I Have Seen the Lord

This episode of All In with Pastor Jordan Easley has been made possible by the generous support of viewers like you. Welcome to All In with Pastor Jordan Easley. Today's message is about to begin, and we invite you to prepare your heart and mind to hear an inspiring message from God's Word. We hope and pray for God to speak to you today as you seek to live your life all in for Jesus Christ. And now from First Baptist Church in Cleveland, Tennessee, here's Pastor Jordan Easley. You know, I like to begin this message by telling you a story that I've heard many times over the years, a story about a guy named Walter Dixon. I don't know if you heard about this, but Walter Dixon was a soldier in the Korean War. And in the midst of the battle, he was captured in combat, and after a long time, I'm talking about many months as a prisoner of war, he was presumed to be dead. So the military sent a letter to his family and let them know that he was officially considered to be killed in action. Well, you can imagine what that must have been like to be the family receiving that news. There was heartbreak in every single person that knew him and loved him. These people began mourning and grieving the loss of their friend Walter, and they started thinking about, you know,

life is never gonna be the same without him. You know, they had a funeral service for Walter, and people came near and far to celebrate his life and legacy and also thank him for his service. But then as the story is told, one day, two years after Walter's funeral, there was a knock on the door. And when the family opened that door, there he stood, alive. Well, as you can imagine, in that encounter, there was weeping once again, but this time they weren't crying sad tears, they were crying very happy tears. The son they thought was dead and gone had now returned, and nothing would ever be the same again because their son was alive. Man, when I first heard that story, I thought to myself, you know, that, my friends, is the story of Easter. I mean, think about what we're talking about today. The world thought at one point in history that Jesus was dead and gone. The hope for mankind was bloody and beaten. He had been crucified on a cross and buried in a borrowed tomb. But the Bible says on the third day, there was a knock on the door of death. And you know what happened on that day? Jesus walked out of the tomb. Jesus walked out of the tomb, alive forevermore,

and nothing has ever been the same since. That's why we're here today, right? We're celebrating the fact that Jesus is alive, amen? Hey, that one moment in history completely changed the trajectory of all of our eternal destinies if we are in Christ. And my prayer is that if you are not currently in Christ, if you're not a part of the family of God, that today would be the day of salvation for you. Today, we're continuing our sermon series that we're calling Encounters with Jesus. And today, we're going to fast forward just a little bit, and we're gonna see the very first person that Jesus appeared to after rising from the dead. Now, you know who that is, right? It wasn't Peter, it wasn't John, it wasn't the Pharisees, it wasn't even Pilate. It was a woman named Mary Magdalene, a woman who was once bound by demons, was chosen by God to become the very first witness of the resurrection. And today, we're gonna read about her encounter with Christ from John chapter 20. And I hope you have your Bible. If you do, join me in John chapter 20. I also wanna encourage you to take notes as we walk through this text today, and to write down the things that the Lord prompts you to write down, things that apply to your life.

And let me just go ahead and let you know, the reason that we're talking about this encounter is because I believe Mary's encounter with Jesus looks a lot like our encounters with Jesus. And I think we can learn a lot from her story. And we're gonna do that today from God's word. But before we get to that text, I want us to back up just a little bit with today being Easter. And I want us to kind of have an on-ramp looking at the timeline leading up to this point in the story. So let's go from Sunday all the way back to Thursday, Thursday night, in a place called the upper room. You know, the Bible tells us in the upper room, that was the place where Jesus shared the Passover meal with his disciples, a meal that we now call the Last Supper. Jesus broke bread at that supper, and he told them, this is my body given for you. And then he took the cup, and he took that cup saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood. After that meal, they left the upper room and they made their way to the Mount of Olives, right through the valley. on top of the hill and scripture says they sang hymns together as they traveled but beneath the melody in the back of their minds there was a heaviness because they could sense that something was coming in the Garden of Gethsemane that moment finally arrived Jesus was betrayed by Judas falsely

