OPENING SONG
OPENING PRAYER
FIRST MESSAGE
- Easter Sunday—The Joy of His Salvation
- Voiceover by: Mike Rasmussen – Surrey Hills, Oklahoma, US
From the transcript …
The darkness of the tomb has been shattered. The silence of death has been broken by the triumphant cry, “He is risen!” On this glorious Easter morning, we gather to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has defeated death and ushered in the promise of new life. The empty tomb is more than a miracle — it is the fulfillment of God’s promise to renew all things, to bring about a new heaven and a new earth where weeping and sorrow will be no more, and joy and gladness will reign forever.
This is the joy of salvation — a joy that flows from the heart of our faithful and loving God. Through Jesus, we have been given not just hope for today, but the promise of a future where every tear will be wiped away, and every cry of distress will be silenced. Easter reminds us that God is making all things new.
The resurrection of Jesus is the turning point of history. It is the moment when death is conquered, and life begins anew. It is the first glimpse of the new heavens and the new earth that Isaiah prophesied — a world where pain and sorrow are replaced by joy and celebration. This is not just a future promise but a present reality. In the risen Christ, we see the firstfruits of God’s kingdom breaking into our world.
Through the resurrection, Jesus gives us the joy of salvation. It is a joy that cannot be taken away, even in the face of hardship or loss. It is the joy of knowing that death is not the end, that sin has been defeated, and that God’s love has triumphed. This joy is not a fleeting emotion but a deep and abiding confidence in the faithfulness of God, who fulfills all His promises.
Isaiah 65 paints a picture of what this new creation will look like — a place of gladness, where God’s people will rejoice forever. A place where life flourishes, relationships are restored, and peace reigns. The resurrection of Jesus is the beginning of this new creation. It is the assurance that the brokenness of our world will one day be healed and that God’s kingdom will come in its fullness.
On this Easter Sunday, we celebrate the victory of our faithful and loving God, who has given us the joy of salvation through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Let us live as resurrection people, filled with hope, proclaiming the good news that God is making all things new. And let us hold fast to the promise that one day, there will be no more tears, no more pain, and no more death — only joy and gladness in the presence of our God.
For I am about to create new heavens
and a new earth;
the former things shall not be remembered
or come to mind.
But be glad and rejoice forever
in what I am creating;
for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy,
and its people as a delight.
I will rejoice in Jerusalem,
and delight in my people;
no more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it,
or the cry of distress.
No more shall there be in it
an infant that lives but a few days,
or an old person who does not live out a lifetime;
for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth,
and one who falls short of a hundred will be considered accursed.
They shall build houses and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
They shall not build and another inhabit;
they shall not plant and another eat;
for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,
and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
They shall not labor in vain,
or bear children for calamity;
for they shall be offspring blessed by the Lord—
and their descendants as well.
Before they call I will answer,
while they are yet speaking I will hear.
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together,
the lion shall eat straw like the ox;
but the serpent—its food shall be dust!
They shall not hurt or destroy
on all my holy mountain,
says the Lord.
Isaiah 65:17–25
Rejoice, for Christ is risen! Through Him, our faithful and loving God gives us the joy of His salvation. Alleluia!
FIRST READING
John 20:1-18
Now 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. 2 Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”
3 Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. 4 So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. 5 And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the [a]handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. 9 For as yet they did not [b]know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went away again to their own homes.
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 [c]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 [d]disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.
SPECIAL MUSIC
SERMON (Interactive discussion)
John 20:1-18
Now 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.
2 Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”
3 Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. 4 So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. 5 And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in.
6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the [a]handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself.
8 Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. 9 For as yet they did not [understand]know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.
10 Then the disciples went away again to their own homes.
BEWILDERED LOVE
Jn. 20:1-10
No one ever loved Jesus so much as Mary Magdalene. He had done something for her that no one else could ever do, and she could never forget. Tradition has always had it that Mary was a scarlet sinner, whom Jesus reclaimed and forgave and purified. Henry Kingsley has a lovely poem about her.
