John 20:1-14

 

The Resurrection story isn=t a story within a story, it is THE story.  We are so familiar with the Easter stories that we have difficulty perceiving the complete surprise and utter astonishment of the early disciples at the resurrection of Jesus.

 

Easter Promises Joy in the Face of Grief:                                                                         vv. 1-2

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.  2So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, >They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!

1.         Without Easter we have no         faith        .

2.         Without Easter we have no         forgiveness        .

3.         Without Easter we have no         future        .

 

But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:57).

 

Easter Promises Victory in the Face of Tragedy:                                                            vv. 3-8

So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb.  4Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.  5He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in.  6Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there,  7as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen.  8Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.

1.                 Hope        .                                                                             Ephesians 1:15-17

For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,  16I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.  17I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.

2.                 Riches        .                                                                                Ephesians 1:18

I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

3.                 Power        .                                                                            Ephesians 1:19-23

Aand his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength,  20which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,  21far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.  22And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church,  23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

 

 

Easter Promises Eternal Life in the Face of Death:                                                     vv. 10-14

Then the disciples went back to their homes,  11but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb  12and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

13They asked her, Woman, why are you crying?

They have taken my Lord away, she said, and I don’t know where they have put him.

14At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

1.         Christ is the great         giver         of life.                                                      Acts 17:25

And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.

2.         Christ is the great         restorer         of life.                                            Ephesians 2:1

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,

3.         Christ is the great         preserver         of life.                                         John 11:25-26

Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;  26and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?