The Gospel of John: The Empty Tomb

Cars now, three cars, they're going to Ohio to put everybody in

and they'll be back, they'll be gone next Lord's Day.

Galatians 5, Paul of course is concluding this letter to

churches, having corrected them about their false understanding of the gospel,

they believe salvation was through faith in Christ but also in addition to faith it

was good works coupled with faith and between the two of them, faith and works, people are

saved from their sin and Paul of course told them that was terrible error, that we are

justified before God through faith alone, Galatians clearly teaches that.

But it would be a wrong conclusion to say therefore works are unnecessary, absolutely works are

essential, they're not saving but they are certainly evidence of salvation

and Paul here in Galatians 5 talks about the importance, you sow to the Spirit,

you live for Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, you'll live.

On the other hand, if you live according to the flesh, you live in sin, you're going to

die in your sin and so truly a life of righteousness is

characteristic of those with true faith,.

Galatians 5.

Galatians 5, for freedom

Christ has set us free, stand firm therefore and do not submit again to a yoke of

slavery.

Look, I Paul say to you that if you accept circumcision,

Christ will be of no advantage to you.

I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.

You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law, you have fallen away from grace

for through the Spirit by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything but only

faith working through love.

You were running well, who hindered you from obeying the truth?

This persuasion is not from him who calls you, a little leaven leavens the whole lump.

I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view and the one who is troubling you will bear

the penalty whoever he is.

But if I brothers still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted?

In that case the offense of the cross has been removed.

I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves.

For you who are called to freedom, for you were called to freedom brothers, only do not use your freedom as

an opportunity for the flesh but through love serve one another.

For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

But I say walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh.

For these are opposed to each other to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

But if you are led by the Spirit you are not under the law.

Now the works of the flesh are evident sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,

idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger,

rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like

these.

I warn you as I warned you before that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,

faithfulness, gentleness, self -control.

Against such things there is no law.

And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

If we live by the Spirit let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Let's pray.

Our Heavenly Father we thank you so much for the gift of the Holy Spirit.

We thank you for his role in our salvation.

We thank you that he is the convictor, that he is our resident truth teacher.

We thank you for the gifts that the Spirit gives to us.

And we pray Lord that we would walk in the Spirit, that we would walk in

humility and love and patience and gentleness.

We pray Lord that our lives would exhibit all of these things.

And Lord we recognize that there is always a battle.

And that battle is the flesh going against the Spirit and the Spirit going against the

flesh.

And Lord oftentimes we succumb to the flesh.

But we recognize Lord that if we walk by the Spirit we will not carry out the desires of the flesh.

So help us Lord to walk in the Spirit.

Help us now Lord as we listen to Larza's sermon.

We pray Lord that we would listen to these words, that we would hear them.

We pray that the Spirit would teach us what they mean and how to apply them in our lives.

And then in the Spirit's power we ask Lord that we would carry these things out.

Help us to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which we've been called.

To your praise and glory and honor.

Help us Lord.

Thank you in Jesus name.

Amen.

Well let's turn in our Bibles please to John chapter 20.

You know every Sunday morning I religiously send out my

sermon notes usually about quarter to 8 or so a .m.

I didn't realize till I got here at church this morning I neglected to send them out this morning.

And so there's people that have probably been looking for them.

And particularly some that are watching us via the internet.

And you folks excuse me a little bit but Pastor Andrew, Sister Rose in Kenya

I believe you're probably watching.

Probably wondering where the notes are.

Well they'll be forthcoming this afternoon when I get home.

It was just an oversight on my part.

Doesn't happen very often but it does.

Well today we want to begin to consider the resurrection appearances of our Lord Jesus.

And of course with the opening of John chapter 20.

That is what is before us.

John's recording these words and of course John was an eyewitness.

John never identified himself by name in his gospel.

He always referred to himself as either the disciple that Jesus loved or the other disciple.

And we're going to see his self -reference here in this passage also.

As we look over this chapter, John chapter 20, we'll first read of the discovery of the empty tomb

in verses 1 through 10.

And then verses 11 through 18 we read that Jesus first appeared in his resurrected body to

Mary Magdalene.

Of which she then related her eyewitness to the disciples.

Verses 19 through 23 record Jesus appearing to the gathered Apostles that first

Sunday night, Lord's Day evening.

That is 10 of the remaining 12 Apostles were present.

Judas had hung himself, the betrayer.

And then Thomas was not present that first Sunday night.

And then lastly in verses 24 through 29 of John 20, Jesus showed

himself again the following Lord's Day a week later in the evening.

But this time Thomas was with them on this occasion.

And we have that account of course of doubting Thomas.

And then chapter 20 ends with John reporting in verses 30 and 31 that

Jesus performed many other signs to his Apostles that John had not

recorded in this gospel.

But that the ones that are recorded here were with the intention the design that people

would believe on Jesus Christ and thereby receive life that is eternal life in his

name.

Let's read the first 10 verses of this chapter.

Again this an account of the empty tomb discovered on the morning of our Lord's resurrection.

Now the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early while it was still dark

and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.

And she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved

and said to them they have taken away the Lord out of the tomb and we do not know where they

have laid him.

Peter therefore went out and the other disciple and we're going to the tomb.

And so they both ran together and the other disciple, again John's talking about himself here,

the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first.

And he stooping down looking in saw the linen cloths lying there yet he did not go in.

