John 20:11-31
11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 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.”14 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.” 16 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.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her. 19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” 24 Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
This day is the great day for Christians…the greatest day. You have gathered here this morning, of all mornings, whether you fully realize this or not, because on this day the Lord Jesus rose from the dead, defeated sin death and Hell and broke the shackles of death in which He was bound on the cross.
Without this day, the Church of the Lord Jesus has no foundation for its existence and none of us have any hope at all.
Christopher Buckley is the son of the late William F. and Priscilla Buckley. A well-known writer in his own right, Christopher Buckley wrote an interesting and sometimes troubling memoir of his parents and especially of their deaths entitled, Losing Mum and Pup. In it, Buckley recounts how he struggled to tell his late father, William F. Buckley, that he, their son, was not a believer in Jesus Christ. Christopher writes:
This was not the moment to break what remained of his heart by telling him that although I greatly admired the teachings of Jesus, I had long ago stopped believing that he had risen from the dead; it’s an honest enough doubt, really, but one that rather undercuts the supernatural aspect of Christianity.[1]
Yes, the rejection of the resurrection does “rather undercut the supernatural aspect of Christianity.” It is a tragic position for Christopher Buckley to hold, but at least he understands the significance of the resurrection and what it means when we reject it. In this regard, he is more honest than some churchmen.
For instance, some years ago, a magazine in England asked forty-three Anglican bishops if they believed in the literal, physical, bodily resurrection of Jesus. “Most answered a simple ‘yes,’ while the bishops of Bradford, Oxford, and Southwell did not answer at all. Bishop Richard Lewis of St. Edmundsbury and Ipswich responded through his press secretary, ‘It is immaterial whether Christ was resurrected in body or spirit.’”[2]
Can you imagine a poorer choice of words, by the way? It is “immaterial” whether or not Jesus rose bodily from the grave? If these words from the lips of a churchman did not make me want to cry, I would laugh.
Of course it is material whether or not Jesus rose bodily! His resurrection is the cornerstone of our faith, and without it all is in vain. The Apostle Paul proclaimed in 1 Corinthians 15:
13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
Yes, remove the resurrection of Jesus Christ and you remove the cornerstone doctrine of our faith. Wisely and well did Arnold Toynbee exclaim, “Find the body of that Jew, and Christianity crumbles into ruins.”
Yes, the resurrection matters, and so we turn to it yet again this day. I would like for us to see and encounter the risen Christ today. In particular, I would like for us to consider some strange things Jesus did when He rose from the dead. I would like for us to consider the odd behavior of the resurrected Jesus and what it means for us today.
I. The Resurrected Jesus Refuses to be Held (v.11-18)
We begin with Mary Magdalene. She had an interesting history with Jesus. In Luke 8:2, Luke speaks of her as, “Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out.” So Jesus had exorcised demons from this woman. He had healed her. As a result, she followed Him.
We have already noted how, when almost all of His disciples abandoned Him at His moment of trial, Mary Magdalene stood with some of the other women and John nearby. In other words, Mary loved the Lord Jesus. She was devoted to Him. Her reaction to finding the tomb empty is therefore perfectly understandable.
11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 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.”
Certainly we understand and can sympathize with Mary’s pain. The horrors of the cross were trying enough, but the thought of His body being placed elsewhere or worse was simply too much. So she grieves. As she does so, she is asked the same question the angels asked, but, this time, by a man she assumes is the gardener.
14 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.”
This stranger repeats the question: “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” She pleads with this man for help, asking him to share with her any information she might have on the body of her Master. What happens next is astounding:
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).
To her amazement, and ours, it is Jesus! Try to imagine that you have never heard this story before. Try to imagine that you are utterly convinced that Jesus is dead. And now imagine that He stands here before you. It is only our overfamiliarity with the story that makes it less astounding. He was dead…now He lives! In her exuberant shock, she grabs hold of Jesus. His response is enigmatic and puzzling.
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.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.
