Imitating His Voice

Pastor Mark Thompson of Faribault, Minnesota, suffered terrible knife wounds from an assailant in his home, in October 1988.  One of the many consequences of his difficult recovery was being forced to miss watching  his son Chris run in the state cross-country championship meet.

Pastor Thompson commissioned his brother Merv to go in his stead. According to the account in the St. Paul Pioneer Press & Dispatch, Mark told his brother, "I can't be there to see Chris run.  So I want you there at the beginning of the race. Holler a lot.... Then at the end, I want you to really cheer loudly.  And I want you to make your voice sound like mine."

Merv heeded the advice, and Chris ran a strong race, finishing second. Merv, also a pastor, discerned the theological truth in the story. "That's what Jesus wants us to do." he said.  "Make your voice sound like mine."

-- Author Unknown

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Peter Allan C. Mariano

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Only Jesus

Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

“Woman,” he said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).

(John 20:10-14)

In these verses we see Mary’s deep love for Jesus. The going away of Peter and John commends Mary’s staying. She was the first to the grave, then she goes to tell the disciples, she returns to the grave with them, and at the grave she remains without them–an unwavering love which, as we will discover, was richly rewarded by the Lord.

As we in faith draw closer to Jesus, He will draw closer than anyone we have ever known. He will never leave us nor forsake us. Mary knew this.

“All believers have not the same degree of faith, or hope, or knowledge, or courage, or wisdom; and it is vain to expect it. But it is a certain fact that those who love Christ most fervently, and cleave to Him most closely, will always enjoy most communion with Him, and feel most of the witness of the Spirit in their hearts.

It is precisely those who wait on the Lord, in the temper of Mary Magdalene, to whom the Lord will reveal Himself most fully, and make them know and feel more than others.” (John Charles Ryle)

Jesus was the object of Mary’s affections. Her strong love for Him kept her at the tomb–while others left–with a flicker of hope that something or someone might turn up to explain where her Master’s body had gone. She could not tear herself away from the last place His body had been seen.

Take It to Heart

While Jesus’ identity may have at first been veiled from Mary’s desperate eyes, there was certainly no missing the sound of him speaking her name. One single word–one very personal word–was enough to deliver her from her present blindness. Jesus sees Mary’s genuine, persevering love for Him. He is the solitary aim of her soul and He rewards her consuming love. He always does.

The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love … he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust

…But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children–with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts. (Psalm 103:8-14; 17-18)

Beth Yoe Devotionals

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But They Did Not Believe

When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles.

But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened. (Luke 24:9-12)

Hurrying away from the tomb, astonished, amazed, bewildered, and afraid, yet all the while filled with joy, these women experienced the entire range of emotions. They had a story to tell the disciples and they were ready to tell it in reverential fear.

I think it was wonderful of God to allow these female followers to be the first ones to bring the good news of His story. While I realize this is not true in every case, and I am certainly not meaning any offense, women in general are better in giving the details of a story than men. We enjoy hearing and telling all the little particulars–all the nuances to every detail. They had just experienced the supernatural and they were stunned.

Mark tells us in his gospel:

Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid. (Mark 16:8)

The word translated “bewildered” is from the Greek word ekstasis meaning: “Astonishment, amazement, bewilderment; it is a sense of breathtaking and profound amazement coupled with exquisite dread at the sight of something remarkable, incredible, strange, or supernatural; the gripping fascination with some enthralling phenomenon which drives one from his powers of reason in order to encounter it; the word portrays someone as being carried away out of mind, being so psychologically and emotionally moved by some fantastic sight that he loses all sense of his present situation. He is held captive by it and falls under its sway because it is beyond his power to impose rational controls on the object of wonder”

(Hebrew Greek Key Word Study Bible New Testament Lexical Aids).

Unfortunately, the report the women gave was not well received. Rather it seemed to the disciples as idle talk and sheer nonsense.

“They thought it was only the fancy of the women, and ascribed it to the power of imagination; for they also had forgotten Christ’s words. One cannot but be amazed at the stupidity of these disciples–who had themselves so often professed that they believed Christ to be the Son of God, had been so often told that he must die and rise again, and then enter into his glory, had seen him more than once raise the dead–that they should be so slow to believe.”
(Matthew Henry)

Slow to believe. Is it not amazing, when the day is cloudy and dark, how forgetful we become of the obvious? Fully not comprehending the Master’s plan, Peter leaves the tomb scratching his head and wondering. Who would have just stolen the body and not the grave clothes–not to mention leaving them folded so neatly behind? Who moved the stone and chased away the powerful Roman guards?

