The God of second chances

Mark 16 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.

2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.

3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?

4 And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.

5 And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.

6 And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.

7 But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.

8 And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.

9 Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.

10 And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept.

11 And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.

I don't know why I never really saw this before. I've read it many, many times before. But, for some reason that only God knows, this morning it just seemed to jump off the page. 

After Jesus rose from the dead, 3 women showed up at Jesus' tomb to care for his body, since the customary spices could not be added to the body due to the circumstances. (Jesus died quickly on the cross and due to the fast-approaching sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea received permission to hastily put him in his own tomb.) 

To their utter shock and amazement, these women (Mary Magdeline, Mary the mother of James, and Salome) found the stone rolled away. They had wondered who they could get to move the stone for them, and here it was already moved. This made them understandably nervous.

I can almost see them peeking their heads around the corner to look inside- wondering what they would find. To their further astonishment, they found a man in white clothing calmly sitting inside the tomb of their Lord. What could this mean? Was he a thief? What was this stranger doing sitting in a tomb? Should they approach him? Should they run for help? 

The Angel (for that's what the man was) tries to calm them by saying, "Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here." And to illustrate the point he points them to where Jesus' body had been laid. Now, we know elsewhere in the Gospels, that his grave clothes and the head covering were folded neatly and left there for them to see (John 20:6-7). 

These women had followed Jesus closely. They'd heard his teaching both from him and the others he had told. He'd told people he'd be killed and rise again in three days. So, when the Angel tells them "Jesus is risen", you'd think they'd be jumping for joy, right?

Nope.

When the Angel tells them to go and tell the disciples that Jesus had arose from the dead, what did they do? Did they run to the disciples and say "You're never going to believe this, but...?" Did they happily and tearfully grab passersby on their way to tell the disciples and say, "He's alive! Jesus is alive! Glory to God?" 

Nope. 

8 And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid. 

The Angel had just confirmed that Jesus had indeed told them the truth and had defeated death. But, rather than believing and doing what they had been instructed to do, they quickly got outta there and DISOBEYED the instruction of God given through the Angel. 

Like many of us, lack of understanding brought fear, and fear caused them to disobey the God they loved.

Did a lightning bolt fly from the sky and destroy them? 

Did a loud voice from heaven rebuke them and cause the ground to open and destroy them?

No.

Many times when the Lord tells us to do something, fear rises up and asks questions: "What's happening? This is so far out of what I've ever experienced. Am I crazy? What if I do obey the Angel? (Is that what he truly was?) What if I mess it up? What if I use the wrong words? What if they reject the message- or even worse- me? What if...?" 

Spiritual things are not understood well by the flesh. Just like us, these women were human. Flesh fears what it doesn't understand. Flesh balks at stepping out of the norm. 

Rather than rebuking these wayward and sinning women, the Lord tugged on their heart. "Trust me, child. Go and do what I said. If you don't believe what you saw the first time, go and have another look at the grave."

How do I know?

Mark 16: 9-11

9 Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.

10 And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept.

11 And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.

Later, in the same chapter we started in, Mary makes her way back to the tomb. Evidently, the Lord was dealing with her heart. She couldn't shake what she'd seen. She couldn't shake what she'd heard. But, she was afraid. So, just to be sure, she made her way back to the tomb. 

This time, she didn't meet an Angel. This time she met the Lord himself! This time she flew back to the disciples to tell them the good news! 

And God smiled.

He'd asked once to no avail. But, this time, because she went back to the place of her calling, the Lord himself met her. He didn't have to tell her this time to go tell. No, she took off to go and obey her first instructions! 

A scared child of God was now converted to a believing and obedient one. And he smiled.

So, my friend, wherever you are. Whatever you've been told by God to do. I know you're scared. Jesus knows you're afraid. Jesus never asks us to do anything that cannot be done through him. But, it's not easy for the flesh to agree to possibly be made a fool of.  

But, if you'll just go back to the place of your calling (spiritually), he'll meet you there. He's perfect love and he'll cast out your fear. Then, you won't worry about what others may think or how others may act. You'll be so excited because you've been with the master that you can't wait to go and do what he told you to. 

When she arrived to tell what she was told to tell, the disciples DID NOT BELIEVE her. But, it didn't matter to her. She knew the truth because she'd been with Jesus.

So, go back and meet with Jesus. He'll forgive you for not obeying the first time. He'll give you a fresh experience of his love. And then, you won't worry about other's reactions because you know you've been with the Master- and he's the God of second chances. 

