 Beginning at verse one, reading to verse 10, John writes, 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. Then she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved and said to them, they have taken away the Lord out of the tomb and we do not know where they have laid him. Peter therefore went out and the other disciple and were going to the tomb. So they both ran together and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first and he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there, yet he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came following him and went into the tomb and he saw the linen cloths lying there and the handkerchief that had been around his head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded together in a place by itself. Then the other disciple who came to the tomb first went in also and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not know the scripture that he must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again to their own homes. We're gathering this morning to celebrate the resurrection of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and we do this as an act of worship because we believe that the resurrection of Christ is an actual historic fact. Former Harvard professor Dr. Simon Greenleaf once wrote, according to the laws of legal evidence used in courts of law, there is more evidence for the historical fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ than for just about any other event in history. Everything that is related to our Christian faith rests on one event, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is something that Jesus taught from the very beginning of his ministry. When you look into the gospel of John in chapter two, Jesus is speaking in that chapter and he says at verse 19, destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up. John tells us he wasn't speaking concerning the temple, he was speaking concerning his body and he was speaking concerning the fact that in three days he would be resurrected even if put to death. When you look into the gospel of Matthew, no less than three times, Jesus pointedly speaks concerning his death burial and resurrection. He does so in Matthew 16, chapter 17, as well as chapter 20. All of Jesus' words and all of his works rest on whether or not he was resurrected. It's the resurrection that validates his entire life and his entire ministry. Without the resurrection, he would have simply been a teacher but one who did not tell the truth. That would mean that we would not need to believe anything that he had to say and ultimately Christians would be living a lie and we'd even be undergoing circumstances and trials that are totally unnecessary. The apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians in chapter 15 said this. He said, if Christ has not been raised then all our preaching is useless and your faith is useless and we apostles would all be lying about God for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave but that can't be true if there's no resurrection of the dead and if there is no resurrection of the dead then Christ has not been raised and if Christ has not been raised then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost and if our hope in Christ is only for this life we are more to be pity than anyone in the world. Well, the good news is that Christ is risen is risen indeed and that's why we've come we've come to celebrate that fact. There's an old hymn that says Christ is risen from the dead darkness now no more shall reign thorns no more shall crown the head that was bowed with grief and pain. Christ the Lord the mighty King from our sin hath made us free where oh death is now thy sting where oh grave thy victory. We are here to celebrate the fact of the risen savior Jesus Christ is alive and as we look at this passage before us we see disciples we see disciples who are grieving and they're grieving over the loss of their friend and their master Jesus Christ these are people who had forsaken everything and followed after him they had heard his challenge they had committed themselves to him they knew that the Lord had called them to a complete following a discipleship if you will he said whoever of you who does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple they understood they understood that being a Christian wasn't something that's occasional and it's not something that's seasonal but being a believer is a way of life and they had followed Jesus they did so faithfully from the day that he called him they listened eagerly to his teachings they were constantly amazed at his wisdom and eloquence they were eyewitnesses of his miracles and they grew to have an awe at his power and his majesty but painfully and finally they had seen him betrayed by a friend taken away from them his death had absolutely devastated them their sense of loss beyond words and that had happened on a Friday now it's early Sunday morning it's the first day of the week it's Sunday and Mary has come to the tomb early while it is still dark it says in verse one on the first day of the week Mary Magland came to the tomb early while it was still dark and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb this is a woman who loved the Lord Jesus Christ with all of her heart this is a woman who had been severely demon possessed but Jesus Christ had delivered her from the power of these demons Jesus had set her free and the fact that he had set her free caused her to love him deeply, openly and courageously when Jesus had been crucified she was there and she watched as he suffered and she watched as he died the Bible says that when Joseph took Jesus' body to the tomb that Mary saw where it had been placed so Mary has come she's come with several other women but John wants to devote his attention to her Mary has