John 20:1-10 (Teaching)

[0:00] Good morning. Back to the Gospel of John. We wrapped up chapter 19 last week. So just to recap that chapter real fast.

[0:20] Christ has died. Christ has died. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus have gone. Joseph of Arimathea, of course, begged the body of Christ. Pilate allowed that.

[0:39] And they've taken him to the tomb. And the mix of John's Gospel and the other Gospel accounts.

[0:52] You know, Christ has been laid in the tomb. There have been soldiers set at the tomb to keep watch over it. But because people said, do you not remember you find it in Matthew 27?

[1:07] He said that on the third day, he would rise from the dead. And they were in fear that some of Christ's disciples may come and steal the body. So Pilate allowed for the Roman guards to be set at the tomb to keep a watch over it.

[1:24] All these things have gone on. And we've read about the women that were at the crucifixion and how upset they were. And rightfully so. The very mother of Jesus Christ was there as well.

[1:40] We read about all these things in John 19. All kinds of things have gone on here. And it seems like all hope is lost at this point. I mean, honestly, if you're reading through the Gospel of John and you stop at the end of chapter 19, there's no hope for us.

[2:00] There's no hope for anybody at the end of chapter 19. Christ is dead at the end of chapter 19. But chapter 20 is when we get into the resurrection of Christ.

[2:13] And folks, without the resurrection, we would still have no hope. Without the resurrection of Christ, we would be of all men most miserable. We would have no hope for salvation.

[2:24] We would have no salvation. Without the resurrection, Christ would not have been Christ. He would not have been God without His resurrection. So, all that being said, John chapter 20, starting at verse 1.

[2:40] It says, The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark under the sepulcher, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulcher.

[2:52] So, the first day of the week, this would have been Sunday morning. There's debate about that in the theological realm. But folks, the first day of the week is Sunday morning. Period. There's no arguing that.

[3:04] There's people that try and say Christ was crucified every day except for Friday. I think Christ was crucified on Friday. I think scripture backs that up. And people say Christ was, depending on what commentators you're reading or really what preachers you're listening to, some will say He was resurrected any day but Sunday.

[3:25] But I think scripture backs up that Christ was resurrected the first day of the week, which is Sunday. And the first day of the week, back when this was written, was Sunday.

[3:36] So, I don't think there's any arguing that. But the first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early. Who was Mary Magdalene? We talked about her. She was one of the Marys that was there at the crucifixion.

[3:47] Mary Magdalene. This is the same Mary that Christ cast seven demons out of. She had a deep devotion to Christ. In fact, she had a deep devotion to Christ that I wish that I had to Christ.

[4:03] She was very deeply devoted to Him. She adored Christ. She ran after Christ. She worshipped Christ.

[4:13] And like I said, I wish that I could say I had as much of a devotion to Christ as she did. I'm not saying that I can't stand Christ.

[4:24] I'm not saying that I'm not devoted to Christ. But folks, Mary Magdalene's actions, her being at the cross, after all the ridicule that Christ went through, after all the hatred that was exhibited towards Christ, Mary Magdalene was still there, amongst others, granted.

[4:42] And here she was, the first day of the week, making her way to the tomb to pay honor and give homage to her Lord and Savior. But think about everything that surrounds this.

[4:57] Things that may not even be in Scripture. I mean, we know this would have been during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. There would have still been tens of thousands of extra people in Jerusalem at this point.

[5:11] Passover had just happened. Immediately after the Passover, according to the law given by God in the Old Testament, the Passover was to happen on the 14th day of the first month, the month of Nisan.

[5:26] And the Feast of Unleavened Bread began the 15th day. So this would have been in the midst of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. So there would have been thousands of strangers in Jerusalem.

[5:36] And here she was before the sun even come up, making her way through all these strangers, people that she didn't know, people that didn't know her, to get to him.

[5:47] Not only that, but she would have known there were Roman soldiers guarding that tomb that were standing watch. And here she was. Now we know by, again, by the other Gospel accounts, by the Synoptic Gospel accounts, that there were others with her.

