John 20:10-18
The Appearances of the Resurrected Jesus: Mary Magdalene
Introduction
A little boy and his father are walking through their church. On the walls were a series of plaques with names on them. The boy asked his father, “What are these?” The father said, “Those are plaques with names on them.” The little boy asked what the names were for and the father said, “These are the names of all those who died in service.” Then the little boy asked, “Which one, the 9am or the 10:30?”
Those are names of men who died, but, our Lord died and rose again. His name doesn’t appear on any plaques for the dead because He is not dead. Revelation 1:18, “I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever!”
The Scriptures record 10 post-resurrection appearances by the Lord Jesus between His resurrection and His Ascension. The significance of His appearances is that He only showed Himself to His disciples. He didn’t go and show up to Caiaphas or Pilate. In John 14:21 Jesus said, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.” Spiritual wisdom is gained by believing and obeying the knowledge God gives you. Caiaphas and Pilate rejected the truth that Jesus was the Son of God, and, the glorious resurrection was kept from them.
His appearances were not to bring people to faith, miracles and resurrections do not bring people to faith. John 12:37 says, “Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence they still would not believe in Him.” In Luke 16 Jesus tells the story of the rich man and Lazarus. They both die, and the rich man is in Hades suffering torment while Lazarus is in a place of rest. The rich man begs Abraham to send Lazarus back from the dead to his 5 brothers to warn them so they will not come to this place of suffering. Abraham says in verse 31, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.” (Luke 16:31; John 12:37) but, to make them eyewitnesses and give them the basis of their testimony, preaching of the Apostles was centered around their testimony of having seen Jesus resurrected (__________), faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God, saving faith comes by hearing the saving message.
It’s interesting that of all people Jesus appears to Mary first. Women were not equal with men. Their testimony was not valid in a court of law. So to establish the truth of something required 2 or 3 men to give testimony. The first witness to be sent is a woman. And a woman of no account for that matter. Mary was at one time possessed by 7 demons, but, Jesus healed her. From that time on she never left Jesus side. She supported his ministry with her own money. She was at the cross. She was the first at the tomb on Resurrection Sunday. And it may very well be that her devotion is why Jesus chose to appear to her first.
Significance of appearing to Mary Magdalene first: There is no one too insignificant to be loved by Jesus. There is no one too small to for Jesus to care for. Jesus appeared to a woman first after He was raised from the dead, and, the first time He told someone He was the Messiah was to a woman in chapter 4. Here we have the most important person in the world with perhaps the least important person in the world.
Do you ever feel like you’re not important? You are important to the Lord. He doesn’t overlook you or pass you by. His interests include you.
Unsatisfied (v10-13)
Now we see Mary is unsatisfied in anything but seeing Christ, (v10-13). She does not leave with the men; she stays. She could have gone home to weep, but, she wanted to be near to the place where Jesus was last known to be.
Mary is also unsatisfied in seeing angels. Mary looked into the tomb as she was crying and she sees not the dead body of her Lord, but, two angels. They sat on either end of the shelf where Jesus was laid. Luke says that two bright shining angels appeared in the tomb to a group of women. Mary isn’t the least bit fazed by their presence. It seems like many today have a fascination with angels, but, not Mary. There is nothing so spectacular as to substitute seeing the Lord Jesus Christ. She would not be satisfied by anyone less than Jesus Himself. The Psalmist said, “One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life and gaze upon the beauty of the Lord”
Don’t let anything in this world steal your desire to see the Lord Jesus Christ. Live with your heart set on seeing Him someday. Right now we live by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7), but, there will come a day when we will see the Lord as He is in His glory (1 Cor. 13:12). He prayed that in chapter 17, “I want them to be with me where I am and see my glory”. Job said, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin had been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will se him with my own eyes – I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” (Job 19:25-27). Let your heart yearn for Him too! Let nothing on earth satisfy you. Let us live our lives as completely unsatisfied with anything other than beholding the glorious, resurrected Lord Jesus Christ.
Unrecognized (v14-15)
Mary does not recognize Jesus when she first sees Him. Verse 14 says, “At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.”
Why could she not recognize Him? Some have suggested that the tears in her eyes from crying blurred her vision. Maybe. But, I think she was supernaturally kept from being able to recognize Him. This is what happened when Jesus appeared to the two disciples on their way to Emmaus later on in Luke 24:16, “As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus Himself came up and walked along with them, but they were kept from recognizing Him.”