When I speak of the odd behavior of the risen Jesus, this is what I mean. What could be more natural and more instinctive than for Mary to grab hold of Jesus. He was crucified. Now He lives! She clings to him with unhinged joy, and He responds: “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers…”
Interpreters over the years have wrestled with what this all means. Rightly so. It is a tantalizing and mysterious statement.
Some things seem clear enough. For instance, whatever else is happening, she was not to cling to Him because He had a task for her. He needed her to go to the disciples with the message of the resurrection. In this sense it means, “Let go of me for I have a job for you.”
But the immediate reason for His call for her to let Him go is, “for I have not yet ascended to the Father.” In other words, while Jesus did not begrudge Mary’s ecstatic joy or rebuke her for grabbing hold of Him, He needed for her to understand that His work was not yet done and that His current place was not His final place. He had yet to ascend.
This is utterly crucial. It was crucial that Mary not think that things were simply going to go back to the way they were, that His standing before her was the period at the end of the sentence. The ascension of the Son back to the Father was utterly crucial, as Paul noted in Romans 8:
33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised— who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35a Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
He is risen, but He must ascend. He must take His place at the right hand of the Father where He makes intercession on our behalf, speaking to the Father of His bride, the church, and proclaiming our innocence through His blood.
It is as if He is saying, “Do not cling to me. I know you are happy. I am too. But my work is not yet done. I cannot stay here forever. While our relationship will continue forever, it will not be in this form. Mary, you must let Me go.”
Is that not an odd and amazing and difficult and beautiful thing for Jesus to say? He asks Mary to let Him go. Of course, this seems absolutely right when you consider the awesome truth of Easter.
We must let Jesus do what He has come to do. We cannot cling to Him as if He belongs only to us, as if He came merely to establish a pipeline for our own private devotions, as if I and I alone am His sole audience. He came to die and ascend back to His place in glory.
Easter is about setting things free. Jesus was set free from death. We have been set free from sin, death and hell. We even must set Jesus free from our own personal efforts, no matter how well intentioned, to cling to Him, to keep Him right here with me, with us. He has a commission, a task, a calling. He must ascend to the Father.
Easter is about setting things free. Easter is about not clinging to what needs to be let loose.
For instance, Gregory of Nyssa, the fourth century theologian and preacher and Bishop of Nyssa in Cappadocia, used his Easter message from the year 379 AD to condemn slavery. Gregory’s 379 AD sermon stands as one of the earliest attacks on the institution of slavery in the history of the world. He was not the first to attack slavery. The book of Philemon and the New Testament call for the recognition that, in Christ, there is “neither slave nor free” (Galatians 3:28) had already sought to undermine the institution. As David Bentley Hart explains:
“Moreover, ever since 321, when Constantine had granted the churches the power of legally certifying manumissions (the power of manumission in ecclesia), propertied Christians had often taken Easter as an occasion for emancipating slaves, and Gregory was no doubt hoping to encourage his parishioners to follow the custom.”[3]
What was the connection between Easter and the emancipation of slaves? Why on this day did some wealthy Christians let their slaves go free? Why on this day did Gregory preach against the institution of slavery?
It is because Easter is when we stop clinging. Mary had to stop clinging to Jesus. She had to let Him complete the task for which He had come. Thomas will have to stop clinging to his doubt. Peter had to stop clinging to his guilt. Many of the early Christians came to stop clinging to their slaves.
How about you? What do you need to stop clinging to this morning? What do you need to release?
The Lord Jesus has ascended and now sits at the right hand of the Father. He is making intercession for all who have called on His name. What do you need to let go of for Him?
II. The Resurrected Jesus Breathes on the Disciples (v.19-23)
But this is not the only odd thing that Jesus does. He next comes to His disciples, and He comes in a most unexpected way.
19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”
It is not surprising that Jesus says twice, “Peace be with you.” Can you imagine the jolting shock of Jesus suddenly appearing in the room with them?! Whoa! So He says, “Peace be with you…Peace be with you!” He then does things: (1) He shows them that it is really Him (“he showed them his hands and his side”) and He commissions them (“As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”) On the heels of this commissioning, He does something that is most unexpected.
