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John 20:1–16 | Easter Reflection
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We gather around John chapter 20, verses 1 to 16—a passage that speaks to the very heart of our faith. The Bible tells us, "In the first day of the week...Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, went to the sepulchre."
Do you know why we worship on Sundays? It is because this was the day of resurrection. In those days, church services were held on Saturday—a whole day of meditation, rest, and time spent with God. But everything changed when Jesus rose on the first day of the week. That is why we gather here now, on Sunday, to commemorate that glorious day.
Mary Magdalene was a woman from whom Jesus cast out seven demons. She became a devoted follower of Christ, and along with other women like Susanna, she supported Jesus's ministry financially. These were comfortable women who wrote the checks for the Lord's work.
Yet here is what strikes me most profoundly: Mary Magdalene, a woman who had been controlled by seven demons, was the first person to see the risen Jesus. Not Peter. Not John the Beloved. Her.
What does this tell us? It tells us that God is no respector of persons. Nobody should condemn anybody because of their past. It does not matter what you used to be. It does not matter what you used to do. God looks at your heart. God looks at your willingness to call upon Him.
Notice that Mary came early, when it was yet dark. There is something powerful about doing what you need to do on time. The Psalmist says, "Early will I seek thee, O Lord; my soul thirsteth for thee."
Most of the other disciples were sleeping. Most were lethargic and unwilling. But Mary Magdalene came early. She was faithful to what she had committed herself to do. She had promised herself that she would come to that place and anoint His body and care for it properly.
A critical lesson for all of us: be faithful to that which you have committed yourself to. Many people start strong but grow tired, weary, and frustrated. Because of this, sometimes they miss their breakthrough. Sometimes they miss their season of blessing. I have seen many people give up at the very edge of their success.
I once heard of a man during the gold rush who dug for gold, day after day, month after month. He searched and searched but found nothing. In frustration and anger, he sold his claim for $500. The man who bought it did some research, conducted a survey, and discovered that the first man had stopped three feet short of gold. Three feet! He was just three feet away from what he was looking for.
Do not give up. Do not give up when you are almost there.
It was dark, yet Mary Magdalene could see that the stone had been taken away from the sepulchre. What does this mean?
When you are focused on where you are going, God will give you divine revelation even in the midst of darkness. The prophet Isaiah says, "Arise, shine; for thy light is come." When you are focused, no weapon formed against you will prosper.
In this season of economic problems, in the midst of trouble and confusion, in the midst of fear and anger, we must pray: God, give me clarity of sight. Give me divine direction so that I know where I am going. When others are casting down, God says there will be a lifting up for you. Do not be frightened by the things happening around you. Those things are not for people of the economy of Christ.
When Mary arrived at the tomb and found the body gone, she assumed someone had taken it away. "They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him," she said.
This teaches us something vital: what you see is not necessarily what it is. Our natural instincts sometimes jump ahead of spiritual reality. How many people have made terrible decisions based on what they saw and what they imagined, when the actual truth was completely different?
Consider the Israelites in the wilderness. They went into the promised land and saw giants—mighty men, warriors. In their own minds, they felt like grasshoppers. They concluded that in the eyes of those giants, they too were like grasshoppers. But here is the truth: those giants did not even see them. The Israelites did not know who they were. Yet God had promised them, "Ye are well able to take it." What should have been a source of encouragement—the huge grapes, the abundant fruit of the promised land—became an occasion for fear.
David understood something different. When he faced Goliath, everyone else saw a nine-foot-six-inch giant covered in armor, a warrior undefeated from birth. But David saw an uncircumcised Philistine who did not carry the promises of God. This is why David could defeat him.
May God open your spiritual eyes so that you know how to face the things that seem to come against you. May you know how to tell the devil to get out. May you know how to cope with problems and challenges. May you see situations and overcome them without fear.
Peter and John went into the tomb and saw the linen clothes lying there, and the napkin that had wrapped Jesus's head folded by itself. They believed, yet "as yet they knew not the scripture that he must rise again from the dead."
But Mary—steadfast in her love for Christ—saw what others could not see. She wept at the tomb, and something told her to look inside. And there, she saw angels. She saw what others were not privileged to see.
If you are steadfast with your love for Christ, you will see what others cannot see. Your angels will bring you good news. They will bring you a new beginning and a new direction in life.
As we go into communion tonight, asking that the blood of Jesus Christ will work for us, that the bread of God will sanctify us, and that the love of Christ will show us new things—I want to invite you into a deeper relationship with God.
If you are here tonight and want to give your life to Jesus Christ, either for the first time or to rededicate it, I will be happy to pray with you. If you face problems, challenges, and difficulties limiting your progress and your vision, know this: the battle has been won in the spiritual realm. You are seeing only the physical, but victory is already yours in Christ.
For those coming forward, let us pray together:
Father in Heaven, thank you for saving my soul this Easter period. Thank you for delivering me from the snare of the fowler, from the noisome pestilence. Tonight, Lord, I give You my life. I rededicate my life to You, and I ask that You take absolute control of my life today. Lord, I am born again and I will serve You with everything that I have, in the name of Jesus Christ. Thank you, precious Lord, in Jesus name. Amen.
As we celebrate communion, we remember the words of Paul: "I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you: That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread; and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me."
Similarly, "after they had eaten, he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."
As we eat the bread and drink the cup, let us remember that His body was broken for us, and His blood was shed for the remission of our sins. This is our covenant with God, sealed forever in Jesus Christ.