“Magdalen at Michael’s gate Tirled at the pin; On Joseph’s thorn sang the blackbird, `Let her in! Let her in!’
`Hast thou seen the wounds?’ said Michael, `Knowest thou thy sin?’ `It is evening, evening,’ sang the blackbird, `Let her in! Let her in!’
`Yes, I have seen the wounds, And I know my sin.’ `She knows it well, well, well,’ sang the blackbird. `Let her in! Let her in!’
`Thou bringest no offerings,’ said Michael, `Nought save sin.’ And the blackbird sang, `She is sorry, sorry, sorry.’ `Let her in! Let her in!’
When he had sung himself to sleep, And night did begin, One came and opened Michael’s gate, And Magdalen went in.”
Mary had sinned much and she loved much; and love was all she had to bring.
It was the custom in Palestine to visit the tomb of a loved one for three days after the body had been laid to rest. It was believed that for three days the spirit of the dead person hovered round the tomb; but then it departed because the body had become unrecognizable through decay. Jesus’ friends could not come to the tomb on the Sabbath, because to make the journey then would have been to break the law. Sabbath is, of course, our Saturday, so it was on Sunday morning that Mary came to the tomb. She came very early. The word used for early is proi (GSN4404) which was the technical word for the last of the four watches into which the night was divided, that which ran from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. It was still grey dark when Mary came, because she could no longer stay away.
When she arrived at the tomb she was amazed and shocked. Tombs in ancient times were not commonly closed by doors. In front of the opening was a groove in the ground; and in the groove ran a stone, circular like a cartwheel; and the stone was wheeled into position to close the opening. Further Matthew tells us that the authorities had actually sealed the stone to make sure that no one would move it (Matt.27:66). Mary was astonished to find it removed. Two things may have entered her mind. She may have thought that the Jews had taken away Jesus’ body; that, not satisfied with killing him on a cross, they were inflicting further indignities on him. But there were ghoulish creatures who made it their business to rob tombs; and Mary may have thought that this had happened here.
It was a situation Mary felt that she could not face herself; so she returned to the city to seek out Peter and John. Mary is the supreme instance of one who went on loving and believing even when she could not understand; and that is the love and the belief which in the end finds glory.
THE GREAT DISCOVERY
One of the illuminating things in this story is that Peter was still the acknowledged leader of the apostolic band. It was to him that Mary went. In spite of his denial of Jesus–and a story like that would not be long in being broadcast–Peter was still the leader. We often talk of Peter’s weakness and instability, but there must have been something outstanding about a man who could face his fellow-men after that disastrous crash into cowardice; there must have been something about a man whom others were prepared to accept as leader even after that. His moment’s weakness must never blind us to the moral strength and stature of Peter, and to the fact that he was a born leader.
So, then, it was to Peter and John that Mary went; and they immediately set out for the tomb. They went at a run; and John, who must have been a younger man than Peter since he lived on until the end of the century, outstripped Peter in this breathless race. When they came to the tomb, John looked in but went no farther. Peter with typical impulsiveness not only looked in, but went in. For the moment Peter was only amazed at the empty tomb; but things began to happen in John’s mind. If someone had removed Jesus’ body, if tomb-robbers had been at work, why should they leave the grave-clothes?
Then something else struck him–the grave-clothes were not dishevelled and disarranged. They were lying there still in their folds–that is what the Greek means–the clothes for the body where the body had been; the napkin where the head had lain. The whole point of the description is that the grave-clothes did not look as if they had been put off or taken off; they were lying there in their regular folds as if the body of Jesus had simply evaporated out of them. The sight suddenly penetrated to John’s mind; he realized what had happened–and he believed. It was not what he had read in scripture which convinced him that Jesus had risen; it was what he saw with his own eyes.
