It’s All About

Relationship

John 20:10 – 18

Let‟s consider what

noteworthy facts we see in

the situation Mary

Magdalene finds when she

goes to Jesus‟ tomb:

Noteworthy Findings:

• Two angels are there.

Noteworthy Findings:

• Two angels are there.

• The angels ask her a “?”

Noteworthy Findings:

• Two angels are there.

• The angels ask her a “?”

• She sees Jesus, but

doesn‟t recognize Him.

Noteworthy Findings:

• Jesus asks her a “?”

Noteworthy Findings:

• Jesus asks her a “?”

• Mary thinks He‟s the

gardener

Noteworthy Findings:

• Jesus asks her a “?”

• Mary thinks He‟s the

gardener

• Jesus gives instructions

There are several very odd

and even miraculous

things here, from not

recognizing Jesus to His

weird statement to Mary.

Think about it: Jesus

stayed with the disciples

40 days and ate actual

food and let them touch

Him. Why this to her?

We could spend a lot of

time considering the

significance and meaning

of all sorts of things we

see here, I think.

For instance, some people

make a big deal out of the

fact that it says Mary

mistook Jesus for the

gardener at first.

Quite beyond the idea of

the controversy about

where this tomb was,

whether it was “The

Garden Tomb” or not…

People draw a connection

with the story of Creation

and the blessing

counteracting the curse on

the Garden of Eden.

The idea is that Jesus is

restoring the situation

Adam and Even found

before the curse.

We could spend hours and

hours delving into the

explanations of the

mysteries of the things in

this passage.

We would just be spinning

our wheels and wasting

our time, though, I think,

because what‟s really

going on here is simple.

Well, it‟s sort of simple.

Last week the message

was partly about today‟s

passage, because it was

too much for one sermon.

I was talking about the

shock to the system new

believers are going to have

to go through changing

from their old life to faith.

Here Mary is crying in

grief because she doesn‟t

see Jesus‟ dead body lying

there like she expected.

Think about that.

Jesus had said more than

once that He would die

and rise again, and like

the miracles here, people

didn‟t believe it.

Now, if the people who

lived with Jesus and

believed He was the

Messiah couldn‟t believe

what He said…

…it stands to reason that

people growing up in our

world today who aren‟t

already believers will have

a hard time with things.

I said last week that you

and I will have the job of

helping new believers

along, sympathizing with

their struggles.

There will be struggles.

We can see that from the

example of the 3 disciples

in this passage we‟re

looking at.

Peter and the Beloved

Disciple disappear at the

beginning, and then Mary

is left by herself. Recall

the two guys‟ behavior:

Peter just stood there

puzzled, and it said that

the Beloved Disciple

realized and believed,

remembering Zech. 12:10.

Zechariah 12: 10

“They will look on me, the one

they have pierced, and they

will mourn for him as one

mourns for an only child…

Zechariah 12: 10

“…and grieve bitterly for him

as one grieves for a firstborn

son.

That passage reminds us

of the Isaiah 53 passage,

the long passage, about

Jesus being pierced for

our transgressions…

Then it predicts that the

one pierced will yet have

life and glory after the

suffering, which suggests

the Resurrection of Jesus.

One of them believes, but

they both just simply go

back to where they were

staying. Neither shouts

for joy and tells everyone.

If you were the one who

believed, if you just

realized that Jesus had

been raised from the

dead, would you do that?

“Ho hum. I get it now.

Jesus was dead, but now

He has been raised back

to life. I think I‟ll go home

now and check the mail.”

To me that ranks up there

with “do not hold onto

me, for I have not yet

ascended to the Father” as

unexplainably odd.

One is an otherworldly

theological mystery, and

the other just runs against

all reason not to celebrate

the greatest news of all.

We should consider,

though, if the people who

were closest to Jesus did

that, it makes sense that

today people do it too.

How many people can tell

you that Christians believe

Jesus rose from the dead?

It‟s a generally known

belief.

Easter attendance at most

churches is higher than

other Sundays, but

generally people are not

excited Jesus is alive.

People tend to treat it like

it‟s a doctrinal statement,

an abstract theological

proposition, a dry

historical fact in a book.

To most people it‟s a fact

about something so long

ago that it has no

relevance. To them Jesus

is functionally dead.

Then there‟s Mary, who

we see crying because she

can‟t find His body. She

wants to have a shrine to

tend and mourn over.

Jesus talks to her and asks

her who she‟s looking for,

and she doesn‟t recognize

Him. She‟s lost in her

grief and confusion.

The greatest thing in

history is happening

before her eyes, and she is

the first witness, and she‟s

oblivious to it at the time.

