20:11 But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she
stooped down and looked into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white
sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had
lain.13 Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”
She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not
know where they have laid Him.”
Many years ago when I was in Cape
Breton I presented a message about the disciples showing how human they were
with all their flaws and arguing and pride and unbelief. Someone took me aside
after and was quite upset. We talked about it and I think they began to see the
good news in what the Bible reveals about those 12 men who were far from
perfect.
Today we get a deeper insight
into Mary's personality and character. A few days ago we talked about how Mary
upon finding out the tomb was empty drew the false conclusion that
"they" had come and stolen His body.
Now fast forward. Peter and John
have come and discovered evidence that stroll suggests His body was not stolen
but rather He is alive. They are so convinced they consider the case closed and
they return home.
Now Mary remains and is as upset
as ever. She stumbles through her tears into the empty tomb only to discover it
isn't empty. Angels are there and they ask her why she is weeping. Her response
is the exact same thing she told Peter and John. "They have taken away my
Lord and I do not know where they have laid Him."
It's as if Peter and John had
never been there. It's as if they had never discovered the burial cloths and
the folded napkin that had covered His face. She decided from the start what
had happened and for her that was reality and truth.

As a pastor I have observed that
it is also our nature/inclination to believe the first story we are told. If a
husband comes and tells his side first we tend to believe him and if his wife
tells a different story later we interpret her account through the lens of his
account. The only exception to this phenomenon is when we are emotionally attached
or detached from the person. If I don't like 'Bill' my tendency is to side with
his wife no matter what the evidence suggests. On the flip side if I really
like 'Bill' I want him to come out looking good no matter what the evidence
suggests. In journalism and research this is called bias. In relationships it
is called favouritism.
I take comfort in the realization
that the men and women who walked and talked with Jesus, who loved Him and
believed in Him were as messed up as we are. That may sound crazy but if they
were better than us I'd feel hopeless. Their humanity, their lumps and flaws,
their propensity to misjudge and draw false conclusions inspire me. Don't
misunderstand me though. I'm not inspired by their brokenness but by what Jesus
was able to do with them and through them despite their flaws.
In other words, try not to get
all your exercise jumping to false conclusions because it has the potential to
cause you and others pain. However be comforted that if you do make a wild leap
to a false conclusion Jesus will still be there to catch you or He might even
send an angel or two.
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