Go a little deeper
Pastor Keith Kirkpatrick opens with a childhood memory of an open-casket funeral and the reality of death, then turns to John 20:1-18 and the sermon title. He traces Mary Magdalene coming to the tomb before dawn, Peter and John running to find the linen cloths and folded facecloth and then going home, and Mary staying to weep. She mistakes the risen Jesus for the gardener until he speaks her name. Pastor Keith reads the passage's darkness as a picture of grief and confusion, insists the resurrection did not wait for daylight, and says God meets people in pain. The sermon ends with an invitation to believe and a prayer of surrender.
Drawing on Luke 8, Pastor Keith describes Mary as a follower of Jesus from the village of Magdala who had seven demons cast out of her, and connects her devotion to the forgiven woman of Luke 7 who loved much. He highlights that Jesus chose a woman as the first witness of the resurrection in a culture that discounted women's testimony, then sends her to tell the disciples. The sermon title is "He is risen and he knows my name."
Take this with you
The resurrection happened before dawn
Pastor Keith makes a point of John 20:1 noting that Mary came to the tomb while it was still dark, reading that darkness as a picture of confusion, grief, and hopelessness. He argues from the passage that the resurrection was already accomplished before Mary could see it, so God meets people in their hour of pain rather than only after conditions improve.
Jesus addresses Mary by name rather than lecturing her
In John 20:11-18, Pastor Keith notes that when Jesus reveals himself to Mary he does not argue, shame, or lecture her; he simply speaks her name. He applies this to listeners, presenting the risen Jesus as one who sees, knows, and calls people by name instead of holding their past over them.
Forgiven people love much
From Luke 7, Pastor Keith draws the principle that the one forgiven much loves much while the one forgiven little loves little. He connects this to Mary Magdalene's history of deliverance and argues that knowing what you were set free from changes how boldly you follow Jesus.
God uses unlikely witnesses in John 20
In John 20:1-18, Pastor Keith emphasizes that the first person to see the risen Jesus and to be sent with the announcement was a woman, in a culture where women were often overlooked and their testimony discounted. He treats this as evidence that God's kingdom runs opposite to human expectations of who is qualified, so listeners need not assume God cannot use them.
Commissioned, not merely comforted
In John 20:17-18, Mary's encounter does not end in private relief: Jesus tells her to go to his brothers with the message. Pastor Keith frames obedience as doing what God says even when it is uncomfortable or confusing, and notes that Mary did not need credentials first, only a testimony that she had seen the risen Lord.
The conversation,
in their words.
Transcript from the recording’s captions. Select any timestamp to hear the original audio.
Well, you're not here to hear from me today. You're here to hear from the Lord. So, if you brought your Bible, would you get it out? Hold it in the air like you care. Keep it up there if you brought it. Even if you didn't bring it today, you could participate. We're going to get into this book. It's great. And I want you just to shout word on the count of three. I'll count to three. You shout word. Here we go. 1 2 3. Word. We're getting into God's word so God's word gets into us. I can remember the first time I saw a dead body. I was just a little little child. I can't even remember how old I was. I was maybe four, five, six, seven. I don't know. Uh I was I was young. Uh so young I just I don't even remember how old I was. But it was my great aunt. So it was my grandfather's sister. And I really didn't know her. I had heard her name mentioned before. I was told that
we visited her house as a really young child, but I had no memories of going to her house. I had no memories with her. But here I was at her funeral. And it was in the days there used to be a lot more of these where it was it was open casket and so you could you see the body and here I am this little child and it's the first time I've ever seen a dead body before and it was just surreal. No one prepped me for this. Nobody told me what to expect or what to happen. And I just remember the whole time staring. I don't remember any words that were said that day. I don't remember any prayers that were prayed. But I remember just staring at her lifeless body. And it's just weird. If you've ever seen a dead body, you start to imagine things like I imagined her hand moving and it wasn't moving. I imagined her chest going up and down, but it wasn't going up and down. Because for me as a young child, I
couldn't fathom there be a body and no life in it. Death is weird. You I looked up how many people die every year, and this year there will be 60 to 70 million people on Earth that will die this year. That's 175,000 people today that will die. 175,000 people today. That's 7,300 people that will die while we're at church. That's 121 people per minute. Two people die every second. That's a lot of death. Now, I didn't come here to depress you with statistics on death, but I do know statistically it's still true today that we're all going to die.
