This story is more than just
a story. Our Lord said, My word is spirit
and life. And so that means that his word, it speaks to the soul and gives
life. There's something for us here
in every line if we had eyes to see. There's a spiritual meaning. It's more than just a story,
more than just a narrative or an account of the Lord's resurrection. We've been seeing that, haven't
we? In every line, every word, there's something wonderful to
learn. Look again at verse 1. Go back
up there and you may remember some of these things. It says,
"...the first day of the week cometh Mary." That's significant, isn't it?
We saw that the believer is dead to the law. Like Christ laid
in the grave on the Sabbath, but then arose again newness
of life. So the believer is dead to the
law, but now lives by faith in Christ. It says Mary came. Who's Mary? The first one to
come. Who was married? The chief of
sinners. The worst was the first. She
says she came early before the sun had come up, while it was
yet dark. She came early. Scripture says, they that seek
me early will find me. She came early. And it says she
sees the stone taken away. This sinner, bad as she was,
came seeking Christ, and the stone was taken away.
Her stony heart was removed, and she saw Christ. Ah, boy, every line. Verse 4,
going down there, verse 4, it says, she went and told Peter
and John. Verse 4, Peter and John, they
ran both together. Come on, Peter. Come on, John.
Let's go see. Okay." They ran together. I didn't notice that word when
we looked at it last. Together. Let us not forsake
the assembling of ourselves. Together. Let us run the race. Come on, Jeanette. Let's go.
Okay, Paul. Come on. You might run faster, but we're
together. Come on. Together, read on. They made haste, didn't they?
They hurried. Let us make haste. Today is the
day of salvation. On and on. We could go on down
through here again, but that's not my text. But down in verse
11, here's where we ended up. So you see what I'm saying. Every
verse, every line, every word is significant. You see that,
They ran together. You need me, and I need you. I encourage you, but I sure get
a lot of encouragement out of you. Okay? Let's run. What do you say? Are you with
me? All right. See, every line. All right, down in verse 11 now.
Now, you know what happened. They came, the stone was removed,
the linen clothes. Oh, I'd like to go over that
again. The napkin by itself. The body was gone. And it says,
Peter and John left. They went home. They left. They left early. Mary stayed late. Look at it. Verse 11, But Mary stood without. That's the second one. Mary stood
without. Sifles went home. Mary stayed. Who saw the Lord? She came first and stayed late.
She came early and stayed late. And she was blessed more than
anybody else. Right? Scripture says this, listen,
Psalm says, wait on the Lord. Be of good courage, he shall
strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord. And
to those that look for him shall he appear the second time. without
sin unto salvation. Wait! Psalm 25, Mary could have
said this, John. She could have been the one,
On thee do I wait all the day, O Lord. Psalm 39, verse 7, she could
have said this, And now, O Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in
thee. The disciples went home, what Mary
did. Where is she going to go? Who loved who? Who was forgiven
much? Who stayed late? Who came early? Micah, listen to this verse in
Micah 7, verse 7. I will wait for the God of my
salvation." Oh, boy. Wednesday night, these
verses, this all was brought home to me, Wednesday night.
And we had a good time, didn't we? Wednesday night, after the
message was over, just a bunch of people just hung around. They
just hung around. I preached late, but nobody left. They hung around. My dad said,
that's a good sign. That's an awful good sign, you
know, say after a good meal. We went somewhere last night,
and oh, the food was bad. It was bad. I'm not going to
say where it is. But ask me privately, and I'll
tell you where not to go have dinner. We went there, and it
was bad, and I wanted to leave. Let's get out of here and not
come back. It's a good sign if you hang
around, see. You've enjoyed. You just kind of, you know, you
ever had gone, I go over to somebody's house, you know, and they just
stuffed me in the food so good, and you go lay, sit on the couch.
