John chapter 20. If you have lived any length of time at all, you have discovered that sorrow and disappointment are a normal part of life. We lose our jobs, or our life savings is stolen, or our child is in a car accident and left paralyzed, or we watch someone we love with lay on a bed of sickness, and then despite our prayers they die. And sorrow and disappointment set in thick around us, like a darkness that can be felt.

As we look at Mary Magdalene in John chapter 20 what we see is a woman whose heart is absolutely breaking. From her history we know that only one man has ever really loved her. His name was Jesus, and He cast 7 demons out of her. And she came to believe that He was the Messiah, the hope of Israel, the King.

But something went horribly wrong. He was arrested and was put on trial at night and by the time she heard about it He was dragging His cross through the dusty streets of Jerusalem, to the taunts and jeers of the crowd. She was in the crowd and she watched Him fall under the cross, and her heart fell with Him. She was there and watched as nails were pounded into His hands and feet, she heard Him cry Eloi, Eloi, Llama Sabachtini, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?” and as He died she felt that her own heart died right along with Him. The only one to ever truly love her hung dead on a cross. Her only hope lie lifeless in a tomb.

But even after He was dead Mary wanted to be with Him. She knew the truth that “love is as strong than death” and so she is at his tomb early Sunday morning. And as if His death weren’t enough disappointment, she can’t even find His body. In vs. 2 she thinks someone has taken the Him out of the grave, and she doesn’t know where He is now. And so Vs. 11 says “¹¹ Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb.” And the Bible uses two words to describe crying, one is “dakruo” and it means to cry silently. But that is not the word used here, the other word is “klah-io” and it means to wail loudly, to sob openly. It has to do with “gut wrenching” sobs! It’s the same word used of Peter after He denied Jesus 3 times and Jesus looked at Peter, and it says “Peter went outside and wept bitterly.” And so here is Mary standing outside the tomb of the only Person who has ever truly loved her, she’s bending over to look in and get a glimpse of His body, and He is gone, and she is in total broken-hearted agony, sobbing openly and weeping loudly.

And anyone who has buried a loved one or gone through one disappointment after another knows exactly how she feels. Maybe you’ve stood looking over the grave of a parent or a child or maybe you’ve been extremely disappointed by another person, or you have fallen in some way like Peter, and now all you can do is sob from a broken heart.

Well this morning, we will see that there is a Solution to the sorrow and suffering that we go through. There are some things we can learn from Mary’s story today. Let’s pray.

So notice vs. 11 “¹¹ but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb.” According to vs. 2 she thought somebody had taken the body. And so she looks at the empty grave and begins weeping. Now it’s important to see that Mary here is responding to what she sees. Vs. 11 she’s looking into the empty tomb and she’s weeping. Now there is another way that Mary could have understood what is happening: and that’s by faith. Had she just remembered Jesus’ Words, that He would die and rise again, and believed them, she would be rejoicing that the grave is empty. So contrast for a moment what living by sight vs. living by faith would have done for Mary. Instead of crying she would be rejoicing.

Let’s learn from this, that in our lives we can view what happens to us or the things going on around us either by sight or by faith. And if we live by faith, the very things that could make us weep can be the very things that give us joy, if we live by faith instead of by sight.

You might consider living by sight as represented by two words in vs. 11: “bent over.”  It says “¹¹she bent over to look into the tomb.” She’s bending over, she’s stooping down, and as long as her focus is down, and focusing on the grave she will continue to weep.  What a contrast this is to what David said in Psalm 123:1. Let’s look there if you would, in Psalm 123. David does something opposite to what Mary does here. He says in Psalm 123:1 “¹ I lift up my eyes to you, to you whose throne is in heaven. ² As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he shows us his mercy.” As long as we focus on our disappointments, our discouragements, what we have lost, or our hurts, we will weep. But if we lift up our eyes to the Lord and look to Him He will show us mercy, and we will see everything in a different light. So “bent over” is the life of sight, and “eyes looking up” is the life of faith. Living by sight always brings weeping and sorrowing, living by faith enables us to rejoice in all things, because we know God is working out all things for our good.

Luke tells us that… ²⁶ Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. ²⁸ When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” Luke 21:26-28 When everything is shaking to pieces around you, lift up your head, look up, Christ is near.

