John chapter 20. After singing
these hymns of our Lord's birth, now we're going to study the
passage of scripture that speaks of his resurrection. John chapter
20. The first day of the week cometh
Mary Magdalene early. when it was yet dark unto the
sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.
Then she runneth and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other
disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, they have taken
away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have
laid him. Peter therefore went forth, and
that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. So they ran
both together, and the other disciple did outrun Peter and
came first to the sepulchre. And he stooping down and looking
in saw the linen clothes lying, yet went he not in. Then cometh
Simon Peter following him and went into the sepulchre, and
seeth the linen clothes lie, and the napkin that was about
his head not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together
in a place by itself. Then went in also that other
disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw and
believed. For as yet they knew not the
scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. Then the
disciples went away again unto their own home. But Mary stood
without at the sepulchre, weeping. And as she wept, she stooped
down and looked into the sepulchre, and seeing two angels in white
sitting, the one at the head and the other at the feet, where
the body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her, Woman,
why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because
they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have
laid him. And when she had thus said, she
turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not
that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman,
why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou? She, supposing
him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne
him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take
him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself and saith
unto him, Rabboni, which is to say, Master. Jesus saith unto
her, touch me not, for I'm not yet ascended to my father, but
go to my brethren and say to them, I ascend unto my father
and your father and to my God and your God. I was asked recently
if we dress in black when we observe the Lord's Supper. That
was new to me that some churches evidently practice dressing in
black when they observed the Lord's table. You know, black
is a color used for mourning. Many times people dress in black
when they are mourning the loss of some loved one. And I thought
about this, and in the Lord's Supper, we do show forth the
death of the Lord Jesus Christ, but we do not mourn his death. We do not mourn the death of
the Lord Jesus Christ because at the same time that we do show
forth his death, we do so until he comes again. Our Savior, our
Lord, is alive. He died, he was buried, and he
was in the tomb three days, but he came forth on that first day
of the week that we've just read about. Now, the apostle Paul
wrote, who was, that is Christ, who was delivered for our offenses
and was raised again for our justification. He was delivered,
he did die, and he died as a substitute for his people. He was that one
sacrifice that did forever put away the sins of all of his chosen
people. Hebrews chapter 10, Paul said,
for by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. He was delivered for our offenses,
but he was raised for our justification. In these verses that we've read
here tonight, we have the first, the first appearance of the Lord
Jesus Christ after his resurrection. Now we know this was his first
appearance when he appeared to Mary Magdalene because in the
Gospel of Mark chapter 16 and verse 9 we read, Now when Jesus
was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first
to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. This was his first appearance
out of 11 appearances that are recorded. We do not know how
many times he appeared unto his people after his resurrection,
before his ascension, but we have 11 recorded appearances,
and this was the first when he appeared to Mary Magdalene. Now,
I have a few lessons for us tonight. I trust God will bless. First
of all, I want us to think about the fact that believers may have
needless worries. Believers, God's children, that
we may have needless worries. Someone said that two-thirds
of the things we worry about never come to pass. I don't know
how you would know exactly the figure, but I do know that is
true, that many times we worry about things, we're anxious about
things that never come to pass. And so I say, first of all, believers
may have needless worries. What makes me say this from this
passage of Scripture? Well, in reading in the Gospel
of Mark, we learn that Mary Magdalene, along with another Mary, witnessed
the Lord's body placed in the sepulchre. On that Friday of
His crucifixion, Mary Magdalene and another Mary, they followed
and they witnessed His body being placed in that sepulchre. And they also witnessed that
they rolled a great stone. The Scripture says it was a great
stone. not just a stone, but a great
stone in Mark's gospel upon the door. Now they went home, Mary
Magdalene and this other Mary, they went home and they observed
the Sabbath. And it was unbeknown to them
what had taken place on the Sabbath. They observed the Sabbath evidently,
but the high priest, And those religious leaders, remember,
they went to Pilate and they asked Pilate for a guard. They
wanted him to put a guard and to seal that stone, that door
into the sepulchre. Had they known this, had Mary,
the two Marys, had they known this, they probably would not
have come out early in the morning, as this scripture says, unaccompanied
to a place where there were Roman soldiers. If they had known that,
they would not have dared come out unaccompanied, two women,
by themselves. Now, before I go on with the
thought believers may have needless worries, I want us to hear this. The reason the priests did what
they did, the reason they went to Pilate and asked him for a
guard to be placed on the sepulchre, is that they had heard, they
had heard the Lord Jesus Christ say, destroy this temple and
in three days I will raise it up again. They had heard that. Now they didn't believe that
he would raise himself up. They didn't believe that. They
didn't believe he was a messiah, that he was the son of God, had
the power to raise himself. But their concern was that his
disciples would come and steal the body away and then say he
arose. And no one could prove one way
or the other. That was their concern. So they
went to Pilate and asked him for this guard which Pilate granted
them. But the point I want to make
here, these priests, they heard that our Lord said He was going
to rise on the third day, but His disciples didn't hear it.
