Part 2 - Recognized By His Word Series

40 Days with the Lord

Part 2 – Recognized by His Word

Rev. Bruce A. Shields

First Baptist Church of Tawas City Michigan

www.tawasbaptist.org

WELCOME

SCRIPTURE REFERENCE

John 20:10 – 18 Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

“10 Then the disciples went back to their homes, 11 but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

13 They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?"

"They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don’t know where they have put him." 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

15 "Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?"

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."

16 Jesus said to her, "Mary."

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).

17 Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ’I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ "

18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her.”

PRAYER FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT

1. Recognized by His word

This event we just read about takes place where we left off last week.

If you remember, the women had prepared spices for Jesus’ Corpse.

When they had arrived at Jesus’ tomb they realized that the stone had been moved.

When they looked inside, they saw that Jesus’ body was missing.

Two Angels appeared to the women and told them Jesus had risen.

The women ran to the disciples telling them what they had heard, and in disbelief they all returned to the tomb to find Jesus’ body missing from the tomb.

We read in John that although the women were told Jesus was raised, they did not believe it.

When they reached the disciples to tell them the news they had heard, listen to the way they say it;

2b “…They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulcher, and we know not where they have laid Him.”

The angels told them where He was; He was raised. But they didn’t believe, and neither did the disciples.

Sometimes we hear the truth, the truth of Jesus and His Holy Word, and yet we don’t believe it.

Sometimes the spiritual truths we hear are hard for us to grasp.

But we must remember;

Ask and ye shall receive.

Seek and ye shall find.

Knock and the door shall be opened unto you.

Romans 10:13

“for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."”

It’s easy for us to understand how these women didn’t believe what they had been taught, what the Word said, and what they heard that day at the tomb of their Lord.

We hear the truth today, and still have trouble believing.

When the women returned with the disciples to the tomb, John was the first to arrive, but did not enter the tomb.

Sometimes we hear the Good News and race to it to embrace it, yet when we arrive; we hesitate, stopping just outside of where we need to be.

John needed to be inside the tomb, where the Lord once laid.

How any times in my life I heard the Good News that “Jesus Saves”, “Jesus is the way to Heaven”, “Jesus is the only way to heaven”, and in times of doubt and trouble, I raced to where He was, only to stop just short of going in.

Perhaps it was fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of rejection. Fear of it being too good to be true. Fear of failure.

Then Peter arrived, and went right in.

John then followed him.

When John saw the Lord was gone, he believed.

He believed that Jesus was alive!

The disciples returned home again, but Mary remained outside of the sepulcher, still in disbelief that the Lord had risen, still thinking that someone had taken the Lord’s body away.

She cried.

Weeping uncontrollably, she peered into the empty tomb once again and the two Angels were sitting where Jesus’ body once laid, one at the head and one at the feet.

Do you notice something in the scene described here?

Something special that God wants us to see.

In the Old Testament, God foreshadowed Christ and what He would accomplish.