Author: David Griffith

When Jesus appeared to the disciples the night after His resurrection, Thomas was not in the room. His friends—who were like brothers to him—told Thomas they had seen Jesus and that He was alive, but Thomas doubted what he heard.

After all, he had seen Jesus crucified and buried. His eyes had not been opened, and his mind had not yet been given the ability to understand. Thomas was in the dark—spiritually.

But God (my favorite preamble in any verse of the Bible) made a special trip back eight days later, just to see Thomas and open his eyes.

Thomas had said he wouldn’t believe unless he could actually touch Jesus’ scars—so Jesus came back and gave him the opportunity to do just that.

But Thomas didn’t reach out his hand to touch the scars in Jesus’ hands and side.

When Thomas saw the Lord—made possible only because Jesus sought him out—he was no longer blind, dumb, or doubting.

The Resurrection is important because it is the capstone of all of Scripture. It’s the final scene in the grand play of our existence.

The resurrection of Jesus seals all the other miracles into a six-hour and three-day window of proof that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life—and that no one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6).

The Resurrection abolishes all other paths to salvation. It is the closing argument in the trial for the soul of humanity—my soul, and yours.

When I have doubts about Jesus, I look first to the cross, and then to the empty tomb—and I am reassured.

So…
Is your heart burning within you?
Is your Lord and your God breathing on you to receive the Spirit?
Has Jesus come to you—outside your tomb of despair, along your road, into your fear, just to show you His hands and side?
Has He been opening your mind to understand the Scriptures and to believe in His name?

Then you have SEEN the Lord.

Run and tell the others. 🙂

This is another account of the meeting with the disciples on the day Jesus specifically appeared to Mary Magdalene, the two men walking to Emmaus, and the disciples in their hideaway.

But Luke, it seems, was given a little more color commentary by one of the disciples who was there. As a doctor by trade, Luke likely remembered and noted additional details.

Jesus reminds everyone that He had been foretold in the Law of Moses, prophesied by both the major and minor prophets, and proclaimed extensively in the Psalms by all the writers.

He’s essentially saying, “I’ve been in this story all along.” His resurrection wasn’t a plot twist—it was the plan since before time as we know it began.

And still, they didn’t have a clue what He was talking about—until verse 45:

“Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.”

And what follows is both a reminder and a charge, which they now finally understood:

“Thus it is written (in the Old Testament) that the Christ should suffer and rise again from the dead the third day; and that repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem.”

Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit, opens our minds to understand Scripture (see also 1 Corinthians 2:14–16). And when He does, our natural response becomes that of a proclaimer—announcing repentance and forgiveness of sins, but only in His name.

(Remember, only Jesus is kind of a big deal.)

Is understanding the Scriptures difficult?
Is seeing Jesus in the Old Testament a challenge?

Then ask Him to open your mind to understand what He wants you to know—what you need to know in that moment.

He will make a special visit to do just that.

On the same day, when the two men had hustled back to Jerusalem, in the evening, Jesus finally made a special house call (or hideout call) to His disciples. Again, Jesus took the initiative to go to Peter, James, John, and the others—to open their eyes.

When the disciples saw His hands and His side, they rejoiced. Then Jesus gave them a most special gift: He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit,” giving them authority to forgive the sins of others.

Basically, He gave them both the authority and the responsibility to go and tell the world, “I have seen the Lord!” Jesus was commissioning them for His ministry. He was drafting them into His service.

If Jesus has appeared to you in such a way that you have rejoiced upon seeing Him, then you have been commissioned into His service.

My joy (rejoicing) and my responsibility (as simple as it is) is to tell others that I HAVE SEEN THE LORD!

And so it is with you, who call Jesus Savior.

Do you remember what it was like when Jesus was not understandable to you—as you cowered in your hidden life—and then suddenly, Jesus stood before you, even when you thought the door to your heart was shut and locked (verse 19)?

Do you remember rejoicing when you saw the Lord? (verse 20) That was the moment Jesus revealed Himself to you, when your eyes were opened and you understood.

Do you remember?

If so—GO, and tell everyone!

That very same day, two men—Cleopas and Simon (not Peter)—were going to Emmaus for some reason. Maybe they had family there. Maybe they had business there. Maybe it was just time to get back to real life since Jesus was no longer with them (though they had heard the rumors of the empty tomb).

