TUESDAY, OCTAVE OF EASTER

I Reading: Acts 2:36-41: You must repent and every one of you must be baptised in the name of Jesus.

Gospel: John 20:11-18: I have seen the Lord and He has spoken to me.

The Great Recognition-Jesus Appears to Mary

This is one the most precious events in history. It was our Lord’s first appearance after his resurrection; it was an appearance to a woman who had been saved from the depths of human depravity. It was the appearance to Mary Magdalene, one who loved Jesus with the deepest of loves because of what he had done for her.

1.    Mary returned to the tomb (v.11)

a.    Weeping convulsively

b.    Stooping, she looked in

2.    The first starting sight: two angels (v.12-13)

a.    The questions of the angels

b.    Mary’s loving devotion and confession: “My Lord”

3.    The second starting sight: Jesus Himself  (v.14-16)

a.    Mary’s sense of another person-turned to see

b.    A starting question: why weep? Who is it you are seeking?

c.     A false identity

1)    Because of her tears

2)    Because she faced in the wrong direction into the grave

d.    The great recognition

4.    The third starting sight: the new commission (v.17-18)

a.    Stop clinging to me-selfishly

b.    Go-tell your great discovery

Thought: Mary recognized Jesus not by sight, but by His voice and the Word spoken by Him. So it is with us today: we know the Lord by His Word and His Spirit.

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