Spiritual Recognition

"Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus." v14

                                                                                                       John 20:11-16.  NKJV

Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus' closest friends. Many people in the Western Church believe she was the sister of Lazarus and Martha. However, this is not certain. What is certain is, she visited the tomb after Jesus' burial and found it empty. Devastated, she began to weep. She saw Jesus there but didn't recognise Him. He asked her why she was weeping and who she was looking for. At first, she thought that He may have taken Jesus' body away and asked where He was. As she looked back at the tomb, He said, 'Mary', which in Hebrew is 'Mariam' and Greek for 'Maria'. David Guzik comments: 'Jesus didn't reveal Himself to Mary by telling her who He was, but by telling her who she was to Him.' Mary instantly knew He was Jesus because no one else would have spoken her name with so much emotion.

The thing is, why didn't she recognise Him straightaway? He appeared different to her His appearance was different. Now there could have been two reasons for this:

(1)  Mary was so distressed that the tears in her eyes were blinding her. It's possible; stress patterns of grief can be so painful and intense.
(2). Others feel it was the release of all the sin and sickness that Jesus had carried for all of us. When Mary had last seen Jesus, He was on the cross. He had the pangs of death upon Him, together with the sin of the world and all of our sicknesses. It was a terrible burden to carry, as well as the pain He was undergoing. However, He had beaten all of it and when she first saw Him again, He looked totally different - radiant, stress and sin free - the Risen Son of God.

At this present stage in our lives, we live in a body that is subject to sin, sickness and pain. We get older and parts of our body wear out in the process. And when we meet with someone we haven't seen in a while, we notice the difference that life has enforced upon us. Sometimes, it is hard to recognise someone. Age cannot be avoided and when it's coupled with sin and sickness, it can be so noticeable. But take heed, we will have new bodies when we reach Heaven. They will not wear out or be subject to sin or sickness ever again. In fact, we'll be just like Jesus - liberated and sin free. 
That's a promise!

Copyright 2020 Grahame Howard

dailylifewithjesus@hotmail.com

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