Reading the
Word
“Mary was
standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. She
saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot
of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. “Dear woman, why are you
crying?” the angels asked her. “Because they have taken away my Lord,” she
replied, “and I don’t know where they have put Him.” She turned to leave and
saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize Him. “Dear
woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?” She
thought He was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken Him away, tell
me where you have put Him, and I will go and get Him.” “Mary!” Jesus said. She
turned to Him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”). “Don’t
cling to Me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go
find My brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your
Father, to My God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told
them, “I have seen the Lord!” Then she gave them His message.” John 20:11-18 (NLT)
Setting the
Scene
The women
mentioned in the previous Scripture portion had heard Jesus’ predictions of His
death, and suddenly, their memories and the facts came together. Everything had
occurred just as Jesus had predicted. The women rushed to the sorrowing
disciples, saying precisely what the angel had told them to say. The fact that
the message was carried by women gives credibility and persuasive force to this
account. No ancient person making up such a story would list women as the
official witnesses. And by Jewish law, women could not give evidence.
John and Peter
had run back to the tomb and Mary apparently returned with them. When the two
disciples left, she was there alone, still crying. John reports that as she
stooped to look into the tomb, she saw two angels. They asked Mary why she was
crying. Mary answered, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I don’t know
where they have put Him.”
As Mary turned
to leave, she found Jesus standing there but didn’t recognize Him. Perhaps her
eyes were so filled with tears that she could not see clearly.
Thinking this
man must be the gardener, Mary asked if He knew the location of Jesus’ body.
Then Jesus simply spoke her name, “Mary,” and she identified His voice
immediately. Mary’s instinctive response was to cling to Jesus—joyous in the
reunion and fearful of losing Him again. But Jesus stopped her and gave her a
message to give to His “brothers,” the disciples.
Getting
Personal
1.
What tends to keep you from spreading the
news about this greatest event in history?
2.
What can you do to stay focused on your mission
from Christ?
The women and
then the disciples were assigned the mission of telling people that Jesus is
alive. It’s our mission as well. People who hear about the Resurrection for the
first time may need time before they can comprehend this amazing story (after
all, the disciples had trouble believing). But we need to share this truth with
joy, accepting individuals’ need to think through, to wonder, and to
investigate the facts for themselves.
Talking to
God
Take some time
to remember what God has done for you personally in your life. Ask Him to
help you feel glad about sharing the truth about the Savior everywhere you
can.
Life Application Study Bible Devotional.
No comments:
Post a Comment