Title: The First Easter Sermon

Bible Book: John 20 : 1-18

Author: Mark Adams

Subject: Life; Resurrection; Easter; Witnessing; Missions; Mary Magdalene

Objective:

Introduction

1 – Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 – So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put Him!” 3 – So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 – Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 – He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 – Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 – as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 – Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 – (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 – Then the disciples went back to where they were staying. 11 – Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 – and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 13 – They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put Him.” 14 – At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. 15 – He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking He was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if You have carrie  Him away, tell me where You have put Him, and I will get Him.” 16 – Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward Him and cried out in Aramaic,  "Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). 17 – Jesus said, “Do not hold on to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to My brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’” 18 – Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that He had said these things to her.

In the months since my mom died my siblings and I spent a lot of time going through all the boxes in her basement. In those boxes we found things we had never seen - pictures from early in my parents’ lives, their report cards from grade school - letters mom and dad wrote to each other when they were dating - things like that.

One of the most interesting things that we unearthed was a term paper dad had written in 1954. It was for a seminary class and he had entitled it: “The Sea of Grief: A Study of Bereavement.” He got an “A-,” but the teacher wrote “late” on it - so I’m thinking he would have gotten an “A” if he had turned it in on time. And I can understand his tardiness. I mean, like most seminarians, dad had a lot to juggle. In addition to his classes he pastored a little church about an hour away in a little town called Beaver Dam, Kentucky; he worked part-time pumping gas at a filling station, (those were the days when you didn’t pump your own) - and of course, there was a time-consuming new baby boy in their cramped apartment - ME.

The thing that caught my eye was the beginning of his paper - because in those opening paragraphs dad shared an experience from his time in the Navy during WWII. Dad was a veteran of that great conflict - but he never talked much about it, so I paid special attention to this window into that part of his life. Here’s what Dad shared:

“I carry many memories from my three years in the U.S. Navy, but there is one which remains stamped very vividly upon my mind. It is also a haunting memory. It occurred in the deep of the night - about 2:30A.M. - when I was on watch and making the rounds through the sleeping quarters of ‘boot camp.’ I watched over sleeping men - but they were young men - men who had been suddenly separated from their normal way of life: men cut off from the usual routines - the little freedoms ordinarily taken for granted, the hopes and dreams of normal life here in our nation; men separated from their homes and loved ones. For some reason I paused this night and listened - and then for the first time I HEARD THEIR CRIES. I realized that they were the quiet pillow-muffled cries and sobs of men who were grieved, homesick, and lonely. That night on guard duty ten years ago came to mind as I read Psalm 107 where it says, ‘Their soul is melted because of trouble. They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wit’s end. Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble.’”

I imagine guards on duty in the wee hours of the morning at boot camps still hear cries like that. And, of course, boot camp is not the only place weeping can be heard these days. In fact, I think if you and I could somehow be empowered to walk through this weary world of ours - we’d hear weeping - from those grieving the deaths of loved ones in the latest shootings - shootings that have become the norm here in America. It hit me as I watched the father weeping after he had been told his 22-year-old son - was one of those shot in that night club in California - it hit me that we seem to always have a “shooting of the week.” Do you remember when that kind of thing was rare? Not anymore.

We’d hear weeping from the people in North Carolina and Florida whose homes and livelihoods have been wiped out by the last two hurricanes - and families who have fled their homes in California because of another wild fire. If we walked through surgical waiting rooms and funeral homes and prisons, we’d hear people weeping.

But we wouldn’t necessarily have to go far to hear weeping. I mean, of us deal with things that cause us to mourn. And there is nothing wrong with that. Tears are a gift from God that help us process our emotions. They can be a very effective outlet for our fears and sorrows. I believe this is one reason Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn.”

The reason I bring all this up is because the next person in the Bible we are connecting to in this series - was the first person Jesus appeared to after His resurrection - and she was weeping at the time. Her name was Mary Magdalene.