[6:01] John doesn't name those here. And John, throughout his Gospel, is very good at individualizing encounters with Jesus Christ.

[6:13] We have Jesus in Nicodemus. We have Jesus in the man at the well. We have Jesus in the blind man in chapter 9. We have Jesus with individuals all throughout John's Gospel.

[6:28] So here he is singling out Mary Magdalene. But we find out later in this same account that we're reading right now, she uses the term we, which corroborates and substantiates everything that the Synoptic Gospels say about other people being with her.

[6:48] But, anyway, it says, The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark. When it was yet dark. So she was going before the sun even popped up, making her way through these strangers, knowing she was going to encounter Roman guards that couldn't have cared less about her.

[7:04] Anything could have happened to this woman. But she did not let that stop her from going and paying honor and taking care of the body of her Savior. That's what she thought she was going to be doing.

[7:16] But it did not stop her. Again, I wish I had the devotion that Mary Magdalene had. She come unto the sepulcher and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulcher.

[7:29] Now, again, in the Synoptic Gospels, as compared with John's Gospel, there's people that say, you know, well, the Bible contradicts itself because some people say there was an angel.

[7:39] Or one Gospel writer will say there was an angel. Another Gospel writer will say there was two angels. Another Gospel writer says this happened and says that happened. Folks, in every one of those Gospels are correct.

[7:51] Every one of them. Y'all have heard me give the scenario before, but I will give it again. If, you know, we're standing outside.

[8:02] If there's a dozen of us standing outside here and we see a vehicle accident take place, I might say there was a brown truck hit a white car. You might say there was a male driver hit a female driver.

[8:14] Somebody else might say there was a loud crash. Somebody else might say, I heard tires squeal. All those things are correct. And all the Gospel writers have their accounts of what went on that morning.

[8:28] The resurrection morning. But folks, one thing that they all have in common, praise God, the tomb was empty. Every one of them testified to the fact that the tomb was empty.

[8:39] Christ was not there. That's something else you can take into consideration here. According to Matthew's account, there was a great earthquake that took place. That didn't stop Mary Magdalene.

[8:53] All these things going on, and yet she still continued on to pay homage to her Lord. She seeeth the stone taken away from the sepulcher. Then she runneth and cometh to Simon Peter.

[9:06] Now notice, it doesn't say out of curiosity she went over there. It doesn't say anything about the Roman guards here. It doesn't say anything about the angels that were present.

[9:18] All we have in John's account is Mary Magdalene shows up, and she sees the stone taken away from the tomb. And according to John's account, she runneth and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulcher, and we know not where they have laid him.

[9:40] Now her use of the word we here indicates that there were others with her, which again corroborates the synoptic gospels, that there were people with Mary, and it was a group of women that went with Mary.

[9:54] It was all women that went to this tomb to anoint the body of Jesus Christ. Although Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea had already done this.

[10:04] They had already wrapped the body. They had already anointed it with spices. Remember we read just last week that Nicodemus brought 100 pounds of these spices, and this would have been very costly to have done.

[10:18] But this is what he done to take care of the Lord that he believed in. But it says, She runneth and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple.

[10:30] Why these two? Well, she probably more than likely, and this is just Spencer, she more than likely ran to where the disciples were, where she knew that they would have been.

[10:43] But she comes to Simon Peter and John, particularly according to this account, the disciple whom Jesus loved is traditionally known, and I have no reason to believe that not to be, John, the writer of this gospel.

[10:57] So she comes to Simon Peter, and she comes to John. Folks, this in and of itself is amazing to think of, that John and Peter were together.

[11:08] Now granted, they were part of the inner circle. Peter, James, and John were part of the inner circle of the disciples. These are the ones that were on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus Christ. These are the ones that seem to have had a more intimate relationship with Christ, as opposed to the other disciples.

[11:27] Not to say that Jesus loved them any less. Not to say that Jesus was showing them favoritism of any kind. That's just the way that it worked out. But she comes to Peter, and she comes to John.

[11:40] Think about what has happened up to this point. Think about how Peter, or John and Peter, evidently what we've already read through the past couple of chapters leading up to this, they're the ones that followed Jesus.

