Sunday Recap for 4/23: How are we all like Mary?
On Sunday (4/26/17), we looked at this question, How are we all like Mary?
And we looked at John 20:11-18 to answer that question:
11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.”
14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 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.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).
17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.
We found these 3 answers to the question, How are we all like Mary?
• We often act lost
• We are often confused
• Yet, we have the same access to the Father as Mary
We act lost
John 20:11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.”
Notice at this point Mary isn’t weeping because Jesus has died, necessarily. Of course that is wrapped up in everything that is going on. But she is weeping here because she gets to the tomb and the body of Jesus is gone. She longs and desires Jesus’ presence, the knowledge of knowing that he is there, even if he is dead. But even that has been taken from her. Not only has she lost Jesus but the body of Jesus is now lost.
We often act lost, broken, and hopeless when we think we have lost sight of Jesus. When are eyes and gaze shift from him we lose the light at our feet that is guiding us, comforting us through hard and difficult days. Now that doesn’t mean that it’s easy or simple. God often leads us into places and situations that we find uncomfortable and genuinely hard. The question for us quickly comes to, do we trust Him? Trust is easy when we have all the pieces and know what’s going on and why, right? It’s much harder when we don’t and are left with a lot of unknowns.
We are often confused
14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 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.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).
Mary is totally confused…she is blind to the situation. Notice that Jesus doesn’t just sit back and wait for Mary to figure it all out that he is alive and there. As loving as she is and passionate as she is, as much as she loves Jesus, she is really blind. Right now, she believes she is in the middle of a disaster…there are angels in front of her, Jesus is around her and yet she feels alone. When Jesus engages her, she accuses HIM of taking the body. She’s passionate, she loves Jesus, confused, and absolutely spiritual blind to the situation. She has no idea that God is working.
This is often us. We think we see things so clearly in our lives. That we have all the pieces and have complete understanding and as things begin to not work out the way we are sure they would and should we become confused, lost, frustrated, and angry and a whole host of other things. When this happens, it takes Jesus breaking into our lives. We see this with Mary.
We have the same access to the Father
17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.
Notice He doesn’t say, go tell those miserable, deserters and deniers. The men I poured so much time and energy into. Tell them they have 1 chance…if they’re not here in 1 hour. Jesus tells her to go to his brothers and let them know that “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God”. I want you to notice the gentleness of Jesus…of all people, the disciples should have been there. Even in their doubt, unbelief, and ignorance….God is gracious to them. He speaks about them gently, he continues to come alongside them, imparting belief to them.
We are no different. In your doubt, in your unbelief, and even in your ignorance of God and what he is doing and will do….God meets us graciously and imparts belief to his brothers and sisters – to you.
Let the reality of the resurrection reorient, motivate, and encourage your zeal and love for your risen savior. Let it embolden you to press into relationships with each other. Let it captivate your heart afresh and give you a zeal to speak of Him to others
I’d love to get coffee, tea, or lunch to talk about this passage more with you if you have questions or find yourself wrestling with the thing I said on Sunday. Email, call, or text me and I’ll make the time to get together. It would truly be my joy.
If you missed the sermon or want to go through it again, you can watch this sermon on our YouTube page or listen to the audio.