Easter Sunday

Harvest Pointe Methodist Church

According to John, chapter 20. The Gospel of John, chapter 20. Now, remember, John wrote quite a bit in the Bible. I had a student recently tell me, he said, hey, instructor, I read John. I actually read all three of them, but I didn't read the Gospel of John, which is actually the assignment.

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And so he read the epistles of John, but he didn't quite get to John. Well, in the sequence of things, we want to read John first and then his epistles, and then, of course, that final book, the Book of Revelation, the Apocalypse, the appearing of the end, the appearing of Jesus Christ himself. And so John wrote a lot. We're going to focus in and dial in this morning, of course, on the resurrection story. Stand with me as we read from John, chapter 20.

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And starting right there at verse one, notice these words. This is the word of God. Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, they have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we don't know where they have laid him. Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb.

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The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb. First. He bent down to look in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came following him and went into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there and the cloth that had been on Jesus head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself.

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Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed, for as yet they did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples returned to their homes. But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept. She bent over to look into the tomb, and she saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet.

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They said to her, woman, why are you weeping? She said to them, they have taken away my lord, and I do not know where they have laid him. When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?

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Supposing him to be the gardener? She said to him, sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus said to her, Mary. She turned and said to him, in Hebrew, Rabboni, which means teacher. Jesus said to her, do not hold on to me because I have not yet ascended to the father, but go to my brothers and say to them, I am ascending to my father and your father to my God and your God.

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Mary Magdalene went out and announced to the disciples, I have seen the Lord. And she told them that he had said these things to her. Jesus, thank you for your word. And now we pray that the same holy spirit that inspired these words would move among us this morning, teaching us all things that pertain to salvation and to our mission here as your church. We pray in your name.

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Amen. You can be seated.

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He is risen indeed. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. And this is our refrain this morning, and ultimately the fundamental confession of our faith. For Paul says, without the resurrection, we are of all people to be pitied.

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Without the resurrection, we can all go home. This is just a show. Without the resurrection, we have no hope. Listen. No hope beyond the grave.

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In other words, all those who have already passed before us to the grave, they are simply gone and will never return in any sort of fashion at all. There is no hope. The grave is