“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.'” John 20:11-13

Where’s Jesus?

Walk His Way Revisited

Two days ago, I couldn’t find Jesus.  In the middle of the trials of the day, I could not figure out why He was not there, in the flesh, where I expected Him to be. I felt like He had left me alone, and that all hope was gone. So on top of feeling brokenhearted and overwhelmed, I was also confused, because hadn’t He said that He would “never leave…nor forsake…” me? First in Deuteronomy 31:6, then echoed in Hebrews 13:5? Hadn’t it also been prophesied about Him that He would “…not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle…” (Isaiah 42:3)? My very soul was the weakest reed, my sense of hope was a candle that I believed had actually been snuffed out. But even though I could not see Jesus, I was still looking for Him. “Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus” (John 20:14).

Oh women, we are so tender, aren’t we? God made us that way, and I believe He loves that about us. But sometimes, our emotions get in the way of logic. We know in our minds that Jesus won’t leave, but we can sure feel all alone. Is it possible that just like Mary, I am simply unable to recognize Jesus in the midst of my grief?

I wondered when I read this passage, didn’t it seem strange to Mary that two “men” in white were just…sitting there, in the tomb, talking to her? Who did she think they were?

It took me time to process, but Jesus suddenly did become real to me that day. He opened the eyes of my understanding to see things I had not considered.

I want to encourage you that God’s promises are still true, even when they don’t feel true. Sometimes we have to die to what we expect Jesus to look like in order to see Him for who He is. “Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ She turned toward Him and cried out in Aramaic, ‘Rabboni!’” (John 20:16).

Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for coming back to life after three days in the grave. Because you are alive, we know that we are never alone or without hope, even in the deepest tombs of despair. Your Word tells us that You will never leave us, so if we are having trouble seeing You, please show us what You look like. Amen.