Transcript

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As I was meditating on the resurrection this week, I found
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myself exploring all the insights in the Scriptures,
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namely in the Gospels, to just refresh my memory and to revisit
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some things that we often know. And then skimming through what
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the Word of God reveals, specifically about the events
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that followed Christ's conquest of death, I encountered the very
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first words that Jesus spoke after leaving the tomb empty.
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Have you ever wondered what Christ's very first words were
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when he rose from the grave? Well, when you consider the
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sequence of Christ's post resurrection appearances, you'll
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learn that Jesus first appeared to Mary Magdalene.
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That's actually plainly stated at the end of the Gospel of
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Mark. And that encounter is disclosed
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to us in greater detail in John's writings, where he takes
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us to that early Sunday morning and vividly describes it,
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focusing on Mary's experience as she arrived at the burial site
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of her Master. And it's in that testimony where
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we locate the first documented words that Jesus said after
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defeating death. And I'm sure that after reading
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it, you will never forget it. Turn with me to John chapter 20
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and let's look together at one verse here, verse 15, John 20,
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verse 15. Jesus said to her, woman, why
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are you weeping? Whom are you seeking, Supposing
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him to be the gardener? She said to him, Sir, if you
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have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I
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will take him away. The first recorded words of
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Jesus is in the form of a question.
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Woman, why are you weeping? That fascinates me.
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And it should compel us to pause, to zoom out, and to see
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what took place before this and what follows it, to have Christ
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approach Mary in this way. And that's what I want us to
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consider in our short time together.
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So let's read this in its entirety, beginning in verse 11
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down through verse 18. But Mary stood weeping outside
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the tomb. And as she wept, she stooped to
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look into the tomb, and she saw 2 angels in white sitting where
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the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet.
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They said to her, Woman, why are you weeping?
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She said to them, they have taken away my Lord, and I do not
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know where they have laid him. Having said this, she turned
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around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was
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Jesus. Jesus said to her, Woman, why
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are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?
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Supposing him to be the gardener?
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She said to him, Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me
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where you have laid him and I will take him away.
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Jesus said to her, Mary, she turned and said to him in
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Aramaic Rabboni, which means teacher.
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Jesus said to her, Do not cling to me, for I have not yet
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ascended to the Father, but go to my brothers and say to them,
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I am ascending to my Father, and your father to my God and your
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God. Mary Magdalene went and
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announced to the disciples, I have seen the Lord, and that He
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had said these things to her. Verse 11 May be a little bit of
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an awkward place to begin reading this account, so I think
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it'll be helpful to just remember a little bit of the
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back story here. If you look back at the
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beginning of the chapter, we discover that Mary makes her way
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to the tomb early in the morning, even before the sun
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pierced the horizon. She's there to pay her honors,
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but upon coming to that place, she saw that the that the stone
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was rolled away, and this alarmed her.
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So immediately she makes her way back to Peter and John and she
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tells them, assuming the worst, they've taken his body.
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Somebody kidnapped the body of the Lord.
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Peter and John immediately make their way to this place, and
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upon arrival, the Scriptures tell us that they silently, yet
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carefully investigate the scene. There are the clothes, but
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there's no body. And quite unexpectedly, the
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disciples, in a state of confusion, walk away and they go
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back home. That is how this section
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concludes before we read what we find in verse 11.
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But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb.
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There's something deeply commendable about Mary choosing
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to stay where Jesus was laid while the disciples walked away.
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This in no way is an attack on Peter and John, but you cannot
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deny that Mary's refusal to leave so quickly speaks volumes
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about her yearning for Christ. It's a beautiful demonstration
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of how Mary understood her relationship with the Lord.
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Her connection to Christ was not reduced to obeying some
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commands, adhering to some moral code, joining a community of
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religious people, or even signing up for an exciting
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ministry. What Mary reveals here is that
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her relationship with Jesus Christ was rooted in a sincere
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and genuine love for the person. And the rest of the scene
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confirms a very powerful truth. Christ honors those whose hearts
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yearn for Him. More than anything else, the
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fact that Mary was the first person that Jesus chose to
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reveal Himself to means something.