Then Simon Peter came following him and went into the tomb.

Peter is rather aggressive and brash and he charged right in there apparently.

And he saw the linen cloths lying there and the handkerchief that had been around his

head not lying with the linen cloths but folded together in a place by itself.

And then the other disciple who came to the tomb first went in also and he saw and

believed.

For as yet they did not know the scripture that he must rise again from the dead.

And then the disciples went away again to their own homes.

That's again John 20 verses 1 through 10.

We should understand these first 10 verses of John 20 is a single narrative unit, an episode,

sometimes called a pericope.

And the main subject of this narrative unit, this pericope, is of course that the tomb of

Jesus was discovered to be open and empty.

This pericope has a basic story form.

We're talking the way John recorded it and told this account.

And that it contains an introduction, verses 1 and 2, which introduces the

characters and the location of the event.

And then there is a second stage, what's commonly referred to as a conflict stage.

And here the conflict, we put that in quotation marks of course, is a

foot race between Peter and John to the tomb.

And then the third part of this short story form is the resolution of the conflict.

And the narrator explains to be the other disciples, that is John, that should

be apostrophe S, the other disciple, I should sing singular, having faith in the truth that Jesus

had risen from the dead.

And that kind of resolves the tension there, the conflict.

And then this episode concludes with a brief conclusion or interpretation in which the disciples returned to their homes.

No doubt puzzled, wondering what was going to come of all of this.

Now as we attempt to forge an outline for these ten verses, we follow the division

above, but we've used the following headings.

First we have Mary's witness of the empty tomb, verses 1 and 2.

The two disciples raised to the tomb, verses 3 through 7.

Thirdly, John, that is the other disciple, believed in Jesus's resurrection.

And then fourth, the disciples went to their home, to wrap up this little account.

And so let's first consider Mary's witness of the empty tomb, verses 1 and 2.

And so the first witness of the resurrection of Jesus Christ at this fourth gospel

includes is that of Mary Magdalene, not Madeline,

Magdalene.

Therefore she at first only witnessed the empty tomb, she didn't see the risen Jesus yet.

Later John will record her as the first witness of having seen the risen Lord.

And that's found in verses 11 and following.

There she met with Jesus in the garden where the tomb was located.

So let's read again of Mary's discovery of the empty tomb.

Now the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early while it was still dark and saw

that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.

Then she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved and said

to them, they have taken away the Lord out of the tomb and we do not know where they have laid him.

We read in John 19, the previous chapter, that the physical life of Jesus ended with his

cross when he declared it is finished.

And then bowing his head he gave up his spirit.

And then of course after the detail of the burial of his body, John concluded the account of the death of

Jesus.

But then opened the account immediately with this account of the empty

tomb on the first day of the week.

It was one movement however, now it's divided by chapter divisions in our English translations,

but it was one movement from the cross through the grave, the resurrection, of course the ascension

to the Father.

And although Jesus finished his sufferings upon his cross, it is finished, his resurrection

immediately followed, just as it had been declared that it would throughout the entire

record of the fourth gospel.

And of course later we read they didn't understand the scriptures that he would be resurrected, but Jesus had

told them and taught them, but apparently they didn't recall that

for of course purposes that, in the purpose of God, they did not

recall it.

And so the resurrection of Jesus completes and continues the lifting up of Jesus to his heavenly throne.

And this lifting up of Jesus began on the cross, he was lifted up at the cross, and now he's lifted,

still being lifted up out of the grave to rejoin his father with the glory that they had

shared from eternity.

And so Jesus had stated this in a prayer to his father back in John 17,

where he prayed, I have glorified you father on the earth, I have finished the work which you have given me to do,

and now oh father glorify me together with yourself with the glory which I had with you with

you before the world was.

And again for John that glorification was being lifted up on the cross through death

and even on to the very throne of God.

And so there's a connection between the cross of Christ and the resurrection of Christ, a

connection that should never be severed.

And here's a description of this inseparable connection between Jesus's death on his cross

and his rising from the dead as testified by the empty tomb on the first day of the week.

For John nothing could be more disastrous than to consider the cross in isolation from the

resurrection.

For nothing is more certain in his mind that the cross was the root Jesus took to

return to his father, that the ultimate glorification of the son with the father

is accomplished through the paradoxical glorification on the cross.

His cross and his resurrection is one movement on to glory on the part of the son.

And so we of course affirm that belief in the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ is an

essential teaching of biblical Christianity.

You cannot believe, you cannot be a true Christian unless you believe in the bodily

resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Now there are some who speak of the cross of Jesus Christ and the love that God showed in giving his son,

but they seem to stop short of declaring the fact and the significance of the resurrection of Jesus

Christ as his glorification as king of kings and lord of lords.

And that's of course who he is right now.

Jesus is in control of history as the risen God -man sitting on the

throne of God in heaven.

Oh yeah, they might emphasize Jesus hanging on his cross or perhaps a baby Jesus in the arms of his mother,

but the declaration of Jesus on his throne is sadly neglected.

Paul stated in 1st Corinthians 15 that failure to believe and we would say failure to

proclaim the resurrection of Jesus Christ is to declare a message void of hope.

If it ends on the cross and ends in the tomb, there's no basis of hope whatsoever.

It's in the resurrection.

And so Paul reasoned, there were some there at the church at Corinth that didn't understand about the bodily

resurrection, and so he reasoned with them, if Christ has preached that he's been raised from the dead, how do some of you say

that there is no resurrection of the dead?

