Today’s meditation is based on John 20:14-15, 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 be 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.” (ESV)
Jesus rose from the grave on the third day just as He had predicted to His disciples. When we study the way the disciples of Jesus, and those close to Him responded to the risen Christ, I am sure we will be able to learn some important lessons from their experiences.
1. The woman who was sorrowful
Early in the morning this woman (Mary Magdalene) mentioned in the verses above, hastened to the tomb on the third day, with the spices that they had prepared for the body of Jesus only to find that the body of Jesus was not there. As Mary Magdalene stood weeping near the grave, the risen Lord Jesus stood right beside her. The reason for her deep sorrow was that she did not know that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead. While the Lord Jesus was with His disciples, oftentimes He spoke to them about His death and resurrection, but somehow the fact of Jesus’ resurrection could not be comprehended by them. No wonder then that when Jesus was crucified on the cross and He died, they grieved, felt defeated, and were overwhelmed with a sense of hopelessness. Mary Magdalene did not realize that the man standing next to her was Jesus, and assumed it was the gardener. Her love for Jesus was so great that she actually asked Him to tell her where the body of Jesus was, so she could bring it back. Mary Magdalene loved the Lord immensely, but her faith was weak, which was the reason for her deep sorrow and tears.
Let it be implanted deep in our minds that Jesus defeated death, and He is very near to us. We too like Mary Magdalene are unable to recognize the presence of the risen Lord who is just beside us only because we are overwhelmed by so many things that are happening all around us. It is at those times that we forget that the Lord who overcame death is really close to us. If we claim to love the Lord Jesus, but do not have faith to believe His word, we too like Mary will be crying though the Lord is close at hand.
Stop crying, God will reward you
We read in Jeremiah 31:16, But the LORD says, "Stop crying. Don't fill your eyes with tears. You will be rewarded for your work." This message is from the LORD. "The people of Israel will come back from their enemy's land. (ERV)
Mary Magdalene may have thought that it would be impossible to see Jesus as He had died and was buried, and hence there seemed no hope for her.
You may be in tears over several difficulties that you are going through. You may be wondering as to why God is allowing these trying circumstances in spite of your faith and trust in Him. If you feel broken, the Lord is commanding you to stop crying, and to not let sorrow overwhelm you. God reminds you that there is a reward for your work. The Lord further comforts us with the thought that the Lord will deliver us from our enemies, all those who turned against us, and will restore back to us all that we have lost.
There are parents who are crying for their children, and hoping that those who have gone astray will return back. The Lord assures you that they will surely return from the clutches of the enemy. God will also reward you for your work, and instead of weeping, rejoice and be bold knowing that the risen Lord is right beside you, and He will bring restoration.
2. The disciples who were sad and discouraged
We read in Luke 24:13-16, “That same day two of Jesus' disciples were going to the village of Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. As they were talking and thinking about what had happened, Jesus came near and started walking along beside them. But they did not know who he was.” (CEV)
In this incident these two men who were disciples of Jesus were walking from Jerusalem to the village of Emmaus with much grief and confusion. They had probably come to Jerusalem with high expectations, and now were returning with deep sorrow that Jesus had died. Jesus came and started walking with them on that sorrowful journey.
Never imagine that when you are going through times of deep sorrow that the Lord has abandoned you, for the fact is that the Lord is with you on your journey.
The conversation with Jesus
This was the conversation that transpired between the disciples and Jesus as found in
Luke 24:19–21,"What do you mean?" Jesus asked. They answered: Those things that happened to Jesus from Nazareth. By what he did and said he showed that he was a powerful prophet, who pleased God and all the people. Then the chief priests and our leaders had him arrested and sentenced to die on a cross. We had hoped that he would be the one to set Israel free! But it has already been three days since all this happened. (CEV)
We see that these men talked about the expectation they had as they followed Jesus. When those expectations were according to them not fulfilled (as they did not truly understand who Jesus was, and what His Kingdom would look like) they were devastated. They had believed that Jesus would be the Messiah who would set Israel free from the bondage they were in. These men were also pained that the chief priests and leaders by their wicked schemes had sentenced Jesus to death.
Whenever our faith in the Lord is weakened, we must remind ourselves that though we can’t see the Lord with our physical eyes, He is right beside us, and will continue to do so until the very end of the age. There are some who when their expectations with which they followed the Lord are not fulfilled, walk away from the Lord just as the two disciples did as they walked away from Jerusalem. How often we too get frustrated when we see that the wicked prosper, and the righteous are troubled in many ways.
If you are questioning why this is so, here’s a word from the Lord as found in Proverbs 23:17-18, “Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the LORD all the day. Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.” (ESV)
The word of God admonishes us to not envy those who are sinful in their ways. Those who are evil will continue to do so, and will appear to prosper on the earth, but the victory comes from the Lord for all those who fear Him, and walk in His ways. Wicked people are those who do not fear God, and deliberately lead sinful lives. We as children of God desire to follow God, and walk in righteousness, but are sometimes confused as to why those who do evil, and injustice prosper in their ways, which may even wear us down. The Lord promises us that there is a future for those who fear the Lord, and that the hope of those who do evil will surely be cut off.
