When the resurrection of Jesus dawned upon the understanding of His followers, the results were immediate. They ran to tell the message. This was the characteristic of that day. Everyone was running somewhere. The darkness had been so deep, that everyone was eager to spread the news, the dawn indicated that a very beautiful day was beginning. No man could hold back the dawn. It cannot be hurried by anticipating it nor stopped by doubting. No one could keep Christ in the grave, not Satan, not death and most certainly not men. When the day dawned on the first day of the week and the tomb was empty, new life came to the words as Jesus was born into the world. “Because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.” (Luke 1:78-79—NIV) His resurrection is the dawn; our resurrection will follow the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Let us take some time this morning to look at the good news about the dawning of new life.
I. With the Resurrection came a dawning of new hope.
A. Mary Magdalene and several other women agreed to go to the tomb early on the first day of the week, so that they might show their love for Christ in completing the burial preparations.
1. Mary Magdalene was apparently the first to arrive at the tomb in the morning.
2. Nicodemus had been forced by circumstances to prepare His body hastily, and the women wanted to finish the task.
3. There was no shred of hope left among His followers of ever seeing Jesus alive again.
4. The first day of the week was still in darkness, but soon the light of day as well as the light of understanding and hope would burst upon them.
B. The Gospel of John has a unique perspective in this account as John follows the activity of Mary Magdalene alone.
1. In presenting the evidence for Jesus’ resurrection, John deals more with its effect on human personality than with the material proofs the Western mind would prefer.
2. Only in John do we find the personal encounter between Jesus and Mary at the tomb.
3. One not only wonders why John gave her special prominence, but also why she had the great privilege of being the first to see the risen Lord.
4. When John accounts the events of that first day of the week, he would naturally give an important place to the one who first brought the news to Him.
5. Mary was among the ones Jesus freed from demon possession.
6. Mary followed Christ and contributed to the support of Him and His followers throughout His ministry.
7. Quite likely Mary Magdalene, noticing that the stone had been rolled away from the door of the tomb, ran to warn the disciples while the others investigated further.
C. John and Peter had an interesting experience at the tomb as well.
1. Peter and John started a footrace to the tomb. John beat Peter to the garden and looked in the tomb.
2. It is difficult to imagine what Peter and John were thinking as they hurried out of the city to the garden near Calvary. John was probably younger than Peter and reached the tomb first.
3. What kind of faith did Peter and John have at that stage in their spiritual experience? They had faith based on evidence.
4. Before John has much time to think about the situation, Peter arrives and charges into the tomb.
5. There were grounds for belief in a resurrection even before seeing the empty tomb, because of the content of the Lord’s teaching.
6. Before the dawning of another day, most of the disciples would see the risen Lord.
II. With the resurrection came the dawning of new life.
A. Peter and John had gone home by the time Mary got back to the tomb, so they did not convey to her what conclusion they had reached from the evidence they had examined.
1. Mary stood at the entrance of the tomb, exhausted, uncertain, and alone and near despair.
2. When Mary looked into the tomb, she saw two men in white. Their position at either end of the shelf where the body had been.
3. Mary apparently was not disturbed at seeing these men, and there is no evidence that she knew they were angels. The brief conversation neither dried her tears nor quieted her mind.
4. Mary was in tears and the angels asked her why she was crying.
5. Her focus is obviously on finding Jesus’ body, and convinced that the body was not in the tomb she probably turns to leave.
6. Why did she not recognize the One for whom she was so earnestly searching?
a. Jesus may have deliberately concealed Himself from her, as He would later do when He walked with the Emmaus disciples.
b. It was still early and perhaps dark in that part of the garden. Her tears probably blinded her eyes as well.
7. As Mary turned back toward the outside of the tomb, she saw a person standing there whom she took for the keeper of the garden.
B. Mary is suddenly brought back to her senses when she hears Jesus speak her name.
1. Apparently Mary had turned away from Jesus, for when He spoke her name, she had to turn back to look at Him again.
2. Turning again for a second look, she addressed him in Aramaic as "Rabboni." Strictly, it means "my dear lord," but John defines it in this instance as "Teacher." In this ecstatic moment of recognition, Mary must have prostrated herself before him and clasped his feet.
3. Mary is told not to hold on to Him because He had many tasks to accomplish and a short time in which to do them.
4. Mark clues us into the fact that this was the first appearance of Jesus after the resurrection.
5. Mary became the first messenger to carry this awesome and exciting news to others.
C. Jesus is our living Lord because He has conquered death.
1. The tomb was empty because the bonds of death could not hold the Son of God.
2. Not only was the body missing from the tomb the risen Lord was both seen and heard.
3. Paul writes that, “The wages of sin is death,” (Romans 6:23); but this penalty culminates in the ultimate end, spiritual death, which is being eternally separated from God.
4. By Christ’s victory, the forgiveness of sin is made possible, and man can be released from the grip of sin.
5. Christ is our living Lord because He brings renewed life to those who are dead to sin.
III. With the resurrection came a new message.
A. The death of Jesus had different meanings to different people.
1. To the Jewish leaders it seemed their victory, a menace to their teachings, traditions and power had been removed.
2. To the Roman soldiers, the crucifixion of Jesus was just all in a day’s work.
3. To His disciples His death brought despair and the absence of hope.
4. To Judas came the realization of his guilt.
B. Then Jesus arose from the grave with a “mighty triumph o’er His foes,” bringing different meanings to different people.
1. The Jewish leaders would never admit it because it would bring to light all their evil deeds.
2. The Jewish leaders concocted a lie to protect themselves from the humiliation.
3. The soldiers said while they slept someone came and stole the body.
4. To the disciples this new hope was like a release from prison.
C. To the followers of Jesus the resurrection is like a bright light in the darkness.
1. The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. (Isaiah 9:2—NIV)
2. Without Jesus bringing light into our lives, we could never know the direction in which to head.
3. Without Christ, we could never see the meaning and purpose of life.
4. The risen Lord is the light of the world, and is the living proof of a living God.
5. The resurrection was the dawning of a new hope, message and life.
As a missionary finished preaching in a marketplace in India, a Mohammedan stepped up to him and said, “You must admit that we have one thing you do not have, and it is better than anything you have.” The missionary replied, “And what is it you have?” “When we go to Mecca,” sad the Mohammedan, “we at least find a coffin. But when you Christians go to Jerusalem, your Mecca, you find nothing but an empty grave.” Smiling the missionary began to explain, “That is just the difference, Mohammed is dead in his coffin, and all the leaders of these false religions and philosophies of world are in their coffins. But Christ is risen, and all power in Heaven and on earth is given to Him.”