But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen.

And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty.

If you don't proclaim the resurrection of Christ, that he's living right now and he's enthroned right now in heaven, your faith is empty.

It means nothing.

If you're only focusing on the cross of Christ, the suffering of Christ, the death of Christ, he was

raised and he's enthroned.

Yes, and we are found false witnesses.

Paul says, I'm a false witness if I don't proclaim the resurrection of Christ.

Because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ, whom he did not raise up, if in fact the dead do not

rise.

For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen.

And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile.

You are still in your sins.

And then also those who have fallen asleep, that those who have died in Christ, those who have died as Christians have perished.

If in this life only, we have hope in Christ.

In other words, if you have a Christianity that's void of a sense of a future resurrection

and a failure to believe and proclaim the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the implications of that as King,

if in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

And so the resurrection is essential.

Who is Mary Magdalene?

Mary is one of the most common names for women in the first century in Palestine.

And there's a number of Marys found in the scriptures.

This Mary is mentioned 12 times in the Gospels, which is really more times than

most of the Apostles, and certainly more than any other woman, except for maybe Mary,

the mother of Jesus.

This Mary was called Magdalene probably because she was from the town of

Magdala, which was a small fishing town on the shore of the Sea of

Galilee.

She probably became a disciple of Jesus early on in our Lord's ministry three years before, and

she continued to be our Lord's faithful follower, a disciple, during his crucifixion and

after his resurrection.

She was there at the foot of the cross, and she was the first one to the empty tomb early in the morning,

even while it was dark, John says.

She, along with other women, traveled extensively with Jesus throughout his earthly ministry, and in

fact they were the ones who probably financially supported Jesus and his Apostles.

We read of that in Luke 8 verses 1 through 3.

Now it came to pass afterward, he, Jesus, went through every city and village preaching, bringing the glad tidings,

the good news of the kingdom of God, the gospel involves the kingdom of God, and the twelve were

with him, and certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities.

Mary called Magdalene.

Notice she's listed first.

She's always listed first when she's listed with other women.

Out of whom had come seven demons.

This was a woman in bondage, a miserable woman, and Jesus had delivered her.

And Joanna, the wife of Chusa, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many

others who provided for him from their substance.

And so her support of Jesus and his disciples may indicate she was a woman of some wealth.

She and the others.

Luke also described her as the woman from whom Jesus had cast out seven demons.

This woman, Mary, is commonly said to have been a converted prostitute.

But actually that assertion was not made until Pope Gregory the first did so, in the 6th

century AD when he gave a series of sermons on Easter.

And what happened is he illegitimately identified Mary Magdalene as the sinful woman

that's recorded as being at Jesus's feet in John chapter 7.

They're not the same woman.

Frankly there's been a tremendous amount of traditional accounts and facts, fanciful and fictional

stories that have developed over the centuries regarding this Mary.

It's idolatrous.

She was canonized as a saint by Rome, which is also recognized in Eastern Orthodoxy.

And so there are statues of her that are venerated.

She's prayed to.

She celebrated in festivals.

This regard for her and actions of course respecting her has no biblical support.

It's idolatry.

The Bible commands us not to do such things.

The gospel simply and honestly portrays Mary as a devout woman whom Jesus had delivered from the

power of the devil having cast out seven demons from her.

And so the result of her deliverance by Jesus was for her to become a faithful disciple of Jesus who was

with him and his followers throughout much of his earthly ministry, perhaps the entire earthly

ministry in Galilee.

And the last direct mention of Mary Magdalene is in her witness of our resurrected

Lord, which we are going to find here in some detail next week in John 20 verse 11 and

following.

In these introductory verses of 1 and 2, John provides the time setting of

Mary's first witness of the resurrection, actually her discovery of the empty tomb.

And the details of time suggest meaning here that are very subtle that we

may not pick up.

Maybe we can with the help of a commentator or two.

John recorded that Mary Magdalene, I don't know why I put Madeline, Mary, that must have been my spell

checker.

Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early on Sunday morning, which was the first day of the week.

There are subtleties conveyed in this fourth gospel that are significant even though they may not be easily or immediately

recognized.

A careful reader however, perhaps with the help of a more careful commentator, can see truths that are

quite remarkable, though they may not be quite so overt to us.

And there is one suggested in these words that Mary Magdalene came to the tomb on

the first day of the week.

Here are the words of Edward Klink, who had some really good insights in his

contemporary commentary by Zondervan Publishers.

The gospel is so clearly applied a Genesis lens to the story, that is John's gospel.

Remember Genesis 1 -1, in the beginning God created the heavens the earth.

John 1 -1, in the beginning was the Word.

There's a parallel with Genesis, the creation story, the creation of Adam in the Garden of

Eden, and then the presentation of Jesus as the Word become flesh in John chapter 1.

There's a Genesis theme found in John's gospel that parallels

with the creation account in Genesis.

And so we have this opening phrase, on the first day of the week, in the light of the Gospels

creation motif, the anonymous garden.

Again Genesis opens with the Garden of Eden, John has Jesus buried in the garden

tomb, and next week we'll see that Mary mistook Jesus for the gardener.

There's the Genesis theme again.

Direct the reader to hear with these words the announcement of the first week of the new creation.

First creation.

Genesis, the new creation, here in John chapter 20, the first day of the week.

