JESUS IS NOT IN THE TOMB: PASTOR MENSA OTABIL – SPECIAL EASTER SUNDAY SERVICE, 4TH APRIL, 2021
SPECIAL EASTER SUNDAY SERVICE WITH DR. MENSAH OTABIL (GENERAL OVERSEER INTERNATIONAL CENTRAL GOSPEL CHURCH (ICGC) ACCRA, GHANA)
TOPIC: JESUS IS NOT IN THE TOMB.
DATE: 4TH APRIL, 2021
TEXT: JOHN 20:1-8
Amen! Let’s rise up together, as we make our DECLARATION OF FRUITFULNESS in this Year of Fruitfulness:
Are you ready? Say with me:
The Eternal God is our refuge. He opens Rivers in desolate Heights.The Lord makes the wilderness a Pool of water.
The LORD God is my Sun and Shield; The LORD gives Grace and Glory.
Therefore, I delight myself in Him. Those who are Planted in the House of the LORD shall be fresh and flourishing.
Though the Earth be shaken; the Name of the Lord is my Strong Tower. By Faith I affirm that: In Christ alone is my Salvation. In Him I live, And move And have my being.
It is written: The Righteous are like trees Planted by the waters; bearing fruits in its Season.
So I boldly declare: As for me, my God has made me EXCEEDINGLY FRUITFUL.
In this Season, my Spirit bears Fruits of Righteousness, my Talents make Way for me. With my hands, I will Plant, I will Build, I will Harvest – Day by day, Step by step.
In Jesus’ Name – Amen!
I want us on this Resurrection Morning, to acknowledge that Christ is indeed risen from dead. And this morning, it’s a Great Joy to remember the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and to join Christians of all Persuations, who today remembered that Jesus Christ is risen from the grave.
And we Thank God for the Power of His Resurrection, which is still available to us in our time and in our day.
This morning, as we remember the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, I want to just share a few words with you, as we honour the day.
My Message today is Titled: “JESUS IS NOT IN THE TOMB.”
It’s a very obvious statement, for the Season because it announces the reality of this morning.
And it focuses on what happened in the tomb of Jesus, on the day of Resurrection.
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is at the center of our Christian Faith. It is the Basis for our Beliefs, and our Faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.
No other Beliefs System (in our world) is based on the Resurrection as Christianity is.
You can listen to the audio here: Jesus Is Not In The Tomb – Pastor Mensa Otabil
And the Resurrection in Christianity is a Historical Reality – In other words, it happened actually!
It is not something we say metaphorically or Allegorically or Analogically but it is something that we declare Historically and in reality: That Jesus Physically, rose again from the Dead.
… He died, He was buried, and He Rose again.
My Text is going to be from the Record of St John Gospel 20:1-8.
As you know, there are four (4) Gospels in the New Testament; each one telling the Story of Jesus, and giving us details that help us to get the complete Picture of what happened.
Of the four (4) writers, John was the only one who was Present at the Tomb of Jesus.
Matthew was not Present – He saw the Resurrected Christ later; and Mark was not Present; Luke was not Present.
But John was directly Present at the Tomb!
And that is why his record is very important for our consideration this morning.
… So, this is an account of John, which involves himself!
John’s Gospel 20:1-8 (NKJV):
1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.
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.”
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.
Now John in this Passage – Especially in the Book of John; described himself as: ‘The other Disciple, whom Jesus loved.’
He doesn’t mention his name directly; but he is Present in the narrative.
In this writing, the word “SAW” is used Four (4) times; and it is going to form the basis of my Message today.
Mary saw something, Peter saw something, John saw something – And each one of them drew a different conclusion from what they saw.
And we are going to look through how this works.
- The first is what Mary saw: MARY SAW THE STONE ROLLED AWAY.
The Passage says that she rose up on the first day of the week, before it was light. When it was still dark.
So this would be late dawn; Probably around 5 O’clock or thereabout; depending on the time frame of the Middle East.
… But it was not night!
And Mary went out to the Place where Jesus had been buried. And the Passage says that she saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.
Now, if you would note the word “SAW” is used there!
And because we read the Bible normally in English, sometimes we don’t get the real meaning in the Greek Language.
But in the three (3) instances I’m going to talk about, the word “SAW” is rendered differently in the Greek Language; with a different word everytime!
So in English, it is “SAW”. But in Hebrew, it is not the same word used.
In the first instance, the Greek word is ‘Blepo’. That is a Rhema – The Root Greek Word.