And one thing we all need sometimes is a second chance.

 

An unexpected blessing!

John 1:45-50

King James Version

45 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.

46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.

47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!

48 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.

49 Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.

50 Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these.

Today, my family and I were going through our daily activities when the mail arrived. There was a card in the mail from a dear loved one. What a blessing! I definitely was not expecting this. An unexpected blessing is always a welcome change. It's like a cool drink of water in a desert place!

It made me think of another unexpected blessing.

Nathanael was a good man. A respected man. One who apparently was well versed in the law and the scriptures. He also was a man of keen insight and quick wit.  

How do we know this? 

When his dear friend Philip came to him (you always go to your closest friends and loved ones first when you have good news, right?) claiming to have found the Messiah, Philip told him the Messiah's name: Jesus of Nazareth. 

Immediately, Philip searches his memory of the scriptures and thinks, "Messiah? From Nazareth?" His scriptural quip is basically saying, "Please show me any scripture for the Messiah coming out of Nazareth. I'd love to see this!" 

You can almost hear the wry tone of voice!

Rather than engage in a scriptural debate, Philip simply says, "Come and See!"

How many more people could be won to the Lord if, rather than engaging them in trying to win the debate with them, we'd simply say, "come and see this Jesus I'm talking about!" 

Look at what he's done in my life! Look at how he works in our church! Look at his healings! See his deliverance! Feel his love! Yes, people can argue scripture, but they cannot argue your testimony, 

If we can get them into the presence of Jesus, and they can "Taste and see" how good he is, then they'll be open to hearing more about the scriptures. 

So, Nathanael follows Philip to where Jesus was. Truly, Nathanael was skeptical, but he couldn't help but feel some of the hopeful excitement and optimism that Philip most definitely had. You can almost see Philip, much like a young boy, dragging Nathanael behind him to meet Jesus! 

Then, Jesus does the most amazing thing. He didn't introduce himself to Nathanael. There was no formal, "Hello, I'm Jesus. And who are you?" 

Rather, Jesus speaks to Nathanael and says, "Behold an Israelite indeed in whom is no guile!" It's as if Nathanael were an honored guest and Jesus was announcing him to the world. In fact, what Jesus actually said about him was, "INSIDE of Nathanael, there is NO subtlety, NO Deceit, and NO trickery of any kind!"

WOW!

How many men and women do you know that could have that statement said about them? 

May we all strive for that! No manipulation and no decoys. In other words, as it says in Matthew 5:37, "Let your communication be yea, yea, nay, nay, for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil."

Nathanael is so taken back he asks Jesus, "how do you know me?" He's shocked. Jesus has talked to him as if he's a lifelong friend. He's confused.

But Jesus doesn't let him remain confused. Just as with us, he only allows our confusion to last for so long before he speaks his word into our confusion and rolls back the fog with his light. 

"Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee."

We're not told how far Philip and Nathanael had to go to see Jesus, but evidently, it was not from a nearby place that they traveled. Nathanael searched his mind and tried to remember seeing Jesus and his men pass by him while he relaxed under the fig tree. He knew that, even though he knew no one else, he did know Philip. He would've remembered seeing Philip and this small band passing by him. 

The implications of Jesus's words hit Nathanael like a ton of bricks. Jesus had not physically been there! YET, he had seen Nathanael there. He had known Nathanaels's character without knowing him physically! ONLY GOD COULD DO THIS!

He fell to his knees and cried out to Jesus, "Rabbi, thou art the son of God. Thou art the King of Israel!"

By calling Jesus Rabbi, he was offering to submit himself totally to Jesus. By calling Jesus the son of God and the King of Israel, he was recognizing Jesus as King of Kings and Lord of Lords! 

How many people today are willing to do that? 

Notice Jesus's response though: 

"Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these."

I didn't have to even do a miracle. All I had to do was reveal that I foreknew you and you believe? Hold on, baby! You ain't seen nothing yet!

Remember, "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him:" (John 6:44a)?

Here is a perfect example. Nathanael had no idea who Jesus was. This was before Jesus was famous. Yet, before Jesus was even a thought in Nathanael's mind and before Nathanael could submit himself to Jesus, Jesus was already watching and calling Nathanael. 

Just like Israel of old, we don't choose God. God chooses us. We don't just arbitrarily decide one day to look into the things of God and find him. God begins little by little, day by day, to call out to our souls. 

And if we respond to his calling, what a wonderfully unexpected blessing we receive!