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The Message In The Grave Clothes
by Alan Carr
Scripture: John 20:1-10
Introduction:
Several years ago, I was watching a documentary concerning the death of Medgar
Evers, a black civil rights worker who was shot to death in his own driveway in
Mississippi in 1963. In the early 90's, at the request of his son, the body of
Mr Evers was exhumed. It was the hope of the family that a new autopsy might
shed more light into his death. I watched as they opened that casket that had
been sealed for 30 years. Inside was a body that was remarkably preserved. The
body and the clothes it wore were in excellent condition.
As I watched that program, I immediately thought about another time when another
grave was opened. It was a grave that was opened, not by the will of man, but by
the will of God! In that grave, those who looked in saw the clothes the body
wore, but they saw no body! Why? Because it was the body of the Lord Jesus
Christ and He had risen from the dead and had walked out of that tomb. All that
remained in that tomb, the only evidence that He had ever been there, was the
presence of His grave-clothes.
Now, there are many aspects of the resurrection that we could consider this
morning. All of them are important and are a blessing and an encouragement to
the children of God. But this morning, I want to look at the message that is
contained in the grave-clothes left in that tomb by Jesus. I want us to see
today that Jesus left His grave-clothes behind for a reason. He left them behind
so that they could preach a message to all those who saw them early on that
Sunday morning. It is that precious message that I would like for us to try and
grasp today. Let's look into these wonderful verses and experience The Message
In The Grave-clothes.
I. John 20:5-7 IT IS A PEACEFUL MESSAGE
A. After Jesus died on the cross, Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus took the
body of Jesus and prepared it for burial and placed it in a new tomb that
belonged to Joseph, John 19:38-42. After they placed His body in the tomb, the
Jewish leaders asked Pontius Pilate to seal the tomb and place a detachment of
Roman soldiers at the tomb to prevent the Disciples from stealing the body,
Matt. 27:62-66.
Of course, the Bible tells us that early on the Sunday morning some strange
things began to occur near that Garden tomb, Matt. 28:1-4. A supernatural event
happened and the stone that was used to seal the tomb was rolled back by the
angel of the Lord. This was done, not by the Disciples. No! They were off in
their upper room hiding in fear, lest they too be arrested and crucified, John
20:19. This was done, however, to allow all those who came by to see that the
body of Jesus was gone.
Now, when Mary finds the tomb in this condition, she runs to tell the Disciples
and Peter and John race to the tomb. Surely Mary went to the wrong tomb. Surely,
there must be some mistake! Yet, when they arrive at the scene, it is the right
tomb. But, the tomb is empty! All that they see when they look in are the
grave-clothes of the Lord Jesus either collapsed in a pile as if His body came
right through them, or having been hardened by the chemicals used by Joseph and
Nicodemus, in the shape of His body, resembling a cocoon that He had merely
exited. Either way, it paints quite a picture! Then they see, in a place by
itself, the napkin Joseph and Nicodemus had used to wrap Christ's face and head.
The tomb is a perfect picture of absolute order!
B. After the news of the resurrection became public knowledge, the Jewish
leaders concocted a story to try and conceal the fact that Jesus was alive,
Matt. 28:11-15. However, the condition of the tomb proves their tale to be a
lie. Consider:
1. If it was the Disciples that had removed the body of Jesus as the Jews
claimed, how did they remove the body without disturbing the wrappings? Would
they have taken the time to be so orderly? Would they have even attempted such a
thing, after all, they had all forsook Jesus and fled away the night He was
arrested, Mark 14:50.
2. If it was grave robbers as others have suggested, how did they remove the
body? Would they have taken such pains? Of course not!
3. If it was the Jewish leaders that took His body for fear of what the
Disciples might use His corpse for, or the Romans for that matter, they would
not have taken the time to remove the body from its wrappings. In fact, they
would have simply produced the corpse when the Disciples began to proclaim the
resurrection and Christianity would have dissolved like and Alka-Seltzer in
water.
C. The only logical conclusion to the matter is that the tomb was a scene of
order and calm because Jesus had merely passed through His grave-clothes. He had
folded His own napkin and laid it aside. He left a scene of peace so that all
those who look in and believe might have peace in their hearts that He is alive
and well. That is the kind of peace that Jesus alone can give, John 14:27!
I. It Is A Peaceful Message
II. John 20:5 IT IS A POWERFUL MESSAGE
A. That empty cocoon of grave-clothes preached a powerful message early that
Sunday morning. It told a vivid story of a risen Savior. Those garments lying
there in that fashion proclaimed to the world that everything Jesus Christ had
claimed, everything He had preached, everything He had promised was true!
Just three days before, the Disciples had watched their Lord be arrested, tried,
convicted and crucified. Now, they had tangible proof that Jesus was alive and
well!
B. The fact that Jesus lives gives power to His promises! It validates His claim
to be the only way to God, John 14:6. It is powerful in that is gives hope to
all those who come to Him for salvation, Heb. 7:25; John 6:37-40. It gives
confidence to those who are lost in sin! It tells them that they can run to
Jesus and there find a living Lord Who is the Friend of sinners.
C. It is a powerful message because it tells us that the Father accepted the
death of Jesus on the cross as the payment for the sin debt of man. The New
Testament tells us some 35 times that Jesus was raised up from the dead by God
the Father. If Jesus had been another man, His bones would have rotted where
they placed His body. But, because He was the sinless Son of God, it was not
possible that death could hold Him, Acts 2:24. And, because He died a sinless
death on the cross, God accepted His sacrifice in the place of ourselves and
gives us the promise that we too shall rise from the dead, ***2 Cor. 4:14***.
