chapter 20. You'll find it on pages 6 and 7.

John 20 · chapter mention

of your worship guide. And as we turn there remember Psalm 19 tells us that God's word is more precious than gold even the finest gold and it's sweeter than honey even honey that comes straight from the honeycomb. So that's why we read now John chapter 20 starting at verse 1.

John 20 · chapter mention

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.

Verse 11

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.

I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word.

Our Father in heaven, we do thank you and praise you again most of all for the great mercy and grace that you've shown us in our salvation in Jesus Christ.

We thank you for calling and bringing us together again this morning.

We ask that you would be at work here and now in a special way by your Holy Spirit,

stirring up and softening our hearts that you'd remind us of the great truth of the gospel.

that you'd show us our need for it and that that would lead us to set our eyes on Jesus Christ.

That he'd be more beautiful and glorious to us than anything else.

We ask all of these things in his name. Amen.

Every year around this time, around Easter, there are plenty of memes and jokes and videos

around one of the funniest parts of the Bible, which is right here in this passage.

Okay.

It starts in verse 2.

Mary tells Peter and John that the tomb is empty.

And then,

oh, by the way, it's John because it says, verse 2,

the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved.

John's the author of the gospel of John.

That's why it's called John.

So he's not going to use his own name.

Okay.

So he's referring to himself indirectly.

So Mary tells Peter and John,

and then we find out verse 4,

both of them go running together.

But the other disciple, that is John,

outran Peter and reached the tomb first.

And that's the joke.

Okay.

John, in his own gospel, which he writes,

lets everyone know that he is actually faster than Peter.

And in case we missed it,

he repeats it again in verse 8.

Then the other disciple,

which one?

The one who reached the tomb first.

Okay.

So we have this serious passage,

which is the climax of all of Scripture,

the 66 books that God has given to his people

in the New Testament and the Old Testament.

Jesus has risen from the dead.

He's defeated death and sin.

All the promises of God are yes and amen in Jesus Christ.

And John's a faster runner than Peter.

There are many theories to try to explain

why it is so important to John

that we all know that he's a great sprinter.

The one I find most convincing is this.

John is saying that there is nothing that could hold him back.

The alternative to beating Peter

would have been to slow down.

It would have been to hold back.

And he could have done that.

Right?

But John's eyes were on the prize.

Now, whatever theory you believe,

I don't think John is bragging here.

And here's why.

As focused as John was in this passage,

as unwilling as he was to pull back

and wait for Peter,

someone else was more focused.

And that's Mary.

Mary beats all the boys.

John arrives to the tomb in verse 4.

Peter arrives to the tomb in verse 6.

Mary was already there.

In verse 1.

Now, on the first day of the week,

Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early,

and in case we're wondering how early,

while it was still dark.

If John is looking to pat himself on the back for his speed,

he has done a really poor job.

In fact, it's not just that Mary is there first.

Mary is also there last.

Verse 10.

Peter and John go home.

Verse 11.

Mary stays.

And by the way,

if Mary stays in verse 11,

and she was there in verse 1,

and she told Peter and John in verse 2,

we know then that Mary must have made

at least not one,

but two trips to the tomb.

So she's not just there first.

She has lapped them.

John is not shining a spotlight on himself.

The running is not about John's ego.

No.

John, the author of the gospel,

is highlighting Mary.

That brings us back to our question.

Why?

Why does Mary show up earlier and stay later?

To answer that,

we have to remember Mary's backstory.

So there's several Marys in the gospels

that are kind of hard to keep track of.

That's why she's called Mary Magdalene

to distinguish her from all the others.

And in Luke chapter 8,

Luke 8 · chapter mention

we find out that Jesus

had healed Mary Magdalene

of seven demons.

Now seven demons

are not a small number of demons.

Okay?

It's not a small thing

that Jesus had rescued Mary

in this way.

Jesus, in fact,

had rescued her in a huge way.

That's Luke 8

where we find that out.

At the end of Luke 7,

just a few verses before,

Jesus lays out this principle.

And the principle is this.

The one who has been forgiven much

loves much.

The one who has been forgiven little

loves little.

Why was Mary

the one who showed up early

and stayed late?

Mary had been forgiven much.

And so Mary loved much.

Mary had been rescued

from seven demons.

