John Ch.20 - Disbelief to Belief

John chapter 20 verses 1 to 18. We're taking a break for a few weeks from our series in

John 20:1–18

1 John, so we're looking at the Easter story today. Next week we have a guest, Seth Lewis.

Seth Lewis? It's not Lewis. It is Lewis, yeah. Seth Lewis from Yaw will be coming to speak

and then the following Sunday we'll be looking at the big question of yes or no, the marriage

referendum and then we'll get back to 1 John. But we're not taking a complete break from 1 John,

it's the same author. John's Gospel also wrote the letters of 1 and 2 and 3 John, so

we're going to look at this together and I've asked Joe, it's good to have Joe back with us as well,

from his studies and Joe is going to read for us this morning. Thank you.

Hello.

John 20 from verse 1.

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 have taken the Lord out of the tomb

and we don't know where they have put him. So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb,

both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and

looked in at the strips of linen lying there, but did not go in. Then Simon Peter, who was behind him,

arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that

had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. Finally,

the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.

They still did not understand from scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.

Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary 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 have taken my Lord away, she said, and I don't know where they have put him.

At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

Woman, he said, why are you crying? Who is it that you are looking for?

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have

put him, and I will get him. Jesus said to her, Mary. She turned towards him and cried out in Aramaic,

Rabboni, which means teacher. Jesus said, Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the

Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, I am returning 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.

Thanks very much, Joe. Well, please keep your Bibles open there in John 20. We're going to pray

and ask that God would help us to understand perhaps a familiar story to us, but that would be fresh

and that it would encourage us. Let's pray.

Father, we thank you for this true story, this eyewitness account, this record of those who first came to the empty tomb

and encountered the risen Jesus.

Father, we thank you for this true story, this is our prayer.

And it is our prayer that as we listen, as we read and engage with your word,

that we too, by the power of your Holy Spirit, would encounter the risen Lord Jesus.

that he would meet us where we are today.

Whether we believe, whether we doubt,

or whether we don't yet believe.

Lord Jesus, would you please come

and speak to us

and teach us what this resurrection means

for us today.

We ask this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Well, Jesus has already died.

He's been buried.

And we read this in chapter 20, verse 10.

Then the disciples went back to their homes,

But Mary stood outside the tomb, crying.

I think we can all identify with Mary

because we've all been there.

We've all experienced the heartache and pain

of losing a loved one.

With family and friends, we've stood round the grave

as we've said goodbye to those we deeply care for.

For Mary, this is the end.

All she has left are memories.

It's the tragic end of a life

that has been cut short,

33 years of age.

And her friend, the one who had healed her life,

restored her life,

is gone.

Death is always painful

because it robs us of our friends

and it steals away our joy.

Now, while tears are understandable,

we do not need to grieve like Mary.

You see, on at least three different occasions,

Jesus had said that he must suffer many things,

that he must be killed,

and after three days, rise again.

Jesus could not be clearer.

Three times we know he said this publicly,

I will be killed,

but I will rise.

So if Mary knows this,

why is she still crying at the tomb?

You see, while we all want the resurrection to be true,

like Mary,

we can struggle with disbelief.

And even if we do believe,

we can still have doubts

and wonder if this is just a made-up story.

For Mary,

the resurrection of Jesus

simply could not have happened.

You see, Mary came looking for a dead Jesus.

Look at verse 1.

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.

Now we might think,

as we follow along with Mary,

that she was on her way to see

if the resurrection had happened.

But we've got to get into the head of Mary

because she didn't have a belief in the resurrection.

Mary was actually just like

another character in John's Gospel,

Martha.

Keep your finger in John chapter 20

John 20 · chapter mention

and go back to John chapter 11.

John 11 · chapter mention

John chapter 11.

John 11 · chapter mention

Here we meet a different Mary

and she's with her sister Martha.

And their brother Lazarus has just died.

And Jesus has arrived.

And this is what Jesus says to Martha.

Let's read verse 23 of chapter 11.

Jesus said to her,

Martha answered,

Martha answered,

I know he will rise again in the resurrection

at the last day.

You see, Martha was a Jew.

She believed in a general resurrection.