“So what? I‟ve got my

troubles. I‟m trying to

find this dead body to

tend to. Don‟t bother me

with anything else.”

We could, and probably

should, spend time talking

about how much of our

lives is as wasteful as

tending a dead body is.

It‟s kind of a here and now

way of rephrasing, “a

hundred years from now,

what difference will it

make?” as some say.

So here we have this nice

lady whose life was changed

by a good man but a false

prophet claiming to be the

Messiah…

…who‟s died now, but

meant so much to her that

she wants to tend to his

dead body out of gratitude

for her healing…

…and she‟s confused that

the body‟s been taken and

wants these folks to help

her find it so she can get

back to embalming it.

“Mary,” Jesus says to her.

…and suddenly she

recognizes Him, and

everything changes.

Jesus even says this weird

thing about not holding onto

Him…who knows?... It‟s

confusing to me, and I‟m

better educated than Mary…

…but it doesn‟t bother

her. She was fixated on

finding the dead body and

was missing that there

were angels there…

…but now that Jesus has

said her name, and she

has recognized Him

because of this personal

reconnection…

…she‟s not concerned with

anything that might

distract or confuse. She‟s

totally clear and focused

on her Lord Jesus.

Then Jesus tells Mary to

go to the disciples and tell

them this weird

formulation of a

statement:

“Tell them: „I am

ascending to my Father

and your Father, to my

God and your God.‟”

…and Mary runs to the

upper room to tell them

that she has seen the Lord

and recounts the event to

them.

She didn‟t just stand there

dumbfounded by His

presence, but when He

said go, she went, and

what He told her, she told.

Back in John 4 the woman

at the well became the

first evangelist in a way,

telling people that Jesus is

the long awaited Messiah.

Here Mary, another

woman, becomes the first

evangelist of the Gospel

including Jesus‟

resurrection.

These socially inferior

people feel free to cross

social barriers, and only

want to be true to the One

who touched them.

It‟s not because Jesus said

things to them they

agreed with or sounded

profound and intellectual

or sophisticated to them.

It‟s not because Jesus did

something showy like

feeding the 5,000 or

something like that.

It‟s not even the miracle of

resurrection, as we saw

with the other disciple,

who believed, but then

went home with Peter.

It‟s because Jesus

appealed directly to the

relationship He had with

Mary, calling her by

name, that personal touch

We believe as the Friends

Church, that that personal

relationship with Jesus is

possible for people today

through the Holy Spirit…

…the point isn‟t just that

we hold to that doctrine,

but that we practice it,

that we, like Mary, know

Jesus, alive here and now.

What difference did it

make that Jesus was

raised from the dead to

Peter when he didn‟t

believe yet?

What difference did it

make that Jesus was

raised from the dead to

the other disciple who just

went back home?

What difference did it

make that Jesus was

raised from the dead to

Mary when she didn‟t

recognize Him there?

Like with the 10 when

Jesus appeared that

evening and to Mary here,

what mattered was the

personal relationship.

Jesus is just another

mythological figure with a

story unless you know

Him personally and have

a relationship with Him.

The hymn In The Garden

includes the words, “and

He walks with me, and He

talks with me, and He tells

me I am His own.”

That is what really

matters. You can behave

and be morally upright,

and be a good example,

but what good is that?

Are you trying to get

people to follow you? Do

you want to be Lord? Our

behavior may attract

people, but …

…our testimony must be

that it is Jesus Christ in

our lives that enables us to

do good things, not our

own innate goodness.

Our testimony must be that

it is Jesus Christ in other

people‟s lives that enables

them to be the good people

they want to be.

People will do wonderful

and miraculous or even

horrible, ghastly things

because of the personal

relationships they have.

You and I can neither live

nor attract people by

doctrines and dry facts, but

God can change the world

through relationships.

Do you have a relation-

ship with Jesus or with a

group of people here?

People can be attracted to

us here…

…and that‟s OK, but you

and I cannot save them.

They need to have a

relationship with Jesus for

that, not with you and me.

The best we can do is to

introduce people to Jesus

and let Him win their

friendship.

Have you been introduced

to Jesus, or just to the

idea of Jesus, or just to a

group of people who are

good examples to follow?

I cannot introduce you to

Jesus in a sermon like

this, but any one of us

who knows Jesus can in a

personal conversation.

If you want to know Jesus

and not just go through

the motions, I want to

invite you to take the step

you need to for that.

If you want to come to the

altar and ask Him into

your heart, come now. If

you would rather ask after

dismissal, that‟s fine too.

Don‟t go back home and

put it off. If you want to

talk to me, I‟m ready, but

if you would rather ask

someone else, that‟s fine.