The entire gospel has been crafted within a creation week structure.

The creation of man was literally renewed at the Incarnation, verse 14 of chapter 1, the Word was

made flesh.

The focus of the majority of John was on the sixth day, the creation of the God -man, Jesus,

awaiting the seventh day, the day of rest to arrive.

But the seventh day has now come and gone.

His body rested in the grave, as it were.

Jesus the man, remember, behold the man, Pilate announcing him,

John 19, has completed his work, ceasing from all his activities.

The biblical irony is stark, the Son of God rested from his creative work in a new tomb, located

in a garden.

In this one statement, the entire biblical story summarized, for all of creation has been reborn

from this garden tomb, life, eternal life, was recreated and thus the Son rose

on this new day.

And so did the unique Son for whom this day would henceforth be named the Lord's Day.

Whole new creation opening up with the resurrection of Christ.

And notice further in John's time reference that when Mary went to the tomb, it was early while it was still dark.

John only contains that detail, I believe, of the four Gospels.

This may also have a significant subtle meaning, as we

consider the impending sunrise of our Lord's resurrection.

Again, words of Edward Klink, thus early in the morning with the dark still present but fading,

Mary Magdalene arrives at the tomb of Jesus.

The pervasively negative use of darkness and light in the Gospel.

You go back in John's Gospel, darkness and light are contrasted with one another.

She comes to the tomb now and it's still dark and the sun is about to rise,

of course.

This makes its use in this context potent.

In other words, we should see meaning here in that it was dark just before the sunrise.

The darkness it had for so long overcome, back in chapter 1 verse 5, the darkness overcame the world.

The world, and it tried to do the same to the Son of Man, was here taking its last breath, darkness,

before the sun, the light of the world, arose to claim this victory on the third day.

Again, the whole idea of a new creation.

There is subtle but very significant teachings that the Holy Spirit has

given us within the inspired Word of God that it's a shame that we don't

see it more clearly.

Well, we next read of what Mary discovered upon her arrival to the tomb.

She saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb

and this was, of course, no little feat for the stone was very large, heavy, and secure.

The Gospel of Matthew tells us that Pilate had officially sealed the tomb.

That is, he put a wax and his official seal stamped that,

you can't mess with that seal, under great penalty of the law.

Pilate had officially sealed the tomb and commanded that a guard be placed to assure that it was undisturbed by the followers of

Jesus.

Matthew tells us these details.

On the next day, that's following the day of preparation, the crucifixion, the chief priests and

Pharisees gathered together to Pilate saying, sir, remember while he was still alive how that deceiver said,

referring to Jesus, after three days I will rise.

Interestingly, the Pharisees knew he was claiming to be resurrected on the third day, but the Apostles

themselves didn't remember the Scriptures.

Sarcasm there, irony.

Therefore, command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, steal him away,

and say to the people he's risen from the dead, so the last deception will be worse than the first.

Pilate said to them, you have a guard, probably referring to the temple, Jewish temple guard, go your way,

make it as secure as you know how.

So they went and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone, and that's a formal Roman seal of Pilate, no

doubt, setting the guard.

And here at John's account we read that Mary Magdalene discovered the tomb to have been open.

Now she immediately read to tell what she had seen to Peter and the other disciple, that one that Jesus loved in a

special way.

Now notice it does not say specifically that she looked into the tomb, or went into the tomb.

We don't have time to refer to the other Gospels that give it a little bit more detail, but here she just seems to

look into the tomb, and she sees it's empty.

She didn't yet believe in the resurrection herself, she assumed that somebody came and stole the body of Jesus,

and so she assumed.

She saw the stone rolled away, the body wasn't there, somebody stole the body.

Now John's Gospel focused on Mary Magdalene as though she were the first, but lone witness to the empty

tomb.

But the other Gospels provide additional details, and I thought I would include

these.

And so in John's Gospel it's only Mary Magdalene, but now look at Matthew.

After the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, notice there's no word of darkness here,

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, and that's not Mary the mother of Jesus,

came to see the tomb.

And behold there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, came and rolled back the

stone from the door and sat on it.

His countenance was like lightning, his clothing as white as snow, and the guards shook for fear for him, and became like

dead men.

No doubt they fled.

Now verse 2 explains what happened.

I don't know that these women necessarily saw that happen, but this is how the stone was

opened.

But the angel answered, said to the women, do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.

He's not here, for he's risen, as he said.

Come see the place where the Lord lay.

Go quickly, tell his disciples that he's risen from the dead, and indeed he's going before you into Galilee.

There you will see him, behold I've told you.

So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear, great joy, ran to bring his disciples word.

And as they went to tell his disciples, behold Jesus met them saying rejoice.

So they came and held him by the feet and worshiped him.

And then Jesus said to them, do not be afraid, go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee.

And there they will see me.

A lot of details there in Matthew's account that we don't have in John's Gospel

about the number of women present, what they saw, what they experienced.

Gospel of Mark related these details, top of page 5.

Now when the Sabbath was passed, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James

and Salome bought spices that they might come and anoint him.

So here there are three women.

Very early in the morning on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.

And they said among themselves, who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?

But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away for it was very large.

And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right

side, and they were alarmed.

He was an angel.

But he said to them, do not be alarmed, you see Jesus of Nazareth who was crucified, he's risen, he's not

here.

See the place where they laid him, but go tell his disciples and Peter that he is

going before you into Galilee, there you will see him as he said to you.

