RUNNING TO JESUS by Dr. Shah, Clearview Church, Henderson, NC

Introduction:  How many runners do we have here? I’m not a runner. As the old joke goes, “If you see me running, you should run too, because something is probably chasing me!” In today’s message, we’re going to meet several runners who were running not for their health or out of fear. More than that, they were running because of their love for their Master. They were running to find Jesus.

John 20 (page #1674) 1 Now 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. 9 For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went away again to their own homes.

Context: For a long time, secular scholars and skeptics have made much of the differences between the resurrection accounts of the 4 gospels. Some like Bart Ehrman have used it as a lynchpin argument in their rejection of the Christian faith, saying, “I was a committed Christian for 25 years and believed whole heartedly in the physical resurrection of Jesus. For years I argued that it could be proved. But after extensive study, I came to the conclusion that it was not a historical event.” How did he come to that conclusion? One major reason are the many “discrepancies” he had noticed in the resurrection account – “Who actually goes to the tomb that morning, is it Mary Magdalene by herself or with other women, and with how many, and what were their names? It depends which Gospel you read. Was the stone rolled away before or after they got there? It depends which Gospel you read. What did they see when they got there? Was it one man, or two, or an angel? It depends which Gospel you read. Did they tell anyone? Mark says they didn’t tell anyone, Matthew says they ran and told the disciples, so which is it? It depends which Gospel you read.” 

Many Christian scholars and apologists have also answered all such “discrepancies” to prove that there are no contradictions in the various resurrection accounts:

• As to how many women went to the tomb, looking at all 4 gospels, at least 5. Luke names 3 but adds “other women.” Matthew mentions 2, but he doesn’t say “only 2.” Mark mentions 3 by name but doesn’t say “only 3.” John mentions only 1 by name (Mary Magdalene) but later quotes her saying “we do not know where they have laid him” (John 20:2).
• As to when the stone was rolled away, Mark, Luke, and John say that it was before the women got there. Although Matthew mentions the women coming to the tomb before he mentions the angel coming down in a great earthquake and rolling the stone away, that does not mean that it had to happen in that order. It happened before they got there.
• As to whether the women say a man or two or an angel, Matthew and Mark say 1 and Luke and John say 2. That does not mean that Matthew and Mark say, “only 1.” As to man or angel, Mark and Luke mention “men” because angels often appeared in the form of men in the Bible.
• As to whether or not the women told anyone, Mark does say that “they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.” The “anyone” does not include the other disciples. Of course, they were not ready to proclaim that to the whole world, but I’m sure they talked about what had happened with one another.

What’s the point? When people claim that the Bible (especially the Resurrection account of the 4 gospels) has contradictions, they are either doing sloppy research, or they have an ulterior motive. I think it is a little bit of both.

In the brief time that we have, I want to focus on something much more that the apostle John had in mind when he was describing the running scene between him and Peter. It has been commonly understood that the “other disciple” was none other than John himself. This was a special writing technique that ancient writers would employ in talking about themselves in the third person. What was so special about this race between him and Peter where he outran Peter but stopped short of going inside the tomb? What is so important that even though Peter lost the race, he actually went in the tomb first? I believe that John was recalling another race that had taken place a 1000 years earlier. To understand this, turn to 2 Samuel 18 (page #498). Something terrible had happened in Israel. King David had been sabotaged by one of his own sons named Absalom. By wickedness, he had “stole[n] the hearts of the men of Israel” (2 Samuel 15:6d). How did David feel about this? In 2 Samuel 16:11, David said, “See how my son who came from my own body seeks my life.” It was quite similar to what happened with Jesus. When Jesus told his disciples that one of them would betray him, they began to ask “Is it I?” Matthew 26      23 He answered and said, “He who dipped his hand with Me in the dish will betray Me. 24 The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.” 

After the Last Supper, Jesus walked out of Jerusalem, crossed the Kidron Valley, and went to the Garden of Gethsemane on the foot of the Mount of Olives. Some of us were there just a couple of months ago. So also, David – 2 Samuel 15:23b “…The king himself also crossed over the Brook Kidron, and all the people crossed over toward the way of the wilderness.” Again, 2 Samuel 15:30 “…So David went up by the Ascent of the Mount of Olives, and wept as he went up.” Even though Jesus did not weep in the Garden, he prayed in great agony, so much so that Luke says in Luke 22:44b “…Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” This could just be that his sweat looked like blood drops dripping on the ground or it could be that condition called “Hemidrosis,” where a person is under such severe stress that the tiny capillaries in the sweat glands break and blood and sweat flow down together.