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It reveals that He blesses those who desire Him.
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This precious woman love the Lord.
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She had rich affection for him. She's broken.
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In fact, I was struck by her reaction when she eventually
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looked into the tomb to see what Peter and John saw.
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And what does she find? She sees 2 angels in white
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strategically seated at the slab where the body of Jesus was
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laid, one at the head and one of the feet, invoking the imagery
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of the cherubim who are infused on the Ark of the Covenant,
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looking down on the mercy seat. We don't have time to get into
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that as much as I would like to, because what we want to consider
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is what these two angels said or asked Mary while her face was
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being stained with tears. Woman, why are you weeping?
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And her answer moves me. Look again at verse 13.
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They sat her a woman. Why are you weeping?
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She said to them. They have taken away my Lord,
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and I do not know where they have laid him.
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Isn't this remarkable saying? What's so remarkable about it?
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Mary, standing in front of angels, is not distracted for a
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moment. She's unfazed by their
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mysterious appearance. No curiosity.
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Curiosity is sparked. There's no diversion here.
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Where had they taken him? Why is she not moved by what
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she's seeing? Because her heart is already
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consumed with Christ. She's after Christ.
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She wants to find Christ. Oh, how easily our pursuit of
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Christ is interfered, is meddled with pivots by things, even good
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things. And yet this woman shows us as
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an inspiring model that it is possible to not allow anything
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or anyone get in the way of what should be our greatest goal.
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Getting nearer and nearer to Christ.
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I notice she boldly calls him my Lord.
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Do you see that in verse 13? They have taken away my Lord,
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even though in her mind Christ is dead.
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Imagine this for a moment. In Christ's greatest
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humiliation, Mary is unashamed to call him my Lord when it was
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very dangerous to be associated with Public Enemy #1 Mary is
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unafraid to say He is my Lord even in front of these
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strangers. And from a human, carnal,
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unbelieving standpoint, there is no benefit of declaring Jesus
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Christ is Lord because he's supposedly dead.
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And yet, Mary is unwavering in her devotion to Christ.
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Where is my Lord? I must find him.
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This woman loved the Lord Jesus. She adored Him.
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And while her standing and her searching is admirable, her
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weeping is not. The angels asked a very
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important question when they asked Why are you weeping?
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Because her answer reveals that her tears ultimately stem from a
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misunderstanding of the work of Christ and what he had promised.
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There is no reason to weep. If Jesus was still in the tomb.
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And that's what you saw, Mary, you have every reason to weep,
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and so should we. But the tomb is empty.
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So why are you weeping? Here's what this shows us.
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Mary's tears, like us, are often because we bring unnecessary
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sorrow upon ourselves, and that sorrow is stimulated because we
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fail to grasp who Jesus Christ accurately is and what He said
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to us. How many times did Mary hear it?
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Surely she found herself around the disciples.
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Surely she heard what Christ taught about his own death, his
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own burial, his own resurrection.
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And she missed it. Her and the other disciples
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should be at the tomb, rejoicing.
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He gave him a play by play. What's going to happen?
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Instead, she's there, weeping. Where did that come from?
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Unbelief. Where'd that come from?
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Missing what Jesus said. And listen, we are much more
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like Mary in this than we would like to admit.
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Christ's word is right in front of us.
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His character is spelled out so obviously, and yet we still weep
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for things that we shouldn't be weeping about.
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This is a common trait of the disciples.
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By the way, do you remember when Jesus sends them off into the
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sea and a storm comes in and visits those disciples while
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Jesus stays back on the shore and the winds are battering them
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and the waves are crashing up against their vehicle?
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And all of a sudden that sight we find Jesus walking on those
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very waters in their direction? Do you remember what the
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disciples said according to Matthew's version of the story?