And in vs. 12 it says that she “¹²…saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.” Now again, Mary this ought to be a clue, when you see 2 angels sitting in the empty grave it ought to let you know that nobody has taken Him, nobody has stolen the body, He is risen.

Now this is the first time in Scripture where it mentions angels sitting, and when you read this you see the exact description of where they are sitting, one at the head of where Jesus’ body had been, and the other at the foot. So you’ve got 2 angels, one on both ends of where Jesus’ body had been. That should remind us of something in the Old Testament. Look with me at Exodus chapter 25. And in Exodus 25 God is giving instruction on how to build the furniture of the tabernacle. And notice the instruction He gives about the atonement cover, or the mercy seat. Exodus 25: ¹⁷ “Make an atonement cover of pure gold–two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. ¹⁸ And make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. ¹⁹ Make one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; make the cherubim of one piece with the cover, at the two ends. ²⁰ The cherubim are to have their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the cover. Exodus 25:17-20

You see, Jesus is our Mercy Seat, He is our “Atonement Cover”. See the atonement cover is where the High Priest sprinkled the blood that forgave sins. Jesus shed His blood to forgive our sins. The mercy seat is where God showed mercy to man. In Jesus God has shown mercy to us, forgiving all our sin, taking all our guilt and shame upon Himself, and shedding His blood as full payment for our wrongs. And look at vs. 22 “²² There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.” Jesus is not only our Mercy Seat He is our Meeting Place. If you want to meet with God you must come to Jesus, our Mercy Seat, because that’s where God is.

So there are 2 angels, one at the head and the other at the foot of where Jesus had been. It reminds us of Psalm 91:11 “¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” And there they are.

And in John 20 vs. 13 they ask Mary a question. And this question could be asked to every believer whenever they are sorrowing. ¹³ They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” Stop and think. “Do you really have any reason to be crying?” Shouldn’t the fact that Jesus is not here be grounds for rejoicing instead of crying? Why are crying? Don’t you know that God is in control of all things, and that God works all things out for the good of those who love Him, why are you crying? Don’t you know Jesus has died to forgive you, that He purchased your eternal life, and that He has risen, and so He is mighty to save, and Why are you crying? The very thing that makes you sorrowful could be the thing that makes you joyful if you understand it by faith. See our our unbelief, our sorrowing over so many things in life, makes the angels surprised. What are they doing crying?  

And Mary replies in vs. 13 ¹³ …”They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” Isn’t it amazing that she answered so quickly to the angels, instead of being awe-struck at their presence? She answered as though they were nothing more than men. She was so swallowed up with her grief, that she didn’t even stop to look at these heavenly messengers. Grief can blind us to spiritual realities all around us.

But I just love her language. “My Lord.” They’ve taken away “My Lord.” This is the language of love. Every believer can truly say, “He is My Lord.” “The Lord is my Shepherd…” “The Beloved is mine, and I am His.” “Who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

And now, look at vs. 14 “¹⁴ At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.” Mary’s deep deep love for Jesus is going to be rewarded. In fact, all who long to see Him, to be in His presence, He will reveal Himself to. “Those who seek Me, find Me.”

But even though He is standing right there, for some reason she can’t recognize Him. Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, Jesus is walking right with them and they can’t recognize Him. I mean, if you think about, the entire solution to her problems is right there, and she can’t see Him. I want to show you a picture of this, if you would turn to Genesis chapter 21, there is a story that closely parallels this. If you’ll remember Sarah sends Hagar and Ishmael away, and they go out into the desert, and they run out of water and Hagar doesn’t know what to do and she begins weeping. Look at vs. 15: “¹⁵ When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. ¹⁶ Then she went off and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she thought, “I cannot watch the boy die.” And as she sat there nearby, she began to sob. ¹⁷ God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? (why are you weeping?) Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. ¹⁸ Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” ¹⁹ Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.” Oh, there was a well of water right by her the whole time, but she just couldn’t see it, so she wept. And this is similar to Mary Magdalene, Jesus is there, her living water, the answer to all her problems, and she can’t see Him until Jesus opens her eyes.

I wonder how many of us have the solution to our every problem is right near us. And some of us have gone off looking to this professional, or that expert to help us. But wait a minute, Jesus is right here, the answer to all our problems is Jesus, and He is not far from any of us. Romans 10:8 “⁸ But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,”. The Word was near Mary.

