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Leaving Death Behind - John 20:1-18

Sermon Series: Extraordinary

Some of you have grown children and may have already fought this battle. Others of you may not have children yet and may still have to fight this battle in the future. But it’s a battle that many have fought – some on a very small scale and some on a scale of epic proportions. It’s the battle of getting your child to leave behind his/her pacifier. One idea we heard about while first born was still very small and using a pacifier was a “Bye, Bye Pacifier Party.” The idea was to have a little celebration marking a transition to becoming a big kid by permanently leaving behind the pacifier in a place where the child understood it would not be coming back. The idea wasn’t to put the pacifier in a cabinet where the child might see it on occasion and want to return to it – the idea was to permanently leave the pacifier behind. So we did this at the time in which we transferred our first born from a crib to a twin size big kid bed. We took her with us to buy the box spring and mattress. We allowed her to be a part of setting up her new bed. We encouraged her to climb in the bed and to explore it a little bit. And that night we went to Chick-fil-a to have a “Bye, Bye Pacifier Party.” We ordered our first born a kid’s meal, we talked about her new bed, and we talked about leaving her pacifier behind. Then at the end of our meal we told her pacifier ‘bye, bye,’ put it on the tray with the rest of our trash, and then waved good bye as we put it into the trash can at Chick-fil-a. It was an important and defining moment.  Her pacifier wasn’t going to be around for bed time anymore. It wasn’t going to be around for nap time anymore. And it wasn’t going to be around for car rides any more. When the pacifier was placed in the trash and we walked out the door of Chick-fil-a, she had left her pacifier behind for good.

As we come to our text this week there are many signs that something in particular has been left behind. And in our text this particular thing which has been left behind has been left behind not for a season or a time, but has been permanently left behind. So we need to pay attention to the emphasis of the text this week, see what it is that has been left behind and who it is that has left it behind, and then give some considerations to the implications.

Last week we talked about the death of the King. We examined the text of John 19 and saw in the text John’s repeated use of the work ‘king’ to describe Jesus. John wanted his readers to be certain of the fact that Jesus was not merely an insignificant man who had the unfortunate experience of being subjected to an awful death. John wanted his readers to know that the One receiving the brutal flogging, the One being mocked in both private and public, the One who was crucified and killed, and the One who was dead and buried was the King. As chapter 19 of John came to a close there was no question about Jesus’ condition. The Roman soldiers had observed that He was dead (19:33) and proven it by piercing His side with a spear (19:34). Joseph of Arimathea had observed that Jesus was dead and asked for permission to take His body and bury it (19:38). Then the reader sees that Jesus was neither taken to a home and nursed back to health, nor was He taken to a physician to be resuscitated. Rather Jesus’ dead body was bound in linen cloths with spices, “as is the burial custom of the Jews” (19:40) and His body was placed in a tomb. There is no question at the end of John 19 – Jesus, the King, is dead.

Leaving Death Behind

[Read vs. 1-10] Chapter 20 of John’s gospel begins, “Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.” Jesus had been crucified during the early part of the day on Friday. And to everyone’s amazement he was dead within a matter of a few hours. Then, in an effort to get His body off the cross and buried before the Sabbath (which started on Friday evening at sun down) Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus took Jesus’ body down off the cross, prepared it for burial, and placed it in the tomb. Jesus’ body remained there in the tomb for the entire Sabbath (sun down Friday evening to sun down Saturday evening) and even through the first part of the first day of the week – Sunday (which actually began at sun down on Saturday evening). So Jesus’ death had now spanned the course of three days – dying on Friday, remaining dead on Saturday, and then continuing to remain dead for the first part of Sunday. But in verse 1 of chapter 20 we see the first sign that Jesus had left death behind. The text tells us that Mary had come to Jesus’ tomb early Sunday morning (prior to dawn) and that when she arrived she discovered that the stone covering the entrance of the tomb had been taken away.

