Seeing Is Believing?

All right, well, this morning we've finally come to the moment that many of us have been waiting for in the story of Jesus, the resurrection.

John chapter 20.

John 20 · chapter mention

The last two Sundays we heard from John about what happened the day that Jesus died.

We heard his testimony about how they crucified Jesus.

We heard how the actions of the soldiers confirmed his death and at the same time fulfilled God's ancient words.

We heard how Joseph and Nicodemus prepared Jesus' body for burial and laid it to rest in the tomb nearby.

All of that on the day of preparation just before the Sabbath began in the evening.

Let's now continue the story this morning reading from John chapter 20.

John 20 · chapter mention

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've taken the Lord out of the tomb and we don't know where they've put him.

So John tells us that it was early on the first day of the week.

Mary Magdalene, one of Jesus' followers, she goes to the tomb and she discovers that the stone,

which had been rolled in front of the entrance, had been removed.

And what's surprising is just how brief John's description of all this is.

The other three gospel accounts tell us in much more detail what happened there at the tomb that morning.

Now John is writing his gospel much later and so perhaps just felt, you know, it's already been said and so I'm not going to focus on that.

John instead seems to focus his account on what he witnessed that day.

And for him, it all started when Mary Magdalene arrived early in the morning with some shocking news.

But for those of you who maybe aren't as familiar with the story, let me just briefly explain what the other accounts tell us about Mary Magdalene and what happened at the tomb that morning.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke all tell us how a group of women, including Mary, went out to the tomb very early in the morning.

Luke tells us that prior to this, on the evening that Jesus was crucified, these women had gone home and prepared spices and perfumes.

These were to put on Jesus' body to honor him.

But because Jesus died quite close to the time that the Sabbath began, they didn't have the chance to anoint Jesus' body with them.

And so they came together to the tomb on the first day of the week.

There was a discussion among the women.

How are we going to roll the stone away so that we can get access to Jesus' body?

But then, when the women arrive at the tomb, they find that the stone is already rolled away.

According to Luke, at least some of the women entered the tomb, but couldn't find Jesus' body inside.

And then after that, angels appear to the women.

And they announced that Jesus has risen from the dead.

The women, of course, were terrified, yet they were also filled with joy.

Matthew tells us that they go running to report all this to the disciples.

But now as we look closely at John's account from that day,

it seems that there was one woman who had a different experience from the rest that morning.

John tells us that Mary Magdalene went to the tomb,

saw that the stone had been rolled away,

and because of what she saw, she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple,

that's John, the author of this account.

And Mary says to them,

they've taken the Lord out of the tomb,

and we don't know where they've put him.

So Mary doesn't say,

guess what, guys?

We went to the tomb, and we saw angels declaring that Jesus is alive.

And then on the way there,

here, we saw him.

She doesn't say that.

Instead, she says,

they've taken the Lord out of the tomb,

and we don't know where they've put him.

So what does Mary Magdalene know at this point?

She only knows that Jesus' body is missing.

And she suspects that the reason is because someone has taken it.

Perhaps thieves.

Or Jesus' enemies.

And where?

We don't know.

So it would seem then that as we bring these accounts together,

that the women, they get to the tomb,

they see that the stone has been rolled away.

Some of them go in.

They can't find the body of Jesus.

And immediately, Mary Magdalene runs to tell the disciples.

And it seems she must have left them before the angels appeared

to declare the news to the rest of the women at the tomb.

So this is the first thing that John remembers that day.

It's Mary Magdalene showing up to the door of the house,

saying,

someone has stolen Jesus' body.

I know it's probably impossible for us to imagine

how Mary might have felt in those moments.

But let's try.

She's just witnessed

the horrific death

of the wonderful man, Jesus.

The one that she's come to believe in as her Messiah.

His death alone had brought her to anguish

and grief like never before.

But now, can you imagine this?

Just days later,

she goes to the place where he was buried

and finds that his remains are gone.

Can you imagine this?

How would that make you feel

if you went to the cemetery

three days after the death of a loved one

only to find that the headstone is out of place?

There's a wide open hole in the ground.

The casket is open.

There's no body inside.