Pause for a BIG POINT: The Bible is One Story. Unless you see everything through the lens of Christ, you will never get it.

Back to the story: A big battle took place between David’s people and Absalom’s people in the woods of Ephraim (2 Samuel 18:6). Those woods are not too far from Jerusalem. There was also a great battle that took place between the Jesus and the forces of Sin, Death, and Satan. There’s a big difference though. Unlike this battle where Jesus fought with his life, David did not go into this fight. 2 Samuel 18: 2d “…And the king said to the people, “I also will surely go out with you myself.” 3 But the people answered, “You shall not go out! For if we flee away, they will not care about us; nor if half of us die, will they care about us. But you are worth ten thousand of us now. For you are now more help to us in the city.” 4 Then the king said to them, “Whatever seems best to you I will do.” So the king stood beside the gate, and all the people went out by hundreds and by thousands. This makes even more sense when Pilate put a sign on the cross – John 19     19 Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. 20 Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. 21 Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, “The King of the Jews,’ but, “He said, ‘I am the King of the Jews.” ’ ” 22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

In the battle, what happened to Absalom? 2 Samuel 18:9 “Then Absalom met the servants of David. Absalom rode on a mule…” Why a mule? Legitimate kings would not ride into their own city on a horse or an elephant. That was the sign of a conqueror. Absalom was pretending to be the rightful king of Israel. By the way, on Palm Sunday, Jesus came riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. John 12       13took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: “Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ The King of Israel!” 14 Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written: 15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, Sitting on a donkey’s colt.” Back to 2 Samuel 18:9 “…The mule went under the thick boughs of a great terebinth tree, and his head caught in the terebinth; so he was left hanging between heaven and earth.”Joab, David’s commander, went out and pierced him with 3 spears. What was Judas’s fate? He went out and hung himself.

Here it gets even more interesting! 2 Samuel 18 (page #499) 19 Then Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said, “Let me run now and take the news to the king, how the LORD has avenged him of his enemies.” 20 And Joab said to him, “You shall not take the news this day, for you shall take the news another day. But today you shall take no news, because the king’s son is dead.” 21 Then Joab said to the Cushite, “Go, tell the king what you have seen…” What did the angel tell the women at the tomb? Matthew 28:7“And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.” Joab was anything but an angel. 2 Samuel 18     21 “…So the Cushite bowed himself to Joab and ran. 22 And Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said again to Joab, “But whatever happens, please let me also run after the Cushite.” So Joab said, “Why will you run, my son, since you have no news ready?” 23 “But whatever happens,” he said, “let me run.” So he said to him, “Run.” Then Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain, and outran the Cushite. 24Now David was sitting between the two gates. And the watchman went up to the roof over the gate, to the wall, lifted his eyes and looked, and there was a man, running alone. 25 Then the watchman cried out and told the king. And the king said, “If he is alone, there is news in his mouth.” And he came rapidly and drew near. 26 Then the watchman saw another man running, and the watchman called to the gatekeeper and said, “There is another man, running alone!” And the king said, “He also brings news.”27 So the watchman said, “I think the running of the first is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok.” And the king said, “He is a good man, and comes with good news.” 28 So Ahimaaz called out and said to the king, “All is well!” Then he bowed down with his face to the earth before the king, and said, “Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delivered up the men who raised their hand against my lord the king!” 29 The king said, “Is the young man Absalom safe?” Ahimaaz answered, “When Joab sent the king’s servant and me your servant, I saw a great tumult, but I did not know what it was about.”30 And the king said, “Turn aside and stand here.” So he turned aside and stood still. 31 Just then the Cushite came, and the Cushite said, “There is good news, my lord the king! For the LORD has avenged you this day of all those who rose against you.” 32 And the king said to the Cushite, “Is the young man Absalom safe?” So the Cushite answered, “May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise against you to do harm, be like that young man!”

What’s the point? John, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is telling us that compared to the story in King David’s life, here was a much greater and better story. Here was a much greater and better news – The King was alive! They were running but this was a whole different kind of running! This was a run of love towards Jesus.

How about you? We are all telling a story with our lives. Are you telling a Joab story or a Jesus story?

• Who are you running towards? David or Jesus.
• What news are you carrying? Bad news or Good news.

Hebrews 12       1 “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Do you know Jesus? Are you saved?