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Home , Gospel, John 20

Mary Encounters the Resurrection ()

Synopsis is considered a of , though obviously not one of “the 12.” Despite this, she is very close to Jesus. Yet upon seeing the , her first reaction is doubt. This eventually leads to an experience with the risen . Despite the low status of ​ women in this culture, Jesus appears to Mary first. Upon her encounter with Jesus, Mary immediately goes and tells the disciples the Good News or : “Christ is risen.” In doing so, she becomes the first evangelist.

Mary’s encounter probably resonates with many of you. At first, the resurrection simply seems unbelievable. When we see or hear about the empty tomb, our first reaction must be that there must be another explanation: surely someone has stolen the body! But when we encounter the risen Christ in our lives, the reality becomes all the more clear. The resurrection then changes not only our lives but the entire world. Our only response is to tell the world about the good news: Christ is risen. Death is defeated. The world is redeemed.

The passage is John 20:1-23, where Mary encounters the resurrected Jesus. ​ ​

The win this week is to focus on the resurrection and its implications for our lives and the ​ world—specifically how we grasp and communicate it to the world.

The Resurrection and the Life Read John 20:1-23

Commentary Mary’s encounter with Jesus is one of the most beautiful stories in Scripture. She arrives at the tomb to pay her respects, much like you might approach a tombstone of a loved one to lay flowers and say a few words. When she arrives, she finds the tomb empty. For readers of the , this shouldn’t be a surprise. Jesus has predicted his death and resurrection multiple times, including :18-22 and :17-18. Jesus told his followers what was coming next. Yet upon finding the empty tomb, Mary didn’t rejoice. She ran to the disciples and said, “They have taken the body.” She doubts. ​ ​

This is perhaps not unlike many of us. The first time we hear this whole Jesus story, it is difficult to believe. We think of all the possible solutions: the disciples hallucinated, the disciples lied about it, the Romans took the body, Jesus never really died, etc. We experience doubt like Mary and like the other disciples (John 20:10; John 20:25). If you want to bend your group conversation this way, you can talk about the theories of the

John Page 26 of 29 resurrection. A very good historical case can be made for the ​ here. It may even be helpful to watch that in your group. ​ ​

The best counter to doubt, however, is a true encounter with the resurrected Jesus. This is the entire point of the Gospel of John and the point we have been driving at in this study. The “encounters” we find in John are giving people a new way of life. A resurrected life, ​ ​ even. Mary’s encounter is no different. She experiences . At first she doesn’t even recognize him, even after briefly talking to her. So shall we sometimes not recognize God working in our lives. We can probably all think of a time where we experienced God without knowing it at the time, and looking back, we see it through an entirely new light. But in John 20:16, Jesus calls Mary by name. Her eyes are opened to the truth. She is the first person to encounter the resurrected Jesus.

I can’t imagine Mary knew the full implications of the resurrection at that moment. I doubt she knew the cosmic saving that was done, that evil and death have been defeated forever. That good has won. And that everything sad was going to come untrue. When she goes and speaks with the disciples, her response is not to give a systematic theology. She does not lay out the order of salvation, chronicling how each point in Jesus’ life is essential to be saved. What she says to the disciples is simple: “I have seen the Lord.”

If you’re a Christian, your primary goal is to be like Mary in this sense. You have seen the Lord, now go and tell people about it. You don’t have to be an expert. Even if you are, it’s very likely that you have much more to learn about the implications of the resurrection. We all do. But as for now, we can tell people of our own encounter with Jesus. Much like John, we ​ ​ can tell a story about an encounter with Jesus–our own encounter–in hopes that the gospel that has taken root in our lives will take root in the lives of others as well. A famous hymn called He Lives ends with the words: “You ask me how I know he lives, he lives within my ​ ​ heart!” We tell others our own encounter story in hopes they will see this for what it is—gospel or “good news.”

Men have this curious desire to live forever. As C. S. Lewis rightly notes, the desire for something does not mean that a particular man will get it, but it does mean that such a thing exists. We desire food and food exists, even if a man may die of starvation. We all desire to one day raise from the dead, but it can only happen in and through Jesus. He is the “resurrection and the life.” In , Jesus has another “encounter” with a man named Lazarus. Though being dead for a few days, Jesus comes and raises him from the dead. In that encounter, Jesus says this phrase that has changed the course of history: “ the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.” (John 11:25)

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Questions

It seems to be so obvious to us, the readers of John, that Jesus has risen in John 20. He has predicted this multiple times. Why do you think Mary and the disciples first reaction is that the body has been stolen?

It takes Mary a moment to recognize that she is talking to Jesus in John 20:14-16. Why do you think she doesn’t immediately recognize him even though she has seen and talked to him?

What do you think was going through the heads of the disciples when they find out about the stolen body? Read the first half of John 20:19: why do you think they are afraid?

Application Questions

Talk about your own encounter with the risen Jesus as a Christian. If you are not a Christian, talk about your doubts about the resurrection of Jesus.

Mary tells people about her encounter with Jesus. What’s your encounter with Jesus been like? Are you prepared to communicate that experience? (You might even want to challenge your group to actually take time to articulate their experience.)

Mary’s response to her encounter with Jesus is going to the disciples to simply tell them: “I have seen the Lord.” What does this response say about how we should live and how we can live that out on campus?

Can you be a Christian without believing in the resurrection of Jesus?

How should knowing that death is defeated affect how we go about our lives daily?

Imagine Jesus had never resurrected. What would the story about Jesus be? Would it still be important? Would we still worship him?

Jesus, in John 11:25, says “I am the resurrection and the life.” What do you suppose that means?

Jesus is often said to be the only man who has ever resurrected. But in John 11, he raises Lazarus from the dead. Is there a difference in the two stories?

John Page 28 of 29 What are some of the most common objections to the resurrection of Jesus that you hear? What are the answers to those objections?

What makes the resurrection of Jesus so hard to believe? Why do so many people doubt it?

If you were to meet a person who denies the resurrection of Jesus and they asked why you believed in it, what would you say? If the roles were reversed, would you find that to be an acceptable answer?

Why does simply telling people our story about our encounter Jesus impact so many ​ ​ people? Why are “testimonies” so powerful?

If Jesus really has risen from the dead and death is defeated, it really must be GOOD news. Great news, even. How might Christians do a better of celebrating the ​ ​ resurrection of Jesus?

Resource Toolbox

J. Warner Wallace Making a Case for the Resurrection Resurrection and the Task of the by N.T. Wright N.T. Wright on the resurrection ​ Minimal Facts Approach to Resurrection ​ Dan Wallace on the Implications of Resurrection ​ Tim Keller on Resurrection ​

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