So Mary Magdalene's mind is racing.

She's running.

Who would do such a thing?

Somebody's taken his body.

Now let's try Peter and John.

Can you imagine what it was like from their perspective?

I doubt they got much for sleep

on the nights following Jesus' death.

Probably the horror of what they had witnessed

was just replaying again and again in their minds.

Tears.

Questions.

Wanderings.

For Peter,

I tried.

I tried to fight in the garden,

but he told me to stop.

He told me to put my sword away.

And again and again,

I imagine the memory of Jesus' piercing gaze

in the courtyard

right after he had denied

having known Jesus.

And then all that followed

as they brutally beat him

and killed him.

For John,

the memory of those words

that Jesus had spoken to him

while up on the cross,

here is your mother.

And the other words too,

I am thirsty.

It is finished.

And the spear.

And the blood.

Can you imagine after all that

and sleepless nights

waking up to the sound

of someone knocking frantically on the door

and you open up

and here is Mary Magdalene

out of breath

fighting back tears

and frantic saying,

somebody has stolen his body.

So Peter and the other disciple

started for the tomb.

Both were running,

but the other disciple outran Peter

and reached the tomb first.

That's, by the way,

one of the clues

that John is the one writing this.

Only he would have known

if he arrived a split second

before Peter.

The other disciple outran Peter,

reached the tomb first.

John bent over

and looked in

at the strips of linen

lying there,

but did not go in.

There's this moment of pause

as John arrives at the tomb

and we don't know

what John is thinking here.

He's looking in,

he's seeing the strips of linen

lying there

where Jesus' body was

and it's like he just

doesn't know what to do.

He freezes.

Who knows?

Maybe he was thinking about

whether it would make him

unclean to go in there

or was he just processing

like, whoa,

Mary's telling the truth.

His body, it's gone.

Verse 6,

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.

You've got to love Peter.

He may not have been able

to outrun John,

but he was going to get

into that tomb first.

Picture him jumping down

in there

and then just staring,

speechless.

There's the strips of linen

that his body was wrapped in.

There's the head cloth.

Quite literally,

not in this translation,

but in most of the other ones,

the head cloth folded up

in a place by itself.

Hmm.

If this is the doing of thieves,

this is strange.

Why would they have

unwrapped the body

in the middle of the theft?

Why not just take the body

wrapped as it was

if that's what they were after?

And if it was the valuables

that may have been buried

with the body,

wrapped with the body,

I mean,

why not take the head cloth

as well

in the custom of the day?

That was one of the most

valuable things

buried with the person.

Often very ornate,

high-quality cloth.

And did they fold up

the head cloth

during the theft?

Or was that one of the women

who were here earlier

that did this?

Like, what's going on here?

Finally, the other disciple,

John,

who had reached the tomb first,

also went inside.

He saw

and believed.

And then John has

this side comment here

that he makes.

He says,

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.

So John finally goes

into the tomb

after seeing Peter do it

and he sees for himself,

yeah,

there's nothing in here.

There's nobody in here.

No body.

The cloths lying there.

The head cloths still there.

And in that moment,

John says,

he believed.

Now there's lots of speculation

here about what John believed.

Believed what?

Some suggest

that he just believed

that the body was stolen.

But it can't be.

It's got to be more.

I think John's side comment

in verse 9

gives us a clue

about what he believed.

They still did not understand

from Scripture

that Jesus had to rise

from the dead.

Rise from the dead.

That's what John believed.

He saw.

He saw.

And he believed.

Jesus really had risen

from the dead.

He really had come back

to life.

And I think the side comments

there, you know,

it's kind of an admission.

You know,

up until that point,

even though Jesus

has been talking about

rising from the dead a lot,

I'll be honest,

me, Peter,

the others,

we still hadn't got it.

We still didn't see

that that's how his story

was going to go.

He would die

and then rise back

to life.

So John tells us

that this moment

as he goes down

into the tomb

and looks

at where the body

was laid,

that's the moment.

I believed it.

Now at this point,

I want to zoom out

and switch to

camera 2,

as it were.

The Gospel of Luke

tells us a little bit

about what we just read

from a different angle.