A resurrection that would only happen

at the very end of time,

or as it says there in verse 24,

on the last day.

Jews, even Greeks, Romans,

they didn't believe that a person would rise from the dead

in the middle of history.

Religious or non-religious people at that time

did not have in their thinking a resurrection in time.

It wasn't part of their belief.

So go back to chapter 20.

So here's Mary arriving at the tomb.

She's not looking for a risen Jesus.

She's looking for the dead Jesus.

And even when Mary does see Jesus,

look at verse 14.

At this she turned round

and saw Jesus standing there,

but she did not realise that it was Jesus.

Even though she was there in his presence,

it was just outside of her thinking

that he could be there.

There was simply no hope of a resurrection.

In fact, Mary's only conclusion

is that the body has been stolen.

So look at chapter 20, verse 2.

So she came running to Simon Peter

and the other disciple,

the one Jesus loved,

and said,

they have taken the Lord out of the tomb

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

It's quite clear,

Mary had no belief in a resurrection.

Someone must have taken the body.

In fact, when she does see Jesus,

she thinks he's actually responsible for the theft.

So look at verse 15.

Woman, he said,

why are you crying?

Who is it you are looking for?

thinking he was the gardener,

she said,

sir, if you have carried him away,

tell me where you've put him

and I will get him.

It's just a comical scene, isn't it?

The risen Jesus is being accused by Mary

of stealing the dead Jesus.

You see, Mary is not yet a convinced believer.

She is just like people like us.

She's like the person we work with

who sees death as the end

but has no category of thinking

of life beyond the grave.

To them, it's just not possible.

People we work with,

people that we know,

they may have some kind of confused thoughts

about becoming part of the material world,

but a physical, bodily resurrection

is simply not part of their thinking.

Mary's also like the person

who is just anti-God.

They spend their time thinking of reasons

why the resurrection can't be true.

They are sceptical.

Jesus didn't die.

Jesus didn't rise again.

His body was just simply stolen.

They make up things.

So the question for us here is,

are we like Mary?

Are we looking for a dead Jesus?

Or do we just think that the body was stolen?

Do we disbelieve what has been written?

And even if we do believe this story,

do we have a little nagging doubt

in the back of our heads

that somehow this has just been made up

and it's not really true?

Well, like Mary,

we can know with absolute certainty

that the resurrection is true.

We have evidence to believe.

First,

the body was not stolen.

Have a look at verse 5.

Mary is gone to tell two of her friends.

In this account here,

it's Peter and John.

And we pick it up in verse 5.

This is John.

He bent over and he looked in

at the strips of linen lying there,

but he did not go in.

Then Simon Peter,

who was behind him,

arrived and went into the tomb.

He saw the strips of linen lying there.

Now,

in the first century,

burials are very different

to what they are now.

But what you did then

was that you would wrap

the dead body

in strips of layered cloth.

One layer would be put on

and then it was covered

in spices and perfumes

to help with the process

of decaying and the bad smell.

Then there would be another layer,

then more spices,

another layer,

and so on and so on.

So tell me this.

Why would anyone stealing a body

take the time of unwrapping it all?

It doesn't make sense, does it?

Why would they leave,

as it says in verse 6,

the strips of linen lying there?

And as Peter looks into the tomb,

the way that it says he saw,

he's thinking,

he's pondering,

what?

No body,

strips of linen,

what's going on here?

A stolen body,

you would take the strips of linen cloth

with you,

all wrapped up,

especially a body like Jesus's

that had been battered and bruised

and pierced with a spear.

A body that had been mangled like Jesus,

you wouldn't want to unwrap that.

But look what else Peter sees

in verse 6 and 7.

He saw the strips of linen lying there

as well as the burial cloth

that had been around Jesus' head.

The cloth was folded up by itself,

separate from the linen.

Now again, think about it.

If you're a thief,

why would you go through

the whole intricate detail

of folding up the cloth,

placing it all neatly in a pile?

Thieves don't hang around.

They get in as quick as possible

and they get out as quick as possible.

They're not concerned about

leaving things nice and tidy.

So the theory of the stolen body

doesn't stand up.