You feel like lying, but you sit on the couch, you know, and
get a toothpick. You just kind of think about the meal all over
again. You want to have some peaches
and ice cream? Yeah, I believe I will. Isn't
that right? John, you and I stood down here
and talked some more about it, didn't we? Get a blessing? Got a blessing, an oracle blessing. So like I said, she came early
and stayed late, and Christ appeared to her. She was weeping. Look at it. It says, Mary stood
without at the sepulcher, weeping. Weeping. Oh, weeping endures
for a night. But joy. She was crying, Nancy. She was weeping. Crocodile tears. Weeping. Weeping is different
than, you know, Sniffles and weeping as he was
weeping. Endures. Trials are tough, involved
with some weeping, grieving, but what kind of joy did she
have here in just a little bit? Just as bad as she was weeping,
just as hard as that trial was, that blessing was twice the blessing. Weeping endured for a time, but
joy, oh the joy that comes in the morning. And as she wept,
look at verse 11, as she wept she stooped down, she stooped
down and looked into the sepulcher. She stooped down and looked.
Now she waited. Scripture says those that wait,
He'll appear. Those that watch, those that
look for him, those that look. He said, look unto me and you'll
be saved. Didn't he? She's looking, she's waiting,
she's watching, she's hoping, she's wishing. She doesn't know,
but she's doing. This is her Lord. She's somewhat ignorant. Scripture
says, ask. What does it mean to ask? What does it mean to ask? It
doesn't mean just a casual, just one-time thing. It means to keep
asking. If your child ever kept asking you something and asking
you something and asking you something until finally you said, OK. That's
exactly what our Lord used the illustration of the widow who
kept going to the judge. Ask. Seek. What does it mean to seek? You ever lost something and you
thought, I'm not going to quit looking until I find it? Have you? That's what it means
to seek. Seek what? In a what? Home. And you'll find. That's the reason anybody says,
oh, he's seeking. No, he ain't. If he's seeking, he'll find.
Oh, she's speaking. She's asking. No, she's not.
No, she's not. If they are, they're fine. Am
I right? I should say so. Knock. You ever knock? You ever been
locked out of your house? Let me ask you. You ever been
locked out of your house? I was, not too long ago. How
did I knock? Well, nobody's home. I knew she
was there. And I knew she was way out of
earshots. What am I doing? Huh? And I didn't quit knocking
until what? Until I got in. That's what it means to knock.
Oh, I'd like to know, you know, I wish the Lord would open this
door, open that door. He's knocking. He'll open. He'll open it. Those that look
for him shall he appear." Do you hear that? She looked, she found. Well,
she was looking in the wrong place, I know that, but look
down in verse 12. She was looking in the wrong
place, but she found somebody to point her in the right direction.
Verse 12 says, she saw two angels in white. sitting, one at the
head and one at the feet. Now, these represent preachers
of the gospel, or the Law and the Prophets,
the Word of God, Old and New Testament. You could go on and
on with this. These represent preachers of the gospel who hold
to the head and sit at his feet. At the head and the feet. Preachers
of the gospel who are where the body is, or was. Right? Preachers of the gospel.
True preachers, you'll find them where Christ is being preached,
where the head is being lifted up, where they're sitting at
his feet, worshiping him like a dog at his master's feet. Verse 13, they say unto her,
it's really a question, but they said this, "'Woman, why weepest
thou?' And she said unto them, Because they, they have taken
away my Lord, and so on. I don't know where he is today. Now, she evidently didn't have an
ounce of faith, although the Lord kept her seeking, didn't
He? I thought about this. If we had
an ounce of faith, we'd do a lot less weeping, and
we'd believe what our sovereign Lord said. We'd believe that
he's the cause of all things, wouldn't we? We'd see his hand
and everything, and it would dry up most of our tears. You
know that? If we just stopped and thought
about what our Lord had already said, if we just remember what the Lord said to us. She
forgot what He said. Totally forgotten. Over in the
other Gospels, Ed, it says to them, it says, don't you remember? It says that these angels said,
didn't He say unto you? You remember that? Over in the other Gospels, it
says, didn't He say unto you? Don't you remember what He said?
Why are you seeking the dead among the living? He's not here.