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Let me remind you what they said in Matthew 14.
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Here in verse 26 they said something that I think is quite
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humbling for us. But when the disciples saw him
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walking on the sea, they were terrified and said it is a
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ghost. And they cried out in fear.
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It is a ghost. And So what we have here is how
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we can often miss it, that Christ is present, that Christ
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is faithful, that Christ is near.
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And we see other things. Mary doesn't see it.
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And so she's here confused. She's here trying to solve this.
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She's here trying to make sense of this puzzle.
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And what's fascinating here is that Christ is going to show his
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ultimate patience for this woman.
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So she's here showing her love. She's here showing her devotion,
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yes, but her weeping is not justified.
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And the one truth that is profoundly powerful enough to
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purify perception of everything is this Jesus Christ is alive.
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That one single reality can stop many tears from flowing if we
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really believe it. So let me borrow the the
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question of the angels and ask each of you in this room, are
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you weeping? And if you are, why?
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Why are you weeping? And once you've identified the
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cause of your misery and the the pain that seems to be so fierce
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and so overwhelming, let me ask you another question.
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Have you ever tried taking the object of your sadness and
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placing it in the light of this glorious fact?
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Jesus Christ is alive? Have you ever consciously done
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that? Have you ever intentionally
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moved your sorrow to that place in your heart?
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Because Mary forgot what Christ said.
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She's weeping. And when we lose sight of that
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same truth, we too will find ourselves paralyzed, puzzled
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unnecessarily. Because if He's alive, that He's
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sovereign over all things, including death.
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And if He's alive, then He is, yes, governing the entire
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universe, but not just the nations, and not just the stars
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and not just kingdoms. But He promised to shepherd your
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daily life with His infinite wisdom and unstoppable power.
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So why are you weeping? I challenge you.
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Anything that causes that agony, take it to the Lord and stamp on
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it. Well, Christ is alive, so my
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body may be sick, Christ is alive.
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I may fear death, but Christ is alive.
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I may not know the next step in this life, but Christ is alive.
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Mary unfortunately didn't see it.
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And perhaps you're sitting there today and you're thinking, well,
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listen, you're preaching to the choir, brother.
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I believe Christ is alive. I showed up here.
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OK, maybe you do believe that Christ is alive, but perhaps
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your stumbling block is not necessarily that event, but the
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character of the one who did race from the grave.
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And if that's you today, then I want you to consider what this
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risen Savior does for this miserable follower of His.
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Look again at verse 14 of John 20.
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Having said this, when she said, they've taken away my Lord.
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Having said that, she turned around and saw Jesus standing,
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but she did not know that it was Jesus.
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Jesus said to her, Woman, why are you weeping?
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Whom are you seeking? Supposing him to be the
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gardener? She said to him, Sir, if you
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have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I
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will take him away. Is that something?
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Mary? What are you going to do with
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the body anyway? So much can be said about these
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verses, but let's simply start by acknowledging how Jesus
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Christ chose to approach Mary. Notice that He didn't scold her,
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doesn't even rebuke her. He shows up and he tenderly and
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patiently guides her by way of reflection.
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She didn't get it the first time when the angels asked the
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question, Why are you weeping? And so he asks it again.
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That's patience. That's kindness.
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And more than that, he adds to that question to help her
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investigate her own heart, examine her own soul.
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I need you to think about this with me.
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This is the very first encounter that Jesus has with any one of
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his fathers after he vacated the tomb.
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What does it show that Christ prioritized comforting the one
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who is clearly in the most anguish, The one that was
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singing about Christ who conquered death is so rich with
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compassion for every single one of us in this place.
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The first thing that He does is come and clarify the confusion
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that is causing internal chaos in this woman's heart.
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That's the first thing that He does.
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And the Holy Spirit indicates that here, in order for you to
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know one of the primary truths that I must embrace about the
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resurrected crisis, that He cares about my tears.
