Jn 20:1-17, “Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him." So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes. But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him." Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher). 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.'"”
Here are three different reactions to a vision. First, Mary Magdalene saw something. She saw that the stone had been taken away from Jesus’ tomb. Without looking any further, she ran to tell the apostles that somebody had taken the Lord’s body away! Had anybody taken His Body away? Of course, not! She did see something, but she misinterpreted it. We regularly hear or witness these sorts of things when people see or hear a piece of something and write a whole scenario out of it, only to admit later on they made a mistake.
After listening to her, two disciples ran to the tomb. The first arrived looked further than the stone which had been moved and saw the linen cloths which had been used to wrap Jesus’ body (an Eastern custom), but he did not go into the tomb. I am sure he was afraid. On the contrary, Peter, who seemed determined to get to the root of the matter, went in and saw even more things. He saw the absence of the stone, the linen cloths and also the face cloth which was folded up in a place by itself. Since nothing was happening to Peter, the other disciple mustered some courage and also went into the sepulchre. He saw and believed. Great! But what exactly did he actually believe? Because verse 9 tells us that they did not yet understand that Jesus had to rise from the dead. So, they saw the stone, the linen and the face cloths and probably assumed, just like Mary, that someone had taken the Master’s body away. They did not investigate any further and went back to their homes.
Mary stayed. She was weeping. She desperately wanted to know what had happened to the body. She did not want to leave without an answer. She had called for the apostles; they had come, but had been unable to provide her with an explanation. She really cared about the LORD’s body. That’s why she came to the tomb as soon as the Sabbath was over and in spite of the fact that it was still dark. She was desperate. She needed an answer and would not go back without accomplishing that which she had come to do. So, she stooped to look into the tomb and saw two angels; then, turning around, she also saw the LORD Himself, who finally explained the mystery to her.
Like these three characters, I have also often jumped into conclusions too quickly. Indeed, this story reminded me of all the times when I thought too soon that I had understood the meaning of some of my dreams/visions. Those times when I had hastily interpreted what I had seen. The times when I only thought afterwards (when the real meaning now became obvious or when things didn’t go as expected), that I should have stayed there like Mary, waiting on God to explain to me what He actually meant and wanted to tell me. All those times when I did see something in a dream/ vision, believed GOD and what I had seen, but had hardly understood what I had seen...
Are you certain that what you have seen in the spirit or broad daylight really means what you think it does? I pray that God grants you wisdom.
Here are two pictures of what is believed to be Jesus’ tomb in Jerusalem (the entrance and the inside). I took them on a recent trip to Israel.
Have a great week in CHRIST JESUS!
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