John 20:1- 10      Easter 2008

It would appear that John’s information concerning the resurrection of our Lord owes much to an account given by Mary Magdalene, and the rest comes from his own observations. From Mary he derived much of the information given in John 20:1-18. The rest he relates from his own experience, mainly John 20:19-29, and the whole of John 21.

As we join, at the sepulchre, those ladies who went to embalm the body of the Lord Jesus  and the disciples who responded to their news that the tomb was empty, let us see what the Lord would teach us today.

1.Those who love Christ most are those who have received most benefit from him.

The first to come is Mary Magdalene. She was one out of whom the Lord had cast "seven devils" (Mark 16:9; Luke 8:2), and her gratitude knew no bounds. None seem to have loved Him so much as Mary. None felt that they owed so much.

Why is it that many do so little for the Saviour? Is it because of a low sense of obligation? Where sin is not felt, nothing is done; and where sin is little felt, little is done. The person who is deeply conscious of his guilt, and convinced that without Christ he would sink into hell, is the one who will spend and be spent for Jesus (2 Cor 5:14,15).

2. There are widely different temperaments in different believers.

 Both Peter and John ran to the sepulchre; but John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, outran Peter but being more reserved stooped down and looked in, but did not enter. Peter, more impulsive, fervent, and impetuous, rushes straight in. Both were deeply attached to our Lord, yet each behaves in his own characteristic fashion.

We need to make allowances for wide varieties in the temperaments of believers. We should be slow to judge harshly, those who do not see or feel things exactly as we do. The flowers in the Lord's garden are not all of one colour and one scent, though they are all planted by one Spirit. The Church has a place for all, and a work for all.

3. Even among true believers there may be much ignorance.

 John and Peter “as yet knew not the Scripture,” John 20:9

They knew not the scripture, namely, Ps 16:9-10: “Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell for thou wilt not abandon my life to the grave, nor suffer thy Holy One to see corruption.” It was certainly a reproach to the disciples that they had not understood this prophecy, when our Lord had given them the most direct information concerning it. Christ had referred to the history of Jonah, Matt 12:40, which was at once the type and the proof of his own resurrection.

It is even more amazing when we think that for three long years Christ had staked the truth of His Messiahship on His rising from the dead, and yet they had never taken in His meaning. However, this confession of John, even though it shows him in a bad light, is proof of his sincerity, and of the truth of what he has written.

We do not realize the power over the mind of wrong teaching in childhood, and of early prejudices. We should not be surprised by the ignorance of modern believers when we note that of Peter and John, under the teaching of Christ Himself.

We must remember that true grace, and not head knowledge, is the one thing needful. Some things are absolutely essential and we must know them. These are; our sinfulness, Christ is a wonderful Saviour and the necessity of repentance and faith. If     we know these things there can be many other things of which we may remain quite ignorant. Let us always seek to know more about our Lord but do not let us despair because our knowledge is imperfect. Above all, let us make sure that, like Peter and John, we have received grace and that hearts are right with God.

For an application of the Easter message to our hearts I want to turn to Ps 30:5b.  “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”

  Weeping had come as an unwelcome guest into the homes of the followers of Jesus on that terrible night following the day we call “Good Friday.” If they are at all like us, then, in the evening when they returned home and the horrors of the day registered on their minds, tears would flow like rivers down their faces. Weeping would come to all their homes.

Weeping always visits us when the shadow of death enters our homes. When it calls it seems to us that seldom was a home been as dark as ours or a trial so great. At that time the harsh reality of life dawns on us and it seems that we will never recover from our loss.

Weeping also comes in times of adversity. With a sad face and sad voice she says that Providence is full of mystery, and that in all ages she has known some of the best people who were just as sadly perplexed.

Weeping tells us that she well remembers how Asaph long ago said in Ps 73:1-9,

 2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped. 3 For I was envious of the boastful, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 4 For there are no pangs in their death, but their strength is firm. 5 They are not in trouble as other men, nor are they plagued like other men. 6 Therefore pride serves as their necklace; violence covers them like a garment. 7 Their eyes bulge with abundance; They have more than heart could wish. 8 They scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression; They speak loftily. 9 They set their mouth against the heavens, And their tongue walks through the earth.                

Weeping reminds us how David, too, and other saints felt the same burden of mystery, and adds that no one has ever found the solution. Weeping  is not surprised that we are  troubled although we well might be.

Weeping comes in those trying hours when friendships fail us.  

She suggests that human nature is, selfish and untrustworthy; that the exclamation of the psalmist is, sooner or later, the exclamation of all who have known much of the world and its ways: “Put not your trust in princes”.

Weeping is sure to come to us in the hour of personal humiliation and shame. In the dim glimmer of the fire on the hearth she brings to our notice stains on our garment which, she assures us, would look a thousand times worse if we saw them in the proper light or saw them as others see them and, above all, as God sees them.

But weeping vanishes when a new morning dawns and Joy returns to brighten our day. With the coming of a new dawn in our experience a new light comes streaming through the windows of our soul and Joy again speaks to us. We repeat to her what Weeping has told us, and Joy replies that Weeping is a true teacher, that it is her prerogative to utter many a truth which only she can teach, but she overlooks others that are just important.

For instance, in speaking to us of our bereavement as a loss for which nothing can compensate, she forgot to tell us that those who know the Lord will meet again. She also omitted to tell of the precious memories which will be to us a life-long inspiration and that this may be one of God's ways of uniting us to Himself by associating His home with ours.

Again, Joy reminds us that when Weeping spoke of affliction as being the mystery which has perplexed God's saints in all the ages, and of how she had heard Asaph say, "As for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped. For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked," etc. (Ps 73:2-13), she forgot to tell us the rest that Asaph said and how he began the psalm with, “Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart”.Further  on, in speaking of the prosperity of the wicked, Asaph exclaims, Whom have I in heaven but You? There is none upon earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart fail but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Ps 73:25-26          

“She forgot to tell you, too,” adds Joy, “what another psalmist said, “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word. Ps 119:67                          

"Yes," continues Joy, "Weeping is a good teacher, but she has a poor memory for anything that is joyful, she only remembers the sad.”

Joy pauses, and then, with a still brighter glow upon her face, and a clearer ring in her voice, she continues, and when Weeping spoke to you of your sin, she only gave you half the truth. When she told you that you could never remove the stains of sin which God saw upon your garment, she forgot to say that “the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

This Easter as we examine again an empty tomb, it not only reminds us that Christ rose from the dead, it also reminds us that He is coming again and that those who know Him as Saviour and Lord will be caught up together with Him and so will be forever with the Lord. Make your place in glory certain today.