Turn to John chapter 20 I'm just going to read verses 11
through 18 of John chapter 20 For the sake of time John chapter 20 in verse 11 But Mary stood without at the
sepulcher weeping And as she wept, she stooped down and looked
into the sepulcher, and see two angels in white sitting, the
one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of
Jesus had lain. And they say unto her, Woman,
why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because
they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have
laid him. And when she had thus said, she
turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not
that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman,
why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou? She, supposing
him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne
him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take
him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith
unto him, Rabbani, which is to say, Master. Jesus saith unto
her, Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my father. But
go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my father
and your father. and to my God and to your God. Mary Magdalene came and told
the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that he had spoken
these things unto her. What I want to try to speak to
you today, entitled, Whom Seekest Thou? Whom Seekest Thou? Now we have here in John chapter
20, this is the day of the resurrection. This is the day of THE resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus from
the dead. One of the most glorious days
this world has ever seen. The long promised fulfillment
of the triumphant Messiah enters a new chapter here. He'd come
into the world, God manifest in the flesh. He was light coming
into the world that knew only darkness. But right now he had just risen
from the dead and this is the account we have of it. John the
Baptist had stated, behold the Lamb of God which taketh away
the sin of the world. God had made him sin for us. The iniquity of his people was
laid upon him. He suffered, died, and was buried. His blood was shed for many for
the remission of sins, is what it says. Now the price of sin
was paid by him. He was forsaken by God. He died,
buried. But today, this day, as recorded
here, he is risen. This is one of the most wonderful
things ever to happen in this world. Where is this taking place? Where
is this glorious scene taking place, wondrous, gracious resurrection? In a small garden, in a small
tomb. In a place called Gethsemane,
they said. Or not Gethsemane, but in this Joseph of Arimathea's
tomb. Who was there? Jesus, two angels. There were two apostles, but
they've left, and one woman. How does this marvelous scene
play out? The woman is spoken to by two
angels, and then she is spoken to by the risen Lord Jesus Christ,
first of all. That's it. This is how the Lord
of glory chose to reveal his resurrection to his people at
the very first. And this is so far removed from
what men would think of. It's not even in their minds. Because this resurrection here,
this resurrection scene, makes absolutely no sense to the world
or to the religious world. There's no grand announcements.
There's no heavenly host of angels. There's two angels, and that
was enough. There's no loud shouts of hallelujah
or hosanna, no triumphant parade, no rubbing it in the noses of
Herod and Pilate. That's what I'd have done. I
mean, you know. You understand when he died, darkness fell upon the earth.
The earth shook. The earth quaked. When he died, prophets of old raised from the
dead and were speaking. But when it comes to the resurrection
of our Lord, it's in this small garden, at this tomb, and with
these three people, Peter and John, who had already left at
this time. You'll see it. In the very beginning,
Mary Magdalene went to anoint him. And in another account,
it does say other women went with them. And it says they ran
back to say that he was gone. Peter and John took off. They
went to the sepulcher, saw he was gone. They left. But Mary
stayed. Mary stayed. Why is this the scene of our
Lord's resurrection? Well, I got an idea about that.
But the first point is this. This is exactly the way the Lord
chose to reveal himself risen from the dead to this one woman
out of whom he had cast seven devils. Two apostles were just
there. Two apostles, Peter and John,
two chief apostles, were there. Christ did not show himself to
them and Christ did not reveal himself to them. He didn't say
a word to them. Not then. He will later. But
not at this very first point. He picks a woman out of whom
he had cast seven devils. A woman who was weeping. This happened this way because
this is the way God purposed it. I'm not being fatalistic. I am being faithful. I believe
what the scripture says. I purposed it. I'll do it. This is what he purposed because
this is what he did. The God of the Bible, the Christ
of the Bible, does Everything his way This is the beginning of our
Lord's ministry after he was raised from the dead and This
is the way he wanted it to be Now look at verse 15 Jesus saith
unto her woman. Why weepest thou? Whom seekest
thou She, supposing him to be the
gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou hast borne him hence,
tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.
Excuse me. Like I said, Mary Magdalene came
first, saw the stone rolled away. Peter and John came second and
went into the tomb, and then they left. It says they went
home. But it tells you why. Let me see. Verse 9, for as yet they knew not the
scripture that he must rise again from the dead. Now if you read
the book of John, you will read that Christ told them he was
going to rise from the dead. But when it comes time to actually
seeing it, our human minds still don't get it. Because when it comes time to
meet the disciples, and he talks with them later, he opens their
understanding of the scriptures. And they begin to see even more.