Then notice in John chapter 20 the very first words of the Risen Savior. John 20:15 are the first words of the resurrected Jesus. He says ¹⁵ “Woman,” he said, “why are you crying?” And isn’t this just like Jesus? When He first came to this earth He came to people who were brokenhearted. He says “I came to bind up the brokenhearted”, meaning He came to heal those who are brokenhearted over their sin. And what does He do at the end of the world, when all His people are brought in, Revelation tells us He “wipes away every tear.”

And then He asks another question, “Who is it that you are looking for?” And Mary thinking he was the gardener, said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” Notice how her thoughts were consumed with Christ here. Him, Him Him she says. She’s thinking of nothing but Him. She wants to know where they put Him and she’s going to go get Him. But her thinking is all wrong and so…

¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary.” Here’s Jesus revealing Himself to her. He knows her by name. God said to Moses in Exodus 33:12: ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ Jesus said earlier “³The Good Shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”

And John 20:16 says “¹⁶ She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).” John 10:4 says ⁴ …his sheep follow him because they know his voice” and here was one of His sheep responding to the call of His voice. He spoke one word and Mary was transformed from a weeper into a Worshiper. That’s the power of the Word. Notice that now that He called her by name, she turns her back on the tomb and falls at His feet — it is only as we know Jesus, through His Word that we are delivered from the power of death!

 

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). John 20:16 and apparently she’s clinging to Him, not letting Him go because He says in vs. 17 ¹⁷“Do not hold on to me.” She had found Jesus and she just clung to Him. She was apart from Him for 3 days and she never ever wanted to be again. “⁴ I found the one my heart loves. I held him and would not let him go…” Song of Songs 3:4  

But Jesus says in vs. 17 ¹⁷ Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father.” Now a week later, in John 21, He’s going to tell Thomas to touch Him, so between here and John 21 He returned to His Father. Because He was completing the work of atonement. On the Day of Atonement, when the High Priest had sacrificed a lamb, He had to bring it into the presence of God, He had to sprinkle the blood. And so Jesus went to the Father and presented His wounds, the proof of His sacrifice that we might be accepted by the Father.

And then Jesus says, “Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” John 20:17 Now this is the first time Jesus has ever called His disciples “brothers.” See when He died on the cross and rose from the dead, human beings could now enter the family of God, and become the brother of Jesus. The Bible says He is the “firstborn among many brothers.” The prophecy is Psalm 22 was that the Messiah would “declare God’s Name to His brothers.” Just like Joseph after he suffered and was raised to a position of authority, he was not ashamed to call his family “brothers.”

And notice the grace He gives these men. After these men sinned horribly in deserting Christ, running from Him in His time of need, they might wonder, “Have I sinned my way out of heaven? Am I now an outcast of the family?” and Jesus says, He “you are my brothers, and my God is your God and Your Father.” What amazing grace. When we fall, when we sin and we wonder if we are part of God’s family, these words can bring comfort to us too.  

And I want us to see that this whole story with Mary is a picture of redemption. There she is, bent over, looking into a tomb, and weeping. She doesn’t have correct spiritual understanding right now. She has seen angels and Jesus and doesn’t recognize either one. But then Jesus comes and He calls her by name, and she turns to Him, and she clings to Him and just wants to hold on to Him for the rest of her life. This is exactly what redemption is.

We are bent over, fixed on things of this world, focused on the grave, weeping in our sin, we don’t have correct spiritual understanding, and then Jesus comes to us and He calls us by Name. That is, He speaks to us personally in His Word. And we turn around, that is, we repent, and see Jesus, and He tells us we are His. Look at Isaiah 43:1 “¹ But now, this is what the LORD says– he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.” This is redemption, when God calls us by name to come to Him and tells us we are His.

And the weeper becomes a worshipper. And so we’ve seen today that Jesus is the answer for all the Christian’s weeping. Turning away from whatever is causing our sorrow and turning to Him is the solution in all things. Looking at every circumstance we are in with the eyes of faith is the solution to all our discouragements, sorrows and troubles in this life.

² Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:2-3

 

 

 People say I am always smiling, even when I was diagnosed with breast cancer in December (had a mastectomy and glands removed) I kept smiling because I know God has healed me.