So they went out quickly, fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed.

And they said nothing to anyone for they were afraid.

And then more details in Luke's Gospel.

Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they and certain other women with them

came to the tomb bringing the spices which they prepared, but they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.

Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

It happened as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men,

there was one in Mark's account, two here, stood by them in shining

garments.

Then as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, why do you seek the living among the dead?

He is not here but has risen.

Remember how he spoke to you when he was still in Galilee, saying, the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of

sinful men, be crucified, and the third day rise again.

And they remembered his words.

Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.

Again John's Gospel says that, you know, that Jesus appeared to ten and then to the

eleven a week later.

They remembered his words.

Then they returned from the tomb, told all these things to the eleven, to all the rest, it was, and then Luke

identifies them.

Mary Magdalene, notice she's listed first again, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and other women

with them, who knows how many, who told these things to the Apostles.

And their words seemed to them like idle tales.

Luke 24 says the Apostles didn't believe the women.

They should have, but they didn't believe the women.

They did not believe them.

But Peter arose and ran to the tomb, stooping down.

He saw the linen cloths lying by themselves.

He departed, marveling to himself at what had happened.

And so we have details that differ from Gospel accounts.

And it would appear at first glance that there are discrepancies.

And of course Bible critics, who want to deny the authority and inerrancy of Scripture, will point

these out and call them discrepancies and conflicting accounts.

But it's quite common in the parallel Gospel accounts, the four Gospels, where one Gospel writer will mention one

person, another Gospel writer will include another or others.

In fact we had this in John's Gospel just recently.

Remember we were talking about who took the body of Jesus down from the cross?

In one account it mentions Joseph of Arimathea, and only Joseph.

In another account it mentioned Joseph of Arimathea, plus Nicodemus.

And so accounts differ from one another.

That doesn't mean they're in conflict.

We would say they complement one another.

They fill out details for us.

In verse 2, back in John chapter 20, Mary's report to Peter and John.

She ran, came to Simon Peter, to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, said to them, they've taken away the Lord of the tomb,

and we do not know where they have laid him.

Now John only mentions Mary Magdalene, but now Mary says to the disciples, we, plural.

So John makes allowance that there are other women with her, right?

We, not I.

To say I do not know where they've laid him, we.

There are other women with her.

And so Mary included another or others to have been with her at the tomb of Jesus.

Here's the description of Mary Magdalene by F .F. Bruce.

I really appreciate this man, this biblical scholar.

He took on the liberals, the skeptics, throughout his ministry.

Did a wonderful job.

I think that his commentary on Hebrews in English is the best one available to us for lay people.

F .F. Bruce, hear words to Peter and John.

We do not know where they have put him.

Indicate that she was not unaccompanied when she went to the tomb, but she so obviously took the lead that

John does not even say in so many words that there were other women with her, let alone mention their names

as the other evangelists, Matthew, Mark, and Luke do.

But when the others mention her companion's names, they agree, putting hers first.

This may reflect the early church's remembrance that she was the first witness of the risen Christ, preceding even

Peter in this regard.

If her witness nevertheless was not stressed, as Peter's witness was stressed in the primitive preaching,

this was probably because a woman's testimony was of little public account.

Celsus, an anti -Christian polemicist in the later second century dismisses the

resurrection narrative as based on the hallucination of a historic hysterical woman.

That's how he viewed Mary Magdalene.

But of course, the Holy Scripture sent forth Mary Magdalene as testimony to

the effectual mercy and grace of God, who had transformed a broken and bound woman, forming her,

fashioning her into a faithful and fruitful disciple of Jesus Christ.

God chose Mary to be the first witness to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and

she was the first one to arrive at the tomb early on the Lord's day, and she stood at the foot of the

cross as Jesus died earlier.

Here's one explanation of the varied accounts of the four gospels.

Some of the alleged discrepancies are at the trivial level.

John is criticized for having Mary come to the tomb alone, even though she says we, plural, don't

know where they have put him.

Alternatively, he is criticized, John is criticized, for mentioning only Mary of Magdala,

Mary Magdalene, when Mark adds Mary, the mother of James and Salome, while Matthew says it was

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, and Luke specifies Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Joanna, and

others who were with them.

But there are more than a score of passages in the gospels where one evangelist reports so and so many

people and in a parallel report adds one or two more or mentions only one person.

We have just found this to be the case with respect to the burial of Jesus and the mention of Nicodemus.

Only the assumption scholars make about the nature of the descent of tradition, coupled with

peculiarly modern and western notions of precise reportage, that's very important, could

discern any difficulty in such variables.

These different, you know, accounts of the gospels have stood by side by side by 2 ,000 years

and they were not viewed as contradictory or conflicting until the so -called modern

higher critics, and it was really their own bias and their own

wrong conception of history that they wrongly imposed upon the gospels that resulted in their wrong

conclusions, nevertheless has had impact on so many.

Mary was afraid they had stolen away the body of Jesus.

The they, from her perspective, was probably the Jews.

However, the activity of grave robbers was not that unusual in that day.

Why people would want to rob graves, I don't know, but it wasn't unusual as one reported.

Mary's report suggests that the fear that either enemies or robbers had taken the body of Jesus.

The robbing of tombs was sufficiently common for official action to be taken against it.

