Beloved congregation of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We stand there with Mary. These are remarkable things, and we have these gospel messages, little details. Mary probably had gone to tell Peter and John, and then they ran forward and she followed back with a tenacity that was born of love. Love without faith, love without hope to be sure, but love tenacious, love now unfulfilled, love that fills her with deep, deep sorrow, with tragic grief, and with no way to release it. Perhaps she could take care of the body. Perhaps she can find out where it is. Maybe that would give her something. How could her beloved Lord, her beloved dead Lord, be so dishonored? What was she to do? And so she goes to the grave. She doesn't go in. She kneels down, and she looks in. And we stand there with her. But as we have seen already, there is something going on. There are those grave clothes that are lying there, and there is that empty tomb with the rock rolled away so that we can look in. And by faith, John is beginning to understand, and we, by faith with the Word of God, we really can understand he's alive. Mary, why are you weeping? Do you stand with Mary now in grief or in grace? When you look into the tomb, do you see that which causes grief or that which causes grace? For Mary, it will take some time. In terms of our text now, just a few moments. Very short, very quickly. But God, our Father in heaven, is gathering his lambs and he's going to call, O Lord of hosts, how lovely. thy tabernacles are. For thee my heart is yearning in banishment afar. Is it possible that the temple now, with that curtain ripped down, that the Holy of Holies has been displayed for all to see, has now moved to this grave? That you prepare a table before me and anoint me? Is it possible that there is a table there for the anointing of Jesus Christ? Is it possible that there is grace in the garden, even though there is grief in the garden, and that grace will overcome that grief? Is there a joy? Is there a power in the story? Let's go back. We always go back to John chapter 1, don't we? And then we read, And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness of him and cried out saying, this was he of whom I said, he who comes after me is preferred before me and he before he was before me. And of his fullness, we have all received grace for grace. The law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten son who is the bosom of the father, he has declared him. So once with Psalm 84, you cried out, O Lord God, hear my petitions. And again with Psalm 80, Lord God, hear my cry. Hear my cry for mercy. Bring your cry for mercy. Bring your cry for his grace this morning. For our theme is Jesus reveals himself to Mary and we'll see grief in the grave and then grace in the garden. Mary, our beloved Mary, Mary who had been redeemed from seven evil spirits, seven, who rattled her, who tormented her, who made her life a living, well, hell is too much to say, but a horror, not in control, mental anguish, broken, and then Jesus came and cast those demons out and she was a new woman. And her love, her loyalty, her faithfulness to her beloved Savior, could not have been deeper. How do we know? There she is, concerned, worried about the location of the body of her Lord. Where is He? Who took Him? It's not possible that that grave could be empty in her mind because of a resurrection. Somebody had to take the body away. Somebody had to take care of these things. It's interesting because the Jewish leaders believe the words of Jesus, believe the words of three days and the sign of Jonah and that he will rise again and he will rebuild the temple. They even have a guard around that temple or that grew, uh, by that grave because they believe that that someone might take that body to make the words of Jesus come true. But Mary now she doesn't understand. For her, it is over. Many of you have known this feeling. Many of you have known the depth of this feeling, especially when it's a shocking death. You're walking with somebody, you're talking with them. Life is normal. Jesus had come to Jerusalem. Yeah, we know there's a bounty on his head, but he was celebrating the Passover with his beloved. He was walking and talking that week and teaching it. And it was all so amazing, so beautiful, with a triumphal entry. And Mary Magdalene, all part of that, part of that wonder, part of that joy. Jesus was the Messiah. She believed it. She didn't understand it. And then, like that. He's not there. She watched him breathe his last. He was and then he wasn't. What do we say about death? The finality of it. The horror of it. To lay there watching somebody die, and they inhale, and then they exhale, and then it's just quiet. And you'll never speak to them again. They'll never speak to you again. And oh, that I had just done this, or if we had a time. But it's over now. That is the horror of our sin. That is the brokenness that sin brought. Sin has brought death, and death is not natural. We were created to live. We were created to live forever. We were created to live with God forever. In this fellowship with Almighty God, and right now there's a block between Mary Magdalene and her God because faith needs to be given. But God Almighty, God our loving Father, looks down from heaven and he sees the grief of his beloved daughter. And he sees her love. And he speaks to her. The rock is rolled away, she can look in. The rock is rolled