22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”
How wonderfully and gloriously confounding this is! Why does He breathe upon them? The text gives us the most immediate reason: “Receive the Holy Spirit.” This means that, at least in a foreshadowing and anticipatory way, Christ is giving them the power of the Spirit. Of course, the Spirit will come in its full force at Pentecost after the ascension, but He confers upon them His Spirit, His power and His abiding presence. This breathing is directly linked with the commission, “so I am sending you.” In other words, they go out in the power of the breath, the Spirit of the living God.
But something else is happening here, too, something even more startling. The text says, “he breathed on them.” Where have we heard this before?
You will recall that when we looked at John’s account of Jesus in Gethsemane, we linked Gethsemane to Eden. We brought the New Testament idea of Christ as the “second Adam” into play at that time, showing that Christ came as the second Adam to undo the damage that the first Adam had done in Eden. In this way, we saw that Christ came to usher in a new creation, to restore the people of God to right standing with their God.
So with that in mind, I think about this image: “he breathed on them.”
“He breathed on them.”
“He breathed on them.”
Ah, do you remember the story of creation from Genesis? In Genesis 2, we find this fascinating detail of the creation of man:
7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
What is happening here is nothing less than Christ’s proclamation that through His death and resurrection all who come to Him are resurrected as well.
7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
22a And when he had said this, he breathed on them
Jesus came to restore Eden, to take us back to the tree of our shame and give us, instead of a curse, forgiveness. He took the curse on the tree of our shame and then destroyed the curse through the victory of the empty tomb.
Jesus is in the business of breathing life into dead things. The Bible says we are dead in our sins, that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
We are dead in our sins.
But when we come to Christ, He breathes life into us. He breathes into us and we live!
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
Jesus breathes on the disciples! He breathes power and life into their frightened souls.
III. The Resurrected Jesus Invites a Touch of Faith then Commends Faith that Does Not Need a Touch (v.24-31)
Then He has an odd encounter with Thomas. Now, Thomas missed the first encounter with Jesus, as the Bible tells us.
24 Now Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came.25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” 26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”
Once again Jesus comes and once again Jesus bids them have peace.
27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
How fascinating! The resurrected Jesus invites a touch of faith then commends faith that does not need a touch.
You will note the difference between Jesus’ approach to Mary Magdalene and Jesus’ approach to Thomas. He seems say opposite things to them: to Mary, “Stop clinging,” to Thomas, “Come touch.” It is wonderful how Jesus deals with each of us right where we are and on the basis of what we need.
He offers physical proof to Thomas. There is no evidence that Thomas actually touched Him. Instead, the very offer seems to move Thomas to his amazing proclamation, “My Lord and my God!” He is moved by what he has seen and he is moved by the offer of physical proof. So Thomas believes and Thomas worships.
Then Jesus says, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” This is a significant thing for Jesus to say, for, obviously, the vast majority of people who have come to Christ throughout human history have not had the great option that Thomas had to touch the physical body of Jesus. The vast, vast majority of believers over the last two thousand years are counted among “those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
I do not believe Jesus’ intent is to rebuke Thomas or criticize his faith. I think He is simply saying that it is a beautiful thing and blessed thing when a man or woman or boy girl believes simply on the basis of God’s Word, without the need for extra proof. Again, as a matter of necessity, this includes all of this.
No doubt, for this reason, John moves on to conclude the chapter in this way:
30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Do you see the connection between verses 29 and 31?
29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
We are the blessed ones “who have not seen and yet have believed.” We are the blessed ones that have believed and “by believing…have life in his name.”
The encounter with Thomas, as the encounter with Mary Magdalene, as the encounter with the disciples upon whom He breathed, are all foreshadowings of the encounters He has with every person who calls upon His name. This day, this Easter day, and the events which we remember and celebrate on this day, are for us as much as they are for them.
He has risen so that we might believe. He lives, and we can live through Him. If, like Thomas, we dare to believe in Christ and we dare to see Him as our Lord and our God, we will have life and life eternal.
This Easter is for you.
May you live as He lives. May you come to Jesus and be saved this day.