No one knows, but Jesus knew. Jesus knew them and had a plan for them. Like so many times before, Jesus went out of His way to appear to those who would be saved, and to open their eyes so that they could see Him.

These two men were apparently also disciples of Jesus. They were called “two of them,” referring back to the disciples from the previous passage where the eleven were mentioned. I guess there were more than just the eleven huddled together.

These two men had walked with Jesus, and talked with Jesus, and heard His preaching to the multitudes. They had even heard His explanations of the parables later. Their eyes had beheld the Lord, and their ears had heard the audible sound of Jesus’ voice—but they had not seen Him or understood Him!

Do you come to church, or your small group, or maybe a more in-depth study of Scripture, and leave without having seen Jesus or having understood what He wanted you to hear? I know that I have.

Usually, it’s because the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, or the boastful pride of life (1 John 2:15–17) has blinded my eyes or deadened my hearing. Sometimes I’m just going through the motions of life—walking to Emmaus and talking about Jesus—but not recognizing Him when He talks to me, when He approaches me.

In those moments, I realize I’m more in love with the world than I am with my risen Lord. It’s in these times that I become unconcerned about the miraculous importance of Jesus rising again.

But I know that He lived for me.
I know that He died for me.
And I know that He rose again—just for me!

So much so that I want to arise and return to the eleven and those with them (those closest to me) and tell them, “The Lord has truly risen!”

There are so many reasons why the resurrection of Jesus is important to my Christian faith—and yours. It proves to me, and to the whole world, that Jesus is who He said He is. But the most important reason for me is that His resurrection allows me to see the Lord, just as Mary did.

Spiritual vision is not a given; it is a product of grace. Let’s think about that together for a few days.

Mary, along with Mary the mother of James and others, came to the tomb following the Sabbath to anoint Jesus’ body and prepare it for burial. Jesus had told His disciples—including the women—on several occasions, that He would be betrayed into the hands of evil men, that He would be crucified and that He would die, but that on the third day He would rise again. This was a theme throughout His three-year ministry.

Yet not Mary, nor the disciples tucked away in an upper room hiding, remembered it. Or, if they remembered it, they did not believe it. And from a human perspective, who could blame them? They had watched it all unfold and had run away (at least most of the men did). They saw with their physical eyes that Jesus was dead and now buried in a borrowed tomb.

But Mary was allowed to see Jesus with spiritual eyes. In verse 14 of this text, Mary’s eyes were still closed to the truth Jesus had taught about rising again. But when He called her by name, Mary’s eyes were opened—and she could see Jesus, maybe for the very first time.

So that is my observation and interpretation of this story.

So what is the application of it? Here goes:

• Does the weight of life keep me from seeing Jesus in my life?
• Am I looking into the tomb of despair and feeling broken, not exhilarated by its emptiness—even when the pain of loss lingers?
• Am I excited to tell the others that I HAVE SEEN THE LORD, and that He has RISEN, JUST AS HE SAID?

Has Jesus opened your eyes?

So, who is the ultimate changemaker in this story? Obviously, the One who initiated the change in Mary of Magdalene was Jesus.  He found Mary and made seven demons leave her in an instant. It was Jesus that took Mary out of darkness and placed her in the light. Jesus did that for Mary and she gladly submitted to the Saviors will and chose to serve who she knew was her Lord. She became devoted to an all powerful God that took her from the heights of joy and astonishment, to the depths of despair and fear; but all without wavering in her resolve to follow Him, even into a borrowed tomb. Jesus chose to appear to Mary first, and He chose Mary for a very important role as His voice to tell the disciples that He was alive and that He would meet them soon.  Yes, Mary was changed BY the changemaker, Jesus the Christ! Then Mary was all too glad to be used BY her Lord and her God for whatever He needed her to do, and He did not waste that service.   Some may say that Jesus appearing to Mary first and telling her to go and “tell the others” was not that big of a deal; and you would be wrong!  What if your boss came to you and shared their plans for a new direction that the company was going to be taking, and then told you to go and “tell the others” in the company that the new direction would be announced at a company retreat, in say…Galilee!  That would be kind of a big deal, wouldn’t it?  Mary was trusted by Jesus and that is kind of a big deal!

Jesus trusts you too! 

