Something “dawned” on me (or maybe I read it in a commentary somewhere) … Not a single MAN came to the empty tomb early Resurrection Morning! Only women! Yet of the named women who were early at the sepulcher … Mary of Bethany … was not one of them! That’s strange, Bethany being so close to Jerusalem, less than two miles. Then it occurred to me WHY Mary of Bethany did not come, or a possible reason anyway. SHE HAD ALREADY (BEFORE ANYONE ELSE) ANOINTED JESUS’ BODY FOR BURIAL! Read John 12:7 here for proof … “Then said Jesus, Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this.”
Wow!
I could have easily judged this Mary for having little faith, when in reality she had much faith! The point of all this … Jesus’ disciples (who were so “sure” in verse 30), were not sure at all Easter Sunday morning!
Also in our Text (verses 29-30) the Disciples talked about “God.” While Jesus talked about the “Father!” The latter Name is far more intimate than the former! How do YOU know Him? Growing faith eventually recognizes Him as “Our Father Which art in Heaven!”
Now let me say something good about the disciples, something positive. They did not absorb ALL of what Jesus said in that Upper Room, but they did get SOME of it!
And so it is with us!
These men were impacted by the very “fragrance” of Jesus’ Presence, Jesus’ Teaching, and Jesus’ Love for them and for the world! It reminds me of Job 14:8-9, the POWER of a sweet odor, of a “scent!” This is a Paragraph were an old, dead tree trunk is being discussed! “Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; yet through the SCENT OF WATER it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.”
Paul once said our very lives (and our testimonies) are “savors” (smells, aromas) of sweetness wherever we go! “For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 2:15
Someone likened PRAYER to …
Noah’s dove returning with an olive branch in its mouth!
Moses’ rod bringing forth water!
Samson’s jawbone defeating the enemy!
David’s harp expelling evil spirits!
A Key that unlocks Heven’s treasures!
Word pictures, a powerful way to convey truth, God’s Truth!
I invite you to watch the whole class now …
— Dr. Mike Bagwell
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