I’m sure she is familiar to you because she is not an obscure person in the Scriptures. She is mentioned in all four Gospels - a total of 14 times in the Bible. In fact, she is the second-most mentioned woman in the New Testament. Only Jesus’ mother is mentioned more. But rather than starting by talking about who Mary WAS - let’s talk about who she WASN’T because - whereas she is one of the best-known people in the Bible - she is also one of the least understood.

So, who WASN’T Mary Magdalene?

1. First, she wasn’t a fallen woman - a woman of the streets.

This is important to note because that’s the first thing that comes into the minds of most people when they hear her name - but they are wrong. Mary is often confused with the woman caught in the act of adultery and saved from stoning by Jesus. Some say she was the unnamed woman of ill repute in Luke’s gospel who anointed Jesus’ feet with perfume. But that makes no sense because Luke was too thorough to leave out that detail. I mean, if it had been Mary, Luke would have said so. The fact is - there is no Scriptural basis for either of these common assumptions. The reason many people think of Mary as a fallen woman is because of a sermon preached by Pope Gregory the Great in the 6^th century. Pope Gregory did a lot of great things - which is why he’s one of the few popes with “Great” added to his name, but this is one time Gregory messed up.

He didn’t rightly divide God’s Word of Truth in that sermon.

And - since it’s easier for sinful people like you and me to believe bad than good - Gregory’s false words became truth - giving Mary Magdalene a bad rap for centuries. Not too long ago the Catholic church admitted their pope’s error - but it was too late. The damage had already been done.

Here’s another thing Mary Magdalene WASN’T.

2. She wasn’t necessarily young.

There is nothing in the Bible about her age. So - pictures like this are probably not accurate.

In fact, I think we could easily infer that she was much older - and I say that for a few reasons.

• First, whenever she is mentioned in a list of Jesus’ female followers she is always cited first - which tells me she had a special place of respect among them - the kind of respect usually given to someone who has lived a while.
• Second, she is never mentioned in relationship to someone else - which I think probably indicates she was a widow.
• And third, she was obviously a woman of wealth because, like the rest of Jesus female followers she helped underwrite the cost of Jesus’ ministry. As Luke 8:3 says, “These women were helping to support them out of their own means.”

I don’t think YOUNG women tended to be women of means - in my mind, wealth comes with age.

3. She wasn’t the person of Filmdom

Here’s something else. Mary Magdalene wasn’t the person depicted in all the extra-biblical legends including silly books like The Da Vinci Code.

These legends began not in the 1^st century but hundreds of years later in the early Middle Ages. There was even a book supposedly written by her called The Gospel of Mary. That book and others like it are nothing but bunk - trash. They were written a millennia after Jesus’ ascension - and marked as false writings immediately by the church of that day.

In spite of that, sadly, this extra-biblical stuff has continued from the middle-ages to the 21^st century. Mary has become sort of an icon for women in the “spiritual” fringe of the feminist movement who look to her as a goddess figure. Dan Brown’s, Da Vinci Code, encouraged this by taking those false legends and weaving them into an elaborate conspiracy theory that included the suggestion - that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were secretly married and had children - and that the cup of Christ was actually Mary’s womb. Others go so far as to say that Mary was the “disciple Jesus loved” who is mentioned in John’s gospel. This kind of stuff is not worth the paper it is printed on.

That’s NOT the real Mary Magdalene.

4. Mary’s last name was not Magdalene

That reminds me of one more thing we need to know. Mary’s last name wasn’t “Magdalene.”

That word just tells us where she was from - a village called Magdala. It was located on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee about five and a half miles south and west of Capernaum.

I remember a few years ago when we were there our tour guide pointed out the excavations of Magdala as we left our hotel in Tiberias and drove by them on our way to Capernaum. The Bible tells us Jesus did a lot of exorcisms in that region - which is our cue to change directions - going from things Mary wasn’t - to things she WAS.

I. She was Possessed by Seven Demons

The Bible tells us she was possessed by seven demons.

I mean, Mary did have a dark past - but not in the sexual area. Jesus had freed her from that past - a past life of demonic bondage.

Now, the symptoms of demonic possession in the New Testament were varied.

