Resurrection Changes Everything
Sermon Notes from John 20
Audio:
According to NT scholar Luke Timothy Johnson, the most important question about Jesus is whether he is dead or alive.
If he is alive, then everything is radically different. He can show up on our doorstep. Do new things. Surprise, confront, encourage, and instruct us. To be a Christian is to believe and confess that Jesus is alive.
John’s Gospel has been leading us to this moment of truth. Jesus, the Son of God, was crucified and died, but that is not the end of the story.
The truth of the resurrection dawns slowly on the disciples, and John leads us deliberately through this time of realization. It begins early on the morning of Resurrection Day.
1. Mary’s Resurrection Experience (John 20:1-18)
Mary Magdalene is devoted. She goes to the tomb early and sees the stone taken away.
John 20:1-2
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. 2 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.”
Everything we know about Mary Magdalene is contained in a dozen mentions of her in the four Gospels. We do know that she follows Jesus throughout his ministry. Mary had been rescued from seven demons by Jesus, and she devoted her life to serving him. What did she witness at the cross? How long did the sights, sounds, and smells stay with her? The brutality of the death of Jesus impacted all of them.
Peter and John run to the tomb, find it empty, and go home.
John 20:3-10
So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes.
Peter is post-denial, pre-repentance, not in a good place. John takes in all the details: the folded-up face cloth. His gospel alone mentions this. Mary stays behind after Peter and John leave.
“But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb.”—John 20:11
David Lipe says that this was a “Loud, unrestrained weeping.”
J. C. Ryle: “Of all our Lord’s followers on earth, none seem to have loved Him so much as Mary Magdalene. None felt that they owed so much to Christ. None felt so strongly that there was nothing too great to do for Christ.”
Nothing could keep her from the tomb; nothing did. Her tears are a demonstration of her devotion to Jesus.
Mary encounters Angels
John 20:12–13
And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 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.”
Whenever people in the Bible see angels, they usually faint. Not Mary. Her life experiences seem to have left her tough and not easy to shake. In all four Gospel accounts, the angels are said to have appeared only to the women.
Instead of being afraid, she asks the question she asks three times in this text: Where is the body of Jesus? The angels do not answer. Lipe observed, “Jesus may have been crucified between two thieves, but He had been raised between two angels from heaven.”
Mary Encounters Jesus
John 20:14–15
Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 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.”
We are privy to the amazing and thrilling reality that this is Jesus, but Mary is still focused: Where is the body?
John 20:16–17
Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 17 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.’”
Lipe: “Mary knew that voice; instead of finding the dead body of her Lord, for which she was searching, she found herself face to face with the One who loved her and had died for her—the living Jesus. All of her grief, sorrow, and loss were replaced by joy, happiness, and gain, which she expressed in one Hebrew (Aramaic) word: ‘Rabboni!’”
Mary Brings the Announcement
John 20:18
Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and that he had said these things to her.
In church tradition, Mary has been given the title of the “Apostle to the Apostles.” A woman from Magdala is the first to bring the message of the gospel to the apostles. She is the first to see the empty tomb. She is the first to see Jesus. She is one of the only ones to ever hug the resurrected Lord. What an honor. Women were not even trusted by courts of law as faithful witnesses, yet the first witness, the witness to the apostles, is a woman. (Bookout)
The resurrection of Jesus changed everything for the first disciples. Does it change everything for us, too?
2. The Resurrection Changes Everything
The Resurrection Changes the Story - Jesus is Lord!
Acts 2:32-33
This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.
Jesus is Lord…
Over the universe - nothing is outside His power.
Over believers - over me - my life is in His hands.
Over the church. As a congregation, are we listening to him? Obeying Him? Following him? Loving him?
Jesus is exalted as Lord and designated to be the Son of God through his resurrection.
Romans 1:4 “...was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
The resurrection is a testimony that no matter how bad things get, we can trust God. God loves us, works to achieve what is beneficial to us, and in the end, God will win.
The resurrection changes the mission!
In Worship — We worship a living Savior. Jesus promises to be personally present in our midst when we gather (Matthew 18:20). We give him praise, confess our sins, address him in prayer, listen as he speaks, and commune with him as we remember the cross and celebrate his living presence. From start to finish, our worship assumes Jesus is alive and well and active in our midst.
In Fellowship — We build up believers. Our fellowship is with him and each other. (1 John 1:1,3). The relationship we have with each other flows out of the relationship we have in common with the living Christ.
In Mission — We participate in the redemption of the world. The mission of the church is rooted in the resurrection. Because Christ is alive, his ministry continues, and so does his mission. Jesus is with us and goes before us (Matthew 28:19-20)
The resurrection changes us!
When we were baptized, “we died and were buried with Christ…And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives” (Romans 6:4; Col. 2:12).
We become new creatures in Christ! (2 Cor 5:17; Gal. 6:15)
We are given a new nature set free from the power of sin (Romans 6:12-13)
We have a new focus - setting our sights on heaven, thinking about the things of heaven, not the things of the earth (Col. 3:1-2)
A new passion to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead - to experience the resurrection from the dead (Phil 3:10-11).
The new life in Christ is not an imitation, but a participation in Christ.
Conclusion
Through his life, death and resurrection, Jesus has gone before us in defeating and overcoming our last enemy, death (1 Cor 15:26).
By his victory, Jesus has broken death’s power and the power it gave the devil over us (Heb 2:14). Through his triumph, he has set us free from our fear of death and removed its sting (1 Cor 15:56).
On that last day “when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies” (1 Cor 15:52-53).
Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? (1 Cor 15:54-55)
The resurrection changes everything!
Though we still see death and decay all around us, we remain patient, steadfast, and confident. Even in the face of death we can declare, in John Donne’s famous words:
Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou are not so…
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more, Death, thou shalt die.
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Discussion Questions
1. What details in John 20:1–10 stand out to you about Mary, Peter, and John at the tomb?
2. How would you describe Mary Magdalene’s emotional state in verses 11–13? What words or phrases in the text support your answer?
3. What changes the scene from confusion to recognition in verse 16? What is significant about Jesus simply saying her name, “Mary”?
4. In verse 17, Jesus speaks of “my Father and your Father, my God and your God.” What does that wording suggest about the new relationship his resurrection opens up for the disciples?
5. 1 John 1:3 says our fellowship is with the Father and the Son and with one another. How does the living presence of Jesus deepen and redefine Christian fellowship beyond just “getting along”?
6. Since the risen Christ still has a mission and sends us (Matthew 28:18–20), where do you sense your congregation is most faithfully participating in his mission—and where might you be resisting or ignoring his leading?
7. Romans 6:4 and Colossians 2:12 connect baptism with dying and rising with Christ to “live new lives.” Looking back, where have you most clearly seen “newness of life” in yourself since you came to Christ?
8. John Donne’s sonnet ends, “One short sleep past, we wake eternally, / And death shall be no more, Death, thou shalt die.” How do poetry and hymnody sometimes help us feel resurrection hope more deeply than prose alone?
What Does the Resurrection Mean to My Life Today?
Romans 6
The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the greatest key to believing that God has an eternal plan and life for us that goes beyond our short years on earth. Far from being a cold doctrine of church tradition, this is the living flame that burns in our hearts. What does the resurrection mean to my life today? Romans 6 is a great place to contemplate that question.
1. I can have a new life (Romans 6:1-4)
2. I can be freed from sin (Romans 6:5-7)
3. I can escape the terror of death (Romans 6:8-10)
4. I can be an instrument of righteousness (Romans 6:11-14)
5. I can live a life of holiness (Romans 6:15-22)
6. I can live forever (Romans 6:23)