Take It to Heart

I find comfort in the disciple’s confusion. If Peter and John, who had both walked so closely with Jesus, could be baffled on that dark day, then my confusion seems understandable as well. It is easy to believe in Jesus when the day is bright, but let the winds and rain clouds come and it is quite another story. We are then often left wondering and baffled and forgetful of the promises of our Lord.

Having a firm grasp of God’s Word is monumental, especially when the storms of life begin to blow. That is how we are able to rest secure in Him … and that is His desire for all of His children.

“Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders.” (Deuteronomy 33:12)

Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. (1 Corinthians 16:13)

I can do everything through him who gives me strength.(Philippians 4:13)

“Now is the time for feats of faith and valiant exploits. Be strong and very courageous, and the Lord thy God shall certainly, as surely as He built the heavens and the earth, glorify Himself in thy weakness, and magnify His might in the midst of thy distress.” (Charles H. Spurgeon)

Beth Yoe Devotionals

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He Has Risen!

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.

In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!

Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” Then they remembered his words. (Luke 24:1-8)
 

The faithful female followers of Jesus were the first to find the empty tomb. Showing their supreme love for the Lord, their desire was to demonstrate their commitment to Jesus by bringing expensive spices to the tomb that they had prepared for His burial. Oh that all of our passions and desires would always lead us to Jesus!

There is a difference between simply knowing Jesus as a person and passionately loving Him as our Lord. When we are inspired with love and delighted by His presence, it is not a compulsion but a pleasure to walk with Him. Just as a child who adores their father’s company, our delight in Him should be prompted by joy.

 

“Beyond all measure it is desirable that we, as believers, should have the person of Jesus constantly before us, to inflame our love towards Him, and to increase our knowledge of Him.

… But to have Jesus ever near, the heart must be full of Him, welling up with His love, even to overrunning; hence the apostle prays ‘that Christ may dwell in your hearts’. ‘That He may dwell’; not that He may call upon you sometimes, as a casual visitor enters into a house and tarries for a night, but that He may dwell; that Jesus may become the Lord and Tenant of your inmost being, never more to go out.

… We should pant after love to Christ of a most abiding character, not a love that flames up and then dies out into the darkness of a few embers, but a constant flame, fed by a sacred fuel, like the fire upon the altar which never went out. This cannot be accomplished except by faith. Faith must be strong, or love will not be fervent; the root of the flower must be healthy, or we cannot expect the bloom to be sweet … If love be cold, you can be sure that faith is drooping.” (C.H. Spurgeon)

 

Very early in the morning, approaching with their spices, these dear women discover … an empty tomb! Where could the body have gone? Who had moved away the heavy stone? What had happened? They had been eye witnesses to the crucifixion and to the burial preparation. So certain were they that He was dead that they had gone to extravagant measures to prepare a proper burial.

John tells us their reaction to this scene:

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” (John 20:1-2)

When they arrived at the tomb and saw that the stone had been rolled away, this was, of course, a great wonder to them! But the angels remind them of Jesus’ words to them that He would be delivered into the hands of sinful men, crucified, and raised again!

 

Take It to Heart

“All the powers of death and darkness are under the control of the God of light and life. An angel from heaven has power to break the seal, though it was the great seal of Israel, and is able to roll back the stone, though ever so great. The angel’s sitting on the stone, when he had rolled it back, is very observable. There he sat, defying all the powers of hell to roll the stone to the grave again. The angel sat as a guard to the grave, having frightened away the enemies’ black guard; he sat, expecting the women, and ready to give them an account of His resurrection.” (Matthew Henry)
 

“To know a crucified Savior as having crucified all my sins, is a high degree of knowledge; but to know a risen Savior as having justified me, and to realize that He has bestowed upon me new life, having given me to be a new creature through His own newness of life, this is a noble style of experience: short of it, none ought to rest satisfied. May you both ‘know Him, and the power of His resurrection’.