There's a man

named Cleopas

later this very day

walking to a town

nearby called Emmaus

with his friend

and according to Luke,

Jesus appears

to Cleopas

and his friend

and walks with them

on the road

to Emmaus.

But Cleopas

and his friend

don't know

that it's Jesus.

They don't recognize him.

And this is what

Cleopas is saying

to Jesus,

even though he doesn't

know who he's

talking to,

about what happened

earlier this morning.

He says to Jesus,

in addition,

some of our women

amazed us.

They went to the tomb

early this morning

but didn't find

his body.

They came and told us

that they had seen

a vision of angels

who said he was alive.

Then some of our companions

went to the tomb

and found it just as

the women had said.

But they did not see

Jesus.

So this is what

Cleopas and his friend

remembered.

Notice the sequence

here.

The women go to the tomb

early in the morning.

They don't find

his body.

And before some

of our companions

go to verify it,

that's Peter and John,

what happened?

The women,

plural,

came

and told them

that they had seen

this vision of angels

who said that

he was alive.

So there's another

angle here.

There's a context

that Luke supplies.

Before Peter and John

run to the tomb,

they heard from the

women,

plural,

about the angels

saying Jesus was alive.

Now Mary Magdalene

never said anything

about angels

or about Jesus

being alive.

She just said,

they've taken his body

and I don't know where.

So it would seem

that before

any of the angels

appeared to the women

at the tomb,

Mary left and ran.

But then it would also

seem that before

Peter and John

came to the tomb

to verify,

the women had caught up

hot on her heels

and they shared

what they had

seen

on their way.

Now look to John

John 20:8

chapter 20

verse 8

and I think it makes

a little more sense.

As John

went inside the tomb,

he saw

and believed.

Believed what?

He believed

what the other women

had been reporting

right before this

that they had

seen angels,

that Jesus was alive.

He really had risen

from the dead.

So Mary Magdalene,

it seems,

missed out

on the angels,

on seeing Jesus

alive with the other

women on the way

according to the

Gospel of Matthew.

Or did she?

Verse 11.

Now Mary stood

outside the tomb

crying.

Interestingly,

John doesn't even

tell us that she

came back

to the tomb,

but it's implied

that she must have

followed after

Peter and John.

Peter and John

obviously

ran there

full tilt.

Mary had already

done a fair bit

of running

and probably just

got there

after.

Peter and

perhaps Peter and

John had even

left.

At any rate,

Mary gets to the

tomb and John

tells us that she

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've taken

my Lord away,

she said,

and I don't

know where

they've 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've carried

him away,

tell me where

you've 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.

So Mary

Magdalene

didn't miss

out.

God had

something special

just for her.

Moments

earlier,

Peter and

John had

been in

the tomb.

They

didn't see

any angels.

They never

saw Jesus.

But now

Mary Magdalene

takes one

more look

into the

tomb,

and can you

imagine the

shock on

her face

as she

sees these

two angelic

figures clothed

in white?

Yes,

in white,

sitting there

on the

place where

Jesus'

body had

been laid.

The angels

ask her why

she's crying,

and Mary

still doesn't

seem to know

the truth of

what's really

happened.

She says,

they've taken

my Lord

away.

I don't

know where

they've put

him.

She still

seems to

think that

somebody's

stolen

Jesus'

body.

And for

some reason,

maybe,

we don't

know,

maybe the

angels are

looking at

her,

and then

they look

up behind

her at

Jesus.

For some

reason,

Mary turns

around and

sees Jesus

standing there.

John tells

us that she

doesn't

recognize him.

The man

says,

why are you

crying?

Who is it

you're looking

for?

We don't

know why

she didn't

recognize Jesus.

There's all

kinds of

thoughts about

this.

Was it

Mary's tears?

Was it

just the

excitement of

the moment?

Was it

that Jesus'

appearance

after he

rose was

slightly

different than

before?

We don't

know.

Whatever it

was, she

didn't

recognize him,

not at

first.

And she

thought,

well, maybe

he's the

gardener that

looks after

this place.

Maybe he

took the

body.

Sir, if

you've carried

him away,

tell me where

you've put

him and I'll

get him.