away and she can see those clothes lying there, and with the head cloth neatly folded and taken care of. And yet without faith, without the power of the Holy Spirit, she's blind to it. The light is shining in the darkness, there in the grave, in the garden. And in the garden where there was once a dead body, just like long ago in the garden when Adam laid there dead, God has brought life. Jesus Christ has brought life. He's alive, Mary. He's alive. Why are you weeping? But she can't see what you see. She doesn't know what you know. She only knows death and the finality of death. And even though the light is shining in the darkness, the darkness cannot comprehend it. She needs to hear the voice of Jesus. We need to hear the voice of Jesus. We need to hear the voice of God. The law was given through Moses. We see the result of the law. It's death. The wages of sin are death. But grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God, but Christ is going to make him known. We're gonna move now from the Old Testament and all of its laws and all of its death. and all of its bloody atonement, and all of its grief, and to the joy, and the marvel, and the wonder that all of that pointed to, He's alive. Mary, why are you weeping? There's two angels looking there for a minute. There's one at the head of where Jesus would have been laying, and there's one at the feet of where Jesus is laying. They're not together. But they're apart. And those two angels look at Mary. That's interesting, right? She looks in, they're not there. She looks in and they're there. God has sent an angel to make an announcement of the rebirth of his son, just like he did to mother Mary of Jesus. Then the angel Gabriel said, the Holy Spirit is going to come upon you, and what is conceived as you is of God. He is the Son of God, and you will name His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. And then Mary rejoiced. And then in time Mary pondered these things. But when the angels asked Mary, why are you weeping? She weeps even further still. They've taken away the body of my Lord, and I don't know where they have laid him. But if you could tell me, I will come, and I will take care of that body, for my heart is broken." She doesn't seem that odd, does she? Like if you would see two angels sitting in a tomb, don't you think you would be going, there's two angels here. What's going on? In the depth of her grief, she cannot see the grace of God who's calling to her. Now, one of the difficulties we have when we read something, right, is that we can't see the face of the one who brings it. We can't hear the tone of voice who brings it. So let's just consider the question the angels ask. Woman, so they separate themselves from her, woman, The statement is going to be very objective. The question is, why are you grieving? Do you think it's because they're being pastoral? Do you think it's because they see this woman just so low, so sad, so broken, and they want to know, what happened? What's going on? What's wrong with you? How can we help you, woman? Why are you weeping? And yet these are the angels. They've already seen Jesus in heaven. They've already seen Jesus Christ in his humanity, in his human soul, in heaven. They know that he's alive. So why the question? Do you think maybe they're asking it this way? Woman, why on earth are you weeping? Do you not know? Do you not understand? We have come to you to ask you this question. It's the way the Lord God is nudging her to hear and see the great truth of grace in the grave to overcome that grief in the grave. Woman, why are you weeping? And we should be asking that for Mary now. But don't miss it, how God comes to that grieving woman in a very special way with the angels. And when that isn't enough, so she's turning. It's very interesting that Mary's turning all the time, because the Lord's going to turn her to faith and salvation. So something happens. We don't want to overdo it, but it seems like the angels say, woman, why are you weeping? And then they look, because Jesus is standing behind her now. And she's still on her knees, looks back, probably looking, what are they looking at? And she sees a man. And in the midst of the morning, as the light is becoming light in the fullness of the dawn, she doesn't recognize the man. And then the question, why are you weeping? What's wrong? And again, Mary is just concerned with the location of the body. Did you see, beloved, in our humanity, there is no way of overcoming grief. You know, we can strong-arm it, we can be stoic about it. Some of us choose the way, and I was one of them, we'll just keep working, work and work and work and work, and then you can get out of it, just don't deal with the pain. Or we can go too far and deal so much with it, it destroys us and ruins us. Or we become victims with it. There's just really no strong human way to get through grief. And then God comes. Why are you weeping? And then the man in the garden comes, and we know who it is, it's Jesus. Jesus is standing there. Woman, why are you weeping? Please, tell me, sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away. And then grace overcomes grief, And there the grief in the garden is translated into grace in the garden. And Jesus says to her, Mary. And her eyes are opened. And she sees. Now before we go to that grace, I want you to see one more piece of grace that's really beautiful in this text. Now I want you to turn away from Mary