Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / John

John 20:1-18 02/11/07

Title: ‘When Jesus calls your name’pt1    

Text: John 20:1-18

Introduction:

·       In 1588 the Spanish Armada was defeated by a change in weather. That one event profoundly affected the future of America.

·       On June 6, 1944 the Allied forces under the command of Dwight D. Eisenhower invaded Normandy. The weather was good and the invasion was a success. That success on D-Day led to the defeat of Hitler. Can you imagine how different our lives would be had Hitler won World War II?

·       On August 6, 1945 the atomic bomb was dropped on Japan and shortly after that they surrendered to the Allied forces. Some of you may not know that Japan was working on an atomic bomb as well. What if they had developed it first? (Richard Tow)

I am amazed by the way history can turn on a single event I am also amazed that our lives can be forever effected by a single event as well. That’s what happened to Mary Magdalene when Jesus called her name.

 

People call our name all the time. And we can often tell by what they call us, what they have in mind. Right? You married people know what I am talking about, especially you men. When we get married our wives call our name. And the name they choose can either mean they are amorous or angry. For example:

·       Honey = amorous

·       Robert = angry

When Jesus called Mary’s name it meant many things to her and it effected her life like no other single event.

Our text this morning celebrates the single greatest event in all history, the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. And I find it very interesting that beside Jesus, the central figure of this text is not Peter or John who are mentioned. John’s Gospel records the greatest event in human history and it revolves around Jesus and Mary Magdalene.

Transition: That’s significant. What does God want us to learn from this? Well, open your Bibles to John 20:3 (pg. 828 in the bibles under the chair in front of you) Here we’ll see the significance of when Jesus calls your name.

II. John 20:3-10 Mary…Peter and John

Read: John 20:3-10

Let me give you the five cent tour.

·       Mary goes to Peters house and then to Johns house to tell them what she had seen.

·       The ‘other disciple’, John, is believed to be much younger than Peter which is probably why he beats him in a footrace to the tomb.

·       The opening to the tomb was probably not as large as portrayed in many pictures making it necessary for John to stoop or bend over to look inside. But notice that John doesn’t enter the tomb right away. He was too good of a Jew to defile himself by entering a tomb without first giving it much thought.

·       No so much with Peter. He probably jumped in head first…I like Peter.  He gives his all to his faith w/o worrying about how he looks to others.

·       Peter comes out of the tomb confused. Jesus’ body was definitely gone. But the inside of the tomb didn’t look like it was robbed and Jesus’ body stolen. He wanted to know what was going on.

·       Finally, John’s curiosity gets the best of him and he enters the tomb. Seeing the burial cloths neatly lying where Jesus body had been, John saw the whole picture and while Peter and Mary were trying to figure out what had happened…John got it.

·       John came to the conclusion that Jesus rose from the dead, just as he had said he would. There, in the darkness of the tomb, John saw the light, and believed.

A couple of things to ponder here.

1. Believing in Jesus, salvation for some is often

    a process. Let me explain.

·       Some people hear about Jesus and come to faith immediately. It just makes sense and they believe.

·       Others need to hear and digest, hear and digest, over and over again, before they will take the step of faith.

·       We’re all different, all unique and that includes how the Holy Spirit works in lives in order to lead someone to faith in Jesus Christ.

2. Belief in Jesus, salvation is sometimes a

    private matter.

·       It’s interesting that John doesn’t say anything to Peter at this point. He doesn’t give a testimony; he doesn’t tell Peter that he believes that Jesus rose from the dead. Like Mary, the mother of Jesus, John seems to pondered these things in his heart.

·       This tells me that we shouldn’t be too concerned when someone comes to faith in Jesus and doesn’t talk much about it publicly.

·       But…the time will come when John will be very vocal about his faith in Jesus…it seems he just needed time and so do some new Christians.

Transition: Well, back to the text, what happens next?

III. John 20:11-13      Mary…and the angels

Read: John 20:11-13

Peter and John go home…but Mary remained at the tomb, she hangs around a little longer than the other disciples. The process of faith for Mary had begun.

We’re told that Mary was crying.  Peter and John weren’t much help, Mary still didn’t know what was going on. So she bent over and looked inside the tomb…and she saw two men dressed in white…one at each end of there the body of Jesus had been.

Again, a few things to notice.

1. Why didn’t Mary recognize the men were

    angels?

·       We’re not told.

·       But often in Scripture, angels look like men.

·       And these two angels didn’t announce to Mary they were angels.

2. Why didn’t the angels tell Mary that Jesus

    rose from the dead?

·       We’re not told.

·       But I believe it’s because Jesus wanted to do that himself…personally.

3. Why was Mary crying?

·       We’re not told.

·       But, we can assume she loved Jesus and was filled with sorrow from his death. She missed him. And perhaps she wasn’t sure who she was without Jesus in her life.

·       This could have led Mary to feel hopeless and alone. This would cause anyone to cry.

When you look back on your life and consider all the mistakes you’ve made, all the words and actions you wish you could take back, but you can’t, it’s natural to feel a sense of hopelessness.

You might be thinking ‘Is there anyway I can change my past? And you know the answer is no. And we feel as Mary felt, hopeless and alone. Again, a reason to cry.