So, God sent me here to tell you how to defeat death. There's an praise be to God. There's an ancient prophet more than 2,700 years ago. He he made this statement. And it's kind of this audacious statement in Isaiah 25:8. He says, "He will swallow up death for ever." What kind of person can take death, swallow it up, not just for a little bit of time where you just get a little bit more life, but forever? Well, Jesus made this claim when his friend Lazarus died. He says this to Martha in John 11:2. Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life." No other man has made such a claim. He says, "Not only am I the resurrection
and the life," he says, "whoever." Come on, point to your neighbor and say, "That's you." Whoever, that's you. That's you. You're the whoever. Any whoevers in the room. Whoever believes in me, Jesus said, whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live. Today, we're going to turn our attention to this most mindblowing reality ever, that anyone who believes in Jesus does not actually die. He lives eternally. It's absolutely awesome. Jesus didn't say if you do the right things or if you're born into the right family. He said if you believe in the right person. The title of today's sermon is he is risen and he knows my name.
He is risen and he knows my name. The text today comes from John chapter 20. We come to the culmination of what this entire book is about. The author John writes about the life of Jesus. And we find ourselves in John chap 20 starting with verse one. We're going to make our way all the way through verse 18 today. If you would stand for the reading of God's word, I'll read you the text and then we'll better understand how is this so lifechanging. It changes everything. Before we leave today, we're going to leave with a little more joy understanding. He is risen and he knows my name. John chapter 20, starting with verse one. 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. A little pop quiz. Who is this?
John. All right. He's the author of this text. He he likes to boast that he's so loved by Jesus. Peter and John and Mary Magdalene said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they've laid him." So Peter went with the other disciple, John, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple, John, outran Peter and reached the tomb first. It's only one winner. 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 facecloth which had been on Jesus' head,
not lying with the linen cloth, 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, "Raboni," which means teacher. He 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 and 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.
This is the word of the Lord. You may be seated. There are moments in our lives, and some of you may be here today, right now, in this moment, when hope seems to be dead. There are moments that just seem to be dark. It seems to be these moments when God has let you down. There are moments when you just wonder what tomorrow holds because today is a dark day. If you've ever been in that place, what I want you to know is that the Bible is so relentlessly real. I it's a story that we can relate to because it's God's story and how he changes everything. There are moments when it seems like hope is buried, that everything you've put your your trust in seems to be dead and gone and and and it's it's a it's a
dark day. It's a your heart is heavy and it's aching. And that's the place we pick up in this story. We're told here about one particular woman, Mary Magdalene. In the other gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, they tell us that Mary was with a few other women, but but John, the author here, just hones in on this one particular woman because it matters. And she comes to the tomb early on this Sunday morning. On the Jewish calendar, we call this the first day of the week. And she comes here and her heart is hurting. We're we're told very specifically, it's still dark. and and her heart has no clue what tomorrow's going to hold. She has no clue what has just happened.
Some of you have come in here today and you're uncertain about your future. You're uncertain about your marriage. You're uncertain about your health. You're uncertain about what in the world God's doing in the darkness of what you're going through right now. And God sent me to tell you on this day that it's not over. He's come here to remind you that this is not the end of your story. Death does not have the final say because what we read in this story today is Jesus is risen. And that changes everything. I I like how Matthew puts it very specifically in chapter 28 verse 6 when the angel declares, "He is not here for he has risen as he said." God keeps his promises. In the book of
Luke, this physician writes the story on this account and talks about these two men who were obvious angels. And this is the declaration to those women that showed up here that day at the tomb at the place of death. Why do you seek the living among the dead? He's not here. But has risen. Too many times we too look for the living among the dead. We're trying to find purpose, identity, success, some satisfaction, and we're looking in all the wrong places. We're going to the places that seem obvious. But I I want you to know that God's kingdom, his ways are just not our ways. It's upside down. It's backwards.
It's not the way that we might expect. Jesus is who he claimed to be, the resurrection and the life. He promised in John 10:10 that he doesn't just give some life, he offers life abundantly. He wants you to have a peace that surpasses understanding. He wants you to have joy and have it to the full. He wants you to see that the tomb is no longer filled with dead things, but he is alive, not just now, but forever more. And there are times in our lives when you just don't feel that life. There are times when we just can't see what God's going to do. And it was on this day that we read in John 20:1. On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early while it was still dark.
Don't miss that phrase in verse one. While it was still dark. Many times in the scriptures when we read about darkness, it's a it's a metaphoric picture of what we're going through. It's the place where we can't see what might even already be there. It's the place of hopelessness. It's the place of hurt. All saints go through this dark night of the soul when you go through the valley of the shadow of death. And you you've got to determine, am I going to fear evil or am I going to believe that God is with me in the darkness? And this story reminds us that the resurrection has already happened even though it's dark. This story reminds us of every claim of Jesus that he is the light of the world that stepped down into the darkness.