The part that love plays in this story is extraordinary. It was Mary, who loved Jesus so much, who was first at the tomb. It was John, the disciple whom Jesus loved and who loved Jesus, who was first to believe in the Resurrection. That must always be John’s great glory. He was the first man to understand and to believe. Love gave him eyes to read the signs and a mind to understand.
Here we have the great law of life. In any kind of work it is true that we cannot really interpret the thought of another person, unless between us and him there is a bond of sympathy. It is at once clear, for instance, when the conductor of an orchestra is in sympathy with the music of the composer whose work he is conducting. Love is the great interpreter. Love can grasp the truth when intellect is left groping and uncertain. Love can realize the meaning of a thing when research is blind. Once a young artist brought a picture of Jesus to Dore for his verdict. Dore was slow to give it; but at last he did so in one sentence. “You don’t love him, or you would paint him better.” We can neither understand Jesus nor help others to understand him, unless we take our hearts to him as well as our minds.
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 [c]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 [d]disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.
THE GREAT RECOGNITION
Someone has called this story the greatest recognition scene in all literature. To Mary belongs the glory of being the first person to see the Risen Christ. The whole story is scattered with indications of her love. She had come back to the tomb; she had taken her message to Peter and John, and then must have been left behind in their race to the tomb so that by the time she got there, they were gone. So she stood there weeping. There is no need to seek for elaborate reasons why Mary did not know Jesus. The simple and the poignant fact is that she could not see him through her tears.
Her whole conversation with the person she thought to be the gardener shows her love. “If you are the man who has removed him, tell me where you have laid him.” She never mentioned the name of Jesus; she thought everyone must know of whom she was thinking; her mind was so full of him that there was not anyone else for her in all the world. “I will take him away.” How was her woman’s strength to do that? Where was she going to take him? She had not even thought of these problems. Her one desire was to weep her love over Jesus’ dead body. As soon as she had answered the person she took to be the gardener, she must have turned again to the tomb and so turned her back on Jesus. Then came his single word, “Mary!” and her single answer, “Master!” (Rabbouni (GSN4462) is simply an Aramaic form of Rabbi (GSN4461); there is no difference between the words).
So we see there were two very simple and yet very profound reasons why Mary did not recognize Jesus.
(i) She could not recognize him because of her tears. They blinded her eyes so that she could not see. When we lose a dear one, there is always sorrow in our hearts and tears shed or unshed in our eyes. But one thing we must always remember–at such a time our sorrow is in essence selfish. It is of our loneliness, our loss, our desolation, that we are thinking. We cannot be weeping for one who has gone to be the guest of God; it is for ourselves we weep. That is natural and inevitable. At the same time, we must never allow our tears to blind us to the glory of heaven. Tears there must be, but through the tears we should glimpse the glory.
(ii) She could not recognize Jesus because she insisted on facing in the wrong direction. She could not take her eyes off the tomb and so had her back to him. Again it is often so with us. At such a time our eyes are upon the cold earth of the grave; but we must wrench our eyes away from that. That is not where our loved ones are; their worn-out bodies may be there; but the real person is in the heavenly places in the fellowship of Jesus face to face, and in the glory of God.
When sorrow comes, we must never let tears blind our eyes to glory; and we must never fasten our eyes upon the grave and forget the heavens. Alan Walker in Everybody’s Calvary tells of officiating at a funeral for people to whom the service “Was only a form, and who had neither Christian faith nor Christian connection. “When the service was over a young woman looked into the grave, and said brokenly: `Goodbye, father.’ It is the end for those who have no Christian hope.” But for us at such a time, it is literally “Adieu!” “To God!” and it is literally “Until we meet again.”