I think it’s interesting that she didn’t recognize Jesus when she saw Him, nor did she recognize Him when He spoke to her. He says in verse 15, “’Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?’…”
Why does Jesus ask questions He knows the answers to? Why does He not show Himself to her right away? He tests her. It’s like we’re most honest when we’re by ourselves. When no one is looking or around us we are who we truly are. It’s like when there are no cops on the road. We show the crooks that we really are and speed up. Jesus hides Himself from her so that her knowledge of His presence doesn’t influence her and so that what she really is thinking comes out. He makes her identify the reason she is crying so that either her faith or her lack of faith becomes apparent to her. He already knows - His questions are to lead her to see what’s going on inside of herself.
There is a big distinction between Mary’s devotion and Mary’s faith. Mary was utterly devoted to Jesus, but, she did not believe that Jesus was alive. She never left His side and she heard Him all those times when He said He would die and on the 3rd day be raised from the dead. But she wept because she thought His dead body had been stolen. If she believed, then the empty tomb would be a cause for joy but because she did not believe she had the situation all wrong in her head and so she was upset with speculations about what might have happened.
We can relate can’t we? How often does our faith become feeble and our emotions run high? He makes us identify the cause of our emotions or behavior. He makes us verbalize things not so that He can understand, but, so that we can understand why we are the way we are. He forces us to think about what we’re thinking, feeling, or doing. Often we don’t think from His perspective, and, a simple question can show just how far off our own thinking is from that of the Lord’s. He wants us to think with His mind and see from His perspective.
The questions that Jesus asks are important to note. First He asks her, “Why are you crying?” And the second questions seems to indicate the answer, “Who is it you are looking for?” The reason she is crying is because she is looking for someone and she cannot find Him. Jesus told the Pharisees that He was going away and they would not be able to find Him or follow Him (7:36).
Her affection and devotion to Christ were so great she stayed by the tomb and wouldn’t leave. She wasn’t satisfied seeing two angels. She could think of nothing else than finding Jesus. And notice how she never says His name in verse 15. Three times she refers to Jesus as “Him”. To her it’s all about Jesus, and, she can’t imagine someone wouldn’t know who she speaks of. She can’t imagine someone not knowing Jesus; not sharing the same sense of loss; not feeling the same desperation to find Him; in her mind everyone knows who “Him” is. Jesus is her everything and she could not imagine a world where Jesus was not known.
Application: Mary may not recognize Jesus, but Jesus recognizes her. The Lord knows us even if we don’t know Him. We may not see the Lord Jesus, but, we can be sure He sees us. Not a hair falls from our head that He doesn’t know about (in which case He has to watch some of us more than others).
Unveiled (v16)
Christ unveils Himself to her so she can recognize Him. She lunges toward Him to embrace Him. She calls Him “Rabboni” and John says for His Greek readers that this means “Teacher”. It was a title that showed great respect. In later years the Jews would have 3 titles: “Rab” (the lowest), “Rabbi”, and “Rabboni” (the highest).
He is so tender and so kind to her as He simply says, “Mary”. And immediately, at the sound of His voice, she recognizes Him. “My sheep know my voice” He said in John 10. He raised Lazarus from the dead by calling his name (John 11). He converted the murderer of Christians, Saul of Tarsus, when He called him by name, and that Saul became the great Apostle Paul (Acts 9). He told Simon he would from now on be called Peter (John 1). Psalm 147 says, “He numbers the stars and knows each one by name.”
Matthew Henry says, “Christ’s way of making Himself known to His people is by His word, His word applied to their souls, speaking to them in particular.”
The Lord speaks to us through His Word. It is through His Word that He unveils Himself. We can come to know who He is through the written Word that is here for us today. Romans 15:4 says, “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
Understanding (v17)
Jesus’ response shows there is a new understanding. There was a change in the relationship Mary had with Jesus now that He was resurrected. She was being made to understand that things are different now.
Why couldn’t Jesus be held on to? He allowed the women to hold His feet and worship Him, and He allowed the disciples to touch His wounds. The difference is that Mary was holding on to Him because she didn’t want Him to leave her again. The women worshiped Him as the risen Lord, the disciples were touching His wounds to verify that it was truly Him, but Mary was holding Jesus with the thought that He would never leave again.