Like he said, he told you before, he's not here, he's risen. That's
what he said. He said he'd go to Jerusalem,
he'd be crucified, but the third day he'd rise again. He did what
he said. And your problem, why are you
weeping? The problem is you forgot what he
said. Isn't that right? Woman, why weep us that? Is that a word of rebuke to everybody
in here, me included? Huh? Why, what are you crying
about? Huh? Why weepest thou? Well, they,
they this, they, they who? Who's doing what here? Who's
responsible here? They, they don't do nothing. Huh? You see what I'm saying? Weep not. Christ said at the—remember
when he was headed to the cross? Remember when he was carrying
that cross? Remember what he said? And they were weeping?
Remember what he said? Weep not for me, weep for yourselves. Now there are
some things we ought to weep over constantly—our own sinfulness,
our lack of faith. Weep not for me. At the empty
tomb here, they asked her, why weepest thou? What are you weeping
about? Remember in Luke 24, remember walking on the road to Emmaus? Remember when the disciples were
walking on the road? You remember when Christ came
up to them? Listen, Christ came up. There were two of them gathered
in his name. Two of them walking along and
were sad, beaten down. And Christ Christ walked up and
stood beside them, walked with them. The Lord Jesus Christ walking
along beside those boys and said, why are you so sad? Well, we trusted God was beside
them. What are you sad? Why are you
sad? And then that's when he said,
it's me. Huh? Why weepest thou? Why is't
it said over in Revelation? John, after John had seen all
that it says he wept. After all that John had seen.
John, hey John, you. After all John had seen, it says
in chapter 5, he wept. Remember that? He wept. One of
the elders said, why are you weeping? He said, nobody's worthy to open
the book. Weep not, he said. The book is
the book. The lion hath prevailed. He's
worthy. Oh, but I'm so… He's talking
about you. Weep not. God's in control. Didn't Christ say, in the world
you shall have tribulation? I'm turning the world. In the world, you got a problem.
I got the world and you in my hand. Cheer up. Huh? If you're not smiling right
now, you're not hearing what he said. You forgot what he said. Huh? Why are you weeping? They said, they asked them this
twice, Jerry. Read on. Read on down here. It says, they said unto her,
Why weepest thou? And Christ said in verse 15,
Why weepest thou? Ah, boy. You remember at Lazarus'
tomb? This same Mary. Had she forgotten? You remember Lazarus' tomb? Here
she is weeping at this tomb, the tomb of her Lord. She just
went through this. Same thing. She just went through
the same thing. One of her loved ones she thought was dead. Huh? And Christ said, didn't
I say unto you that if you believe, you'd see the glory of God? Oh boy, how quickly she forgot. This is the Lord of the dead
and the living. If somebody dies, it's the Lord.
If somebody lives, it's the Lord. If I have this, it's the Lord.
If I don't have this, it's the Lord. If this, if that, it's
the Lord! He's Lord. It's the Lord. He gave, He took it away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Why wait to stop? Because I don't have a job, or
I do have a job, but I hate my job. It's the Lord. Try your faith. Verse 14, when she had thus said,
she turned herself back. She turned herself back. I want
you to turn over to Ezekiel 18. Turn over there real quickly.
chapter 18 in the Old Testament. You'll find it Isaiah, Jeremiah,
Lamentations, Ezekiel. All right? Book of Ezekiel, chapter
18. Turn over that. Over and over
in the Scriptures. Right there in our text, it says
she turned herself back. Did you read that, Jenny? She
turned herself back. She was looking in a pit. She
went down in that grave. She got down and troubled in
the dark, didn't she? Huh? She got down. She forgot
what her Lord had said. She'd taken her mind, her heart
off the Word of God. She'd forgotten the Word. Faith
comes by hearing the Word. She'd forgotten. She got down
in that tomb in the dark and got in trouble. She was sad.
She was weeping. She was confused. She said, I
don't know. I don't know. I don't know what's wrong. Why?
You're in the dark. My word giveth light." And she was down in that tomb.
What did she do, Barbara? She turned around. She turned
herself back. Turned her back on that darkness.
