John 20:1-18

            {Prayer}

            “I know ________.” There are so many ways we could fill in that blank. The philosopher Socrates completed the sentence by saying, “I know that I know nothing.” Very philosophical like of him. Sherlock Holmes once said, “I know what is good when I see it.” And the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah, speaking on behalf of God, declared, “I know the plans I have for you” (29:11).

            On that first Easter morning, the friends of Jesus might have filled in the blank like this: “I know that something is different.”“I know that something is up!”

            We heard it in the Gospel reading from John 20. “Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb” (20:1a). Three days earlier, Mary stood the cross, watching Jesus suffer and die. “Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene” (19:25). She saw Him die. She saw Him buried. She saw the stone seal the tomb.

            But now, on the third day, she saw something new. “{She} saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance” (20:1b). This is not how she saw it last. Something was different! But what? A robbery? Had someone stolen the body? An act of desecration? Someone took the body of Jesus to further mock Him and His followers? Mary didn’t know, so she did the only thing that made sense. She ran!

            Mary ran to Peter and John exclaiming, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” (20:2). So, what did Peter do? He ran! Something was up and he needed to check it out! So, he ran to the tomb!

            Now think about the last time Peter had seen Jesus. It was during a trail, when Peter stood outside the high priest’s house by a fire. There Peter stood by a fire and denied knowing Jesus, not once … but three times. “Woman, I do not know him” (Luke 22:57).

Was Peter running to the tomb in fear? Fear that someone had stolen the body of Jesus. Or maybe Peter ran because of a different kind of fear … what if Jesus is alive? Now Peter would have to face his failure. Or maybe, just maybe, Peter remembered what Jesus had once said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised” (Luke 9:22). Could it be? Could it really be true? Could the words Jesus spoke been true?

            But Peter wasn’t the only one running! So was John, “the one Jesus loved” (John 20:2). “So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first” (20:3-4).

            John got to the tomb first, but Peter went in first. He found the burial cloths still there. John then walked in, and we hear, “He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead)” (20:8-9).

John sees the empty tomb. He sees the burial cloths. He believes, but he doesn’t fully understand. Something is up, but what exactly, he’s not sure. What could all this mean?

            After Peter and John left, Mary stayed behind. She wept outside the tomb. She looked inside. She saw two angels who asked her why she was crying. She said she didn’t know where they had put Jesus. And then … Jesus stood before her … but she didn’t recognize Him.

“Thinking he was the gardener, she said, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, ‘Rabboni!’ (which means Teacher)” (John 20:14-16).

            And right there … Mary completed the sentence I know __________. I know that my Redeemer lives! Now it all made sense. The teachings, the miracles, the promises, they all made sense!

The feedings were a glimpse of His eternal banquet! The healings were signs of resurrection hope. The strange things Jesus said about destroying a temple and rebuilding it in three days, wasn’t about a building, but His own body! They made sense!

            So what did Mary do? She went. “Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: ‘I have seen the Lord!’” (20:18). The message of the resurrection of Jesus spread. It went from Mary to the friends of Jesus. From the disciples to the world. From the world … to you!

            Let’s go back, let’s return to my opening sentence. “I know ___________.” How would you finish that sentence today?

            “I know that my Redeemer lives”? That’s a good way to finish it. How about a little more personal?

            “I know that cancer does not get the last word, because my Redeemer lives.”

            “I know that my sins are forgiven, because my Redeemer lives.”

            “I know I can have hope, even in a dark world, because my Redeemer lives.”

            “I know I’m not alone, because my Redeemer lives.”

            “I know that death is not the end, because my Redeemer lives.”

            “I know joy, because my Redeemer lives.”

            But here’s the challenge … Don’t leave that sentence unfinished. Don’t leave church today without asking yourself what you really know, what you truly believe.

            Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia. This risen Jesus, your risen Jesus, He knows you. He calls you by name. He has not forgotten you.

            He’s not wanting to punish you. No, instead, He’s pursuing, He’s running after to you to meet you with forgiveness, life, and joy! He’s still your Savior! He’s still your Redeemer! He’s still your Friend.

            Take this truth home with you. Fill in the blank! Let this Easter be more than a moment … let it be the beginning of a resurrection-shaped life.

            But before you go … pause and wonder … What kind of Redeemer do we have … a Redeemer, who lives?

            Jesus, He’s not just resuscitated but He’s risen, victorious, glorified, leaving the marks of sin and the crucifixion behind in the tomb. Death didn’t just blink … it was beaten. Sin wasn’t just dismissed … it was paid in full on the cross. The devil didn’t just back down … he was crushed under the heel of your living Lord.

            And this Risen Jesus is not distant. He’s not locked away in history or up in heaven lounging in His Lazy Boy waiting for the end of the age. No, He’s here. He’s alive, reigning, and still calling people by name.

            And where is He calling you by name? In His Word, in your Baptism, and yes, even today, in this Lord’s Supper. Here, your living Redeemer gives you His very body and blood. The same body that hung on the cross, the same body that walked out of the grave, given and shed for you. This isn’t just a symbol or a memory. This is Jesus … present, personal, and powerful … coming to you with forgiveness, life, and salvation

            That’s why Paul could say with confidence in 1 Corinthians 15, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. … But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died” (17, 20 NLT).

            The first to rise, but not the last. Jesus’ resurrection is the preview of what is to come. You are part of that harvest. Your body. Your future. Your forever.

            In other words … Easter changes everything.

            Because Jesus lives, you are not in your sins, you’re forgiven. Totally. Completely. Your past is redeemed

            Because Jesus lives, your faith is not useless. Your present has a purpose.

            Because Jesus lives, you too shall live! Your future is secure.

            So, don’t just say, “I know that my Redeemer lives” as some sort of religious phrase. Say it like Mary, with wonder, with tears, with joy. Say it like it’s the anchor of your life … because it is.

            So … how will you finish the sentence? “I know that my Redeemer lives.” And because He lives, I will see Him with my very own eyes and not another, and I will live! Amen.

            The peace of God, that surpasses all human understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord and Redeemer, now and forever. Amen.