This entire episode is critically important to our beliefs and highlights certain unflattering aspects of our nature. In considering these frailties, we are led to better appreciate Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf, the extraordinary extent of his love for his creation and the absolute necessity for the transformation of the believer by the work of the Holy Spirit.

We will note that despite the gracious works of God and the insistent and plain teachings of Jesus to the disciples, the absence of Jesus’ body from the tomb was terrible news and a great shock to every single disciple. This was unbelief of frightening proportions.

They were numbed at the “unexpected” death of Jesus and considered that any news was about a resurrection was simply hysteria.

Even when the disciples saw the ‘risen’ Christ their first reaction was fear and not gladness and he had to prove who he was to them before reality kicked in.

Hence our lesson today will look at teaching us the reality of who Jesus of Nazareth really was.  It is very important for us to note all of this very carefully for our behaviour often belies the reality of the real  Jesus.

Note interestingly that the depiction of Jesus in his appearances after his resurrection was not the same as the picture of Jesus that we will see in the book of Revelation.  In his post resurrection appearances, he was a Lord that the disciples would still approach and deal with and he looked like an ordinary man even though he showed amazing powers.

When we get to the book of Revelation we find a completely different kind of person, who was so glorious and extraordinary that even the beloved John that had been with him for many years and leaned on his breast, was completely out of his depth and fell down helpless as if he was dead.

The Apostle John hopes that when we look at these texts we will grow in our commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ and serve and obey him, for he is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. 

Christianity has been a historical phenomenon for over two thousand years and has flourished despite being subjected to intense persecution in its early years. Many of its earliest adherents died as martyrs for their belief in a risen Christ.  What motivated these early Christians to die for their belief in Jesus Christ? They were obviously convinced of the historical fact of the resurrection of Jesus and the events and eyewitness testimonies proved to them beyond any doubt that Jesus Christ was the Son of God. 

The resurrection is a historical fact and the message of the early church was always centered around the proven fact of a risen Christ. Noteworthy as our study will show, the message of a risen Christ was proclaimed immediately, beginning three days after his burial. It was a message based on incontrovertible evidence.

As one writer notes:

Jesus’ resurrection proved everything that he had claimed about himself and about his death, namely, that he was the Son of God who came into the world to die and also to conquer sin, death, and the grave, and bring immortality and eternal life to all who believe in him. The coming of Jesus of Nazareth was the climax of this series of redemptive events; and his resurrection is the event that validates all that came before.

John’s stated purpose in writing the gospel was to prove that Jesus is the Son of God (See verse 30-31). To this end, he recorded selected miracles, events and teachings from Jesus’ ministry that all pointed to his deity and as extensive and comprehensive as these were, without the evidence of the ‘Risen Christ’, he would have still fallen short of his goal.

Our understanding of the deity of Christ, his coming in judgment and  the terrifying prospect of the ‘lake of fire’ should move us to persuade men of a saviour in the “Risen Christ”.

The importance of a ‘Risen Christ’ to the very idea of Christianity cannot be overstated. According to the Apostle Paul: if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain…. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God…(1 Cor.15:14-15).

And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.

 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.

 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. (17-19)

 Thankfully Paul went on to declare But now is Christ risen from the dead… (1Cor.15:20).

The ‘Risen Christ’ is at the center of Christianity and it comes as no surprise that this doctrine has been attacked more than most in the Christian faith.  The doubters and unbelievers argue that the early Church invented the story to give people hope and comfort.  Others suggest that Jesus was only in a coma and was revived in the cold tomb.  The study text makes it clear, that he was actually dead and buried (under guard) and that he physically rose from the dead.

Eyewitness accounts are conclusive and there are at least eleven such accounts of Jesus bodily appearance to people after his resurrection. In each case Jesus appeared only to those who believed in him. Jesus clearly sought to confirm the faith of his followers and then they in turn would go out empowered by the Holy Spirit, to bring men to repentance and to announce the gospel of the resurrection. The apostles rightly based the Christian faith on his death and resurrection.