In fact,

if we're going to accuse the disciples

of stealing the body,

then we have to deal with the fact

that nearly all of the disciples

suffered a martyr's death,

crucified some of them,

killed because of their belief

in a resurrection.

And why would you allow yourself

to be killed

over something you knew wasn't true?

It doesn't weigh up.

It doesn't stand up.

In other words,

the evidence points to a resurrection.

The other piece of evidence

for the resurrection in this story

is that the first witness

to the empty tomb

is a woman.

In fact,

it's the same in the other gospel accounts.

She is the first witness,

Mary Magdalene,

as she comes to the tomb.

Now, why is this important?

Is it because women never lie?

Don't think so.

It's important because

a woman's testimony

was not acceptable.

Listen to this historian,

Josephus,

who was writing at the time.

This is what he writes.

He says this,

But let not the testimony

of woman be admitted

on account of the levity

and boldness of their sex,

since it is probable

that they may not speak truth

either out of hope of gain

or fear of punishment.

I don't agree with it.

I'm just stating

that was the way it was.

In the first century,

a woman's testimony

was not admissible evidence

in court.

You didn't have a woman say,

oh, I saw that,

because they didn't trust them.

In other words,

if you wanted to prove

the fact of the resurrection,

you would never use

the witness or testimony of woman.

That would only undermine

your evidence.

Writers of that time

never used women

to back up their case.

So why does John do it?

Well, the only reason

John would tell it like this

is because Mary

was the first witness.

Because it was true.

She was the first eyewitness

to the tomb.

The tomb was empty.

Jesus was raised.

You see,

faith in the resurrection

is based on facts.

Christianity is not subjective.

It is objective.

It is based on reality.

People say religion

is something that takes

the place of facts.

That's not true.

Christianity is built

and founded on

the truth of the historical,

personal, bodily

resurrection of Jesus Christ.

So the message

from this story is

believe in the resurrection

not because it's a nice story

or because it feels right

or we'd like it to be true

but believe it

because it is true.

But we need more

than just evidence.

We also need grace.

Like Mary,

we need an intervention

from the living Jesus.

First,

we need a personal intervention.

Have a look at verse 11.

There's Mary

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?

Now this is not

a sympathetic question.

They're not handing out

the tissues here.

It's a rebuke.

Mary,

why are you crying?

You don't need to be.

Jesus asked the same question

in verse 15.

Woman,

he said,

why are you crying?

Who is it

you are looking for?

You see,

if Mary was left

at the tomb crying

in verse 11,

if that's where

the story ends,

she would never,

ever come to believe.

On her own,

she would not

have understood.

She had heard

the words of Jesus

saying,

I'll die

and I'll rise again.

She's seen

the empty tomb,

but she still

doesn't understand.

It still hasn't

triggered inside her mind.

It hasn't

hit her heart.

It took more

than just evidence.

It takes

a personal

intervention

from the risen

Lord Jesus.

And that's

what happens.

At first,

in this very

comical scene,

here we have Mary

crying her eyes out

and this person

arrives in verse 15,

says,

why are you crying?

Who is it

you're looking for?

And she thinks

it's the gardener.

It's the caretaker

who looks after

everything

and says to him,

well,

why have you

taken him away?

Or sorry,

verse 15,

sir,

if you've carried

him away,

tell me where

you've put him

and I'll get him.

But then Jesus

called her

personally

by name.

Verse 16,

Jesus said to her,

Mary.

Mary.

Jesus

takes

the initiative

and he comes

to this

disbelieving,

doubting

woman

and he calls

her

personally

by name,

Mary.

She turned

towards him

and cried

out in Aramaic,

Rabboni,

which means

teacher.

teacher.

This is the

personal

intervention

into her

life that

causes her

to see

that this

is Jesus.

And this

is the

intervention

we all

need in our

lives

if we are

to believe.

well,

you might

say that's

great.

Wasn't

Mary lucky

to have

been there?

Because if

the risen

Jesus turned

up right

here,

right now

and he

walked

through

those

doors

and he

called

me by

name,

Johnny,

I'd

believe.

Would you

believe?

So do

we expect

Jesus to

turn up

and sit

beside us

and call

us by

name?

Well,

listen to

what Jesus

says.

Have a look

at verse

29.