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He actually cares. Yes, this one who's in control
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of all things, this one who defeated death, sin, Satan, one
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of the top things to do on his list on that resurrection
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morning is I must comfort Mary. That's the heart of Christ.
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And yet Mary in this moment shows us, we regularly fail to
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recognize the Lord as we should. You notice here that in the
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midst of her frantic state, Jesus is right there.
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So she's looking into the tomb. She sees the two angels, she
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answers their question. And having said this, she
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turned, you know, some try to figure out why she turned.
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Did she hear the steps? Did the angels motion?
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This is all speculation. One of my favorite ones though
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is that the angels and seeing Christ stood up and she looked.
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You know, Christ is near to us in our pain than we think, but
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we often miss it. We fail to believe it.
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We're looking for feeling. We're looking for something
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tangible. Some write it in the sky, and
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yes, this is a resurrection appearance, but it shows us a
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principle that is true to this day about the resurrected
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Christ. He's close, and you and I must
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develop the eyes of faith to see that.
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Well, Mary doesn't see that, and there's debate again about why
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she couldn't recognize him when she turned around.
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Right. She turns around and she sees
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him, but she doesn't see that it's Christ.
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Was it because it was still dark?
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Was it because her eyes were filled and blinded?
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Because of her tears? Was it because of her hysteria?
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Was it a combination of both? Some say it's because Jesus
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cloaked Himself, but it doesn't say He did that.
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So let's not distract ourselves from what this is trying to
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teach us. She did not perceive Him in the
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midst of her confusion and turmoil.
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We often do the same. Again.
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I alluded to the disciples who were on that water and it was
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about to ravish them and destroy them.
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And here's Christ coming and they say it's a ghost.
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It's a ghost. Hold on.
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The one who is sovereign over the waves, the one who is
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unmoved by the winds, the one who is for you, the one who sent
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you, you see as a ghost. You know, there are many good
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hearted believers who are more ready to acknowledge the
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presence of demons and Satan in the midst of their problems
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instead of acknowledging the Providence of Christ, instead of
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acknowledging the power of Christ, we're more ready to say
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it's a ghost than it's this. And you fail to see He's there.
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He's always been there. He's not surprised by the storm.
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You may be, but He's sovereign over it.
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And here's Mary where she looks at Jesus.
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He's right behind her, touching distance.
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And what does the text tell us? She supposed that he was the
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gardener. Why?
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Gardener of all things, you know, John tells us.
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Why are you there in John 20? Go to John 19.
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Look at John 19, verse 41. Now in the place where he was
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crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in
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which no one had been yet been laid.
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Jesus tomb was in a garden. And so Mary, turning to see this
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man standing there, assumes that in the early hours of the day
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the gardener has come to do his job.
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And in her desperation she looks at the gardener thinking maybe
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the gardener took Jesus away. Do you, do you know where you've
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laid him? Can you tell me where you've
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laid? I'll take him.
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I wonder if you and I can sense a theme that John is trying to
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illustrate. Obviously because he is being
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led by the Holy Spirit. Think about it with me.
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Christ was raised from a tomb in a garden, because long ago sin
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entered into the world in a garden.
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And in that garden long ago, the Lord walked in the cool of the
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day. To do what?
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To pronounce a curse, a sentence of death that would impact the
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world forever. But now, on this resurrection
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morning, the Lord stands again in a garden, not to pronounce a
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curse, but to send forth a message of hope and salvation
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until the world is fully restored again.
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This is a new day not just for Jesus.
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This is a new day not just for Mary.
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This is a new day for mankind. So Mary thinks it's the
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gardener. She's just she's falling apart
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and we can applaud it because she loves Jesus so much, but we
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also have to come gently say, Mary, there's you don't have to
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weep like this. And everything is about to
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change. She's about to realize very
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quickly this is no gardener. Why?