And it says that he will send the comforter later. And guess
what? He's going to remind you of all the things I said. Why? Because here it's clear
they had forgot some of the things he said. They left, but Mary stayed. She'd come back, and she stayed. And the first words we have recorded
as spoken by Jesus after his resurrection are these words,
Woman, why weepest thou whom seekest thou Christ first spoke to Mary Magdalene
because he chose to speak to Mary Magdalene first. That's just the long and the
short of it. Now when he said woman woman Why weepest thou? And he
said, Whom seekest thou? I want to make this very plain. The Lord Jesus Christ never asked
a question that he didn't already know the answer to. He knew the
answers. He knew the answers. That's not
why he asked questions to find anything out. That's why I ask
questions. That may be why you ask questions.
He asked questions so that we might learn something. The person
he was speaking to might learn something. He asked questions
of the scribes and the Pharisees. They wouldn't answer, Mason.
They wouldn't answer him. Because the last time he answered
him, he said, is it lawful to pay taxes unto Caesar? He picked
up a coin and said, whose superscription is this? It was Caesar's. He
said, well, you give to Caesar what's Caesar's, and you give
to God. What's God's? And some of them
quit asking him questions. And he'd ask them a question,
and they wouldn't answer. Because the answer was going
to put them in trouble. But here, he knew the answer to this question.
And I don't think this was exasperation. I believe he asked this question,
woman, why weepest thou? Out of sympathy? and to comfort and to speak with
Mary Magdalene about this. He knew how she felt. He knew
why she was weeping. He was talking to her, but she
did not know who he was at the time. Now, whether this is she
was so teared up, she wasn't seeing straight, she didn't look
straight, but she heard his voice. But she didn't recognize it then.
Or whether it was like those two men on the way to Emmaus
that said their eyes were holding so that they did not see him
as Jesus. And he traveled with them a great
way. That happens not too long after this, that same day. But he asked her, woman, why
weepest thou? He knew why she was weeping. Psalms 34 and verse 18. says
this, ìThe Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart,
and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.î We have a friend who sticks closer
than a brother. The first act of the Lord of
glory after his resurrection was to comfort one of his brethren. I think that's significant. Because in this world, in this world we shall have tribulation.
And he is the only comfort we have. We do comfort each other
as best we can. But the only comfort I have for
the people of God is His words in this book. I can't comfort
you. But His word can. He can. And He is always near His people. Where two or three are gathered
together in His name, there I am in the midst. That's what it
says. And you know what? That's what
it means. I believe Christ is here right now, whether we know
it or not. I believe it. And I believe he purposely decided
to reveal himself to Mary, to speak to Mary, and to comfort
this woman who was distraught. She didn't know he was risen.
She thought somebody stole his body. He is closer. Jesus Christ is
usually closer than we ever realize. And he is what? Nigh unto them
that are of a broken heart. She thought he was the gardener,
but it was her Lord. The second question, whom seekest
thou? Whom seekest thou? That's a good
question. Of course it's a good question.
It came from Christ. But I do want you to look at
the opposite of this. Not the opposite, but the negative
part of this. The question Christ asks is not,
what are you seeking? A lot of people are seeking a
lot of what's in this world. And they're not seeking whom.
There are a lot of people seeking peace
of mind. And believe me, I'd like to have some some days.
Especially at work. But this world is corrupt. Men
are corrupt. And work is a part of the curse.
And our mind is cursed. Our understanding is darkened,
and naturally we love darkness and hate the light. Our mind does not want the Lord. We'd like some peace of mind.
We'd like a little comfort in our lives. We'd like a little
bit of this and a little bit of that. But that's not the what.
That's a what, not a whom. Walter, I got a... I got a...
Oh, what do they call it? A tract the other day. Big letters
on the front, just a little track, but big letters on the front,
there are no fire escapes in hell. That's a what some people
are looking for. They're looking for an escape
from hell. They're not looking for the Lord. They're not looking
for God. They'll pay lip service to it.