It's a

little further

on in

the story.

Here we

meet a

different

person who

was disbelieving

and doubting.

His name

was Thomas.

And he

encounters the

risen

Jesus

too.

And we

pick it

up in

verse 28.

Thomas

said to

him,

my Lord

and my

God.

Then

Jesus

told him,

because you

have seen

me,

you have

believed.

You've

seen me

and you

believe.

Now look

at this.

Blessed

are those

who have

not seen

and yet

have

believed.

Jesus

says,

even

though you

can't

see me,

even

though you

cannot hear

an audible

voice,

you too

can still

believe.

And it's

all because

of my

gracious

intervention

in your

life.

You see,

as we

follow

Mary on

her journey,

as we

watch her

get closer

to the

tomb,

as we

watch her

look into

the empty

tomb,

name,

as we

see her

crying,

as we

hear Jesus

call her

name,

as we

follow along

with Mary,

we too

are looking

at the

evidence for

ourselves

and we

are also

hearing the

call of

Jesus

into our

lives.

Through this

story of

Mary,

Jesus is

calling each

one of us

by name,

personally

calling our

names so

that we

will follow

him and

trust him.

Blessed are

those who

do not

see,

but yet

believe.

You see,

most of the

time we

think that we

can get

through life

all on

our own.

If I

want to

believe,

well,

I'll believe

if I want

to.

If I want

to follow

Jesus,

well,

then that's

something I

might do

when I'm

a bit

older.

But that's

not how

it works.

It takes

the personal

intervention

of the

risen Lord

Jesus by

his Holy

Spirit to

open up

our spiritual

ears and

our eyes

so that we

see and

that we

hear the

call of

Jesus calling

us personally

by name.

Follow

me.

Mary

heard the

call.

she saw

the

evidence

and it

changed and

transformed

her life.

And this

is what

happens,

and this

is what

happens to

us as it

happened to

Mary when

we believe

the resurrection,

when we

put our

confidence in

the risen

Jesus.

We're going

to look at

four things

really quickly,

four things

that happen

when we

believe that

we can take

away with

us.

Here's the

first one.

God is

present with

us.

Look at

verse 17.

Jesus

said to

Mary,

do not

hold on

to me,

for I

have not

yet returned

to the

Father.

Don't

hold on

to me,

Mary.

You see,

when Jesus

returned to

the Father,

he promised

that he

was going

to send

the Holy

Spirit.

You can

have a look

back in

John chapter

John 14 · chapter mention

14 or

just simply

listen.

In John

John 14 · chapter mention

chapter 14,

Jesus is

speaking and

he says,

I will

ask the

Father and

he will

give you

another

counsellor to

be with

you forever,

the Spirit

of truth.

He says,

I will not

leave you

as orphans.

I will

come to

you.

And then

he says

this wonderful,

comforting and

reassuring words.

Jesus says

in verse

23,

My Father

will love

him and

we will

come to

him and

make our

home with

him.

So Jesus

is saying

to Mary,

as she

grasps who

Jesus is,

you don't

need to

hold on

to me,

Mary.

You can

let go

of me

because you're

never going

to lose

me.

I am

going to

return to

the Father

and when

I return

to the

Father,

the Father

and Jesus

by the

Spirit,

we will

come and

live in

you.

We will

not leave

you as

orphans.

God will

be present

in your

life,

dwelling

within

you,

making

your life

his home.

The

resurrection

means that

Jesus is

present with

us in

our lives.

God's

God's

God's

God's

God's

life.

The second

thing is that

we can enjoy

a personal

relationship with

this living

God.

Back in

chapter 20,

verse 17,

let's read it

again.

Jesus says,

don't hold

on to me,

for I've yet

to return to

the Father.

Go instead

to my

brothers and

tell them,

I am

returning to

my Father

and your

Father,

to my

God and

your

God.

Jesus

enjoyed the

most intimate

and personal

relationships with

the Father.

The Son

enjoyed the

Father and

the Father

enjoyed the

Son.

They were

one together

in that

perfect

intimacy.

And that

is what we

now have

if we

believe in

the resurrection.

Look at

what God,

Jesus,

says to

Mary.

I am

returning to

my Father

and your

Father,

to my

God and

your

God.