The fact of a ‘risen’, living Saviour should be a tremendous source of comfort, hope and joy to all believers. We are assured that we have such an High Priest that is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them, (Heb.7:25). We can be joyous knowing his resurrection is the prototype of what we can expect.  A ‘Risen’ Christ is the assurance of all the promises that Christians hold dear. It is something on which they should continually meditate and adjust the tenor of their lives in line with this great event.

Our text deals with the first of our Lord’s post-resurrection appearances and this was to Mary Magdalene.  It is interesting Jesus first showed himself to a woman and told her to go tell his sceptical disciples that He was risen from the dead.  The testimony of women was lightly regarded back then if at all but it was this lowly, insignificant woman who first saw the ‘Risen Christ’.  Here is evidence of the personal, loving faithfulness that Jesus has for all believers, no matter how insignificant any believer might appear.

It is also an example of devotion rewarded. Mary was first to the tomb, the last to leave and the first to see Jesus. God rewards faithfulness.

The second section of our study in Revelation gives a picture of our Risen Lord in all His indescribable glory. As we contemplate the person, power and glory of our soon coming King, we should examine ourselves thoroughly, repent and confess our sins and walk in the light. We should be confident in our inheritance, comforted in our present situation and impelled to declare that Jesus died for sinners and now He lives!

TEXT

Verse 1-10.   The ‘empty tomb’ is an appropriate title for these ten verses. John records the first arrival at Jesus’ tomb following his burial and ‘exhibit A’ the first and enduring piece of evidence for the Risen Christ is reported; an empty tomb.

 Mary Magdalene, a woman, a disciple, was the first of Jesus’ followers to the tomb, on what we would call early Sunday morning, while it is still dark. She found the great stone that was blocking the entrance to the tomb rolled away and the tomb empty. There can be no doubt that Mary Magdalene had a fervent and constant affection for her Lord Jesus Christ.  Her devotion to him was such that she made sure she was the first one at the tomb, while the other disciples cowered in fear.

Stricken with grief she appears to have jumped to the hasty conclusion that Jesus’ body had been removed from the tomb and did not wait to investigate. Grief stricken she rushed off and informed Peter and John of the distressing news, that Jesus’ body had been taken away and ‘they’ did not know where the body was. Peter and John hurried over to the tomb and they also found it empty. Curiously the burial clothes were neatly folded and orderly placed.

No mention of a resurrection by any of the three visitors. Peter and John show stoic resignation and return to their homes. John comments on their behaviour with the note that they were as yet still ignorant of the Scriptures that spoke of his resurrection. This lack of understanding of the Old Testament Scriptures however cannot be interpreted as an excuse. 

John seems to indicate from his comment in verse eight that when he saw what was in the tomb, namely, the state of the grave-clothes not scattered around and arranged in an orderly way, he ‘believed’ that Jesus had risen from the dead.  We know that Peter was “wondering” (Luke 24: 12) at what had happened and it is very likely that there must have been some discussion between Peter and John.  We do know that it was only after Jesus appeared to the disciples that they came to fully understand the Old Testament prophecies.

Meanwhile Mary Magdalene breaks out into deep, uncontrolled sobbing.

It must be said here that the behaviour of these disciples including Mary, though understandable, is not what Jesus expected of them. 

We should note that Jesus expects certain behaviour from us given our exposure to the Scriptures.  There is a time for crying and lamentation, but there is a time for understanding which should have ruled out crying on this occasion.

Instead there should have been rejoicing.  An empty tomb, along with unbelief and lamentation was not appropriate.

Verse 11.   Mary remained at the tomb in unrestrained sobbing, giving full course to her tears. Her tears spoke volumes about her love for her Lord and presents an admirable picture of how believers should desire the conscious, tangible presence of the Lord in our lives. It is not unusual for desperate seekers to go over ground they had just covered or check the last known location of an object over and over and so she stooped and looked into the tomb. 

It did not seem to appear to Mary that Jesus was raised, her interest was to locate the body and give it a proper burial.

Verse 12.   Angels have been present at pivotal moments in the life of Jesus. They were present at his birth, strengthened him in Gethsemane for the ordeal of the cross and are present at his resurrection. The position of the angels appears to be more than just random as they appear to be keeping guard or waiting in attendance.