It means to LOOK AT and be aware of something.
That’s means that Mary, when she got to the Tomb that morning, took a glance! – That is what the word means.
She took a glance; she just saw something. And what she saw was that the stone had been rolled away.
She didn’t take time to examine what it was, she didn’t go into the Tomb – She just saw!
She took a look, she was aware; and the moment she glanced that, she ran to the Disciples and went to report to them.
And this is Mary’s Report! – “She said, they have taken away the Lord out of the Tomb, and we don’t know where they have laid.
… They have taken the Lord from the Tomb.
Mary did not look inside the Tomb; she only saw that the stone had been rolled away but she drew her conclusion.
And her Conclusion is: They have taken away the Body of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Why did she arrive at that conclusion, when she hadn’t gone in?
Because, in her Culture, the Tomb had to be closed all the time. Tombs are not opened; Tombs are closed!
It’s like going to a cemetery today and seeing that the gravestones have been rolled away; or seeing the Tombs empty!
You would draw the same conclusion as Mary (without going in): That grave looters have come and taken the body away.
… Because, Tombs are not supposed to be open.
Although Mary did not know what was inside, the moment she saw the Tomb was open, she drew a conclusion that the body has been taken away.
She said, they have taken away the Body.
Who is ‘THEY?’
‘They’ was not us; not we.
And she was reporting to Peter – The Chief Apostle (so to speak) and the other Apostles.
None of them was involved in the taking away of the Body.
So Mary assumed that somebody else has taken away the Body – Either some Grave looters or the Jewish Authorities or the Romans have taken away the Body.
That was her Conclusion!
But remember, her conclusion was based on simply taking a glance – She saw, but she didn’t go further.
And it tells us something about sometimes; how we draw conclusions about the things we see! We see something, and instantly we decide: Oh, this is what it means; it may be a half truth! It may not be a Perfect Truth.
So, that’s the first view we see from Mary – she saw, and she drew a conclusion:
“They have taken away the Body of the Lord; and she says, we don’t know where they have taken him!
Now, after Mary announced that they have taken away the Body of Jesus, Peter and John rose up and started running.
It had to be a very traumatic idea to them: They have seen Jesus brutally crucified and now the Body is taken away, and they were running!
For the first time, they have no fear! They are not running away from Jesus; they were running to the graveside.
And as they (Peter and John) ran, John overtook Peter. He also went to the Tomb and he also saw.
… And I am not going to comment about his kind of seeing.
Because the same word that is described in John’s first seeing (because John saw twice) is the same ‘Blepo’. He also took a glance.
But then, Peter came in (although he was a slow runner); he came in, and he went straight into the Tomb.
And the Bible says, Peter ‘SAW’ – “Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a Place by itself” – John 20:6-7.
- PETER SAW THE GRAVE CLOTHES NEATLY FOLDED.
So when Peter came, he didn’t do what Mary had done, or what John had done – Take a glance;
… Peter went in and “SAW”.
The Greek work that is translated as ‘Saw’ is ‘Peril’. And it means to View Attentively.
It means to Pay attention!
So, he is not just glancing, he is examining what he is looking at.
Mary took a glance and ran away; John took a glance and stepped back but for Peter; he paid attention.
So, he saw. But he wasn’t seeing as just taking a glance. He was seeing now, examining what was before him.
And Peter saw something very interesting – He saw that the burial clothes were folded!
So, as Peter was looking, he is seeing and he is Paying attention and he is making some deductions.
And what he saw is that the cloth that was around the body of Jesus was there, but it was lying in Place – It was folded in Place.
And it shocked Peter: ‘Why will the clothes be folded in Place?
And then Peter saw that the head wrap, that they used to wrap the head of Jesus, was folded but separated from the main clothes.
So, if you were to imagine it now: It is the folded larger Piece of cloth; and then another folded Piece of cloth. But the smaller Piece of cloth (which is the head wrap) is not joined to the big one.
So this is Peter’s examination – He is now examining what happened!
Mary said: He has been taken away! Obviously, He is not there.
But who took Him away?
- Could it be the Romans?
If it was the Romans, would they be able to extract His Body without disturbing the cloth?
… Obviously, they can’t!
- If it is the Disciples who came to take away the Body, they would have taken the Body and the clothes together and run away because all of them would be Precious to them!
- If it was thieves, they won’t take time to fold the clothes.
Have you seen thieves who have come to a home; ransack the home and take time to Pack everything in Place?
