"Seek Him, Search For Him, Find Him!"

  On the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.
  Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him."
  Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb.  So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in.
  Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself.
  Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.
  Then the disciples went away again to their own homes.
  But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
  Then they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I  do not know where they have laid Him."
  Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus.
  Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" She supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, "Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away."
  Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to Him, "Rabboni!" (Which is to say, Teacher).
  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.'"
  Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.  John 20:1-18
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I know that this is a lot of scripture to type out but I wanted you to see what He showed me as I read today. I wish I could write it for the way that Joy does so well, telling the story from Mary's perspective and that you could feel and experience her desperation, her need to be where He is. But instead you'll have to make due with me and my telling of today's message.

It starts with Mary. It starts with Mary's heart to seek Him out first thing. Can you picture her? It says that she 'came to the tomb early, while it was still dark,' It wasn't even daylight and and she was on the road to the tomb. Her heart broken because of the previous days events. Her grief moving her forward step by step, needing to be close. All the while, remembering. Remembering each moment. Each memory playing over and over in her mind. She can still hear His cry, "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken Me?" and she weeps; her heart broken at the loss of  the one she loved; the one who loved her.

It says that saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb and she immediately runs to tell the disciples. "They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him." She says the same thing to the angels later in the account and to Jesus. She thinks He is the gardener and she pleads with Him to tell her where He is. Her need to seek Him out and to know where she can find Him is the point of today's message. Her need to seek Him out, to be where He is motivates her to head to the tomb while its still dark. When she gets there and discovers Him gone she runs to the disciples to tell them not just that He is missing but that she doesn't know where to find Him.

Its tells us that the disciples run to the tomb to see for themselves. After they enter and discover the cloths folded in a pile and that the cloth wrapped around His head was folded and in another place, they left. It says, 'Then the disciples went away again to their own homes.' But the thing is Mary didn't. It says that she stayed right there! She didn't go home. She didn't leave! She had a need  to seek and to find; to know where He was. She wasn't willing to leave without knowing where she could find Him. ...But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. Then they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him."

It says that she saw two angels and when they spoke and asked her "Why are you weeping?" She didn't say because Jesus, her Savior, her Lord was dead. She said, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him." She was weeping because she didn't know where to find Him! She needed to know where He was. She saw two angels. She talked to angels. And still her only focus wasn't the angels or the fact that Jesus was dead but that she didn't know where to find Him.

I was reading this account today and verses 10 and 11 hit me ..disciples went home and Mary stayed. As that fact hit home this verse came to mind. ...For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:11-13  Jesus knew the plan. It said in verse 9 ...For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. They hadn't understood yet what "The plan" was for the future, but Jesus knew. Jesus Himself asked Mary, "Whom are you seeking?" She was seeking after Him. She needed to know where she could find Him and because she sought hard after Him she did just that!

She sought Him out first thing while it was still dark. She sought Him even after everyone had gone home. She sought Him in her response to angels and her seeking continued even before Jesus Himself when she didn't recognize Him. She continued to seek and search because her one need was to know where she could find Him. The thing is ... because she continued to seek and search she did find Him!

And the best news of all is she gets the thing that she seeks to know, where she can find. He tells her, "Go to My brethren and say to them, 'I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.'"  Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.

Not only does she get to know, but she gets to be the one to tell everyone else, "He can be found!" He is with the Father!