Why Are You Weeping?

Why Are You Weeping?

“Why Are You Weeping?”
(John 20:11-18)
Easter Sunday

Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD

Henderson’s First Baptist Church, Henderson

I invite you to open your Bibles to John’s Gospel this morning. John chapter 20. The fourth book in the New Testament. The latter part of the Bible. Matthew, Mark, Luke, then John, the fourth Gospel. John Chapter 20.

It’s hard to overemphasize the importance of Easter Sunday. Taken together with Good Friday—and we had a memorable worship experience here Friday evening—but together with the crucifixion on Friday and resurrection on Sunday, we have what really is the central core and teaching of the Christian faith.

The resurrection is the gospel, good news. The resurrection is what makes a difference in our lives. It made such a difference 2,000 years ago that it caused many believing Jews to change the day of rest from the Sabbath day on Saturday to the first day of the week, to Sunday—because the resurrection happened on the first day of the week, on Sunday. Whereas the Sabbath day of rest traditionally pointed back to creation, the first day of the week points to resurrection.

Have you found your place in John 20? When we look at the Gospel accounts in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John it is always important to remember that each writer focuses his report on certain details of the event. There is harmony and symmetry in the gospel records, but each writer focuses on what is important to himself in what he is saying. So where one gospel writer mentions two angels at the tomb, another may focus on just one of those two angels. And where one writer reports of the women at the tomb—Mary and other women—another writer focuses on the actions of just one of those women. Put together, there is cohesion, but read individually there is a richness to each account as we understand the unique emphasis each writer is bringing in reporting his version of the events.

We’re looking at John 20 this morning to see what John says about the resurrection of Christ. In a moment, we’re going to look at a passage we have never studied together before, an incident about the resurrection as reported only by John.

Now before we study together, let me say this. At the conclusion of our service this morning, we will respond to the truth of the resurrection, responding to God’s truth in God’s Word. And there will be opportunity for all of us as we sing our hymn of response, to respond however we need to respond. Some of us will need to trust God more deeply. Some will need to repent, turn from sin. Some will need to be saved, trusting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

And I will make myself available to you this morning for further questions about your soul, or if you need prayer in the Response Room after each worship service. You just go through these doors here and follow the sign. I’ll be there or a volunteer will be there to give you some helpful material you can take home. The Response Room right after the worship service.

Okay, let’s look at John chapter 20. We’ll be focusing on verses 11-18 of John’s gospel and in a moment we’ll stand for the reading and then pray, but before we look at verses 11 and following it will be helpful to read the verses preceding to gain a better understanding of the context. So look down in your Bibles at John 20 and beginning in verse 1 and let’s just get a sense for what happened on that first Easter Sunday 2,000 years ago.

Verse 1, John writes Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.” Mary Magdalene was the woman out of whom Jesus had cast 7 demons. She is the first one to go to the tomb and sees the stone has been rolled away.

Verse 2, “Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved,” and for reasons we don’t have time to deal with now, we’ll note in passing that this other disciple is John himself, the writer of this gospel. “And Mary said to them, ‘They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we (there’s the other women with her John omits) we do not know where they have laid Him.”

Well, this of course piques the curiosity of Peter and John so we read verses 3 and following:

Verse 3, “Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple (John), and were going to the tomb.” Verse 4, “So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first.” Hard not to smile at that added detail by John, that he outran Peter in getting to the tomb. I suppose he was in better shape than Peter! Maybe he was on that Mediterranean Diet everyone’s talking about! Or he avoided carbs and processed foods! Anyway, John gets to the tomb first. And:

Verse 5, “And he (John), stooping down and looking in, saw the linens cloths lying there; yet he did not go in.” Verse 6, “Then Simon Peter came, following him (and maybe breathing a bit harder!), and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there,”

Maybe John waited on Peter out of deference and respect, allowing Peter to go in first. Or maybe John was reluctant to go in because, after all, contact with the dead meant a person would be considered unclean by the Jewish community and John was wanting to avoid this. If so, that explains Peter’s actions. Peter’s just being Peter! He doesn’t care. He’s going in. The leader. Always out in front. In any case Peter goes into the tomb and sees the linen cloths lying there and:

Verse 7, and the handkerchief (or the face cloth, a better translation) and the facecloth that had been around His head, (this was found) not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself.”

John is making it clear that the body is not there and all that is in that tomb is all of strips of linen that had been used to wrap the body, wrapping it carefully and lovingly in strips of linen mixed with spices. All these strips of linen were present and there was also the facecloth separated from the linen—and it was neatly folded in a place by itself.