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Because look at verse 16. Jesus said to her, Mary, you
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can't be a gardener because you wouldn't know my name.
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You're not a landscaper. And I am sure that the way Jesus
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said Mary's name had a ring of familiarity.
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The tone, the pronunciation, everything about Jesus saying
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her name unlocked the revelation and simultaneously flooded her
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heart with joy and peace. It's an amazing thing to believe
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that this resurrected Christ knows us by name.
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Yes, we are sheep, but guess what?
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Sheep are named? You don't get A tag on your ear
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with a number on it. He knew her name.
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She knew how he said her name. So when he said it, she melts.
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And once again, Mary's reaction inspires me.
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The first thing that she does when she hears her name spoken
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in the way only Jesus can is turn her back to the angels and
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from her lips cry Rabboni. So the movement here seems to
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indicate that when she was looking into the tomb initially
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and the angels were there asking the question, she answered it.
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She senses the presence of someone else.
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She, I, I think this is what's happening.
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She turns her head only, but then when she hears her name,
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she turns completely and she says Rabboni.
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And John helps us in the meaning of this title means teacher, but
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it's more than Rabbi Rabboni. It's a, it's a term of yes,
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endearment. It's an emphatic way of saying
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rabbi. It's like my teacher, my master,
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my Lord. Listen, although it's personal,
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Mary shows us something so important.
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She gives Christ His due a title of dignity, respect and honor.
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That's what spontaneously shoots out of her heart and her lips
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when she discovers this is Him. And it teaches us something very
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important about how we should and how we must relate to Jesus
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Christ. Christ is intimate.
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Christ is loving. Christ is thoughtful.
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Christ oozes with mercy. Christ is very intentional with
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each of us. And Mary who experienced the
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love of Christ. Understand that this is the same
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Mary whom the Gospels tells us Jesus delivered her from 7
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demons. She knew the love of Christ.
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She knew the power of Christ. She knew the rescuing grace of
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Christ, and she in this moment is about to know a fresh
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revelation of her, of his personal lover.
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And yet none of that diminished her reverence for him.
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You know when I first got saved in the early years.
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Being a Christian, I notice how some people act as if the
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invitation to be close to Christ gives license for us to be
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cheeky with Christ, to be a little too casual with Jesus.
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Be careful, Praise God, He is incredibly approachable, but
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never forget that He is King. He is exalted forever, He's
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matchless in His Majesty. He is infinitely holy.
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The Seraphim dare not even look at him with their bare eyes.
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So he is shepherd, He is friend, He is the lover of our souls.
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But Mary shows us as close as Christ can get to us and longs
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to be with us. He used to be reverenced, He
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used to be feared. Rabbi and I and notice we come
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to the end of this story. We see Mary moving merely from
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turning her head to turning her body to now clinging to Christ
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and we know that because what does Jesus say in verse 17?
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Jesus said to her, do not cling to me.
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Now I'm aware that the King James, which was really the only
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and the most notable and famous Bible in the English speaking
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world for hundreds of years, renders this part as Touch Me
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Not so people get the idea that what Mary was doing here was
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just simply touching him. But the the language and the
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context suggests, especially in the original Greek, the word
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more accurately means to fasten oneself to.
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So you have to understand what Mary is doing here is clutching,
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grabbing, not just embracing. But what makes this prohibition
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from Christ more difficult is when we factor in the broader
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context of the resurrection. Because we heard at the opening
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of the service that when the group of women who visited the
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tomb were making their way back to the disciples to say what the
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angels told them, Jesus appears and he says, greetings.
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I love that. You know what that means.
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Hello. And that one hello.
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Obviously the site of Christ before them makes them drop to
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their knees and it and it says that they held fast to his feet.
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Why didn't he stop them from doing that?
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There's no indication at the end of Matthew that he says don't,
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don't, don't grab my feet. What about Thomas when he shows
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up in that meeting because he missed the first one when Christ
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appeared and Jesus looks at him, he says, Thomas, he extends his
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wounds. He says come touch him.
