April 15, 2001 – Easter John 20:1-18
“Going away empty-hearted”
INTRODUCTION
Let me start out with a scenario for you this morning. Every day, a gentleman went to work. Every day, he would ride the elevator all the way to the bottom floor of the high rise apartment building that he lived in. But when he came home from work, he would ride the elevator back up to only the 6th floor. Then, he would take the stairs to his apartment many stories higher in the building. This he did every day, unless it was raining. If it was raining, he would ride the elevator all the way to the floor of his apartment. Why?
Here’s another one to think about. Ann is lying on the floor dead. There’s broken glass and water all around her. Stuart is asleep on the couch seemingly oblivious to the death that has occurred. How did Ann die?
Did you ever play those kind of mind games where you are presented with a scene, and you have to figure out what happened to make that scene the way that it is by asking questions that can only be answered with a “yes” or “no”? Just so that you won’t be trying to figure those out the rest of the morning instead of listening to what our main topic is today, I’ll tell you the answers to them.
In the first one, the reason the gentleman would only go the 6th floor on his return home from work was because that was the highest button that he could reach on the elevator control panel. He was a short man. On days that it rained, he had his umbrella with him, and he could use that to punch the button that indicated his floor. In the second situation, it might help you to know that Ann is a fish, and Stuart is a cat. And the glass and water all around Ann on the floor is from her fishbowl that Stuart successfully knocked over.
Let’s try one more. On Friday night, a man dies. He is buried on that same night. On Sunday morning, some friends of his arrive at the tomb where he was buried to pay their last respects only to discover that his body is gone. What happened? That’s the situation that we’re going to look at this morning. Let’s read vs. 1-2 of John 20.
Early in the morning, a group of at least 5 women approached the tomb where Jesus’ body had been laid. There had not been sufficient time after His crucifixion to properly prepare Him for His burial. As they got closer, suddenly a thought occurred to them: “Who is going to roll away that huge stone from the door of the cave?” (Mk 16:3) But in spite of the obstacle, they kept on going. When they got to the tomb, they found a scene that they did not expect. They found the soldiers that guarded the tomb lying on the ground, looking very much like they were dead. (Mt. 28:4) But more amazing than that, they found the stone rolled away from the entrance to the tomb. (Mt 28:2 – angel rolled it away) So they walked past the guards and entered the tomb where Jesus body had been placed. When they got there, they found the body gone! Suddenly, two angels appeared and proclaimed to them that Jesus had arisen! The angels told them to go and tell His disciples, so that is exactly what they did. (Lk 24:4-6) When they got there, they caught their breath for a moment, and then they began to excitedly tell all that they had seen and heard. But the men didn’t believe them. It sounded like a bunch of gibberish to them! (Lk 24:11) Guards that seemed to be dead…the stone rolled away…men in bright clothing…Jesus alive?! None of it made any sense. But the message was intriguing enough to provoke two of Jesus’ disciples, John and Peter, to go to the tomb to see for themselves. So John, Peter and Mary Magdalene head off to the tomb to see for themselves if they can figure out this mysterious occurrence that had happened that day. There was an empty tomb. No one doubted that part of the women’s story. But what they needed to decide for themselves was why it was empty and what it all meant.
That’s the same thing that you must decide. We all agree that there is an empty tomb. You wouldn’t be here today if you didn’t believe that. But the question is how are you going to respond to that empty tomb. How is it going to affect your life?
Three different people came to the tomb that day, and each one responded in a different way.
JOHN, THE BELIEVER
The first to arrive at the tomb was John. [read vs. 3-5] When John heard the news, he jumped up and ran with all his might to get to the tomb. He wanted to believe. He loved Jesus. Of all the disciples, he had been the most faithful. He had been in the courtyard when Jesus was interrogated and sentenced to die. He had been at the foot of the cross when Jesus hung there dying. He had willingly taken Jesus’ mother into his home to care for her. He was so excited about the possibility that Jesus might actually be alive that he ran faster than he ever had before. But when he got to the tomb, he did not go in. He looked inside and saw some of what Mary had said was there, but he stayed outside.
