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Book: John
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John 20:1-10
I. The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet
dark, and seeth the stone taken away from the door of the sepulchre."
A. The Sabbath day was over, the time has come for the beginning
of a new week.
1. In the scriptures, the number 8 is the number of new
beginning.
a. Seven is the number of completion.
1. Seven notes on the scale.
2. Seven days in a week.
b. Significantly, 8 is the number for Jesus.
Every name for Jesus in the Greek is divisible
by 8.
2. He is the new beginning.
a. He brings to man a new beginning of
relationship with God.
b. He brings a new beginning to your life.
3. On the seventh day 'God rested from His creative works,
so that God blessed and hallowed the Sabbath Day.
4. God rested from His work of redemption on the first
day of the new week.
B. Mary Magdalene is the one from whom Jesus had cast out seven
devils.
1. From that day onward, she followed Jesus and was one
of the many women who went along to minister to the
physical needs of Jesus and the disciples by preparing
the food and mending the clothes.
2. She is named as one that was standing by the cross
during the crucifixion.
3. She also followed to see where Jesus was entombed.
4. She was coming with the other ladies to the tomb to put
spices on the body of Jesus. She evidently came on
ahead and when she saw the stone rolled away assumed
that they had moved the body of Jesus. She ran back
quickly to tell Peter and John. When the other women
arrived at the tomb, they saw the two angels who told
them to go tell the disciples that Jesus had risen and
would meet them in Galilee. They hurried off with
their message. In the mean time, Peter and John had
come running to the tomb, and Mary following as fast
as she could. Peter and John having seen the evidence
of the resurrection, left to go back to the other
disciples. Mary arrived back at the tomb, and was
weeping there when Jesus met her. Then as He left her
He met the other ladies on their way to tell the
disciples of the resurrection.
B. The disciples were probably scattered all around Jerusalem,
they were not anticipation the resurrection. The Shepherd had
been smitten and the sheep had been scattered.
1. Mary ran to the house where she knew that John and
Peter were staying. Mary the mother of Jesus was also
there.
2. She informed them of the missing body of Jesus. Her
thought was not of resurrection, but she assumed that
someone had stolen the body, or moved it to a different
location.
3. An interesting note at this point is the chief priests
and the Pharisee's had come to Pilate, and declared
that they remembered that while Jesus was still alive,
He said that He would rise the third day. They wished
Pilate to put guards at the tomb to insure that the
disciples would not come to try to secret the body of
Jesus away.
4. They remembered the words of Jesus, but His disciples
did not.
C. Peter and John ran to the sepulchre, and John did outrun Peter.
It appears that John was probably the younger of the two. I
think that they were also in competition with each other. John
looked into the tomb and saw the linen clothes lying yet went
not in.
D. Then Simon Peter arrived and went into the tomb, and saw the
linen clothes.
1. The Greek would indicate that the linen cloth was still
wrapped in folds, the spices still between the folds,
yet the body was missing.
2. It wasn't as though the someone had unwrapped Him. More
like His body just evaporated from out of the linen
shroud.
E. The napkin that was about His head was not with the linen
cloth, but was lying by itself.
1. It was the custom to wrap the head in a linen cloth
separate from the body.
2. The part that was about His head was still in the
folds, yet apart and separate by itself.
3. Had someone stolen or moved the body, they would have
taken the wrappings with it.
4. Or as some have suggested that Jesus was just in a
swoon, He would have had to unwrap the linen to get
out.
5. Just the way the linen cloth was lying was proof of
the fact that He had risen.
F. Different Greek words for see, are used in the text.
1. Vs. 1 Mary seeth. The Greek word is blepo, which means
just that, to see.
2. vs. 5 When John looked in and saw, the same word is
used.
3. When in vs. 6 Peter came into the tomb and seeth the
linen cloth lying there and the napkin that was about
His head lying separately, the Greek word is theoreo,
it is far more than just seeing, it is looking
critically and carefully. It is a careful examination.
4. When John followed Peter into the sepulchre and saw,
the Greek word used here is eido. The idea is not just
to see, but to apprehend, to understand what it is
that you are seeing.
5. It hit him that Jesus was srisen from the dead. The
intelligent apprehension produced absolute conviction.
6. The text tells us that he saw and believed.
G. John tells us that as yet they knew not the scripture that He
should rise from the dead.
II. From the Old Testament prophesies they should have realized this.
A. Genesis 3 when God said that the serpent would bruise the heel
of the seed of the woman, but then the seed of the woman would
bruise the head of the serpent, this following the bruising of
His heel made the resurrection a necessity.
B. The deliverance of Issac from the altar after he had been dead
in the mind of his father for three days. Abraham accounted
that God was able to raise him from the dead if needs be to
keep His promise.
C. Paul tells us that Israel was baptized in the Red Sea, the
coming up out of the water of baptism is a symbol of the
resurrection from the dead. They came up out of the water of
the Red Sea, three days after the slaying of the Pascal lamb.
D. Psalm 16:9-11 "Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory
rejoiceth my flesh shall also rest in hope, for thou wilt not
leave my soul in hell, neither will you allow your holy One to
see corruption.
E. The fact of the resurrection is the heart of the gospel, Paul
said "The gospel that I preach how that Christ was crucified
according to the scriptures, and was buried according to the
scriptures, and rose again the third day according to the
scripture."
1. When Peter preached his sermon on the day of Pentecost,
he stated, seven things concerning Jesus. The fourth
and central statement was that God raised Him from the
dead.
2. He declared the message also on Solomon's porch to the
thousands that had gathered out of curiosity of seeing
the lame man walk, "You killed the Prince of life, but
God raised Him from the dead."
3. Before the Sanhedrin he declared, "By the name of Jesus
Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God
raised from the dead."
F. The three persons of the Godhead were all involved in the
resurrection "Whom God has raised from the dead." "I lay My
life down, that I may take it up again." "But if the Spirit
that raised up Jesus from the dead, dwell in you, He shall also
quicken your mortal bodies."
III. Then the disciples went away again to their own home.
A. That is John and Peter, they went home, but Mary lingered at
the tomb.
B. What a day of excitement this must have been, and the day is
just beginning.
1. It is no doubt still very early in the morning.
2. Before the day will pass, their personal night will
have turned into the most beautiful and bright day
they have ever experienced.
3. The resurrection will turn their sorrows into joy, it
will bring them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for
their mourning, and the garment of praise for their
spirit of heaviness.
4. A new day has dawned, a new era, the power of sin has
been broken, man is delivered, set free through Jesus
Christ.
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