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He invites him to touch him. What about the end of Luke 24
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when Christ has another meeting with the disciples and he says,
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look, I'm flesh and bone here. Touch.
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So why in this case, when Mary Magdalene wants to grab him, the
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Lord says do not. And we don't have time today to
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explore every possible view. But in my opinion, the most
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convincing is that Jesus Christ understood the intent of Mary's
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action. Here He read the motive.
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He understood why she was doing this, and the motive behind her
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clinging is that she wanted to restrain him.
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She wanted to keep him. She wanted to have him the way
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she has always known him before his death.
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Physically present, practically accessible.
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And Jesus in the same verse, let's Mary know it would no
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longer be this way. I must ascend to the Father.
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And in doing so, Mary, along with every other true believer,
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would experience what Christ taught about and promised after
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His ascension and His exaltation, the indwelling of
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the Holy Spirit. This is a new era.
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This is going to be a big change for marrying the other followers
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of Christ. But Christ also assured them
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that it would be better. Sure, it's not physical.
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Sure it's not tangible. But it's going to be spiritual.
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And part of that spiritual blessing is that there is
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uninterrupted access to Christ any place, anywhere.
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All of us at the same time can have Christ one-on-one.
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Mary, this whole thing is not done yet.
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Don't think that it's going to be the way it was these past few
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years. It's going to be different.
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Don't cling to me. But we have to be careful,
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because although Christ has risen and he's ascended to
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heaven, and though we are enabled to engage with him on a
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spiritual level, the Lord Jesus Christ, pay attention, please.
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It's still flesh and bone. Understanding that important
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theological truth helps us make sense of what Jesus says in this
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verse. Notice this.
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He tells her to relay this message to the disciples.
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I am ascending to my Father, and your father, to my God and your
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God. So those who deny the deity of
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Christ will often come to this text and corner Christians and
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ask the following If you claim that Jesus Christ is God, how
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can he claim that he has a God? Resurrection is a very emotional
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experience by brothers and sisters.
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We have to be able to explain why we believe what we believe.
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He says my God. And this statement would have
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been easy to explain had he made it before his death and
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resurrection. Because we would, I hope, be
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able to say that the reason why Christ can say my God is because
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the Father is his God by virtue of his humanity.
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Jeremiah 3227 tells us the Lord who is the God of all flesh.
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And remember that verse, The Lord who is the God of all
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flesh. That's what the Lord says.
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So when Christ, the second person of the Trinity, takes on
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flesh, he assumes that the Father now is his God by virtue
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of his humanity. Great.
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But here's where people stumble. Jesus made this declaration,
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made this statement after his death and resurrection.
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If it was before his death, I could just say, yes, he became
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man because of that. He relates to God as his God.
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But now he rose from the grave. And if you found yourself
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troubled by this or maybe confronted, not knowing how to
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answer, today's the day where it changes.
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It's very simple really, because what we have to understand about
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the resurrection is that when Christ did indeed defeat death,
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when he did walk out of that tomb, he did not do so
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spiritually as some cults claim. He did not ascend invisibly as
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some assume He did, both with a glorified body.
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Christ physically arose. Christ physically ascended.
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You ready for this? Christ is physically seated at
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the right hand of God. So that same body that was
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pierced, the same body that was beaten, that same body that was
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hung, that same body that was prepared to be buried, that same
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body that went into the tomb is the same body that came out of
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the tomb. What does that lead to?
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Well, if he is still flesh, though glorified, then the truth
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of God being his God as a man still remains.
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And that's why even after his resurrection, that's why even
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after his ascension, where we find in Revelation where Jesus
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is giving letters to the churches, he still says in some
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of those places, my God, why? Because he is flesh forever, the
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God man seated at the right hand of power for eternity.