On three occasions, He told His disciples specifically, we're
going up to Jerusalem, the Son of Man is going to be betrayed
and is going to be put to death and is going to rise from the
dead. They didn't hear that. Obviously,
I mean, they heard the words that went in one ear and maybe
came out the other ear. You know, it would amaze us,
I believe, how little we absorb of the Word of God when it is
being proclaimed. That's the reason we always pray
for God the Holy Spirit to bless the services, to bless the preaching
of the Word. Bless me as I hear the Word of
God preached. that I may retain the word of
God. They heard it, but it didn't
register. That's the reason when they came
to the sepulchre and heard that someone had stolen his body,
they believed that. But my point is that believers
may have needless worries. And how do I see that here? Because
again, if you read in Mark's gospel, these women coming out
to the sepulchre, remember they had seen a great stone rolled
upon the door. Their concern was, and they were
coming to anoint his body with ointment, with precious ointment. Who's going to roll that stone
away? That's a great stone. We don't have the strength. We
don't have the power. We've got the ointment and we
have the desire to anoint his body. But who is going to roll
the stone away? Well, you know, they did not
need to worry because Matthew tells us the angel of the Lord
descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from
the door. How many times are we concerned
about things that never come to pass? In God's providence,
he's already taken care of whatever it is that worries us. How much
do all of us need to hear Paul's words over and over, his words
in Philippians chapter four and verse six, when he said, be careful,
be anxious for nothing. Be anxious for nothing. That's
easy to read that, isn't it? It's easy to hear that. It's
easy to say that. But to practice it. Be anxious. Be careful for nothing. But in
everything, in everything, things that we call good, things that
we call bad. You know, there's a verse in
Hebrews chapter 11 that speaks of the things that men and women
of the Old Testament by faith. And I forget which verse it is.
I could go there and find it for us, but I won't take the
time. But about half of that verse tells of men who were delivered. And then the other half tells
of people who were persecuted. Now, they all had faith. They all had faith. Those that
God delivered from the fire, like the three Hebrew children
thrown into the furnace, they believed God. God delivered them. But there were others of God's
people, the apostle tells us, of whom the world was not worthy,
who were scattered about living a life of a wanderer in this
world. They all had faith. God's providence,
God's concern for his people, we know is always best. We don't know what is best for
ourselves, but we need not be anxious because we know that
he has provided. Be careful for nothing but in
everything, everything, what we call good providences and
bad providences. You know, it's easy to worship
a giving God, isn't it? Isn't it? It is. I mean, it's
easy to worship a giving God when the heavens are open and
the blessings are poured out upon us. But how about when God
is taking, when He's a taking God, like He was to Job, when
He took everything he had, even his health, and yet Job was still
able to say, blessed be the name of the Lord. It's easy to worship
a giving God. But the point is, many times
we worry about things. Peter said, casting all your
care upon him, for he careth for you. Remember the hymn writer
wrote that hymn, take your burdens to the Lord. That's easy to do. and leave them there. That's
where the difficult part comes in. Take them to the Lord and
leave them there, leave them with Him. The second one I want
to speak to us of tonight from this passage of scripture. And
I may preach again from this place next week, the Lord willing,
because this is such an important passage, the resurrection of
the Lord Jesus Christ. We'd have no hope, no assurance
whatsoever, if we did not know that our Lord came forth out
of the grave. He came forth victoriously. And
the point to remember when he came forth, we came forth. Those of us who are members of
his mystical body, when he was crucified, we were crucified.
You say, mystical. Yes, because this is a mystery,
but it is revealed in the scriptures. And not only were we crucified
with him, buried with him, rose with him, but we are seated in
the heavens, in the heavenly places in Christ. This resurrection
of our Lord, what a blessed truth it is. And you know, in the book
of Acts, you read through the Acts and you very seldom ever
find a message that the apostles preached that they did not preach
about the resurrection. Yes, his death is all important,
that sacrifice to put away our sins, but so is his resurrection. He's living, reigning, ruling. Lord God Almighty. Well, the
second thing I want to speak to us about from this passage.
Believers may have different temperaments. I won't say much about this,
but don't we see this in Peter and John? Believers. We're not all the same. We have
different temperaments. Not everyone is exactly alike. And it's probably a good thing.