But Jesus was going to leave in 40 days to go back to heaven. Jesus was essentially telling Mary not to get used to Him being around physically anymore. He is going to leave and she will have a job to do.
This is the first time Jesus calls the disciples His “brothers”. Notice the kindness of Jesus: He doesn’t call them deserters or traitors or anything that would reflect their abandoning Him.
Until now they have been His servants. He even called them His “friends” in 15:15. But now, their relationship with Jesus has become something new because of His finished work on the cross. God adopts as His sons those who believe in His Son. John 1:12 says, “Yet to all who received the Lord Jesus Christ He gave the right to become children of God.” The resurrection of Jesus shows according to Romans 8:29 that “He is the firstborn among many brothers.” Turn to Hebrews 2………(v10-17)
Jesus became like us in the flesh to destroy death and so we could be part of the family of God. The difference however between Jesus and us is great. Jesus Christ is the Son of God by eternal generation. We are sons of God by adoption. We are sons of God, but, He is THE Son of God. He has always been God’s Son, and, He is the One who has made us become sons of God. Nobody had to make Him God’s Son, it is who He is, and it is only through Him that anyone can become an adopted son of God.
Unleashing (v18)
Unleashing witnesses for Himself. Mary was the first human witness and the first to give testimony that Jesus was alive. From those days on Jesus unleashed the Gospel on the world through His witnesses. He will say later in this chapter in verse 21, “Just as the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” In Acts 1:8 Jesus said the whole world was going to be the audience to the Gospel witnesses, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Paul would say 30 years later to the Colossians, “[this Gospel that has come to you has been preached all over the world. It is bearing fruit and growing everywhere…]”. And now down through the centuries even to this day that Gospel of Jesus Christ that was unleashed the day of His resurrection is the Gospel that is unleashed this very morning.
It’s important to note that when Mary went to the disciples they did not believe her. Mark 16:11, “When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.” A couple verses later it says, “Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.”
We need to unleash the Gospel on the world, starting in Spring Lake. We need to realize that many will not believe it. But the testimony of Jesus Christ must be given. The disciples needed to hear the good news. This world is full of people that need to hear the good news. They are all over. Don’t think that just because there is a church on every corner and that people are churched that they know the Gospel. There are people who have not yet heard the greatest news.
The Appearances of the Resurrected Jesus: Mary Magdalene
Introduction
A little boy and his father are walking through their church. On the walls were a series of plaques with names on them. The boy asked his father, “What are these?” The father said, “Those are plaques with names on them.” The little boy asked what the names were for and the father said, “These are the names of all those who died in service.” Then the little boy asked, “Which one, the 9am or the 10:30?”
Those are names of men who died, but, our Lord died and rose again. His name doesn’t appear on any plaques for the dead because He is not dead. Revelation 1:18, “I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever!”
The Scriptures record 10 post-resurrection appearances by the Lord Jesus between His resurrection and His Ascension. The significance of His appearances is that He only showed Himself to His disciples. He didn’t go and show up to Caiaphas or Pilate. In John 14:21 Jesus said, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.” Spiritual wisdom is gained by believing and obeying the knowledge God gives you. Caiaphas and Pilate rejected the truth that Jesus was the Son of God, and, the glorious resurrection was kept from them.
His appearances were not to bring people to faith, miracles and resurrections do not bring people to faith. John 12:37 says, “Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence they still would not believe in Him.” In Luke 16 Jesus tells the story of the rich man and Lazarus. They both die, and the rich man is in Hades suffering torment while Lazarus is in a place of rest. The rich man begs Abraham to send Lazarus back from the dead to his 5 brothers to warn them so they will not come to this place of suffering. Abraham says in verse 31, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.” (Luke 16:31; John 12:37) but, to make them eyewitnesses and give them the basis of their testimony, preaching of the Apostles was centered around their testimony of having seen Jesus resurrected (__________), faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God, saving faith comes by hearing the saving message.
It’s interesting that of all people Jesus appears to Mary first. Women were not equal with men. Their testimony was not valid in a court of law. So to establish the truth of something required 2 or 3 men to give testimony. The first witness to be sent is a woman. And a woman of no account for that matter. Mary was at one time possessed by 7 demons, but, Jesus healed her. From that time on she never left Jesus side. She supported his ministry with her own money. She was at the cross. She was the first at the tomb on Resurrection Sunday. And it may very well be that her devotion is why Jesus chose to appear to her first.