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We often think that when Christ came into this world and took on
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flesh, He unzipped the flesh and He just moved on as though
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things are going back to the way they were in eternity past.
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Not so when Christ came in the flesh.
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He added to His divinity humanity forever.
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That's the extent of the price that Christ paid for us.
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I wonder what a sight it was when Christ ascended to heaven
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and He went up to those gates and for the first time ever,
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flesh and blood glorified, entered into that place, and not
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just entered into that place, but walked up to the Father and
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sat beside him. And the Father accepts it
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because his Son accomplished his will.
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Oh, there's more to be said about this.
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Let's land it soon. Here.
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Notice that Jesus also said, yes, He is my Father, your
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Father, my God, and your God. But one might wonder, why didn't
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he just say our Father and our God?
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That would have simplified the message, right?
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Jesus is very careful with his words.
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Do you believe that? I believe that with his recorded
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words in red and with his entire word from Genesis to Revelation,
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he's very precise when he needs to be.
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The reason why Jesus makes this distinction, my Father, your
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Father, my God, your God, is because he wants to teach
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something very important about his status before God and that
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of the disciples. He does now invite the disciples
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to understand that He is your Father and He is your God.
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But he also wants to make clear that God being Father to him has
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always been from eternity past. God being Father to Christ is
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because of Christ's nature. That has never changed.
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But God being Father to the disciples and us is not because
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of our nature. It's because of adoption.
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He is my Father by virtue of my standing as the Son of God.
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It always was. He is your Father because of
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grace, and you were invited into that relationship because my
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resurrection seals that status. And that's why He can say what
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He said to Mary about how He identified these disciples.
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Look at it again in verse 17. Do not cling to me, for I have
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not yet ascended to the Father, but go to my brothers.
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My what? My brothers.
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So if you're sitting there today as we wrap things up and you
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think to yourself, that's a wonderful, wonderful explanation
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of how Christ is so soft and patient towards Mary Magdalene.
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But I'll admit, preacher, my devotion to Christ is nowhere
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near Mary's. I'm more like those two
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disciples on the road to Emmaus who are making their way back
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home like, well, I guess he wasn't the hope.
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A little bit of sadness there, but I'm ready to move on with my
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life. Mary can't seem to function
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here. And if that is what you're
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thinking in this place, remember where the 12 disciples were at
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this point, Judas is gone. Yes, Thomas is.
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Who knows where the others obviously fearful.
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The greatest failure that the disciples committed was walking
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away from Christ in his greatest time of need, denying Him,
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walking away from Him, and not believing what he had said about
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His own resurrection. This is the lowest of the low
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for the disciples. You know what Christ tells Mary
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to tell them. Go tell my brothers.
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If you said my servants, I would have been happy with that.
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If you said my anything, we can praise Christ for his
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acknowledgement, but of all things he says, go tell my
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brothers. The disciples walked away.
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The other disciples are hiding. They're still my brothers,
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they're still mine, they still belong to me.
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Who is this Jesus? You know, I'm fully aware that
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there are people in here who might want to be somewhere else.
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It's possible that you're here physically, but your heart is in
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a different place because you're perhaps disappointed with God,
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angry at God, living in sin, with all that you know about
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God. But you know what the
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resurrection does for those who believe it and those who have
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put their faith and trust in it. It secures a relationship with
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Christ that is unfathomable, that even in your distancing and
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your separation and your back turned on Him, if you belong to
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Him, the Lord looks at you with eyes of love.
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Go tell my brothers. He doesn't give up on us, we
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give up on Him. He's never failed us.
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We fail Him. He's never told us anything that
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was untrue. We don't believe Him.
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And yet in this pathetic display of devotion on the part of the
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disciples, Jesus says, Go tell my brothers, and what does Mary
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do? In verse 18, Mary Magdalene went
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and announced to the disciples, I have seen the Lord, and that
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he had said these things to her. Can you imagine this woman who
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had seven demons living inside of her, delivered from Christ
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and because of her love her though, though her faith was not
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fully developed, though she didn't have all the answers,
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Christ honored her longing. And He came so carefully and so
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lovingly to help her get out of this darkness.