Think about this imagery in terms of death and its hold on individuals. When death sets in, it doesn’t just go away. Physical death is supposed to be a permanent condition and is eventually a permanent condition even for those who in the past have escaped its grip for a matter of time. We see the reality of this each time we drive by a cemetary.  Those who have come into death's grip recently as well as those who have been in it's grasp for hundreds of years are still subject to it.  Think about those who have experienced physical death over the past year. Death is still holding them down. Their grave is still a necessity. And this will continue to be the reality in the months and years ahead because those who have experienced physical death cannot overcome death's power or grip.  We have heard stories of some who have been able to escape death’s grip for a season, but even those who have escaped its grip for a time have ultimately come under its power and grip once again. But the imagery in the first verse of John 20 begins to tell a different story. The stone covering the entrance of Jesus’ tomb had been taken away, as if to say “This tomb is no longer necessary.” Tombs are sealed, caskets are sealed, and graves are covered over because death cannot be left behind. But the extraordinary seems to be taking place in John 20:1 because this tomb is now open. It begins to suggest to the readers that a seal is no longer necessary because death and its power have been left behind.

The text continues in verse 2 as we see Mary’s response to what she discovered in the garden. The text tells us that her first response was to run and tell some of Jesus’ closest disciples, Simon Peter and the disciple whom Jesus loved (John – the author of this gospel). Mary’s description of the situation demonstrated her misunderstanding at the time though. Mary had not seen the open tomb as a sign that Jesus had left death behind, but rather as a sign that some other party had removed the stone and stolen Jesus’ body. In response to Mary’s account both Peter and John ran to the tomb to see things for themselves. The text tells us that John made it to the tomb first, but rather than going into the tomb he stopped outside, stooping down to take a look inside. As John gives an account of what he saw in the tomb, he also reveals to his readers another sign that Jesus had left death behind (a sign he will continue to expound upon as he recounts Peter’s discovery of the same thing). John tells us that stooping down and looking into the tomb he saw the linen cloths which had been wrapped around Jesus’ body still lying in the tomb. Then John tells us that Peter arrived at the tomb and that he went straight in. Standing in the tomb Peter discovered what John had seen when he arrived. Jesus’ body was gone but “he saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself” (vs. 6-7). This would have surely been a perplexing discovery. A grave robbery would have made little sense. The most expensive things in the tomb, the linen cloths and the spices accompanying the linen cloths (see 19:39-40) had been left behind. In addition to the fact that the most expensive items were left the robbers would have been required to spend a considerable amount of time in the tomb to remove the linens from Jesus’ body – time that would have increased their chances on being discovered and arrested. So even if there was a group of robbers who were interested in Jesus’ body but who had no interest in the linen cloths it would have made far more sense to take the body with the cloths and to dispose of the cloths after they had Jesus’ body in a secure location. Adding to the perplexing issue of their discovery is the fact that the Romans and the Jews had made great efforts to secure Jesus’ tomb. The Jews and the Romans had worked hard to squelch the notion that Jesus was the Son of God, so a grave robbery that could have eventually led to rumors of Jesus’ resurrection would have worked against their previous efforts to put Jesus to death. Keeping the body and grave of Jesus secure was of utmost importance, so pulling off a feat of this magnitude would have been completely improbable.

For John the missing body and the remaining linens could only have meant one thing – Jesus was a live and He had left death behind Him. Verse 8 says, “Then the other disciple [John], who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed.” Jesus hadn’t set death aside for a time or a season; Jesus had left death behind permanently and would never again need those linens. Think about the resurrection of Lazarus (which took place earlier in John’s gospel – John 11:38-44) in contrast to Jesus’ resurrection. When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead Lazarus escaped the power and grip of death for a season. And when Lazarus came out of his tomb verse 44 tells us that “the man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth.” Lazarus had not left death behind forever. And though we can be sure he didn’t come out thinking to himself, “I probably ought to save these linens and spices for the next time death lays hold of me,” the picture that is being painted by John is that the one coming out of the tomb, though alive for the time being, is still ultimately bound to the reality of physical death. When Jesus arose and left the tomb behind He also left behind some of the evidence that He was bound by physical death. Jesus rose leaving behind the linens and spices tied to burial because He had left death behind Him. In light of this evidence John went home satisfied, confident that Jesus was the Son of God and that He was no longer dead, but alive.

