John 20
John 20: 1Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb while it was still dark and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb.
Luke 24:3 But when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord.
Here we are five weeks from Resurrection Sunday…continuing on in our study of John that has now reached Jesus’s resurrection…talking with Richard last Tuesday about if I should continue on and finish the book or wait until April 4th to finish preaching this sermon on Resurrection Sunday.
I went back and looked at how many sermons I have preached on the book of John …this is sermon number 52…52 sermons just on the book of John…one year ago we started looking at this book…I hope that throughout this past year you have come to a better understanding of the life… death…and ministry of Jesus.
I’ve decided to preach this sermon because there are some crucial events that need to be looked at that have little to do with Jesus’ resurrection…events that most people are not even aware of.
On Sunday morning the day after the Sabbath Scripture says three women wound their way through the dark streets of Jerusalem with the purpose of finishing some unfinished business.
These ladies were on their way to finish what was originally done in haste…so early in the morning while it was still dark, they left their homes…met together… and went to the tomb of Jesus.
These ladies were just like the disciples…they weren’t expecting a bodily resurrection of Jesus…they arrived on Sunday morning to anoint Jesus’ body with burial spices, not to greet him as the Risen Lord.
What did those ladies expect? They expected to find a dead body…they went there to complete the job they had started on Friday evening but were unable to finish because of the Sabbath.
As these ladies came to the place where they had seen the body of Christ laid just 3 days before… [Mark 16:3-4] — they said among themselves…who shall roll away the stone from the entrance of the tomb? …BUT…when they arrived the seal had been broken and the stone had already been rolled away.
Apparently, these ladies had no confidence that the Roman soldiers who had been dispatched to guard the tomb would be courteous enough to roll the stone away.
They arrived anticipating finding a stone in front of the tomb, but what they found was the stone rolled away, and the tomb empty!!!
After hearing the news of Jesus’ resurrection from the angel they left the tomb with joy [Matt 28:8].
What a great way to leave a cemetery…we don’t usually leave graveyards excited …we usually leave there in pain over the death of a family member or friend…even if it’s someone we’re not closely acquainted with…. excitement is not an emotion we usually feel after leaving a cemetery.
The ladies arrived saddened…it wasn’t until they saw the messenger that they realized the reality of Friday afternoon had been erased by the miracle of Sunday morning.
The messenger stood before the women and proclaimed: “He is not here! He is risen!” Sunday has come! A new reality had taken place…Jesus is resurrected…the prophecy of his death and resurrection was true…the ladies left excited!
The resurrection of the Lord allows us a different view of death…it is no longer something that must be faced with dread, and despair…death will always be an enemy…but it is no longer the enemy of those who believe because it has been defeated.
Because He lives, we shall live also…the devil thought he had won. Jesus had died on the cross…His limp, lifeless body removed from the cross, and laid in a tomb …secured…sealed…and guarded by Roman soldiers…it was over.
Yet, Surprise! Death, and the grave could not hold Him…He had the authority to lay down his life, and He had the authority to take it again! Because of that…we worship and serve a Risen Lord.
Not one of the disciples were expecting Jesus to be raised from the dead. Mark’s Gospel makes a point of telling us of the repeated unbelief of the disciples:
Mark 16:11: ”they would not believe”;
Mark 16:13: ”they did not believe”;
Mark 16:14: ”they had not believed.”
In the 2020 State of Theology study, Lifeway Research found
66% of Americans believe the physical resurrection of Jesus.
20% don’t believe the resurrection accounts are true
14% aren’t sure.
Is Christianity built on nonsense? …do we label the resurrection absurdity or truth?
Is Jesus’ resurrection simply a 2000-year-old legend?
This morning I’m not talking about the resurrection…I want us to look at two confusing verses:
ONE…how is it that from Friday to Sunday is three days?
TWO…where was Jesus during the time from His death to His resurrection?
Was Christ actually in the grave for three days and three nights?
During His ministry, the Jews demanded a sign from Jesus to prove He was the promised Messiah…what Jesus offered as proof positive that He was the Son of God was the sign of Jonah.
Jesus prophesied His own resurrection when He stated, “For just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, in like manner the Son of man shall be in the heart of the earth (buried in a grave) [Matthew 12:40]
Did Christ mean what He said? Did He really expect his burial in the earth to be a complete three days and three nights (72 hours)?
If Jesus died on Friday at 3PM and was raised on Sunday morning how does that equate into 3 24-hour days…it doesn’t…it’s only a little over 33 hours…what happen to three days and three nights?
Again…clearly…the Bible is full of contradictions…half-truths…NO it’s not… Jesus repeatedly made reference to His death and resurrection making it clear from his own mouth… [John 2:19–21] [Mat 17:23] [Mark 10:34] He will be raised on the third day.