Significance of appearing to Mary Magdalene first: There is no one too insignificant to be loved by Jesus. There is no one too small to for Jesus to care for. Jesus appeared to a woman first after He was raised from the dead, and, the first time He told someone He was the Messiah was to a woman in chapter 4. Here we have the most important person in the world with perhaps the least important person in the world.
Do you ever feel like you’re not important? You are important to the Lord. He doesn’t overlook you or pass you by. His interests include you.
Unsatisfied (v10-13)
Now we see Mary is unsatisfied in anything but seeing Christ, (v10-13). She does not leave with the men; she stays. She could have gone home to weep, but, she wanted to be near to the place where Jesus was last known to be.
Mary is also unsatisfied in seeing angels. Mary looked into the tomb as she was crying and she sees not the dead body of her Lord, but, two angels. They sat on either end of the shelf where Jesus was laid. Luke says that two bright shining angels appeared in the tomb to a group of women. Mary isn’t the least bit fazed by their presence. It seems like many today have a fascination with angels, but, not Mary. There is nothing so spectacular as to substitute seeing the Lord Jesus Christ. She would not be satisfied by anyone less than Jesus Himself. The Psalmist said, “One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life and gaze upon the beauty of the Lord”
Don’t let anything in this world steal your desire to see the Lord Jesus Christ. Live with your heart set on seeing Him someday. Right now we live by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7), but, there will come a day when we will see the Lord as He is in His glory (1 Cor. 13:12). He prayed that in chapter 17, “I want them to be with me where I am and see my glory”. Job said, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin had been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will se him with my own eyes – I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” (Job 19:25-27). Let your heart yearn for Him too! Let nothing on earth satisfy you. Let us live our lives as completely unsatisfied with anything other than beholding the glorious, resurrected Lord Jesus Christ.
Unrecognized (v14-15)
Mary does not recognize Jesus when she first sees Him. Verse 14 says, “At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.”
Why could she not recognize Him? Some have suggested that the tears in her eyes from crying blurred her vision. Maybe. But, I think she was supernaturally kept from being able to recognize Him. This is what happened when Jesus appeared to the two disciples on their way to Emmaus later on in Luke 24:16, “As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus Himself came up and walked along with them, but they were kept from recognizing Him.”
I think it’s interesting that she didn’t recognize Jesus when she saw Him, nor did she recognize Him when He spoke to her. He says in verse 15, “’Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?’…”
Why does Jesus ask questions He knows the answers to? Why does He not show Himself to her right away? He tests her. It’s like we’re most honest when we’re by ourselves. When no one is looking or around us we are who we truly are. It’s like when there are no cops on the road. We show the crooks that we really are and speed up. Jesus hides Himself from her so that her knowledge of His presence doesn’t influence her and so that what she really is thinking comes out. He makes her identify the reason she is crying so that either her faith or her lack of faith becomes apparent to her. He already knows - His questions are to lead her to see what’s going on inside of herself.
There is a big distinction between Mary’s devotion and Mary’s faith. Mary was utterly devoted to Jesus, but, she did not believe that Jesus was alive. She never left His side and she heard Him all those times when He said He would die and on the 3rd day be raised from the dead. But she wept because she thought His dead body had been stolen. If she believed, then the empty tomb would be a cause for joy but because she did not believe she had the situation all wrong in her head and so she was upset with speculations about what might have happened.
We can relate can’t we? How often does our faith become feeble and our emotions run high? He makes us identify the cause of our emotions or behavior. He makes us verbalize things not so that He can understand, but, so that we can understand why we are the way we are. He forces us to think about what we’re thinking, feeling, or doing. Often we don’t think from His perspective, and, a simple question can show just how far off our own thinking is from that of the Lord’s. He wants us to think with His mind and see from His perspective.
The questions that Jesus asks are important to note. First He asks her, “Why are you crying?” And the second questions seems to indicate the answer, “Who is it you are looking for?” The reason she is crying is because she is looking for someone and she cannot find Him. Jesus told the Pharisees that He was going away and they would not be able to find Him or follow Him (7:36).
Her affection and devotion to Christ were so great she stayed by the tomb and wouldn’t leave. She wasn’t satisfied seeing two angels. She could think of nothing else than finding Jesus. And notice how she never says His name in verse 15. Three times she refers to Jesus as “Him”. To her it’s all about Jesus, and, she can’t imagine someone wouldn’t know who she speaks of. She can’t imagine someone not knowing Jesus; not sharing the same sense of loss; not feeling the same desperation to find Him; in her mind everyone knows who “Him” is. Jesus is her everything and she could not imagine a world where Jesus was not known.