Bigger than Death

[Read verses 11-18] In verse 11 John shifts his attention back to Mary Magdalene. The text tells us that after Peter and John had left the tomb that Marry returned still confused about what had happened and wondering where the body of Jesus had been taken. Verse 12 tells us that as she stood weeping and looking into the tomb she saw two angels sitting where Jesus’ body had been laid. The two angels, aware of Mary’s presence outside the tomb and having heard her weeping, are quick to ask her a very important question, “Woman, why are you weeping?” The angels were completely aware that Jesus was no longer dead and that He was once again alive, and it seems as if they felt there was enough evidence on hand for Mary to recognize the same thing. After all the stone covering the entrance of the tomb had been removed, the linen burial cloths that had been wrapped around Jesus’ body and the spices that accompanied them were still present in the tomb, and even now there was an angelic presence in the tomb. These signs were anything but typical and they were all pointing to the fact that Jesus had left death behind Him for good. But it seems that Mary’s emotions were too strong and too raw for her to add the evidence together and see the reality of the situation (i.e. that Jesus had risen). So Mary responds to the angels’ question by stating what she believed to have happened. She tells the angels that she is weeping because she believes some individuals had come to Jesus’ tomb and taken His body away so that she no longer knew where His body was.

Mary’s response must have been a peculiar one for those angels. When Jesus conquered sin and Satan and left death behind all of heaven must have risen in great celebration. Just as the Israelite army rose with a shout after David defeated Goliath (see blog post from two weeks ago – A Most Unlikely Hero) so must have all of heaven when Jesus rose victorious over death and Satan. This wasn’t a place for crying or weeping - this should have been a place of great rejoicing and celebration. So the angels seek clarity from Mary and perhaps indirectly suggest to her (though it doesn’t seem to really grab a hold of her) that weeping tears of sorrow at this time and in this place wasn’t the right reaction. Before the angels had an opportunity to respond to Mary’s answer to their question the text tells us that Mary turned around and saw a person behind her – someone she supposed to be the gardener. John reveals to us, the readers, that it wasn’t the gardener at all – it was Jesus. And then we see Jesus asking Mary almost the same exact question that the angels had asked, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Mary answers this individual in much the same way that she had answered the two angels. She desperately wants to know who it is that has carried Jesus’ body away and where they have laid it so that she can once again retrieve it.

What becomes incredibly clear in both of Mary’s responses is that she still believes that Jesus is dead. And because she has not understood that He would rise from the dead all she has to hold onto is His body and burial place. When she believes that Jesus’ body has been taken she now feels that all is lost. But Mary answers more than the question, “Why are you weeping?” She also indirectly answers the question, “Whom are you seeking?” It seems that Mary was simply seeking after a good man. Why do I say this? Because Mary was looking for someone who was still bound by death. She was looking for the dead body of an influential man, she wasn’t looking for the living Savior. She was looking for the body of a man who had taught some good things, performed a couple of miracles, and offered a different perspective on life. But the one she was looking for was not bigger than death itself for she fully expected Him to remain subject to death. But this isn’t who Jesus is. Jesus is the Author and Giver of all life. He is the eternal God who is without beginning and without end. And He is the almighty and sovereign God to whom all things are subject – including death. Jesus asks Mary this question knowing exactly why she was weeping and exactly what she was looking for. But Jesus asks this question to challenge Mary. If she was only looking for a good man who was now dead and gone she was still without hope. She needed to be looking for the living Savior, who by His resurrection would bring the greatest hope and salvation we could ever imagine.

