John 20
How deep must have been the conversion of Mary Magdalene, who had been delivered from the power of seven demons that had possessed her. Seven speaks of completeness, in this case the completeness of the power of evil.
She probably was alone when she arrived at the sepulcher in the predawn darkness on the first day of the week, after Jesus was raised from among the dead. Jesus being gone, she had nothing. He meant everything to her; it was His Person that drew her to Him. But now He was gone, and she wept. Her love for Jesus had isolated her; she was alone.
Many have been brought to this feeling of being alone in connection with the loss of a loved one. But Christ had delivered Mary Magdalene from demon power, and now He was gone. She had no one else.
As she looked, she saw that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance of the sepulcher. Running, she came to Peter and John, saying, "They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulcher, and we know not where they have laid Him."
Peter and John ran to the sepulcher, but John outran Peter and arrived first. He stooped down and saw the linen clothes, but did not go in. Peter arrived and entered the sepulcher. He saw that the napkin which had been wrapped about Jesus' head was wrapped together in a place by itself, separate from the linen clothes. John seeing this, believed. They did not yet know the Scripture that Jesus must rise again from among the dead.
As the disciples departed to their own homes, Mary Magdalene stood weeping near the sepulcher.
I ask my own soul, Have I, having seen the empty sepulcher, believed and returned to my own home as Peter and John did, or have I, weeping, waited for Jesus at the sepulcher, as having none other, as Mary did? Mary had no one else to comfort her heart in this world of sin-only Jesus, who was now gone. Which, I ask, is my case?
Having confessed, and been baptized, and in the company of those who have been granted the highest privileges known to man, do I value Jesus above all else-His Person, my Redeemer, Savior and Friend who loves me now and has for the endless ages before creation?
Soon He will come, and, as His bride, I shall, with all of the redeemed, sit down to feast at the marriage supper of the Lamb. Looking back from that vantage point, will I see things differently than I do now? Do I seek grace to walk as Jesus walked, in His steps, in obedience to His Word, depending solely on Him, not only for salvation, but for my whole path? Does the Person, the man Christ Jesus, mean this much to me? Being in Laodicea, all is falling apart in the testimony of the Lord down here-am I an overcomer practically?
Jesus Made Himself Known
Looking in the sepulcher, Mary saw two angels clothed in white, sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet where the body of Jesus had lain. They asked, "Woman, why weepest thou?" She answered, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid Him."
Turning around, she saw Jesus standing by, but she did not know Him, thinking Him to be the gardener. Jesus said, Why do you weep? Whom do you seek? Addressing Him as the gardener, she said, "Tell me where thou hast laid Him, and I will take Him away."
Precious Moments
What precious moments are these! By going home, Peter and John missed them. Jesus said, "Mary." She turned herself and said to Him, "Rabboni; which is to say, Master."
How her poor heart throbbed! Having been left with nothing, now in Jesus she receives everything. Having been introduced to God as her Father, she becomes the messenger to tell His disciples.
Will this be our experience at the rapture when our eyes see Christ in resurrection glory for the first time? Will our hearts then be like Mary's? Oh what joy there will be then, never known before and never to cease for all eternity. May our hearts be captured in love like Mary's.
Many times Mary has remembered that precious moment, when affection gave her to be the first one to see Jesus, having been raised from among the dead on the first day of the week.
Mary told the disciples what Jesus had said. Later the same day, the first day of the week at evening, where the disciples were gathered behind closed doors for fear of the Jews, Jesus stood in the midst and said to them, "Peace be unto you." After He had showed them His hands and His side, the disciples rejoiced. Then Jesus said to them again, "Peace be unto you: as My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you. And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost."
This receiving of the Spirit was not as at Pentecost later, but He was giving life in the Spirit, much like in Adam when created. They now had life in the Spirit. At Pentecost, the Spirit came in power and indwell them.
Thomas was not there when Jesus came the first time. They said to him, "We have seen the Lord." Thomas answered, "Except I shall see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe." Thomas pictures the ten tribes on the day of atonement when they ask Jesus, "What are these wounds in Thine hands?" They must see to believe. If it is not the "Word" that I believe, it is nature, not spiritual belief.
Mary, who was the first to see Jesus after His resurrection, was sent with a message to the disciples. It was His "Word" and the disciples believed it. (It was the first day of the week when the Church gathered: the assembly with Jesus in the midst; Acts 20:7.)
The second time Jesus appeared, Thomas was with them. It was eight days after the first appearance, on the first day of the week. The doors were shut. Jesus stood in the midst and said, "Peace be unto you." He told Thomas to bring his finger and see His hands and to thrust his hand into His side, and not to disbelieve, but have faith. Thomas responded, "My Lord and my God." Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." Those who have not seen, but have believed, are those in the Church.
Jesus sent the disciples forth into the world with that same peace into which He had brought them through the cross.
Among the many signs that Jesus did in the presence of His disciples, "these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name."