Welcome to the Defender Bible Study, a weekly encouragement to equip the body of Christ through the study of scripture and prayer to manifest the gospel to orphans and vulnerable children around the world. This podcast is ministry of Lifeline Children's Services where we believe that defending the fatherless begins by being rooted in God's word.

Good morning. It is Monday, August 11, and this is Blake Wilson, Lifeline's vice president of operations. We're gonna continue this study in the book of John, John chapter 20. This was such a great passage today that we get to study and it's the empty tomb. It is the resurrection of our Lord and savior.

So what a great way to start off our week is starting it off with the hope that we have through the resurrection of Jesus. We're gonna look at this through the eyes of John. We'll also look back at Mark and Matthew and, their recount of the resurrection of Jesus. But looking at John 21 through 18, and he really focuses in on Mary's response and how Mary interpreted the empty tomb. And I think it's so refreshing to see the depth of the love that she had for her savior in these 18 verses of just how heartbroken and grief filled she was when she realized the tomb was emptying because she was uncertain of where the body had went.

But then at the end, we see a dialogue and a conversation with our risen savior. So we go from grief to hope in these 18 verses. But in the very first verse in John 20 verse one, it says early on the first day of the week while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and she saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So remember, Jesus died and then it led right into Sabbath. So nothing could happen on Sabbath.

And man, you talk about the day of silence. It was already a day of rest. It was already a day of reflection. But think about sitting in the stillness of that day after the happenings of that Friday, of the crucifixion of Jesus, the tearing of the veil, that earthquake, all of the things that had happened, and then not being able to do, being able to just or or being forced in a sense to just sit still and reflect. Man, so many unanswered questions.

But Mary's response was as soon as she could, early on that next day, she was going to preserve the body. And we know that through reading the other recounts of this in Mark, Matthew, but Mark 16, he says this, when the Sabbath was over, so we know that Mary was waiting for the Sabbath to be ever, Mary Magdalene, Mary mother of James and Siloam brought spices so they might go and anoint the body of Jesus. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and ask each other, who will roll the stone away from the elders of the tomb? So you can see the conversation according to Mark was little expectation. They were walking to the tomb, having a conversation about who was going to move the stone.

Like, and I don't know, haven't I haven't seen it. I can tell you from, of course, what you see on movies and what you study about the size of a stone. But I would say it'd be hard pressed for anybody to move that, for one person to be able to move that. But they're having this conversation, who's gonna roll the stone away? So their expectation is that they're gonna go and they're gonna see a corpse and that they're gonna anoint the body, with spices.

So John, from John's, account of this story, Mary went to the tomb and she saw that the stone has been removed from the entrance. So she came running. So her response was to run. Flight, fight, or freeze. Right?

So she ran. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one who Jesus loved said and said, they have taken the Lord out of the tomb and we don't know where they have put him. So this season, grave robbery was was very common. So her first instinct based on the culture and the environment around her was that not only had Jesus been crucified and there were so many unanswered questions, it was now somebody has stolen the body. So she goes to Simon, Simon Peter, and she goes to John, who is he's writing about himself, so the one Jesus loved.

And she tells them they've taken taken the Lord out of the tomb and we don't know where they've put him. So she's in a moment of panic. Look at Peter and John's response. So Peter and the other disciple John started to the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter.

So John's given himself props here as a fast runner. He ran and he reached the tomb first. He bent over and he looked in at the strips of linen lying there, but he didn't go in. So by Jewish tradition, you couldn't be around a dead body or you yourself would be deemed unclean. So he didn't go in, he just kind of bends down, he peaks in and he sees the linen cloths there.

And I think from that moment, he sees the linen cloths, he knows that it wasn't a grave robbery, right? Nothing was really ransacked, but he just sees the grave close there. I think there's another, maybe it's Matthew where they talk about it folded, folded there where Jesus once was lying. But the strips of linen were there, but he didn't go in. So look at the difference between John, who'd been over and looked, we didn't go in, to Peter in verse number six, then Simon Peter came along.

So Simon Simon Peter finally caught up. He got to the tomb and it says, and went straight into the tomb. He went straight in. I think it's so true with with Peter's disposition of just the rebel, I'm not scared of anything. Let's just go for it.

He didn't care. He just ran straight into the tomb to see what was going on. He saw the strips of linen lying there as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus' head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. So this linen cloth was there separate.

It's almost as if somebody neatly left the tomb. So it was very evident that it wasn't a robbery because of the way the cloth and the linens were still there. So finally, the other disciple who had reached the tomb first went inside. So John sees that Peter went inside, so it was kinda like, okay, I I can do this now. So Peter John Peter went in, then John goes in.

He saw and he believed. So they still did not understand in verse nine from scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead. They were still confused. And I think we have the benefit of Paul's writings in first Corinthians to a detailed account of the resurrection and why and the you know, we have more context. In in the moment, the disciples, John and Peter, I'm sure we're still so confused.

I mean, you can even read from the gospels and even what we've studied earlier in John. There's a lot of questions like, why does this happen? What do you mean? When you say this Jesus, what are you truly talking about? Why do you speak in in language that we can't understand?

