Sermon Text: John 20: 1-18
The Empty Tomb
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.
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!”
3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb.
4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.
5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in.
6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there,
7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen.
8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.
9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)
10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb
12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
13 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.”
14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
15 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 have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
17 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.’ ”
18 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.
Morning Message
We gather together this morning to celebrate with these encouraging words. He is risen! He is risen indeed! This is the most glorious day on the Christian calendar. We are a Resurrection people; this day is what we are all about. Jesus died for our sins, but without resurrection we would have no hope. Paul tells us this in 1 Corinthians 15: 19-20, “If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead.” We are a people of hope! From our devotional for today: “Forming a community with family and friends, building a body of love, shaping a new people of the resurrection; all of this is not just so that we can live a life protected from the dark forces that dominate our world; it is, rather, to enable us to proclaim together to all people, young and old, white and black, poor and rich, that death does not have the last word, that hope is real and God is alive.” We have the secret to eternal life! If I were to say that I had found the fountain of youth there would be a line miles long to try and drink from it. People would pay a lot of money for access to it. What we have in the resurrection of Jesus is far greater than life forever in this world.
“On January 30, 1986, millions of school children watched the memorial service for Christa McAuliffe, the teacher and astronaut who died in the Challenger Space Shuttle disaster. The most comfort and hope that the cleric offered a grieving nation was to say that she would live on in our memories.” Memories are great and sometimes they can be very comforting. It is nice to remember our loved ones who have passed on. I always say at funerals that God takes our memories and heals us from our grieving. I believe that, but that alone does not give us hope. “Paul … offers us genuine and lasting comfort and hope. Jesus does not merely live on in our memories. Paul assures us that Jesus was truly raised from the dead, victorious over the power of death and the grave. Our hope in Christ is real. God is alive!”
That, I believe is what the question from Jesus to Mary was all about. Who is it you are looking for? She was crying because she thought that someone had stolen the dead body of her Lord. Her mind was still so wrapped up in her grief that all she could think about was finding her lost loved one and taking care of the shell that was left. She came to the tomb that morning without hope. She came because she believed that He was the Messiah, her Lord, but she only had faith in the living. Let me bring this back around to us. We come here on Easter morning looking for what? We must not allow our faith to be simply a memorial to a dead prophet. That’s the difference between Christianity and every other faith. Every other prophet lived and died and is buried, and you can go and visit their graves. Do we really believe the words we sing? We serve a living Savior! Jesus Christ is risen today! Easter is about us remembering the hope that we have in Jesus. Today is not the day for a solemn gathering; today, if you came for the right reason, looking for a risen Savior, is a day to celebrate this wonderful fact: “Because he lives we also shall live.” Our Easter faith gives us a lifelong mission—to proclaim to all people that death does not have the last word. Because Jesus lives, we can confidently face tomorrow with the promise of eternity as our true hope. Are you here today out of respect for the life of Jesus, or are you here to celebrate your risen Savior? Who is it you are looking for?
In Christ’s Love and Peace
Pastor Bob
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