• Demoniacs were sometimes people who had been driven insane - like the two men mentioned in Mark’s gospel - men who behaved so fiercely that no one dared approach them. At least one of them deliberately mutilated himself with stones.
• Sometimes demon possession manifested itself in physical infirmities like blindness (Matt 12:22) or deafness (Mark 9:25) or the inability to speak (Matt 9:32) - or fits and seizures (Mark 1, Luke 9).

But don’t make the mistake that many do and think that the biblical descriptions of demon possession are just the 1^st century way of explaining illness. I say that because the Bible makes a clear distinction between demon possession and diseases including epilepsy and paralysis.

For example, Matthew 4:24 separates it from physical disease when it says, “News about Him (Jesus) spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases - those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and He healed them.”

To underscore the fact that Mary wasn’t a woman of ill repute I need to point out that in the Bible demon possession is portrayed as an affliction, not a sin per se. None of the demonized people in the New Testament is explicitly associated with immoral behavior. No - they were afflicted, tormented people treated as outcasts, pariahs. And that’s what life was like for Mary - before Jesus freed her. Her wealth meant nothing because she was a prisoner of demons. I can’t imagine what it was like - but I’m sure she suffered depression, anxiety, loneliness, shame and of course almost constant FEAR - like a non-stop panic attack.

This is a good time to point out that the Bible says one of the reasons Jesus came was to “destroy the devil’s work” (1^st John 3:8) and that’s what Jesus did for Mary. He freed her from all that fear and depression and loneliness. He gave her life purpose and meaning. Now - stop for a moment ant try to put yourself in Mary’s sandals! Think of living your life with seven demons of Hell constantly filling your mind with evil thoughts. Imagine what it would be like to see the world through their influence. It would be a literal living, waking nightmare. I can’t help but think of those scenes in scary movies when someone has a nightmare, wakes up - but then realizes they are still in the nightmare.

Well, Jesus “woke” her up from that. In my mind that would be a more powerful miracle than being healed of some physical disease. This leads to another thing we KNOW about Mary.

II. She was a Disciple of Jesus

 She was a disciple of Jesus. Once Jesus freed her, she followed Him. And I can understand why she would want do - can’t you!? Like the Gaderene Demoniac, she was so thankful, she wanted to do nothing but give her life in service to Jesus. And that’s what she did. From that point on she joined the close circle of disciples who traveled with Jesus on His long journeys. By the way, I agree with John MacArthur who stresses the fact that there was nothing inappropriate about Jesus’ practice of allowing women disciples to be His followers. Remember, Jesus’ enemies were constantly looking for reasons to accuse Him and they never said anything about Him having improper relationships with those women. I mean they called Him a glutton and a wine bibber - they even said HE was a servant of Satan - but no accusation was made on how Jesus related to the women in His band of disciples. If there was ANY hint of impropriety you can be sure they would have used it!

And - I have to stop at this point and remind you that Jesus elevated the status of women in His culture. In those days, women lived in a definite “less than men” world.

• They were forbidden to go beyond a certain point in the Temple.
• They could not be witnesses in court.
• Men could divorce them on a whim. “You burned the eggs! Get out!”

Jesus rejected all that. He welcomed women. He taught them as equals to His male followers - other Rabbis would not think of doing this.

• Plus, Jesus talked to women - remember the woman at the well and the woman with an issue of blood? Conversations with a woman in public were a no-no.

But Jesus brushed aside all that nonsense - every discrimination and injustice.

Ed Silvoso writes. “One of the main reasons Christianity spread so rapidly in the early years is because its message restored honor and inner worth to half of the world’s population, this is, women.”

Here’s the MAIN thing that we know about Mary.

III. She was one of the last at the cross and first at the tomb.

John tells us that Mary and the other women, took their stand beneath the cross where Jesus hung. In fact, they were close enough to hear Jesus speak to John and Mary when He committed His mother to the beloved disciple’s care. Matthew tells us that as the crucifixion went on the crowds pressed in forcing the women back to where they were forced to “look on from afar” (Matthew 27:55) But the fact is Mary and the other women remained to the end even though most of His male followers had long since gone into hiding. Even when Jesus died, and His body was taken from the cross - -Mary and the others were still there.

