Rock Point Easter - Saturday, April 11

because the one they had followed, the one that they thought was their Savior. And when they thought Savior, they thought He's going take care of all of our problems. He's going to get rid of this oppressive nation called Rome that's that's oppressing

them. And they thought all these things would go away and instead, He had died on Friday.

And so now they're like, what is happening? Who is Jesus? What's going on? I don't know what's next. I'm afraid. And maybe that's where you are. Maybe you're you're sitting I don't recognize life right now. It makes no sense. I don't know what's happening. I don't what's next. I'm living in fear just like those disciples.

I get it. I even understand. Because you know what's weird to me? Why it doesn't feel like Easter? Is I'm sitting here preaching to an empty room. I have no idea if anything I said is connecting. I have no idea if my funny jokes are as hysterical as they usually are.

I have no idea, but and it doesn't feel the same to me either. But I think, as we look at the story of Jesus' resurrection, we find out something powerful, and that is this. That my empty room, whatever your empty room is, the empty tomb is greater than the empty room. The empty tomb is greater than the empty room.

And we can learn that from this first Easter. And what I want to look at is this the story out of John chapter 20 on that resurrection morning, the Easter morning of what happened. And I think we're gonna see is the disciples didn't quite get who Jesus was either. They had a mistaken understanding of fully who He was.

And what happens when that empty tomb meets that empty room? The reason the empty tomb is greater is because Jesus coming back reveals to us that He is the one who can make the way for us. He's the one that can connect us back to God because He did the impossible by coming back to life,

which really was He did what He said He was going to do. And that's what brings us hope and light into the darkness we face right now. In other words, what the empty tomb shows us about Jesus is He is the way maker. He is the miracle worker. He is the promise keeper, and He is the light in the darkness.

And the disciples hadn't quite figured that out yet. And maybe this weird unrecognizable Easter to you might reveal Jesus as the way maker to you as well. So let's look at this. In in John chapter 20, it starts off.

Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that stone had been rolled away from the entrance.

So she comes. She was going to to maybe to anoint Jesus' body with some burial stuff, like what they would do in that custom and culture. And she gets there, she sees that the stones rolled away, the body's gone. So look what she does. She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. That's John who wrote this. He was the the youngest of the 12 disciples. But when he wrote, he's I don't know if it's humility or whatever. He didn't want to say his actual name. He'd throw in other names like, the one whom Jesus loved.

Kind of funny to me. But she said here's what she said when she found him. They have taken the Lord's body out of the tomb, and we don't know where they've put it. So here here here's Mary Magdalene and and she shows up and Jesus's body is gone. She runs and finds Peter and John and basically says,

Jesus's body has been stolen. You see, this point she had followed Jesus. She had seen Jesus do miracles. She believed in Him. And yet, she still didn't recognize who He really was. That He was the Waymaker. It never crossed her mind that He had come back to life. Because she had not quite understood what it meant

to really know Jesus and who He was. And that first thing He was, was He was the way maker. He made a way. It says in Scripture that Jesus said this. He says, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father but by me. So Jesus is the way maker because He is the way.

You see, we live in a world where a lot of people feel like, you know, don't all basically good ways lead to God? And that's not true. There's only one way to be made right with God, and that's through the Waymaker Himself, Jesus. Because

we've all sinned, as the Bible says, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But what does sin mean? Is it Jesus God just has this big list of I don't like that, I don't like this, and you're bad, and you're horrible. No. What it means to sin is to not trust God.

It means to rebel against His plan. It means to go try to find your hope and your happiness in something other than Him. It's to believe the lies that you could basically be God in your own life. And when we do that, we've rebelled against God's ways and and we've basically separated ourselves from God.

And the only way you can have a relationship with God and be with Him is to be holy like Him. To be perfect like Him. And none of us can do that. So Jesus was the waymaker because He loved us enough that He came and lived a perfect life, and then basically died in our place. The Bible calls that justification.

It's a legal term to say just as if you'd never done it because he took the penalty. So basically, we are pardoned and we can be made right with God. And Jesus made that way. And He knew He could only do that by dying for us. But He didn't stay dead. He beat death. So He's also the miracle worker. But Mary, at this moment,

doesn't see that. As much as she loved Jesus, she thought he was the guy that basically, you know, helps you with your problems. Like me working at Target. Hey, on what aisle can I find hope?