Maybe he stayed outside because he had to catch his breath after the long run. Maybe he stayed outside because he was afraid. What if Mary was wrong, and Jesus’ body had been moved to another part of the grave? He didn’t want to see Jesus all mangled from the torture of the beating and the cross. What if once he and Peter were inside the tomb, guards who had been hiding suddenly appeared? It could be that this was all an elaborate trap set up by the Roman officials. They’d take Jesus’ body away to lure the disciples there. Once the disciples arrived, they’d arrest them and say that they caught them trying to steal the body of Jesus to make it look like Jesus had risen from the dead.
After a few minutes, Peter arrived at the tomb. [read vs. 6-8a] Brazen Peter walked right in without the slightest hesitancy. He saw everything just as Mary had said. The linen that had covered Jesus’ body was all neatly lying in place – like Jesus’ body had just dematerialized from inside the clothing. When Peter arrived and entered the tomb, John figured that it must be ok to enter, so he went in too. They both saw all the evidence, but they had different responses to the evidence. [read vs. 8b-9] John saw and believed. The empty grave was enough evidence for him that what the other women had said was true. Jesus really had risen from the dead! John didn’t need to see Jesus to know that Jesus was alive. He had heard Jesus’ prophecies about His coming death and resurrection, and now, here was the empty tomb. It was enough.
There are many people like John here today. We believe because there is an empty tomb, and because there is the testimony of Christians through the centuries to the fact that Jesus is alive. We don’t need to see to believe. We join with John in being the ones who Jesus spoke of only a few verses later in this same chapter when He said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (Jn 20:29) John reacted to the empty tomb with belief.
PETER, THE SKEPTIC
Then there was Peter. Peter was a little slower than John to arrive at the tomb. Maybe it was because John was younger than Peter. Or maybe it was because all those years of fishing had given Peter arthritis of the knee and back. Or maybe it was because he too was afraid of what he might find. He wasn’t afraid of soldiers so much. He had whacked off the ear of one of them when they tried to take Jesus. Peter wanted to see Jesus, but there was a part of him that dreaded the idea. The last time that he had looked into the eyes of Jesus was just after Peter had denied Him. If Peter saw Jesus, he knew he was going to be confronted with his sin and guilt. He wasn’t sure that he could handle that. Peter’s vision was clouded by the pain that he felt over his past. He wanted Jesus to be alive, but he didn’t know how he was going to be able to face Him.
Maybe there are people like that here today. You want to believe, but there’s just too much history. You’ve got too much pain – like that woman in our skit who refused to respond to the pleading of Jesus to accept His love. It’s just too difficult to believe that Jesus’ resurrection could wipe away all that pain. Let me tell you something. Jesus can forgive, and Jesus can heal.
Peter went in and examined the evidence for himself. He saw the linen that had wrapped his body and the piece of cloth that had been around His head. It was enough to prove that SOMETHING had happened there. But it wasn’t enough to prove that Jesus was alive. Another account of this event in the book of Luke says that Peter was “wondering to himself what had happened”. (Lk 24:12) He was a skeptic. He needed more evidence.
Then Peter did one of the most foolish things of his whole life. Look at vs. 10. [read it] He left. Something as important as that, and he left without even coming to a conclusion as to what had happened. If Peter had hung around just a little while longer, he would have gotten to experience the same miracle that Mary is getting ready to see. There wasn’t enough evidence because he didn’t hang around long enough.
Too many people don’t have enough evidence to place their faith in Jesus because of the simple reason that they don’t hang around long enough. They don’t read God’s Word enough. They don’t spend enough time around God’s people. They don’t spend enough time in prayer. They get up off their knees, or they walk out of the door of the church just before the miracle happens, and they miss it. They aren’t present to see the miracle of God’s changing power. Don’t leave until you see a miracle!
Peter walked away from that empty tomb with his heart still broken.