The resurrection doesn't have to wait for the sun to rise. God will meet you in your hour of darkness. He'll meet you in your place of pain when you've come to grieve. He's the God that comforts. And so we see in this particular story that God does his best work when it looks like it's over. You see, that's how we know he's God. He doesn't need it to all fit in a perfect box. He doesn't need it to make sense. He doesn't need you to have all the the pieces of the puzzle. He He comes and he does what no one else can do. Mary shows up on this particular day and when she shows up, the stone is rolled away. The stone that's meant to seal the tomb. the the stone that was meant to prevent anyone from saying that he he somehow uh raised back to life. And she shows up on this particular day and she's shocked.
No one yet in all of history understood what was actually happening. Which reminds us that church, there are many times in our lives where we have yet to understand what God is doing. That when you're in the season of darkness, it's not the end of the story. But it's okay if you find yourself in a place of confusion. Why is God allowing me to go through this? We just have to remind ourselves that sometimes I don't know the end of the story yet. Sometimes I haven't seen what God is writing right in the midst of this dark place. And she shows up and she peaks in the tomb. She doesn't go in, but she notices that Jesus is no longer there. So, she's come to a place of conclusion that someone must have stolen his body. So, she goes and she tells Peter and John. But what we already know
in this story because we we've read the end of the story is that it might be empty, but it's not over. Jesus, we learned this last week with those three words in English that change everything. It is finished. That even when it looks like it is finished, it's not over. And when we talk about it, we're talking about sin was finished on the cross. Your past was finished on the cross. Which means that when you put your hope and belief in Jesus, your shame, your guilt, it is finished. Your new identity is not in who you are, but the one that was crucified for you. It is finished. And now he's been buried. He died, but but the tomb is empty. And as she goes and gets Peter and John, she she wants them to know something has happened.
You might be surprised in this world who God chooses to use. We're going to see so specifically in the story that God just he flips things upside down and all around. And so many times theologically we want to have our our doctrine accurate. We want to have our theology accurate. And we we learn from other people from professors and teachers and doctors all alike. But let me just tell you that often times God's ways are higher than our ways. He doesn't work with the ways of man. His kingdom is not of this world. In fact, his kingdom is of heaven. And we see in this particular story, the first person God chooses to use is a woman- which may not be significant to some of you, but someone at least got it today. Thank you, Dr. Devin. Because in this day, women were overlooked. In this day, women didn't have the same rights as
men. In this day, most women weren't even literate. They couldn't even read. In this day, women were dependent on men to provide for them financially. And this day, women just were not created with the equality that God made them in Genesis chapter 1 and two. And and God just reminds us in this story that there is an equality that he created both male and female, distinctly unique, each operating with their own roles, but equal in the eyes of God. And so he flips up our understanding and ideology that the ways of this world are the ways that we have to understand. God operates because God doesn't work the way we work. The first person to the tomb was not a man, but it was a woman. And she
goes and she goes and gets some men and she wants them to know what's happening. But we we we need to better understand who this woman is that John decides to put in this story. Her name is Mary Magdalene. Her name is Mary Magdalene because that's her identity. She comes from a small fishing village called Magdala. Hey, if you want to go to Magdala, we're going there this fall. You can join me on this journey as we go to Israel. Magdala is right on the Sea of Galilee. I've been there. You can walk the streets of this small town. I I dare to call it a city. It'd be more like what we'd see in like Primeville or uh Le Pine. It's just as this this little place. Can anything good come out of a place like Magdala? But she she's forever reminded in history. Mary Magdalene. Who is this Mary Magdalene? Well, Luke chapter 8 tells us that she was a follower of
Jesus. Wherever Jesus would go, she would go. But Luke also lets us know that she had a past and it was a scandalous past. Luke chapter 8 tells us that Jesus was busy doing ministry. Look what it says in verse one. Soon afterward, he Jesus went through cities and villages. He was busy proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. I like how Luke puts this. He He was not just preaching the good news. He was bringing the good news of the kingdom. What is the kingdom? It's the way of the king. He was casting out demons. He was healing the sick. He was bringing hope to the hopeless. He was setting people free. And not in the traditional manner of keys, but he was bringing the truth. And if you just have the truth of Jesus, you're set free.
