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That's connectwithskip.com. Now let's get started with today's message from Pastor Skip Heitzig. Peter and John, verse four, they both ran together.
The gentleman that they were just left her in the dust. And the other disciple, notice this, and the other disciple outran Peter. Why does John think that is so important to write?
But he does, right? And it's inspired scripture, so I just love that that's here. It's like, I, the author of this book, the disciple whom Jesus loved, I'm also faster than Pete. I beat him.
The resurrection marathon, I won it. He came to the tomb first. He's stooping down. This is John 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.
I don't know. This is just Peter's personality. Okay, go ahead and you can stare from afar. I'm going in.
I'm checking this out up close. So I don't know what Peter's deal is. Maybe he's a little sore that he lost the race. He's there second. John's sort of checking it out. Peter goes, look out.
Let me get in there and check it out. And he went into the tomb and 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, that's John, 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. Now there are three words, three separate words, all translated exactly into the same English word. See, this is the unfortunate thing about the receptor language like ours that is so limited. I've told you before that Greek is a very exact language. And it conveys the exact situation, the thoughts of God, the historical events so perfectly and we don't translate it really the way it ought to be unless you have an expanded translation or a Greek help that helps you out here. But there are three words in Greek all for the word saw and I want to show you. The first word in verse five is the word blepo, which simply means to notice. I'm looking at something and I can see it with my eyes.
I can make out the general facts. I can ascertain what I'm seeing. It simply means to notice. So in verse five, he, John, stooping down looking in, saw. So John is just noticing what he sees.
He saw the linen claws lying there, yet he did not go in. The second word is found in verse six and it's the word therao. Sorry, that's how it's pronounced. Therao, we get the term theater from it.
Theater, like when you sit in a theater and you observe very carefully what's going on on stage, you look in the same direction for a long time and you are putting things together in your head, you are studying it closely. That's the word that is used in verse six. Simon Peter came following him and went into the tomb and he, therao, he studied closely and intently the linen claws lying there. Now, he doesn't come to a conclusion. Peter's studying it going, huh, wow. He's like that kid in school when the teacher used to say stuff and he would nod his head and go, yeah, oh, wow. Had no clue what the teacher was talking about. Peter's studying it carefully but does not come to a suitable conclusion.
He's more bedazzled than anything. It's like, huh, go figure. And then in verse eight is the third word, eidon in the Greek word, but also translated, saw. Then the other disciple, this is John, who came to the tomb first, went in also and saw. And that word, eidon, means to see with comprehension or understanding. That's why it says he saw, eidon, and believed. What he saw this time, he saw with understanding. He saw with comprehension.
He got it. And he thought, oh, he rose from the dead. He saw and believed. For as yet they did not know the scripture that he must rise again from the dead.
And we'll have to get to that on a Sunday morning when we look at against all odds. Then the disciples went away again to their own homes. Now, what is it that Peter saw that made him believe in the resurrection? Well, first of all, can I describe to you how Jews buried their dead?
It would help. When a person died, they buried them with strips of cloth and a gooey substance made of aloes and spices. They brought 100 pounds of spices, we read last time, to bury the Lord Jesus in. So what they would do is they would wrap each limb individually in these strips, encased in this gooey, spicy substance so it would form and harden like a jelly, and then it would harden into like a cocoon. And so they would wrap each arm, each leg, and then the entire body.
Then they would cover the face separately with its own cloth. So when Lazarus rose from the dead, it says he came out bound hand and foot in grave clothes, and also he had a cloth that covered his face. So that one verse of the resurrection of Lazarus tells us how Jews buried their dead. So they're looking at this and they're noticing that they're in the tomb. It says they saw the linen claws lying there.
You know how we just read that a couple times? Literally it means they saw the linen claws lying in their folds, undisturbed, not ripped apart, not in a pile, not scattered all over the tomb, but lying there in their folds, undisturbed like a cocoon but collapsed. If we would have been in the tomb at the very moment of resurrection, what would we have seen?
We wouldn't have seen a struggle. We wouldn't have seen a corpse going, oh, oh, oh, we've got to get out of here, and just started, you know, unwrapping himself. That wouldn't be a resurrection. That would be a resuscitation.
That's when the guy isn't really dead but he wakes up and they're trying to bury him and he figures it out and he gets out of it. And I bring this up because one of the theories of the resurrection, people who try to counteract, contravene the resurrection, is that it wasn't a resurrection. Jesus didn't really die.
It's called the swoon theory. He passed out on the cross. He lost a lot of blood. He was unconscious. They thought he was dead, but the dampness of the tomb revived him and he unbound himself like he'd have strength to do that and got out.
If that were the case, you'd see bandages everywhere. If the swoon theory happened, you'd see stuff all over the tomb. Also, it's pretty evident that nobody stole the body because if they would have stolen the body, they wouldn't have unwrapped it there. They would have taken the whole encasement with them, but if we would have been in the tomb, it would have looked like a flat tire. The body was in there and then Jesus just came out of it without a struggle, without unwrapping it because they were still lying undisturbed in their folds and it would have just given away and collapsed. That's what John saw. When he saw that, after seeing it with comprehension, it says he believed because there's no other explanation for seeing that, them lying in their folds in that collapsed cocoon.