Fortunately for Mary, Jesus doesn’t allow her to go on in despair any longer. Jesus calls Mary by name and instantly she knows who this individual is. This seems to be a fulfillment of what John had earlier written in his gospel, “The sheep hear His voice, and He calls His own sheep by name . . . and the sheep follow Him, for they know His voice” (John 10:3-4). The text suggests that as Mary recognizes that the One standing there before her is the living Jesus she literally takes hold of Jesus. And while this was certainly a joyful moment for Jesus as He had the opportunity to see Mary’s deep despair turn into immeasurable hope, He also recognized that both He and Mary had more to do. According to the text Jesus still had not ascended to God the Father, so Mary needed to release Jesus to allow Him to do that. But Mary also had to make known the news that Jesus was alive to the disciples and announce to them that He was ascending to His Father and theirs – a new reality for the disciples as now (because of the redemption and reconciliation Jesus made possible for them) they had become co-heirs with Christ.  God, Jesus’ Father, could now be their Father.  Then the text tells us that in great joy and obedience Mary went out and did just as Jesus had directed her to do.

This story has to be considered one of the most extraordinary stories in the Bible because in it Jesus does what no other individual in all of history has been able to do – He overcame death! Death took hold of Jesus in the most horrific of ways but Jesus severed its hold on Him and left death behind for good. And if this is indeed true, then this single incident in history must radically change our perspective on life. If Jesus rose from the dead and never again came under its power, but instead ascended into heaven, then He is still alive today. And if Jesus overcame death and ascended into heaven then He must be God – there is no other explanation. I know that the resurrection story sounds unbelievable and some of you still may not be convinced. But any other explanation is just as hard to believe (if not harder). The Jews needed Jesus dead! Jesus was challenging their teachings and their laws; He was upsetting their traditions; and He was converting good Jews into His followers. A risen Jesus wouldn’t help them regain control – a risen Jesus would only add fuel to the fire of these Christ followers. So the Jews would have done everything in their power to disprove that Jesus had really risen from the dead. They would have jumped through every hoop to find His body and/or expose those who had stolen it, if that had indeed been the case. The Romans also needed Jesus’ body. They had been the ones who inflicted such a gruesome and torturous death. They had been the ones who tried to demonstrate their power and authority over this so-called king. And they had been the ones responsible for guarding Jesus’ grave. The Romans needed Jesus’ dead body to continue to prove their strength and power and to continue to intimidate and discourage any who might consider revolting against them. A risen Jesus would demonstrate that their greatest attempt to take away His life had not been effective and it would serve to inspire and give hope to those who were followers of Jesus. If Jesus had lived through Rome’s greatest attempts to silence Him and disprove His power and authority then Rome wouldn’t be able to squelch their efforts at continuing to proclaim Jesus as God’s Son. In addition to these truths we also have to give consideration to the fact that all of the disciples, minus one, died as martyrs proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus, and the other one was exiled. If Jesus did not really rise from the grave then every one of those disciples, without exception, went to their graves never once wavering from their proclamation that Jesus had risen and that He was alive. That’s unbelievable! How could men who just days before proved to be so cowardly that they fled when the Roman soldiers showed up to arrest Jesus turn into men who would hold so strongly to a lie that would lead to each of their deaths? It doesn’t make sense! So while the resurrection may seem hard to believe the alternatives are even more difficult to believe. The empty tomb, the inability of the Jews and Romans to produce a body, the disciples’ sudden change from cowardly men to the bravest of individuals, and the eye-witness account of more than 500 people all point to the fact that Jesus did in fact rise from the dead. And that’s why we celebrate this day with so much joy and excitement – because Jesus is alive!