And and Luke tells us that it wasn't just Jesus that did the work because he's constantly commissioning the most unlikely of people. Luke tells us in verse one of chapter 8, "And the 12 were with him." Who are the 12? What are they called? Disciples. Disciples means a student. The actual word means a learner. These were apprentices of Jesus. That what he did, they would do. The way he talked, they would talk. Where he went, they would went, they would go. And so here you got these disciples that wherever Jesus would go, they would go. They're going from city to city. Jesus is preaching the gospel of the kingdom. He's he's bringing the kingdom of God right here on earth. But then verse two tells us something a little scandalous. If if you pause and you actually read historically what was happening here for us modern day in the 21st century it may not seem like much but even if you go
back in the American history 150 years ago when women did not even have the right to vote we we could start to understand the seriousness of what Luke says and also some women some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities. So these weren't just ordinary women. These were women who had been delivered by Jesus, set free by Jesus. And then he goes ahead and he acknowledges them by name. There was Mary called Magdalene. Who is this Mary called Magdalene? Dr. Luke tells us she she's the one from whom seven demons had gone out. Now the number seven is very significant in the Bible. It's the number of perfection, completion. So if you see
seven, it can't can't get more than that. I don't know if she actually had seven demons or if it was just that her whole life was consumed by demons. Everyone identified this woman that she didn't operate in the normal or the ordinary. She certainly didn't operate like a saint. We don't know exactly what she did being consumed by these demons. Maybe she was sexually promiscuous. Maybe she was vulgar. May maybe she just went around in violence. We don't know exactly how Mary Magdalene lived her life, but we know the one who set her free. And Dr. Luke says that Jesus did what no doctor could do. She didn't need to pop a pill. She didn't need to take some medicine. She she just needed Jesus. And her life was no longer the same. And she decided that she wasn't just going to do
the ordinary things. She devoted her life to go where Jesus would go. Come on. So, wherever Jesus went, she went. And Luke tells us it wasn't just Mary Magdalene who was delivered from seven demons, but there was Joanna, the wife of Chusa, Hera's household manager. So, now you've got not only a woman, you've got a gentile woman with some money and Susanna. And and by the way, it wasn't just these three women. There were many others. What did these women do? world. Luke noted that they provided for them Jesus and the disciples out of their means. Who were the first financial supporters of the ministry of Jesus? Women.
They they were keeping the the order of the house of God in order by by by giving financially, being willing to break the cultural norms of the day. and and Luke wants to identify them by name that Mary Magdalene had a past and everyone knew who she was. This is the woman that shows up to the tomb in John chapter 20 because when you know what you've been set free from, your life's a little bit different. Okay, that's an exaggeration. Your life is completely different. You don't care what anybody thinks about you any longer. Love just wants to linger. Love wants to be with the one
who delivered you, set you free. The the the chapter prior to Luke chapter 8 is is is one of the most scandalous chapters. Luke chapter 7 describes Jesus going to the home of a religious man. I don't know if you've ever been around religious people, but it's a burden. Uh when people find out I'm a pastor, they'll often like apologize for the things that they've said. Like, oh pastor, I did I didn't know you were a pastor. I'm sorry I said the words that I said. And I'm like, hey, I'm just like you. Yo, you know, like we're like the same. Like in God's eyes, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But there is a burden that somehow those who are religious or have titles that somehow they're better, you know, and we hear that, you know, we hear that all the time. They're self-righteous. They've got these positions. Jesus is at one of those houses in Luke chapter 7.
He's at the home of a Pharisee. And while he's there, this this woman shows up. This unnamed woman shows up and she brings this expensive ointment of perfume. She breaks it and pours it on Jesus' feet. And not everybody like breaks out and prays. Not everybody is celebrating what's happening. In fact, what was happening was the norm of the day. Jesus was being judged. This woman was being judged. this seemed completely out of whack. It there was brokenness. There was aroma. And all of this just seemed to make sense in the kingdom of God. So Jesus tells this story so that we would understand how God's ways work. He says, "Hey, religious man, let me just ask you a question. in the in the ways of the world. If you have financial debt, which the average person does, and you
have this huge financial debt, and then there's someone else that has debt, but it's hardly anything. One person has a million dollars in debt, the other person has $10 in debt. And then he asked this question to the religious man. If they're both forgiven of their debts, who do you think will be more grateful? And the religious person answered the obvious answer. Well, the person who had more debt would be more grateful. And Jesus made this statement in Luke 7:47. Therefore, I tell you, her sins which are many. Everyone shout many. Many are forgiven. I don't know if you've ever been in this precarious place where everybody knows your dirty laundry. Everyone knew this woman's dirty laundry. Some people speculate it was Mary Magdalene that brought this offering.
Other people speculate that it was Mary, a different Mary, the sister of Martha, the the sister of Lazarus. We don't know exactly who it was this particular day, but we know that everybody knew her business and she knew what Jesus had done for her. So Jesus says, "Not only her sins forgiven, for she loved much." That's how you know she's forgiven. The one who's forgiven much loves much. But he who is forgiven little loves little. If you don't know what you've been set free from, you won't know the wonder of what the love God has for you. And so Jesus said to her, just as a reminder, just as as a reminder of who you are, do don't you believe what these guys are judging you for? You are forgiven.
