SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/23/2017
9:57 AM
My Worship Time Focus: “Christ’s
Power over Death was Manifested in His Resurrection”
My Worship Time Reference: John 20:1-10
Message of the
verses: “1 Now on the first day of
the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw
the stone already taken away from the tomb. 2 So 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." 3 So Peter and the other disciple went forth, and they were
going to the tomb. 4 The two were
running together; and the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter and came
to the tomb first; 5 and stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings
lying there; but he did not go in. 6 And so Simon Peter also came, following
him, and entered the tomb; and he saw the linen wrappings lying there, 7 and
the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings,
but rolled up in a place by itself. 8 So the other disciple who had first come
to the tomb then also entered, and he saw and believed. 9 For as yet they did not understand
the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. 10 So the disciples went
away again to their own homes.”
David wrote of the Messiah “You will not abandon my soul
to Sheol; neither will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay” (Psalm
16:10). In this section we see the
fulfillment of this prophecy.
When we look at the words “first day of the week” we know
that day is Sunday, and because of the resurrection of Christ took place on
Sunday it has changed forever the day believers set aside to worship the
Lord. John would later write in
Revelation 1:10 “I was in the Spirit on the Lord ’s Day, and I heard behind me
a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet.”
The Lord ’s Day refers to Sunday.
Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early and the Synoptic
Gospels tell of more women coming to the tomb.
They could not have known that Joseph and Nicodemus had already cared to
the wrapping of Jesus’ body and they came to do this, however John only talks
about Mary Magdalene coming while it was still dark. She saw that the stone had already been
rolled away from the tomb. The women
were wondering how they would move the stone, but it was moved already, not to
let Jesus out, but to let those who would come go into the tomb to see that He was
gone, that He had risen from the dead.
I suppose that as we look back at this and have heard the
truth so many times that it is more difficult for us to put ourselves into the
shoes of these women and also the disciples of Jesus as they wondered exactly
what had happened to the body of Jesus.
We read in our section of verses, (v 8) that once John saw what he saw
in the tomb that he believed, what a wonderful testimony John gives of himself
here, something that all true born-again believers believe even though unlike
John they have not seen what he saw, but they too believed. John MacArthur comments on what John saw.
“This seemingly minor detail [the face-cloth which had
been on His head, was not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a
place by itself] shows that the tomb was left in a neat, orderly
condition. In contrast, grave robbers
would hardly have taken time to roll up the facecloth, and in their haste they
would have scattered the grave clothes all over the tomb. More likely still,
they would not have removed them at all, since it would have been easier to
transport the body if it were still wrapped.
Nor would thieves likely have left the wrappings, containing expensive
spices, behind. The presence of the
grave clothes also shows that the story the Jewish leaders concocted, that the
disciples sole Christ’s body (Matt. 28:11-15), is false. If they had stolen the body, why would the
disciples dishonor it by tearing off the grave clothes and spices that covered
it?”
MacArthur previews what we will be looking at next: “The stage was set for the appearances of the
resurrected Lord, which would erase all doubt whether resurrection had happened. It is to the first of those appearances, to
Mary Magdalene, that John’s narrative now turns.”
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: There are no
greater words to hear from a person that I witness to than “I believe.” Like Thomas all believers do not have the
privilege of seeing the resurrected Christ in person, but we can see the truth
of His resurrection in the pages of Scripture, and it is there that the Holy
Spirit causes us to believe.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Trusting the Lord to use doctors and others
as they continue to work on one of my family, trusting that the Lord will guide
their hands and bring glory to His name through what they do.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “Give His life for the sheep”
(John 10:11).
Today’s Bible
question: “Who said ‘"For these men
are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day?’”
Answer in our next SD.
5/23/2017 10:31 AM
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