But what they're looking for is an escape from hell. hell,
or in the case of a place where we used to be the way they used
to preach, you didn't want to go through the tribulation. That's
going to be a bad time for people. And they tried to emotionally
get people to make a decision to escape the tribulation. That's a what. That's all it
is, is a what. And some are seeking health and
wealth. There are church societies, to be nice and put it that way,
that are dedicated to health and wealth. If you don't get
it, if you don't have it, it's your fault. And if you don't have it, your
salvation may be questionable. I don't read anywhere in here
where any of these apostles Any of the people that apostles preached
to were healthy and wealthy you know In this world ye shall have tribulation
that's the only promise we got He has promised that he would
take care of us he has promised to be near and to comfort us I Believe he said marvel not
when men hate you See, the question is not, what
seekest thou? And I'll tell you this, the question
is not, where seekest thou? Because there are people who
think there's value in a place. Now, I'm not going to mention
Mecca or the Vatican or any other place. But there are people who
put much value in a place and none in the person of our Lord
Jesus Christ. There are some who seek it in
nature. Oh, I'd get close to God in the woods. There are some who are speaking,
you know, outer space. They like to look at the stars
and see the movement and all that stuff. And every time they
make a theory, it turns out 20 years later that theory's wrong.
That's all right. We'll make another one. We're
studying how the cosmos came together or came apart or whatever. They're seeking a what, not a
who. What is not the question. Where
is not the question. The question is whom seekest
thou? That's the question. And Mary Magdalene, out of whom
were cast seven devils. You know, it's like Rahab the
harlot, Walter. Every time Mary Magdalene is mentioned, she says,
out of whom Christ cast seven devils. It's all right. This is the woman. This is the
person. This is the one of his brethren
that he chose to reveal himself to. He asked, whom seekest thou? was seeking him. Mary was seeking a person. That's why Christ asked this
question. He knew the answer already. He knew. He knew why she was
crying. He knew who she was looking for.
But he asked it for us. And that's the question we all
have to ask ourselves. Whom seekest thou? Who are you seeking? Because if it's not Him, it's
wrong. It doesn't matter what it is.
It doesn't matter where it is. And it doesn't matter who it
is if it's not Him. It doesn't matter. Because it's
wrong if it's not Him. Now I do know Paul wrote There
are none that seek after God. And that's true. Naturally, the
natural man does not seek after God. Paul also wrote of Isaiah, from
Isaiah, I am found of them that sought me not. I'm believed on by people that
ask not after me. So we'll tell you this, there
are some who seek the Lord, but that seeking only comes after
he's found them. They find the Lord. Why? Because
he found them. What's he say? I'm bringing in
my sheep. Other sheep I have, but them
I must bring. And when he brings, you'll seek him. He is nigh thee. Because it's whom that matters.
Whom seekest thou? It's a person. Jesus asked his disciples, after
a great multitude left They walked away after his words, after what
he said, after the message he preached. They walked away because of what he said, because
of what he preached. And he looked at his disciples
and he said, will you also go away? And Peter answered. He said, Lord, to whom? shall we go to whom that's the
point to whom shall you go Peter said thou hast the words of eternal
life whom seekest thou to whom will
you go the world will go anywhere and everywhere and they will
go after anyone and everyone except This one right here who
revealed himself to Mary Magdalene. To whom shall you go if you have
not been put in the place where you have no one and nowhere else
to turn to? You don't know him. Because whom seekest thou is
the question. That's the question. If you're
not seeking Him, you don't know Him. And that's
the course of this world right now. That's the course of church
life right now. Of so-called pseudo-Christianity. That's a nice way of saying fakes.
Fake Christianity. That's what it is. Earl used
to call them religious societies. Because it was a society, it
wasn't a family. Jesus asked these questions for
a reason to put into Mary's mind at that time whom she was seeking
and she told him I'm seeking my Lord Not my Savior not a man. I'm seeking my Lord If you're not seeking him the
Lord I You don't know who you're seeking. There's lots of people out there
that want you to claim Jesus Christ as your personal Savior.
Or to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. Whom seekest thou? If he's not
Lord, if you don't know him as the Lord, as the one who can
save, You don't know it. Because it takes the power of
God to save every single sinner. It took the death of God manifest
in the flesh to pay that price. And it takes the power of God
for you to believe Him. Whom seekest thou? The answer is in a person. It's
in the Lord. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. That's all it takes. That's all
it takes is for the Lord to speak your name. Walter did it on the radio this
morning. I'm the good shepherd, but I call my sheep by name. A, I'm the good shepherd. B,
they're my sheep. C, I call them. D, by name. By name, Mary. Jesus saith unto her Mary he
talked to her before she didn't recognize him She thought he
was the gardener But when he called her by name guess what?