On what aisle can I find a new job? On what aisle can we get rid of this this this nation that is oppressing us called Rome? Is what Mary was thinking. But Jesus came for much more than that. He's the miracle worker that came to make the way.

So she tells Peter and John, what did they know? Where were they at on this? Verse three, it says, Peter and the other disciples started out for the tomb. They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. So, so far he's the one whom Jesus loves, and he can beat Peter in a race. But anyways, they both get there. He gets there first but look what it says in verse five, He, meaning John, stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there but he didn't go in. Now it's interesting. In the next few verses gonna use this word for see. In English, you'll say see, saw,

noticed. But in Greek, this this was originally written in Greek. John uses different words for saw, and they mean different things.

So it's interesting to watch what what they know and where they're at. It says when he first stops, so he beats Peter, gets just looks in. It uses a word for for see that just means to glance or look. It means it's the same word. It's like it it it fundamentally

just means this. His eyes saw something and his brain registered that he saw something. It doesn't go any further than that. Well, in the next verse it says, Then Simon Peter arrived. He went inside.

He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that covered Jesus's head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. It uses the English word here notice because it's a different Greek word. The Greek word for what Peter saw was the word theorai. It's it's where we get the word theory.

So he goes Sherlock on this situation. He actually sees and starts formulating theories, and he noticed more than one thing. Yeah, linens are gone, the body's gone. But he also noticed, and theorized, he saw that the face covering was folded up and set over on the side.

And so to have a theory started means that he saw something deeper. He started to kind of form a theory about, wow, I think Jesus came back to life.

He would start to have those theories because he would think it was he noticed he's like, yeah, could see the linens being there, But if you stole a body, with the linens being laying there the way they were, and would the face, the thing they would cover the face with the body, would you take the time to stop, take it off, fold it up, and set it over on the side?

No. So he he sees a little bit deeper. He has a theory about who Jesus is. But then, verse eight. Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first, in case you forgot that he won the race, also went in. And he saw and believed. There's two words there in the English

for one word in the Greek, which basically means to go more than just see and theorize. It means to see, understand, and believe. It means you you saw and you put the pieces together. So at this point, what what what John is, he's more than a theory. He's believing

now in something that who Jesus is. And it says in verse nine, For until then, they still hadn't understood the scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead. So now he's putting together scriptures. Promises of God about Jesus coming back. So now what John is believing at this moment is He is the Waymaker.

He found a way. He's the Miracle Worker that came back from the dead, just like He said He would. He's the promise keeper. So John now is sitting there in that moment. Waymaker, miracle worker, promise keeper. He's right there. He's got it. But then the verse 10, the powerful response that they had says, Then they went home.

What? He's put all the pieces together. He's right there. And they went home. What did they do? They have to go home? Were they were they quarantining? They said we've the stay at home order has been in effect. We've been out too long. We got to get back. Did they have a ham to go to?

What were they what they just went home? In other words, they went back to where they were hiding out. And even though John believed, we know from scripture later on, they still kept hiding out. We'll see by the end of the story that they needed the rest of the story, because

they're going back hiding out still wondering what's next, because they had not seen Jesus as the light in the darkness yet. And that's where Mary comes back into the story. Verse 11 says, Mary was standing outside the tomb crying.

As she wept, she stooped and looked in. And the words there for crying and wept in the Greek it's it's like it is ugly tears. Snot bubbles and everything kind of crying. So she has totally lost it. But she looks in, she sees saw two white robed angels,

one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. Dear woman, why are you crying? The angels asked her. Because they have taken away my Lord, she replied,

and I don't know where they've put them. So anyway, now angels showed up. I don't know if she interacted with with with Peter and John, but she's right. She's still right where she started the story. Trapped in the darkness, Still doesn't see the way. Doesn't understand what just happened,

and figures Jesus, who is our hope, is now dead. And I just want to know his body. I mean, I know where his body is. Where did they put his body? Like, think about it. She's in a panicked state of mourning and confusion. So she's just like, I just want to find the body and put it back. Even with angels showing up.

So it says, she turned to leave and saw someone standing there. Verse 14. It was Jesus, but she didn't recognize him. Now some people of of Bible scholars have said like this is like a miraculous thing. He made her not be able to recognize her at first, but I understand why he would do that.