come Mary Magdalene now Mary is her first name Magdalene is not her last the word Magdalene speaks of the village that she came from she came from the village of Magdala which is there on the western coast of the Sea of Galilee and Mary is a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ and she has come in order that she might continue to perform the duty of anointing his body for a proper burial so you have to take into consideration for a moment that Mary has come with the attitude that she's going to have to enter into a tomb that has a corpse in it she's expecting to encounter Jesus who by now is bloated because he's been dead and in the tomb for three days so by now he is bloated she's expecting to see a pale skin bloated corpse and she's expecting to encounter the stench of death in a tomb and that's why she's come she wants to finish the burial for him but as she's come to that tomb expecting to find a dead man that's when the angel speaks and says why do you come seeking the living amongst the dead he's alive like he said he would be well Mary has yet to really understand that and so what happens as she comes it's still dark it's dawn she sees that the stone has been taken away from the tomb and when that happens verse two she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved and said to them they've taken away the Lord out of the tomb we do not know where they have laid him Peter therefore went out and the other disciple and we're going to the tomb so they both ran together and the other disciple ran Peter and came to the tomb first and he's stooping down and looking in saw the linen cloths lying there yet he did not go in and so she unknowingly has been given the privilege of being the first witness of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and as I was preparing this study I remembered something and looked it up and according to Jewish writings that would relate to the testimony when somebody gave testimony during that day a woman's testimony was not as valued as that of a man and yet God chose to let her be the first to go out and bear testimony of the fact that Jesus Christ is alive she's confused she's afraid and she runs to tell the apostles what has happened well the Bible says that John outran Peter to the tomb notice with me that he stooped down he looked in but John makes it very clear he did not go in so he contended himself with glancing into the tomb but remaining on the outside as this is taking place for six Simon Peter came following him went into the tomb and he saw the linen cloths lying there in the handkerchief that had been around his head not lying with the linen cloths but folded together in a place by itself then the other disciple who came into the tomb first went in also he saw and believed and so what is it that Simon Peter saw well he saw evidence that Jesus had passed through the sheets and had tied it up the tomb that reveals obviously that grave robbers hadn't stolen his body but what I want to do at this point is I want to examine I want to compare Peter's reaction to the reaction of John notice with me notice that both ran to the tomb both saw the linen cloths lying there both saw that the tomb was empty yet only John is mentioned as having seen and believed why only John why doesn't it say that the apostle Peter as well as John saw and believed the words of Christ I believe it's because Peter was dealing with the fact that he had denied Jesus it's been said the shadow of sin had clouded Peter's spiritual sight remember with me that the apostle Peter in the night that Jesus was betrayed was there with the other man celebrating Passover with Jesus and during the time of Passover and the celebration the Lord Jesus Christ had begun to speak and he said that he was going to be betrayed and he was going to die and the apostle Peter when he heard that got upset and spoke to the Lord and as he spoke to the Lord he said though all may forsake you I never will he went so far as to say I'd even die for you and you can imagine for a moment when Jesus is looking at this beloved apostle Peter a man who only took his foot out of his mouth to insert the other one back in somebody who spoke first without thinking as Jesus is looking at the apostle Peter there he says really will you he says I'm going to let you know something you're going to deny me this night three times and when he said that to the apostle Peter it must have it must have struck a chord in his heart no I won't I would even die for you oh no Peter Simon Simon Satan has has asked for you that he may sift you even as wheat is sifted he says but I have prayed for you and when you're converted strengthen your brethren Satan has specifically requested permission to work you over and God my father has granted him that permission you are going to be worked over but here's where you get your strength I have prayed for you and you're going to return and after you go through this bruising in this battering you will be a strength to those who go through similar things Peter didn't want to believe that the Lord Jesus had taken them went into a garden called Gethsemane and as they were there in the garden he left eight of his men and then went a stone throw away and took three further in and he knelt he began to pray he began to sweat as it were drops of blood and he asked his father if it be possible take this cup from me nevertheless not my will but yours be done as that's taking place his disciples are sleeping for sorrow and Jesus awakens them three times can you not watch and pray for even an hour watch he said the spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak here comes Judas one of the trusted men with him he brings a contingent of officers and they have lanterns torches and they have swords and they enter into this garden the apostle Peter sees them coming and he