We are not sure as to what was the profession of these two disciples who walked towards Emmaus. However, we know that they had followed Jesus with some expectation, and this seemed to have come crashing down for them when Jesus died on the cross. These men too were unable to recognize that the risen Lord accompanied them on their journey.
Don’t be disheartened if things don’t work out the way you want them to. Remember that the risen Lord Jesus is walking with you in this journey, and He understands all of your questions, confusions and worries. In our saddest and discouraging moments, the Lord Jesus is with us.
The amazing experience
We read in Luke 24:32-33, They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, (ESV)
As these two men went back from Jerusalem with the thought that all was over, the Lord walked along with them, and revealed Himself to them. These men were so excited at the encounter with the risen Lord Jesus that they went back to Jerusalem to inform the disciples, and probably join back with them.
Remember that there is a future, and a hope for every child of God who fears Him, and do not fret because of evil doers or ungodly men. God will bring to end all those things that are troubling you.
Mary Magdalene stood weeping, and the Lord stood beside her. The two disciples too were so discouraged that they were almost going back on their commitment, when the risen Lord walked along with them, changed their situation, and brought them back to Himself.
3. The disciples who felt defeated
We read of another incident in John 21:3-4, Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. (ESV)
Peter was a fisherman by profession when the Lord Jesus met him for the first time. Jesus performed such an astounding miracle that Peter’s empty nets was filled with a huge catch of fish. At that point Jesus commanded Peter to leave everything behind to follow Him so that He could transform him to become a fisher of men. Immediately Peter left all to follow after Jesus, and be His disciple. However, after the death of Jesus, Peter beckoned his fellow-disciples to go fishing with him. We realize that Peter must have been charismatic as a leader that when he suggested that they go back fishing, many of them went along with him on his boat without a second thought. Here again they fished all night, and caught no fish which brought them to the situation that Peter found himself in the day that Jesus beckoned him to be his disciple.
At daybreak as they returned to the shore after a tiring and futile night of fishing, they saw Jesus standing on the shore, but were unable to recognize Him. Interesting to note that these disciples who were so closely associated with Jesus, and had heard His teaching for three and half years, were unable to identify the risen Lord Jesus. The reason for this is that they had not taken serious note of the fact that Jesus told them repeatedly that He would rise from the dead.
When we backslide from our faith, and walk away from God, we will experience many disappointments and failures. Even today those who do not have this assurance that we have the risen Lord Jesus with us, will continue to be sorrowful, with worries and will feel defeated in every area of their lives. We have the Lord who defeated death itself, and He is able to give us victory in all of our battles and struggles.
Remember that Peter was a zealous disciple, but when Jesus was taken away to be tried by the Chief Priest, scribes and Pharisees, Peter denied thrice that he knew who Jesus was. Peter must have thought that after he had denied Jesus, he was in no way fit to be His disciple. This might have been a major reason why Peter went back to fishing. Nonetheless, though Peter tried to forget the Lord, the Lord did not forget Peter. That is why Peter came there, and stood on the shore to meet with Peter. The disciples were unable to recognize Jesus, but Jesus was there to encourage them, and to establish them back to their position as His disciples.
Oftentimes we too deny Jesus like Peter did, and stumble in many ways. Our hearts may discourage us to believe that we are not fit to follow Jesus. There are many who struggle with these thoughts, and hence choose to go back to their old ways. Let me assure you that though we may forget the Lord, He will never ever forget us or forsake us. No matter where we are the Lord comes to restore us back to the position that He has assigned for us as His children.
Our God is faithful
Here’s a beautiful verse from 2 Timothy 2:13, But even if we are faithless, he will still be full of faith, for he never wavers in his faithfulness to us! (TPT)
Even when we are faithless, the Lord is always faithful, and does not change. He is always true to His word. We are untruthful, falter and do wrong, but the Lord comes to transform us and restore us to be what He intended us to be.
Maybe you are crying over several situations like Mary Magdalene, remember the risen Lord is by your side, and He will wipe away all your tears. You may be sad or discouraged like those two disciples who were on their way to Emmaus, not knowing what to do. Irrespective of where you are, the risen Lord will walk alongside you, and bring you back to where you belong. Maybe there are those like Peter who are feeling defeated, but the risen Lord is waiting to accept you back, and restore you to your position as His disciple.
When Jesus met Peter on that shore, He asked Peter if he truly loved Him. Remember that all of these people loved Jesus, but went astray because of some trying circumstances. Jesus did not let go of them, but followed after them, and established them back to their position, and God was glorified through their lives. The Lord will certainly use you for His glory, and He wants to remind you that He is the one who defeated death, and He will give you the victory that you need in every area of your life.
Rev. F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
Transcribed by: Sis. Esther Collins