And over and over in the Scriptures it says, Turn, O ye backsliding
people. Turn ye again now, every one
from his Turn ye, turn, turn. They say, I can't turn unless,
unless, turn. Look at Ezekiel 18. Look what
our Lord says here. If you've got a Bible, verse
31, cast away from you all your transgressions whereby you have
transgressed. Quit that. I spoke, speaking to a woman
one time who was struggling with some particular besetting sins,
you know. And we all do. Everybody, you
know, has something particularly that plagues them and they're
more prone to, you know. They do. God's people. We were talking about it and
this woman said, kept telling me, I said, where are you going?
What are you doing? And she told me and I said, quit! You're a
grown-up. Stop it. Don't go there. Don't do that. Quit. Don't blame anybody. Don't blame
God's sovereignty. Then he said, put off the old
man. Put on the new. That's what he's saying. Cast
away from you your transgression. How do you do that, really? How
do you really do that? Cast away from you your transgression.
You cast yourself on the Lord Jesus Christ. Number one, that's
how you'll get rid of them. Cast yourself on the Lord Jesus
Christ. He'll carry it for you. Number two, it says, stop it. Is that right? Stop it. Whereby you have transgressed. Verse 31, make a new heart. Make
you a new heart. You see that? Make you a new
heart and a new spirit. Why will you die? Why don't you
die, O house of Israel? How do you make a new heart?
How do you make your own heart? Do you operate on your own heart?
Can I do that? Oh, I want to change my heart.
Can you do that? Nobody has ever done open-heart
surgery on themselves. Can you do that? Well, here's
how you do that. You come to the great physician.
You go to him who changes hearts. Not change the old one, but gives
you a new one. Takes out the old and gives you
a new one. Huh? And it does apply. Well, he's
had to change your heart. Buddy, we sure better. We need
it, don't we? Doesn't he say there? Make you
a new heart. Quit that. Stop that. Oh, how severe. Verse
32. I had no pleasure in the death of him that died, say the
Lord. Look at it now. You got it? Verse 32. Turn. Stop. Quit. Turn around. Don't go with them. Don't get out of the gutter. Here, I'll help you. Get out of the gutter. Call me. I'll
try to help you. Then when I get in, I'll call
you too. Turn. That not good advice? Sure is. Sure is. Well, go back to the
text now. So it says she turned back. She
turned herself back. You see that? People, you can't
save yourself. Nobody in here thinks I'm preaching
that, do you? We can't save ourselves. Dead people can't raise themselves
to life. Christ has to do it. That's enough said, okay? Come to Christ. Well, how if
you're dead? Just do it. Just do it, okay?
If you do, you'll know He did it. Turn. Yeah, but just do it. It says she turned herself back,
verse 14, she turned herself back and saw Jesus standing. Saw Jesus standing. And knew
not that it was Jesus. Now, I thought about this. She stooped down, the scripture
said, and turned herself and saw Jesus
standing. You recall that happening before? Oh, some few years ago, she was
stooped down before. Down as low as you could get.
And somebody stooped down to her. You remember that? And then
he rose up and put away all her accusers. And he turned to her,
and standing there, and she turned and looked, and there he was
standing. Isn't that wonderful? She saw him standing the second
time and knew not it was Jesus. She didn't know it was him. She didn't know it was him. It
was Christ standing there. I thought about this before.
You know, things happen. We need to realize that it's
the Lord. Like I said, we need to realize
that whatever happens is of the Lord. We get mad at circumstances,
don't we? If it's the snow or if it's the
coffee crop, we get mad at circumstances. There's a fellow named Balaam
over in the Old Testament. He's riding his donkey. to town. And all of a sudden, the Lord
got in his way to keep him from going. Remember that? And Balaam urged that donkey
on, that ass, come on now. And it wouldn't go. He couldn't
go. So he got mad. And he got down
off his donkey and whipped its ass. Whipped his ass. Whipped
that donkey. What's wrong with you? And finally
God spoke to him through that dumb animal and said, now who's
the dumb animal here? Can't you see it's the Lord? That dumb donkey can see that.