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And more than that, He gives her a message to give to the
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apostles. Everything about Jesus and His
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resurrection appearances shows grace upon grace.
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Let me think about it. You would think that Christ
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might make an appearance to Pilate after he rose.
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Hey, Remember Me? What about the religious
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leaders? What are you going to say now?
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He doesn't do that. What does he go to?
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The first person? Mary lost, bewildered, heaving
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Mary, what about the disciples? Go tell my brothers this amazing
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God that we serve, that we can know, that we can draw near to,
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that we can experience, made what I'm speaking about
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available because He chose to come into this world, take on
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flesh, to be killed and crucified so He can purchase
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what we've always needed. Friday we recognize the bread
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and the cup. And in God's Providence, as we
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always do in the first Sunday of the month, we recognize the
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bread and the cup, but with an added reminder that flesh of His
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was broken on our behalf. But that same flesh rose,
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glorified, and Jesus Christ one day will come back bodily, and
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we will be with him forever. I wonder if you know this Jesus
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of whom I speak. I wonder if you've experienced
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this Jesus. These are not just nice stories
44:34
that people put together. These are historical accounts,
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and they are meant to show you who Jesus is and what he is
44:43
like. Are you not drawn to him?
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Are you not moved by Him? Do you not want to have Him?
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He is available and the way you access Him is by faith.
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The way you experience Him is in a moment you realize I am a
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Sinner, I am vile, I am guilty. It was my sin to put Him on that
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cross, but He paid for it and so I received this gift.
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Lord, forgive me, I repent. If you're willing to make me an
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enemy into a brother and to a sister into a child of God, if I
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can through you be able to call God the Holy 1 enthroned in
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heaven as Father, I receive it. Why would you not?
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What's better than that? And believer, maybe today you're
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like Mary. You have an intense love for
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Christ, but you're confused about some things.
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Jesus is near to you than you imagined.
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And if you never want to fall into that place again where
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you're weeping tears and staying up and losing sleep for things
45:54
that you shouldn't get into the Word, know what he has said,
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know who he is, and you'll save yourself from unnecessary tears.
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Maybe some of you in here are like the disciples.
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You're here. You're not really here actually.
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So be it. He still loves you and he
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summons you. He doesn't want you to live
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another moment outside of his perfect will.
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Would you respond to his conviction today?
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So this is a table of remembrance of what Christ has
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done for us. And it is prescribed for
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Christians, those who have put their trust in the message that
46:38
these emblems represent. So if you are a Christian here,
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you were invited to eat at this feast.
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But if you're here today visiting us, we're so glad that
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you're here. But know this, we honor Christ,
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we believe his word, we want to love Him and obey him above all
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else. And what he asks is that you
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would not partake if you do not belong to him.
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However, you can belong to Him, and while you see people taking
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these elements and you sit there, realize that these people
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are making a declaration. I've been saved by grace and you
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can be saved by that same grace. Every person walking up here is
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not holier than thou. Every person that's making their
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way up here saying I've been forgiven.
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Jesus is real to me, and I'm here to remind my own soul that
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it's because of what He has done that I am redeemed forever.
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So let's prepare our hearts, shall we, and ask Him to make
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himself more real to us by faith.
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We thank you, Father, for these truths.
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Just a glimpse of what you were like.
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Because when we see Christ, we see also who the Father is.
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Distinct, yes, and persons, but one, an entity, one in being.
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And what we've come yet again to the table to partake of the
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truth of what Christ has done for us 2000 years ago.
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Help our hearts savor these things with the revelation that
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the Christ who appeared to marry the Christ who asked for the
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disciples, as the Christ who loves us and sees us no
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differently, we rejoice in these things together in Jesus name,
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Amen. Amen.