Where Is My Lord?

 

[The following is a manuscript of my meditation delivered at our Easter Sunrise Service on Sunday morning the 9th of April, 2023, at Pilgrim Reformed Church.  Our YouTube streaming channel is: 

https://www.youtube.com/@pilgrimreformedchurch1992/streams.]

Some of the women who had followed Jesus and His disciples from Galilee watched as He was crucified and died on the cross.  These included Mary, His mother, and her sister, Mary, the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.

Jesus' body was laid in the tomb just before sunset, Friday afternoon.  Then came the Sabbath, when no labor is allowed and no work can be done.  Sunday marked the first day of the new week, the first opportunity anyone had to visit the tomb.

Sunday was also the third day of the crucifixion, counting Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  Did anyone remember what Jesus had told them about that third day?

Please listen to how the beloved Apostle John described the events of that Sunday long ago, as recorded in the 20th chapter of his Gospel account, verses 1 through 20, reading from the New Living Translation of our Holy Bible…

1 Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. 2 She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put Him!”

3 Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. 4 They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in. 6 Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, 7 while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. 8 Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed — 9 for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead. 10 Then they went home.

11 Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. 12 She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. 13 “Dear woman, why are you crying?” the angels asked her.

“Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put Him.”

14 She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize Him. 15 “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?”

She thought He was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if You have taken Him away, tell me where you have put Him, and I will go and get Him.”

16 “Mary!” Jesus said.

She turned to Him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”).

17 “Don’t cling to Me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find My brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’”

18 Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” Then she gave them His message.

19 That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” He said. 20 As He spoke, He showed them the wounds in His hands and His side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord!

--John 20:1-20 (NLT)

Let us pray…  Father God, Thursday night we stood by and helplessly watched as Your Son was arrested.  We were scared that they might take us into custody, too, so we fled, leaving Jesus on His own.  Friday we were horrified to see Him being crucified.  Many of us hid in rooms in the city, still afraid of what the Romans and temple guards might do to us if they caught us.  And then Jesus took His last breath on the cross, and was buried.  But then this morning, this beautiful morning, Father, we can rejoice, for You have resurrected our Lord Jesus!  You raised Him bodily from the grave so that He could defeat death.  And You and Jesus did it all just for us!  Your Son suffered, and You had to stand by and watch, just so we might enjoy everlasting life in paradise with You both… if we only believe in Him and follow His voice.  We believe, Lord Jesus.  We believe that You are the one true Son of God, and we believe that You rose bodily from the grave.  This morning we celebrate that glorious day.  Bless us Lord, and help us prepare ourselves for Your return.  Help us to better serve You and to never falter in our belief and faith.  In Your sweet name, Christ Jesus we pray.  Amen.

It’s Sunday morning, the day following the Sabbath.  Just two days ago Jesus died on the cross.  His body was wrapped in linen cloths and placed in a freshly dug tomb.  And then everything stopped in observance of the Sabbath.  But now the Sabbath is past, the dew is fresh on the grass, it’s still dark but the sun is just beginning to peek over the eastern horizon. And Mary Magdalene has come to the tomb of her Lord.

Mary was among those who had traveled with Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover.  She was also there with Mary, the mother of Jesus, as they watched Him take His last breath and die on the cross.  She has come to the tomb under the cover of darkness, hoping no one would see her.  But when she gets there, she finds that the large stone that was used to seal the entrance has been rolled away!

From what we know of the burial customs of the period, huge stones were first chiseled into round, thick wheel shapes.  A depression of about six inches would be dug at the entrance and the stone rolled into that depression.  A couple of stakes or spikes might also be driven into the ground or the front wall of the tomb on each side of the stone to further secure it in place.  The end result would be a very effective door block, one that would prove difficult for even a couple of men to budge.  But there it lay, off to the side.

Mary immediately ran back to find Peter and John.  “They’ve taken our Lord!”, she cried.  “They’ve taken His body from the tomb and I have no idea where they put Him!”

Can you sense the despair she must have felt?  Peter and John did, for they quickly ran to check for themselves, and found the scene just as Mary had described.  The two disciples looked inside and saw that the tomb was empty.  John suddenly remember what Jesus had said, that He would rise from the dead.

Mary, standing outside, sobbing, also looked in and she saw two angels there.  They asked why was she crying and she responded that her Lord had been taken away and she didn’t know where He was now.  She started to leave when Jesus approached, but she didn’t recognize Him.  He asked the same question and she answered that she would go and get the body of Jesus if He would tell her where He is, all the while thinking Him to be the gardener.  And then Jesus made Himself known to her and she rejoiced.  Later that evening, Jesus appeared before the disciples, who were hiding together behind locked doors, and they also rejoiced.

Everyone thought that Jesus was dead, dead and buried Friday afternoon.  They expected His body to be in that tomb on Sunday morning.  I guess they just never fully believed all that Jesus had told them, no matter how often He repeated it.  He was dead and that was the end of it, the end of everything they’d worked for these past three years.  Not only was their Master, their Teacher dead, but any of them might be next.  So they hid behind locked doors, venturing out only when necessary.

But then Mary rushed in with a wild report – the body of Jesus had been taken!  They went to see for themselves and found the tomb empty, as she had said.  The question on their minds, if not their lips, had to have been, “Where is my Lord?”.  Once Jesus revealed Himself, everything was OK, and His followers began to understand what He had told them.

But don’t we today sometimes ask that question, too?  We know the full story, we’ve read all the Gospel accounts and we know that Jesus still lives and now sits at the right hand of God the Father in heaven.  But when darkness covers us and the world is doing all it can to put us down and strip away our faith, when everything seems hopeless don’t we ask, “Where is my Lord?  Where is my Help?  I can’t get through this on my own!  I need You, Jesus!  Where are You?!!?”

Well, my dear friends, when that happens, all we need to do is calm down, look around, and we’ll see Jesus standing right there beside us.  He may look like a gardener, or a fireman, or a homeless person, or a lifelong friend, or a complete stranger, but it will be Jesus, there to help us through the storm.

Jesus is always there, and always will be.  So rather than ask, “Where is my Lord?”, instead take a deep breath, open your heart and say, “There You are Lord.  Thank You for coming to me.”  In the blessed name of Christ Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Let us pray…  Lord Jesus Christ, Redeemer, Master…  You came as our Messiah, our Savior.  But You died on the cross, and for a moment the world lost hope.  Then You rose from the grave, just as You said You would, once again alive and full of life!  You conquered death and promised we would share in that victory if we would only believe in You and accept You as Lord.  As the sun rises on us this morning, just as it did on You so long ago, that promise remains our expected and anticipated hope.

Dear Lord, may our faith remain strong and not waiver during our struggles and trials in this present age.  May we continue to see You, our living Lord, always at our side.  And may we be completely prepared for Your return, which You also promised.  May we fully grasp what You told us before, and what You are whispering now in our hearts.  May we serve You, with all that is in us.  This we pray, in Your glorious name, Christ Jesus our Master and Savior.

And now, Father God, hear us as we pray to You as Your Son Jesus taught us…  Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.  Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.  Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.  Amen.