WHOM DO YOU SEEK?
TODAY’S REFERENCE: John 20:9-16 (NKJV)
- For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went away again to their own homes. 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.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher).
WHOM DO YOU SEEK?
Have you ever been at a place in life when the only place you could look up, was down? That was Mary. We too sometimes come to that dark place of brokenness and despair. Not to worry. There is hope.
Mary stood outside weeping, wallowing in grief. Circumstances dictated that hope was lost. You see, she loved her Lord. She had followed Him and saw the miracles that He did. Now when she needed Him, He was dead, buried, sealed away from her. What was she to do, but bask in the evidence that life doled out to her. As far as she could see, this was the time to walk by sight because faith was no longer alive. HE WAS DEAD. But Romans 8:25 says, “But if we hope for what we see not, then do we with patience, wait for it”.
First, she stood—– facing the situation
Then, she stooped—- changed her position
Next, she looked—– expectation, hope renewed
Finally, she saw—–we can look and not see
While Mary stood outside and wept about the circumstances, she did not see the angels who were already there and had ministered to Jesus. When she changed her position, she changed her vision. She was then able to see inside the tomb. Unless we change our stance, we cannot discern the ministering spirits that are waiting to do God’s bidding. It all depends on who we are seeking and the position we take while we are seeking.
Seek!… Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom (righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost) of God and all His righteousness….We must seek right living, peace about the situation and a display of counting it all joy. That attitude will help us circumvent what the enemy wants us to focus on.
Listen! Listen to Him speak, “Why do you weep?” “Whom do you seek?” Why do we cry when the problem has already been solved? Mary did not understand the depth of the questions, so she justified the reasons: she was distraught, they took away her Lord and she did not know where they placed Him. Those men did not understand how much good Jesus had done for everyone He encountered. That was her LORD. He did so much for her. Now she was disillusioned without Him. What would she do? What could she do besides think about the situation? Didn’t they understand? He was gone and she didn’t know where. Did Jesus not know that she was looking for Him? Or was she? You see, she went to the place surrounded by death. That is where she had her last encounter with Him. She forgot that He told them that death could not hold Him captive. That was a promise!
Can we believe whatever He has promised, both collectively and individually? His word is constant and He gives grace for every trial. He will not be found among the dead things in our life, no matter how much we seek among them. He is living and where He is there is life, progress, growth, birth, hope and victory. It’s easy to doubt and take solace in mood swings, but let us pursue Christ and we will find Him among the life-giving sap that flows from Him. Where is God when we can’t feel Him? He is still here watching and guiding our footsteps when we need Him most.
WHOM DO YOU SEEK?
When we look to the one with the answer, that does not obliterate the FACTS, but looking to God shifts our focus. Can we imagine the air of hopelessness that hung over and enveloped the place where Mary was? She, not only felt gloom, but also, doom. She said, “Tell me where you have lain Him so that I can take Him away.” What was Mary going to do with a body? She was still in the death mode when life was steering her in the face. She wanted to cling to what she knew no matter how decomposed it might have been. As far as we know He should then be in a state of not being huggable, but she said she would take Him away. Her state of mind did not allow her to factor through all the ramifications of taking Him away.
Sometimes, it seems like prayer, fasting, being in community, giving, holy living, believing the Word are not paying off and things seem to be getting worse. To us, there is no acceptable answer from heaven. Doesn’t Jer. 33:3 say “Call and I will answer and show you great and mighty things. “Mary did not realize that the angels had the answer. She was too busy complaining about the reality of her situation. She just wanted to know where He was taken.
There was something else that Mary did not know. She did not know that the answer to her question, resurrection power was standing right in front of her. She was in a garden so she expected to see the gardener. Could it be that our expectations delay the revelation that God has for us? When will we allow our expectations to be from The Lord? While we are looking at the judge in a courtroom, a principal in a school, a pastor in a church or the boss on the job, we are mute to the reality that God controls the earth and all that is therein.
Mary saw Jesus, but recognized Him in light of her expectations. Faith seemingly was not paying off and things were getting worse. To us, there is no acceptable answer from heaven. Jer. 33:3 says, “Call and I will answer and show you great and mighty things. “Mary did not realize that the angels had the answer. She was too busy stating the reality of her situation, so she could not discern the things that were unknown to her ears, heart and eyes. God has promised to reveal them to our spirits.
When Mary said, she did not know where Jesus was, she spoke truly. Isn’t that just like us? It seems like we pray, fast, get in community, give, live holy lives, believe the Word and nothing is paying off. Rather, things seem to be getting worse. Thankfully, in her brokenness, she made a 180` turn. She changed direction and came face to face with Jesus although her grief svrouded the revelation that that was whom she sought.
WHOM DO YOU SEEK?
In v. 15, The angels already asked that question, but Mary did not understand its depth. Now Jesus Himself repeated the question, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek? Although Mary had heard that voice many times before, the depth of her sorrow drowned its familiar tone. Have you ever heard God speak into your spirit? Has He ever given you a knowing? Have you ever been propelled by a without-a-doubt burning in your mind?
Mary sought her Lord, but when He appeared, she did not recognize Him. She thought that He was someone else…the gardener. When He comes through for us we sometimes start to rebuke and cast down because we do not realize that the answer is standing right in front of us. That’s what problems/ circumstances/ situations cause when we focus on them. We cannot see the solution right there in front of us.
Listen to that voice again. Jesus could not leave Mary believing that it was the gardener, so He called her by name. Listen closely. He is calling us by name. The name He gave us before we were even born. One thing about that is that we know our name. There is no-one else that has all our characteristics. Not even if we have a twin. We are unique. We are special to Him therefore our answers are tailor-made. They will never be hand-me-downs. They fit perfectly for our situation.
WHOM DO YOU SEEK?
When we are sick, we seek the doctor. When we have legal matters, we seek a lawyer. When we are tired, we seek rest When we have a problem, seek the problem solver. He is here calling out your name. Listen closely. The answer is found in Him.
REFLECTION
Whom do you seek?
Dr. O. A. James