Then the disciples went away again to their own homes. Now there is a note. I just find this so good, so fascinating. I tell you, it helps when you read the Bible to just look and go, why is that there?
It's like, why did John have to tell us twice he beat Peter? That's just a fun thing to look at. I want you to look at verse seven, it says, and the handkerchief that had been around his head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. So Jesus came out of that encased spice aloe laden cocoon, but he took the time to fold that head napkin and put it down.
That is just amazing. Now I know that there are going to be parents that are going to hear this and they're going to use this on their kids. They're going to go, even Jesus folded his own clothes after the resurrection. You can fold your clothes.
I'm sure it'll be used against children in the future. But let me just go deeper than just folding your clothes. There is a Jewish custom, there was a Jewish custom, that when you would come over to a person's house, if they were nice to you and hospitable to you and you enjoyed the meal and the company, you were treated favorably. You as the guest would take the piece of cloth that was your napkin and you would crumple it up and put it on the plate or the platter that was on the table. If you were not treated with hospitality or kindness, you would politely fold it, and that was a polite way of saying, I'm never coming back here again. You'll never see me again. Jesus, when he rose from the dead, folded up the napkin, placed it here, it's like, I'm out of here and you're not seeing me here again.
Take it or leave it. You're listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before we get back to Skip's teaching, some people think that Jesus was nothing more than a prophet or a good teacher.
These misconceptions existed 2,000 years ago and Jesus is still misunderstood today. Discover who Jesus really is with Skip Heitzig's riveting nine-part series, Who Is This Jesus?, which examines Christ's humanity and deity to equip you to confidently answer questions about Jesus. This resource, along with Skip's Life Change booklet, designed to help new Christians embrace their transformed life in Christ, is our thanks for your gift of at least $50 today to help share biblical teaching with more people around the world through Connect with Skip Heitzig.
Go to connectwithskip.com slash offer or call 800-922-1888 and request your copies when you give at least $50 today to reach people around the world through Connect with Skip Heitzig. Let's continue with today's teaching with Pastor Skip. But Mary, verse 11, stood outside by the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she stooped down and looked into the tomb and saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. Now that was the bloody body of Jesus that had laid there on a stone slab and an angel on either side. My mind goes back to the mercy seat in the Old Testament.
That slab where the blood was sprinkled and angels on either side of it, that place where atonement took place, propitiation took place. It's interesting that the angels are here. Now angels appear in 34 books of your Bible.
17 Old Testament books, 17 New Testament books speak about angels. In Mark's Gospel and Luke's Gospel in going through this account, those authors called them men, men. So they looked like humans. They had human form. John informs us probably because this is after the fact, these were angels. They looked like men. They looked like regular men, but they were heavenly messengers.
They were angels. And they said to her, woman, why are you weeping? Do you find that an odd question to ask a woman at a cemetery? Would you ask a woman that at a cemetery? If you went to a cemetery and saw a woman crying, would you go, what are you crying about?
What's up? I don't know. Somebody died?
I love somebody who died and is buried here? I don't know. Woman, why are you weeping? She said to them, because she's wrong again, they, there's they, have taken away my Lord and I do not know where they have laid Him. I love that angels show up. You know, they show up at His birth. They show up at His temptation and they show up at His resurrection.
The only time we see angels seated are at His resurrection. I don't want to read anything into that. I couldn't tell you why. I don't know what they were doing while they were waiting for people to come in and notice them, maybe, I guess, eating angel's food cake.
I would. But they were there and they had a message for some of the people that came, especially Mary Magdalene. Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, woman, why are you weeping?
He asked the same question. Now he knows the answer, but he asked the question to get her to think about why she's so upset with a follow-up question, whom are you seeking? She, supposing him to be the gardener, I don't know if he had like a little gardening hat on, said to him, sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him and I will take him away.
So she's putting this together. She said they've taken him away and then she thinks, well, maybe you took him away. You must be the gardener. Maybe, I don't know, you had to clean the tomb or whatever, but wherever you've taken him, tell me where he is and I'll take him. I'm just waiting to see if any of you are shocked by Mary's statement. Tell me where you have laid him and I'll take him away.
Yeah, right. Mary's going to pick up the dead weight of a human corpse and carry it away. Now, I don't know how much Jesus weighed. I do know they brought 100 pounds of spices and aloes to bury him with, so take Jesus' body weight, add 100 pounds to that. Let's just say 250 pounds. So Mary says, you know, tell me where you're taking him and I'll take him away.
Yeah, sure you will. And even if she was Brunhilde, if she had that strength to be able to pick up 250 pounds, where are you going to take a corpse? Now, I'm just going to take it home with me, put it in the living room. She's not thinking through this, right, obviously, but again, love doesn't ask the details. Love just shows up. Love just wants to do something about it.
