Removing the Biggest Stone
Part 7 of a Lenten Message Series
titled Journey of Stones
Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to
the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already removed from the tomb. 2 So she
ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved,
and said to them, They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we do not know
where they have put Him. 3 So Peter
and the other disciple left, and they were going to the tomb. 4 The two
were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead, faster than Peter, and
came to the tomb first; 5 and he stooped to look in, and saw the linen wrappings lying there; however he did not go
in. 6 So Simon
Peter also came, following him, and he entered the tomb; and he looked at the
linen wrappings lying there, 7 and the face-cloth which had
been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings but folded
up in a place by itself. 8 So the
other disciple who had
first come to the tomb also entered then, and he saw and believed. 9 For they did not yet understand
the Scripture, that He
must rise from the dead. 10 So the
disciples went away again to their
own homes.
11 But Mary
was standing outside the tomb, weeping; so as she
wept, she stooped
to look into the tomb; 12 and she
saw two
angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of
Jesus had been lying.13 And they said to her, Woman,
why are you weeping? She said to them, Because they have taken away my
Lord, and I do not know where they put Him. 14 When she
had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and yet she did not know that it was
Jesus. 15 Jesus
*said to her, Woman,
why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? Thinking that He was the
gardener, she said to Him, Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where
you put Him, and I will take Him away. 16 Jesus
said to her, Mary! She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, Rabboni! (which
means, Teacher). 17 Jesus
said to her, Stop
clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brothers and say to them, I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and My
God and your God. 18 Mary
Magdalene came and announced
to the disciples, I have seen the Lord, and that He had said these things to
her. John 20:1-18 (NASB)
The BIG Idea
The
Stone covering the entrance of the tomb of Jesus presented a large obstacle. We
will face a lot of obstacles in life, but death is the largest obstacle we will
face. Jesus is the source of life and transformation, demonstrated through the
Resurrection of Jesus. Believers experience of being raised to life through
Christ changes how they live out their faith in their work, relationships, and
everyday actions. Easter is the ultimate loophole to a life of grace and
freedom!
The Stone presented a
large obstacle.
Mary s life had been full
of large obstacles.
The stone was a barrier
for Mary that she was completely incapable of moving by herself.
This is the ultimate
message of Easter! We could not remove
our sins by ourselves. God did this for
us through His Son, no questions asked!
The biggest stone in life
was removed by Jesus.
The Savior and Creator of
the world has chosen to love us!
ILLUSTRATION: W.C. Fields,
the famous vaudeville comedian, was a notorious atheist. One evening before his performance, an
assistant came into Field s dressing room and caught Fields reading the
Bible. Embarrassed, Fields slammed the
Bible shut and said, Just looking for loopholes.
Easter
is the ultimate loophole to a life of grace and freedom!
Easter
is meant to transform our lives each day!