A decree of the emperor Claudius, a copy of which was found at Nazareth, ordered capital

punishment for those destroying tombs, removing bodies, or displacing the sealing, say

the wax seal, or other stones.

The Jewish allegation, and that's what the Jews, unbelieving Jews, charge, of course, that the body of Jesus

was removed by disciples mentioned in Matthew is not hinted at in this account, but the theme of

robbery continues in the narrative.

That's what Mary thought, Mary Magdalene, and that's probably what the disciples thought

too, Peter and John.

Well, now we come to the second division and we have the two disciples racing to the tomb.

Mary Magdalene met, related to Peter, the other disciple, what she and others had seen, what they had thought.

This caused the two men to investigate for themselves.

There seems to be no hint yet that they thought that Jesus rose from the dead.

They must, at this point, have supposed that there were those who might have stolen the body of Jesus.

They really were ignorant.

They shouldn't have been.

Jesus had taught them, but so we read of this foot race of these two

disciples, verses three through seven.

Peter, therefore, went out, the other disciple, and were going to the tomb.

So they both ran together.

The other disciple, John's talking about himself, outran Peter, came to the tomb first,

and he's stooping down, looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there, yet he did not go in.

Then Simon Peter came, following him, went into the tomb, saw the linen cloths lying there, and the

handkerchief that had been around his head, not lined with the linen cloth, but folded together in a place by

itself.

Now, remember that Nicodemus and Joseph had wrapped the body of Jesus with cloth,

with a hundred pounds of spices and ointments.

It was like a cocoon, and they would wrap the head, too, and forgive me for getting

too graphic, but they would put a handkerchief over the face with an attempt to keep the mouth closed.

I read that in several commentaries, and so this handkerchief was over the wrapped head,

and they came in and saw the wrappings there and the handkerchief by itself, and so I don't know if

the body of Jesus just came out and left it intact.

It seems to be kind of unreasonable that it would have been unwrapped, and the unwrapped cloth would be laying

there when you consider how it was prepared with a hundred pounds of the spices that would have basically sealed

it together.

There's really not enough information here as to how it was discovered other than the cloths

were there, and what that proves is nobody stole the body.

You've got to find an explanation somewhere else, and this

was demonstrated, by the way, by commentaries.

Actually, early on, I'm getting ahead of myself in my notes, but it was

Chrysostom who argued in about, you know, in the early centuries of the Christian era

that this was evidence that the body was not stolen, because somebody stealing a body from a grave

wouldn't take the time to unwrap it, leave the cloths there, or the handkerchief by itself.

All right, so Peter and this other disciple are shown in John's Gospel.

They have interacted with one really on four separate occasions.

You have Peter and John together.

It's always Peter and the disciple whom Jesus loved, Peter and the beloved disciple, or the other

disciple, and there are four times when just those two are mentioned in John's Gospel, where

they're interacting with one another, and so you have one in John 13,

where they're at the supper, and Peter didn't want to ask Jesus directly, who is it

that's going to betray you?

He nudges.

John, you ask him.

You know, you're his favorite.

You ask him.

See if you can find out who it is, and then the second is this account in John 23 through 9,

which they're running to the empty tomb.

The third situation is Peter and this other disciple together in John 21 verse 7

records the appearance of Jesus to his disciples at the Sea of Galilee, all right,

and then we read, therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, it's the Lord.

Remember here, they were in this boat on Galilee, and a man

on the shore.

They fished all night, didn't catch any fish.

He said, cast on the right side of the boat, and they brought in this huge amount of fish,

and John, young John, said to Peter, it's the Lord, and

then this is the account here.

By the way, one day I was visiting Paul Stenstrom when he was in the nursing home.

I just came back from fishing.

I didn't catch anything.

I said, Paul asked me, did you catch any fish?

I said, no.

He said, you should have fished on the right side.

I'll never forget that.

Jesus said, fish on the right side of the boat.

They caught all that fish, and so Simon Peter, when he heard it was the Lord put on his outer

garment, he plunged into the sea, and then the fourth and last interaction of these two men is John 21,

21, and 22, and we'll deal with this in a couple weeks in some detail, and that's where Jesus told

Peter that he was going to die before the second coming.

Now, you'll hear a lot of people argue that all the earlier disciples expected the imminent return of Jesus, the

rapture of the church.

Peter didn't.

He knew he was going to die before the second coming of Christ, and of course the rumor spread

because Peter turned around and said, what about this fellow?

What about John?

Is he going to die too?

That's my business, Jesus said.

It's none of your business.

If I have him survive until I come, that's up to me, not you.

Don't, don't, you just be concerned about yourself, but the rumor arose, and John

corrects that, Jesus never said that I would be alive at the second coming.

He just said, if he chooses to keep me alive until his second coming, what is that to you,

Peter?

And so you have these four instances in John's gospel where Peter and John are kind of brought together, and

they have this interaction with one another.

Peter would have been the older man, and John the younger man,

and by the way, again in John 23 through 9, they're both running to the empty tomb,

and John arrived first to the tomb, bent down, looked in, and he saw the

grave close, and he didn't go in.

John was the first one to the tomb, Peter was the first one in the tomb.

Now this indicates probably that John

was the younger of the two.

He beat out Peter, and it's been reasoned, of course, that the epistles of John, 1st

John, 2nd John, 3rd John, and the book of Revelation were written down in the 90s A .D.

This may have been back in A .D. 30.

