9/28/09

John 20:1-18 (New International Version)

John 20
The Empty Tomb
1Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!"
3So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. 8Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
10Then the disciples went back to their homes, 11but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
13They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?"

"They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him." 14At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

15"Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?"
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."

16Jesus said to her, "Mary."
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher).

17Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' "

18Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her.

The stone still had not been rolled away, but Jesus wasn't lying there anymore. Jesus moved the stone so that others could enter and see that he was not there.People that have never heard this story may need time for this whole situation to sink in. They may believe that it is a fabrication, they may be puzzled by what happened, and they may not be able to comprehend until they have their own personal encounter with Christ. As they commit to him, they may begin to fully understand the reality of his presence.It would have been impossible for someone to have stolen his body from the way that the graveclothes were laid.Peter and John were still surprised that Jesus wasn't in the tomb.They did believe after they remembered what Jesus had foretold though. He said he would die but that he would rise again. Jesus rose from the dead like he prophecied, therefore we can have confidence in his word.It proves that a living Christ, not a false prophet, is over Heaven and Earth. We can be certain that death is not the end as proven by his resurrection- There is future life. The divine power that brought Jesus back is the same one that brings us back from the spiritually dead. The resurrection is the basis for the church's witness to the world. Mary didn't recognize Jesus due to her grief, but when he spoke her name, she knew him immediately and began to go tell the good news. She responded by obedience.Do you share the gospel with others?

Life is meant to be shared. The bible calls this fellowship. It includes unselfish loving, honest sharing, practical serving, giving sacrificially and comforting sympathetically. It helps us to experience authenticity. Real fellowship only happens when we are honest to others about what's really happening in our lives. Darkness hides our flaws, but light helps us to admit what our flaws really are. Being authentic means facing our fear of exposure, rejection, and being hurt again. This is the only way to be spiritually healty and growing. We must be honest with ourselves and others. We experience mutuality with real fellowship. This is the act of giving, receiving, and depending on each other. During Keri's situation, I found it hard to accept everything that people were doing for me. I finally realized that not allowing them to help was taking blessings away from them. God wants us to build reciprocal relationships, share responsibilities, and help each other out. Our faith is stronger when we walk with others. We experience sympathy in real fellowship. That is ,we enter in and share each others pains. This gives us the need to be understood and the needs to have our feelings validated. Every time you do this you build fellowship. Simple levels of fellowship include sharing and studying God's word. A deeper level includes serving together in Christ's mission. The deepest level is suffering together. This is where we need each other the most. We need to be able to give and receive mercy. God's mercy toward us is our motivation to show mercy to others. Will you use your energy for retaliation or resolution? Forgiveness is letting go of the past and trust has to do with future behavior and must be rebuilt over time. You are not expected to let people continually hurt you, they must prove that they have changed over time, but you must immediately forgive them. Fellowship happens best in groups of ten or less. This is like a Sunday school class. You really don't know what you are missing if you are not a part of one. You were created for community.

Heavenly Father I just want to thank you for the opportunity to fellowship with other beleivers on a weekly basis. I realize that some other places on this earth are persecuted for trying to do this very thing, but I can do so freely without harm. What a blessing that is. Lord help me to be accountable to those that I love and that love me. Give me opportunities to love and fellowship today in the spirit of how you intended for us to do it. I pray those unspoken prayers and know that yu understand the needs of those involved. Lord I ask you to heal the sick, comfort the homebound, and enter the hearts of those that need you. Thank you for your son dying on the cross for me. Thank you for the first hand account of the miracle of his resurrection. Please help me to be obedient and spread the word today. Please watch over my children today as they go out into your missions field and protect them if it be your will. Forgive me where I fail you. In your precios name I pray.......amen