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I. SERMON NOTES​

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1. The Resurrection Account: Movement, Seeing, and Weeping

John 20 presents a vivid account filled with movement and emotion:

• Mary Magdalene, Peter, and “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (John) are all running (vv2–4).

• There is repeated emphasis on what they “ b” (vv1, 5–8):

  • Mary saw the stone removed.

  • John saw the linen wrappings from outside.

  • Peter entered and saw the wrappings and the folded cloth.

  • John entered, saw, and believed, though without full understanding (vv8–9).

Peter did not immediately grasp the significance, while John began to believe but still lacked full comprehension of Scripture.

Mary, however, is marked by weeping (vv11, 13, 15). Her grief affected her perception:

• She saw angels but did not recognise them.

• She saw Jesus but mistook Him for the gardener.

Rather than judging them, we are to see Mary, Peter, and John as disciples learning to grow in Confident Faith in Jesus, especially after the distress of witnessing His crucifixion.

 

2. The Two Ironies of Easter

(a) The Empty Tomb that Fills Faith (vv1–10)

First irony: The tomb had to be empty in order to fill the disciples’ lives with faith and truth.

• On Good Friday, the tomb was filled with Jesus’ body (John 19:40–42).

• On Easter morning, it was empty, because Jesus had risen.

This reverses normal expectations:

• Usually, something must be full to fill another (e.g. a full fridge feeds a family).

• Yet in Christianity, the empty tomb proves the Resurrection and fills believers with faith.

1 Corinthians 15:17 emphasises its necessity:

“If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.”

Thus:

• No empty tomb = no resurrection = no true faith.

• But the tomb was empty—therefore Jesus is alive.

Though Peter and John did not fully understand immediately, their faith grew when they later encountered the risen Christ in the Upper Room.

Application:
Will the truth of the empty tomb make a difference in our lives? It must.

(b) Love Revealed Through Weeping (vv11–15)

Second irony: Deep love is revealed through deep pain.

Mary Magdalene’s weeping reflects her profound love for Jesus:

• Jesus had delivered her from seven evil spirits (Luke 8).

• He brought her peace and wholeness.

• She came early, while it was still dark, to mourn Him.

Her intense grief shows:

• The greater the weeping, the deeper the love.

• Her love was so strong that it clouded her recognition of both angels and Jesus.

Application:

• Do we love Jesus deeply?

• Are we moved by His death and resurrection?1
  We must not be afraid to express our love for Him.

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3. “Christ has Died, Christ is Risen”

These words express the core truth of Good Friday and Easter.

• Like Mary (“We do not know”) and John (believing without full understanding), believers may initially lack full comprehension.

• Therefore, we must remain students of Scripture, continually growing in understanding.

Warning:

• Do not let love for God grow cold.

• Do not let faith in the risen Jesus weaken.

Application:
Has our love grown cold? Has our faith weakened? It must not.

4. Two Truths from the Risen Jesus (John 20:17)

Jesus declares:

“I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”

(a) Jesus’ Unique Relationship with God

• Jesus alone calls God “My Father” in a unique sense.

• He is the Son of God and reveals God fully (John 5).

Implication:

• Jesus can be fully trusted.

• He answers the deepest question: Who is God? So that we know who we are, whose we are, and what we are to do with our lives.

As Augustine said: “Our heart is restless until it rests in you.”

Application:
Have we found rest in God through Jesus? We must.

(b) God is Father to Us Also

• God is not only Jesus’ Father, but our Father too.

• John 1:12: believers become children of God.

Implications:

• God loves us as He loves Jesus.

• He shares His purposes with us.

• He strengthens and accompanies us.

C.S. Lewis reminds us that Jesus must be either the Son of God or something far worse—there is no middle ground.

Application:
Do we truly appreciate that God is our Father? We must.

5. The Risen Jesus Knows Us Personally (v16)

Jesus calls Mary by name: “Mary!”

This demonstrates:

• Personal knowledge

• Personal care

• Timely presence in moments of need

Even in fear and uncertainty, God knows us, hears our prayers, and cares deeply for us.

Illustration:
The preacher recounts an incident with his young daughter startled in a public restroom. In fear, he prayed, and instead of anger, received a gentle apology—an assurance that God hears and cares even in small moments.

Application:

• Jesus knows us personally.

• Our response should be like Mary’s:

  • “Rabbouni!” (Teacher) (v16)

  • “I have seen the Lord” (v18)

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6. Our Response: Faith and Witness

Mary not only believed—she went and told others (v18).

We are called to:

• Personally encounter Jesus

• Confess, “I have seen the Lord”

• Share Him with others

• Build up others in faith

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Conclusion

From John 20:1–18:

1. The two ironies of Easter reveal the truth of the faith.

2. “Christ has died, Christ is risen” is truth to be personally known.

3. Jesus teaches:

   • His unique relationship with the Father

   • God is our Father too

4. The risen Jesus knows us personally

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II. REFLECTION QUESTIONS
 

From John 20:1–18, we considered:

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(1) The two IRONIES of EASTER that speak the TRUTH of the CHRISTIAN FAITH: 

1. The TOMB needed to be EMPTY in order to FILL UP the lives of the DISCIPLES with FAITH and the TRUTH of the SCRIPTURES that JESUS had RESURRECTED and He had RISEN (vv1-10) 

2. Mary’s great LOVE for Jesus was revealed in the great PAIN of WEEPING she suffered (vv11-15)

3.  

Discuss in groups of 3 or 4s how appreciating these ironies will help us live out our lives as disciples of Jesus more faithfully and fervently? 

(2) “Christ has DIED, Christ is RISEN…” – words that Good Friday and Easter Sunday TEACH as TRUTH, and which we can KNOW are TRUE personally, as did Mary and the other disciples. 

Discuss as a group how holding on firmly to these two statements are fundamental to helping our Faith in Jesus increase in confidence. 

(3) The RISEN JESUS teaches us TWO TRUTHS to help us LIVE with our Faith in Him with CONFIDENCE (v17): 

a. JESUS has a SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP with GOD that only He has and only He enjoys 

b. God is FATHER to BOTH JESUS and US! 

Share in pairs these two truths and what are the implications for your faith in Jesus. 

(4) The RISEN JESUS KNOWS US PERSONALLY, just as He did Mary! (v16). May we too say, “I have seen the Lord” (v18), that is, JESUS has MET ME and I personally BELIEVE in HIM, and will share Him with others. 

Share in 3 or 4s the person(s) we will prayerfully share/keep on sharing Jesus with during the course of this year! Pray for God’s favour to rest upon each other and bless our efforts to do so.