We have

a living

God who

is not

only with

us,

but he

is speaking

to us

through his

word.

He communes

with us

by his

spirit and

he's listening

to us as

we pray.

We can

enjoy a

relationship

with the

living God.

The third

thing that we

have because

of the

resurrection

is we've

got a

new purpose

for life.

Look at

verse 18.

Mary Magdalene

went to the

disciples with

the news,

I have

seen

the Lord.

I have

seen the

Lord.

And she

told them

that he

had said

these things

to her.

Before

we saw

Mary at

the tomb

crying.

She had

no hope.

She had

no purpose.

This was

the end.

There was

no meaning

for Mary

beyond the

grave.

That was

it.

It was

all over.

But now

all of

that has

been

completely

changed

and

transformed.

She now

has a

life to

live.

She has

been given

a commission.

She has

been sent

by Jesus.

Go and

tell them

that you

have seen

me,

that I

am alive,

that I

live.

And

followers

of Jesus

who know

the presence

of Jesus,

who have

that personal

relationship

with him,

have this

wonderful

privilege

of bringing

this news

that we

know the

risen

saviour.

The risen

saviour is

the hope

for our

broken,

suffering

world.

He will

come again

and judge

the world

with justice

and he

will raise

up all

those who

love him.

That

is

our

future.

That is

the hope

for our

broken

worlds.

And the

final

thing that

we have

because we

believe the

resurrection

is the

promise

that death

is not

the end.

Surely

this is the

big point

of the

resurrection,

that death

has been

defeated,

the grave

has been

destroyed.

Death is

not the

end.

Because

Jesus lives,

we who

believe like

Mary will

also live.

There will

be that

great reunion

of all

those who

love him

gathered

together from

throughout all

of history.

And we

will share

with the

Lord Jesus

in his

eternal

kingdom where

there is no

more suffering,

suffering,

no more

pain,

and there

is no

more death.

There will

be no more

funerals to

attend,

and there

will be no

more crying,

because Jesus

has risen.

listen to

these words

that Jesus

spoke at

the funeral

of his

friend,

Lazarus,

and he

speaks those

words to

us.

Jesus

said,

I am the

resurrection

and the

life.

He who

believes in

me will

live even

though he

dies.

And whoever

lives and

believes in

me will

never die.

Do you

believe this?

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.

Our Father God,

we thank you

that we

have a

risen

Lord,

a risen

Saviour.

The evidence

is there

before us

that he

rose from

the grave,

the folded

grave clothes,

the eyewitness

accounts.

We thank you

too that you

call us

by name,

speaking to

us personally,

saying,

see and

listen.

we thank you

that this is

all true.

And we

thank you

that because

this is

true,

we have a

personal,

living

relationship

with our

eternal God,

present,

living within

us,

his power

at work

within us,

providing us

with this

purpose

to bring

hope to

a broken

world,

and the

guarantee

of life

to come.

We thank

you that

life is

all sorted

from beginning

to end

because

Jesus

lives.

Would you

please help

us if we

disbelieve

to see

clearly who

you are?

And would

you please,

if we do

believe,

ground these

truths into

our hearts

so that

we live

with confidence,

trusting you

every step

of the way.

We ask

this in

Jesus'

name.

Amen.

Amen.

We're going

to sing as

we close

our time

together.

It's really

a song about

the story

we've just

looked at

together.

See what a

morning,

gloriously

bright,

with the

dawning of

hope in

Jerusalem.

The second

verse,

see Mary

weeping,

where is

he laid,

as in sorrow

she turns

from the

empty tomb.

Here's a

voice speaking,

calling her

name, it's

the master,

the lord,

raised to

life again.

Let's

celebrate this

wonderful truth

that Jesus

is alive.

Amen.

Daunting of hope in Jerusalem.

Home is a great road to fill with life.

As the angels announce, Christ is risen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Let's pray. Father, we give you our thanks for the risen Lord Jesus.

We pray that you would help us, like Mary, to declare to others that the Lord is risen,

to tell this true story so that others may have the hope of life to come,

the presence of God and the relationship with him.

Father, go before us and help us, we pray.

In Jesus' name we ask.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.