You're not going because the Lord said you wasn't going. Oh,
it's the Lord. She knew not. See, there's a
lesson there, isn't there? She knew not that it was Him
standing there preventing her. Okay? There's a lesson there,
all right? And for many who are looking
for Christ's people, and let's read on. It shows this
in a minute here. Look at verse 15. Jesus saith
unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? So you got to ask that again,
didn't you? Why weepest thou? And then look what he asked you. Whom seekest thou? Why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou? If we would ask, what was that saying we saw in
the scriptures one time? I forget. See, even the preacher
forgets. But right here he asks very plainly,
Why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou? Why weepest thou? Think about
this now. What are you crying about? Who
are you seeking? What are you seeking? It will determine whether you're
weeping or not. Happiness. I'm looking for happiness. Who are you seeking? See the wisdom in this? In just
a word. Why are you weeping? I'm not
happy. Well, then, who are you seeking? I don't have a husband. Who's sick as that? Why are you weeping? I'm in trouble. Who you going to? Who's sick
as that? Are you catching this, Barbara?
Why are you weeping? Who you seeking? Seek and you'll find Christ was
standing in front of her. She's crying. She's weeping. Christ is standing
there. She's weeping. Why are you weeping? I'm here. Hmm? Whom seeketh, say, that's
the problem. Isn't that the problem? I'm just
all tore up. Well, who are you seeking? Who are you seeking? Well, look
at this. Nancy, you'll like this. She's
supposing him to be the gardener. He is. He is! He's the one that made the
first one and came walking in it to the first woman's center. The first sitting on the topside
of this earth, in a garden, she was troubled. Who came and met
her? The gardener! The gardener! He's the gardener
and the gardener too. He's the planter and the plant. He's the rose gardener and he's
the rose of Sharon. He's the gardener. Supposing
him to be the gardener. Well, he was. He was. But you know, she just thought
he was an old gardener. Think about that. She just thought
he was an old gardener. The Lord speaks through gardeners. She just thought he was a gardener.
This was the Lord. Balaam just thought it was an
ass. It was the Lord. Some people say, that's just
a preacher. He's paid to say that. It's the Lord. She just thought he was a gardener.
Oh, he's just, it's the Lord. Remember Eli,
or Samuel? Remember Samuel as a young boy?
God kept speaking to him. Samuel. He thought it was Eli.
Remember that? What is it? Eli said, it's not
me, it's God speaking to you. She just thought it was a gardener.
God speaks through gardeners and fishermen and railroaders
and mine workers. That's how God speaks. God doesn't
speak through the lightning. He speaks through small things,
gardeners. You see that? Isn't that wonderful? She just thought he was a gardener.
Well, she said unto him, Sir, mister, if thou hast borne him
hence, if you've taken him from here, tell me where thou hast
laid him, and I will take him away. If you'll, just tell me, if you'll
do this, then I will. If you'll, I will. You see there? If you'll do this,
then I will. Lord, if you'll just, then I
will. Oh, she's so ignorant, wasn't
she? So ignorant. Look at verse 16. Jesus saying
to her, I hate to even, nobody can say this to a sinner,
except the Lord. Nobody. Nobody. Nobody. I can't say this like he said
it to her. Huh? I can't speak to your heart. The girl, if you would speak
to somebody like that. Sinner. And she said, she turned herself. You see, I can't say that like
he said it. Only he can say that. I'm just
a gardener. Oh, how we need Christ to speak
to us personally. Mary. Ah, boy. But if you'll ask, If you'll seek, you'll find. If you're looking
for him, he'll say, Mary. And you'll say, Yes, God. That's my prayer for me and you. Me and you and your children,
weep not for him, weep for yourselves and for your children." Would
to God he would speak to one of our young people, just as
really as he spoke to Mary Magdalene, and call their names. Don't you wish it were so? But I'm glad he spoke it today,
and he continued to speak to me. Okay. Joe, what number is
that? 132. 132.