Well, I know it's a good thing. We probably couldn't get along
if we were all just alike. But believers have different
temperaments. Some are very outgoing. Some are very not outgoing. I don't want to
say introverted, but some are just shy. Some are very loud, vociferous. Some are very quiet. God's made
us all. Everything is beautiful in his
own way. Well, evidently, let me tell
you what I see here by comparing the various Gospels, the four
Gospels concerning these people coming out that morning. Evidently,
when Mary Magdalene, she wasn't alone. She was accompanied by
the other Mary, and I believe another Mary as well. But evidently,
when they approached the sepulchre, remember it's just daylight.
It's early in the morning. What she saw was the stone was
rolled away. And without stopping to do any
investigating, she did two things. She did two things. The first
thing she did, she assumed that the Lord's body had been stolen. She assumed that. What she assumed
was a lie. But she assumed it. She assumed
that the Lord's body had been stolen and she never let this
assumption go until the Lord spoke to her and called her by
name. Let me show you this. If you look in verse 2, when
she went to where Peter and John was, what did she say? Then she
runneth and cometh to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom
Jesus loved, and saith unto them, they have taken away the Lord
out of the sepulchre. That's what she assumed. That
wasn't true. We know that. But that's what
she assumed. That's what she told Peter and
John. When she ran, seeing that stone removed, she takes off
running and goes to where Peter and John are. And there's a message
in that. There's a message in the fact,
remember, Peter had denied the Lord and no doubt felt like he
had just done something that was irreparable. But notice who's
with him, or they're together, John. John, who took our Lord's
mother, Mary, to live with him to his house. They're together,
evidently, in Jerusalem. And I see the comforting there.
I see the work of John towards Peter. But that's what she assumed,
and that's what she told those two disciples. And then notice
in verse 13, that's what she told the angels. When she came
back with Peter and John, they maybe came before her, they was
running, but when she came back and she looked in and she saw
these angels and they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, because
they have taken away my Lord. That's what she assumed. Told
that to Peter and John, told that to the two angels, and notice
further down in verse 16. Or verse 15 rather, this is what
she told the Lord Jesus. Now she assumed that he was the
gardener. And I just wonder if she didn't
recognize the Lord because in her mind she had made this assumption. They have stolen the body of
the Lord Jesus Christ. She was convinced of it. She
was convinced of a lie. And so even when the Lord Jesus
spoke to her in verse 15, woman, why weepest thou? Whom seekest
thou? She, supposing him to be the
gardener, saith unto him, sir, if thou have borne him hence,
tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. She assumed a lie, an untruth. And I believe this is what caused
her not to recognize the Lord Jesus Christ maybe at first.
And how many times do men assume a lie to be the truth? I've thought about this this
past week and this message and let me just mention this because
in dealing with people and hearing people speak over the years,
here's a lie that some people assume The Lord will not have
mercy upon me. The Lord will not have mercy
upon me. The Lord will not save me. The
Lord will not hear me when I cry. What a lie. What a lie. And yet people assume
that and suffer because they assume a lie to be the truth. Listen to the Lord's words in
Isaiah 45 in verse 19. I have not spoken in secret in
a dark place of the earth. I said not unto the seed of Jacob,
seek you me in vain. I, the Lord, speak righteousness.
I declare the things that are right. God here declaring, he
never said in a dark place, in a secret place, he never uttered
those words, seek you me in vain. Never did. Seek the Lord while
he may be found. Call upon the name of the Lord,
for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved. More willing to save than sinners
are to come. I know that. I know that's true. But people assume a lie. And
then they suffer for it, believing it to be the truth. The truth
is the word of God. But that's the first thing she
did. She assumed that someone had stolen his body away. And she was convinced of it.
And the second thing, that she did, she ran to tell Peter and
John, as we've already seen. Now they both ran to the sepulchre,
and this is where, in my opinion, we see the difference, these
two men, the different temperaments of these men. Now they were both
believers, and they were both disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. They both had been singled out
by the Lord on three occasions to witness something that the
other 12 disciples did not have the privilege of witnessing.
Remember when Jarius, that ruler, came and told our Lord, my daughter
is grievously sick. And the Lord went with him, and
on the way word came, your daughter's dead. No need in him coming. And our Lord took Peter, James,
and John. and went in and they witnessed
the Lord Jesus Christ taking that young girl's hand and saying,
I say unto thee, arise. They saw that. The others didn't. And they saw that day when he
went up on the mount of transfiguration. It was these two disciples plus
James. And they, when our Lord went
into the garden of Gethsemane, they were separated from the
others. When he said, watch here, then he took these three further
into the garden where they could hear him pray that night. But the point is, they were believers,
they were disciples. But they acted different when
they came to the sepulchre. And this was their temperament,
this was natural to them. John, we believe, was probably
the youngest, so maybe could run a little faster than Peter.