I told my Chronological Bible Readers this week that one thing the Gospel accounts tells us about Mary Magdalene and Jesus’ other female disciples, is that - -if it weren’t for them - -there’s a good chance the disciples would not have known where Jesus was buried. Mark’s gospel says, “So Joseph (of Arimathea) brought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where it [Jesus’ body] was laid.” (Mark 15:46ff)

Matthew and Luke underscore the same detail. I suppose the male disciples could have asked Joseph where the tomb was - but there’s no indication that happened. As I said, the eleven were behind closed doors in hiding. Only the women bravely following Jesus’ body to the tomb.

In fact, G. Campbell Morgan believes Mary stayed a long time at the tomb - only going home in the wee hours of the morning. Can you imagine the thoughts that must have gone through her mind as she stayed in that lonely cemetery, thinking about what had happened? The Man Who had delivered her from demon possession was dead so she must have wondered, “Are the demons going to come back? Is my life going to go back to being the terrible, constant horror it was before I met Him?” Maybe she stayed by the tomb thinking that would somehow protect her. I don’t know - but all sorts of things must have gone through her mind as she waited. She came back early that Sunday morning so early that it was still dark. And when she did, she found that not only was her Lord dead, but His body was missing. When she saw that, she began to weep. In fact, she was so overcome with grief that she couldn’t comprehend what was happening even after she received word from the angels that the Resurrection had taken place. In my mind, the darkness of that early morning was more than just physical for Mary. I mean, her mind was still darkened. She could not embrace the fact that Christ was alive, that He had risen from the dead.

Well, Mary and the other women went to tell the male disciples about the empty tomb. Peter and John followed them back to the tomb and then left - still not fully understanding what had happened. After they had gone, two angels appeared and asked Mary why she was weeping - and still blind to what had happened - she said, “They have taken my Lord away, and I don’t know where they have put Him.” Then she turned around and told the Man she thought was the gardener the same thing. Perhaps her made it hard for her to see.

Now, look at verse 16. “Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward Him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means ‘Teacher’). I can’t help but think of ten chapters earlier when Jesus said, “I’m the Good Shepherd. I know My sheep. They hear My voice; they know My voice. And I call them by name.”

Now, listen closely because these next verses are often misinterpreted. Many have said Mary was about to touch Jesus but He stopped her and said, “No - don’t do that. Don’t touch Me for I have not yet ascended to My Father.” With this flawed understanding many have taught that when Jesus rose from the dead He did so weakly - insubstantial - not solid - They’ve said that He told Mary not to touch Him until He had time to got to Heaven and be “re-charged” - or “solidified.” But that’s not what the Bible says because when Jesus rose He did so VICTORIOUSLY - BODILY. He CONQUERED death fully and completely! Our resurrected Lord could be touched. Remember what Kevin said about Jesus’ invitation to Thomas last week?

Jesus had flesh and bones. He ate food. He was not some ghost. Look at verse 17. Jesus doesn’t say, “Don’t touch Me.” He says, “Don’t HOLD ON to Me.” A literal translation would be “Stop clinging to Me.” So, here’s what happened. When Mary realized the “gardener” was Jesus - when she realized that what the angels had said was true - when she heard her name spoken by that voice she would never forget - when she wiped her eyes and saw it was Jesus - she did what you and I would have done. She grabbed on to Him as if to never let go. That’s how happy she was to see Him. So, Jesus said, “You don’t have to cling to Me Mary. I haven’t ascended to the Father yet. That’s not for 40 more days. There’s plenty of time for hugging later! Now, let go - and run tell the others what you have seen!”

Okay - what can we learn from our Biblical connection with Mary Magdalene?

