I want to read John's account
of what Mark said in three verses. I've entitled the message for
this evening, Rabboni. That is what Mary called the
Lord. It's only used twice in the scripture. The other time Bartimaeus called
him Rabboni. And it's a name that can only
be addressed to Jesus of Nazareth. My great Lord. John chapter 20. The first day
of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early. when it was yet dark under
the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. Then she runneth and cometh to
Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved." I
love the way John always refers to himself that way. There's
no better thing than to be the disciple that Jesus loved. He didn't say the disciple that
loved Jesus. He called himself the disciple
that Jesus loved. It will be my joy through the
ages to sing of his love for me. She saith unto them, they've
taken away the Lord out of the sepulcher and we know not where
they've laid him. Peter therefore went forth and
that other disciple and came to the sepulchre so they ran
both together and the other disciple did outrun Peter and come first
to the sepulchre and he stooping down and looking in saw the linen
clothes lying yet he went not in then come with Simon Peter
following him and went into the sepulchre and see if the linen
clothes lie And the napkin that was about his head, not lying
with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. I love that detail. I don't know
what all it means, but I love that detail. Verse eight, then went in also
that other disciple, which came first to the sepulcher and he
saw and believed. For as yet they knew not the
scripture that he must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples
went away into their own home, but Mary stood without at the
sepulcher weeping. And as she wept, and she had
no concept of the fact that Christ had been raised from the dead.
She was weeping in sorrow. She thought his body had been
stolen, and she didn't know what to think of this. But Mary stood
without the sepulcher weeping, and as she wept, she stooped
down and looked into the sepulcher, and seeth 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? I can almost hear in that question,
what are you weeping for? He's risen. He's risen. Why weepest thou? She saith unto
them, because they've 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? See, supposing
him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne
him hence, tell me where thou slay thee, and I will take him
away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary, I don't know of anything that
I desire more greatly than him to say to me, Todd. What could be better than that?
For him to know my name. She turned herself and saith
unto him, Rabboni, my great Lord, my great master, Lord Christ,
is how one man translated this, Rabboni. Jesus saith unto her, touch me
not, For I'm not yet ascended to my
father, but go to my brethren and say to them, I ascend unto
my father and your father and to my God and your God. Mary Magdalene came and told
the disciples that she had seen the Lord. and that he had spoken
these things unto her. And we know from Mark's account,
they believed her not. Now hold your finger in John
chapter 20, we're gonna be coming back there and go back to Mark
chapter 16. Verse nine, now, When Jesus was
risen early, the first day of the week, and here's something I also love
to try to picture in my mind, though I know I can't do it.
I love to think of the Lord laying in the tomb dead, graveyard dead,
a lifeless corpse, and all of a sudden, he lives. What a glorious thought. He was dead. He lives. He appeared first to Mary Magdalene,
out of whom he had cast seven devils. Now who can even imagine
what a miserable life this woman had. She was demon possessed
and she was possessed by seven devils. That number means she
was completely possessed. She had such a miserable life. And I don't read, we don't know
that she ever asked the Lord for mercy, but the Lord came
to her. And that's the way he came to
you. He first came to you without you asking. He came to me without
me asking. He came to me the way he came
to Mary Magdalene, possessed with seven devils under the complete
dominion of those devils. No way she could deliver herself
from those devils and he cast them out. I love to think about
that. How this special woman loved
him. He that has been forgiven much,
loveth much. Is there anybody in this room
right now that hadn't been forgiven much? I dare say every one of us have
been forgiven much. He that's been forgiven much
loveth much. And she went and told them that
had been with him as they mourned and wept. They were heartbroken
over the Lord being dead. They did not know that he was
raised from the dead. And they mourned and they wept.
