In verse 1 we see that on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb while it was still dark and …when Mary got there she saw that the stone in front of Jesus’ tomb had been rolled away. While John’s gospel only says Mary Magdalene, Mark’s gospel tells us that Mary the mother of James, and Salome were with her and that the women came to anoint Jesus’ body with spices. As you will recall, Jesus’ body had been taken down from the cross and hurriedly been placed in the tomb before the Sabbath. When Mary Magdalene saw that the stone had been moved from the entrance of the tomb and that Jesus’ body was not in the tomb, she ran and told Peter and John.

When Mary told Peter and John they ran to the tomb. In verse 10 we see that after they saw that the tomb was empty they left and went to their homes.

But verse 11 tells us that Mary Magdalene stayed and stood outside the tomb weeping. Then when Mary bent down to look in the tomb she saw two angels. The angels asked Mary, "Woman, why are you crying?" Mary replied, "Because they have taken away my Lord and I do not know where they have laid him." It was at this point that something caused Mary to turn around and when she did she saw Jesus standing there, although at this point Mary did not know it was Jesus.

Jesus asked Mary, "Woman, why are you crying? Who is it that you are looking for?"

Mary, supposing Him to be the gardener said, "Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have put Him and I will get Him."

Now this was real faith on Mary’s part. I do not know how big Mary was but it takes a lot of strength for one person to carry a dead body. Think about the phrase, "dead weight".

It is interesting that when Jesus called Mary by her name Mary immediately recognized Jesus. Jesus had already spoken 11 words to Mary but she failed to recognize who Jesus was. It was only when Jesus called Mary by name that she recognized Jesus. In John 10:27, Jesus said, "My sheep know my voice."

Mary cried out, "Rabboni!" This was a title of honor and respect. This word "Rabboni!" is a possessive variant of "Rabbi" which means, "my teacher".

In verse 17 when Jesus told Mary not to hold onto Him, Jesus was not simply preventing Mary from touching Him. Despite what the author of The De Vinci Code may want us to believe, this was not a passionate embrace or kiss. Mary did not want Jesus to leave her and Mary wanted to reinstate the former relationship she had previously enjoyed; A relationship with Jesus being her teacher and Mary being His disciple. However, the resurrection changed everything. After the resurrection Jesus took on a new role. Jesus is no longer just our teacher. Jesus is our risen Lord and our Savior.

After Mary’s encounter with her risen Lord Mary’s sorrow was turned into joy. Mary’s joy was too great to keep to herself and verse 18 tells us that Mary went to the disciples and said, "I have seen the Lord!"

Our text begins with Mary in the dark and ends with Mary in the light. Our text begins with Mary believing that Jesus is dead and it ends with Mary knowing Jesus is alive. Our text begins with Mary in sorrow and ends with Mary being full of joy.

The good news of Jesus is that Jesus can change your sorrowful heart into a joyful heart just like He did Mary Magdalene’s. If things are happening in your life that are making you sad, if something is happening that you cannot control, if something is going on that you do not understand, then our text suggests that we need to make the effort and go looking for Jesus. We need to seek The Lord. Because the scriptures assure us that when we seek The Lord we will find Him!!!

Verse 8 tells us that John believed but verse 9 tells us that the disciples did not understand. The only active response we see is that Peter and John went back home.

I believe the difference between Mary and Peter and John is that at this point Peter and John had not heard the voice of the risen Jesus. And that same thing is true for us. Our response to Almighty God will only be words and we will never experience the victorious life that Jesus promised until we hear the voice of our risen Lord Jesus speaking to us.

It wasn’t that Peter and John didn’t care but at this time they did not purse their search like Mary did. Peter and John went home wondering but Mary continued her search for Jesus. What about you friend are you going to go home today just wondering or are you going to be like Mary searching and never satisfied until you have an encounter with the living Jesus! Peter and John only saw the burial cloths but Mary saw two angels and Mary experienced an encounter with the risen Jesus.

You see being a disciple of Jesus is much more than an intellectual knowledge. Being a disciple of Jesus means have a living relationship with the risen Lord.

Notice again Jesus’ question to Mary because that is exactly the question for each of us today …. Who is it that you are looking for?"

Jesus is still in the calling business. Calling people to follow Him. Calling people to put their trust in Him. Calling people to serve Him. Jesus calls His people individually and personally by their names. John 10:3 tells us, "The sheep hear the shepherd’s voice and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out." We all need to constantly ask ourselves are we expectantly listening for our Master’s voice.

The resurrection of Jesus means there is hope for our troubled hearts. The resurrection of Jesus means that whatever we are enduring Jesus has already overcome it. We just need to listen for Jesus to call our name. We just need to experience an encounter with the living Jesus. We just need to believe that our resurrected Lord can and will make sense out of our life just like He did for Mary Magdalene.

When people encountered the risen Jesus on that first Easter, Jesus restored hope to hearts that that had been broken with despair, disappointment and doubt. And the good news is that Jesus can do the same for you and me.

Ask yourself why are you experiencing sorrow? Who is it that you are looking for?

I leave you with this question. Are you going to be satisfied with an intellectual knowledge of Jesus’ resurrection or Are you going to keep searching and not be satisfied until you have had an encounter with the living Jesus?

Jesus the risen Christ can and Jesus wants to make a tremendous difference in our lives. The question is not can Jesus make a difference in our lives. The question is, are we willing to invite Jesus into our lives and are we willing to make Jesus The Lord of our lives.

Jesus, The Risen Christ, can turn our sorry into joy. But, we must be willing to invest some of our time with Jesus. AMEN

Let us stand and state what we believe using The Statement of Belief printed in the bulletin!