John may have been a very young man at this point, Peter middle -aged perhaps,

and the fact that he beat out Peter in this race to the tomb may indicate that he was a young man,

and this had been commonly argued, by the way, down in church history.

John gave careful detail to how they found the grave closed, but no body.

John wrote that he saw the linen claws lying there, the handkerchief had been around his head, not lying with the

linen claws, but folded together into place by itself, and so this describes

and shows the reality and the importance.

The body of Jesus had not been stolen, but the body of Jesus was no longer wrapped in grave claws.

Something else happened.

Oh, here's the reference to Chrysostom I see in my notes, I referenced earlier.

This detail was used in the earliest times as an apologetic for the Christian faith.

Chrysostom, he was called the Silver Tongue, he was a great preacher, argued that had grave

robberies stolen the body of Jesus, they would not have taken the time or trouble to unwrap the body of Jesus

and would not have carefully laid the wrappings and the handkerchief that was used to cover the face over the top of the wrappings.

The grave clothes still in the tomb indicated that the body of Jesus had been resurrected.

Now perhaps Peter had not yet comprehended the significance of what he saw, but later it certainly would have been further

evidence that could be cited as proof of the resurrection of Christ.

There may be, however, a different emphasis of John.

And here we kind of bring out maybe the, you know, the male

dominant culture of the first century.

The apologetic significance of the narrative could have a different slant.

In Jewish eyes, the testimony of the women was unacceptable.

And remember in John, in Luke 24, the women told the disciples that Jesus was risen, we

saw him, they didn't believe the women.

And Jesus rebuked them later, you should have believed the women, but they didn't.

Well here we've got two men, they're eyewitnesses, now there's valid testimony as far as the Jews of the first

century would have perceived.

They could fulfill the Jewish requirement of valid testimony according to Deuteronomy 19 .5.

So far the evangelist himself was concerned, he may well have had a simpler interest.

Jesus had forsaken his grave clothes forever, he's risen.

The evangelist had penned the story of Lazarus, recorded how Lazarus, the bedding of Jesus, came forth from his tomb

with the wrappings of the dead still binding him.

Lazarus, hand and foot, and the napkin on his head.

Lazarus had to be freed to take up life again in this world.

But Jesus, on the contrary, left his wrappings in the grave as a sign of his resurrection into the life of

God's eternal order.

If this was plain to the evangelist, that is John, it was otherwise with Peter.

And as he stood and gazed on the grave clothes in the tomb, he was totally uncomprehending, he was

clueless.

The sign was a mystery beyond his fathoming, at least at this time.

However, even though Peter seemed to be clueless still, it had an impact upon John.

And so we see in verses 8 and 9, John, the other disciple, believed in Jesus's resurrection.

He saw and he stated, he believed.

In other words, John, writing this gospel, I believed.

When I saw the grave clothes, he said, he lay in there, I believed in the resurrection of Jesus

Christ.

It's basically what he's saying.

Verses 8 and 9, the other disciple who came to the tomb first went in also, he saw and believed.

Doesn't say that about Peter, says it's about John.

For as yet, they didn't know the scripture that he must rise again from the

dead.

Now think about that statement.

This other disciple who was John himself was impacted in a far greater way than Peter on this occasion, or so it would

seem.

Later, we'll read that our Lord appeared to Peter separately, but here we read of John's own testimony of the

impact of what he saw.

He saw and believed.

The verb tense, Greek verb tense of believed is what they call an aorist tense, and it usually

signifies a completed action.

Something, you know, he believed, something that was done in the past.

It was a done deal.

From the moment Peter saw those clothes laid in there, he believed.

But this aorist tense verb can also be occasionally translated, what's called an ingressive aorist.

In other words, it speaks about a beginning action.

So it could rightly be translated, he saw and began to believe, or we might paraphrase, he began to fully

believe.

Obviously, John believed before this, but now he believed in the resurrection.

His faith was filled out.

Now he believed.

Some would argue it was limited to he believed the fact of the resurrection, and certainly that's evidently so,

but it speaks of a more full faith, a genuine faith.

In all that was recorded about Jesus, of all that John had heard and witnessed of Jesus, and now

he'd been convinced of his resurrection, this other disciple exhibits genuine saving faith.

Verse 9 explains and gives an explanation of the faith that John exercised.

For as yet, they did not know the scripture that he must rise again from the dead.

That's an interesting explanation.

John believed that Jesus Christ had been raised from the dead, even though his faith was based on what he had seen, rather than what he'd

read in the scriptures.

What is suggested or implied, the normal way that God brings people to saving faith, is through reading or hearing the

scriptures, not seeing a risen Jesus.

You follow how significant that is?

Later in this chapter of John, we'll read about doubting Thomas.

He'd not seen Jesus when Jesus appeared that first Sunday night.

He wasn't present with the disciples.

Thomas declared to the others, unless I see in his hands the prints of the nails and put my finger

into the prints of the nails and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.

And then we read the next week, after eight days, his disciples were again inside, Thomas with

them.

Jesus came, the door is being shut, stood in the midst and said peace to you.

Then he said to Thomas, reach your finger here, look at my hands, reach your body, reach your hand here,

put it into my side.

Do not be unbelieving, but believing.

And so Thomas saw and he believed.

Thomas answered, said to him, my Lord and my God.

And then Jesus said, Thomas, because you've seen me, you believe.

That's what John did.

He saw and he believed and that was good.

But then Jesus declared, blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.

