John 19:40 – 20:18 (NKJV)
Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden
It had come full-circle--
In the Garden The Battle was Declared:
He shall bruise
the Snake-head who lies in stealth
But He shall be bruised as well -- (Genesis 3:15)
And in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid
All was prepared:
All was planned --
'I am come into My garden, my sister, my bride;
I have gathered my myrrh with my balsam and spice.' -- Song of Solomon 5:1
So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jew's Preparation Day
We have to get rid of Him quickly!
An embarrassment
An inconvenient truth
He doesn't fit with our plans
with our customs
with our conscience.
Let's hide him away
Forget that all this happened
Life is so much easier that way
For the tomb was nearby
His tomb is always nearby--
His death
Our life
Our death
His life
If we but dare
to enter
Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene
In her ravaged heart
The gaping sores of her pillaging
Hell trampled through
-- Until He touched her
Went to the tomb early
I need to tend Him
As He tended me!
If we but follow her
And come to Him early, willingly
And tend to Him
While it was still dark
Will you come?
In your darkness,
Through the gaping sores of your own pillaged heart --
Will you come to Him?
And saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.
From her own heart
The stone had been taken away
And she
stood
open
To Him
And she ran and came to Simon Peter, and the other disciple, whom Jesus loved,
Why did Jesus love him?
Did He love him more than others? More than me?
Or better yet:
What was it
about the relationship
that was special
to Jesus?
“One of the disciples,the one Jesus loved dearly, was reclining against him, his head on his shoulder....” (John 13:23, The Message)
Yes: John desired to be near Jesus!
He sought out nearness to Him
placed his head on His shoulder --
heard His very heartbeat.
I want to be one
'whom Jesus loved'....
...and said to them: “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb and we do not know where they have laid Him.”
'In the night I dreamed that I sought for the one whom I love. I looked for him, but could not find him. (Song of Songs 3: 1,2, NKJV)
Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. So they both ran together.
Each had their own reason for running....
“Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other...” (Psalm 85:10, NIV)
And the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in.
Three days earlier
I received His mother as my own
Three days earlier
I saw Him brutally killed
I am young
And unacquainted with death.
I hesitate:
Here at the threshold
of Hades
Here at the threshold
of my own endurance:
I heard His heartbeat
And then it was gone.
I hung on His words
And then saw Him hanging....
now He is silent.
Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb;
Three days earlier I denied Him
Three days earlier I abandoned Him
Three days earlier I made promises
I couldn't keep.
Three days earlier I saw my heart
Ripped from me.
I am older
And all too acquainted with death.
But now, this:
And he saw the linen cloths lying there
and the handerchief that had been around His head,
not lying with the linen cloths,
but folded together in a place by itself.
Then the other disciple,
who came to the tomb first,
went in also;
And he saw and believed.
For as yet they did not know the Scripture,
that He must rise again from the dead
“...Jesus said, For a little while I am with you, and then I go back to Him who sent Me...” (John 7:33).
Then the disciples went away again to their own homes.
Having run to the tomb together
they walked Home
Separately.
As I must also:
No one can walk for me
No one can choose for me
I must walk through the tomb
And embrace the resurrection
One-on-one
With Him
But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she stooped down and looked into the tomb
He calls
He beckons
But I must come.
And she saw two angels in white sitting, on at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
'Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve thousand legions of angels? How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?' – Matt 26:53,54
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.'
'The watchmen who go about the city found me, to whom I said, Did you see him whom my soul loves?' – (Song of Songs 3:3, NKJV)
Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus.
'I had gone but a little way past them, when I found him whom my soul loves...' (vs 4)
Jesus said to her, 'Woman' –
''...Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her...'
'...That He might present the church to Himself in glorious splendor...'
'...This mystery is very great, but I speak concerning [the relation of] Christ and the church...' (Ephesians 5: 25, 27, 31b, 32, Amplified Bible).
'Why are you weeping?' Whom are you seeking?
And He asks you:
Why are you weeping?
He knows.
He knows you.
And He asks you:
Whom are you seeking?
In your pain, whom or what are you seeking –
For comfort
For security
For deliverance?
She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, 'Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have carried Him, and I will take Him away.'
Who do we
suppose
Jesus to be?
In the darkness
In our presumptions and suppositions
Do we also miss
Who He truly is?
Jesus said to her, 'Mary!'
'My lover has arrived and he's speaking to me!' – (Song of Songs 2, The Message)
Do you hear Him calling?
Calling your name?
'Mary!'
She turned and said to Him, 'Master!'
In your heart-of-hearts
How do you
Respond
To Him?
Jesus said to her, 'Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father
'Oh, let me warn you,
sisters in Jerusalem,
by the gazelles,
yes, by all the wild deer:
Don't excite love,
don't stir it up,
until the time is ripe....'
– (Song of Songs 2, The Message).
But go to My brethren and say to them, 'I am ascending to My Father and Your Father, to My God and your God.'
His Goal:
Redemption
Selection
Adoption
Adhesion
Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that He had spoken these things to her.
'Get up, my dear friend, fair and beautiful lover – come to me! Look around you: Winter is over; the winter rains are over, gone! Spring flowers are in blossom all over. The whole world's a choir – and singing! (Song of Songs 2, The Message)
'[Joyfully the radiant bride turned to him, the one altogether lovely, the chief among ten thousand to her soul, and with unconcealed eagerness to begin her life of sweet companionship with him, she answered] Make haste, my beloved, and come quickly, like a gazelle or a young hart [and take me to our waiting home] upon the mountains of spices!' – – (Song of Songs 8:14, Amplified Bible).
Can you hear Him?
Now?
Here?
He speaks
His ravaging words
of love
To you.
Can you hear Him?
He is calling your name!
'Mary!'
'Let us rejoice – and shout for joy!
Let us celebrate and ascribe to Him glory and honor,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come
and His bride has prepared herself '
(Revelations 19:7 Amplified Bible)
God Påske!
– Tom Freitag
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