makes good on his promise I will even die for you and he pulls out his sword and the first person next to him he takes a swing and tries to take his head off but it glances and hits this man Malchus on the air and cuts off a portion of his ear and Jesus has to speak to Peter and says put your sword away you can't live by the sword because you're going to die by it and and he said I've come for this purpose and he heals Malchus and they take Jesus away and Peter is concerned seeing that John had an ability to enter into Caiaphas' courtyard priests both Peter and John go into this courtyard and as they're there Peter warms himself by the enemy's fire and somebody approaches him and says I know who you are you're with the Galilean no you've got you've mixed me up with somebody else you're mistaken somebody else says but your speech betrays you you're a Galilean I don't know him finally a young woman there at the campfire says this man was with the Galilean and he begins to bring curses on himself and swears oaths and then he hears the rooster crow and it hits him that he did exactly what Jesus said he would do and as this is all taking place Peter looks up and he sees Jesus as Jesus is being led past him in Jesus has already been hit he's already been spit upon his face is already bruised his beard has already been pulled out and Jesus passes and looks at Peter and Peter looks back at Jesus their eyes connect the Bible tells us when that happened Peter went out and he went bitterly he had denied the Lord just as he said and that's clouding his vision that's what happens sometimes our sin may be the only thing that we actually see we need to understand that healing is possible but it comes through repentance it comes through confession it comes through forsaking the sin and turning to the Lord and asking for forgiveness God is rich in forgiveness and rich in mercy and he'll convict us of our sin and righteousness and judgment he does that by his spirit in order to awaken within us the need for him there was a mighty king a mighty king of Israel his name was David and King David was handsome he was eloquent just like me King David and King David was well respected loved by everybody in Israel but in the time when kings went out to war David remained behind and he was walking around his estate and the King's home was built at the top of the hill and he looked down and he could see the other homes that were built there and as he was looking down he looks into the yard of one of his men a man by the name of Uriah and as he looks into the yard there's this beautiful woman by the name of Bathsheba who is bathing and she's completely naked and David sees this and the lust is aroused in his heart so he sends in inquires who is this one of his men says is that not Bathsheba the wife of Uriah so the warning is given she's a married woman David hands off she's married to one of your most loyal soldiers Uriah hands off but the lust had already been aroused in David's heart he wanted this woman he said bring her to me and being the king they wouldn't refuse and they bring Bathsheba in it Bathsheba even speaks to him and says listen I've been cleansed from my impurity in other words when she's saying that she's saying I am fertile I can become pregnant if you consummate your act I can become pregnant with your child she warned him but he didn't care because the lust had arisen so deeply in his heart there was nothing going to stop him and he slept with it and she left but she sends word back and says to David that she's pregnant David doesn't know what to do where's Uriah he's out there in the lines fighting bring him in so Uriah's brought in David tries to convince Uriah to go spend some time with your wife but on two occasions Uriah being more noble than David at that moment refuses and he doesn't go and he doesn't have intercourse with his wife he he doesn't have that relation and so David realizing that he cannot hide his sin by pretending that the child born to Bathsheba is Uriah's David concocts another plan and he says okay then put Uriah in the heat of battle and when it is the most fierce he says I want your soldiers to pull away and allow him to die so David was not guilty simply of lying and adultery he also was guilty of the death of one of his very loyal men and that's exactly what happens and Uriah is killed and the word comes Uriah is dead David waits marries Bathsheba thinking that he can cover up the sin but the prophet comes and says you're guilty and what you've done God is noted and you're not getting away with it the child that's born to you shall die David prays and seeks the Lord please please show mercy but God does not allow that child to survive David is a great example of somebody who denies their sin and tries to hide it and there are so many people who live lives like that they know what they're doing is wrong they know what they're doing they're doing is sinful they know it but they make excuses and that's what David did but David wrote a Psalm he actually wrote two but one of the Psalms related to this is Psalm 32 and in Psalm 32 he said this in verses three through five David said when I kept silent my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long for day and night your hand was heavy upon me my strength was sapped in the heat of summer then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity I said I will confess my transgressions to the Lord and you forgave the guilt of my life that's what God does you can try and hide your sin you can excuse your sin you can rename your sin you can say you were born that way but the bottom line is it's still sin and inside you're dry inside you're empty and that's what he says like the drought of summer there's no life in me but I acknowledged it I confessed it and God was merciful to me and that's how you can be saved that's how