Easter Sunday ~ Sunday, April 20, 2025

"The Resurrection of Jesus: Love Has the Last Word"

John 20:1-18

We tend to think of Easter as a bright, joyful day–and rightly so. The lilies, the music, the alleluias. However, John reminds us that the very first Easter began not in light, but in .

The day of resurrection begins in the dark, not in light. Not with celebration, but with . Not with understanding, but with .

Darkness in Scripture often symbolizes =

Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb of Jesus not to celebrate, but to . She doesn't expect a Lord–she expects a sealed tomb.

John's resurrection account draws us into the between light and dark, sadness and joy, death and life. It gives us the story through the lens of , and shows us what it's like when God does something .

This is Easter morning, not with fanfare, but with a that changes everything! This is good news for those of us who find ourselves living in the

this Easter.

John's gospel shows us that the resurrection didn't wait for the sun to rise–Jesus was already alive and present in the .

#1. The empty tomb: .

"Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed 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)

The story of Easter doesn't start with sunlight and singing, but with with and sorrow. Mary Magdalene came to the tomb expecting .

Despite the fact that Jesus had told His disciples that He'd rise again on the third day, they didn't expect this because they didn't .

Even in the presence of the miracle, understanding doesn't come right away. There's belief, but still .

Isn't that exactly how resurrection often feels? It doesn't always come with clarity and it often begins with . The tomb is empty, but their hearts are still full of . The resurrection their expectations. It surprises them. It upends everything they thought they knew about death, loss, and hope.

Over and over again in the Old Testament and the New, we see God doing the :

God is always able to do more than we can ask or imagine! We expect endings, and He gives us new . We bring our grief, and He meets us with . We assume silence, and He speaks our names.

Sometimes resurrection surprises us before it us.

That's how Easter often comes: , in the middle of what feels like darkness and despair.

Sometimes it looks like an open space where we expected closure. Sometimes it feels like confusion before it becomes . But here's the grace: Resurrection doesn't wait for us to understand. It simply shows up and surprises us into .

God surprises us with before we're ready for it.

"Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?" (Isaiah 43:19)

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him." (1 Corinthians 2:9)

Resurrection doesn't always itself, but it always invites us to in.

Love has done something we could never have imagined.

What is something that you haven't dared to imagine?

# 2. The Risen Lord: .

"Then the disciples returned to their homes. But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet...Jesus said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?' 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 Hebrew, 'Rabbouni!' (which means Teacher)." (John 20:10-16)

In that one word, the world is turned up again. And in that moment, the fall from here eyes and she knows. The voice she's heard before. The voice that cast out her demons and restored her. The voice that welcomed her among the disciples. The voice that she thought she'd never hear again–now speaks her name. And she knows. She sees. She . This is no longer just a resurrection event. This is a resurrection .

Notice He comes to her not with fireworks, fanfare, or commands, but with , personal love. He speaks her .

This is because the resurrection isn't just a event or universal victory–though it is those things–it's also deeply . Jesus doesn't just rise in glory. He comes to His beloved.

Having said that, this isn't just a sweet moment, it's a one.

"The sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out." (John 10:3)

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine." (Isaiah 43:1)

He doesn't announce His victory with . He whispers Mary's name because resurrection isn't just about defeating death–it's about relationship.

This is the power of being , and Jesus gives Mary more than just evidence of His resurrection–He gives her . She doesn't need theological proof or philosophical argument, she needs to know He still her. And in that moment, the grief lifts, the fog clears, and the returns.

The risen Jesus knows your name. He knows your . He knows what you've lost. And He knows how to .

"Can a mother forget her nursing child?...I will not forget you. See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hand." (Isaiah 49:15-16)

In the resurrection, Jesus doesn't just defeat death, he restores . Jesus speaks into Mary's grief. He brings light into her darkness. And He calls her personally and lovingly back to .
The risen Jesus speaks into the places where we're most in need of resurrection.

What might those areas be for you?

#3. The Commission: .

"Jesus said to her, 'Do not hold on to me, because 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 she told them that he had said these things to her." (John 20:17–18)

Jesus tells Mary not to to Him, not because He's rejecting her, or doesn't care, but because there's to come. The story isn't over yet, but is moving forward.

Jesus tells her to go and the disciples. Mary becomes the first witness to the risen Jesus and the first of the resurrection.

Jesus entrusts the greatest the world has ever known, not to a prophet, priest, or king, not to someone defined by power or prestige, but to someone whose only qualification was .

God loves to use the weak to the strong, as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:27. In fact, He can use anyone to His purposes.

That's what Mary's message was–not a sermon or a doctrinal statement, but a simple, yet profound : "I have seen Him."

Mary's experience at the garden tomb that first Easter morning shows us that the risen Jesus doesn't just bring –He gives a .

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations... (Matthew 28:19)

"As the father has sent me, so I am sending you." (John 20:21)

Resurrection isn't the end of the story, for Jesus or for us–it's the launch of a worldwide . Jesus doesn't just call us to in the resurrection. He calls us to become to it.

In an instant, as the sun was rising that first Easter morning, Mary goes from mourner to ; from grief to gospel; from silence to . She becomes the of the apostles. Her voice breaks the silence. And through her, the risen Jesus is made known.

Love has the final word! Who do you need to tell?

Who do you need to share the good news with this Easter Sunday?