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.
We see now through the new light of scripture (i.e. the New Testament), we can now see so many instances where Christ was foreshadowed in the Old.
Listen closely now so you don’t miss it;
The following scripture is describing how God instructed Moses to build the Ark of the Covenant.
Exodus 25:19 - 22
“19 Make one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; make the cherubim of one piece with the cover, at the two ends. 20 The cherubim are to have their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the cover. 21 Place the cover on top of the ark and put in the ark the Testimony, which I will give you. (THE WORD) 22 There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.”
The two cherubim were to face the center of the lid to the Ark which was the mercy-seat.
This is where the high priest would place the blood from the sacrificed lambs.
The Ark of the Covenant was a foreshadowing of the new covenant that was to come through Christ and His sacrifice.
Now, instead of the Ark, we have the real mercy seat of Christ.
The place he laid and His blood flowed out for our sins.
These Angels in the tomb represent the Cherubim on the Ark of the Covenant, one at each end looking at the mercy seat, with one major difference.
The Angels on the Ark were standing, which represents action, while these Angels were sitting.
Sitting is a picture of redemption that was now accomplished and no longer in the works. The work was complete.
Praise God.
a) Mary crying in despair needing to be comforted
The Angels look at her and say, “Woman, why do you weep?”
Was this rhetorical?
Perhaps, or maybe as heavenly beings, knowing Jesus personally and that He was ALIVE, they were confused at why after being told He has risen, she was still weeping.
She answered, still in unbelief, “because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid Him.”
In essence, she was saying, where ever He is, even though I think He is dead, I want to be there with Him.
Although she was having trouble believing, although she was broken and confused, although she was distressed about where Jesus’ body was, we see from this scripture here, she was seeking Him.
Last week I talked about how often God doesn’t fit into our earthly boxes we build for Him, and we almost never find Him where we think He should be.
We need to remember that He is faithful.
Seek and ye shall find.
b) Jesus reaches out, but we don’t realize it
She was at the bottom, broken hearted, not knowing what to do or where to turn.
Weeping, and wanting the Lord.
She went to where she thought the Lord was, but He wasn’t there, or so she thought.
She turned around and there stood Jesus.
A lot of times in our lives when we feel there’s no where left to turn, we turn back to head in the direction we came from, and God is standing there.
He was with us the whole time, if we would just turn from the unbelieving direction we are heading that brings us to pain, misery, sadness, and turn back to face the Lord.
She didn’t know it was Jesus though.
How many times we hurt, we call out to the Lord, and He is standing right there, yet we do not recognize Him.
Jesus asked her, “Why do you weep?”
Do you see this?
Jesus KNOWS everything…He’s not asking because He doesn’t know.
He’s asking because He cares.
Jesus cares about you and what is hurting you in your life.
He’s counted every tear you’ve cried when you thought you were alone.
He’s longed for you to come to Him when you are hurting.
He wants to take all the things in your life that cause you pain, and show you a better way.
Jesus said, I came so that you may have a more abundant fulfilling life.
He wants to end your pain and suffering and sadness and weeping, because He loves you.
Sin in this world does nothing but hurt us.
This is why God promises that in heaven there will be no more tears, because there will be no more sin.
Jesus then asked her, “Whom do you seek?”
Jesus is asking you the same question today.
Whom do you seek?
Is it your flesh? Sin? Desires? Other people?
Is it a dead Lord you seek for your life?
Or are you seeking the Living Lord Himself?
Are you seeking the Lord?
Mary thought Jesus was the gardener, still not believing that the resurrection had happened.
She answered, “Sir, if you have borne Him hence, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”
She wanted to find Jesus’ body so she could give it a proper burial.
Some of us come to the Lord forgetting that He is alive, and His Word is alive, and we don’t believe His word, and we try to bury it as if it was dead.
But in our seeking, when we look for the Lord, when we see Him face to face in our lives yet do not recognize Him, He does something amazing.
He does something that is unexpected from a creator of such magnitude and power.
He says to her, “Mary”
He proclaims in one breath, the individuality of the Gospel and the manner in which our Lord and Savior deals with all who come to Him.
c) He calls us by name
The Lord calls each of us by name.
Jeremiah 1:5
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart;”
With no more sorrow, no more doubt, no more fear, no more care, Mary recognized the lord and cried out;
“Rabboni” which literally was “didaskalos” or teacher…
The Greek text says, “My Master” in the fourth gospel.
Mary was seeking the Lord on her terms and did not find Him.
Though He was right there the whole time.
He called her by name in her lowest hour, and she recognized Him by His words, not His appearance.
And when she heard Him call, she answered by saying in essence, “You are my master!”
When the Lord calls you by name, will you recognize Him?
You won’t if you are looking for appearance.
You will only recognize Him by His Word.
Do you know His Word?
Are you familiar with it?
Jesus says, “I AM THE WORD”, do you know His word?
Do you have a relationship with it?
And when He calls you by name, will you answer, “You are my Master!”
Jesus said unto her, “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto My Father, and your Father; and to My God, and your God.”
In the literal Greek it says, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended.”
Jesus was telling her although she could see Him, she wasn’t to hold Him, for He had not yet received His resurrected body that we are promised to receive when we are called into the sky, in the twinkling of an eye when we too will be resurrected.
He goes on to say, “Go, and tell my brethren…”
He’s not speaking of half-brothers in the flesh, but rather His chosen disciples, minus Judas who was dead by this time.
When we belong to the Lord, we are His brothers.
Fully accepted and adopted into His family by God the Father because of Jesus Christ.
We are heirs to His Holy Kingdom!
We are not His half-brothers…but referred to as brothers.
We are His by blood, Christ’s blood.
This statement given by Christ portrays a great relationship between the Believer and the Heavenly Father; actually, the very purpose of Calvary and the resurrection was to establish this relationship through redemption.
“Mary Magdalene came and told the Disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things unto her.”
The first thing Jesus did in His 40 days after He had risen is give comfort to those in pain.
Are you in pain today?
Are you sad, broken hearted?
Do you not know which way to go?
If you are seeking the Lord;
Jesus wants you to know today, that He is risen, and He cares about you and your pain, your sadness, He has counted every tear you’ve cried.
He wants you to know that although you may not see Him or recognize Him, He is in your presence.
And He is calling you by name, He wants you to answer, He longs to hear you say as Abraham did in;
Genesis 22:11
“The angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Here I am,"
Genesis 31:11
“The angel of God said to me in the dream, ’Jacob.’ I answered, ’Here I am.’”
Exodus 3:4
“When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!" And Moses said, "Here I am."
1 Samuel 3:4
“Then the LORD called Samuel. Samuel answered, "Here I am."”
There some of you right now the Lord is calling.
You can hear Him right now in your heart…
At this very minute, Jesus is calling you…
He may be calling you to ministry.
He may be calling you to repent.
He may be calling you to Salvation.
If the Lord is calling your heart today, don’t hesitate, for the Lord wants you to be part of His kingdom and partake of His greatness, not just here on earth, but for eternity with Him.
If the Lord is calling your heart today, Praise God, answer Him!
Say “Here I am Lord!”
Don’t wait, for we do not know the hour or day in which our Lord will come, and this may not be the first time you’ve heard His call, but it may very well be your last.
Don’t wait, answer the Lord today.
The Elders are here for those who answer the call.
CLOSING