SHARING THE GOOD NEWS
There is one very real difficulty in this passage. When the recognition scene is complete, at first sight, at all events, Jesus said to Mary: “Touch me not, for I have not yet ascended to the Father.” Just a few verses later we find him inviting Thomas to touch him (Jn. 20:27). In Luke we read of him inviting the terrified disciples: “See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones, as you see that I have” (Lk.24:39). In Matthew’s story we read that “they came up and took hold of his feet and worshipped him” (Matt.28:9). Even the form of John’s statement is difficult. He makes Jesus say: “Do not hold me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father,” as if to say that he could be touched after he had ascended. No explanation of this is fully satisfying.
(i) The whole matter has been given a spiritual significance. It has been argued that the only real contact with Jesus does in fact come after his Ascension; that it is not the physical touch of hand to hand that is important, but the contact which comes through faith with the Risen and Ever-living Lord. That is certainly true and precious but it does not seem to be the meaning of the passage here.
(ii) It is suggested that the Greek is really a mistranslation of an Aramaic original. Jesus of course would speak in Aramaic, and not in Greek; and what John gives us is a translation into Greek of what Jesus said. It is suggested that what Jesus really said was: “Hold me not; but before I ascend to my Father go to my brethren and say to them…” It would be as if Jesus said: “Do not spend so long in worshipping me in the joy of your new discovery. Go and tell the good news to the rest of the disciples.” It may well be that here we have the explanation. The Greek imperative is a present imperative, and strictly speaking ought to mean: “Stop touching me.” It may be that Jesus was saying to Mary: “don’t go on clutching me selfishly to yourself. In a short time I am going back to my Father. I want to meet my disciples as often as possible before then. Go and tell them the good news that none of the time that we and they should have together may be wasted.” That would make excellent sense, and that in fact is what Mary did.
(iii) There is one further possibility. In the other three gospels, the fear of those who suddenly recognized Jesus is always stressed. In Matt.28:10 Jesus’ words are: “Do not be afraid.” In Mark 16:8, the story finishes: “For they were afraid.” In Lk.24:5 it is said that they were “frightened.” In John’s story as it stands there is no mention of this awe-stricken fear. Now, sometimes the eyes of the scribes who copied the manuscripts made mistakes, for the manuscripts were not easy to read. Some scholars think that what John originally wrote was not ME (GSN3361) HAPTOU (GSN0680), Do not touch me, but, ME (GSN3361) PTOOU (GSN4422), Do not be afraid. (The verb PTOEIN (GSN4422) means to flutter with fear.) In that case Jesus was saying to Mary: “Don’t be afraid; I haven’t gone to my Father yet; I am still here with you.”
No explanation of this saying of Jesus is altogether satisfying, but perhaps the second is the best of the three which we have considered.
Whatever happened, Jesus sent Mary back to the disciples with the message that what he had so often told them was now about to happen–he was on his way to his father; and Mary came with the news, “I have seen the Lord.”
In that message of Mary there is the very essence of Christianity, for a Christian is essentially one who can say: “I have seen the Lord.” Christianity docs not mean knowing about Jesus; it means knowing him. It does not mean arguing about him; it means meeting him. It means the certainty of experience that Jesus is alive.
From our Home Office …
At Sunrise All is New
John 20:1–18 ESV
Jesus Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!
On this Resurrection Sunday, after the long, dark journey to the cross and to the tomb, we celebrate the good news that the tomb is empty, and Jesus is risen. He is risen indeed! What could be more exciting and wonderful than this? Let’s read our passage for today:
Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” John 20:1–2 ESV
There is a time real early in the morning when everything is dark, even though the sun is beginning to brighten the sky. The birds haven’t quite woken up yet, so all you hear are the katydids and crickets. There are still dark shadows, and it is hard to distinguish the details and colors in what you see.
