Y—Yes!

Journey through the Gospel of John with rookie bloggers who are seeking to honor their good friend, Tina Downey.

In the final two chapters of John's Gospel, we have something of a "Just say 'Yes'" campaign. We see three different people interacting with the resurrected Jesus. Each must move past their initial uncertainties to the point where they can respond affirmatively to the risen Christ. 

Mary Magdalene

Mary Magdalene was prominent among the woman who followed and cared for Jesus. She had seen His power to heal firsthand, as He had delivered her from seven tormenting spirits. Her devotion to Him was apparent in her presence at the crucifixion and at the burial. John's narrative of the Resurrection seems to highlight her grief and desperation.

When Mary comes to embalm Jesus, she sees the empty tomb and panics. Running to the disciples, she tells them,"They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!" Peter and John race to the tomb; but after seeing that it is indeed empty, they leave. Mary, bereft, stays at the tomb weeping. John's description of her meeting with Jesus is poignant as it highlights joy against despair.

She turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him." Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher). 

Mary was a principle witness to Jesus' death on the cross. She had stood and watched his body being laid in the tomb. Now, her expectations and understanding were blown away. 

 "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" 

And that is when Mary joyfully makes the choice to set aside her expectations and just say YES! to the resurrection.  She went to disciples and told them:  "I have seen the Lord!" 

Thomas

Thomas is the famed doubter who would not believe that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead, even after the other disciples told him that He had appeared to them.

Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came.  So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!"  But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."  A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!"  Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."  
Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."  

Thomas lays aside his skepticism and says YES! to worshiping Jesus. The fact that Jesus receives this worship affirms His divinity.

Peter

Peter was eager to believe the resurrection. He raced to the tomb when he first hears Mary's report; and when Peter is out fishing and realizes that Jesus is on shore, he leaps in the water and rushes to meet him. There on the beach, Jesus feeds the disciples breakfast with the fish that had been caught.

When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?" "Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my lambs." 

Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?" He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep." 

The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time... He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep.  I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me!"  

Peter doesn't doubt the resurrection. His doubts more likely reside in himself. His three-fold denial of Jesus on the night of the arrest must weigh heavily on him and cause him to doubt his place as a disciple. No wonder he went back to fishing! But in this three-fold affirmation of love, Jesus is clearly calling him to a ministry of serving God. He even expresses certainty in Peter's perseverance by asserting that Peter will follow Him to a death by crucifixion. Peter not only says "Yes!" to following Jesus, but he says "Yes!" to the power of the resurrection in His life—power that will carry him beyond his own strengths and weaknesses.

These three show us the power and delight in

just saying "Yes!" to Jesus.

N—Never without Hope

Journey through the Gospel of John with rookie bloggers seeking to honor their good friend, Tina.

Chapter 11 narrates the last—and perhaps most dramatic—sign that John records: the raising of Lazarus from the dead.

Once again, Jesus' unique interactions with the individuals in the story are of particular interest. The people highlighted here are the family at Bethany:
"Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus."

Martha
Martha is known principally from the story told in Luke 10. There she complains about her sister, who isn't helping with the work of hosting Jesus and his companions.  We see her "distracted by all the preparations."  And often sympathize with the loving rebuke she receives from our Lord.  "Martha, Martha...you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed..."

But in John 11, this sister is portrayed more positively. Martha's propensity for activity is seen in how she rushes to meet Jesus.  She is the one to whom the Lord reveals what he is going to do, "Your brother will rise again." She is the one, to whom Jesus pronounces:   "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies."   And she is among the seven witnesses in this gospel who testify to Jesus' divinity, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world." 

Mary

There is a  marked difference in the way Jesus deals with her sister.

In this story, expressive Mary looks a lot like Martha. Both sisters greet Jesus in the same way, saying: "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."  But Mary's grief is more pronounced, Mary is weeping and "falls at his feet."  Jesus responds to her in kind, and is moved in His spirit, He weeps. His emotional response is so strong that the crowd comments on how much He loved Lazarus. But there is a real sense that it is Mary and the mourners that He is responding to.

Both of these grieving sisters feel that their situation has moved beyond hope because of their limited expectations.  They both felt that it was too late for Him to help. To practical Martha, Jesus sought to expand her understanding of His power. With sensitive Mary, Jesus empathizes and weeps. 

Lazarus
Jesus' beloved friend seems the most hopeless of all.  Bound in grave clothes and entombed for four days, what could seem more pointless? Martha, practical Martha, tries to dissuade Jesus from having the stone moved away from the cave where Lazarus had been lain.

"But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days." Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" So they took away the stone...Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."  Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him.  —John 11:39-45

Imagine the shock and the joy of this family!  They had put their hope in the idea that Jesus would act to restore Lazarus before he died. They were now just beginning to understand that they could trust in the person of Jesus and all that HE IS. They were just beginning to glimpse that He Himself was "the resurrection and the life."


Us
Jesus is ready to meet us right where we are at. He sees the challenges in our lives and knows our need. We are NEVER without hope when we hold on to Jesus. We just might see Him work in ways that are outside of the box of our expectations.

Have you seen Jesus work in surprising ways?