Both Peter and Paul give testimony to the fact that Jesus rose on the third day…
Paul’s testimony [1 Cor. 15:3-4] – “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died…He was buried and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.”
Peter declared to the Jews during Pentecost…[Acts10:39-40] – “And we are witnesses of everything He did…they killed Him by hanging Him on a tree but God raised Him from the dead on the third day” …BUT…from Friday until Sunday is not three days…YES it is.
Again…we are trying to interpret Scripture using western thinking and applying it to the text…not understanding Jewish reckoning of time.
The Gospels all make it clear that Jesus’ burial occurred shortly after His death on the day of “preparation” (Friday) before the start of the Sabbath that started at 6 PM that same day.
Christ was dead at 3 PM on Friday…the new day according to Jewish time started at 6 PM… they had only three hours to bury Him.
Jesus died and was buried before 6pm on Friday…they were pressed to get Him off the cross and buried before the start of Passover that started at 6PM…BECAUSE
- bodies could not remain on the cross on the Sabbath day so they sought the body of Jesus to have Him buried before the Sabbath began that evening.
- Jewish law forbid doing work on the Sabbath.
Jesus died on Friday at 3PM
Any time on Friday before 6pm was considered a whole day
The new day started at 6PM so
From Friday night at 6PM to Saturday night at 6PM was another day.
Any time after Saturday night at 6PM was considered the third day.
Jews count parts of a day as a complete twenty-four-hour period…therefore Friday was considered one whole day…He was in the tomb all of Saturday the second day…He rose on Sunday morning…that day would have been considered the third day.
Scripture declares that it was after the Sabbath when the ladies went to the grave… day three…so the concept of three days would be an idiom, not necessarily meaning 3 full 24-hour periods.
Here’s what people do…they alter accounts in the Bible to insure there is no error in Scripture.
There are those who would have you believe Jesus was crucified on Wednesday… so from His death on Wednesday until His resurrection on Sunday would be literally 3 24 hour days so the Bible wouldn’t appear to be in error…the Bible is not in error if you understand the Jewish reckoning of time.
The disciples who walked with Jesus after His resurrection did so on “the same day” that Jesus’ was resurrected (Luke 24:13) …not recognizing Jesus, they shared about the crucifixion (Luke 24:21) …they say: “today is the third day since these things happened” (Luke 24:22).
If Jesus was crucified on Wednesday there are four days between Wednesday and Sunday…that would have made their statement about this being the third day in error.
If the crucifixion occurred on Thursday it means that the women who purchased the spices following the Passover means they would have purchased them on Saturday and would have violated the Sabbath.
SO… Jesus’ body was in the tomb…but His spirit, having departed at His death (Matthew 27:50), was elsewhere for those three days…where was Jesus’ spirit during that time…from His death to His resurrection?
We know that Jesus died…was buried…and on the third day was resurrected…but Scripture tells us very little concerning His spirit’s whereabouts between His death and resurrection…the most commonly cited Biblical passages are Acts 2:31; Eph. 4:8-10; 1 Peter 4:6; most important are, 1 Peter 3:18-20 / Eph. 4:9.
A great deal of confusion in regard to this question…where did Jesus’ soul go after death?
There are a number of different views on where Jesus went during those three days:
Peter tells us 1 Pet. 3:18-20, “For Christ…died… [19] He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, [20] who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark…”
Paul says…Eph. 4:9-10 for possible support. [9] Now this expression, ‘He ascended,’ what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? [10] He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens…”
Then Jesus Himself says Luke 23:43
Today…you will be with me in paradise.
That’s an awful lot of places in a short period of time.
Where did Jesus’ soul go after death? …there’s a great deal of confusion in regard to this question…there are a number of different views on where Jesus went during those three days:
Unlike what some believe Jesus was not asleep during those three days…I had originally prepared my sermon to identify and tell you about the seven popular theories regarding what and where Jesus was…I’m not going to.
I do want to address the idea as written in the Apostles Creed…the Apostles Creed suggests that Jesus descended into hell after His death on the cross…but the phrase “He descended into hell” occurs nowhere in the Bible.
In studying this issue, it is important to first understand what the Bible teaches about the place of the dead.
In the Old Testament it was believed that at death the spirit went to a place called…Hades…it was believed to be a place where the souls of both the righteous dead (Jacob, Genesis 37:35, Samuel, 1 Samuel 28:13–14) and the wicked dead went. (Psalm 31:17).
Now, in the church age, when the righteous die…it is simply a transition to a different mode of existence.
BUT…where we go is not heaven…clearly there is a distinct difference between Paradise and being in Heaven….to be absent from the body is to at home with the Lord, but this “place” is not heaven because Christians have not yet received their glorified bodies.