[11:56] They're the two that followed Jesus. Granted, they followed at a distance. We talked about that when we went through that. They followed at a distance. Peter followed at a distance.

[12:06] Christ had told Peter he would deny him. John witnessed the denial of Christ by Peter. John witnessed all these things. John saw all these things happen.

[12:20] When they went into the high priest's house, when they went into the area where the high priest was, John saw all these things. But here they were together.

[12:33] Why do you think they would have been together? Them two, in particular. Because when Mary Magdalene came, obviously they were at least in the same room together. I'm just supposing, and again, Scripture does not back this up, but I'm supposing that John was comforting his brother.

[12:54] Now, it wasn't his blood brother, granted. But he was comforting a fellow disciple. Peter had denied Christ, and John had fallen witness to that. And here they were together.

[13:07] I can imagine they'd been there all weekend together. They had shared in meals together. They'd probably shared in the Passover meal together. And here they were.

[13:19] I can imagine Mary coming in, and John being right by Peter, trying to console him, trying to comfort him, trying to give him some kind of encouragement.

[13:30] But regardless of why they were together, they were together here. And Mary Magdalene comes, and she says, they have taken away the Lord out of the sepulcher.

[13:42] Now, folks, this statement completely obliterates people that say, she ran back to tell the disciples that Jesus was risen from the dead.

[13:55] That is not what she ran back and told them. She said, they've taken him. Somebody's taken him. She just says, they. We have no idea who the they is that she was thinking of here.

[14:06] But regardless, her thought was not, Christ has risen. Christ has risen from the grave here, according to John's account. Her thought was somebody has done winning, robbed the grave of Jesus Christ, taken his body, and we know not where they've taken him to.

[14:25] That was her thought. And people will look at that, and they'll look at Mary Magdalene, and they'll say, well, what little faith she had. And folks, I've already talked about how much devotion she had towards Christ.

[14:40] And Mary Magdalene, quite frankly, has got, or had a hundred times more faith than you or I, either one, in Jesus Christ. And she, and, well, it's just like the Gospel of Luke says, to whom much is forgiven, they love much.

[14:56] Luke chapter 7. Amen. That was the case with Mary Magdalene. Seven demons were cast out of this woman. Therefore, she loved Christ much. Amen.

[15:07] And she was highly devoted to him. So she says, they have taken away the Lord out of the sepulcher, and we know not where, where they have laid him. This was her thought.

[15:18] He's gone, and we don't know where he is. Not, he is risen from the grave. He is risen to ascend to the Father, to forever make intercession for those that believe on him. That was not Mary's thought.

[15:30] Her thought was, somebody's taken him. But, in verse 3, we see, Peter therefore, went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulcher.

[15:43] So, as soon as they hear this news now, could there have been a conversation that took place between Peter and John? Are you sure, Mary? Are you positive?

[15:55] What you saw? Are you positive that he's not there? Are you positive the stone was rolled away? Were the guards present? Blah, blah, blah. Any of these things could have happened, but they're not in the gospel account, if they did.

[16:08] The account has it, that Mary said, they have taken our Lord, they've taken his body, out of the sepulcher, out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him now.

[16:19] That's the scriptural account that we're reading right now. Peter therefore, therefore, because of what Mary said, that's the therefore, Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulcher.

[16:33] So, Peter and John take off, and they go to the grave, to see for themselves. And people might say, they went, because of their faith, in what Christ had said.

[16:45] Because of their faith, in what Christ had told them, on multiple occasions, over the past three plus years, that he would raise, on the third day, on the Old Testament accounts, that there would be a resurrection.

[16:59] No folks, that's not why they went. They just went to see for themselves, and we see that. Verse four, so they ran both together, and the other disciple, did outrun Peter, and came first, to the sepulcher.

[17:11] And this is one of the most humorous, verses, in the entirety of scripture. It's a funny verse. Because John's writing this gospel. And John, it seems, like he's bragging, outruns Peter, on his way to the grave.