Why should souls who are quickened with Jesus, wear the grave-clothes of worldliness and unbelief? Rise, for the Lord is risen.” (C.H. Spurgeon)

Beth Yoe Devotionals

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Love That Results in Courage

Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds.
 

Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

(John 19:38-42)
 

Once a secret disciple for fear of the Jews, Joseph now boldly petitions Pilate for Jesus’ body. Some followers of Christ may in lesser trials be quite fearful yet in greater difficulties display much courage. This we find in Joseph who honored Christ’s body when Christ could seemingly do nothing for him. Circumstances oftentimes bring out character in unexpected ways.

The other gospel writers tell us that Joseph was a wealthy, good, and upright man who was waiting for the Kingdom of God. He was a prominent member of the Council but had not consented to their decision and actions regarding Jesus. Interestingly, Joseph of Arimathea is not mentioned in other places in the New Testament, Only in the burial of our Lord do we read about him. Certainly there are many Christians in this world about whom very little is known.
 

Out of love, Joseph took off his cloak of secrecy and came forth publicly in humble service for our Lord. He did not hesitate to confess his association with Jesus though at the time Romans and Jews alike viewed Jesus as a criminal. Joseph’s actions may have rendered him a marked man among the Jews, he most certainly ruining his character with the high priests and ruling council. And yet, his actions stand in Scripture as a memorial to him. Surely it is the hope of the Church that in every age there are hidden servants unknown to the world yet known well unto God. Joseph is memorialized in all four gospels as showing kindness to the Lord Jesus for no other reason than love.
 

Not too dissimilar to Joseph in his secrecy while Jesus was alive, we see Nicodemus now coming forth as a volunteer to aid in the burial of Jesus. They both demonstrated more reverence and love towards our Lord when He was dead than they had when He was alive. Nicodemus did not shrink to take part in this good work. Had these men not come forth, our Jesus’ body may have been buried in a common grave for criminals. But that was not God’s intent. He had allowed as much to be done to His Son’s precious body as was going to be done. He therefore empowered and emboldened these once timid followers–at this perfect time–to demonstrate their compassion and mercy for Jesus. God always supplies the grace sufficient to meet a specific need at an appointed time!

Out of immense love, we see in our verses for today, Joseph and Nicodemus together taking Jesus’ body down from the cross and carefully wrapping it in strips of clean linen on which myrrh and aloes has been laid. John is the only one of the gospel writers to include the amount of Nicodemus’ sizeable offering of spices for the holy work of burying Jesus. His actions are quite in contrast to his first timid visit with Jesus’–coming to question Him under the cloak of darkness–fearful of his associates. Nicodemus’ actions show his rapid growth in grace, faith, knowledge, and courage in a mere three year span.
 

What we see here is Joseph and Nicodemus selflessly loving Jesus with seemingly no apparent gain for themselves and certainly some loss in reputation and standing among their peers for their actions. It is important to remember that this kind of service can never be done in our own strength or we will quickly lose our courage. We will weary from the task; we will become bored or burdened or disgruntled or afraid.

True love is a love born of God, not of man. It is a love which esteems, cherishes, favors, honors, respects, accepts, prizes, and relishes. It comes from God through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit within the believer. If our actions are not motivated with this kind of empowered love, we will soon become discouraged.
 

God’s love and power are gifts from the Holy Spirit. Ask Him to fill you with His strength and grace.
 

Take It to Heart

Sometimes it is hard for us to understand the God’s higher purposes for good when calamities occur. We must hold on to the promise of God’s Word that He will use these things for our good and for His glory. God has a plan and it is for always for our good!
 

“Faith raises the soul above the difficulty, straight to God Himself, and enables one to stand still. We gain nothing by our restless and anxious efforts … It is therefore true wisdom, in all times of difficulty and perplexity, to stand still–to wait only upon God, and He will assuredly open a way for us.” (C.H. Mackintosh)
 

“To the child of God, there is no such thing as an accident. He travels an appointed way … Accidents may indeed appear to befall him and misfortune stalk his way; but these evils will be so in appearance only and will seem evils only because we cannot read the secret script of God’s hidden providence.” (A.W. Tozer)

Beth Yoe Devotionals

Copyright © 2014

JesusOnline Ministries

P. O. Box 6017

Great Falls, MT 59405

(photo credit: eminent.enjin.com)

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Peter Allan C. Mariano

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