Their presence should have alerted Mary that she did not need to fear.  They were there and the guards were not there, so there must be something peculiar way going on, Mary should have thought.

Verse 13.   Unlike Mary the angels knew this was not an occasion for weeping. Their question seems to imply a mild rebuke, that there is nothing to cry about. On the other hand the question might hold some sympathy for Mary. Hers’ were tears of love and of sorrow, but they were needless tears, based on false assumptions.

Whoever these men were, friend or foe, she did not hesitate to call the man whose body had been in the tomb her Lord. She was not ashamed  of admitting her love.

It appears she did not recognize the angels, as often in the Bible, angels simply look like men, so that their appearance alone would not reveal their true identity (see Genesis 18 and 19; Acts 1:10-11; Hebrews 13:2). Her tears might have also blurred her vision.

The two angels did not identify themselves as angels. Note that here there was not the normal fear which humans experience when talking to angels.

Mary’s mindset sounded like hopeless despair and her tears wasted as she seemed to have forgotten all Jesus had said and how it came about that she called him ‘her Lord’. Despite her great love and devotion to Jesus, she suffered a great lack of faith. She assumed Jesus to still be dead, his body stolen and that she would not be able to find His body. Mary had likely come early to properly embalm the body and along with others administer a proper burial. If Mary had known the real reason why the tomb was empty, she would not have been crying. 

Mary sets the bar high as to the kind of love, the total devotion to the presence of Christ and the affection that results in tears and sobbing when we are separated from Christ, for even a little while. She sets an example for us to desire to be with Him, so that if we are ever separated from him by sin, our hearts will be grieved to tears.

It is sometimes pointed out that the Gospels never shy away from pointing to how thick-headed the disciples were, to the repeated teachings that Jesus gave about his death and resurrection.

It was only when he actually died that they were convinced that his words about his death were true.  Now it was the same thing over again.

Before we criticize Mary too much we must accept that we are very much like her. When we are in great distress, the sky is falling in and everything is working against us, we Christians immediately forget all the promises of God, are anxious and upset and feel sorry for ourselves.  We quickly forget the promises of God. Worst yet, when we see disaster staring us in the face, we scheme, plot and plan, even doing iniquity, in order to escape the consequences. This is being caught in the trap of Satan.

Verse 14.   For some unknown reason, Mary turned around and then found herself face to face with Jesus, but did not recognize him. Some commentators say that she had hair was in her eyes from crying. Others say that the tears blurred her vision from recognizing Him. Some say her lack of faith, not expecting Him caused her to not see Him. It appears there was something different about Jesus that made it impossible for her to recognize Him apart from His disclosure of who He was.

In Mark 16:12 when Jesus appeared unrecognized to two disciples, we are told he appeared in another form. Jesus’ body was now different, he could eat fish and honeycomb but could also pass through walls.

(See Luke 24:13-16, 31; Matt.28:17John 21:4)

Note, those who seek Christ with their whole heart will find Him.

The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart…Psalm 34:18.

Verse 15.   Jesus asked the same question as the angels but added a second. Whom are you seeking? What are you doing here at this time of the morning? It was a reasonable question.

Jesus questions hinted to Mary that he knew whom she sought. Mary is relentless in her desire to recover the body. Likely she could not handle Jesus’ body by herself but she abandoned reason and pleaded with Him to convey any information He may have to her.  She even tried to put the “gardener” at ease, asserting that it would be no trouble to him, for she would take the body away from wherever it was.

Note, true love thinks it can do more than it can and makes light of difficulties.

Her love was certainly strong.  This was true affection.  Nothing would divert her from her goal which was to find the body of Jesus.

Note carefully during, all her affliction he was right there, unseen, but right there.  In addition the angels of God were right there, though unseen. Her tremendous affection led to Jesus responding to her need.

Verse 16.    Jesus used the Aramaic form of her name Miriam. This would be the name of familiarity, the name which her family and friends knew her by and the name which He had always used in speaking to her.

Clearly Mary heard in that one word the voice she knew so well. It must have also been spoken in the manner she knew well. In this one word Jesus conveyed his love and compassion.