All that because He left His clothes behind!
I. It Is A Peaceful Message
II. It Is A Powerful Message
III. John 20:7 IT IS A PROMISING MESSAGE
A. John calls our attention to the fact that the napkin that was used to cover
His blessed face in death was folded neatly and laid to one side. There is a
message in this action that we do not want to miss.
(Ill. The oriental custom of the napkin. When a man with servants was eating a
meal, he would often use his napkin to signal them during the course of the
meal. If he left the table and wadded his napkin up, it meant that he was
finished and would not be back. If, however, he neatly folded the napkin, it
told his servants that he was stepping away for a moment, but he would be back!
Jesus was telling His disciples, "I may be out of your sight right now, but I'll
be right back!" When Peter and John arrived at the tomb, they feared the worst.
Perhaps they thought robbers had come, or that the Jews had taken His body away.
Even Mary missed the napkin and supposed the gardener had moved the body of the
Lord, John 20:15. Yet, John, who had been raised with servants, Mark 1:20,
probably knew this custom and quickly grasped the meaning, v. 8.)
B. Now, this morning, you and I are among those who accept the Gospel message of
the resurrection by simple faith. We did not see Jesus live. We did not see Him
die and we did not see the tomb. However, that folded napkin is still preaching
today. It is reminding each of us this morning that even though we do not see
Him right now, He's coming right back and we'll see Him then, Rev. 22:20.
C. Therefore, don't lose hope dear friends! Our Master has left us His assurance
that very soon He will return and take us to be with Him in His Father's House,
John 14:1-3. Because He lives, we have a future in His heavenly home!
I. It Is A Peaceful Message
II. It Is A Powerful Message
III. It Is A Promising Message
IV. John 20:5-8 IT IS A PERSUASIVE MESSAGE
A. These verses tell us about what Peter and John did when they arrived at the
tomb. It is interesting to dig into the words used here just a little. Note
three thoughts:
1. V. 5 - The word "saw" means "to take a glance at something." It refers to a
brief, fleeting glimpse. This is what John did when he got there. He took a
quick glance in the tomb and saw that Jesus was gone, but that the grave-clothes
were still there.
2. V. 6-7 The word "seeth" means "to scrutinize" It carries the idea of looking
around with a keen eye to catch all the facts. It brings to mind the eye of the
investigator. This is what Peter did. He saw the grave-clothes and the napkin
lying by itself.
3. V. 8 the word "saw" means "to look with understanding." It carries the idea
of grasping what you see. When John took the time to take a closer look, he saw
the truth in the grave-clothes and understood that Jesus was alive!
B. If a lost sinner looks at the empty tomb, he can come up with dozens of
reasons why it cannot be true. After all, when men die, they are gone. They do
not get up, and even if they did, they would not pass through their
grave-clothes! They would do like Lazarus and they would have to be set free,
John 11:44.
C. But, when an honest heart takes the time to scrutinize the evidence they will
come to the place John came to. The resurrection must be real. There is no other
logical explanation. Have you been persuaded?
(Illustration. The Jews still believe to this day that the Disciples of Jesus
took His body away. If they did, would someone please explain to me why every
one of His Disciples, with the exception of John, died for preaching the
resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Men do not die for something they know to
be a lie! The will to live is so strong that they would have confessed their lie
to the authorities to save their hides. However, they all, without exception,
went to their graves proclaiming the fact of a risen Lord! To me, that speaks
volumes!)
I. It Is A Peaceful Message
II. It Is A Powerful Message
III. It Is A Promising Message
IV. It Is A Persuasive Message
V. John 20:1-29 IT IS A PERSONAL MESSAGE
A. As this chapter unfolds, each person who is confronted with the empty tomb
and the grave-clothes is forced to make a decision. For John, believe was
instant, v. 8. For Peter, the truth came a little more slowly. Mary Magdalene
finds that her heart is still gripped by grief, 11-17. Yet, she is convinced
when she sees the Lord Himself. The other Disciples are unsure of what is
happening until Jesus appears in their midst with a message of peace and
assurance, v. 19-23. However, Thomas, the perpetual doubter was not there and he
refuses to hear a word they are saying, v. 24-25. His doubts are also laid to
rest by a personal appearance of the risen Savior, v. 26-28. Obviously, this is
a message that affects people in different ways. Of course, there are really
only two ways to respond to the message: 1. By Accepting It 2. By Rejecting It.
B. To their credit, all of these responded by accepting the message of the risen
Jesus. The question we are left with this morning is: what about you? Have you
accepted the fact the Jesus Christ died on the cross, shed His blood to pay for
your sins and rose again from the dead three days later in a literal, physical
body? Some are telling us today that it isn't important to believe the
resurrection is real. We need only accept it symbolically! Well, the Bible has a
different idea, Rom. 10:9-10. In fact, if you remove the linchpin of the
resurrection from the doctrines of Christianity, then our faith falls apart like
a house of cards.
C. Have you believed on the risen Jesus?
Conclusion:
I dare say that no other suit of grave-clothes in history has preached such a
glorious, timeless message as did the grave-clothes of Jesus. I am thankful that
He lives this morning and that He left perfect, indisputable evidence in His
tomb that He lives! Is His resurrection real in your heart this morning? Have
you experienced the power of His resurrection in your life? You see, a risen
Savior has the power to radically affect all who come to Him by faith. This was
what Paul said, "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection,", Phil.
3:10a. Is that power active in your life this morning?
Copyright 2003 by Alan Carr
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