“Live in Victory” - Easter

Scripture: John 20:10-18


Since the first Sunday in April, we’ve been considering what it means to live in Christ, and what within us has to die before that life can blossom to its fullest.
When we live in his precious Light, the darkness that destroys all hope must perish.
When our Faith begins to grow in Christ and all that he has taught us, the Law and our good works must begin to take a back seat, because those things we do can never lead to faith. But when Faith in Jesus takes first place, the works that we offer will then begin to bring praise to the Lord.
When we trust in the Blood of Jesus for forgiveness and cleansing in our lives, the ways of earth are revealed for the lies that they are and will no longer hold any importance for us.
When we live by the Spirit of God, and when we finally allow the Spirit to live fully within us, we discover that the limitations of earth no longer have any control over us.
And as our life grows in the Lord Jesus through all of these, we find new and glorious ways to bring praise and Adoration to our Almighty God and King.

We all come to a saving knowledge of Jesus in different ways and at different times in our lives. For me, that time came when I was 46 years old, and in a way that I continue to describe as traumatic. I had been involved with the church all my life, but I had never become involved with Jesus as my Lord until the night of May 15, 1993, when I came to know that his sacrifice on Calvary, his surrender to the death of earth, released both him and me to the glory of a new and eternally divine life.

Today we consider the final glory that the power of resurrection holds for all who will simply believe and trust in the Anointed One of God, our Lord and our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Read John 20:10-13a

This is Resurrection Sunday for all who believe, and it was that same day for Jesus’ followers on that first resurrection day. The women had come to the tomb to complete the preparation of Jesus’ body in death, but when they arrived, the guards were gone, the stone sealing the tomb had been moved, and the tomb was now empty. The disciples had learned of the disappearance, and Peter and John had rushed to see for themselves, and when the reality of the matter began to sink in, they were dumbfounded – even though Jesus had told them over and over that this would happen, they still didn’t understand!

Mary had returned to that empty place of death, not expecting that life had triumphed, and her tears were burdening her heart. And the grief that all of Jesus’ followers were experiencing were blinding them, too, to the truth of the resurrection. But that was all to change very soon.

Read John 20:13b-15

Mary meets the gardener, who, of course, is her Living Lord Jesus, but she can’t recognize him. We aren’t told what is causing her lack of vision, but this isn’t an uncommon malady for many of Jesus’ disciples.
- Remember Peter when he saw Jesus coming through the storm, walking on top of the water, he stepped out of the boat to go and meet his Lord? (Matthew 14:22-33) He was doing OK until he took his eyes off Jesus, and it was then that he began to sink beneath the stormy waves. The world had clouded his vision.
- Remember the Pharisees who could never quite come to the truth of who Jesus really was? Their lives were all wrapped up in the Law of Moses, and it prevented them from sensing the truth and hope that could have been theirs through Jesus. The world had clouded their vision.
- Later, Thomas would be unable to believe the reports that the others shared with him, that Jesus was no longer dead. (John 20:24-29) His fear of the future and all that he imagined that it would bring was still filling his mind and heart. The world would soon be clouding his vision.
- Cleopas and another unnamed man would meet the Risen Jesus on the road to Emmaus, and as far as they knew, he was just another traveler who was also leaving Jerusalem. Their only thoughts of the Lord were all that had happened to him in recent days – his arrest, his trial, and his crucifixion. The world and its hatred was clouding their vision (Luke 24:13-35).

This was the same reason, I believe, for Mary’s inability to recognize Jesus. Her heart break over her Rabbi’s death, her fears for what may be coming next, the tears and emotional angst over the disappearance of Jesus from her life were the only things she could think about. The worldly aspect of her life had taken over, and it clouded her vision of who this man really was.

But in every instance, Jesus would be able to help them refocus their attention, away from the trials and needs of earth, and toward himself.

Read John 20:16-18

How did Jesus reach out to Peter as he sank? He saved him, and forgave him.
How did Jesus reach out to Thomas in his doubting? He offered the proof that he had asked for.
How did Jesus reach out to Cleopas and his friend in their fear? He would reveal himself in the breaking of the supper’s bread.
How did Jesus reach out to Mary in the depth of her loss? He called her name.

But what about the Pharisees – what did Jesus do for them? Time after time, he spoke the truth of God in their presence, he reminded them of every word from the prophets – words that they already knew, he taught them every lesson they needed in a Godly way, and still they chose to remain bound to their ages long dependency on human understanding, and denied the Godly wisdom that was standing right before them.

Jesus would revealed himself to over 500 people during the next 40 days (1 Corinthians 15:3-6), and each would be inspired to do just as Mary would do – to go and tell others that Jesus was alive, that he was victorious over death, and that this same victory would be given to each and every person who accepted Jesus Christ as the Lord of their lives.

She went and told others, and the disciples went and told even more, and the truth of God began to spread – not only in Judea and the Galilee, but in Samaria and throughout the gentile world. And others would begin spreading the word of the Lord, too – Paul, and Timothy, and Barnabas, and Silas, and Pricilla and Aquila, and countless others, and these new apostles would continue to grow both in numbers and in faith.

And in the present days, even with doubters around every corner of our life, even with the world’s attacks on the church through persecution and lies and oppression, and even with the current conflict that we are enduring through a pestilence named Covid-19, the truth of God continues to spread through the faithful lives of Jesus’ people.

So how did Jesus call me out of my focus on the world? He told me that he couldn’t respond to my prayers for guidance until I quite trusting in my own abilities, and begin putting my complete trust in him! It was the last thing that I had ever expected, but it was the exact and perfect thing that I needed to learn.

But the real question for today is how did Jesus call you out of the world and into his victory, and what are you doing about it? Are you sharing the story of your walk with Jesus, and the life that has been won for all who believe and obey, are you sharing your testimony with those who are still walking in worldly ways? Think about it – how will they know if no one tells them? Each of us may be the perfect one to lead them to Jesus.

None of us can ever know until we try.