 He trusts us because He changed us, just like He did Mary. And now it is time for us to pass it on and introduce others to our Changemaker.  Whether it is through being transparent about our faith in the marketplace, or through joining or leading a Life Group and inviting neighbors to join, or by finally beginning to tithe consistently, or by making an uncomfortable commitment to Whatever it Takes; Jesus is calling us to be all-in for His glory. He wants us to meet Him in Galilee.

He loves you so much forever!

The second way that Jesus rewarded Mary’s devotion was by making her His voice in the most important message delivered to His disciples: “I have seen the Lord! He told me to tell you that He is going to be ascending to His Father and our Father, to His God and to our God. He is going to Galilee, and we are to meet Him there” (Mark 16:7; Matthew 28:6-10). Can you imagine the astonishment? Can you imagine the change of emotion for her then, and for the disciples when they heard? Total despair to a renewed sense of hope—all because Jesus had chosen Mary to deliver this message. How honoring is that? “Mary, go and tell the others, my brothers, that I have risen and will meet them in Galilee before I go home! Hurry, Mary! Go and tell my disciples, and Peter, that they will see me soon, just as you are seeing me now!”

Mary Magdalene was to be Jesus’ courier of a most important message.

And Jesus has given us the same job. If you are a child of the King, you too have seen the empty tomb and have been told, “Go and tell the others!” Our purpose is to SEE Jesus daily and get to know Him more intimately so that we can go and tell the others! The others are those who have not seen the empty tomb; they are the doubters, those in darkness, or those who have lost hope. Can you do that? Can we, as a church—meaning the individual parts of the body of Christ—be like Mary and live sent, carrying the light into a PERFECTLY dark world? I believe we can! I believe that when we are saved out of the darkness, we are compelled from deep within to go and tell the others: “He is alive; and He has gone to His Father and our Father, to His God and to our God! And because He lives, you too can walk in the light.”

Be God’s voice!

He loves you so much forever!

What does it mean to be devoted? The American Heritage Dictionary defines devotion this way: Ardent affection and dedication, as to a person. Religious ardor or zeal, piety. The act of devoting or the state of being devoted.

Mary Magdalene personified this definition. After being set free from PERFECT darkness, she wanted only to live in the light that Jesus produced. She followed Him everywhere and provided for His ministry. She cooked and cleaned (I assume; it is not stated) and did what women did in the first century. She was devoted almost to a fault.

How, you might ask, did she show her devotion? Here we go!

Mary Magdalene was at the cross, watching her Lord and Savior being crucified to death (John 19:25; Mark 15:40-41; Matthew 27:55-56). There was no abandoning the one who had freed her from the darkness.

Mary followed Joseph of Arimathea to the grave he had provided for Jesus so that she knew where to go when the Sabbath was completed (Luke 23:55-56; Matthew 27:61). Though Mary had to wait for up to two days and three nights, she was already planning her anointing of Jesus’ body with spices as a sign of her devotion. She would not abandon her duty to Him, even in death.

Mary Magdalene came to the tomb the day after the Sabbath to anoint Jesus for proper burial according to Jewish law (John 20:1; Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:1-8). Mary had been preparing for this ritual since He was laid in the tomb and was following through devotedly for her King.

Personally, I am amazed at Mary’s devotion to Jesus. After all, her propitiation was dead and buried… or so she thought.

But God… is a rewarder of the devoted and of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).

So, how did Jesus reward His devoted servant, Mary Magdalene? He rewarded Mary by allowing her to be the first one to see Him in His resurrected state! Mary Magdalene, former demon-possessed woman and probably a prostitute—the darkest of the dark when it came to hope and prospects—was the one whom Jesus shined His light upon. She was on stage for the most magnificent event in all of human history. Jesus gave Mary the greatest honor since the creator of her mother, Eve. That is what I call a reward. Jesus APPEARED to Mary first. Not to Peter. Not to John, the disciple whom Jesus loved (according to John!); not to James or to any of the other disciples. Jesus appeared to Mary and gave her an important task, a purpose: “GO AND TELL THE OTHERS…”

In tomorrow’s Digging Deeper, we will look at this additional blessing bestowed upon His devoted servant.

He loves you so much forever!

