A. WHY SOME WHO SEEK JESUS, MISS HIM.
1. Unbelief. Mary didn’t believe He was raised. “They have taken away my Lord” (20:13).
2. Wrong mindset. Mary thought they stole His body. “They have taken away the body” (20:2).
3. Wrong focus. Mary looked in the wrong place. “Looked into the sepulchre” (20:11).
4. Blinded. Mary thought Jesus was a gardner. “Knew not that it was Jesus” (20:14).
5. Emotionally upset. Mary couldn’t see because she was crying. “As she wept” (20:11).
B. HOW TO FIND JESUS.
1. Go to right place. Mary went to the last place she saw Him. “And Mary Magdalene . . . behold where He was laid” (Mark 15:47).
2. Come with the right attitude. “Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping” (John 20:11). Her tears reflected her love for Jesus.
3. Search carefully. Mary “stooped down and looked” (20:11). “Ye shall seek for Me and find Me, when ye send for Me with all your heart” (Jer. 20:13).
4. Witness. Mary told others that she was searching for Jesus. “She said, because they have taken away my Lord, and I knew not where they have laid Him” (20:13).
5. Persistent. Mary didn’t give up when she didn’t find Jesus in the tomb. “She turned herself back” (20:14).
6. Ask for help. “If you have borne Him hence, tell me where thou hast laid Him” (20:15).
7. Be willing to do anything. “Tell me where thou hast laid Him and I will take Him away" (20:15).
8. Listen for His voice. “Jesus saith unto her, ‘Woman, why weepest thou’” (20:15)?
9. Bow at His feet. “Touch Me not” (20:17).
10. Worship His name. “She turned herself and saith unto Him, Rabboni, which is to say Master” (20:16).
C. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU FIND JESUS?
1. Jesus comes to you. Even though you are searching for Jesus, He first came looking for you. “She turned herself back and saw Jesus standing” (20:14).
2. Jesus is concerned about your anxiety. “Jesus saith unto her, ‘Woman why weepest thou’” (20:15)?
3. Jesus asks you questions. “Whom seeketh thou?” (20:15). He doesn’t ask for information, Jesus knows our concern. He asks questions to teach us something.
4. Jesus knows all about you. Jesus knew her name. “Jesus saith unto her, ‘Mary’” (20:15).
5. You must have a willing attitude to serve. “If thou hast borne him hence, tell me . . . I will take him away’” (20:15).
6. You will get instructions. Mary was clinging to him. “Touch Me not (20:17). This meant, “Don’t keep holding on to me.”
7. You will get a new relationship. Jesus told Mary He wouldn’t remain on the earth in a human body, but would return to heaven. “I am not yet ascended to My Father . . . I ascend unto My Father, and your Father; and to My God, and your God” (20;17).
8. We get a new intercessor. “Seeing then we have a great high priest that is passed into heaven . . . let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy” (Heb. 4:14-16).
9. We go tell others what happened. “Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord” (20:18).
10. We don’t let the skepticism of others keep us quiet. “Mary Magdalene . . . told these things unto the apostles, and their words seem to them as idle tales, and they believed them not” (Luke 24:10, 11).
Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died for my sins on the cross, and rose again the third day. I repent of my sins. By faith I receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior. You promised to save me, and I believe You, because You are God and cannot lie. I believe right now that the Lord Jesus is my personal Savior, and that all my sins are forgiven through His precious blood. I thank You, dear Lord, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you prayed that prayer, God heard you and saved you. I personally want to welcome you to the family of God. Please contact me at Jonathan@trbc.org and tell us about your salvation experience so that we can rejoice with you.