And so Mary was all in

with Jesus.

It's on page seven

of your worship guide.

Jesus had cast seven devils

from Mary.

She had sinned much.

She had been forgiven much.

And she loved much.

John

was not healed

of seven demons.

Nor was Peter.

And so John and Peter

do not understand

the extent

of their need

for rescue

in the way

that Mary does.

Mary knows

more than all the others

how much

Jesus

has saved her

from.

Now you might say

that's not fair.

It's not Peter

and John's fault

that they didn't have

seven demons in them.

And that's true.

It's not their fault

they didn't have

seven demons.

But Peter

and John

did not need

rescue

any less

than Mary.

Peter

and John

just didn't

know

their need

as much

as Mary.

Peter

and John

did not

need

rescue

any less

than Mary

did.

They just

did not

know

their need

as much

as Mary

did.

That's why

Jesus

says

it's easier

for a camel

to enter

the eye

of a needle

than for a rich

person

to enter

heaven.

Not because

the rich

do not

have need

but because

the rich

don't know

their need.

It's hard

to see.

It's hard

to know

how desperately

you need

Jesus

if your

life is

filled

with comfort

and ease.

The point

is this.

The resurrection

of Jesus

Christ

from the

dead

is a

great

joy

to us

to the

extent

that we

understand

how great

our sin

is.

The

resurrection

of Jesus

Christ

from the

dead

is a

great

joy

to us

to the

extent

that we

understand

how much

we've

been

forgiven.

The more

we realize

how much

we need

the gospel

the greater

our celebration

on Easter

will be.

there are

people

who think

overall

they are

pretty

great

and maybe

they just

need

Jesus

to tweak

a few

things

here

and there

and if

that's

you

you will

not have

Mary's

great love

for Jesus

because you're

already

too in

love

with

yourself.

if that's

you

Easter

will

wash

over

you

with

little

effect.

The

one

who has

been

forgiven

much

loves

much.

The

one

who has

been

forgiven

little

loves

little.

There

were lots

of people

that day

in Jerusalem

who were

much better

off than

Mary.

There

were people

that morning

who had

a gourmet

breakfast.

There

were people

in Palestine

with fat

bank

accounts.

There

were people

who were

younger

and stronger

and more

beautiful

than Mary.

None

of them

not one

of them

had as

much joy

as Mary

had.

If you

don't

get

jazzed

up

about

Easter

and the

resurrection

you're

not going

to be

able to

make

yourself

get

excited.

If

the

resurrection

is

boring

to you

it is

because

you do

not know

how

desperate

you are

for God's

mercy

and grace

and forgiveness.

until you

know that

the

resurrection

will wash

over you.

When you

know it

like

Mary

you will

not want

to leave

Jesus

side.

Peter

and John

leave

in verse

10

Mary

stays

captivated

by his

beauty

worthy

tribute

haste

to bring

let his

peerless

worth

constrain

you

crown

him

now

unrivaled

king.