And she comes as an eyewitness and says, he lives. He spoke to me. He said my name. He made himself known to me. And the scripture says they believed
not. Now, we're going to talk more
about this when we get into verse 14, when he appears under the
11, as they said at meet and upbraided them with their unbelief
and hardness of heart. because they believed not them
which had seen him after he was risen. Every report they heard,
they didn't believe. As a matter of fact, Luke's account
says they counted them as idle tales when they heard these reports. Now, why did they not believe? There are two explanations for
their unbelief. And there are two explanations
for my unbelief and your unbelief. Number one, sinful nature. You and I, even if the Lord has
saved us, still have the old man. And do you know something
the old man has never done? He's never believed. You have
an old man, even now, that does not believe. Faith is impossible
for the flesh. I love what that man said in
Mark 9, I believe, and I do. Help thou mine unbelief. It's always there. And they didn't
believe the report of Mary Magdalene. And the first reason is because
of their sinful nature. And as we read in John's account,
they yet knew not the scriptures that he must rise from the dead. And there's the reason behind
unbelief, not knowing the scriptures. This book is so powerful. It's
so awesome. This is the word of God. And
these men at this time did not really know the scriptures. Now they would, I know that Peter
on the day of Pentecost, he preaches the scripture, Psalm 16, saying
he must rise from the dead. But at this time, he didn't understand. You see, you and I and Peter
and everybody else will not understand until he opens our understanding. that we might understand the
scriptures. Now turn back over to John chapter
20, that passage we just looked at. Verse one, the first day of the
week cometh Mary Magdalene early. When it was yet dark unto the
sepulcher, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulcher. Then she runneth and she comes
to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved and
saith unto them, they've taken away the Lord out of the sepulcher.
Now she was wrong, wasn't she? Nobody took the Lord out of the
sepulcher. He was raised from the dead and he walked out in
the omnipotence of his person, but She saw it as, I guess, grave
robbers coming and taking him away for some reason. They've
taken away the Lord out of the sepulcher and we know not where
they've laid him. Peter, therefore, went forth and that other disciple
and came to the sepulcher. So they both ran together and
the other disciple did outrun Peter. And came first to the
sepulcher. Most people think that John was
probably about 18 years old at this time, quite a bit younger
than Peter. And one of the things I love
to think about is an 18 year old used the Lord revealing himself
to him for the glory of God. 18 years old, and he was in better
shape than Peter, I guess, a younger man. He outran him, but he didn't
have that bold demeanor of Peter. He got there first, and he stopped,
and he looked in, but he wouldn't go in. He had a lot more timidity
to him than Peter, but old Peter, he acts in character. He bolts
in, Verse six, then come a Simon Peter following him. And he went
into the sepulcher and seeth the linen clothes lie. Now the Lord had grave clothes
that he removed. And there's something very special
about verse seven and the napkin that was about his head, not
lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place
by itself. Now, I know there's a lot of
significance to that. I don't know what it is, so anybody knows
they can tell me about it afterwards, but at any rate, I love it. Just
thinking of him taking this stuff off, folding it up, putting it
aside, he's risen. Verse eight, then went in also
the other disciple, which came to the sepulcher, and he saw
and believed, for as yet, They knew not the scripture that he
must rise again from the dead. Now I love that language. He must. It is absolutely necessary that
he rise from the dead. Let me give you three reasons
why he must rise from the dead. Number one, because the Bible
said he would. Do you have that view of the
scriptures? I hope you do, I hope I do. I
believe I do. That we believe that whatever God says in his
word is so. It's necessary. This is the word
of God. He must rise from the dead second
because who he is. He's the son of God. It was not
possible, Peter said on the day of Pentecost. It was not possible
that he should be beholden of death. He's the son of God. It
was not possible for him to stay. He must rise from the dead because
of who he is. And thirdly, he must rise from
the dead because of what he accomplished. You see, the moment he died,
every sin of every believer was put away. And they were all justified
and there was no reason for him to stay dead. All sin was gone. He actually put away sin. Now believer, think about that.
Your sin is not. It's not. Then the disciples verse 10 went
away again into their own home, Mary. stood without at the sepulcher
weeping. And as she wept, tears of sorrow,
no doubt, distraught over what had taken place with the body
of the Lord, not having any understanding of what had taken place. But
Mary stood without at the sepulcher weeping. And as she wept, she
stooped down and looked into the sepulcher and seeth two angels
in white, sitting. The one at the head and the other
at the feet where the body of Jesus had lain, but was no longer
there. He was risen. And they say unto her, woman,
why weepest thou? Well, she was weeping because
she didn't know that Christ was risen from the dead. She thought
he's still dead. She thought some grave robbers had come and
taken his body away. And she was distraught. That's
why she was weeping. Her reply, woman, why weepest
thou? She said, because they've taken
away my Lord. And I know not where they have
lain him. No, they haven't taken away the
Lord. He rose from the dead. She was wrong, but she was wrong. You know, when
I thought of this verse of scripture, I thought this would be a very accurate description
of most of what goes on under the name of preaching. They've
taken away my Lord. He's not in it. And I don't know
where they have like, but here she is weeping. Verse 14. And when she had thus
said she turned herself back, she turned around. Now, what
would have made her turn around when she was looking at these
two angels? I think perhaps they beckoned to her. Look behind
you. I don't know that, but for some
reason she turned around even while she was speaking to these
two angelic beings in white, something must've happened that
caused her to turn around. But she turned around while they
were speaking and she saw Jesus standing and
knew not that it was Jesus. Many reasons have been given
as to why she didn't know it was Jesus. I've heard this explanation
because she was so filled with tears she couldn't see clearly. That could have been the case.
