Submitted by Pastor Richard Boettner, Rock Port Baptist Church

For this week’s article I will summarize some teaching from Scripture about Jesus’ resurrection after His death on the Cross. I hope Easter April 20 was a special day of worship, service, and time with family for you. True spiritual maturity can come if we identify in our own life the power of Jesus as He lives His raised life through us (Phil. 3:20). In John 20 we can see some teaching to help us during this time:

1) The narrative starts with the empty tomb where Jesus’ body was laid, but is no longer there. Discovered by Mary Magdalene, she runs to find the disciples with the mistaken assumption that the body of Jesus has been taken away. Peter and John run together to the tomb, but leave thinking there is nothing happening or nothing that can be done. John, however, does state that he “went in, saw, and believed.”

2) In the midst of the confusion, Mary stays at the tomb and God wonderfully intervenes to give her clarity and understanding. Two angels appear to give comfort to Mary who is crying as she states “they have taken away my Lord, and I don’t know where they put Him.” Slowly she becomes aware of the presence of the Lord Jesus, who appears to her and also asks why she is crying. Thinking Jesus is the gardener, she continues her dialogue. But this time Jesus speaks to her by name “Mary” and she replies “Teacher” as she recognizes Jesus is alive and she believes.

3) Mary wants to cling to Jesus, thinking that she must stay near to Him, with this encounter. But instead Jesus instructs her to go to the disciples and tell that He is still ascending to His Father. So she goes and announces “I have seen the Lord.”

4) For personal application I encourage each of us to work through the confusion of life, the setbacks of death, the inability to understand all God is doing, and stay with the empty tomb, remembering the risen Lord until you experience Him for yourself. Perhaps like John it may be a new place of believing for you, or a place where your belief has deepened or become more definite. Perhaps like Mary you can see the Lord give you the comfort and understanding you need, and then speak to others, as Mary did, of what you have seen and heard.

I pray as we have shared this article together that you might also feel welcome to share any “empty tomb” or “risen Lord” experience in your life at this time. Please contact me at rpbaptistchurch@gmail.com with any questions or comments.