He got there first, but he doesn't go in. He stoops down and he
looks in, maybe out of fear, maybe out of reverence, maybe
out of respect for Peter, being the older disciple. Now Peter,
he barely slows down when he gets there. I mean, he's in and
they're looking. What a difference in these two
men, the way they handle this. Then John came in and they both
saw what should have convinced them. And Mary said, they have
come and they've taken away, they've stolen our Lord's body.
They come and they see what should have convinced them. Nobody stole
his body. There's no way anyone stole his
body. Why? Because the linen wrapping
that he had been wrapped in for burial was laid in one side,
one place, and his napkin, it says, in another place, that's
translated handkerchief, was in another place. Now if someone
had come in to steal his body, and remember when they put this
wrapping around his body with the myrrh, Nicodemus brought
that ointment, it was What I imagine is something like a cast, how
they used to make a cast, you know, when a person had a broken
arm or something. They'd wrap it and put that stuff
in there. And to get that off of this body,
no one would have taken the time. If they'd come in and got the
body, they would have taken the body as it was, all wrapped up,
easier to carry like that to begin with. They saw what should
have convinced them No one stole his body. And did you notice
John believed? Doesn't say Peter did. But look,
John believed. That is in verse 8. Then went
in also that other disciple which came first to the sepulchre,
and he saw and believed. Now what did he believe? He believed that the Lord Jesus
Christ was alive. He believed. But the point I
wanted to make was the difference, that all believers are not the
same. We have different temperaments.
And you know, God made you to be what you are. He didn't make
you to be something else. Just keep that in mind. All right,
here's a third thing. Scene of angels. 1 Timothy chapter
3 and verse 16 says, and without controversy, great is the mystery
of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh,
justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the
Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. Angels attended his birth. We
sang several hymns that spoke to us of the angels singing. Hark the herald angels sing.
Angels attended his temptation. After being tempted 40 days in
the wilderness, angels came. Angels attended his passion. Remember, Luke tells us an angel
was sent to strengthen him. Angels attended his resurrection.
And later, we know angels attended his ascension, the day he ascended
back into heaven. And think about the position
of these two angels that spoke to Mary. The scripture says here
in verse 12, And seeth, as she looked in to the sepulchre, she
saw two angels in white sitting, the one at the head and the other
at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. In Psalm 91,
the scripture said, He shall give his angels charge over thee. No doubt the angels watched over
that body, but think of that. As his body lay there, there
was an angel where his head had laid and an angel where his feet. What does that remind us of?
The mercy seat. The mercy seat. There was a cherubim
on this side and a cherubim on this side. And they were looking
at each other and looking down at the mercy seat. That's just
something that occurred to me. I don't know if that's a good
type or not, but I know this, that they were looking at the
mercy seat when they looked at the Lord Jesus Christ. Now the
last thing that I want to say a few words about, Mary acknowledged
her risen Savior in verse 16. And Jesus saith unto her, Mary, She turned herself and saith
unto him, Rabboni, which is to say, master. As the good shepherd,
he said, my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow
me. Mary Magdalene was one of his
sheep. She was, of course, like all
of his sheep, lost when he found her. And out of her were cast
seven demons. And she heard his voice. He is the shepherd of the sheep
who calls his own sheep by name. He said, Mary. And she responded,
Master. Our Lord told his disciples,
you call me Master and Lord. Now listen to me. And you say
well, for so I am. Be careful about referring to
our blessed Lord and Savior merely as Jesus. His disciples didn't. He told
them, you call me Master and Lord and you say, well, for so
I am. When we speak of his name, and
I'm not laying this down as a law, as a rule, But I'm just saying,
the scripture says, thou shall not take the name of the Lord
thy God in vain. Jesus Christ, he is the Lord
our God. And we call him Master and Lord. And when we do, we say well. And that's what Mary said when
she responded. Mary? Rabona, master, master. And I could not help but think
of the words of the bride in the song of Solomon when she had out of her unconcern lost
the presence of her Lord, of her husband. She said, it was
but a little time. It was but a little. that I pass
from them, that is the watchman. But I found him whom my soul
loveth. I held him and would not let
him go. Mary, when she saw the Lord Jesus
Christ, she found, he had been gone for just a little while,
just a little while. When she found him whom her soul
loveth, She would not let him go. I pray the Lord would bless
these thoughts to us here this evening. And as I said, I may
come back here next Sunday night and bring another message because
there's so much here. There's so much truth in the
word of God. Let's sing a hymn. Let's sing
a hymn that speaks to us of his resurrection, right? You got
one chosen out. Good.