A. First, we can learn that Jesus invites us all to COME.

I mean, there is definitely an “inviting” in Jesus’ tone when He called Mary’s name on that first Easter morning. Jesus was saying, “I know the burden you have been bearing. Come to Me Mary!” And He says the same thing to you and me. Our Lord WANTS us to bring Him our tears - our fears - our sorrows. Do you remember the rest of that verse I quoted earlier? “Blessed are those who mourn - for they shall be comforted.” When someone you love is so upset they are weeping - what do you want to do? Right you want to grab them in your arms and hold them tight and tell them everything will be okay. Well, like a loving Father, Jesus’ arms are open to do exactly that - to comfort us. As Jesus says in Matthew 11:28, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” In John 6:37 Jesus says, “Whoever comes to Me I will in no wise cast away.” In John 7:37 He said, “If anyone is thirsty LET HIM COME!” Mary’s experience is a reminder of the truth that Jesus invites us to come to Him with our doubts and our fears - come to Him with our questions - like He did Thomas - when He invited the him to COME and touch His hands and His side.

Perhaps this morning you are facing some struggle - a biggie that makes you feel like weeping. Come to Jesus. As the Bible says, “He will in no wise cast you out.” Jesus will welcome you and embrace you just as He did Mary.

Here’s something else her experience with Jesus tells us.

B. It tells us that Jesus invites us to SEE.

Our Lord in essence told Mary to wipe her eyes and look - see that He wasn’t the gardener - see that He, Jesus, is risen! And, He invites us to do the same thing - to look and see that the grave could not hold Him - that He is alive. In fact, today, anyone who LOOKS into Jesus’ resurrection - anyone who investigates what happened that first Easter morning - will SEE as Mary did, that He conquered death on that first Easter Morning for His tomb is empty. And - the same can’t be said for any other religious leader. I challenge you to look in THEIR tombs.

Confucius, Buddha, Mohammed–they are all in the grave. But Jesus Christ isn’t. His tomb is empty. Jesus Christ alone possessed the power to overcome the grave. And since Jesus can obviously overcome death - well, that means He can overcome anything - so faith in Him is the answer to all the “tears” of life. If He can beat death - there’s nothing He CAN’T beat. As Paul puts it in Romans 8, “Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, (I bet Mary loved that part!) - neither the present nor the future, nor any powers - neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

When we look and see that Jesus is risen we can know that He is Who He claimed to be. And that fact is like a domino - toppling down everything that causes us fear.

• Loneliness - CHECK! In relation to Jesus we are never alone again.
• Tough decision to make - CHECK! He is our constant guide.
• Temptation - CHECK - Jesus gives us the power to resist sin -
• And as I already said, death - CHECK - Jesus said, “Because I live you will also live!” (John 14:19)

This is a great thing for us to follow Mary’s example and see because let’s face it - everyone fears death. This fear is why hospital shows are always a hit on TV. We are fascinated with being able to control our mortality through medical advances so we don’t miss an episode thanks to our DVRs. This fear is why drug commercials are so prevalent on television. Think about it. Why do pharmaceutical companies advertise, Lyrica and Eliquis and Latuda and Celebrex and Chantix?

Because they know all people fear sickness - sickness reminds us that we are mortal so we are VERY interested in anything that helps. They know we’ll watch those commercials and ask our docs if we could get a prescription. This fear of death is why there are constant studies done about what to eat and drink. There’s almost a panic about it. I mean, one day the “experts” say, “Don’t drink coffee. It’s bad for you.” The next day they say, “Drink coffee - it can prevent Alzheimer’s” One day the “experts” say, “Don’t eat eggs - and steer clear of butter. Those things will kill you.” Not many months later the experts are saying, “Eggs are the perfect food and Paula Deen was right - put a stick of butter in everything. It’s good for you.” Some experts say, “Eat like the dinosaurs - embrace salads - go Paleo!” Others say, “Eat like the cave-man - don’t eat LIKE the dinos - EAT the dinos! Meat is what you should eat.” Do you see what I mean? It’s like there is a constant fear - people worrying about every bite potentially bringing death on sooner.