Like, there was so much confusion. So Jesus, when he was finally crucified and then he ultimately rose from the dead, I think this was the moment where it says to John, they'd in verse number nine, they still do not understand from scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead. You think of his mind, all the things that were going through his mind and trying to figure out and process what was going on. He was still confused of what was going on there and where Jesus where Jesus was. And then verse number 10, very anticlimactic, then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

So they left and they went they went back. So I don't know the timing of all this, how long they stayed, what it what it looked like, but they realized that Jesus was no longer in the tomb. The linens and the grave clothes were, but they left. And then we see Mary staying behind in verse 11. So she was the first one there and now she's still there.

She's still not leaving. It just again shows a deep devotion and love that she had for her savior. And it says, now Mary stood outside the tomb crying and as she wept, she bent over to look inside the tomb. So now Mary's looking in and she saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus's body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. And they asked her, woman, why are you crying?

They've taken my Lord away, she said, and I don't know where they have put him. So she stays behind and she just starts this conversation with these angels. Like, she was so distraught. I don't even think she probably realized that she was talking to him, but she has this conversation with these angels. They asked her a question and she lets them know why.

And then she turns around. So she is face to face with angels having a conversation. She turns around and listen at this. She turned around and she saw Jesus and he was standing there. But she did not realize that it was him.

She did not realize that it was Jesus. What emotion, you know, had all of the things that were happening in this moment of seeing her savior face to face, but she was so overrun with grief that she didn't know. She was so distraught, she didn't realize who she was talking to. And he responds, he asked her the same question the angels ask her, woman, why are you crying? Who is it that you're looking for?

So immediate comfort. How can I help you? Thinking he was a gardener, she said, sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him so I can get him. And Jesus said to her, Mary. She turned toward him and cried out, in Aramaic, teacher.

So with one word and the calling of her name, this whole story shifts because she realizes at that moment that Jesus had resurrected, that her savior was alive. She went from grief filled, distraught uncertainty to excitement, to anticipation, to hope, to encouragement at that moment when he called her name. So there's so much power when Jesus speaks, your name. He said one word and the story shifted. You know, I looked at I did some research just on supporting studies of using somebody's name and how that that gets your attention.

And and a couple points that I wanted to look at, of course, this is maybe a bad illustration when you look at the savior, our Lord and savior calling calling our name. But I think, scientifically, I wanna point out a couple of things about how using somebody's name can really shift the conversation. I think the first thing that you see is that it boosts attention and engagement. It helps refocus your attention and it allows you to be more receptive to what is being communicated. So Jesus says her name Mary and the whole conversation shifts and she herself refocuses because she realizes who he is.

It also enhances memory and perception. It sparks some brain activity that improves your perception, your attention, your memory. So it engages the recipient because they're able to know that the person they're on the conversation with knows who they are. So it triggers emotional and identity responses. So when somebody uses your name in a conversation, it activates regions of the brain associated with self awareness, social cognition, and it creates emotional resonance.

So it it guides you and it kinda brings you in when you hear your name, to where you're more engaged and aware of what is being communicated. I think this one was was fascinating. It says, it builds connection and trust. Using someone's name signals that they are seen and valued and fosters a sense of belonging and trust. Jesus valued Mary.

He could have just said woman, but he chose to call her by name. And he said, Mary. He got down in her face, said her name, and the whole whole thing changes. Right? So he calls her by name and she knew it was him.

She knew his voice. And listen at her response in verse 17. She embraces him. All says, it's funny, the transition. Look, it goes from verse 16, Jesus said to her, Mary.

And she turned out and she cried to him and she said, teacher. And then in verse 17, next thing you know, it's a full embrace. Jesus said, do not hold on to me for I have not yet ascended to the father. Go instead and tell my brothers, I'm ascending to my father and your father and to my God and to your God. So he gives her instruction.

He says, stop holding on to me. I'm going to ascend into heaven and you need to go tell the other disciples of what is to come. So there's this emotional embrace followed by a direct commission and and instruction to, the disciples. So like I wanna look at Matthew 28, which is another version of this, the same narrative. This is Matthew chapter 28, verses eight through 10.

And it says, so the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy. So Matthew's version actually talks about all three women running to the tomb, but it says, so the women hurried away yet filled with joy and they ran to tell the disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. Greetings, he said. They came to him and they clasped his feet and worshiped him.

And then Jesus said to him, do not be afraid, go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, there they will see me. So you can see the version of Matthew where he is talking in more detail of the conversation and shows you the picture, the full picture of all of these women that they didn't leave Mary behind. Mary was there, with the other Mary and Salom and they clasped Jesus' feet, began to worship him. And then it says they he gives further instruction, more detail. He doesn't just say go and tell them, he tells them where to go.

So he says go to Galilee and there they will see me. And then it closes out. We're gonna stop here in verse number 18 today but it says, Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news. I have seen the Lord. And she told them that he had said these things to her.

So she goes and she does. Jesus follows the instruction of Jesus. So she follows the instruction. She tells the disciples, I've seen the Lord and this is what he has told me, which is ultimately right, go to Galilee and there you will see him too. Can you imagine how quickly they went to Galilee, to see their savior after those instructions?