“I tell you the solemn truth, the one who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The doorkeeper opens the door for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought all his own sheep out, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they recognize his voice. 5 They will never follow a stranger, but will run away from him, because they do not recognize the stranger’s voice” (John 10:1-4). 

Rabboni… This is a Hebrew word that literally means my great master. It was one of the titles given to Jewish teachers. This title was given under three forms: (a) Rab, or master, the lowest degree of honour. (b) Rabbi, my master, a title of higher dignity. (c) Rabboni, my great master, the most honourable of all.  It was a title reserved for only those of great eminence.  It was a spontaneous expression of her joy and an acknowledgment of him as her Lord and Master.

Note, Jesus knows us personally, our names.  We do not have an indifferent Saviour, or a cold, calculating Master; we have a warm, intimate and loving Christ.

Verse 30-31.   John presents the resurrected Christ in the preceding verses.  In light of the overwhelming evidence it is very difficult to ever deny that He rose from the grave. Jesus appeared to show His faithfulness, to send the faithful and to secure the faithless.

And many other signs truly did Jesus…This is his thesis statement. Clearly John believes that he has made the case for Jesus as the Son of God, to the end that those who believe in Him have eternal life.  

For the Apostle this is the ‘bottom line’ of all that he has written. He wants to demonstrate as clearly and as forcefully as he can that Jesus not only claimed to be the Christ (the Messiah), the Son of God, but that by many miraculous signs He proved it! The last and greatest of these signs was His resurrection from the dead.

So John does not believe in deceptive advertisement. He insists he is giving the plain unvarnished truth. It witnesses to those outside of Christ, and it is directed to give assurance to believers.

So John calls all men to belief in the Christ, the promised Messiah, the Son of God. Believe and your eternal destiny is guaranteed.

Revelation 1:12, 17-18.

The book of Revelation promises a blessing to its readers and understandably so, since in a very direct sense it is the revelation of Jesus Christ.  While it features several themes and sub themes and plots and subplots, the overall essence is to present in dramatic visionary form the glory and the majesty of Jesus Christ. This section of our study deals with the ‘Risen’ Christ in all His glory.

The focus is clearly on Jesus, and that Jesus is alive and well. He is now not as approachable as when he was on earth. But he is approachable through the Holy Spirit. The risen Lord through the work of the Spirit is close, and he is the one that can take and keep us in Jesus. 

This glorious Lord that we are looking at today is competent to help us deal with your serious problems, our fears, emptiness, heartache, loneliness and all the sorrow that we face. We are not alone.

It is important to note that this Jesus of glory is not soft, mushy or weak looking but his presence is frightening. It is amazing that Christians reads the Scriptures and are more frightened of the power of their friends, relatives, or their boss than they are of Jesus. 

They do not seem to understand that they are just a heartbeat away from standing in front of this powerful, serious person.  If any of us die now, or before the events outlined in the book of Revelation occur, that is it for us.  The judgment is the next drama in our lives.  So we should pay particular attention to the teachings of this lesson and those that will follow. 

We must remember that we are looking at a Jesus that is standing in the midst of  ‘seven golden lamp-stands’.  Each of these lamp-stand represents a church in a different community.  He walks among the lamb-stands, analyzes what they are doing, comments on their strengths and deficiencies, encourages or threatens them as necessary. 

That is what Jesus is currently doing and we had better realize that.  No iniquity escapes him or acts of righteousness escapes his gaze. He is always concerned about what happens in his churches.  We are about to hear Jesus directly addressing the beloved apostle John. 

The glorified Jesus wears the robe of the great High Priest.  His golden sash and robes are those of a High Priest, but it is also that of a judge.  His description is awesome.  This is not deity with the flesh of humiliation, or even a resurrected but glorified body.  He is sheer power and authority walking among his people. 

His head and hair are blazing white, his eyes are like blazing fire, his feet look like bronze glowing from the furnace, his voice sounds like mighty rushing waters and he has coming from his mouth a mighty sword, which is the kind used for destruction.

Verse 12.   Here John turns around to see ‘the voice’ that was speaking with him (vs.10).  …seven golden lamp-stands…  One writer describes the lamp-stand: They would’ve been long poles rising from a bed, some kind of a flat bed, a foundation, a footing, up into the air and on the top another flat piece, and on top of the flat piece would’ve been a golden oil lamp burning.  Verse twenty explains the seven lamp-stands are seven churches located in Asia. 

