Tag: Mary Magdalene

March 31st Easter Sunday 2024: Gaius Douglas

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Psalm 107:9
“For He satisfies the longing soul and the hungry soul with goodness.”

This verse speaks about the people of Israel as they travelled through the wilderness journey, hungry and thirsty. This verse can also apply to spiritual longing in the heart of man – that which can’t be satisfied by anything else in the world. “For He satisfies the longing soul and the hungry soul with goodness.” The things that we have, such as clothes and gifts, only last for a while. We breeze but there will come a time when breath will leave our bodies. Then comes judgement. Today is an opportunity for you to receive Christ as your Saviour.

We say thank you for Easter eggs, but sometimes we don’t give thanks to God. We receive many things, but the greatest thing that’s been given we have rejected – the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says there will come a time when we will have to give an account to God if we have rejected His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Those of us who are recipients of this wonderful gift of love, this wonderful gift of grace, can say, “For He satisfies the longing soul and the hungry soul with goodness.” We have received of the Lord’s goodness, his blessing and eternal life. We can rejoice!

In John chapter 4 the Lord Jesus Christ is going to Samaria for a purpose – to meet a lady at a well, drawing water. The Lord meets her. He begins to speak to her. The Lord Jesus Christ knew she had a deep need and had tried many things. The Lord Jesus Christ goes straight to the point. Are you a recipient of that well, that water of life? This living water can satisfy your need.

On another occasion, He went to a town called Bethany. Lazarus was sick. Mary and Martha hoped Jesus would heal him. After two days He went. When the elder sister Martha heard He was coming she ran to meet Him. She was sad, her brother had died. Out of her sadness, you see her faith rising. She says, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” (John 11:21-22). There are times when we are down or ill and we can rejoice. Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26). Martha’s eyes were opened. She was overwhelmed and replied, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” (John 11:27).

For 3 1/2 years the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ were spiritually nourished and fed. They saw how He reached out to the lost and how He met the needs of all. He told them clearly He would die and rise again (Luke 9:22). He was arrested, crucified and buried. When the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ and His followers heard, they had their hopes shattered. Only two stayed the course, John and Peter. The others ran away. They were afraid that they too would be arrested and put to death. Peter denied the Lord Jesus Christ.

Then in the gospel of John, we read of Mary Magdalene. She loved the Lord Jesus Christ so much because He had healed her and cast out seven demons in her. For that, she loved Him. She went and gave up everything to follow Him and serve Him. Anything she had, she gave to the Lord. She fed Him and His disciples. Early that Sunday morning she went to the tomb when it was dark. She noticed the stone was rolled away. She ran back to Peter and John and told them this. You can imagine them running back to the tomb. Something was happening. Peter and John did not see the body and went home. But Mary stayed, weeping. She went inside the tomb. There was nobody but she saw two angels who asked, ‘Why are you crying?’ She replied, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” She came out of the tomb and no doubt continued to weep. As she came out, there was a man standing in front of her. She thought he was the gardener. He said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” She answered, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”  (John 20:15b).

Mary came with expectation – not to see a living Christ, but a dead Christ. That’s how much she loved Him. She wanted to demonstrate her love and embalm Him. He spoke her name and she recognised His voice. When was the last time you recognised the voice of the Lord? Mary ran excitedly to the disciples to tell them she had seen the Lord, that He had risen.

The Lord Jesus Christ promised the woman at the well living water. His promise was based on His resurrection from the dead. He said to Martha, “I am the resurrection.” Mary Magdalene, a persistent woman, was rewarded. I encourage you to be persistent. She couldn’t rest until she saw her Saviour. Why are you here this morning? Is the Lord Jesus Christ alive in you? Every word of hope that the Lord Jesus made, every promise, is based on the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:14). I am not serving an empty faith.

Many people who don’t believe in the resurrection of the dead call themselves Christians. Our faith is based on the resurrection, “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,” (Ephesians 2:1). Knowing Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we have been saved for the glory of God. One day our frail bodies will live, having a body like unto our Lord Jesus Christ.

I love Job; he had periods of being down, then up. He had more downs than ups. He had boils all over his body and was cast out of his city, sitting on a dung heap. But he was able to say, “For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth,” (Job 19:25). I shall see my saviour. Will you see Him? Are you looking forward to seeing Him?

