Let Us Go On – Mary

“Therefore, leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.” 
Hebrews 6:1-2

Let us go on! – Mary

“But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept, she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”
John 20:11-13 (ESV)

“Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing,
but she did not know that it was Jesus.”
John 20:14 (ESV)

Jesus Christ is the ever-becoming One. Our relationship with Him is to be an ever-changing and ever-growing experience. His unfolding to us requires a sensitivity to His voice. Many start well in Him, having experienced the joy of their fresh faith. Yet, over time, He seeks to deepen our relationship and our knowing Him. He beckons us to new places in Him. That which was good and blessed begins to fade; the things that were once His provisions are no longer able to fully sustain us (covered later in this series).

“Behold, the former things have come to pass,
and new things I now declare…”
Isaiah 42:9

Rabboni!

“Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”
John 20:15 (ESV)

Jesus was hidden from her. The Jesus she once knew, the teacher at whose feet she had sat and poured out the precious ointment, stood before her, but she could not recognize Him. He was now the resurrected ONE, not yet ascended unto the Father, yet triumphant over death. Even though He spoke to her in her grief and sorrow of heart, she knew Him not.

“Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to Him in Aramaic,
“Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).”
John 20:16

There is something inherent within His Own that recognizes His personal call. The Scripture declares, “My sheep know My voice.” Mary knew Him when He spoke her name, and her response revealed her relationship with Him as her teacher. He was still her teacher, but He was calling her to a deeper seeing of Him.

Though He stood before her, she could not touch Him as she had before. Former things had passed away, and the NEW stood before her. He was now the resurrected ONE, and He commanded her to go tell His “brothers” what she had seen and heard.

“Jesus said to her, ‘Do not cling (“touch me not” KJV) to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I AM ascending…”
John 20:17

Let us pause for a moment and breathe in the Word of Life: “I AM ascending…” May it pierce our hearts. May we grasp the significance of His majesty. “I AM ascending”, and because He is ascending, my comprehension of Him must also ascend. To behold Him only through the lens of former things is to fail to see Him afresh.

The Israelites who offered the lamb by faith in the dispensation of truth in that day would, hundreds of years later, crucify Him. They could not recognize that the former truth had given way to the present truth.

John, the beloved disciple, who had followed Jesus, beheld Him on the Mount of Transfiguration, where even His garments “glistened” with glory, watched His crucifixion, had seen Him after the resurrection, experienced the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, yet upon seeing Jesus on the Isle of Patmos, “fell as one dead”.

“Remember ye not the former things,
neither consider the things of old.
Behold, I will do a new thing…”
Isaiah 43:18-19

The “former things” are necessary. The further we progress in our knowing of Him, the power of His Blood takes on greater power and authority. In every fresh seeing of Him, we realize the utter need for His atoning grace. In each step of following Him, we recognize our desperate need for an ever-increasing power of the Holy Spirit to reign over us. In our apprehension of His wonder, we hear the upward call magnified.

“After this, I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here…”
Revelation 4:1 (ESV)

Related Post: (please read)  An Open Heaven – Obedience

Let us go on!

“Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”
Matthew 6:10

His Kingdom is revealed to those who live a life of obedience.

(to be continued)

Brian Troxel