The Lord wanted all seven churches to have the Book of Revelation because in it was going to be a letter to each one of those churches recorded in chapters two and three. The seven lamp-stands represent these seven churches. 

Many commentators believe the lamp-stands represent all churches because the seven churches are representative of all kinds of churches, all types of churches in all of church history.  So he turns around and he sees the voice that was speaking and he sees this voice in the middle of seven golden lamp-stands.  In verses thirteen through sixteen John describes what he saw.  

If men fell dead at the appearance of an angel, can we imagine what John felt at the awesome power and glory that he faced. This was something different. 

It was necessary for Jesus to lay his hand on John.  This was no ordinary touch.  This was not only a powerful touch but took much of compassion.  One writer comments:

“Blessed position!  Does the death alarm you?  We are never so much alive as when we are dead at his feet”. 

Note, the sovereignty and holiness of God will be terror and judgment to the unbelieving world but is a source of comfort and protection to the believer in Christ, because the believer stands cleansed and purified in the merit and love of Christ  (Isa. 6:1-8).  

Jesus’ words are now structured as a command: “Do not be afraid”. Obviously, this was necessary to support the compassionate touch. 

 I am the first and the last... comforts the Apostle for this is a title for God that speaks to his independent, self-existence, and self-sufficiency as the transcendent and sovereign God of the universe. He stands outside and is independent of all creation.,

“Who has performed and accomplished it, Calling forth the generations from the beginning? ‘I, the Lord, am the first, and with the last. I am He. ( Isa. 41:4)

“…listen to Me, O Jacob, even Israel whom I called; I am He, I am the first, I am also the last. Surely My hand founded the earth, And My right hand spread out the heavens; When I call to them, they stand together.” (Isa.48:12-13)

This same title is used in Revelation 2:8 to comfort a church in affliction, because it stands for Christ’s deity and sovereignty over all our affairs. Christ is God, the origin and goal, the self-existent one who sees the beginning from the end, in whom all the treasure of wisdom and knowledge abide and who is in total control. The risen Christ is sovereign. 

I am he that liveth…These words give assurance of eternal life and resurrection. Jesus is the one who as the eternal God, became man and died, but who conquered death by His death for sin and by His resurrection. 

He is also sovereign over Hades or life after death. Hades refers to the intermediate state and is to be distinguished from the ‘lake of fire’ or Gehenna, which refers to the eternal state. As the one who has the keys over death and Hades, Christ is sovereign over death in this life and over the life to come.

This is the picture of our Lord and Saviour.

CONCLUSION

He is the center of the universe.  Everything runs and revolves around him.  He is the final judge. He is a righteous judge. He is the only intercessor before the Father.

He wants purity of life and heart.  He walks among the lamp-stands as the Light of the world.

He is constantly judging, evaluating.  He will come to take his people to be with him.

Expect that Jesus will evaluate us, examine our heart, our motives toward him, toward each other and towards the unbelievers around us.  He's looking at how we spend our money, our time and your abilities.  He expects us to change if we belong to him.  So seek Him diligently, keep his commandments and be transformed into his image.

While the resurrection was prophesied in the Old Testament and by our Lord Himself, John makes it very clear that the disciples were not predisposed to believe it. Only after the most forceful and compelling evidence would they believe that he was alive. Once convinced of this great truth however, they never ceased to proclaim it. The resurrection of Jesus is the final and compelling proof that He is the Son of God and the Savoir of the world. 

In out text, the Apostle describes the immediate aftermath of the resurrection in his gospel and its ultimate fallout in the Book of Revelation. Taken together the picture that emerges is that of the living Lord God, sovereign over heaven, earth and hell. From the ‘empty tomb’ to glory, the Risen Christ is now seated at the ‘right hand’ of God.  He has overcome death our ultimate enemy and given eternal life to those who believe in Him.   

Jesus commissioned his followers to take the good news of his death for sinners and his resurrection to the entire world. Are you engaged in this mission?