The truth is she's been ugly crying. Her eyes are probably not really focused. This is really early in the morning. There's a lot of shadows that wasn't a well lit area. She's and so and she's so distraught and so convinced that Jesus' body has been stolen, that He's dead.

It probably wouldn't cross her mind to think the first person that walks up and talked to was Jesus. She probably didn't recognize the voice because she probably was half not paying attention.

Dear woman, why are you crying? Jesus asked her in verse 15. Who are you looking for? Who are you looking for? Who are you looking for on Easter?

Look at the next phrase. She thought he was the gardener. She thought He just worked there.

Maybe He had brown khakis and a red polo shirt on. I don't know. But but she thought He just He just worked there. So she thought to ask Jesus for help for what her immediate problem was and what she thought the greatest solution would be. I am in the dark. I am struggling. I don't know what's next. I just need to find the body. Maybe you have an answer of what you need next. It's it's Easter. You're stuck at the house. You don't know what's going on next. And maybe you already have a plan, and you are going to the Jesus that just works here. The gardener Jesus,

and saying, hey, can you help me find this? When he doesn't want to help you find something else, he wants you to see him.

She says, if you take Him away, tell me where you have put Him, and I will go and get Him. And then in verse sixteen, one word changes it all. Mary, Jesus said. He just called out her name. There was something about the way he said her name. But by calling her name, it says, she turned to him and cried out Rabboni,

which in Hebrew for teacher. So she runs to him and must she goes to embrace Him. But verse 17 says, Don't cling to me, Jesus said. What's going on? Why don't cling to Him? Did He say, hey social distancing,

stay six feet back. I just came back from the dead. I need to be in quarantine for two weeks to make sure there's no symptoms of dying again. No, that's not what happened. He said, Don't cling to me because he says, got a mission. You're not done. You need to go.

I need to send you back to the disciples because they still are in the dark. See, so Mary went in a moment being the most in the dark, not knowing anything. Peter and John, especially John went away believing, hey, he he is the waymaker.

He's the miracle worker. He's the promise keeper, but they're still in the dark. Mary went from all the way clueless to hearing Jesus call her name. Now she's boom. She's seen Jesus. She's all in. She sees the light in the darkness, and he goes, now I need to send you to go tell the disciples that. And she sends he sends her, and in verse 18 it says, Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them,

I have seen the Lord.

I have seen the Lord.

Mary starts off hopeless. Peter has some good theories about who Jesus is. John believes that Jesus made the way, performed the miracle, kept the promise. But it was Mary that saw the Lord in this moment. And that changed everything. And she saw Him, and understood, and comprehended when He called her name.

I believe we all need to hear this message this morning because some of us we're we're like John. We believe, but we've gotten lost in the darkness again. And we're holding on to belief, but we're not seeing Jesus. Some of us are Peter, you got a few theories about who Jesus is, you've never really embraced

what the empty tomb means. Some of us are like Mary, you're completely in the dark. But all of us need to know that the empty tomb is greater than the empty room.

And the way you can embrace that is to just hear Jesus call your name, so the light can go on. And when she heard His name, she understood. She saw Him clearly. Do you want to see Jesus this Easter? Then listen for Him to call your name. Years ago, when my oldest daughter,

Micah, she was young, slept in her own bed, really young, two, three years old. And I get awoken from my sleep to just moaning, howling, shrieking, crying. And not the type of crying when a kid wakes up and they're a little bit, or,

or they walk in and stare at your face and creep you out. You open your eyes, mommy, daddy. You know, nothing like that. This was a different kind of cry. This was a hopeless shriek that that that really terrified

me. And I jump up, my wife turns up, I run into the room first, and I and I look, and I go go, where is she? She's not in her bed. I'm looking around the floor. I don't see her, but I still hear the crying. So I thought, where where'd she go? Is she in the walls? What happened?

Why can I hear but not see her? And then I finally look, I get down and I look, and under her bed in the darkness, she's she's laying under there stuck, just kinda doing that crying like she's totally terrified, but not truly totally awake.

She has no clue where she's at. She can't see, and if she tries to move up, she hits her head, and she she doesn't. So I grab her legs, and I go to pull her out, and her head gets stuck. It's like her head won't come out from under the bed, and I'm like, wait a minute. I turn it, I turn it, and and here's the weird thing. How did she get there in the first place? How did she even get under the bed if her head can't get under the lip of the the bed frame?