In other words, what do they believe?

They believe the scriptures.

You see, you are more blessed if you believe in the resurrection of Christ because the Holy

Bible has declared it.

Then if you were there and you saw the grave close yourself in that tomb, knowing that the body

wasn't there any longer.

That's what the scriptures, that's what Jesus said to Thomas.

You're blessed.

You saw and you believed.

John saw and believed, but more blessed is the one who hasn't seen and yet believes.

And then here in this early part of John, it says he believed, although they didn't yet know the

scriptures about what the scriptures teach about his resurrection.

And so there's a great emphasis here on what the scriptures record about the resurrection of Jesus

Christ.

And of course, every one of us here this morning that are Christians believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ,

not because we saw proof of it or the visible manifestation of Jesus, probably scare

us if we did, but the scriptures, the word of God has told us and we believe it.

And Jesus Christ declares that you're a blessed man, a blessed woman, a blessed girl or

boy, if you believe these things.

And so we are to believe in Jesus Christ for who he is and what he did because God's word, the Holy scriptures

declare what actually happened in history.

And so if you begin and continue to believe on Jesus Christ and both his sacrificial death and his

resurrection as taught in the Holy Bible, God's word, you'll be saved from your sin and you'll be given the gift of

everlasting life.

And this, when it says that John looked and he saw and he believed,

it brings up all of the expressions of faith and belief and believes and believes that have

permeated this fourth gospel.

And I listed a number of them.

We don't have, we don't have time to read through them, but repeatedly in John's gospel, it talked about

believers having everlasting life, being given the gift of everlasting life.

And notice the number of citations I gave, and that's just a partial list.

And I've listed probably what a dozen or more there on the bottom of page 9 and 10.

We believe the scriptures.

Paul stated it this way in Romans 10, 8 through 10, contrasting those who falsely

thought they were saved by doing good works of the law and those who put their whole faith, their soul faith,

in Jesus Christ soundly and openly professing their faith.

Paul wrote, for Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, that is by what you do.

The man who does those things shall live by them.

You want to live by, you want to be saved by the law, keep it perfectly, see how well you do.

But the righteousness of faith, that is the forgiveness of sins and the declaration that you're

not a sinner but you're righteous, that comes through faith, speaks in this way, do not say in your heart who will ascend

to heaven.

It's not some great task that you have to do.

That is to bring Christ down from above, or who will descend into the abyss, that is to bring Christ up from the dead.

It's not what you do, but what does the scripture say?

The word is near you, the word in your mouth and in your heart, that is the word of faith which we

preach, that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and you believe in your heart

that God is raised from the dead, you will be saved.

That is a promise.

You're saved through faith.

But then notice what Paul includes, for with the heart one believes under righteousness and with the mouth

confession is made unto salvation.

You confess Christ as your Lord and Savior.

It's not a secret faith, it's a declared faith before others, a confessed faith.

Jesus said whoever confesses me before others, I'll confess before him before my Father in heaven.

Whoever denies me before others, I'll deny before my Father in heaven.

If you're a Christian, you need to declare it.

And of course the best way a Christian may declare his faith is in baptism.

Remember the first time I declared my faith as a 19 -year -old, I told a God bless her Mrs. Oliver,

she'd been working on me for months, and I told her I was a Christian.

I'm just saying a matter of fact, because that's what happened, you know.

But man, she broke down in tears.

I couldn't believe it.

It was, you know, the confession, an open declared confession of Christ, and it was so

affirming to her.

Of course, she told everybody.

It was quite a remarkable conversion at the time.

Well, a confession with the mouth, but notice what Paul wrote, for the scripture says

whoever believes on him will not be put to shame.

It's a belief in the scriptures about Jesus dying and being raised.

Yes, John saw and he believed.

You're blessed, John, but you're more blessed because you've read it in the scriptures.

You believed it, and you've confessed it with your mouth.

Jesus Christ is Lord, and he's not just Lord, he's my Lord.

He's my King, and I love him and serve him and believe on him.

The faith in Jesus Christ that brings salvation is based upon what the scriptures say.

Faith in what the Bible teaches is faith in God, who inspired the words of the Bible to be written

words that he chose and he called to this task of generating, bringing forth faith in

his people.

And then the passage concludes with the simple word in verse 10, then the disciples went

away again to their own homes.

John was yet to record anyone yet seen or meeting the risen Jesus.

We're going to see that in verse 11 next week.

As these men returned to their homes, they had no comprehension what was yet before them.

The cross and resurrection of Jesus had changed everything, however.

A new age, a new world, a new creation had dawned on that first day of the week, and these

men soon would find themselves to be pillars in the true temple of God that God was

erecting, a spiritual temple built upon a foundation that they as apostles would establish.

And that very night, Jesus would appear to them, and their lives would never be the same.

And of course, so it is with any and all who truly come to Jesus Christ, in repentance from sin

and in full faith in him, that believer enters into a life that is abundant, enjoyable, fruitful,

and rewarding.

That believer experiences a transformative encounter with the living God through faith in his son, which is a

life of joy, peace, and liberty.

Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift in Jesus Christ.

Let's pray.

Thank you, Father, for your word and for the various records we have in the Gospels that are able

to give us insight into your ways and your work through Jesus Christ.

Help us, our God, to go forth from this place with renewed faith and renewed love

and zeal for the cause of your Son, our Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, in whose

name we do pray.

Amen.