Phos Hilaron

John 20:1-18

At the tomb we see devotion (vs 1)

At the tomb we see confusion (vs 2 -7)

At the tomb we see expectation (vs 8-10)

The encounter was personal (vs 16)

He could have said anything. He could have revealed Himself to her in any number of ways, but He chose to make Himself known by identifying with her, and revealing Himself in the same moment.

Jesus sees you in affliction, identifies with you in suffering, and restores joy to you in His presence.

We see that in Isaiah 53:3 God calls Him a man of sorrows, but in Hebrews 4:15, The Bible says, we have a Great High Priest who is able to sympathize with us in our weakness…..for precisely this reason. That He’s seen our hurts, but He’s felt them with us……

Please know, God sees you in the midst of what you’re going through and He sympathizes with you, He aches with you, hurts with you…..

The encounter was formative (vs 17)

This wasn’t going to be the same kind of situation. Prince Caspian - Aslan doesn’t do the same thing each time. Jesus is telling her that how she knew Him was going to change. And that how she responded to Him needed to change.

And I would say the same thing is true in our lives as well. That over the length of your Christian walk, there are going to be times when God comes in and moves some of the furniture in your life around. That there will be these moments where He comes in, graciously, kindly, and He lets you know, hey…..we’ve got to work on this.

You cannot meet with God and stay the same.

The encounter was actionable. (vs. 17)

Jesus changed Mary. But He did that so that she could go be an agent of change to people who DESPERATELY needed to hear about this!!

Imagine the heartbreak. Imagine the darkness these disciples were in!! All they knew is that Jesus’ body was gone!!!

And the thing is, you don’t have to imagine the hurt. Not really. Because you see it on the faces, and in the lives of people you’re around everyday. You’ve seen them!! You know how the people are that you are around.

The hope that the world needs is in your hands.

Takeaway:

When our hearts are devoted to Christ, we can expect to encounter Him in ways that profoundly change us, and the world around us.

Isaiah 22:13 - Eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!!