[17:27] Peter took off first. I mean, according to what we read here, in verse three, Peter therefore went forth, he goes first, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulcher. So, they ran both together, and the other disciple, did outrun Peter, and came first, to the sepulcher.

[17:44] Now, there's people that will say, well, of course, John outrun Peter. John was younger than Peter. Traditionally, that's very well accepted.

[17:54] I mean, John lived, about 60 years, longer than Peter did. Peter was martyred, for his faith, in Jesus Christ. John lived to a ripe old age, but traditionally, it's accepted, that Peter was older, than John, so John could have easily, overtaken him, in a race.

[18:13] Folks, the Bible doesn't tell us, the real significance, to John outrunning Peter, here. But I'll give you an idea, of why it might have been, here in just a few more verses.

[18:28] Verse five, and he stooping down, looking in, saw the linen clothes lying, yet went he not in. When he stooping down, when who's stooping down?

[18:38] When John, stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying, yet went he not in. Now folks, these tombs, that they had, and have, over there right now, these ancient tombs, are not like you see, in Easter plays.

[18:57] they were not, they did not have, six, seven, and eight foot entrances. In fact, most of the tombs, that you find over there, right now, have entrances, that are about four feet high.

[19:09] So this would explain, why John, would have had to have, stooped down. Now folks, over there, generally speaking, are not real tall, so this was, kind of accommodating to them, but it would have still taken, some crouching, and some turning, and all kinds of things, to get into one of these tombs.

[19:28] So, you know, remember that, whenever next Easter play you see is, and the stone is rolled away, and Christ is standing there, in all of his glory, and there's a two foot gap, between the top of the tomb, and his head, that's not how it was.

[19:45] And that's not how it is now. In those tombs, from the same era. I said they were about four feet tall, about one meter tall, is how big most of the entrances were.

[19:57] So it says, and he stooping down, John stooping down, looking in, saw the linen clothes lying, yet went he not in. These tombs, when they were built, they were built, they were all built, pretty much, I mean, almost symmetrically.

[20:12] They were copies of each other. You had a slab over here, where the body was laid, and you had another slab over here, where mourners could go in, and sit there, and mourn the dead.

[20:25] That's how, most of them were built. So, when John stoops down, and he looks inside the tomb, not entering, and some people will say, that John didn't enter, because of reverence, for Jesus Christ.

[20:41] Some people will say, he did not enter in, because he didn't want to defile himself, by touching the dead, or being in the same place, as the dead. And once again, I can tell you, the Bible does not tell us, why John did not enter in, at this time.

[20:59] But it says, he stooped down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying, yet went he not in. Then cometh Simon Peter, following him, and went into the sepulcher, and seeth the linen clothes lie.

[21:12] So, this, just, substantiates, these two different men's personalities. John, even though he was one of the two sons of thunder, John was still, more articulate.

[21:28] John was, a little bit softer. Peter, Peter, we know Peter's personality. Peter's the one, took his sword out, and took off the high priest's servant's ear, when they come, when they come, to arrest Jesus.

[21:43] Peter's the very one, that opened his mouth, when, when they were asked, if they were going to pay the temple tax, and Peter said, well sure we are. Peter, acted on impulse, many times.

[21:55] So this shows, John's personality here. He stopped outside the tomb, and, and looked in, inside, and it shows Peter's personality. Peter didn't stop for anything.

[22:06] If it was, fear of defilement, that stopped John, fear of defilement, didn't even cross Peter's mind. He went on in the tomb. Peter did, while John, stepped outside, it says, then come a Simon Peter, following him, following John, John, keeps reiterating, that he beat Peter, to the tomb here.

[22:27] Following him, and went into the sepulcher, and seeth the linen clothes, the linen clothes lie. Now, the word that's used here, in Greek, for seeth, is a word called, theori.

[22:41] And it means that, someone looks upon something, but they look upon it, kind of, to scrutinize it. They wonder about it, without any real knowledge, in other words.

[22:56] That's important, because an entirely different term, is used, when John enters in here, in a couple more verses, and sees what Peter saw. Verse 7, and the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together, in a place by itself.