Heaven is going to be a wonderful place filled with glory and grace. Until that day we are flesh and bones and there is still sin. But the Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead and said because He lives, we can live. He is the one who is sustaining us. He wants us to live in that resurrection power. What is the power that is at work in you? If you know the Lord Jesus Christ, it is resurrection power. It was in Martha, Mary, His disciples. He wants us to show the power of Christ. He will sustain and keep you. He knows your longing, your pain, your hunger, your anxieties. He loves you and will never let you down.

He destroyed sin, hell, and death. He has overcome the power of Satan so you can rejoice. Draw near to Him and He will draw near to you. Come to Him. He will give you rest. Living that power.

“For He satisfies the longing soul and the hungry soul with goodness.”

Anniversary Service: August 7th 2017: Dave Norbury

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Dave Norbury - Aug 2017John 20

We have a gospel and a faith, which to some extent is under attack. There are groups of people in the U.K. who would say our faith is a blind faith with no evidence. I beg to differ.

Our faith is rooted in history. There is objective evidence to what we believe. Jesus Christ lived, died and rose again. We have solid, reliable evidence on which our faith is built.

‘Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.’ (John 20:1). Here we have the reality. Mary Magdalene was a wonderful lady who loved the Lord deeply. Mary had watched the unjust trial and was with Jesus every moment of His awful suffering. She had suffered the trauma of seeing Jesus crucified, losing the one she loved most. She turned up at the tomb and found His body had gone. The stone was taken away to reveal an empty tomb. ‘While it was still dark’ tells us Mary Magdalene had not had much sleep.

Jesus had told his disciples repeatedly that He would die and rise on the third day:

‘The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.’ (Luke 9:22).

‘And He said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course.’” (Luke 13:32).

‘For He will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. And after flogging Him, they will kill Him, and on the third day He will rise.” (Luke 18:32-33).

This is pretty clear. It was the third day yet nobody thought, they didn’t believe Jesus would rise from the dead . . . Yet they came to believe. Why? The Bible tells us the disciples saw Him a number of times. They ate with Him, they touched Him. 500 people saw Him at one time.

Some people say they made it up. Let’s examine this. If you were to make it up, the last person you would say Jesus would meet would be a woman. Women in those days were not seen as reliable witnesses and were not even allowed to give evidence in court. Mary Magdalene was the first person to see Jesus, even though she was of low status.

‘Then the other disciples, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise from the dead.’ (John 20:8-9). Did Jesus show Himself first to Peter and John as a risen Saviour? No, He showed Himself to Mary Magdalene. What an amazing, wonderful Saviour we have. He broke the cultural norms.

This is powerful, clear evidence, therefore the resurrection happened, then everything is OK. Jesus is really who He says He is. It is really true.

We have a faith that rests in the risen Jesus Christ. ‘But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb.’ (John 20:11). Notice the wonderful way John opens this truth to us. Mary Magdalene had been through a terrible trauma. Jesus had gone. She saw two angels in front of her, ‘And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain,’ (John 20:12). She saw Jesus but did not know it was Him, ‘She turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus.’ She had two angels in front of her and Jesus behind her. When we’re overwhelmed, remember there are two angels before you and the Lord behind you. You are not alone. Mary Magdalene finally understood when she heard her name being spoken by Jesus. If you could hear Him today, He would be saying your name tenderly. Mary Magdalene then clung to Him as she put her arms around Him, but , ‘Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father, but go to my brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”’ (John 20:17).

Our faith experiences God Himself. This is not just objective, it is subjective. You and I, with all our sin, can be forgiven and experience God Himself. Mary held onto Jesus, but Jesus said not to hold on to Him. There are different interpretations of this. In my view you don’t need to hold on to Jesus now because He has ascended. We now have the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This is a greater experience than holding onto Jesus personally. The Holy Spirit is with us.

Have you known the touch of God on your life? Have you received a glimpse of His glory? There’s a personal, close experience you can know. You and I do not have blind faith. Our faith is rooted in history, it’s a faith that rests in the risen Jesus Christ. He comes to us in His Holy Spirit. He is known to us in a personal, subjective way. Our faith experiences God Himself.