Grace Baptist Church, Nokomis, IL.

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Death is the universal human outcome of our lives on this earth. We will all one day die. We cannot avoid it. We might be able to delay death through medical advances, but even still, life is short. Therefore, it’s so incredibly important that we know what happens to us after we die, because eternity is much longer than our lives here.

The resurrection of Jesus is the crucial event of Christianity, and all of history. If Jesus really did rise from the dead, we can believe what He said about Himself. We can believe what the Bible says about Him. The resurrection proves that the crucifixion did what the Bible says it does. If Jesus really rose from the dead, we ought to honor Him as the Savior and Lord of our lives.

“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. 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 do not know where they have laid him.” So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. 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. Then the other disciple, who had 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 went back to their homes. But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 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.” Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” 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 Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for 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.'” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”–and that he had said these things to her.” (John 20:1-18)

Most people put off making a decision about Jesus until He interrupts their lives. This is where we find Mary at the beginning of this chapter. It was the first day of the week. What do people do on the first day of the week? Work. She probably had plans for the day. She would just briefly anoint the body and then be off. But then Jesus had to go and rise from the dead. And Mary’s plans were ruined. Don’t let today’s plans get in the way of your eternal home. It’s never a wrong time to have faith in Jesus.

Mary finds an empty tomb, but she doesn’t immediately rejoice. She runs to tell the disciples that someone stole the body of Jesus! We naturally try to explain the empty tomb in ways we can understand. Maybe someone stole the body. The Jews? The disciples? Maybe he wasn’t really dead. The only explanation that makes sense is that Jesus really did rise from the dead.

At this point, Mary is miserable. She doesn’t even notice (or care?) that she’s speaking with angels. She doesn’t even notice that she was speaking with Jesus. Mary loved Jesus. Not in a romantic way. There is no evidence that Jesus and Mary had a relationship. But she also didn’t love Him yet as her Lord, at least not in the spiritual sense. She probably loved Him more like a brother. But even loving Jesus as much as she did, she didn’t have a faith yet that understood why He came to earth, and how that was to impact her life. Loving Jesus is not the same as trusting in Jesus. You may say that you love Jesus, but do you trust Him with your life?

Mary’s misery turned to amazement when she realized she was talking with Jesus. She turned to Jesus and immediately embraced Him. Jesus responded that in order for God’s plan to be complete, He would next ascend to the Father. After that, we could all embrace Jesus, not in the literal sense, but as Savior and Lord.