you can be forgiven by confessing and forsaking acknowledging you see John and Peter had seen the exact same thing they both saw an empty tomb but before seeing the empty tomb John had first been at the foot of the cross John had seen Jesus when he died John watched him along with Jesus' mother Mary and others and he saw Jesus as he was going through death and John had watched him and John had heard him he heard him when Jesus said to that thief today you shall be with me in paradise he heard it when Jesus said Father forgive them for they know not what they do he had heard it when Jesus said into thy hands I commit my spirit that would have rung in the heart of John because during the time of Christ scholars will say that that phrase Father into thy hands I commit my spirit was part of the evening prayer that a child would pray before they went to bed here in the United States some parents teach their kids to pray at night I remember one prayer that parents would teach now I lay me down to sleep I pray the Lord my soul to keep that's fine but when you say if I die before I wake that's not a good thing it doesn't give you a lot of peace you're going to stay awake all night I pray the Lord my soul to take but in the life of the Jewish child they would say Father into thy hands I commit my spirit and they would place their head on their pillow and they would go to sleep and the Bible says that Jesus said Father into thy hands I commit my spirit and he laid his head on the cross like a pillow and he died but he had said it is finished that's a single Greek word means paid in full the debt has been paid I am a sinner I have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ it is appointed unto men to die once and after this the judgment but God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life God demonstrated his love toward us and that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us for us he who hears my word and believes on him who sent me has everlasting life shall not come into condemnation but his path from death into life Jesus said if any man hears my voice that's all it requires you see they saw the same thing but sin clouds the eyes of Peter and it's not at that moment clouding the eye of John he saw and he believed but the apostle Peter saw the same thing and walked away some see an empty tomb but they go on with their lives they still have guilt their lives are still painful but others see that empty tomb and they move on into peace with God there are many Americans who associate an Easter bunny with a resurrection I find it interesting I've never understood how a bunny could lay an egg but so when my kids were going up I did my best Marie and I did our best to teach them that Easter isn't about bunnies and baskets Easter is really the resurrection of Jesus Christ and so we did the best that we could to train our children I still remember when my son Joseph was around six years old or so and his teacher at school had said to the kids as an assignment an art assignment to draw something related to Easter and so Joseph had drawn something and he brought his picture home for me to see I'll never forget it he said this is what I drew in class daddy hands me the picture and there's the tomb and there's an Easter bunny but the Easter bunny was on his knees with his head bowed in front of an empty tomb for all creation will proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord and my son understood that at the age of six the Easter bunny worships Christ now what's interesting here in verse nine it says as yet they did not know the scripture that he must rise again from the dead then is then the disciples went away again to their own homes there are many people in the United States who are familiar with the story of the resurrection but it's interesting how John puts it when he says they did not know the scripture what are you talking about they did not know it by experience this is something they had been taught but they had yet to enter in to the experience of what that is there are a lot of people in the United States who can answer surveys and will say that Easter is associated in one form or another with the resurrection or the life of Christ they will say they know that there are churches filled on Easter Sunday throughout the world with people who will say well yes you know Easter represents Jesus Christ in some form or another and a good portion of them will say that it's associated with his resurrection not everybody does not everybody understands that and there are people who come to churches just like this perhaps in this church right now who would say oh yeah I understand Easter but you see when I was a young man I was raised in a home with a mom who cared about religious things and my mom had me baptized when I was four months old my mom made sure that I went to to first communion classes to receive my communion when I was seven or eight years old my mom wanted to make sure that I received my confirmation when I was 13 years old so I was able to speak concerning the Easter what Easter is what Jesus has done who Jesus Christ is I was able to do that from my head but I had never associated that from my heart for me as I grew older Easter was simply an opportunity or an excuse to party and when I got to be old enough to leave the house that's what I did on Easter I go get drunk or I go and get loaded that's what I and many of you would do before you knew Christ you knew what the scripture said you knew that the Bible said Jesus Christ is raised from the dead you knew that but it didn't impact you as of yet the scripture was not known by you you didn't have a personal encounter with Christ you didn't have a personal experience with Jesus you were religious yes you knew certain things I knew certain things I knew the Apostles Creed I knew the Ten Commandments