You know, they throw your cloths around and fix everything back neatly before they left? – No, they have no Patience for that!
If Thieves came for the Body of Jesus Christ, they wouldn’t fold the clothes and leave it there.
If the Romans came, they wouldn’t do the same thing.
If it was the Disciples, maybe they would but they would have taken both the clothes and the Body.
So, this is what Peter is looking at.
And as he is examining this, he is making different conclusion from Mary.
They didn’t just take the Body, something has happened to the Body: The Romans haven’t taken it, Thieves haven’t taken it, we didn’t take it – WHO THEN TOOK IT?
Something I just want to bring to your attention is that, when you look at the evidences that Peter is examining before him; it tells you that the Power of God was responsible for this.
The Power of God is Responsible for Two (2) Things:
- The Rolling away of the Stone, and;
- The Resurrection of the Body.
But it shows different aspects of the Power of God.
- The Rolling away of the Stone was the Power of God at work. But it was the Power of God acting forcefully.
… Because the Stone had to be forcefully rolled away.
- But the taking or the Resurrection of the Body and the evidence before them, shows that the same Power of God (which is forceful) can also be Gentle.
And that should tell you that sometimes, God could move forcefully in your life; and sometimes He can move gently in your life.
He can Pack and fold clothes; and sometimes He can move Mountains out of your Way.
I don’t know what your situation is: If it requires force, God will apply force; if it requires gentility, God will be Gentle with you!
But all of that is the Power of God in manifestation; moving away stone and gently Packing clothes to leave behind an evidence!
So, we see that the Rolling away of the stone was not for what?
The Rolling not the stone was so that we can see the evidence He left behind.
… That leads me to the third (3rd) ‘SAW’.
- The Passage says, JOHN SAW AND BELIEVED.
It says, “Then the “Other Disciple”, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed” – John 20:8.
Mary SAW, Peter SAW, John SAW! – Each one is making different observations.
I. Mary saw, she said: ‘They have taken away the Body.’
II. Peter saw: He saw how well everything has been left behind – folded!
III. John saw (This is his Second (2nd) seeing), and he believed. He arrived at a Spiritual conclusion.
And the word (saw) that this translated from the Greek into English in John’s case is ‘Idon’.
It means TO KNOW AND TO UNDERSTAND.
Not just to glance, not just to examine; but to come to a Conclusion of Faith.
John came to a Conclusion of Faith by LOOKING.
WHAT DID HE BELIEVE? – He believed that JESUS IS ALIVE!
John just realised the Second (2nd) time: This is not the work of Man, this is not the work of the Romans, this is not the work of some fanatics of Jesus, this is not the work of the Jews!
They disrespected His Body; they wouldn’t have respected His clothes!
John’s Conclusion is: God is at work here: THE MASTER HAS RISEN INDEED!
And at that time (without seeing the Body of Jesus) – Later on, Jesus was to show His Body to His Disciples.
But, even without the Body of Jesus, John believed – HE IS ALIVE!
And we are where John is! – We never saw His Body. We actually didn’t see the grave clothes but we examined the Evidence of the Scriptures and we also come to the same Conclusion as John, without seeing the Body.
… That JESUS IS ALIVE!
How do we know? – Because the Record is Clear: This is the work of God. Jesus is Alive.
If JESUS IS ALIVE, then there are Four (4) Implications.
… And I am ending with these:
- If Jesus is Alive, then it means HE IS WHO HE SAYS HE IS.
He said: “I will die, I will resurrect”.
But not only that – He said: ‘And I will come again.’
If His Death happened as He said; His Resurrection happened as He said; then His COMING will happen as He said.
You better trust what Jesus says – He says, the ridiculous and the Impossible, and they are made Possible!
I. He says things that do not make sense, and they make sense
II. He says things that you never see happen to any human being, and then it happens!
He was born of a Virgin – Never happens to anybody.
He died and rose again – Never happens to anybody.
And He is Coming Back Again – Never happenned to anybody.
But when it comes to Jesus; CONSIDER IT DONE!
… HE IS COMING BACK AGAIN!
HE IS WHO HE SAYS HE IS – He is the Saviour of the world; He is the Ressurection and He shows it!
I don’t know what you believe!
You man say: Well, my Religion doesn’t believe in that. But if you look at this Evidence, you can come to only one conclusion:
‘There is no other way to Salvation, except through Jesus Christ.’