[23:15] Now folks, there's a lot, of noise made, about this napkin, and about the fact, that the Bible says, that it was folded, and it was laying in a place, all by itself.

[23:28] I have looked, I have dug, and every time, I come across this scripture, every time I think, I'm going to use it, as an example, a biblical example, in a sermon, or in a lesson, or whatever.

[23:39] I look again, just to make sure. I have dug, there is no, Jewish tradition, that says, that when someone, was finished eating, they would, wad the napkin up, and throw it down, if they were finished, and if they folded the napkin, and put it, put it in, over by itself, that meant, that they were going to return.

[24:00] There is nothing like that. There is nothing, in Jewish tradition, there is nothing, in rabbinical writings, about it. There is nothing, that says that.

[24:11] In fact, Jews, really didn't even, use napkins. They had a big, elaborate ceremony, that a lot of them, went through, to wash beforehand, but we have no record, of what they done, after they ate.

[24:26] But, this is, kind of, sort of, a European tradition. Folks, European, and, what, where we're reading about, right now, and the time, that we're reading about, right now, are ages apart.

[24:46] I'm well familiar, with the emails, that go around, I'm well familiar, with the posts, that I've seen, on social media, saying that, you know, this napkin, was folded, because Jesus, saying, he would return.

[24:56] Folks, he hadn't even ascended yet. He had risen from the grave, yes. But, he had not ascended, to the Father, to return. He was still here, on earth, at this point.

[25:09] So, even if that was the case, it makes no sense. Zero sense. What is the significance then? Peter goes in, he sees the linen clothes, lying there, and he sees, well, just read it again, and the napkin, that was about his head, not lying, with the linen clothes, but wrapped together, in a place by itself.

[25:30] Well, for one thing here, the word wrapped, is not a very good translation. The term rolled up, is a much better, translation, of the Greek word, that is used here.

[25:43] And you might say, well, what's the difference, between wrapped, and rolled up? And I'm not talking about, taking a napkin, and rolling it up, into a cylinder shape. I'm talking about, as it was rolled. As it was rolled, around his head.

[25:54] Remember, Nicodemus, and Joseph of Arimathea, had come, and they had dressed, the body of Jesus Christ. They had anointed it, with spices. They had anointed it, with aloes. They had done, all these things.

[26:06] So when we read here, in verse 8, or verse 6, I'm sorry, that Peter went in, and saw the linen clothes, lying. Verse 7, and the napkin, that was about his head, not lying, with the linen clothes.

[26:17] Obviously, he had two different wrappings. He had one, that was around his head, and he had one, that was around his body. Why is that significant? Why does that matter?

[26:28] Folks, there was no disturbance. The linen clothes, including the napkin, that was wrapped, or rolled around his head, were laying, in the exact same spot, as when they had put, his body there.

[26:41] Had somebody come, and taken the body, of Jesus Christ, why would they have taken, all that off of him? And would it have not, been disheveled, somehow? But no, it was lying there.

[26:52] It was lying there, just as it was, when they lied, Jesus in there. When they laid, laid Jesus, in that tomb, his head would have been here, his body would have been down here, but there was no body, in those linen clothes.

[27:06] There was no head, in that napkin there. And it was separated, because it was, it was a separate wrapping, that Jesus Christ, had upon himself. Folks, a miracle, had taken place here.

[27:18] Not only, we got to also consider, that these aloes, and these spices, they would put in there, this is, this was the third day, this would have dried out, somewhat, those bandages, and the cloth, that they had used, to wrap Jesus Christ in.

[27:34] Someone would have, had to have tore that, to either get out, or get the body out of it. But that had not happened. Christ had simply risen. That's the amazing thing here.

[27:48] Not that the napkin, was folded a certain way, or rolled up a certain way. The amazing thing is, is that there was no disturbance. Mary had come to these disciples, and said, they have taken the body, of our Lord, and we don't know, where they've taken him to.

[28:05] Who? Who was they? Where could they have taken him to? Peter goes in the tomb, and sees these linen cloths, and sees the cloth, that was wrapped around Christ's head.