Well, the answer to that fear - is Jesus - because anyone who looks will SEE that Jesus is risen. And as He told Nicodemus, “whoever believes in Me will not perish but have everlasting life!”

If you are bound by fear of death - put your faith in Jesus. He died on that cross and rose again so you don’t have to fear this great enemy anymore. More than anything Jesus wants you to COME to Him and SEE that.

Here’s one more thing we can learn from Mary.

C. Jesus commissions us to GO.

Look at verse 17. Jesus told Mary to go and tell the disciples what she had seen. She did - she delivered the very first Easter Sermon. She was the first person to say, “He is RISEN!” And all Christians are commissioned to do the same. It’s our God-given job to tell people about our Risen Lord - Jesus Who forgives sin and welcomes us with open arms - and comforts us and guides us - saves us and redeems us.

You know, I have a confession to make. Other than the VISION sermon - the sermon I feel the most pressure about - is the EASTER sermon. I want to get it right because I know a lot of CEO’s will be present that day. I’m referring to the people who come on C.hristmas and E.aster O.nly - CEO’S. I mean, this is my only shot with those guys and gals so I want to get it right.

Well, listen. If you’ve accepted Jesus’ invitation to COME. If you’ve SEEN that Jesus is risen. If you’ve experienced His forgiveness and restoration and friendship - then you are in the same boat as me. You have a God-given task to share your own “Easter Sermon” all the time. Your neighbors and co-workers are your congregation. They need YOU to go and tell them that Jesus is risen - that He is the answer to all our fears.

Connecting with Mary Magdalene is a great thing to do because it reminds us that we can COME to Jesus with our sorrows and fears; She reminds us that Jesus invites us to SEE that He is risen so there is nothing we need fear again - a relationship with Him is the answer to all our weepings in life. And our God-given job is to GO and tell people all that.

Conclusion

This week I read about a 19-year-old Muslim woman who applied these principles we’ve learned from Mary Magdalene to her own life. She was baptized in 2003 and gave the following testimony.

“I choose this day to love and serve Jesus Christ as the Lord, the Messiah, the rest of my life. My name is Humaira Kahn Kabir. I became a Christian 5 months ago. When I was 7 years old, I moved to Pakistan. I was injured, and I was in a coma. After 8 months, I came out of the coma.

But I was in a wheelchair, my eyes were open, but I couldn’t move, and I couldn’t talk to people at all. Every Friday, I went to the mosque and slept there because I didn’t have any hope from the doctors that I could walk again or talk. One night I was really upset. I went rolled my chair straight to the picture of Jesus [Who is recognized as a prophet in Islam] I CAME to Him and started talking to Him in my mind: With tears flowing I thought, ‘Why did You keep me alive? Why didn’t You just kill me? I was leaning forward and crying in my wheelchair. Suddenly somebody squeezed my shoulder and said, ‘I kept you for something special.’ I looked up, and SAW it was the same Person Who was in the picture. I fainted. I was there all night. In the morning - my grandpa found me and woke me - he said, ‘You must have fallen asleep.’ I looked at him and said, ‘He was here. He was right here.’ My grandpa said, ‘Who?’ Then he said, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re talking again.’ I said, ‘He was right here. Where is He now?’ My grandpa said, ‘Who?’ ‘This guy [pointing at the picture of Jesus]. He told me He kept me for something special.’ My grandpa said, ‘Sweetie, that’s not true, because That man Jesus died a long time ago. Remember, I told you that story.’ I said, ‘No, I saw what I saw,’ and I stood up. My grandpa almost fell over. He had a hard time believing me, but there was a part of him that wondered because he saw me talking and walking again. I kept that memory in my heart, just a vision, and no one believed me at all. Everyone kept laughing at me. So that’s why I chose to get baptized in the name of Jesus, but in my heart I am already baptized in the Holy Spirit.”

Jesus welcomed the tears - welcomed the questions of this young Muslim woman. He invited her to come to Him. She did - she LOOKED and saw that Jesus is alive and the obeyed His command to GO - telling others with her words - and actions what Jesus had done for you.

LET US PRAY