Mary knew him Whom seekest thou? Mary knew him Excuse me And I'll tell you this,
Mary knew Him exactly when He wanted her to know Him. And you can take that any way
you want. If Jesus wants you to know Him,
He will call you by name. And guess what? You will know. You will know Him. Whom seekest thou? And you will know then. Not before and not of yourself. There's a reason it's called
revelation. There's a reason it's called
revealing. No one ever knows Christ Jesus until he unveils
himself to the eyes of those he has opened. And this happens in time, in
his time, when he was ready for Mary to see him. He's always there. He's always been there. He is
everywhere. This is God we're talking about.
It's just our eyes don't see. I never saw any of this stuff
before. The Lord showed it to me. None of it. Seriously. I was seriously ignorant
in 1983. Or 82. Thank God I'm nowhere near as
ignorant as I used to be. I'm still ignorant. I'm still
depraved. But since he spoke my name and
called me by his grace, I know him. And guess what? Today, I'm seeking him. The seeking doesn't stop. The
following doesn't stop. If ye continue in my word, then
are ye my disciples indeed. If you can throw it away, if
you can stop, you might as well go ahead. I'm still reminded of that story
this fellow told, that he was trying to encourage, he was holding
a revival meeting, and he was trying to encourage an old 84-year-old
pastor or 80-year-old pastor. And he said, he preached a sermon
on five reasons why I can't quit. And that old preacher come up
to him and said, you know, I've always preached here that quit
if you can. Because if you can, the problem's with you. There are people who have quit
this as heavenly And they have quit Christ, and they have quit
everything to do with the Lord. There are others who have left
this place because they had to move to get another job. That's
not what we're talking about. And we've had some go and come
back. And that encourages me. But the thing is, today, right
here, right now, Whom seekest Thou? When Christ said her name, she
knew exactly who He was. The light shines even when we're
blinded to it. The light of the world is everywhere
even when we don't see it, or see Him, excuse me. But when Christ speaks, and He
speaks to you, you'll know it, and you'll know Him. She turned, she heard, she turned,
she saw, and she said, Rabbani. Now this is not Rabbi. It's a
different word. This is actually, I looked at
it, it's Aramaic. You have Rab, Rabbi, Rabbani. It's a stage above rabbi. It
is master. It is Lord. That's the word that
she used when she saw him. Whom seekest thou? He is Lord. I and my father are one. Jesus Christ is God manifest
in the flesh. Question today. I'm going to throw this in. Because I told you at the beginning
I had a little bit of an idea of why he did it this way. revealing
himself to Mary and not to Peter and John, who were already there
and then left. Well, just these words right
here. In verse 17, Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not, for I
am not yet ascended to my Father. But go to my brethren, and say unto
them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father. and to my God
and to your God. The resurrection of Jesus Christ
rising from the dead is a family matter. Go and see my brethren. He didn't
say go and see my disciples, although they were. He didn't
say go and see my worshipers, although they were. He said go
see my brethren. Go tell my brethren and I'm going
to see my father and your father. Guess what? It's the same father.
I'm going to see my God and your God and it's the same God. The resurrection of Jesus Christ
is for the family of God and it is for no one else. Like I said at the beginning,
he didn't go point his finger at Herod and Pilate and say,
here I am. What did I tell you? Y'all wouldn't listen. Nah, nah,
nah, nah, nah. That's the kind of stuff I would
do. The resurrection of Christ is only for the family. It's
only revealed to the family. Now, we preach it openly. And publicly we proclaim that
Christ is risen. But I'll tell you this, only
those whom he has chosen from the foundation of the world,
only his sheep that he has called by name, will believe that the
Lord has risen indeed. Those are the only ones. The
resurrection of Christ was a family matter. And only the family receive Him.
Why? Because He only brings in His
family. Other sheep I have, them I must
bring. And He's bringing them in. But
they're already a part of the family. They're already sheep. Whom seekest thou? Whom seekest
thou? Our Heavenly Father, Thank you
again for this place, this time. In your word, Lord, you're rising
from the dead. You're ascending to your Father. Lord, making the offering of
your body, the Father's acceptance and our salvation in times bringing in your seed. Thank you, Lord, for all these
things. In Christ's name, amen.