Here’s where I want to ask you to consider a couple of questions this week. I know that no one walked into this place weeping this morning like Mary was outside of the tomb. But the reality is some of you didn’t come into this place celebrating either. So let me first ask you how you’re feeling? The angels and Jesus asked Mary why she was weeping because they recognized that the news of the resurrection was news worth celebrating. So if you feel helpless this morning, why is that? If you feel discouraged this morning, why is that? If you feel overwhelmed this morning, why is that? If you feel burdened this morning, why is that? I’m guessing that the answers to these questions lie in the answer to this next question. “Who are you seeking?” If your honest with yourself this morning, some of you aren’t seeking the living Savior. You’ve come to church looking for the words of a good man. You’re trying to find someone who can give you the instructions or advice you need to get right with God. The only problem is finding a good man who is only good for giving instructions for living and serving as a model to follow isn’t reason for celebrating. The reality is it may actually cause us to feel hopeless. After all, if all Jesus is good for is some advice on how to live well we still don’t have any certainty or guarantee that our best efforts are enough. If we’re only looking for a good man who is good for giving instructions for living and serving as a model to follow it may cause others of us to feel discouraged. If we really look at the life that Jesus calls us to live the truth that becomes incredibly clear is that none of us is living up to that standard, and that’s not anything that’s going to encourage our hearts. While these truths might discourage some of us, it may overwhelm others. If you’re a glass half-full person you may not be discouraged today that you’re not living up to the standards of Jesus but what will happen is that you’ll become overwhelmed trying to live up to those standards. What you’ll find is that your best will never be enough. You’ll always be having to work harder and living better (and the honest truth is you don’t have the strength in and of yourself to live up to the standard of perfect holiness – you’ve already fallen short). Still others may feel burdened. You start to feel like being a Christian is all about performing. And when our hope is based on our performance we’re never really free to experience the goodness, grace, love, compassion, and mercy of God – we’re too busy trying to make sure that our performance doesn’t fall short of His expectations. This isn’t a God worth celebrating – He’s a demanding God that we have to continuously work to appease.

So this is my exhortation to you this morning – “Stop looking for someone who’s smaller than death and still held captive by it! Stop looking for a good man, a good teacher, and a good model to follow! Instead fix your eyes on the Savior who died on the cross to accomplish what you and I couldn’t and then rose again leaving death behind permanently!” The story of the Bible is that God is fully aware of our sin. He’s fully aware of our hopeless and helpless condition! And in the most incredible act of love, compassion, and mercy He sent One to rescue us from the awful fate that awaited us – hell and eternal separation from Him. God sent the only One who could live a perfect life, die the death that we deserved, and then overcome both sin and death – He sent His Son Jesus! And Jesus (in His life, death, and resurrection) accomplished all that we could not so that we could have forgiveness of our sins and reconciliation with God the Father!

Then I want you to fix your ears on His voice. He’s calling you! Jesus died for you and wants you to receive the salvation that He makes available. And He does that by calling us individually to faith in Him. He wants you to recognize the sin in your life and that you’ve fallen short of a completely righteous and holy life. He wants you to recognize that you’ve been living life to make much of yourself. And He wants you to recognize your inability to accomplish your salvation on your own and your need for a savior. He wants you to see that through His death and resurrection He has paid the penalty for your sin in full and overcome the death that you deserve. And now He wants you to turn from the way you have been living your life, believe in His death and resurrection on your behalf, and then surrender your life to following Him and making much of Him. This is what the risen and living Savior is asking you to do! And if He is really alive, we can’t simply blow this off. It demands our consideration! It demands our response! The only question that remains is “What will your response be?”

Connection Point Questions for Discussion

1. What are some things that are hard for people to leave behind?  What evidence do we sometimes see in individuals' lives who are wrestling with leaving something behind?  What evidence does John give in chapter 20 of his gospel that Jesus had left death behind and why is that evidence significant?

2. Jesus asks Mary two questions in the garden,"Why are you weeping?" and "Whom are you seeking?"  Are these just simple questions Jesus was asking because He did not know what was wrong with Mary or is there more to these questions?  What's the real significance of the questions that Jesus was asking Mary?

3. When Mary realized who Jesus was she wrapped her arms around Him and doesn't appear to want to let go.  Why wouldn't Jesus allow Mary to just continuously cling to Him?  As believers in Christ I think it can become easy for us to simply want to cling to Jesus in a personal relationship with Him and never go announce the good news to others.  Why is it so important for us to proclaim the good news to those who have not heard and/or believed?  How are we as individuals, as a Connection Point, and as a church doing in this and how can we do better?