Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

J.C. Ryle - Remember the Resurrection

Let us beware of regarding the Lord Jesus Christ, only as one that is dead.

Here, I believe, many greatly err.

They think much of His atoning death, and it is right that they should do so.

But we ought not to stop short there.

We ought to remember that He not only died and went to the grave—but that He rose again, and ascended up on high, leading captivity captive.

We ought to remember that He is now sitting on the right hand of God, to do a work as real, as true, as important to our souls, as the work which He did when He shed His blood.

Christ lives, and is not dead.

He lives as truly as any one of ourselves.

Christ sees us, hears us, knows us, and is acting as a Priest in heaven on behalf of His believing people.

The thought of His life ought to have as great and important a place in our souls—as the thought of His death upon the cross.

PRAY

Sharing the News

And returning from the tomb they told all these things - This is Luke’s introduction to how the women respond to the empty tomb.

He tells his audience that they immediately left the tomb and they fully reported the happenings.

To the eleven and to all the rest - Judas is no longer part of the group, therefore, there are eleven remaining of those that were closest to Jesus and received the majority of his public ministry.

Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them - These are faithful followers of Jesus who had been delivered and changed by his ministry to them.

Who told these things to the apostles - Luke places of reminder of who it was that communicated the first news of the resurrection to the disciples.

The language seems to indicate that the ladies were continually telling the disciples in their excitement to communicate what they had observed.

John

“Silliness” is Unbelievable

But these words seemed to them an idle tale - What they women were telling these followers of Jesus did not strike them as realistic.

It was to them silly word, useless, or nonsense.

the wild talk of a pack of hysterical women

And they did not believe them - The story of the empty tomb was met with great skepticism by the disciples.

They did not trust that women knew what they were talking about.

The language indicates that they unbelief was continuous.

They did not think this possible and thought the group of women were telling silly stories.

And they did not believe them - The story of the empty tomb was met with great skepticism by the disciples.

They did not trust that women knew what they were talking about.

They disbelieved them and thought they were telling silly stories.

Searching for Answers

But Peter rose and ran to the tomb - Peter is a man of action and he gets up to go to the tomb.

Luke records that he went to the grave of Jesus with haste.

John 20

John

Stooping and looking in He saw they linen cloths by themselves - When Peter arrives at the empty tomb, he looks in and see that the strips of burial clothing that Jesus was wrapped in were there, but they no longer wrapped his body.

And he went home marveling at what had happened - Peter leaves the tomb in amazement.

The term translated marvel does not express negative ideas such as doubt or unbelief, but is more positive.

However, we do know that Peter does not really understand fully what has taken place.

John 20:3-

Practical Application

Believing is Seeing

Like so many of us, they had heard and not heard God’s Word.

They never bothered to think that Jesus meant exactly what he said.

We need to remember that 98 percent of the Bible is intelligible.

As Mark Twain once said, “It’s not what I don’t understand about the Bible that bothers me.

It’s what I do understand!”

The apostles failed to put into practice what they did understand.

Jesus had earlier prayed, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17).

Our growth toward spiritual maturity begins by heeding the Word.

Can’t Cover this Up

Matthew 28:2

Matthew 28:

God’s ways are not our ways

1 Corinthians