When we are first introduced to Mary Magdalene, she is serving Jesus’ ministry in total freedom. She and the other women—no one knows the exact number—are working and sharing what they earn with Jesus and the disciples to fund His ministry. Mary Magdalene (MM) is walking in the light, serving Jesus, with no thought of the PERFECT darkness that she had been freed from, because “when the Son sets you free, you are free indeed” (John 8:36). We are not told how Jesus did it. If we believe the scriptures in relation to the freeing of the disciples from their darkness, or the freeing of the demon-possessed epileptic, or the demoniac, or the blind man, or the deaf man, or the dead girl, or the bleeding woman, or the Roman soldier’s servant, we see that Jesus simply spoke to the seven demons and they left her. As we discovered yesterday, darkness only ceases to exist when it is replaced with light. PERFECT LIGHT casts out the darkness so that there is not even a hint of shadow that remains. That is Jesus! Let’s take a look at James 1:17: “Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”

If you find yourself in darkness, or even a shifting shadow, and Jesus is your Savior, then lift up your eyes to the Father of Lights, where there is no darkness, no shadow, no doubt, or fear—there is only the peace that comes from being in the presence of PERFECT illumination. Focus on His Light, and the darkness cannot remain in your life. This was me for about four years of my Christian life, as I watched my late wife slowly die after 20 years of illness. I was in darkness because I refused to lift my eyes to look at Jesus, the Light of the World. Why? Because I was mad at Him for not healing her. (I wanted to say “pissed at Him,” but thought it inappropriate.) But God, in His gentle mercy, reached out to me and filled me with hope, contentment, and—light. He welcomed His prodigal son home, and He will do the same for you, regardless of the circumstance that separated you from Him in the first place.

If Jesus is not yet your Savior, but you feel the Holy Spirit drawing you to Him (you know what it feels like :), then submit your darkened will to His enlightened plan for you (Ephesians 2:10): “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Join with Mary Magdalene in her joyful walk of service, ministering on behalf of Jesus to a lost world stumbling through the darkness.

I promise you, your life is about to change in unimaginable and glorious ways. Walking in the light is so much better than walking in darkness. I know! I’ve done both!

In tomorrow’s Digging Deeper, we will look at the devotion of an enlightened servant!

He loves you so much forever!

Mary Magdalene, whom Jesus had healed from the possession of seven demons, was in PERFECT darkness. So, what is the difference between darkness and PERFECT darkness? And why is it important? Well, because seven is considered the perfect number in scripture. God created the heavens and the earth in six days. It took Him six days to create everything we can experience with our senses, and on the seventh day, God rested. Seven days in total, and it was PERFECT.

I believe that Mary found herself in seven levels of torment, seven levels of despair, and seven levels of hopelessness. Where Mary Magdalene was, there was no light at all. She was in PERFECT darkness, and it was seven levels deep.

Another lifetime ago, when I was in college, I spent a summer as a Soda Ash miner in Lyman, WY, as a Jack-Leg Operator on a mining crew. We were 1,500 feet underground for 10 hours straight, drilling holes for dynamite to make tunnels in the Soda Ash layers of rock. Hey, it paid a LOT better than working at the hometown pool, and I needed the money. We had lights strung up to help us, as well as a battery-powered lamp on our helmets… just in case. One day, “just in case” happened, and the lights/power went out. All we had were our helmet lamps for light. This was fine until the batteries that powered those lamps started to go out, one by one. When the last headlamp went out, we were in PERFECT darkness. There was no inkling of light anywhere. Our eyes never adjusted because there was nothing for them to adjust to. We were in an “absence of light” environment, and we were scared (at least I was). Darkness this complete can only be described, by me at least, as foreboding and evil, in a sense. I knew my Savior was there with me, but I could not see Him in His creation (see Romans 1), so I could not see HIM. All I could do was listen.

I believe that Mary was in PERFECT darkness spiritually. There was NO light in her existence because she was literally dead in her sin, and the seven demons were there to remind her of her decaying soul. She did not yet know Jesus, so there was no hope to listen for. Sound familiar?

I have been there, in the darkness, where all I can hear is the sound of demons tormenting me about my sin. Have you? Are you there now? Do you feel hopeless in such a way that makes you believe the light will never shine again in your life?

If that is where you find yourself, I have GREAT news for you! God will not waste the pit you are experiencing. The light came and will shine on you just like He did with Mary. Perfect darkness will be replaced with PERFECTION, which is light indescribable, even the Light of the World.

In tomorrow’s Digging Deeper, we will talk about just how and why the light will shine.

He loves you so much forever!