You may be the Highly Educated Person, but you cannot controvert this Reality:
I. That Jesus is Who He says He is.
II. He is the Saviour of the World.
III. Jesus has Power over Death.
….That Powerful enemy had been conquered.
IV. And that Jesus gives Life to all who comes to Him.
… When we come to Him in Faith, He receives us, He makes us New.
Today, on this Resurrection Morning: WHAT DO YOU SEE?
Are you just taking a glance at Jesus? – There are many People who just take glance at Jesus – ‘Oh yes, I go to Church; I’m also a Christian, I was also Baptized. I’m also confirmed – That’s Mary Magdalene’s View!
And then, there are those who say: Oh I read the Bible, I examine the Truth. I have read the Bible cover to cover. I do everything – They are examining like Peter!
But then we have to get to where John got to: HE SAW AND BELIEVED.
I. And until you get to that Point, you will just glance at Jesus, examine the fact; but never arrived at Faith.
II. And if you don’t arrive at Faith, then every other observations you have made about Jesus, is inconsequential.
Because you have to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be Saved.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not Perish but have everlasting life” – John 3:16.
… That whosoever BELIEVES.
Not whosoever thinks, not whosoever go to Church; not whosever has a Christian name.
But: whoever BELIEVES in Him should not Perish but have Everlasting Life.
And have you come to a Point where your heart has registered that Jesus is Who He says He is?
And this morning, as I Conclude:
My Message, I want to give the opportunity to everyone listening to me or reading this Message on the Label of DMC: Just having a glance of Jesus, or even examining the evidence doesn’t end a matter with you. You have to know Him as your Personal Lord and Saviour.
And I’m going to lead everybody to Pray a very Simple Prayer.
ALTAR CALL
So, if you are there, and you are saying: Pastor, I go to Church, but I don’t think I have really given my Life to Jesus. I don’t think Jesus is really in my heart. I don’t think I have really believed Him as my Lord and Saviour.
If you are in that Position and you want to be “Very Sure”, that when Jesus comes the Second (2nd) time, you would not miss it. Or that if you should die, you would not miss Him.
If you want to be sure, then I want to Pray with you:
With every head bow and every eyes closed, in reference to God and just lift up your right hand wherever you are right now:
If you have lifted up your right hand, just Stand Up wherever you are.
God bless you for Standing!
With your hand lifted up, Put your other hand on your heart.
And I’m going to lead you in Prayer.
And everybody is going to join in this Prayer for Jesus Christ to come into your life.
Say with me: HEAVENLY FATHER, I come to You today just as I am. I am a sinner, I cannot save myself; have Mercy on me.
Today, I see Jesus with the eye of Faith. And I ask Him to come into my heart and change my life.
Lord Jesus, I believe in You, that You are the Son of God, that You died for me, that You rose again from the dead.
I ask You Jesus, come into my heart, save me, make me Your own.
From today, I belong to You. All that I have is Yours. All that I am is Yours.
Thank You for accepting me.
In Jesus’ Name – Amen and Amen!
*If you Prayed that Prayer sincerely, you have arrived at where John was – Jesus Christ is in your heart today and you are a Brand New Person – Amen and Amen!
Let’s honour the LORD one more time with our Clap!
JESUS CHRIST RESSURECTED, AND HE IS ALIVE FOR EVER MORE!
Thank you so much for staying all through to read.
To read other Messages on the Coverage of DMC MediaCrew so far this Year and beyond; kindly visit our Website: http://discoverymediacrew.com.
Follow us on Twitter: @discoverymediac
Send a Friend Request on Facebook to DMC MediaCrew.
Like our FB Page: Discovery Media
Join us on WhatsApp:
Join us on Telegram: https://t.me/joinchat/NzzPckuGazKYFxZZFkt9fg
Follow Us on Instagram: Discoverymediacrew
Watch and Follow Us on YouTube: Discovery Media Crew
For Enquiries, email Us on: info@discoverymediacrew.com
And I can assure you that you will be glad you did as it will avail you first hand access to comprehensive reports on the various Messages of Pastor E.A Adeboye and other Men of God!
It is outrightly wrong and a sin we frowned at it for anyone to consciously remove the original source of the work that does not emanate for him or her!
Discovery Media Crew … Reaching out to the World through the Power of the Gospel!!!
COMPILATIONS BY:
MOSES DURODOLA, TITILAYOMI AJAYI AND TOPE BABALOLA
© DISCOVERY MEDIA CREW (DMC) 2021
Recent Comments