Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room
April 9, 2023
John 20:1-9
1 Early in the morning of the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 She ran to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they’ve put him.” 3 Peter and the other disciple left to go to the tomb. 4 They were running together, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and was the first to arrive at the tomb. 5 Bending down to take a look, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he didn’t go in. 6 Following him, Simon Peter entered the tomb and saw the linen cloths lying there. 7 He also saw the face cloth that had been on Jesus’ head. It wasn’t with the other clothes but was folded up in its own place. 8 Then the other disciple, the one who arrived at the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 They didn’t yet understand the scripture that Jesus must rise from the dead.
Good Morning, He is Risen! He is risen indeed!
What did Mary expect to do when she arrived at the tomb that morning? The stone would have been covering the tomb, so she would not have been able to do anything directly with the body of Jesus. Maybe she was going to be near her Lord, or maybe she needed time alone to think about what has happened this past week.
What a week it had been! When they entered Jerusalem, it seemed like everything would be great! Perhaps they could settle down for a little while and Jeus could continue to preach and teach here. Now, here she is coming to the tomb of her beloved teacher. How could everything have gone so wrong?
In moments of despair, our brains seem to jump from thought to thought, and we start trying to figure out everything that led us to that moment. After years of leading a disreputable life, she had spent the last three years following Jesus. What would she do now? She could keep sharing the word or go back to her previous life. Was the world ready to listen to a woman share the words of Jesus? For an instant, she thought, “I’ll ask Jesus. He’ll know what I should do.” No, wait, Jesus is dead.
Then she arrived at the tomb, the stone was rolled away, and Jesus’ body was gone. Her previous thoughts flew from her mind, and she began to try to unravel the mystery of the missing body. She ran to Peter and John, but they didn’t help at all. They came and assessed the situation and went home without speaking.
This is where this passage ends. They are in the actual and metaphorical dark. John often uses the analogies of light and dark to represent being with God and the absence of God. Darkness causes fear because we cannot see what is around us. It is fear of the unknown. In the darkness, we imagine the worst. Each sound or speck of light represents something awful when we can’t see.
Not only is Jesus’ body gone, but they don’t understand (they are in the dark) why it’s gone or why any of this happened. They feel as if they are waking from a very bad nightmare. If they can wake up and see all is well, they can start breathing again.
Even though our reading ends here today, it is not the end of the story, in fact, it is the beginning of a new and glorious chapter. Death no longer has power over us! Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, as the world awakens the light will be revealed.
Blessed God, We thank you for Your blessings. What wondrous love You have for us, your children. We praise your Holy name. Hallelujah! In the name of Christ, we pray. Amen
Thought for the day: Our loving God is at work even when we don’t perceive it.
Hallelujah! What a Savior! Pastor Liz
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