This is just raw love mixed with emotion. Now, let's answer the question, what was Mary looking for? A corpse, a dead corpse, not a living Lord.
He's standing right there. She missed him. She's looking for a corpse. She doesn't recognize Jesus. Why is that? Well, there's a lot of reasons. It's early, it's dark, tears in her eyes.
She's not making out details, number one. Number two, Jesus is resurrected. And a resurrected body, though it has certain similarities to your body before, will have enhanced features after the resurrection. So the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 15, Jesus, the first fruits of those who rise from the dead, he was sown in corruption, but raised in incorruption. He was sown in dishonor, raised in honor. He was sown in weakness.
He was raised in power. So the resurrected body is going to be you at your peak development, and you'll remain that way forever. So it could be because of the resurrection changes. It could also be that she was kept from recognizing him, supernaturally restrained from being able to see. Like the two on the road to Emmaus, since their eyes were restrained, they didn't recognize him until finally they did. Jesus, when he wanted to reveal, revealed him.
Now, look how Jesus reveals. Jesus, verse 16, said to her, Mary, she turned and said to him, Rabboni, that's an Aramaic term for my rabbi, my teacher, which is to say teacher. 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, to my God and to your God. Go back to that word, her name Mary. One word changed her life. One word changed her from sorrow to joy.
One single word. She went from despair to the heights, and it was her name spoken by Jesus. I'm sure Jesus had a special tone for her. Mary.
And she reeled her head around, and she goes, Rabboni, my teacher. How does Jesus reveal himself to her? Not visually, but vocally. By speaking his word, which was her name, personalize it, but it was by what he spoke, not by what she saw. And again, this to me underlies the principle in Romans 10 that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word about Christ or the word of God. Not by seeing, but by hearing.
It was the word he revealed himself to her by one word, speaking her name. Now, can I just ask you, can you relate to this in this sense? How often have you wondered, where is God? Where is Jesus? Life is so hard.
This is so bad. I can't believe I'm enduring this. Where is he? And he's right there, right in front of you. Jesus said, I'll never leave you. I'll never forsake you.
Lo, I am with you always till the end of the world. He's right there. But by our sorrow, by our trial, we just miss him when he's right there. But let me encourage you to look for him. Look for him in the darkest, bleakest, earliest part of the morning, latest part of the evening, hardest part of the trial.
Look for him. Paul spoke about the fellowship of his sufferings. As if there's a special place you can enter into as a believer where you have fellowship with God, and one of the deepest possible levels is when you suffer like Jesus suffered. He said that I might know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable even to his death. There's an intimacy you can have with Jesus Christ only when you suffer. 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, to my God and your God. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that he had spoken these things to her. When our Lord says, do not cling to me, it's literally stop fastening yourself to me. I can only guess that when she turned around, heard her name and recognized that it was Jesus, she lunged at him and gave him one of those death grips like trying to tackle somebody in the end zone. It's like, I got you, I'm not letting you go.
It was probably just so tight a hug that he said, stop fastening yourself to me. I have not yet ascended to the Father. In other words, if I can elaborate a little bit knowing what's coming in the future, I've got 40 days that I'll be around. Don't keep yourself to me. Don't selfishly hoard or cling or hold onto me. I have not yet ascended to my Father.
He's going to be around for 40 days. You've got a job to do and my disciples have a job to do. So go tell them, I have a commission for you, stop clinging, go on a commission. And that is, tell my brethren. It's the first time Jesus calls his disciples his brethren. He's called them his servants up to this point. He's called them his friends in an intimate way, days before in the upper room. No longer do I call you servants, but I call you my friends. He called them sheep, but now he calls them brethren.
And I'm listening to my Father and your Father. Why would he say that? Because now he can. Now he has paid the penalty for their sin. Now a relationship with the Father can be had through what Jesus did for them on the cross. And Hebrews 2 tells us he is not ashamed to call us brethren. So what he did enabled him to say, go tell my brethren.
There's now this intimacy of relationship that I share with them. Thanks for listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig. We hope you've been strengthened in your walk with Jesus by today's program.
Before we let you go, we want to remind you about this month's resources that will help you confidently answer questions about who Jesus is and understand the new life you have as a believer in him. Pastor Skip's nine message series, Who Is This Jesus?, and his life change booklet are our thanks for your support of Connect with Skip Heitzig today. Request your copies when you give $50 or more. Call 800-922-1888.
That's 800-922-1888. Or visit connectwithskip.com slash offer. And did you know that you can get a weekly devotional and other resources from Pastor Skip sent right to your email inbox? Simply visit connectwithskip.com and sign up for emails from Skip. Come back next time for more verse-by-verse teaching of God's word here on Connect with Skip Heitzig. Make a connection. Make a connection at the foot of the crossing. Cast all burdens on his word. Make a connection. Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of Connection Communications, connecting you to God's never-changing truth in ever-changing times.
