Bible Readings:
John 19:38 – 20:18
Sermon Outline:
John 19:38 (NKJV)
38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus.
I A Royal Burial
Isaiah 53:9 (NKJV)
9 And they made His grave with the wicked— But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth.
II An Unexpected Discovery
John 20:2 (NKJV)
2 Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”
III John, Peter and Mary
John 20:3–8 (NKJV)
3 Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. 4 So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. 5 And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed.
John 20:17 (NKJV)
17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’ ”
The Easter story ends not with a funeral but with a festival. — John Blanchard
The angel rolled away the stone from Jesus’ tomb. not to let the living Lord out but to let the unconvinced outsiders in. — Donald Grey Barnhouse
The resurrection of Jesus demands not our applause but our allegiance, not our compliments but our capitulation. — John Blanchard