RABBONI!

John 20:10-17

Then the disciples went away to their own homes. But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.

Then they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him." Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and she did not know that it was Jesus.

Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, "Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where you have lain Him, and I will take Him away." Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to Him, "Rabboni!" (which is to say, Teacher).

Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.'"


I don't know about you but I don't think I would have casually answered two angels if they appeared before me!

Looking in the other Gospels we see variations of the same event. Matthew says Mary Magdalene and "the other Mary" came to the tomb. And there was an earthquake, the stone was rolled away by a man in white clothing. He told the women not to fear for Jesus was risen. And Jesus met them and spoke to them as they headed to tell the disciples.

Mark tells us Mary Magdalene was there with Mary, mother of James, and Salome who was also called Mary. When they arrived the stone was rolled away and one man in white sat inside. He also said He was risen. More interaction...He appeared first to Mary Magdalene and clearly all were afraid and said nothing to anyone.

Luke says certain women, followers of Jesus, arrived with the anointing spices at the tomb. The stone was rolled away. There were two men in shining garments. They also said He was risen and reminded them of His words regarding His capture, crucifixion and resurrection. They were afraid. And they remembered. There were four women, the three Marys and Joanna.

How could there have been four versions? My simple definition, the astonishment or fear altered the stories; the ears hearing the accounts heard differently. If there is an accident and various witnesses, are all their stories the same? Imagine the moment. Jesus is dead, buried and now He's gone. The thoughts that would have gone through their minds, apart from the grief they'd been going through.

The stories might not be exactly the same, but the fact that Jesus was risen and once again met with the women and the disciples was the important point. Jesus was risen. He spoke to them. This message is for us too. He IS risen and He still speaks to us. They saw and believed. That belief has carried on for nearly 2,000 years. Their Teacher. Rabboni! He still speaks today through the many different testimonies of people who have met Him.

How do we know that we have NOT been in His presence, or the presence of angels, before? There are scriptures that tell us: ...for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in...  We might question, ‘Lord, when did we do these things for You?' Jesus might answer: Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me. (‭Matthew‬ ‭25‬:‭35,37,40‬)  We may have seen Him but also not known Him. Entertaining strangers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. (‭Hebrews‬ ‭13‬:‭2‬) And what about the good Samaritan?

So Mary...and others...heard His voice and finally recognized Him. I ask again, how many times might we have heard His voice but did not recognize Him? He calls us in various ways to come to Him. But do we respond like Mary? Even as believers He calls. I believe He can speak or call to us through strangers in various ways, through help or the message of the Gospel. We need to recognize that.

Jesus calls us to know Him, to allow Him to teach us the truth of His Word. These people had sat listening to His Words, wondering at the words He spoke about dying and rising from the dead. It was at this moment that Mary too saw and believed. Not because of what the disciples might have said. In this account it appears He came to her. Maybe it was an instant when she needed to see Him and the incident seemed just for her. He chose to show her all He had said was true. She now knew and believed. There have been times in services when it seemed the words spoken were just for me. Others heard what I did, but those words, at that moment, were just for me. Might this have been the same thing?

Who can say we haven't had our own experiences? What an amazing time to have lived. To have seen Jesus face to face. Yet, it still happens today. Any time is amazing with our Lord. Look and see. We are spiritually blind until we meet Him...and allow Him to be our Teacher. Rabboni!

Matthew‬ ‭13‬:‭15 - For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and
their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.

He Saw and Believed

John 20:1-9

Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 

Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him."

Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in.

Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself.

Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. 


The other disciple was John himself. Humble John. He spoke of Jesus, not himself. It was all about the Lord. It will always be all about Jesus.

Earlier in His ministry Jesus had said this: ...“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” Then the Jews said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?” But He was speaking of the temple of His body. (‭John‬ ‭2‬:‭19-21‬)

For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. They had heard Him say these words, but seeing is believing sometimes. The truth of these words were understood at this moment...John saw something and believed. I'm sure Peter did too. If not there had to have been some verbal exchange between them.

We are called to have faith in the things that are unseen. Yet we have all the words of this Bible to show us what we need to believe. Examples. A way to trust in those things we can't see. I've heard testimonies of individuals I personally know where a complete turnaround has taken place in someone's life after they gave their lives to Jesus. After they came to the end of themselves, recognized their sin, and gave it to God. Some change so drastically you'd find it hard to believe they were this old person. Hopefully my testimony has touched someone. When we have humbled ourselves to this extent He will change us. And He will allow our faith to grow. When our faith grows we know we can trust Him for all things.

Up to this point the disciples were still not certain what all these circumstances were all about...Jesus' words to them, His arrest, abuse, crucifixion, death. They'd heard Him speak but not until they saw would they believe. And here, John went in, saw the grave clothes and handkerchief still neatly wrapped...and he saw and believed. Amazing. ...He must rise again from the dead. What else could all this mean? Cloths lying neatly...not disheveled.

We can have that same experience when we come to Christ. We don't get it until the moment we receive Him. Then we see spiritually and believe. As our pastor explained a couple Sunday's ago, no one can understand what we say until it happens to them. It's one of those marvelous mysteries of God. His Holy Spirit power at work in us to give us understanding just by knowing. Have you this testimony? It happens when we give ourselves over to trusting in Him and not ourselves.

For You will light my lamp; the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness. ...His way is perfect; the word of the LORD is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him. For who is God, except the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God? (‭Psalms‬ ‭18‬:‭28,30-31‬)