Your sins are forgiven. The good news of Jesus is not just for some people. It's not just for the people that look like they have their lives together. It's not just for the men. It's for the women. It's for the children. It's for those who who their dirty laundry has been aired to the world. And what Jesus offers us is not a better life. He offers us new life. And when you choose to believe and to follow Jesus, it's not a country club where we look like we have our lives together. We actually show up and we let the world know, I'm no longer who I used to be. I am loved. I am set free. And I am forgiven. So here you've got this this woman Mary Magdalene who shows up at the tomb and the tomb is empty. So she goes and tells Peter and John and then John for
whatever reason decides to put in the story. Hey we ran to the tomb because we didn't believe her if we read between the lines that someone actually took her body. Both of them were running together. Both of them. But the other disciple John outran Peter and reached the tomb first. Uh, we could come up with many different conclusions why in the world John wanted us to know these details. I'm speculating normally Peter won the race, but on this day things turned around. Some would speculate that normally John was the faster of the two. We We don't even know. Maybe John just wants us to know. Uh, well, we don't even you can
come up with your own conclusion. But here's what we do know. He made sure for all of history to know that he was faster. But you know, none of that really matters in God's eyes when he gets there. Verse 5 tells us, stooping in, he saw that the body wasn't there. But for whatever reason, he didn't go in because being a Jew that if you go into a tomb, you've just become ceremonially unclean. You've defiled yourself. So he decides to still, even though he won the race, to still make sure that he followed the rules. He was there so long. He had caught his breath as he's looking at what's happening. And then finally, we're told, verse six, Peter finally shows up.
Peter just walks right past John into the tomb. He doesn't care about being defiled. He doesn't care about what anybody else thinks. He wants to see what's happened to Jesus. And it's clear, the evidence is there. There's no body. Clearly, it wasn't grave robbers because they folded the the cloth that wrapped up his body. But yet, John tells us what happens to so many of us. For as yet they did not understand the scripture that he must rise from the dead. Verse 8 tells us, if we can go back to verse 8 for a moment, that they believed. But what did they believe? They believed Mary Magdalene's testimony.
See, you got to understand something about the ancient Middle East. And this is still true in many Middle Eastern countries where women are not treated created equal. Women were not allowed to be a witness in the court of law because women were not trustworthy. If you can't read, who are we to think that you even understand what's happening in a tomb? That might sound obvious, but we men have done some dumb things before. Okay? My wife has told me the truth, and I've said, "Uh-uh. I'm going to I'm going to learn the hard way." Okay? You can tell me this as many times as you want, but I'm just going to I'm going to go run and I've got to see it for myself. and they could see and they believed her that the body wasn't there, but they had yet to make the connection.
John notes that they didn't throw up their hands and say, "He did it just like he said he would." But instead, he says in verse 10, they went right back home like so many of us do every single Sunday. We go back to normal. Jesus is resurrected. I know something's different, but I go back to what's familiar. I go back to what's normal. And here they go back home. But it's in this particular place that we see there there's someone else that's there still. Verse 11, Mary stayed and she stood weeping outside the tomb. You want to know when God does his greatest work? When you're weeping.
I wish it was when we had our lives together and we were full of joy and we were completely content and good and God's like, "Hey, finally you got it together. So now I'm going to do a good work in you. But I'll tell you, when God does his greatest work, it's usually when we're weeping. It's when we're confused. It's when we're lonely. It's it's when when we've had people doubt us and they said, "Well, you're right, but I'm going back to normal." But she stays behind and she's weeping. She's real with God. Which is why one of our core values here is to be relentlessly real. It It's easy to fake it. You can fool everyone, but you can't fool God. And when you're weeping, I want you to know, just know today, God's not going to leave you in that place. He meets you in that place. So, here she is weeping and she looks in the tomb and what does she see there?
John just notes it like it's a normal day. She sees two angels, one at the head and one at the feet. Come on. When's the last time you went to a cemetery and you met some angels? There's nothing normal about this story. Angels are spectacular. They cause awe. And what we see here is just a glimpse of God's mercy because it's an image of what God has revealed for many centuries before Mary. And that's called the ark of the covenant. Something only the high priest would see. And on top of the ark of the coven covenant in in gold was two cherubim with their wings facing one another. And in the middle of those two angels is a representation of God's presence, of his mercy, of God's grace, of his forgiveness. And here Mary is
getting a glimpse of God's mercy. And right there in that moment, she turns with her eyes still full of tears. She's just she sees but a glimpse because you ever been weeping like that? You can't see clearly. She's crying so hard and she sees someone and she speculates it must be the gardener. Kyle, our middle school director, he had a great revelation this morning in our prayer time that God is the gardener that meets us in that place. And what does a gardener do? brings life, gets rid of dead things, and replaces it with life. And here she sees Jesus, and she doesn't even know it's Jesus. How could she not know it's Jesus? Well, as we learned last week, when Jesus was on the cross, he was unrecognizable. The scriptures say, he had been whipped so many times, his flesh was hanging from him. He had been beaten with fists. He had been spit upon, his beard ripped from his face.