and Jesus for a moment. I want you to look back into the tomb. and we've mentioned it, that there is an angel at the head where Jesus' body lay, then the bandages, then an angel at the feet where Jesus lay, and we are told another detail, and remember John is very careful with details, but we read there that they were in white. What does that mean? Why do we need to know that? Is there anything there? Now, on the surface of the reading, and if we didn't go deeper, I don't know that it would affect your faith in any way, but when you see the glory of Scripture, when you see how the old is morphing into the new, you'll see something beautiful here. I want to read you something from the book of Exodus. And God said to Moses, you shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth. So we have the Ark of the Covenant, which is that beautiful chest, ornately and beautifully made. And on the top of that chest, there is a seat, then made of gold. And you shall make two cherubim, those are angels, of gold, of hammered work you shall make them, on two ends. of the mercy seat. Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end. Interesting, don't you think? That it says it twice, and then one more time it says, of one piece with the mercy seat, you shall make the cherubim on its two ends. The cherubim shall spread its wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces towards one another. Toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be. And you shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, And in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you, and there I will meet with you. And from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in the commandment for the people of Israel." Do you think it's just coincidence that these two angels are sitting that way? And what do they do? They bring the word of God. They ask the question of God. God is meeting with his people in a grave, beloved. In the midst of that grief, he's speaking to them. I will meet with you. That's why I had you sing, O Lord of hosts, how lovely. And if the tabernacle is a grave, isn't that beautiful? Isn't that amazing and I will speak to you about all that I have testified there in the atonement cover and atonement simply means the covering that God gives to us so that when he looks at us he sees the righteousness of Jesus Christ or if you want sometimes we explain it at one meant God now makes us one with him holding our sins in the Old Testament in abeyance. I'm not gonna damn them, I'm not gonna punish them. I'm gonna hold that until Jesus comes with all the death of those animals, the day of atonement with the scapegoat, and then the offering, and then all of those offerings and the blood going all the way back to when Adam and Eve were taken out of the garden, and then the animals were killed so that they could be covered. And there are those blood-stained, Death clothes of Jesus. Death has happened. But the dead animal isn't there anymore. The angels are there. The presence of God is there. It is finished. And if we understand that Jesus is laid on a table in that hewn tomb, and we know and we sang together that you have prepared a table before me in the presence of my enemies, my cup overflows. If Jesus is singing the words of David, Now God the shepherd, through his shepherd, is going to get his lamb, Mary Magdalene. I have sent my son. I love you. He has died for you, but he lives again. Even without Jesus speaking to Mary, you and I have enough in this word there to see grace in the grave, the grace in the garden. But for Mary, it wasn't enough. Now, I can't do everything, but this is really a remarkable piece of Scripture. But just very quickly, remember John chapter 9? The man born blind, and how he was healed, right? He didn't see right away, and then he saw in time. That theme has been running through everything. We all can't see. We can hear it. We may even have an inkling something's going on, but the healing, the giving of sight needs to happen. Mary, that's all Jesus said. Now, back to the garden, that old garden, the Garden of Eden, and Adam and Eve hiding from Almighty God. Adam, what have you done? Where are you? God goes to get Adam and Eve in their great grief and in their misery that they had brought upon themselves and upon the whole planet. And again, we think of the promise that God gives, and then Eve, standing there all alone, first in the garden, God comes, and then again, her son Abel is dead, her son Cain is excommunicated, living a hellish life unto hell. And then God speaks, and they come together again, and Seth is born, and the promise continues. Of Elijah on a mountain. Grieving take my life Lord. I've done your work. It means nothing take my life Elijah. I Have work yet for you to do Go and do that work Lazarus laying in the grave Another Mary and Martha. Oh Lord, if you would just come, he wouldn't have died. Lazarus, come out. And he comes out alive, simply by the word of God, by the word of Jesus Christ. And one more time. Mary. Rabboni. That's our prayer for little Alice. And that should be our prayer for each one of us here. That God in his way and his time comes and calls you by name. Remember what Jesus said in John chapter 10? I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me. My sheep hear my voice. Mary. Rabboni. He's alive. Grace has conquered grief. There's gratitude and joy and thanksgiving now in the garden. It has become a place of joy once again. It's amazing grace, and how sweet the sound. Mary, why are you weeping? Rabboni, and she, on her knees, clings to Jesus, putting her arms around his legs, and probably laying her head, and he says, stop clinging to me. Don't keep me down here. We've had our time together, but now you go and tell your brothers. Isn't that amazing language, beloved? Did you notice that? Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father, but go tell my brethren." And if they're his brethren, that means God is their Father. And brethren here for sure means the disciples. But we think about what Jesus said, who is my mother, who is my father, who is my brother, who is my sister, but those who have faith in Jesus Christ. God Almighty, the Shepherd is called to you today in the same way that He's called Mary. And Jesus says, I am in heaven. I'm sitting at the right hand of God. But if you believe in me, you are my brothers. You are my sisters. And you may call my God, Father. He is your Father. He is your shepherd. Make a joyful noise to the Lord all ye lends. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. Know that he is God. He has made us. We are his sheep, the sheep of his pasture. How else can we see the beauty and the marvel except for the grace of Almighty God? The law taught us what we were, but grace teaches what we now can and have become. So that now all of you who are mourning and grieving the loss of loved ones, there's hope. There's hope for you. There'll be an end to your grieving. There'll be an end to the heaviness and the loneliness that what Mary has now is being relieved. And for those of you who grieve, it will be relieved. And I heard a voice from heaven saying, write this, John wrote. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Blessed indeed, says the Lord, that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them. And Paul writes in Romans 14, 8, for none of us lives to himself and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord. And if we die, we die to the Lord. So then whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. We are the children of Almighty God. Baptism also teaches that. Remember that you are children of the Lord. Be comforted. Be at peace. Where Jesus is, you will go. I have to ascend. That where I am, you will be. Where my body is, one day you will be. Your bodies will be transformed like my glorious body. Paul writes of Jesus Christ. He's alive. Why are you weeping? There you will find comfort. There you will find solace for your souls. And then did you notice the words of Ruth? I'm ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and to your God. Remember God used Ruth to comfort Naomi. Wherever you will go, I will go. And your God will be my God and your people will be my people. The whole Testament is coming to fruition. And as God took Ruth from Moab, he took Mary from the realm of the demons, and now will use this Mary. She's not, by the way, called to be an apostle here. A lot of people say, oh, this is a proof that women should preach and that women should hold office. That's not what's going on. Mary in her role and position is going to be used by God to tell the apostles he's alive. In all of this, you see the pattern of the unlikely. God will always use the unlikely, whether it's a little shepherd boy out in taking care of his sheep and he becomes the great King David, who writes Psalm 23 for us, whether it's Jesus born in anonymity, born in a cattle stall in Bethlehem, and now it's a woman. And yet there's great dignity in this. And all you women, the dignity of bringing the word of the Lord as a woman in your role, in your calling and in your way. And that does mean from time to time you call a man. It means women as we're wives, sometimes you have to call your husband from time to time. But also everything's getting ready for that great commission. for the worldwide kingdom of Jesus Christ, who said to Pilate, My kingdom is not of this world. Mary, don't cling to me. Don't hold me down here. What we had was good, it was beautiful. I'm alive, but now I have to go to do bigger things, to do better things, because you need to do bigger things and better things. And what does Mary do? She obeys. And she goes. And she's got to know that these men are going to think she's lost her mind, this grieving woman who's beyond hope. You know what men can do. But nonetheless, she goes in the courage and the strength and the conviction of a risen Savior. Now we're going to see Mary, who needed to see. We're going to see the disciples who needed to see. We're going to need to see Thomas, who needed to see. But blessed are all of you who have not seen, but believe. Are you weeping? Are you sorrowing? Are you suffering? That's a normal part of loss and grief in life with the trials and struggles of your life. But ask yourself the question, why are you weeping? And bring that weeping to the Lord God and hear his voice today. Mary, beloved son, beloved daughter, and then go and tell. Go and tell of the great atonement that has been made through the marvel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Where have you laid the body? And Jesus says, here is the body. And the body is in heaven. Set your mind on the things of heaven and then go and teach them all that he has commanded you. And he promises you, I am with you. even to the end of the ages. Hear the voice of Jesus. Come sinner, come. Amen. Let's pray.