LifeWay: The Passion of the Christ

The Tomb Visitors (John 20:1-18)

By David Jenkins

Outline:

Mary Magdalene: A Cry of Despair (John 20:1-2)

Simon Peter: Confirmation of the Disaster (John 20:3-4,6-7)

John: A Slowly Awakening Faith (John 20:5,8)

Mary: Confirmation of Her Discovery (John 20:16-18)

Introduction:

The great Northern Cemetery in Cairo, Egypt is called "The City of the Dead." It is a large area of domed buildings constructed over tombs. Shacks and dilapidated shanties are everywhere. The area has no electricity or running water. It is hot, dusty, and strewn with sewage and rotting filth. For centuries this has been the burial place for the poor. According to custom, the family of a deceased loved one will build a house-like tomb where the body is placed. Here the family can live and receive guests who bring food for a certain number of days. Through the years poor families have continued to live in these tomb-houses, raising their children there and cooking outside on campfires. The elaborate mausoleum tombs of Egyptian royalty, the pyramid tombs of the pharaohs stand a few miles south of Cairo in Sakkara. The contrast is unbelievable. The beauty of the ancient paintings on the walls of these tombs, embedded with precious metals and jewels, provides a staggering contrast to the City of the Dead.

This morning we shall visit another tomb. This tomb is unique because it is empty. Strictly speaking, it was a borrowed tomb. It belonged to Joseph of Arimathea, a secret disciple of Jesus. Joseph arranged to have the body of Jesus buried there. The body Joseph's tomb housed remained only from late on a Friday afternoon until the pre-dawn of the following Sunday. We shall examine three people who were the first visitors to this empty tomb, and we shall focus on the ways they responded to what they found when they visited that tomb.

Outline

Mary Magdalene: A Cry of Despair (John 20:1-2)

Mary did not expect to find it empty, nor did any of the other visitors to the tomb.

With her human reason, Mary was convinced at first that someone had stolen Jesus' body from the tomb and probably desecrated it.

In despair Mary rushed away to find the disciples and tell them what she believed had happened.

Mary's concern was about a lifeless body she was certain had been stolen. It never occurred to her that Jesus had been resurrected, as He had told them He would be.

Simon Peter: Confirmation of the Disaster (John 20:3-4,6-7)

Peter saw the linen burial cloth neatly folded, yet he didn't really see.

Peter's faith to believe that Jesus had done exactly what He said He would do was but a tiny, flickering flame about to be blown out by the winds of doubt.

We, too, can become so gripped by our attachment to this world, by our insistence that things should be "reasonable" and "logical," that we miss miracles.

In the presence of that great miracle, all Peter did was confirm the disaster Mary had suggested to him and the other disciples when she ran to tell them her news.

John: A Slowly Awakening Faith (John 20:5,8)

Why did John stop at the entrance to the grave and not go inside as Peter did?

He may have remained outside the tomb out of respect for the dead.

He may have feared ceremonial defilement that would result from coming in contact with a dead body.
After Peter had rushed inside the tomb, John could hold back no longer. When he did enter the tomb, "he saw and believed" (v. 8--NIV).

Note the sequence: John loved Jesus, though he was blinded by a lack of faith to believe that Jesus would arise from the dead.

With eyes of love, John saw and understood what his physical eyes could never have seen.
What John saw and believed is exactly what will take place when Christ appears to call away His church.

Mary: Confirmation of Her Discovery (John 20:16-18)

Her eyes blinded by tears, Mary recognized neither the angels nor the risen Christ who spoke to her.
Grief can so fill us with self-pity and despair that we do not see the truth. We miss many wonders God would reveal to us because we are facing the wrong direction.

When Jesus spoke Mary's name, she knew that voice. "His sheep follow him because they know his voice" (John 10:4--NIV).

Mary was honored by her Lord who made her the first official messenger of the resurrection.
Conclusion

Come and see! Go and tell! One act is not complete without the other. When, in your mind, you visit Joseph's tomb today, what do you see? Does the fact it is empty motivate you to tell the good news?

Illustration Thumbnails

Where Jesus Walked, edited by William H. Stephens and published as an "Illustrator" Book by Broadman Press, contains excellent illustrative material regarding the location of the tomb where Jesus was buried. See "Where Is Golgotha?" pp. 168-175.

A woman in Germany who did not believe in a life hereafter caused herself to be buried in a grave made of concrete and covered with a heavy stone slab. On the slab was inscribed her statement that for her, this was the end. But in some way a seed lodged in the mortar and, feeding upon her body, grew to be a tree that burst open the stone coffin. The truth of the risen Christ bursts the stone coffin of doubts and arguments that attempt to deny the immortality of the soul. (Adapted from Macartney's Illustrations, by Clarence Macartney, Abingdon-Cokesbury Press: Nashville, 1945. pp. 185-186).

A pastor sits with a family in the waiting room of a hospital. A desperately sick child is in the Intensive Care unit. When the doctor comes out to say that the crisis has passed and the child will live, you do not just sit quietly. You run down the hall to find the mother. You go to the coffee shop to find the uncles and aunts. You rush to the telephone to call the grandparents. There is some news that you do not keep to yourself. The resurrection of Jesus is that kind of news. It is the kind of news that gives courage: "Do not be afraid," said the angel. It is the kind of news that gives assurance: "He is not here; He has risen, just as He said." (Paraphrase of portions of Matthew 28:5-6, based on NIV.)

In John Masefield's drama The Trial of Jesus, there is a passage in which Longinus, the Roman centurion in command of the soldiers at the cross, comes back to Pilate to hand in his report on the day's work. The report is given. Then Procula, Pilate's wife, beckons to the centurion and begs him to tell her how the prisoner died. When the story is told, she suddenly asks, "Do you think he is dead?" "No, lady," Longinus answers, "I don't." "Then where is he?" she asks. And the centurion replies, "Let loose in the world, lady, where neither Roman nor Jew can stop His truth!" (Adapted from The Trial of Jesus by John Masefield, New York: The Macmillan Company, 1925. p. 111).
The tomb could not hold Him! He is indeed "let loose in the world."

Related Biblical Texts

The resurrection was accomplished by God's power (Acts 2:24), Christ's power (John 10:18), and the Spirit's power (Rom. 8:11).

The resurrection was proved by the angel's testimony (Matt. 28:5-7); Christ's enemies (Matt. 28:11-15); many infallible proofs (Acts 1:3); and apostolic preaching (Acts 1:22; 4:33).

The purposes of the resurrection were to fulfill Scripture (Luke 24:45-46); to forgive sins (1 Cor. 15:17); to justify the sinner (Rom. 4:25; 8:34); to prove Christ's sonship (Ps. 2:7; Rom. 1:4); and to seal the believer's resurrection (Acts 26:23; 1 Cor. 15:20,23).

David Jenkins is the writer for the March Pastors' EXTRA! He is the pastor of the New Hope Baptist Church in Big Sandy, Texas. David has been a frequent contributor to Youth and Adult Sunday School, January Bible Study, and Vacation Bible School lessons for over thirty years. God called him out from a journalism career into the pastorate.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This sermon is from Proclaim Online, a free service from LifeWay.com http://www.lifeway.com/lwc/mainpage/0,1701,M=200276,00.html The message was adapted from the Spring 2003 issue of Proclaim magazine.