When he was buried, no one knew that this was Jes. He was unrecognizable. So when she sees someone who looks who looks healthy and whole, he's glorified. She doesn't know it's Jesus. So she thinks, like so many of us, I'm going to take matters into my own hands. Hey, could you give me back his body? Whatever you've done with it, I I I'll take care of it from this point forward. You women are so strong. But may I just remind ourselves today, ain't none of us God. Don't miss this moment. The presence of God is here and she misses it. Don't miss this moment. It's easy to overlook the King of all kings because he doesn't show up in the way that you thought. He doesn't show up in the the way that you you speculated. You came here to grieve, but it's in that
place that he came here to give you new life. And where sin started in the garden, Jesus is going to finish this in the garden. New creation comes out of the garden. You might have been disobedient at one point, but now it's time to receive your redemption that's found in Jesus. As she's having this dialogue in verse 14 and 15, she asked for the body. And Jesus said to her, don't miss this. Verse 16, Mary. Mary. That's it. One word. And she she gets it. She doesn't ask for clarification. Could you say my name one more time? She simply says Raboni, which means teacher. This was all just a test.
And where I would have failed the tests, you just gave me a big A. Teacher, it's you. Notice here, Jesus did not need to lecture her. He didn't need to give her a sermon. He didn't exeute the text of what's in the Old Testament. He didn't argue with her. Oh, Mary, why wouldn't you believe that I I was risen from the grave? He He didn't shame her. He didn't guilt her. He just reminds her, I am here and I see you and I know you by name. And lest any of us think that what happened with Mary can't happen with us, I just want to remind you who this is. It's a woman in the first century who had seven demons. This is not who you'd expect. the first person of the risen king of all kings to reveal himself to. It was not a priest. It was
not a politician. It was not even John or Peter. Yeah. It was a woman. And who are you to think that somehow God doesn't want to use you, reveal himself to you because he is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is still risen. He's still the king of all kings. And he's still calling people. He doesn't need to lecture you. He doesn't need to beat you with the Bible. He just needs you to do what he says to the church seven times in Revelation 2 and three. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. He stands at the door and he knocks. He doesn't force his way in. He wants you to follow him because of who he is. Of all the witnesses, he chooses the most uncredible witness. Come on, somebody.
the person by cultural standards would not have met away. May I just say even to those who might listen and watch this later, so many times we think we have it figured out, but if you just get into this book, I mean, I just read the story of Judah and Tamar in the book of Genesis. It's like my least favorite story in the Bible. Judah means praise goes and sleeps with a woman he thinks is a prostitute and then he wants to put her to death. And by God's grace and mercy, he realizes this woman's way more righteous than I am. Because when you see your sin and you know who you actually are, you can't judge other people. You got this big old
plank in your own eye while you're trying to call out everyone else and their stuff. Amen. This is what's wrong with the world. Jesus is saying just just get in this book and it's like a mirror. It's going to reveal what's actually real in our hearts. This is Jesus. And when you've been forgiven of your sins, come on, somebody. You got to love Jesus in return cuz you've been loved much. Like like like if we've truly been forgiven of this church, we got to shout it from the rooftops. We've got to declare Central Oregon shall be saved. Hey, if he could save me, he could save you. And it's not just Central Oregon. We declare it over our nation. America shall be saved. Our hope is not in the government. Our hope is not a better behavior. Our hope is in Jesus Christ.
And so I say to you for the teenth time, there's hope for everyone. Come on, say it with me. Hope for everyone. You've got to first receive it so that you can give it away. And when you give it away, you get to let someone know. Listen, I have a past, but that's not who I am anymore. Jesus called her by name. He knows your name. The resurrection is not an event. It's a relationship restored. It's the reality that I've been distant from God, but now I get to be with him. The almighty, allsufficient, all- knowing, all powerful maker of heaven and earth, eternal, glorious, calls me by name. He doesn't just overlook me. He doesn't call me out in what I've done before. He simply wants to set me free
today. He wants you to know today your identity is not in where you've been, but where you're going. He calls you by name. Some of you today came in with the name grieving. You came in with the name doubting. You came in with the name ashamed. You came in with the name weary. You came in with the name forgotten. And I want you to know Jesus sees you when you're weeping. He knows you when you're hurting. He knows when it's a dark day. But it's not over. He is risen. And one of the greatest lies of the enemy is what we read in this text today. Go back to normal. Go back home. Go back to who you used to be. I tell you what we're going to preach next week is Jesus doesn't let him linger in that place very long. He shows up and he knows what men need.