I knew certain religious things I was able to speak in that way I was able to debate and argue my Catholic faith but I didn't know Jesus Christ I didn't know him he could have sat next to me in church and I'd have been uncomfortable because he's too close to me now when I liked it can you move over a little bit give me a room the church eventually became like many of you the place that I went for a wedding not necessarily to be there when the religious ceremony happened but to be there later on so we could drink at the reception and then at the age of 20 the Holy Spirit convicted me of sin righteousness and judgment an empty lonely 20-year-old hippie punk doper angry lying thief couldn't keep a relationship with anybody going more than a month or two because I ruined everything my grubby little hands touched everything I couldn't tell a woman I loved her because I thought saying love to a woman is only used when you're trying to take advantage of her to be committed to somebody but my whole life are you kidding me there are so many women out there in so little time I don't think so I don't think so not yet I believe that when I got too old to sin I'd be okay I believe that I one day would meet a good Catholic girl who would marry me and pray my soul out of purgatory when I died that was my only hope for heaven to have a good praying wife and my wife was going to go to church on Sunday while I stayed home to do the lawn or drink some beer that was my plan but God had other plans and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ one day by the spirit of God became something I understood he died for my sin but he was raised for my justification I was born again because he made it possible to forgive me of my rancid sinful life and he said I will make all things new he didn't give to me a second chance he gave me a new life that's what life in Jesus Christ is all about that's what it's all about we don't preach we don't preach a religious faith though there is something called true religion and undefiled what we encourage is relationship with God through Jesus and you see at that time the apostle Peter he didn't get it neither did John really not in totality it took a while till the spirit actually awakened in them oh that's what you were teaching us that's what you meant because there are things that you may be going through that you don't understand now but Jesus said you will understand later and there are things that we've gone through as Christians that while we're going through we're thinking man I thought Lord I thought you said you were going to deliver me from these things and here you are allowing me to go through them and yet the Bible tells me I walk through the valley of the shadow of death but I will fear no evil for you are with me and he teaches us these things see those disciples on Saturday were hopeless where is the master they were hopeless we saw him die we saw him placed in a tomb Mary came there expecting to find a corpse that was bloated white and the stench of death instead it's an open tomb and that open tomb is what we celebrate the reality of new life in Jesus Christ there are those who are like Job Job when you read the book of Job is spoken of in chapters one and two by God himself who says this is a man who's righteous he hates evil there's no one like him and this is a man who by faith followed the Lord by faith and not by sight but after the book of Job is almost coming to a conclusion and the Lord reveals himself to Job in a very personal way Job in chapter 42 verse 5 said it like this he said I've heard of you by the hearing of the ear but now my eyes sees you I have walked in faith and not by sight but now you have given me an experience that will last me for the rest of my life so what it is is we're here to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ and why did he die he died to take away the sin of the world he paid a price that I could not pay to give me something that I could not have on my own and by faith I've said to him God forgive me a sinner because Jesus didn't die for his own sins he had no sins he died from mine the iniquity of us all was laid upon him he died for me he is buried but he rose again from the dead that I might have a living Savior that's Jesus that's who we worship a risen Lord and a risen Savior who ever lives to make intercession for us he is the way he is the truth he is the light and no one comes to the Father but by him so your religion won't won't make it your sincerity won't make it your good works won't make it there's none good no not one you can be as sincere as possible and be sincerely wrong like that mom whose little girl was very ill the doctor had prescribed some medicine the baby began to cry in the middle of the night mama got up didn't turn on the light went to the medicine cabinet pulled out where she had placed that medicine took the medicine and gave it to her baby but she poisoned the baby because what she thought was medicine was really mercure chrome and the baby drank it poisoned and died the mother sincerely gave her what she thought she should give her she sincerely gave her that medicine but all the sincerity in the world if it's wrong it's still wrong and you can be as sincere as you want to be about whatever it is you think you believe but you can be sincerely wrong there's a way that seems right and to a man but the end thereof is the way of death there are times that you're wrong when you think you're right this is something you should never be wrong about who is Jesus Christ and what has he done is he your savior or is he somebody else's in the case of John and the apostle Peter they both saw one walked away at that moment believing but it took a little while for the apostle Peter to be restored so that he might see with faith and so which one are you today John or the apostle Peter