So we're gonna pick up next week looking at verse number 19 and the rest of that chapter where Jesus appears to his disciples. So you see them in the locked room, they're kind of fearful what in the world's happening. You see Jesus kind of appear to them and walk walk through the wall. So a whole another side of the story and continuation of this next week that we're gonna look at. But a few application points I wanna leave us with today as we close out.

And I think the first one that's very obvious as you read these first 18 verses, it's a gun meets us in our grief. You know, Mary Magdalene was weeping outside the tomb. She was overwhelmed with sorrow, she was confused. But yet Jesus met her personally in that moment of just despair and pain. He calls her by name.

So God meets us in our grief, so God isn't distant in our grief, but yet he draws near, even when we don't recognize him. I think that's so interesting too, right? Mary didn't recognize Jesus but he's still there. And sometimes we can be so overcome with grief and discouragement that we don't understand and see that Jesus is right there with us. So this could have this should encourage us to bring our sorrow, our confusion, our questions to him and trusting that he cares deeply about us.

So God meets us in our grief. Secondly, he knows us by name. Mary didn't recognize Jesus until he called her by name. So you can see this emotional response and confusion for the first 16 verses and then Jesus calls her by name and the whole story shifts for the last two or three that we read today. So that recognition of Jesus was transformational.

Like it changed everything. She was the first one to see our risen savior. So Jesus, yes, he knew Mary, but he knows us as well. Jesus knows us in an intimate way. So when we feel overcome with grief or we feel lost or we feel unseen, we need to remember that he knows our name.

We are invited to listen to his voice and respond to his instruction. So he knows us by name, but we have to realize that he is there. We have to see him and know that he is right there with us. So we can't be overcome by our grief, but we have to understand that Jesus is with us and he knows us personally, he knows us by name. And I think lastly, we're sent to share the good news.

Jesus gave instruction to Mary of a commission right as he had this very first interaction with someone after he had risen. So he revealed himself to Mary and then Jesus commissions her to go and tell the disciples. So she is the first witness of the resurrection, but she is given a task and that is to go and tell the disciples that he has risen and to where they need to go to meet him. So I think just like Mary, we're called to share the hope of the resurrection. We are called no matter if we feel equipped or not, no matter what our past, her background, whatever we feel equipped or not equipped to do, Jesus has entrusted you as a believer to share the message of the gospel of good news, of new life.

And this is the challenge for us as we start this week, is to live as a bold witness to God. Live as a bold witness. You are filled with the Holy Spirit. We know how the story ends, right? We gotta remember these disciples didn't have the gospels.

Jesus has yet to ascend. This is a first interaction with Mary. You're gonna see next week his first interaction with the disciples in forty days before he ascends into heaven. But we are we are called to share the good news of his his resurrection and the hope and the new life that we have in him. So let's walk into this week with that in mind as we serve him.

So, we're gonna transition today, as we close out and just praying specifically, with our country focus this week is going to be the country of Romania. So as we close, we're just gonna pray for our staff there. I know there was some recent flooding that happened also in Northern Romania and there was a lot of people displaced from their homes and our team has been assisting in that. Our in country partners have been assisting in that. So let's just pray for those people that have been displaced and pray that the Lord gives them just that physical care that they need and the endurance for our team to serve them well.

So let's close out our time in prayer and just pray for the Lord's blessing on a new week. God, thank you for today. We thank you for this week. We thank you for the hope of the gospel. We thank you for, Lord, just your power, to defeat death.

So Lord, as we have studied that this morning and we have looked at your death and we have looked at your resurrection and Lord the intimacy of how you know your sheep. God, we pray that in that season that we may not be overcome with grief, but God we may be aware that you know us intimately, God that you know our name, and Lord you have called us to share the hope of the gospel and the good news with those around us. So God as we even look at the country of Romania and those partners there that are hurting, that have been displaced from flooding, where we've seen that here in our own country, in Texas as well. So Lord, I pray for our own country, our own nation, as well as globally, those that have been impacted by natural disaster. Lord that the church just becomes your hands and feet.

Lord that they fulfill that commission to share your love and your hope with those around them. So in the midst of a trial and a tragedy, God the believers just be your hands and feet. And Lord, through a tough circumstance, may we see, and loss, may we see people come to know you as a clear understanding of what you have done for them and the hope of the gospel that is available should they receive it. So Lord, I just pray for healing, Lord I pray for hopefulness, And Lord, I just pray that in moments of grief, that we can know you know us by our name. And Lord, you have a you have a plan and a will for our lives.

Lord, and may we embrace that. So God, we love you. We thank you for another week and we ask that, your gospel be at the front of our lips and our minds as we interact with those around us. We ask these things in your name. Amen.

Thanks again for joining us for the Defender Bible Study. If you enjoy making this a part of your weekly routine, we'd love for you to take a moment to subscribe, rate, and review the Defender Bible Study to make it easier for more people to find. For more resources and information on how you and your church can partner with Lifeline, please visit us at lifelinechild.org. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter by searching for Lifeline Child. You can email us directly at infolifelinechild dot org.

We look forward to seeing you again next week for the Defender Bible Study.