They need food. And so he shows up and he meets with the men. And we're going to see this later in the next chapter. He he even has a barbecue on the beach. Let's go, somebody. That's my God. John said it was fish, but I believe it was brisket. But I don't know. I Today I want to give you an opportunity that Jesus didn't just reveal himself to Mary. He actually commissioned her. He calls her to do what women ought not do in that day. He calls her to be a preacher to testify to the goodness of God in the land of the living. Jesus told Mary, "Go." That that's the great commission of God. Go. Don't stay where you are. Go and tell say to them, "I am ascending to my father and your father to my God and
your God." Jesus is alive. He's a living savior. And if you've never believed in him today, I want you to know that what he did with Mary Magdalene, he can do with you today. And and here's the key to following Jesus is it's not just about believing in him, is now about obeying him. Unless you think obeying means a list of rules of dos and don'ts, what it what it just simply means is I'm going to do what God tells me to do. And there's moments it's uncomfortable. It's moment. There's moments it's confusing because it culturally doesn't even seem to make sense. He'll call you to pray in places you thought you'd never pray before. He'll call you to do things that you thought you couldn't do before. And I I need you to see the text really clearly today. It wasn't because Mary had it figured out.
She didn't go to seminary and get all the answers right before she can go and share the testimony that Jesus is alive. All she knew is she encountered the risen Jesus and now that's the message to share. Amen. So, the devil would love to deceive you and say, "Well, you're not smart enough. You don't know enough about the Bible." So, just maybe wait till you get your life right first before you go get become this radical follower of Jesus. I tell you, some of us just need to start breaking that ointment today because we're forgiven. And if you get judged, you just got to say, "All I know is I had a big debt, but it's gone. All I know is I'm not getting into heaven because of my good behavior. I'm getting in because of Jesus. All I know is I got to testify to the truth today. It's not about my credentials. But I can tell you this. The King of all kings, he called me by name.
When I needed him most, just with your head bowed and your eyes closed, I want to ask that question to you today. Have you received Jesus Christ? Have you believed in him? And if you want to believe in him right now, you can. Now, let me just tell you very seriously, this is the best decision you could ever make, but it changes everything. You've got to leave your past. You've got to leave your sin. And from this day forward, follow Jesus. And if that's you today and you want to follow Jesus, I'll tell you what he'll do for you. He forgives you of your sins. He gives you the free gift of eternal life. And he calls you a child of God. Now, you're adopted into his family. If you want to receive this gift from God, it's a divine free gift called grace.
If you want to believe in Jesus, God doesn't say he makes you a better person. He makes you a new person. You're born again. It's like starting over. If that's you today, would you just would you slip up both your hands just just as a posture of surrender to God, saying, "My life is now yours." Just put up both your hands up towards heaven right now, saying, "God, I'm giving you my life. My life is yours." If that's you, don't don't think about anybody else around you. Eyes are closed right now because between you and God, if you want to leave your old life behind and receive a new identity in Jesus, would just throw up both hands. I want to see you today. I want to celebrate with you. If that's you, put them up in the air as a declaration of surrender of praise.
From this day forward, this is who you are. Somebody needs to celebrate that you're forgiven. And you need to just throw your hands up and say that that's me today. I love the Lord. You're never too young. You're never too old. This is your day. You say, "Yes, Jesus. Yes. I'll go where you tell me to go." Anybody just throw your hands up right where you are. Praise God. See, this is the greatest decision you could ever make. It's more important than who you will marry, what career you'll ever have, where you will ever live. Because this this is a decision for eternity. It's laying a stake in the ground that Jesus took my sin on the cross, but he is no longer dead. He is risen. So,
anybody else today, just raise your hand nice and high. Just nice and high. Praise God. It's in this place that I want to let you know, the Bible tells us that when you surrender your life to the Lord, your life is no longer yours. The Bible says you pray without ceasing. Prayer is talking to God. It's listening to God. I want us just to pray together right now. And I'm just going to say some simple phrases. And if you believe in Jesus, I want everyone to join me. So just out loud say, "Lord Jesus, I believe in you. You are alive. For you have risen. Forgive me of my sins. I receive the Holy Spirit. I am forgiven. I am a child of God because of you in Jesus name.
Amen. And amen.
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Meeting God in the dark
Pastor Keith reads John's note that Mary came to the tomb before dawn as more than a time stamp: darkness as the place where hope is buried and the future is unclear. He argues that the resurrection was already accomplished before Mary could see or understand it, and that God meets people in their grief rather than only after it lifts.