When Mary Magdalene left the tomb on Friday, it was shut up. On Saturday, it was sealed by the authorities. But now, when Mary Magdalene arrives, the tomb is empty. Maybe she cannot see clearly and does not understand what is going on. She goes to the other disciples and to tell them what she has seen. As far as she is concerned, someone has stolen the body from the tomb. Going on:
So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes. John 20:3–10 ESV
By the time these disciples reach the tomb, we can assume it’s daylight, and they are able to see inside. Peter, though the loser of the foot race, is the first to actually enter the tomb. The other disciple appears more reticent, taking his time to enter. But when he sees how the burial clothes lay there, he believes. He and Peter still do not fully grasp the significance of the empty tomb, but they do start to see things more clearly. Continuing the story:
But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” John 20:11–13 ESV
Notice that Mary weeps as she stands outside the tomb. Her vision of what has happened is not clear. But then she sees two angels in white, sitting where Jesus had lain, and they ask her why she weeps. Because she is not understanding, seeing clearly at that moment, she needs spiritual enlightenment. She needs her inner vision cleared up. She needs to see what’s really going on:
Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” John 20:14–15a ESV
Even though Mary sees Jesus in that moment, she does not recognize him. There are times in our lives when Jesus shows up and we don’t recognize him, because he doesn’t show up in the way we expect. What we need is to have our eyes opened, to have the Light of God enter into our hearts and minds so that we can truly see. We need the Sun of Righteousness (Malachi 4:2) to rise in our hearts by the Holy Spirit so that we recognize our Lord for who he really is. John continues:
Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” which means Teacher. John 20:15b–16 ESV
Jesus opens Mary’s eyes, mind, and heart in that moment to see him and to recognize him. Perhaps Jesus doesn’t reveal himself to her merely so she will stop crying and be excited that he’s alive again. He reveals the good news of his resurrection, and now Mary can bear witness and share it with others
Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord” — and that he had said these things to her. John 20:17–18 ESV
Jesus enlightens us and brings us to a realization that he is our risen Lord, who has ascended to his Father, and now bears our humanness in face–to–face fellowship with his Father in the Spirit. Notice his word of inclusion: “to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” Humanity is now included in Jesus’ own relationship with his Father in the Spirit! And Jesus wants everyone to know it! The sun has risen, a new day is dawning, and it’s time for everyone to awaken to the kingdom life which is theirs in and through Jesus Christ our risen Lord!
Mary excitedly returns to the disciples to announce to them that she has seen the Lord and to give them the message Jesus entrusted her with by bearing witness to her. It is significant that Jesus revealed himself to her. Why hadn’t he revealed himself to Peter and the other disciple who had run to the tomb? What was his purpose in giving Mary Magdalene the witness to deliver to the disciples?
In the culture of that day, the witness of a woman meant nothing, and she was not given the respect she deserved to receive when she testified to something. But in the kingdom Jesus inaugurated, a woman’s role was one of dignity and respect. If the Lord sent a woman with a message, it was to be listened to. This was the dawning of a new age, a new world where God’s kingdom way of doing things is brought to bear upon old cultural and religious practices. Now things are seen in the light of our Lord Jesus Christ. How does his life, death, resurrection, and ascension impact our world? What does this new day look like that Jesus established in his own person, where all things are made new?
As we gather this Resurrection Sunday to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, we remember that the sun is rising on a new day. We live in the already–not–yet of God’s heavenly kingdom and have the task of telling everyone the good news of all Jesus has done, is doing, and will do as our risen Lord and Savior. In this time–between–times, God’s light is shining in Jesus, and the Spirit is actively working in this world to awaken all to faith in Christ. And we are called to participate in God’s mission and ministry in this world. How might Jesus want you to participate in sharing his good news with others?
As we move through this Easter season and beyond, we will encounter places where death seeks to reign or where darkness seems to have set down deep roots. Ask the Lord to awaken you to the morning sunrise in those places. Ask him to enable you to see the light of his gracious presence and power at work in those places by his Holy Spirit. And ask him to show you opportunities to share his good news with those who need to hear it. And as you see them, pray for boldness and courage to tell how the risen Christ is making all things new. And do it. Jesus Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!
CLOSING SONG
CLOSING PRAYER