[28:17] But it was exactly, as it should have been, if a body had been laying there. The contour of his head, would have still been in, that napkin, that was wrapped about his head.

[28:30] The grave clothes, would have still had the contour, of his body in it. That's the amazing part. Christ had simply come out, of those clothes. When he called Lazarus, out of the grave, in John chapter 11, what did he command the people, that were around there to do?

[28:49] Loose him from his grave clothes. Get him out of those grave clothes. He was alive. But Lazarus couldn't do that himself. It took somebody from the outside, to do that.

[29:00] Christ did this himself. And folks, it was a collaborative effort, of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We know that he was raised, by the glory of God. Christ said, if I lay down my life, I will take it back up.

[29:14] And we know he was raised, by the power of the Spirit, of God. We know all of these things, because of the scriptural accounts, and what we have, in the closed canon, of scripture.

[29:24] It was an effort, by all three members, of the Godhead. And it was a true miracle, that had taken place here. And that's why we read, what we do next. Then went also, that other disciple, which came first, to the sepulcher.

[29:39] And he saw, and believed. He saw what? He saw exactly, what Peter saw. He saw, the grave clothes, laying there.

[29:53] Undisturbed. Like a body, had just, dissolved out of him. Or evaporated out of him. But he saw the same thing, Peter did. But it says, he saw and believed.

[30:04] And the Greek word here, for saw, remember we talked about, seeth, with Peter. Now that, that word is theori, and it means, to view something, and to scrutinize it. This word is, idem.

[30:15] In Greek. And it means, to perceive. The same way, when somebody, tells you something, or tells me something, and I say, I see. All they've done, is put information, in my ears.

[30:28] But I say, I see. That's what we're, talking about here. I perceive, what this person's, telling me. John went in, and he saw, idem. And he, believed. Because he, perceived, what happened.

[30:41] But folks, Peter, was still in the dark, about what had happened. And that, takes us, all the way back to, what we were talking about earlier, in verse, three. And Peter, or verse four, I'm sorry, so they ran both together.

[30:56] And the other disciple, did outrun Peter, and came first, to the sepulcher. This wasn't the only time, that John, outrun Peter. John outruns Peter, right here.

[31:10] John went into the tomb. And John saw, exactly what Peter, had seen, before John, ever entered in. Peter, had seen, everything that we've, talked about here.

[31:21] But John, understood. John, perceived it. He got it, in other words. But Peter, didn't. Peter, was still in the dark.

[31:32] Remember, when Mary Magdalene, come to the tomb, in the very first verse, that we read today, said, it was still dark, at that point of day folks, it was dark all around. But there was a dawn, about to happen, with the resurrection, of Jesus Christ.

[31:49] There was a dawn, that the world, had never seen before. That was going to happen, through all this. It was still dark, when Mary went. But the light had risen.

[32:01] The light just, he was going to show himself, to his disciples. He was going to show himself, to Mary. And Mary, Mary was the first one, Mary was the first one, to catch a glimpse, of the risen Savior.

[32:15] That same woman, that had demons in her, that Christ had cast out, that same woman, that showed her devotion, by being at the cross. The same woman, that went through town, this very morning, through the darkness, past the strangers, not caring about the Roman guards, not caring about the defilement, of touching a dead body, not caring about any of these things.

[32:37] She wanted to pay honor, to her Savior. This same Mary, gained the honor, of being the first, to see a risen Savior. Hallelujah. Dawn was coming.

[32:49] Praise God. For as yet, they do not the Scriptures, the Scripture, that He must rise again, from the dead. So we have verse 8, again.

[33:01] Then went also, that other disciple, John, which came first, to the sepulcher, and he saw, and believed. And then we have this verse.

[33:12] It almost sounds, as if it's throwing a wrench, in everything that we just, talked about, to do with John, how John perceived, he understood, he believed, he believed the words, that Christ spoke, that He would raise again, the third day.

[33:25] He believed, the Old Testament prophecies, he believed, the Old Testament shadows, of all this. Folks, there's many shadows, of the resurrection of Christ, that you read about, in the Old Testament.

