Stop Staring At That Stone | Pastor Steven Furtick | Elevation Church

Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb while it is still dark and discovers the stone rolled away. She runs to Simon Peter and the beloved disciple; they inspect the tomb and return home while Mary remains weeping. Two angels sit where the body had been and ask why she cries; she answers that someone has taken the Lord and she does not know where they have laid him. When she turns, she sees a man she does not recognize until he speaks her name—then she calls him Rabboni. Jesus instructs her not to cling but to go and tell his brothers that he is ascending to the Father.

The narrative highlights the clash of perspectives: angels see triumph, Mary sees loss. The stone that believers celebrate as proof of victory appears to Mary as proof of theft because she remembers the last time she saw him—dead and buried. Her tears, the transitional darkness of early morning, and the habit of looking for the last place she saw Jesus trap her vision. The account stresses that God often moves in places unseen and at times that feel like transition; resurrection life begins before human timefully expects it.

Mary’s determination to go to the tomb despite grief models persistent faith—she prepares spices, walks into the dark, and does what she can even without answers. The text reverses the cross’s scene: where Jesus once died between thieves, now angels sit at head and feet of an empty place. That reversal reframes absence as changed presence rather than permanent loss. The risen Christ did not need to be moved by “they”; he rose by his own power. The command to stop staring at the stone functions as an ethical and spiritual pivot: cease centering life on what confines and begin turning toward the risen Lord whose triumph reorders failure, shame, and loss.

The passage concludes with a commission: recognition of the risen one detaches from past grief and sends forth proclamation. Turning from the tomb places the stone behind and sets a path forward—testimony, renewed mission, and the refusal to credit defeat with God’s activity. The narrative presses for a posture that acknowledges pain but refuses to let it dictate identity or destiny.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Stop staring at that stone Fixating on what confines or robs distorts the ability to see new life at work. God often situates resurrection where grief still lies, so posture matters: turning attention away from the sealed past opens sight to the risen presence. This refusal to center on loss reclaims agency to respond to God’s unfolding move. [03:43]
• 2. Turn toward the risen Savior Recognition often arrives when the posture changes from inspection to encounter. Calling by name signals relationship, not simply proof; identity restores mission. Responding to that call releases individuals from clinging to what was and commissions them to bear witness. [32:56]
• 3. God moves before morning Divine action frequently begins in the unseen hours and during transitions that feel ambiguous. Expectations tethered to human timetables miss the early, hidden work God does to reorder reality. Trusting movement in the dark reframes waiting as preparation for emergence, not finality. [21:05]
• 4. Tears can blur God's presence Sorrow and habit can make the risen presence unrecognizable even when it stands nearby. Grief narrows vision to the last sight, trapping imagination in what was rather than what is becoming. Allowing grace to reorient sight toward what God is doing prevents pain from dictating theology. [20:01]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:16] - Reading John 20:1-2
• [00:48] - The stone is rolled away
• [01:32] - Mary sees a stranger
• [02:09] - Jesus calls Mary by name
• [03:43] - Stop staring at that stone
• [05:05] - Angels versus Mary's grief
• [07:12] - Stone as problem or praise
• [10:00] - Walking into darkness as faith
• [21:05] - God moves before morning
• [34:06] - Put the stone behind you
• [38:58] - Go tell the brothers

Bible Reading
John 20:1-2, 11-18 (ESV)
Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”...
But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept, she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.

Observation questions

1. What was the first thing Mary Magdalene saw when she arrived at the tomb, and what was her immediate assumption about what it meant?
2. What two different perspectives did the angels and Mary have when they looked at the same empty tomb and rolled-away stone? [06:47]
3. What simple action did Mary take that allowed her to finally recognize Jesus? [37:27]

Interpretation questions

1. Why do you think Mary didn't recognize Jesus at first, even though she was looking right at him? What factors might have contributed to her spiritual blindness?
2. The sermon mentioned that "God moves before morning" and does things in transition [21:05]. How does this concept challenge our typical expectations of God's timing and activity?
3. What does Jesus' command to "not cling to me" suggest about how our relationship with him changes after the resurrection? Why might it be difficult to let go of how things used to be?

Application questions

1. What is the "stone" in your life right now—the situation, failure, or loss you can't stop staring at and fixating on? [03:43]
2. When have you, like Mary, mistaken God's movement in your life for a problem instead of a platform for his power? [08:31]
3. How can you practice turning your attention away from what confines you and toward the risen Christ this week? What would that look like tangibly?
4. In what area of your life are you currently in transition, and how can you trust that God is at work even when you can't see him clearly? [23:01]
5. What assumptions are you making about your situation that, like Mary's "they," might be giving credit to the wrong source? [27:11]
6. How would your perspective change if you viewed your current challenge not as a reason to weep but as an opportunity to see what God alone can do? [17:57]
7. What is one thing you need to "put behind you" [34:19] so you can move forward in the mission God has for you?