told you

we were

going to

talk about

two things

this morning

Mary's

love

and

Jesus

love

we've

seen

Mary's

love

in

verses

1

through

10

verses

11

through

18

we get

to see

the

type

of

love

that

Jesus

has

to

make

a

long

story

short

Mary

doesn't

recognize

Jesus

she's

zeroed

in

and

finding

his

body

that's

verses

11

through

13

verses

14

through

15

Jesus

does

appear

but

Mary

doesn't

recognize

him

she

thinks

he's

the

gardener

until

what

until

Jesus

says

Mary's

name

one

of the

patterns

that we

see

throughout

the entire

Bible

is that

God

calls

each

of his

people

by name

if you

were with

us

when we

were in

the series

on

Genesis

the story

of Abraham

think

all the

way

back

to

Genesis

Genesis 16 · chapter mention

chapter

16

remember

Abraham

and Sarah

would not

call

Hagar

by name

but

God

did

and

when

God

calls

Hagar

by name

in

Genesis

Genesis 16 · chapter mention

chapter

16

as I

told you

then

it is

the only

time

in

ancient

near

eastern

literature

that

any

God

addresses

any

woman

by name

in

the

New

Testament

Luke

Luke 19 · chapter mention

chapter

19

this

is

just

a

few

of

many

examples

Jesus

confronts

Zacchaeus

the tax

collector

who is

a

terrible

man

Zacchaeus

has spent

his life

defrauding

people

and cheating

people

out of

untold

sums

of money

and

Jesus

sees

him

hiding

up

in

the

tree

and

what

does

he

do

he

calls

him

by

name

we

could

go

on

now

Mary

called

by

name

what

does

Jesus

say

in

John

John 10 · chapter mention

chapter

10

my

sheep

hear

my

voice

and

I

know

them

and

they

follow

me

Jesus

love

is a

specific

individual

love

I had a

seminary

professor

who loved

to come

out to

Colorado

for vacation

and at

one point

he told

us a

story

he was

out

hiking

in the

Rocky

Mountains

and he

just

began

to cry

and he

thought

to himself

the

God

who

made

these

mountains

also

knows

my

name

the

resurrected

Jesus

Christ

who is

sitting

right now

at the

right hand

of God

the

father

who will

return

in glory

to judge

the living

and the

dead

knows

your

name

he knows

your wounds

he knows

your sins

he knows

your failures

he knows

your heartache

he knows

your grief

he knows

your strengths

he knows

your weaknesses

Jesus

knows

all

of it

and he

is still

calling you

by name

have you

answered

will

you

answer

I want

to show

you

one more

thing

this

morning

as we

talk

about

Jesus

love

we don't

just see

Jesus

love

in his

specific

and individual

care

his care

for Mary

and for

us

we also

see

Jesus

love

in his

mercy

and his

grace

Mary

is given

a message

to deliver

in verse

17

Jesus

tells her

who

that

message

is

for

he

says

go

to my

brothers

and who

are these

brothers

during

Jesus

darkest

hour

Mary

stuck

around

Mary

was

there

at the

crucifixion

if you

were here

on Friday

remember

Mary

is standing

there

with Jesus

mother

as Jesus

is abandoned

by everyone

else

Mary

never

left

what about

the disciples

where were

Peter and

John

all the

disciples

abandoned

Jesus

in the

garden

of

Gethsemane

and since

then

they have

been nowhere

to be

found

they are

not

the loyal

ones

and what

does Jesus

call the

people who

ran away

from him

in his

darkest

hour

he calls

them his

brothers

it's the

good news

of the

gospel

Jesus

because of

his death

on the

cross

his death

that paid

the penalty

for our

sins

offers

for those

who have

betrayed

him

that is

you and

me

to be

adopted

by God

as sons

and daughters

Jesus

says

we can

be his

friends

and if

you think

that friend

is too

chummy a

word for

God

I will

let you

hear it

not from

me

but from

Jesus

John

John 15 · chapter mention

chapter 15

he says

this

no longer

do I

call you

servants

for the

servant

does not

know what

his master

is doing

but I

have called

you friends

for all

that I

have heard

from my

father

I have

made

known

to you

you can

be Jesus

friend

you can

be his

brother

no matter

how much

you betrayed

him

you can

be a

sibling

of

Jesus

no matter

what you've

done

because

of his

death

and his

resurrection

if you

don't know

what that

means

and you

want to

dig deeper

into that

you can

look at

page 17

and 18

of your

worship guide

which spells

out what

it means

to repent

of your

sins

and to

follow

Jesus

in faith

that

friendship

that friendship

with God

is made

possible by

Jesus

death

and his

resurrection

defeating

sin

and death

forever

and earlier

in the

gospel

also in

John

Jesus

explains

this

John

15

greater

love

has no

one

than

this

that

someone

laid

down

his

life

for

his

friends

do

you

know

your

need

will

you

be

a

friend

of

Jesus

he

knows

your

name

and

he's

calling

let's

pray

our

father

in

heaven

we do

thank you

and praise

you

for the

great

grace

and mercy

that you

offer

to us

in

Jesus

Christ

we

ask

that

you

would

be

at

work

in

our

hearts

showing

us

how

desperate

our

need

is

for

you

that

that

path

of

repentance

would

lead

us

to

great

joy

joy

greater

than

what

we've

ever

known

before

because

we

are

resting

you

in the

mercy

and

grace

in

our

friend

and

our

savior

Jesus

Christ

and

we

ask

all

of

these

things

in

his

name

amen

I

invite

you

to

stand