All Christians will be glorified together at the rapture/resurrection…all believers will be raised into glory at the same time.
It means that glorification will be accomplished corporately and not individually to each believer separately at death.
This seems to suggest that Christ went to the nether world—a place where the souls of the dead…demons…and evil spirits reside—often referred to as Hades…the place where the saved and the lost go after death…a place divided into three distinct areas… separated by a “great chasm”.
(1) the abyss…the place of confinement for those demons who sinned in the days of Noah…the spirits mentioned in 1 Peter 3:19 … who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark…” …these are the ‘spirits now in prison’ … the angels who sinned in Genesis 6:1-4.
(2) A place of holding for all unbelievers…waiting until the time of the resurrection and their appearance before the Great White Throne of Judgment when they will be cast eternally away from God.
(3) A place of holding for all believers…referred to by the Jews as Abraham’s Bosom…a place of rest, contentment, and peace as they wait until the time of the resurrection and the Judgment seat of Christ.
SO…one place with three areas…one area for the righteous…one area for the wicked (Matt. 11:23; 16:18; Luke 10:15; 16:23; Acts 2:27–3)…and one area for those demons imprisoned before the flood mentioned in 1 Peter 3:19.
So what did Jesus do there…some believe He went to the nether world and preached grace to the righteous dead…condemnation to the wicked dead…and proclaimed His victory on the cross to the fallen angels.
He went to Hades and made a proclamation to those who were in spiritual prison…NOT to give them a second chance…the idea of a second chance for salvation is appealing but the Bible is clear that death is the end of all chances (Hebrews 9:27).
The wording gives a clear distinction between ‘preach’ and ‘proclaim’.
The word ‘proclaim’ in Greek–ἐκήρυξεν (kerusso)–means to announce or declare which is a different word than ‘preach’–εὐαγγελίζω (euaggelizo)– which means persuade for the purpose of salvation.
Jesus was not preaching the Gospel so they could they be saved…He went to the Abyss to proclaim His victory…and “to publicly declare” to the fallen angels imprisoned there that…they had lost, and He had won.
Scripture also says that Jesus was in Paradise that day…He assured the thief on the cross that He would see Him there… I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise…καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Ἀμήν σοι λέγω, [Luke 23:43]
BUT…here’s where the problem comes in…there are very few punctuations in the original Greek, so the lack of proper punctuation may be a cause for confusion… should it read…
“I tell you the truth today, you will be with Me in paradise.” …OR…is it
“I tell you the truth, today you will be with Me in paradise.”
FIRST…it was a common saying for Jesus to say “I tell you the truth” …but why would Jesus include the word ‘today’ …depending on where you put the comma… it results in two interesting questions.
I tell you the truth today, …what I’m telling you today is the truth…as if everything prior to what I’ve said was only speculation…at some time you will be with me in paradise…it has nothing to with when it will happen…not necessarily today…I’m just telling you this today.
SECONDLY…was Jesus saying…in making this statement…I tell you the truth, that what is about to happen…us dying…is going to result in you and me being in paradise ‘today’ …referring to a specific day ‘today.’
That He and the thief would go directly to Paradise after they died…based on the interpretation with ‘today’ meaning this very day…obviously for both He and the thief…there wasn’t going to be any tomorrow.
The promise to the thief that he will be in paradise “today” indicates when that will happen.
TWO THINGS:
First…this is an indication that Paradise and Heaven are not the same place…Jesus did not go to Heaven after His death.
Goes back to what I said previously…people altering accounts in the Bible to ensure there is no error or to prove their interpretation is the correct one.
Where is paradise? It’s not heaven…Paradise seems to be the place we go at death. The place where we will dwell in the presence of Jesus until he returns to earth before the final judgment when there will come a New Heaven and a New Earth.
Secondly…where Jesus’ spirit went when it left His body sheds light on the Bible’s teaching about death and the afterlife.
What Scripture says regarding what Jesus did after His death is evidence that life continues after death…Jesus was put to death “in the flesh but made alive in the spirit” means that death could not hold Him which should give us encouragement to face death without fear…realizing that He has already gone through exactly the same experience we will go through.
Death marks the separation of the soul from the body…at death the union between soul and body are separated…but just like in the case of Jesus our bodies will one day be reunited with our spirit.
When we die we go to be immediately with the Lord…no soul sleep…that’s why only one explanation of the statement today you will be with Me in paradise makes sense… ‘today’ meaning today…you will be with me in paradise today.
Good Friday calls the resurrection absurd…On Sunday morning, the apostles think the women’s words are “nonsense”…many today…think the same thing…nonsense.
Seriously question Jesus’s emergence from the tomb…BUT until they understand the unalterable fact that the Resurrection was real…until they experience His resurrection for themselves…Jesus for them will always be in the grave.