30th Mar 26 | 13:54
Studies by Book
Luke 24 9-12 MEETING THE RISEN LORD 05 12Mar2022 Luke 24 09-10 We now know the living Christ
📖 Luke 24:9-12
05 – 12Mar2022 – We now know the living Lord - Luke 24:09-12 - MEETING THE RISEN LORD - Bible reading: Romans 14:7-9
“Thank You, Lord Jesus, that You are so patient with us and You are moulding us to be Your faithful witnesses to reconcile all things back to You. Life in You is a life of abundance and fullness. There is nothing lacking in You. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.”
We continue to look at the encounter of Mary Magdalene with the risen Lord, for she was the first to meet with Jesus after He rose from the dead.
Luke 24:9-10 Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. (10) It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles.
The Lord had called Mary by her name. This must have been an overwhelming experience for Mary as she heard the Lord calling her by her name. The one whom she was desperately seeking, was now by her side, calling her by her name. She would have wanted to hold on to Him, never to let Him go.
John 20:16 Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to Him, "Rabboni!" (which is to say, Teacher).
Mary called Jesus as, 'Teacher', for that was how she had known Him.
He was the ‘Teacher’ to her, who had taught her the ways of God, because of which she was living a delivered life. She sought to continue with the same Teacher-disciple relationship with Jesus.
The Lord was now sending her out with an assignment. The definition of an apostle is the one who is sent out. Jesus was giving her an apostolic assignment.
John 20:17 Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.' "
There are two parts in this verse. The first part was that Mary should not cling to Christ. The second part is the assignment to Mary.
DO NOT CLING TO ME
What is the Lord saying by telling Mary not to cling to Him?
This was where the transition was happening to Mary. She called Jesus as Teacher because that was the way she had known Him. The Lord was telling her not to cling on to the past relationship but He was now inviting her into a new relationship with Him.
The Lord was telling Her that He was going to the Father. He had come from the Father, to complete a specific assignment, which He had completed. He was going into a completely different environment. His role and relationship with us now will be as KING.
We must let go of the old paradigm of relationship with Jesus and move on to a new relationship with Jesus, where He is seated with the Father, on His throne. This was what Mary needed to understand.
II Corinthians 5:15-16 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. (16) Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer.
Mary had known Jesus according to the flesh. The Lord was telling her that she cannot know Him according to the flesh anymore. This is the message for us. We must now know Christ as the living Lord.
We now know Him as the one who is seated with the Father as the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords. We are here to serve the King in His kingdom.
We must come to the place where we no longer live for ourselves but for Him who died for us and rose again. Our life is entirely for Christ as our Lord and as our Master.
Romans 14:7-9 For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. (8) For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. (9) For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
He is the Lord of the dead and the living.
He is living so that all should find life in Him. Those who are dead (dead in sin) might come back to life in Christ and those of us who are living (living in Christ) will continue to grow in our life in Christ and not go back to the dead weights that weigh us down.
The Lord was inviting Mary to know Him as the living Lord, no more as the Teacher. This is the same invitation that the Lord is giving to each of us. This experience with Jesus as the living Lord is an all-encompassing experience. We are to be submitted to the living Lord.
When Mary knew Jesus as the living Lord, she was sent out on an assignment. This is the message for us too. As we know Him as the living Lord, we are under His assignment, here on earth.
Thought to ponder
Knowing Jesus as the living Lord and His assignment to us to reconcile all things to Christ, are inseparable.