Note: These are unofficial notes taken by an attendee at the teaching by Randy Sly. If you want a transcript of this teaching you are encouraged to order either an audio or video tape of the session

An Eye Witness
By Randy Sly

John was there when Jesus came back from the dead. He witnessed it all. John 1:14 (and the word became flesh and we have beheld His glory) tells us that he saw it, experienced it, touched Him, walked with Him, and ate with Him. So we have in John, an eyewitnesses.

I'd like us to spend some time this morning looking at John 20. We need to focus on John's approach. This is a full representation of who Jesus was and is. He focuses on Mary Magdalene and gives us the resurrection story in two acts.

Act I - The Run:

Jesus was crucified, pierced in his side with a spear, buried in a tomb, bound in linen and spices (about 100 lbs worth) made into a paste and put on the body as it was wrapped in the linen. Then a stone was put over the opening. The Jews asked the Romans to have a seal placed on the stone and guards set. Removing the seal would have been a capital offense.

Now when Mary went to the tomb she saw that the stone had been moved. Instead of going in she ran to tell Peter and John -- she was in a panic. She wanted to finish the burial process. When Peter and John heard, they ran to the tomb. It is interesting to note that John couldn't resist saying that he beat Peter in getting there.

When he got there, he saw the tomb was empty and the linen cloths were laying there. When Peter showed up he went in the tomb. Wasn't it just like Peter to go right on in?

Notice here that the word "saw" is used differently between what John and Peter "saw." When John look in the tomb he glanced(or "saw") that it was empty.

On the other hand, when Peter "saw" he took a careful look around and noticed that the head piece was folded in one place and that the rest of the burial clothes were by themselves (as if they had collapsed). It makes you think that Peter was maybe saying to himself "How did this happen? No body? Hmmm!" Then John went into the tomb and the scripture says that he saw and believed. I believe that Peter was trying to put it all together ["The linen wrappings are over there, the facecloth is over there, and there is nobody... Hmmm. What could all of this mean?"]

Psalm 16:10 is part of the Messianic prophecy and says: "For Thou wilt not abandon my soul to Sheol; Neither wilt Thou allow Thy Holy One to undergo decay." This is outlining that the Messiah would be resurrected.

John, on the other hand saw and believed [believed that Jesus rose from the dead] but neither of them understood the part that Jesus was playing in the Messiah-ship. So seeing the body was gone they didn't know what to do and they went home! End of Act I!

Act II - Mary Magdalene and the Touch

As Peter and John depart for home, Mary had arrived and she looks in the tomb. She was weeping and she saw two angels. And they spoke to her. Now isn't that just the way things happen? Peter and John leave and they miss all the fun! Verse 14 says that Mary talked to the Lord but did not recognize Him. There was a change that had happened in Him, a change that comes from resurrection power. He must have been dressed in normal clothes because she thought He was the gardener. It wasn't until He spoke her name that she recognized Him and called him the term reserved for the highest level of teacher, "Raboni."

It seems to me that she must have been giving Him a big hug because Jesus tells her to stop clinging to him. It is as if He was saying to her, I have not finished what I came to do so you cannot have me and hold on to me. Meanwhile Mary was coming from the point of view -- as if to say -- "Good, you are back, now lets go home and I will prepare you some dinner...!" Instead, Jesus gives her a command to go to the disciples and so she does so. By so doing, Peter gets the answer to his question about what happened. Then later in this chapter Jesus comes to the disciples in the upper room and they see Him for themselves. End of Act II

So, what John is saying to us in this chapter is that hope does not come to us from an empty tomb, but from the risen Christ. Many people go to church on Easter and go home not knowing what to do with what they have heard because they have not encountered the risen Christ.

There are many theories that have been floated in order to discount what happened that day. Some of these are:

... they buried the wrong person and then Jesus shows up at the tomb and claims to be resurrected
... the disciples stole the body
... Jesus fainted on the cross but didn't die and then He woke up in the tomb, moved the stone and escaped

Frankly, it takes more faith to believe these stories than to believe what really happened! What our world needs is a good dose of encountering the risen Christ. We believers are His body here today. It is through us that He touches others. People are transformed by their encounters with Jesus. When people see you, do they see Jesus looking back at them or someone else?

In John 15 Jesus says "I am the vine..." He is the true vine. How the world sees Jesus is now they see us. The only purpose of being a branch is to bear fruit. That is all we are for. If I see an apple on a tree, I know the tree is an apple tree. The branches bear the fruit but the power to bear fruit comes from the trunk and the roots.

The fruit that we are to bear is not other Christians... no, it is character. Galatans 5 lists these fruits.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, ..."

As we abide in Christ, He will develop this fruit in us and we will be given an opportunity to encounter the risen Christ.

So remember, people know Jesus because of us, be it a good representation or a bad one. Others judge Him based upon us. He is alive. He wants one thing... that His Kingdom would come on earth as it is in heaven. You think about that!