Well, one thing is clear: this is not the way you would expect to find a tomb if someone had stolen the body of Jesus. No one stealing a body from a tomb would take the time to unwrap all the linen from the body and even take time to fold up neatly the face cloth. You would just take the body as quickly as possible and go.

Unbelieving Jews and Romans would not have taken the body away. If they had, then the first time one of these disciples started preaching in Jerusalem that Christ had risen, then all the Jews or Romans would have to do is say, “No He’s not! Here’s His body right here!” And the disciples would not have taken the body away because they lived and died for the risen Christ. According to church tradition all but one of the 12 disciples died the death of a martyr. No one dies for what he believes to be a lie. Christ is risen.

That’s the point the writer is making here. Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. There may even be an intentional contrast John is making here, a contrast to another resurrection in John 11. If we had time we’d go back and read that story where we read of Jesus’ raising Lazarus from the dead. Remember that? Jesus stands outside the tomb and cries out, “Lazarus, come forth!” And Lazarus comes out bound hand and foot with that linen, and John even mentions Lazarus still has on the face cloth. And Jesus says, “Loose him, and let him go.”

This is a different resurrection here. Someone needed to unbind Lazarus. But no one needed to unbind Jesus. He arose from the dead with a body different than before—a glorified body that did not need linen bindings because it is a body that is not subject to the effects of the fall and death. Lazarus was raised in his mortal body. Poor Lazarus would die again. But Jesus is raised in a glorified body, a body that never breaks down and will not die. Well, we still haven’t got to our main passage:

Verse 8: “Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first (that’s John remember), went in also and he saw and believed,” still trying to piece it all together though as we note from the next verse: Verse 9: “For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. Verse 10: “Then the disciples went away again to their own homes.” But verse 11 tells us Mary is still there, standing there outside the tomb. She is standing. Let’s also stand for the reading of God’s Word.

Please stand for the reading of God’s Word. Verses 11 to 18.

11 But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb.
12 And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
13 Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”
She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”
14 Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus.
15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?”
She, supposing Him to be the gardener, 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,“Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher).
17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’”
18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord,[b] and that He had spoken these things to her.

Let’s pray: “God we are aware of all the many mixtures of emotions in this room. Some are happy. Some a bit anxious this morning. Some are here out of respect for others, forced to come by a well-meaning family member. Some are sad. Some are glad. And we believe You have a Word for each and every one of us. In the proclaiming of your truth, we hear your voice. Speak as we listen. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

This passage opens with Mary weeping. Verse 11: “But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping…”

And we read that now there are a couple angels there in the tomb. And they ask Mary (verse 13), “Woman, why are you weeping?” And she answers, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” She thinks someone has moved the body of Jesus.

Now before we go any further, see the loving care Mary has for Jesus. We tend to focus on her failure to understand the resurrection, but remember that she is not looking for a resurrected Christ at this point. She is lovingly returning to the graveside to continue caring for Christ’s body. At least one of the other gospels mentions that she had returned to finish the job that was done hastily three days earlier, preparation for the Lord’s burial. She has come back to further care for the Lord’s body. She loves Jesus. See her love.

So she’s crying and then verse 14, this wonderful detail. After she had said this to the angels, “She turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus.” Verse 15: “Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?’” And then we read, “She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”

We pause here and ask, “How did Mary not recognize Jesus? Why did she mistake Him for a gardener?”

And there are a few reasons for this. We may say well you know it was early. Remember back in verse 1 where John writes “it was still dark?” Dark shadows at the garden tomb. Mary’s crying, eyes full of tears, not really looking at Jesus.

And some speculate that Mary did not recognize Jesus because He was in His glorified body—a body a bit different from the last time she saw Him. None of us knows exactly what the glorified body looks like—and this is a body every believer will receive in the future, the glorified state of heaven.

The older I get the more I look forward to receiving a glorified body. I say the older I get I appreciate that. We mentioned this in our theology group that meets here Wednesdays. You know when you reach a certain age you need to either diet and exercise—or remove the full length mirror in the bathroom! I told the group when I get out of the shower I avoid looking in that mirror. You just reach a point where you look a lot better when your clothes cover everything up! A glorified body.

Well, I think the main reason Mary does not recognize Jesus is because she’s not looking for a Jesus who is standing up! Jesus alive, talking to her! She’s not expecting this at all. So then this loving word from Jesus, just one word in verse 16: “Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’” and she hears Him call her by name as He had called her before during His earthly ministry! And she replies, “Rabboni” which is to say, “Teacher.” It’s a more honorable title than Rabbi. My Master! Rabboni.

