Sermon Guide: John 19:41-20:18 "He Must Rise"

Date Preached: April 20, 2025

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Key Passages

John 19:41–20:18, ESV

Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there. 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.” 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. 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.” 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?” 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). 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.

Sermon Overview

The first day of creation, God spoke light into the darkness. John 20 brings us to the first day of New Creation, when the Light of the World was brought forth from the darkness of death. And just as the first creation story culminates in Adam meeting his bride, so this New Creation story shows us Jesus and his Bride — the Church.

The resurrection of Jesus is our betrothal to the heavenly Bridegroom. And it marks the re-opening of the gates of Eden for the Second Adam and his Bride.

Sermon Structure

Why must Jesus rise from the dead? (John 20:9)

1. For his Betrothal

• From the Man’s side

2. For his Vindication

• The basis of exile & access

3. Conclusion

• A more certain hope

• Knowing how Jesus feels about you

Questions for Discussion & Reflection

1. What similarities (or differences) do you see between the garden in Genesis 2 and the garden in John 20?

2. Read Ephesians 5:22–33 out loud. What does it teach us about being the Bride of Christ?

3. Why is it important that Jesus was vindicated by his resurrection? What does that mean for us?

Definitions & Resources

Resurrection

When we talk about Jesus’ resurrection, and the future resurrection of believers, we mean more than resuscitation. Resurrection is not the restoration of temporal, mortal life; it is the gracious granting of a new kind of eternal life, with a new kind of body fitting for the resurrection (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:35ff).

Eternal Life

More than just an elongation or prolonging of our present life; eternal life is an abundance of life — unbound by mortality, unhindered by time. It is sharing in the very vitality of the Living God himself.

Bride of Christ

A New Testament metaphor (stemming from an Old Testament metaphor) for the church’s relationship with Jesus. God didn’t use the gospel to point to marriage, rather he invented marriage to point to the gospel. In the metaphor of Christ and his Bride, we see what a true husband ought to be: one who sacrificially loves and gently leads his beloved. (Read more in Ephesians 5:22ff)

Vindication

The act of proving someone’s blamelessness. The resurrection of Jesus was his public vindication — God the Father announcing to the world that his blameless and righteous Son was free from all sin, stronger than death, and fit to rule the universe.