I don't think it's what it is, but that could have been. Others
have said the last time she saw him he was in such a gruesome
state. And now she sees him in a glorified
body and she doesn't recognize him because of the splendor and
the majesty and the glory of this person. That could be the
case, but I personally think she couldn't see him for the
same reason that those two on the road to Emmaus couldn't see
him, says their eyes were holding so that they didn't know him.
The Lord made it to where she did not know who he was. And look what it says about her.
Verse 15, Jesus saith unto her, warm woman, why weepest thou? That's the same thing the angel
said, but he added something to it. Whom seekest thou? What a question. Who are you
seeking? A better version of yourself? Who are you seeking? I hope my only answer is him
who loved my soul, the Lord Jesus Christ. Any other answer is no
good. Seek and you shall find. And I'm talking about seeking
him. Seek and you shall find. Woman, whom seekest thou? And look at her answer. She supposing
him to be the gardener, the fellow that worked there, that took
care of the grounds. Now, anytime we suppose something,
that means it's something that came from us. It's not something
that came from revelation where he's taught us. We're just making
a supposition. And anytime we make a supposition,
we always make him lower than he is. She supposed him to be
the gardener. Sir, verse 15, if thou has born
him hence, tell me where thou's laid him and I'll take him away. Jesus said unto her, Mary. Now this, put your name there. If you're a believer, he has
called you by name. He knoweth his own sheep and
calleth them by name. Now you may not have heard your
name audibly, but you've heard him call you when you've heard
the gospel and know it's the truth of God. When that is the
case, that's Him calling your name. I love what Paul said in
Galatians 4, 9. He says, now that you've known
God, or rather are known of God, now that's I want to know him. Now, I do. I want to know him. I don't want to go through the
motions of religion and miss him altogether. I want to know
him. There's only one thing I want more than to know him, and that's
for him to know me. Oh, I want him to know me. He
knows my name. I was one of the people that
he represented. Mary. He knew her. This is what the effectual call
is. Lazarus, come forth. He that was dead came forth.
Zacchaeus. Don't you reckon Zacchaeus was
shocked when he heard his name? Zacchaeus. Me? Make haste. Come down. For today I must abide
in thy house. Mary. one that I know. Mary, loved by me with an everlasting
love. Mary, one that I kept God's holy
law for. Mary, one whom I bore her sins
and put them away Forever, one I died for. Mary, one I'm making
myself known to. Mary. And you know how I know
that she knew it was the Lord? By her response. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She
turned herself and saith unto him, Rabboni. which is to say, my great Lord,
my great master. That's what Bartimaeus said when
the Lord said to him, what would you that I should do unto you?
He said, Rabboni. You see, he could hear his voice.
He couldn't see him, but he heard his voice. He knew who he was. He said, Lord, Rabboni, that
I might receive my sight. Now, when Mary responded to her
name being called, there was only one response. And this is
the response of every single child of God, Rabboni. THIS NAME DOES NOT GO TO ANYONE
ELSE. IT'S EXCLUSIVE ONLY TO HIM. OH, FAIRER IS HE THAN ALL THE
FAIR THAT FILL THE HEAVENLY TRAIN. MAJESTIC SWEETNESS SITS ENTHRONED
UPON THE SAVIOR'S BROW. HIS HEAD WITH RADIANT GLORIES
CROWNED, HIS LIPS WITH GRACE OR FLOW. NO MORTAL CAME WITH
HIM COMPARE. among the sons of men, fairer
is he than all the fair who fill the heavenly train." You see,
she knew who he was. And listen to me, this is what
faith is. It's knowing who he is. She gave the right response. Rabboni, my great Lord. And he is the Lord, isn't he?
He's the Lord of creation. I love thinking about it. At least once or twice a week,
maybe more than that, I start thinking about the universe.