Application: Mary may not recognize Jesus, but Jesus recognizes her. The Lord knows us even if we don’t know Him. We may not see the Lord Jesus, but, we can be sure He sees us. Not a hair falls from our head that He doesn’t know about (in which case He has to watch some of us more than others).
Unveiled (v16)
Christ unveils Himself to her so she can recognize Him. She lunges toward Him to embrace Him. She calls Him “Rabboni” and John says for His Greek readers that this means “Teacher”. It was a title that showed great respect. In later years the Jews would have 3 titles: “Rab” (the lowest), “Rabbi”, and “Rabboni” (the highest).
He is so tender and so kind to her as He simply says, “Mary”. And immediately, at the sound of His voice, she recognizes Him. “My sheep know my voice” He said in John 10. He raised Lazarus from the dead by calling his name (John 11). He converted the murderer of Christians, Saul of Tarsus, when He called him by name, and that Saul became the great Apostle Paul (Acts 9). He told Simon he would from now on be called Peter (John 1). Psalm 147 says, “He numbers the stars and knows each one by name.”
Matthew Henry says, “Christ’s way of making Himself known to His people is by His word, His word applied to their souls, speaking to them in particular.”
The Lord speaks to us through His Word. It is through His Word that He unveils Himself. We can come to know who He is through the written Word that is here for us today. Romans 15:4 says, “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”
Understanding (v17)
Jesus’ response shows there is a new understanding. There was a change in the relationship Mary had with Jesus now that He was resurrected. She was being made to understand that things are different now.
Why couldn’t Jesus be held on to? He allowed the women to hold His feet and worship Him, and He allowed the disciples to touch His wounds. The difference is that Mary was holding on to Him because she didn’t want Him to leave her again. The women worshiped Him as the risen Lord, the disciples were touching His wounds to verify that it was truly Him, but Mary was holding Jesus with the thought that He would never leave again.
But Jesus was going to leave in 40 days to go back to heaven. Jesus was essentially telling Mary not to get used to Him being around physically anymore. He is going to leave and she will have a job to do.
This is the first time Jesus calls the disciples His “brothers”. Notice the kindness of Jesus: He doesn’t call them deserters or traitors or anything that would reflect their abandoning Him.
Until now they have been His servants. He even called them His “friends” in 15:15. But now, their relationship with Jesus has become something new because of His finished work on the cross. God adopts as His sons those who believe in His Son. John 1:12 says, “Yet to all who received the Lord Jesus Christ He gave the right to become children of God.” The resurrection of Jesus shows according to Romans 8:29 that “He is the firstborn among many brothers.” Turn to Hebrews 2………(v10-17)
Jesus became like us in the flesh to destroy death and so we could be part of the family of God. The difference however between Jesus and us is great. Jesus Christ is the Son of God by eternal generation. We are sons of God by adoption. We are sons of God, but, He is THE Son of God. He has always been God’s Son, and, He is the One who has made us become sons of God. Nobody had to make Him God’s Son, it is who He is, and it is only through Him that anyone can become an adopted son of God.
Unleashing (v18)
Unleashing witnesses for Himself. Mary was the first human witness and the first to give testimony that Jesus was alive. From those days on Jesus unleashed the Gospel on the world through His witnesses. He will say later in this chapter in verse 21, “Just as the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” In Acts 1:8 Jesus said the whole world was going to be the audience to the Gospel witnesses, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Paul would say 30 years later to the Colossians, “[this Gospel that has come to you has been preached all over the world. It is bearing fruit and growing everywhere…]”. And now down through the centuries even to this day that Gospel of Jesus Christ that was unleashed the day of His resurrection is the Gospel that is unleashed this very morning.
It’s important to note that when Mary went to the disciples they did not believe her. Mark 16:11, “When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.” A couple verses later it says, “Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.”
We need to unleash the Gospel on the world, starting in Spring Lake. We need to realize that many will not believe it. But the testimony of Jesus Christ must be given. The disciples needed to hear the good news. This world is full of people that need to hear the good news. They are all over. Don’t think that just because there is a church on every corner and that people are churched that they know the Gospel. There are people who have not yet heard the greatest news.
Comments
Post a Comment