Preparing for Jesus - John 20 - The Plans were wrecked

It’s always seemed odd to me that we visit graves. I’ve done it and will continue to do it. But when you think about it, what exactly are we doing there? Mary goes to the tomb, but it’s not like she can get inside or do anything, so she probably woke up that morning thinking nothing was going to be out of the ordinary. Then she’d show up at the tomb, see the rock, and then leave. Honestly, the missing rock and the missing Jesus were probably the last thing she expected to encounter that day.

Jesus wrecked her plans that day. We don’t know what they were, but he wrecked them. She was not planning on going on a Jesus hunt. But here’s the thing: her plans weren’t the only ones that were wrecked that day. When Jesus got up and walked out of that tomb, he wrecked everybody’s plans. 

This whole chapter is about how Jesus appeared to Mary, and then to his disciples. I have a hard time focusing on that, though, when I think about just how much this world changed as he got up and walked away from death. For those of us that believe Jesus is the Christ, and the Son of God, this is the pinnacle of our faith. When Jesus died on the cross for our sins and rose again, he paved the way for us to have such an astounding personal relationship with God. He also paved the path for us to carry out his mission and bring others to God. 

John ends in verse 31 with “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” But when we are called to believe, we are also called to take on a role that is so much more important. We are called to share that belief. We are called to be his disciples and carry out his good deeds.

I stated in an earlier blog that we don’t have the perks of being in Jesus’ presence, allowing us to believe by sight. Even Thomas, one of his own 12 disciples, wouldn’t believe that Jesus rose from the grave until he was actually able to put his hands on Jesus’ wounds. Understanding this chapter though, and that Jesus ACTUALLY conquered death FOR US, that’s a beautiful thing. Believing that makes life so much sweeter, especially when you get to live out that love for other people and introduce them to the real, true, unadulterated, and selfless love that our God has to offer. 

Today’s Contributing Author: Josh Litscher