She then does what we read is a common experience of women in the gospels, she apparently falls to her knees and reaches forward, holding Jesus by His feet. And He responds there in verse 17: Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father: but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’”

And she did just what He said. Verse 18: “Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord,” I have seen the Lord she said, “and that He had spoken these things to her.”

So when Jesus tells Mary not to cling to Him He tells her why. Specifically. He says, “I have not yet ascended to My Father.” That is, “Mary, there is so much more to come. You think because I am here now that all is over, but there’s so much more!” When Jesus finished His work of redemption for man, on the cross He cried out that one word we heard read Friday night in our worship service, “tetelestai!” It is finished. But while the work of redemption is finished, there is more blessing to come to all believers. Jesus’ ascension to the right hand of the Majesty on High, will make possible the presence of Jesus to everyone at any time. He will no longer be present physically to just one person at a time—like Mary in the garden—He will be present by way of another Comforter, the Holy Spirit, making possible the presence of Christ to every person at every age at every location on the globe. Present to all persons at once! Isn’t that wonderful?!

I’ve been struck by these two questions of Jesus here in the passage: “Why are you weeping?” And “Whom are You seeking?” That second question is important, isn’t it? Whom are You seeking?

We might ask the same question. So many people are seeking answers, seeking comfort, seeking happiness, seeking life. And while no one seeks the One True and Living God without God’s grace to guide, people do seek something to fill the emptiness and void. Like the country western song, “Looking for love in all the wrong places.”

It was Augustine who rightly said, “Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee.”

Again in our service Friday evening, we talked about the doctrine of substitution—that Jesus takes our place and we take His. He takes our sin and gives us His righteousness. On the cross and then on the third day, Jesus takes care of our sin problem—a sin problem that goes back to our first parents, in another garden, the first Adam, the first man, from whom we inherited our sin nature.

Think of the parallels to that first garden in Genesis. It was in a garden that sin entered into the world, sin coming by way of the one the New Testament refers to as the first Adam, the head of all humanity, contrasting him with the last Adam, Jesus Christ, the Head of a new—or recreated—humanity. It was in a garden that sin entered into the world. And it is from another garden that sin is conquered in the world. In a garden Adam sinned bringing all humanity downward into death. And in another garden, Christ rises up from death, bringing those with Him to life everlasting. In one garden sin enters the world. In another garden sin is defeated in the world.

If you recognize your need for salvation, respond to God’s truth today be turning from your sin and receiving Jesus Christ, the resurrected Christ as your Lord and Savior! So I was struck by that question Jesus asks, “Whom are you seeking?”

But the other question, the first question Jesus asks Mary. “Why are you weeping?” I was particularly moved by that question. Why are you weeping? I thought, you know, in our day there are a number of reasons we may weep.

Some of you may weep. You weep about a loved one. Weep about a prolonged sickness, a diagnosis, an upcoming surgery. Maybe you weep as you grieve for a lost or wayward family member, a son, a daughter, a grandchild, a brother or sister, crying, weeping. Worries about work or school keep you at night and caused you to weep. Loss of a family member, loss of a marriage, loss of a friendship. Weeping. Hurting for someone else in some way and you have found yourself crying for them with the same intensity as Mary’s crying in the garden.

So I wrote down in my notes this statement to help me respond to the truth in this passage—and we’ll put it up on the wall here if you want to write it down:

**When I Weep…When I weep I can remember these three truths about Christ that I believe come from the text. First, when I weep I will:

1)Rest His Presence

Mary was weeping because she didn’t recognize the presence of Jesus. While she weeped, He was there.

JC Ryle said, “Like Hagar in the wilderness, she had a well of water by her side, but she had not eyes to see it.”

Think how many times we don’t recognize the presence of Jesus. How many times do we grieve and we don’t realize Jesus grieves with us. Our sympathetic great hight priest. He grieves with us!

He’s always with us. He never leaves us. To the believer, Jesus is like—like your shadow. Always with you. Remember that this week as you go about your life. Every time you see your shadow, let that be a reminder that Jesus is with you.

Some of you may feel entirely happy today. You say, “I’m not weeping! I’m happy! No worries, no problems, everything’s great! Well, our emotions are kind of like the weather in Colorado where it is said: “If you you don’t like it, just wait 15 minutes.” Extreme change occurs quickly. And that’s how life is. And when your circumstances change, first thing you do when you find yourself weeping: rest in His presence.

There is so much needless sorrow in the presence of a resurrected Lord. Secondly, when I weep, I will rest in His power.