So anyways, as she's sitting there screaming with her head stuck, and she doesn't know what's going on, I finally just pick up the bed and and and pull her out. So what I did is I did something that she couldn't do for herself. I pulled her out and got her up from the bed. I I pick her up. I hold her, but she is still

just sobbing, uncontrollable, in terror, in confusion. She doesn't really know what's going on. And so then I just flipped the light on. And I said, Micah. Micah, sweetie. It's me. It's daddy. And when I said her name, it's like you could see something in her eyes. It's like, boom.

She was out of the darkness and in the light. She realized she was in a bad snarl. She realized she was scared. But she saw me. She saw her dad.

And then it was okay.

Where are you trapped in the dark? And no matter how hard you try, you can't get your head out of that. You're just stuck there. You're stuck in that fear and that doubt and that wonder.

You need the waymaker, the miracle worker, the promise keeper, the light in the darkness. That is Jesus. And that's who Jesus reveals himself to be with the resurrection. That's when he shows that the empty tomb

is greater than any empty room, any dark place you were stuck. That empty tomb shows that he is greater than that. And how do I get out of that? Only he can get you out of there. And and how do you you realize that? How do you embrace that? Just hear him call your name and respond to him. Put your faith in him. Say yes

to Jesus.

That is what Easter's about. And if you don't recognize Easter right now, it's because you don't recognize Jesus, the way maker.

So, hey, I I just wanna close and pray with you, and we're gonna sing a song. For some of you, you you you know Jesus. You just needed to be reminded that he is that light. Listen for him to talk to you and call your name right now. For some of you, you've never

heard him call your name and responded to it. You've never said yes to him. You've never put your faith in what he did for you on the cross to justify you, to make you right with God. You wanna be able to face those empty rooms, those darknesses, those what ifs? You gotta understand

that it's not so much about what you're going through, it's about who you're with. And you can be with Jesus. All you have to do is invite him. So would you pray with me? Just close your eyes and pray. And if you're someone who who hears Jesus calling your name, you're like, I have never put my faith in Jesus.

This is weird. I'm bowing in prayer to a guy that's not even in this room and I'm praying with him. But you know what? I may not be in the room, but Jesus is.

But if you want to know him, just pray with me, but make it your own prayer. Pray something like this. Dear Jesus, thank you. Thank you that you are the way maker, the miracle worker who came back from dead, the promise keeper who did what you said you're gonna do. You came to rescue us. Thank you that you are the light

midst of

midst

in from the dead beating death to give me the life. We're So I am sorry for trying to make life work my own way. I'm sorry for running from you. But thank you for forgiving me. Thank you for dying for me. And like I said, in the best way I know how, I wanna embrace that. I wanna hear you call my name every day of my life.

Thank you, Jesus. Now help me go from here and learn to follow you as the way maker, the life giver, the one, the one who can overcome every empty room I face because of the empty tomb. Thank you. I pray this in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.

Amen. You know, the empty tomb is greater than the empty room because Jesus is the way maker. And that's the story of Easter. Hey, thank you for joining us online. And I I I would hope that if if you prayed with me at the end and you said yes to Jesus, he became the way maker for you.

I would just really, really, really encourage you to go to rockpoint.io and there's a tab there that says say yes to Jesus. Click on that, put some information in there because there are people that wanna pray for you and come alongside you and and just just be there for you. So we would really ask you to do that.

But also, we wanna thank you for being here online. We hope you would come back again next week and and join us as we we start a series called find your way back. So I hope you do find your way back to us this next week. And on top of all of that, I we kinda asked everyone to kinda just

hang on to some of the traditions of Easter and like dress a little bit nicer for Easter even though you're at home. Well here's what I've asked you to do. Take some photos of that. Take some pictures of your family. I hope you've done that and I hope that you will post them to hashtag

we are rock point on social media and then we're actually gonna go through them and we're gonna give away some prizes. We're gonna give away some stuff for I don't know best dress, maybe most creative, and and there's some pretty good prizes. They might involve Rock Point Coffee Company

and maybe toilet paper. Nah, we're not that rich. We can't afford toilet paper. But anyways, we hope you do that. God bless. Happy Easter and see you later.