Who Is It You Are Looking For?
I.
Introduction
a.
Our goal
this year is to see you get more rooted in Christ as we grow together
b.
One way
we are doing this rooting is through sermons about questions found in the
Bible.
c.
Last
week we left Jesus in a tomb. He had
been sentenced, beaten, whipped, and crucified…for us, for our sins, so we
could have forgiveness. Then he was
wrapped and put in a tomb, a stone rolled in front of, guards placed around it
to make sure no one stole the body…but like we said last week, That was
Friday…and Sunday was a comin’.
II.
Body
a.
Read
John 19:1-18 – “Early on the first day of the week,
while it was still dark Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone
had been removed from the entrance. So
she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved,
and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where
they have put him!” So Peter and the
other disciple started for the tomb.
Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the
tomb first. He bent over and looked in
at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived
and went into the tomb. He saw the
strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around
Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by
itself, separate from the linen. Finally
the other disciple who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture
that Jesus had to rise form the dead.)
Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the
tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over
to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had
been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, “Woman, why are you
crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,”
she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus
standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. “Woman,” he said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir,
if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get
him.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in
Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).
Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the
Father. Go instead to my brothers and
tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your
God.’” Mary Magdalene went to the
disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these
things to her.”
b.
Review
a.
Jesus
lies in the sealed tomb Friday night, all day Saturday, and then something
happens very early on the third day (Sunday).
The book of Matthew tells us that there was an earthquake caused by an
angel who rolled back the stone, causing the guards to become like dead
men. Jesus comes back to life, takes the
burial cloths off, folding it and placing it were he was placed.
b.
This
isn’t something that normally happens…yet it did. Mary Magdelene (a follower of Jesus) goes to
the tomb to finish the burial process but finds the stone rolled away and the
body gone. She reports it to the
disciples, Peter and John, who run to see what has happened and see he is no
longer there and come to believe the story that he has come back to life.
c.
Mary is
confused and waits there crying, still wondering where the body went, but then
someone appears (she assumes it is the gardener/groundskeeper)…he asks her the
question of the night.
c.
The
question: Who is it that you are looking for?
a.
She was
seeking the dead body of Jesus
b.
But WHAT
SHE SOUGHT WASN’T AS IMPORTANT AS WHAT SHE GOT
c.
She may
have been seeking a dead body but what she got was the risen Lord
Jesus…something much more important and far superior to what she had been
seeking.
d.
Others
had been looking for Jesus to be a lot of things: A king to throw off the Roman
empire, a physical healer, a provider of food, a good speaker, a miracle
worker, and in this case a dead body…
e.
But WHAT
THEY SOUGHT WASN’T AS IMPORTANT AS WHAT THEY GOT…a Savior
d.
The
importance of the resurrection
a.
Showed
his power over death…for him and for us
b.
Showed
he was everything he claimed to be…God, Savior, Powerful, Able to Forgive Sins,
etc…
c.
Showed
we have hope, no matter how dark things may look
d.
Showed
that even when it seems like nothing is happening, God is still at work
III.
Conclusion
a.
If
someone were to ask you the question: Who or what is it that you are looking
for? We might find a lot of different
answers, from the silly (a dollar, an easter egg, something to eat, etc…) to
the series (love, forgiveness, hope, etc…).
b.
But
remember WHAT WE SEEK ISN’T AS IMPORTANT AS WHAT WE GET
c.
We might
be seeking a lot of things, but we got a Savior who could bring us forgiveness
and hope, a God who can do all things.
And he wants a relationship with you!
d.
So stop running
after a million things, stop running from relationship to relationship, stop
seeking out high after high, stop turning to sports and popularity, stop
seeking things to relieve your boredom, stop seeking, because Jesus is standing
there ready to give you so much more than any of those things ever could.
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