MARY, THE BROKEN-HEARTED
Then, there was Mary Magdalene. When Peter and John left, she stayed. [read vs. 11-13] The angel asked a good question: “Why are you crying?” Back over in verse 1, it says that the women including Mary Magdalene came to the tomb while “it was still dark”. That not only talks about the fact that the sun hadn’t risen yet. It talks about the condition of their hearts. It was the deepest darkest time of their lives. Mary was depressed. Psychologists will tell you that depression comes when you have lost something of value to you. The more valuable the person or thing that you lose, the deeper the depression. Mary had lost that which was more valuable to her than anything else – she had lost Jesus. That meant a lot to her. To her, Jesus meant…
Release – When she had met Jesus, she was enslaved by 7 demons. Jesus had cast the demons out. Jesus had freed her.
Peace – You who are parents know what it’s like to have several different little people pulling on you at the same time all trying to get your attention to do something for them. Imagine having seven demons living inside your head constantly steering you in directions that you do not want to go. When Jesus had released her, she had found a peace that she had never known.
Forgiveness – Not only had Jesus released her from her demons, he had released her from her sin. He had forgiven her for all those actions that had allowed the demons to inhabit her to begin with.
Someone to believe in – When Jesus was alive, Mary had been a part of a group of women who financially supported His ministry. She had believed in what He was doing. Everyone needs someone to believe in.
Leadership – She was lost without Jesus. She had given her life to Jesus. His life had given her’s meaning. Now that He was gone, she was like a lost puppy dog not knowing what to do or what to believe in.
She thought that all that was gone, so she cried…she wept.
But then a miracle happened. [read vs. 14-18 making comments until you get to Mary’s statement “I have seen the Lord”] Seeing the Lord – that’s what Mary wanted more than anything else, and she wanted it more than anyone else did. She wanted to see Him so bad that she didn’t allow the lude comments or threats that the soldiers made at the foot of the cross to push her away. (Jn. 19:25) She wanted to see Him so badly that even though His face was covered in blood and His body was mangled from torture, she did not turn away in disgust. She wanted to see Him so badly that when His body was taken down from the cross and placed in the tomb by Joseph, she stayed. (Mt. 27:61) And then, when the tomb was sealed with the stone rolled to the entrance, she sat outside the tomb…watching. The only thing that could pull her away was the Sabbath. But as soon as the Sabbath was over, she was back at Jesus’ side again. Mary wanted to see Jesus. Mary got her desire. She said, “I have seen the Lord.”
CONCLUSION
Everyone here is like one of these three witnesses to the empty tomb. All three of them had been told what had happened that day – Mary had been told by the angels, and Peter and John had been told by the other women. All three saw the same tomb and examined the same evidence, and all three had different reactions.
Many of you are like John. You see the empty tomb and you believe. Jesus says that you are blessed. Rejoice that Jesus is alive. It means that you will live with Him for all eternity.
Some of you are like Peter. You see the empty tomb and you don’t know what to believe. There’s something going on, but you don’t know what. You say, “I don’t understand all this religion stuff. I don’t understand why people would willingly get up every Sunday morning, give up their sleep and free time and come to church.” There is only one way that you will ever understand. Stick around. Don’t just come on Easter. Come back again and again until you see the miracle of your own life changed. Stay a long time at the foot of the cross. Stay a long time at the empty tomb.
And then some of you are like Mary. You see the empty tomb, you see the change in people’s lives and you think that there has got to be some practical explanation of what has happened. Mary didn’t believe either. But she hung around long enough to have her questions answered and her faith grown. Maybe that’s you. Either you’re not quite sure about what happened on that day, or more likely, you’re not sure how what happened on that day impacts your life on this day. You ask, “What does it all mean? Or, what does it all mean to me?” Since Jesus is alive, Jesus can be to you all those things that Mary thought she had lost – release, peace, forgiveness, a sense of purpose and leadership. Maybe you’re ready to believe in Jesus today. Maybe you have had your prayers answered, and today, like Mary, you have seen Jesus. If that’s you, then when we sing, I want you to come forward, tell me that you are ready to take Jesus as your Savior, and I’ll take the Bible and show you how. But if you’re not ready to believe today, at least do this…hang around. Come back next Sunday, and the next, and the next. Come back until you see Jesus. Don’t be like Peter who went away with his heart still empty. Don’t say “no” to Jesus’ pleas for you to receive His forgiveness.
