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.”
14 Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing
there, and did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why
are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?”
She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have
carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”
I don't want to push the point
past it's best before date but can you see how committed Mary is to her belief
that the body of Jesus has been stolen?
One if the major themes of the
gospel of John is blindness. Jesus comes into our darkness as the Light of the
world and still we can't see Him. The darkness cannot comprehend what it is
seeing. Seeing we don't see and hearing we don't hear.
Almost the entire Jewish people
rejected and ultimately crucified their own long expected Messiah because His
character and message didn't fit their carefully crafted and detailed script
that had been refined for generations. They saw Him and heard Him but their
bias prevented them from seeing or hearing Him.
Now Mary is in the same boat. She
is 110% convinced Jesus is dead and that His body has been taken. Peter and
John's discovery of the folded napkin did not dissuade her at all. The sight of
angels in His tomb didn't cause her to question her view of events. Now Jesus
is before her and speaking to her but her bowed head and tear filled eyes
prevent her from seeing Him and her emotional state and desperation to find His
body so she can complete the task she has come for prevent her from recognizing
His voice or the familiar greeting.
In short she is blind in every
way. All she can "see" is her own view of the situation.
Have you ever listened to two
people argue and realize they are actually agreeing but are both too blind to
see it? Ever been one of the arguers?
Now consider this:
First Jesus leaves physical
evidence of His resurrection. Mary doesn't see it. Then He sends a friend to
share with her the evidence. Her emotions and false conclusions prevent her
from "seeing" it. Then He sends angels. Still no change. Finally He
comes Himself.
"You will search for Me and
find Me when you search with all your heart even though I was never far from
you." - Jesus
If we remain blind to His
presence in our lives it won't be because He didn't try everything. If you want
to be truly courageous and see things you've never seen before, be willing to
question everything - yes everything - everything.
Nathaniel (my 9 year old son) and
I had the most amazing conversation driving home Sunday night. He told me
sometimes he wonders if people just made up the Bible. I could have argued but
how could I argue in the face of such honesty? Instead I told him the truth.
"I used to wonder that too." Question everything means question
everything and nothing needs to be questioned more closely than what we think
we know about God. What the Jews thought they knew caused them to want to
murder their Messiah and what Mary thought she knew left her weeping far longer
than necessary.
Open your mind and heart and eyes
and ears. It will be frightening but it is necessary or you will never find Him
even though "I was never far from you." - Jesus
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