Transition: I want you to notice that Mary makes her relationship with Jesus personal when she said to the angels ‘they have taken away my Lord, and I don’t know where they have put him.’

Relationship with Jesus is always personal, it’s always intimate and it’s always initiated by Jesus. Let’s see.

IV. John 20:14-17      Mary…and Jesus

Read: John 20:14-17

After Mary asked her question, it’s possible the angels motioned with their heads for Mary to look outside the tomb to find her answer. Mary did and she saw Jesus but didn’t recognize him. Why?

·       Mary was crying, remember? Perhaps her eyes were so filled with tears that they were burning and she couldn’t see clearly.

·       Perhaps Jesus didn’t look exactly like he did when she last saw him; beaten to a bloody pulp and nailed to a wooden cross.

·       Perhaps Jesus purposely had his identity masked.

·       Perhaps Jesus wanted Mary to focus on what/who she really wanted.

Jesus asks her the same question the angels asked her ‘…why are you crying’ but he also adds ‘Who is it you are looking for?’

·       Jesus knows why Mary’s crying.

·       Jesus wanted Mary to know that he knew something about her situation.

·       And Jesus wanted Mary to focus on the one important thing in her life….him.

In her grief, Mary still doesn’t see the truth standing right before her eyes. She is so fixated on her pain she can’t see the way of healing right in front of her…that is until Jesus calls her name.

For Mary, seeing wasn’t believing, hearing was believing. She heard Jesus call her name and she believed and saw him for who he is. What love, what compassion was conveyed in one word from Jesus…Mary. In Jesus’ voice is tenderness, forgiveness, and grace, for Mary and for all who

will listen when Jesus calls their name.

Mary…in that one word, she knew her life would never be the same. And you can put your name in place of Mary’s in vs 16.

‘Jesus said to him, ‘______’

or Jesus said to her ‘____’

·       Jesus often comes to you in your lowest moments in life, when it seems as though God is dead.

·       Jesus often comes to you when you feel there is no hope.

·       When Jesus comes to you he says ‘why are you crying?’(he identifies the situation) and ‘Who are you looking for?’ (he tells you where to look for the answers)

·       Jesus calls your name and reminds you that he’s alive, that he has risen from the dead.

When you look to Jesus, all the mistakes you’ve made in the past, all the words and actions you wish you could take back, all the wrong you have done, are forgiven.

When you look to Jesus he will tell you ‘I died for all your mistakes, all your sin and my resurrection is proof that you’re forgiven and now at peace with God.’

Only one thing can bring hope to a hopeless situation, Jesus calling your name.

Sensing all this, Mary fell at Jesus feet and hugged him with all her strength. Nothing was going to separate her from her Lord again…at least that’s how it must have felt to Mary.

Jesus tells Mary to let go because he had a job for her to do. Folks, we so often forget this. We come to corporate worship and seek God’s face and his blessing. We go home and read the Word, pray and look forward to our next encounter with Jesus the coming Sunday.

…But we can’t cling to Jesus, we can’t stay within the confines of these walls, we can’t settle for reading God’s Word and praying to him…When Jesus calls your name, he has something for you to do…as was true for Mary.

·       Love Jesus…yes!, Worship Jesus…Yes!, Read and study God’s Word…Yes! Pray…Yes! But we also must Go and tell!

·       Remember James wrote ‘faith w/o works is dead’ meaning the practical application or outworking of your faith in Jesus is a willingness to serve him.

Jesus told Mary to ‘Go and tell…’ And when Jesus calls you by name, he tells you the same thing. Mary obeyed Jesus, I pray you will too.

Transition: Mary…with one word, everything changed. Jesus still calls our name today…I pray we are all listening.

V. John 20:18  Mary…and the other disciples

Read: John 20:18

The first witness to Jesus’ resurrection was an ordinary woman with inadequacies, inabilities and limitations. That sure makes me, an ordinary person, pretty happy.

·       I want you to notice that the first witness for Jesus didn’t give a doctrinal defense of the Gospel.

·       She didn’t have a theological degree.

·       She didn’t argue which came first, predestination or foreknowledge.

·       She didn’t memorize a lot of Scripture.

·       Mary just told the other disciples what happened to her. ‘I have seen the Lord.’

·       Spiritual authority to share the Gospel with power doesn’t come from signs and wonders, doesn’t come from doctrine, it comes from personal experience… ‘I saw the Lord’ ‘My life has been changed by the hand of God.’ ‘I know I am going to heaven when I die.’

·       Spiritual power to share the Gospel comes from intimacy with Jesus and obedience to his call to ‘Go…and tell…’

Conclusion

Two last thoughts as I close.

1. If Jesus can turn Mary’s life around with a single word, he can do the same for you. Keep searching, keep coming, keep reading, don’t give up. Keep hanging around like Mary did, searching for Jesus and as Mary found him, so will you.

2. When you experience the blessing of Jesus calling your name, it won’t be just for you alone. Jesus spoke Mary’s name in a most personal way, but he also told her to ‘God…and tell..’

When you see him at work in your life, tell others. Like those disciples of Jesus’ day, we too need to hear that you have seen the Lord and he’s working in your life.

Listen and obey…when Jesus calls your name.