[33:36] And they begin, in Genesis 3.15, where there's promised, a seed of the woman, that's going to, bruise the head, of the serpent. It says that the serpent, will bruise his heel, but he'll bruise the head, of the serpent.

[33:48] Folks, if he's bruising the head, or if the serpent, is bruising the heel, of this promised Messiah, of the seed of the woman, what's got to happen, before he can take, that same heel, and bruise the head, of the serpent.

[34:02] There's got to be, some healing takes place. I mean, I'm talking about, in the physical aspect here, how you and I, can understand that. There's got to be, some healing, before that happens.

[34:14] That's exactly, what was going on here, in this tomb. Christ, glorious work, His most glorious work, had happened, in this tomb.

[34:25] He had raised, from the dead, just as he said, I mean, we read in the synoptic gospels, where the angels, invite the people, they invite the women, they invite them, to come and see the place, where the Lord lay.

[34:38] Where did the Lord lay? Exactly where those, grave clothes were, that we were just reading about. They said, come see the place, where the Lord lay. They asked the question, why do you seek the living, among the dead?

[34:49] Folks, this was Christ's, most glorious work. Not the healing of the, not the opening of blind eyes, not the healing of lepers, not the opening of deaf ears, not the healing of lame hands, or anything like that.

[35:01] Those things were wonderful, and they were great, and they were mighty works, but His most glorious work, was coming back, from the dead. And praise God, He is alive, forevermore.

[35:13] For as yet they, knew not the scripture, that He must rise, from the dead. Why did John believe? We read, in Paul's writings, to the Corinthian church, that we're to walk by faith, and not by sight.

[35:30] John walked in this tomb, and saw, saw what had happened. Now, we could say, well, you know, that letter hadn't been written, to the Corinthians yet.

[35:42] Paul was still a Pharisee, at this point. He wasn't, he wasn't, writing half of the New Testament, at this point. And that'd be true. That would be true. But John walked in, and he saw, and he believed.

[35:57] Well, that puts John, being the first one, to believe, in the resurrection, of Jesus Christ. Although Mary Magdalene, was the first one, to see, the risen Savior. This statement, puts John, being the first to believe, in the risen Christ.

[36:12] But folks, he still didn't comprehend. He may have believed, that Christ raised, from the dead. And he did. I believe, the cross, or I believe, that John believed that, and I believe, the cross did that.

[36:24] The cross did, raised from the dead. He may have believed it. But did he understand, the implications of it? Did he understand, what that, what exactly, that meant? I say nay to that.

[36:35] I don't think, John quite, John quite grasped that. But he did believe, in the risen Savior. For as yet, they knew, not the scripture. They, him or Peter, neither one of them, knew the scripture.

[36:46] They didn't, quite get, everything that was, that was going on here. Although, John had a belief, that Christ, had raised from the dead. That he must rise again, from the dead. Verse 10, then the disciples, went away again, unto their own home.

[37:00] And that's, where, this kind of ends, for today. They went away, again, to their own home. It's like, John walks in, he sees the linen clothes, he sees the napkin, the same things, that Peter, Peter had seen.

[37:15] He sees that there was, no disturbance of them. Nobody had cut, these bandages. Nobody had ripped them off, of Jesus Christ. They were, exactly, as they would have been, had Christ, been laying there, in them.

[37:27] He saw, these things, just as Peter, saw all these things. But what do they do? Folks, Christ still hadn't revealed himself. They, would have, I would imagine, stood there in amazement, for just a little while.

[37:41] Peter probably scratching his head, because like I said, he was still in the dark, about the whole thing. According to this account. But John, would have believed, but yet, they went back, and they went to their own houses.

[37:54] Almost, as, as in dismissing it. But that's not what happened. That's not what happened at all. And, we'll get to, everything that did happen, next time we stand.

[38:05] I won't be here next Sunday, because I'm going to be preaching, at a church in Abingdon. But, the Sunday after that, we'll pick back up, in verse 11. But we'll, end right there, this morning. Anybody got any questions, or comments, on any of that?

[38:20] Alright, God bless y'all. I appreciate you. You know what I was doing.