2)Rest in His Power

I am struck by the fact that the One who asks Mary, “Why are you weeping?” actually already knows the answer to the question. He does not ask for His own benefit. He asks for Mary’s benefit. Jesus knows everything. He’s all-knowing. And He’s all-knowing because He’s all-powerful. He can do all things. He dies for us and rises from the dead for us. Up from the grave He arose, rising in power. And if we believe, we may rise with Him! Power over death! Power over sorrow!

As a pastor ministering often during times of death and sorrow I’ve witnessed it countless times: those who know Jesus Christ as Savior grieve differently than the lost and unchurched. I witnessed this as recently as yesterday afternoon as a family gathered to mourn the passing of a loved one. They grieved, yes, but as Paul teaches in 1 Thessalonians 4 they did not grieve as those who have no hope. Christians do not grieve as unbelievers grieve. We grieve resting in the power of a resurrected Lord.

He is not dead! He is alive! And because He lives, He can give you life, and bring life to your situation, bring resurrection hope to your problems!

Martin Luther struggled with recurring bouts of depression. And many of you know that Luther’s wife, Katharine, was a spunky wife who often jarred him from his darkness. One time when he was particularly in a dark pit, Katherine dressed up as a grieving widow, wearing all black like for a funeral. Martin saw her at the door and asked, “Are you going to a funeral?” And she said, “No, but since you act as though God is dead, I wanted to join you in your mourning!” Well that got his attention and he got better!

Jesus Christ has power to change your situation into something wonderful. That takes us to the final action. When I weep I will rest in His presence, rest in His power, and thirdly, I will:

3)Rest in His Purposes

The psalmist said in Psalm 57:2: “I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.”

Mary was weeping because she did not know that God’s greater purposes meant life after death. Resurrection after crucifixion. Light after darkness.

We believe in our Lord’s greater purposes for us—that what He is doing in our lives He is doing for our good and for His glory. He is always good, amen? Always good all the time. And He acts in ways consistent with His nature. Because He is always good, He always acts in good ways and always does what is right. That’s what we mean when we say that we may rest in His purposes.

There’s much now that we may not understand, but as Spurgeon said, “When you can’t trace God’s hand, you can trust God’s heart.” He always acts in ways consistent with His nature and character. He always does what is right and best. You will see this when God’s purposes are more fully known. Remember that when you weep.

Remember when Jacob was weeping in that gripping narrative at the end of the Book of Genesis? Jacob once cried, “‘All these things are against me! (Gen. 42:36).” He lived years without seeing his son Joseph, thought he was dead. His other sons getting in and out of trouble. Famine in the land. Yet, years later, the big picture comes into view, when God’s purposes were more fully known, Jacob discovers that he will live to see his son Joseph again, and sees how God worked in Joseph to accomplish great things for His people.
Consider yourself. Have you cried out something similar recently? “Why, God?! All these things are against me!” Ask God for wisdom to see the big picture, the future, when His purposes will be more fully known. Rest in His purposes.

The psalmist had this confidence in the future. That’s how he was able to write in Psalm 30:5, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” In the morning—and it may be a hundred mornings from now—but joy comes!
That’s why Christians can sing:

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone.
Because I know who holds the future,
and life is worth the living
Just because He lives.

Rest in His purposes. This is something of what the Apostle Paul was after in Romans 8:28-9, “God works all things together for good to those who love Him, to those who are the called according to his purpose.” God is working through all the events of your life to conform you to greater likeness of Christ. For your good!

Often the events of our lives don’t look like there’s any purpose in them. Like the back side of a tapestry. You look at the back side or the underside of a tapestry and it is a wrangled mass of different colored threads and knots and nobs and chaos and confusion. None of it really seems to make sense. But you turn it over and look at the upperside, and there’s a beautiful picture and harmony and order and symmetry.

Corrie Ten Boom wrote of this in her poem, “The Master Weaver’s Plan.” She wrote:

Oft’ times He weaveth sorrow;
And I in foolish pride
Forget He sees the upper
And I the underside.

When you weep, rest in God’s purposes. Know that He is the Master Weaver who is working all things together for your good.

Rest in His presence, His power, and His purposes.

When you weep, run to Christ and rest in Him. Let’s pray.

“Lord Jesus, give us wisdom when we weep to run to You, the One who knows what it is to weep. The one who also had tears. Jesus in light of your resurrection we thank you that we may rise in hope, too. We respond to your truth now in love, adoration, worship, and obedience. In Your name, amen.”

Stand and sing and respond however you need to respond.

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