John 20:1
- Pastor Keith reads Mary's arrival before dawn as a picture of grief and confusion. How does his explanation of that detail shape the way you understand dark seasons in your own life?
- Pastor Keith says God does his best work when it looks like it's over. How does that sit with you when the situation genuinely has not changed yet?
- Pastor Keith treats Mary's confusion as legitimate and says we sometimes don't yet know the end of the story. How does that framing speak to a season where you don't understand what God is doing?
Who Mary was, and who gets used
Pastor Keith uses Luke 8 to describe Mary Magdalene as a woman from a small fishing village, delivered from seven demons, who followed Jesus and supported his ministry. In John 20, Jesus first appeared to and commissioned a woman in a culture that discounted women's testimony, which Pastor Keith presents as evidence that God's kingdom reverses human expectations about who is qualified.
Luke 8:1-3 · John 20:16-18
- Pastor Keith says that when you know what you've been set free from, your life is different. How does remembering your own past affect your willingness to share your faith?
- Where have you assumed you were disqualified — by your history, your credentials, or how others see you — from being used by God?
- In the ancient setting Pastor Keith describes, women's testimony was not trusted in court. What does it mean to you that the resurrection's first witness was someone in that position?
Forgiven much, loving much
From Luke 7, Pastor Keith describes a woman with a scandalous reputation who anointed Jesus' feet at a Pharisee's house while others judged her. Jesus tells a parable about two debtors and says her many sins are forgiven, and Pastor Keith explains that this is why she loved much. The point drawn out is that deep awareness of forgiveness produces bold love, while those who think they need little forgiveness love little.
Luke 7:47
- Pastor Keith teaches that the one forgiven much loves much. How aware are you of what you have been forgiven, and where does that show up in how you love?
- Pastor Keith says the church should be a place where people admit they don't have it together rather than pretend they do. What makes honesty about our past hard here, and what would make it easier?
- If you don't know what you've been set free from, Pastor Keith says, you won't know the wonder of God's love. How would you describe that in your own words?
Answers from this recording
Start a conversation.
Why did Jesus appear first to Mary Magdalene?+
In John 20:1-18, Pastor Keith reads the choice as deliberate and upside-down. In the culture he describes, women were overlooked, denied equal rights, often illiterate, and not considered credible witnesses. Yet the first person to the tomb, commissioned to announce the resurrection, was Mary. He ties this to a broader claim that God's kingdom does not run on human credentials or human ways, and applies it directly: listeners should not conclude God can't use them because their history is messy.
What does the rest of John 20 show about how the male disciples first received her testimony?
Why does John mention that it was still dark?+
In John 20:1, Pastor Keith treats darkness in Scripture as a picture of hopelessness, hurt, confusion, and the valley of the shadow of death. Mary came before dawn, and Pastor Keith stresses that the resurrection had already happened even before she could see it. From that he argues that the resurrection didn't wait for sunrise and that God meets people in their hour of pain. He also treats confusion as legitimate: sometimes we don't yet know the end of the story.
How would you describe a current dark season without minimizing it?
What do we know about Mary Magdalene's background?+
Per Pastor Keith's reading of Luke 8, Mary came from Magdala, a small fishing village on the Sea of Galilee, followed Jesus from place to place, and had seven demons cast out of her. He calls the number seven significant as completeness but says the exact behaviors are unknown, only that her life had been consumed and Jesus freed her. He also connects her devotion to the unnamed forgiven woman of Luke 7 who loved much, though he says her identity there is speculation.
What does Luke 8 say about the other women who supported Jesus' ministry?
What did Peter and John understand at the empty tomb?+
In John 20:3-10, John reached the tomb first but stopped outside, which Pastor Keith suggests was out of concern about ceremonial defilement; Peter went straight in. They saw the linen cloths and the facecloth folded by itself, and Pastor Keith argues grave robbers would not have left things that way. Pastor Keith interprets their belief as accepting Mary's report that the body was gone, while noting that they had not yet understood the Scripture that Jesus must rise. Then, in Pastor Keith's words, they went back to normal.
What does it mean that they went home right after seeing the evidence?
How does Jesus reveal himself to Mary at the tomb?+
In John 20:11-18, Mary sees two angels, then turns and mistakes Jesus for the gardener, which Pastor Keith connects to the ark of the covenant imagery and to the garden where new creation begins. She asks him to return the body. Jesus does not lecture or shame her; he speaks one word, her name, and she responds by calling him teacher. Pastor Keith holds this up as the model of how Jesus meets people: he sees, knows, and calls them by name rather than arguing them into belief, then sends her to tell the disciples.
What does Mary do after she recognizes him, and why does that matter?