I'll take

him.

Now, we

don't know

what she was

thinking here,

but everything

changes in

an instant

when Jesus

addresses her

by name.

Perhaps

in the same

way he

always had

said her

name before.

Mary.

Instantly, it's

like the scales

fall from her

eyes.

All of a

sudden, she

realizes that

it's Jesus

right there in

front of her

and she

grabs onto

him, clings

to him, and

won't let

go.

Can you

imagine how

sweet this

moment must

have been?

The man she

watched die,

now alive,

right here,

in my arms.

Jesus

says, do

not hold

on to me

or cling

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.

Again, there's

a lot of

conjecture about

these words as

well.

How come he

tells Mary not

to hold on

to him?

Is he about

to ascend to

his father

right now?

Some people

kind of see

two ascensions,

that he goes

up to heaven

now and then

he goes up

again 40

days later.

There's a lot

of speculation.

Is it, or

is it something

else?

Is it that

Jesus hasn't

yet been

glorified and

it's not

appropriate for

her to touch

him, but

then why is

it okay for

Thomas just

a week later?

And I'm not

going to go

into all of

that and the

speculation there,

but maybe it's

just something as

simple as this.

Mary doesn't

want to let

go of the

one that she

felt she'd

lost and

she's just

hanging on

for a long

time and

maybe Jesus

is basically

just saying,

you can let

go of me.

I'm not

going anywhere

yet.

I'm going to

be around for

a little while.

Go tell my

disciples.

And Mary does.

She heads back

to where the

disciples are with

this news.

A totally

different message,

a totally different

report than before.

I have seen

the Lord.

Big change.

Well, this is

the first encounter

with the

resurrected Jesus

that John tells

us about in his

gospel.

And it's a very

special moment,

a very personal,

private moment

between Jesus

and Mary Magdalene.

Jesus shows

himself alive

to her even

before he shows

himself alive to

Peter and to

John, the

disciple whom

Jesus loved.

And this is

just the

beginning.

All the

disciples will

see him alive

as well, but

we're going to

save that for

next Sunday.

In the couple

minutes that we

have left here,

what are we to

make of all this?

What are we to

do with this?

What should our

response be?

Well, when we

compare John's

account of the

resurrection to

the other

accounts, Matthew,

Mark, Luke,

we see that it's

quite different.

I'll be honest,

I love Matthew's

account best.

Right off the

get-go, early in

the morning, Matthew

invites you right

into the action,

the angels

appearing, the

excitement.

You can just

feel the joy.

You can feel the

fear.

You can feel the

adrenaline as they

run to tell the

news.

things.

And then, to

see Jesus on the

way, and they

worship him.

I love Matthew's

account, but John's

account is so

different.

John invites us to

consider things from

his perspective.

Instant surprise and

joy all at once right

there in the morning

wasn't how it felt for

everyone.

There were some of

us that day who

never saw the

angels.

angels.

Think about this.

At what point here

does John see

Jesus alive?

We haven't even got

to it yet.

It's coming.

We'll talk about it

next week.

It's later the same

day in the evening.

For Peter, it will be

later this afternoon.

What does John

remember most from

that morning?

He remembers Mary

Magdalene finding

him early in the

morning, telling him

that the body had

been stolen.

He remembers running

to the tomb with

Peter, finding it

empty.

And then, after

going back to where

he was staying, he

remembers Mary

Magdalene coming

back again with a

totally different

report.

I have seen the

Lord.

there was joy, but

it didn't break into

John's day in the

same way.

There was joy for

Mary, but it was

different than for the

other women.

For John and Peter, I

mean, they had, think

about this, they had

heard what the women

were claiming.

They went to the

tomb.

No angels.

No sight of Jesus.

Luke tells us that

after Peter went in

and saw the linens

lying there, he went

away wondering to

himself what had

happened.

John tells us,

though, that when he

saw the linens lying

there, he had a

different response.

He says, that was the

moment he believed.

There's a saying in

English that we have,

seeing is believing.

And usually what is

meant by that is that

until a person actually

sees something unlikely

for themselves, doubt

and disbelief are to be

expected.

There's something

powerful about seeing

something with your own

eyes, about witnessing

it firsthand.