Maybe that's weird, I don't know, but I just start thinking of
the vastness of the universe. I think how many stars are there,
how many galaxies? And some people say it's expanding,
some people say it's contracting, I don't know. But I know this,
he spake it into existence as an act of his own will. Jesus
of Nazareth created the universe. He's the Lord, I love thinking
about this. He's the Lord of Providence, that means everything
that takes place, he's in control of, everything. If you leave
out anything, then he's not Lord of all. He's Lord of everything. He's Lord of salvation. If I'm
saved, it's because he willed my salvation. I love the way
Peter said when he came to those people from Cornelius, peace
by Jesus Christ, he is Lord of all. My great Lord. Verse 17, Jesus saith unto her, Touch me
not. Now he is not saying because
my glorified state, you're unable to touch me. I'm sure that's
not what he said. I think of him, I'm sure he touched
many of the disciples during that 40 day period and hugged
them and kissed them and whatever else he did with them and he
ate bread with them. He's not saying you can't touch me, but
here's the scene I see. Mary has her arms wrapped around
his waist, wrapped around his feet. She does not want him to
go. She wants to be in his presence. She's so overcome with that.
She's so happy with that. She's got her arms maybe wrapped
around his feet. Don't go. Don't go. I want to be with you. I don't want you to leave me.
Don't leave. And He said, let go of me, let
go of me, release me, because I've got a mission for you. I'm
not yet ascended to my father. Now he's not going to ascend
to his father for another 40 days. And she didn't understand
that upon the Lord's ascension, and I don't much understand this
either, but The Lord says it's expedient for you that I go,
for if I go not, the Comforter won't come to you. And somehow,
we have more of the Lord's presence by His Spirit, the Spirit of
Christ, the Spirit of regeneration, than we would if we had Him physically. He said, it's expedient for you
that I go. The Comforter will come to you. God, the Holy Spirit
will come to you. And that's what the Lord said.
And he said, I've not yet ascended to my father, but look what he
says. This is the message he has. I'm not yet ascended to my father,
but you go to my brethren. Now that's where I wanna stop
for a moment. What's he call them? My brethren. He doesn't call them the folks
who ran out on me when they should have been staying with me at
the cross and were hiding. He doesn't call them my servants.
He calls them my brethren. You see, the great end of predestination,
for whom he did foreknow, remember that, whom he did foreknow, not
what, whom he did foreknow. He also did predestinate that
He might be, that they might be conformed to His image, that
He might be the firstborn among many brethren. That's a special
word, isn't it? The brethren. God counts all
His people, Christ counts all His people, His brethren. Both he that sanctifyeth and
they who are sanctified are all of one. Now, union with Christ, the Lord gives
the closest example that we could possibly grasp, if we can grasp
it, the vine and the branches. The same stem that runs through
the vine runs through the branches. One with Christ. There's no connecting
point. There's no time. The same stem
that runs through the vine runs through the branches. Both he
that sanctifyeth and they who are sanctified are all of one
for the which cause he's not ashamed to call them brethren. Do you know there's nothing about
you that Christ is ashamed of because you're one with him.
You're united to him. You're his brother. You're his
sister. My brethren. He's our elder brother. Go to my brethren. And what is he gonna tell them?
What does he tell her to say to them? You go to my brethren
and say unto them, I ascend unto my father and your father. And I ascend unto my God and
your God. Now here is what comes out of
The Lord is sending back to his father. He said, I'm ascending
to my father and your father. You know, we're taught to pray
our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. He said, if you then being evil, The Lord didn't pull any punches,
did he? Of course not, he's the Lord.
If you then, being evil, don't you know what he's saying when
he says that? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts
to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give
good gifts to them that ask him? Then shall the righteous shine
as the sun in the kingdom of their father. He's my father. He's your father. You go to my father and your
father and I'm going to my God and your God. Now he's everybody's
God by way of creation. He's everybody's God by way of
his sovereign right and rule. Nobody says, you're not my God.
Yeah, he is. Yeah, he is. He's got you completely. But
he's not everybody's God in the saving sense, where he says,
I'll be to them a God. And they shall be to me a people. So that we can say, if God be
for us, Who can be against us? Now, Mary, don't hold on to me. You go and tell my brethren,
and here they are, they're my brethren, that I sinned to my
father and your father, to my God and your God. And Mary Magdalene came and told
the disciples that she'd seen the Lord and that he had spoken
these things unto her. She said to them, he said, he's
going back to his father and our father, he's our father too.
And he's going back to his God and he's our God too. And John,
for some reason, graciously leaves out the part about them not believing
her. But we're gonna look at that,
Lord willing, in a couple of weeks. But what of Rabboni? Can I say from my heart to him,
Rabboni, my great Lord. Let's pray. Lord, accept this through your
merits and your intercession, and your mediation. But Lord,
we say, Rabboni, our, my great Lord. In Christ's name we pray, amen.