And yet God in his

wisdom decided that not

everyone would experience

the resurrection of his

son the same that day.

The men never saw the

angels, only the

women.

And it seems Mary

Magdalene at first was

forgotten, missed out.

You know, sometimes we

may wonder, why is my

life going so differently

from that other

person's life?

How come this particular

area of my life is such

a struggle, but for that

person it seems so easy?

And yet God in his

wisdom has arranged our

lives differently for a

reason.

And at the end of the

story, nobody misses out.

Most of the women, on the

one hand, they couldn't

deny that they'd seen the

angels saying Jesus was

alive.

And yet here on the other

side is Peter and John

and Mary.

Could this be true?

They hadn't seen it.

John tells us here with his

own personal testimony

though, that seeing is not

required for believing.

In fact, that's what faith

is.

It's trusting.

It's believing the truth

that God has revealed even

when you can't see it.

Even when you don't feel it.

Sometimes God gives us the

opportunity to see things

all at once.

Just like the women saw, the

angels and Jesus.

Other times God arranges our

lives differently so that we

learn to trust him before we

see, before it all makes

sense, before we feel as we're

supposed to feel, like Mary and

John.

As Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5

2 Corinthians 5:7

verse 7, he said, we walk by

faith and not by sight.

What about you?

What are the things that are

going on in your life right now

that you wish you could see?

You wish you could see God's

purpose for it.

You wish you could know

firsthand how God is using this.

Why is he allowing this?

Why doesn't he do it different

for me like he's doing it for

someone else?

Let me encourage you.

Think of Mary Magdalene's story

that day.

Could it be that God has

something special for you

like he did for Mary?

Something just for you?

Think of John's experience.

In the meantime, while you

wait for your turn, while you

wait for Jesus to appear, to

answer your prayer, to act in

this circumstance, will you

trust him?

Will you believe?

This is John's invitation to

you.

To do what he did.

To put your trust in Jesus, the

risen Lord.

Even though you can't see him.

And he's going to have more to

say about that.

One final thing that really just

struck my heart this morning

as I was reflecting on all of

this again.

I was touched.

You know, you look at the other

accounts of Jesus' resurrection

and in almost every other case,

Jesus appears to a group.

Or in the case of Emmaus, to two

men, a couple, a couple of guys.

Now he does appear to Peter by

himself at some point in the

afternoon, but it's not described

in detail.

This is the only resurrection

account, appearance account of

Jesus to an individual.

And I got thinking about that.

What's the significance of this?

What's the meaning of this?

Was it because Mary was extra

special?

Prominent?

Influential?

Well, not really.

I mean, she's not mentioned that

much in the gospel accounts, in the

story.

In fact, in these days, the men were

regarded as the more prominent in

that culture, in that society.

She was a woman.

And who was she?

I mean, we don't really know all the

details of her life.

All we know is this little snippet

that's told us that she was one who

Jesus had cast seven demons out of.

I got thinking about this.

Jesus made a point of appearing to

her one-on-one.

Sometimes we may be in that place

where we just, we believe that Jesus

loves the church, the group.

But what about me?

The individual?

Just me.

Insignificant me.

Who am I?

Does he really care for me?

That Jesus took time out of this day

to appear to Mary one-on-one, I think

answers the question for us.

She never missed out.

She was not forgotten.

Says to us, to each one of us

as individuals, yes.

He cares for you.

He loves you.

He desires relationship

with you.

Even if your feelings are telling you

the opposite or something else,

not a single one of you

is forgotten

or will miss out.

This is the kind of love

that Jesus, the good shepherd,

has for his sheep.

Let's pray.

Father in heaven,

we thank you for this account

that you've preserved so well for us.

And I pray that you would press it

into each of our hearts.

Lord, you alone know

the deepest part of the struggles

that we carry with us.

The hard things.

The moments where we feel alone

and confused

and don't know what's going on

or why this is happening.

And I pray that you would speak

your love

and your grace

to each of us.

Just as you did to Mary.

As you made yourself known to her,

would you reveal yourself to us?

Would you let us know

of your love again

and your care?

We ask this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Amen.