accused arrested by the Roman soldiers and he was led away like a common criminal he was then taken to the house of Caiaphas Caiaphas was the high priest at the time of Christ and it was at that house the Bible tells us that Jesus was mocked he was beaten and then he was thrown into a deep dark pit cold beneath the earth and it was in that isolated pit where Jesus spent his final night on planet earth prior to the crucifixion you know at dawn he was dragged before Pontius Pilate at his judgment hall and at the time of the decision the crowd that day chose to release an evil man named Barabbas instead of Jesus so they released a criminal and they sent Jesus to the scourging floor that floor was the place where Jesus was beaten where he was flogged he was beaten to the point where Isaiah's prophecy rang true see 700 years before that day Isaiah had prophesied about the coming Messiah and Isaiah said he was marred beyond human likeness and that was true of our Savior his his back was torn and his body was broken he was then handed a Roman cross he carried that cross throughout the streets of Jerusalem the path is known as the Via Della Rosa the way of suffering and Jesus traveled that road all the way outside the city gates to the place called Golgotha the place of the skull and it was there that they nailed Jesus to the cross they hung him between two criminals they crowned him with thorns and they hung a sign above his head that said this is Jesus King of the Jews that wasn't a title of honor it was a final act of mockery the crucifixion of Jesus Christ was designed not just to torture Jesus remember it was also designed to humiliate him and that's exactly what Jesus experienced on the cross he hung there bleeding and naked exposed in suffering and still the Bible tells us he endured at all completely innocent entirely obedient and totally surrendered in the final moments of his life Jesus cried out the word to Telestai meaning it is finished and then the Son of God breathed his very last breath that took place on Friday his body was then taken down from the cross and laid in a borrowed tomb in a nearby garden and the Bible says on Saturday there was silence but that's not the end of the story and you know that

because that's why you're here today because scripture says on Easter Sunday morning as the Sun broke over the horizon the ground shook and the Bible says the stone was rolled away can you imagine that in your mind today what that must have been like as the tomb was empty and Jesus walked out of that thing alive and well man Jesus is alive he's been alive and he will always be alive and because he's alive we have hope today and as Jesus walked out of that tomb alive the first person he let know about that hope was a lady named Mary and today we're going to see her encounter with Jesus we're gonna see what we can learn from that John chapter 20 beginning in verse 11 but Mary stood outside the tomb crying she was crying she stooped to look into the tomb she saw two angels in white sitting where Jesus his body had been lying one at the head and the other at the feet and they said to her woman why are you crying because they've taken away my Lord she told them and I don't know where they put him having said this she turned around and saw Jesus standing there but she didn't know it was Jesus woman Jesus said to her why are you crying who is it that you're seeking supposing he was the gardener she replied sir if you've carried him away tell me where you've put him and I will take him away and Jesus said to her Mary turning around she said to him in Aramaic rabbi which means teacher she saw Jesus that day and Jesus saw her today as we study God's Word I want to point out Three simple things that we can take away from Mary's encounter with Jesus, things that I believe will encourage you today, things that I believe will challenge you today. And we're gonna be reminded of the miracle of Easter this weekend, but I want you to put yourself inside the story and imagine what it must have been like to come face to face with the Christ. When Mary came face to face with Jesus

in the garden that day, the very first thing we pick up on in the story is her desperation. Did you notice that? Her desperation. The Bible tells us that Mary was standing outside the tomb and she was doing what? She was crying. But I wanna make sure you have an accurate picture of what this scene was like. You see, in the Greek, that word crying is actually the word kleo, which literally means loud wailing. Loud wailing. So you can imagine what that must have been like. This wasn't just a woman that was shedding a tear and having a quiet, sad moment in a garden. No, the Bible tells us that this is a woman experiencing full body grief. She is grieving loudly, uncontrollably, and rightfully so. Listen, this lady had followed Jesus for years. She experienced life change through Christ. She believed that he was the Messiah, her Savior, and now she's looking for his body, and guess what? He's gone. That was a big deal in those days. You see, in the first century Jewish culture, a proper burial wasn't just a tradition.

It was a sacred experience. And so for the body to be missing in this moment would also have been a massive disgrace, a final blow to an already broken heart. But that's where she was. She was brokenhearted. She was wailing loudly. She was devastated because her Savior was gone. Hey, may I ask you a personal question today? Have you ever walked through a season in life where you're absolutely brokenhearted? I really want you to think about this. I know this isn't a typical Easter message, but I just can't help but think about what this experience must have been like. The Bible shows this woman brokenhearted. She is grieving loudly. She is wailing at the top of her lungs because she's absolutely devastated. And yet this is the moment that moves me so much in the story, I see Mary weeping uncontrollably, and yet I also see that Jesus is standing right behind her the whole time. Now, I don't know who needs to hear this today, but I believe this is a message for somebody, that Jesus is standing right behind you even in your time of grieving. Those times when you're brokenhearted, those times when you're sad, those times when you're desperate,

you're desperate that Jesus is there. He sees us in our tears. Hey, what a great reminder for us today. You didn't wake up this morning wanting to cry. You don't want to go through seasons of grieving or sadness, but the truth is sometimes our most desperate moments become doorways to divine encounters. Sometimes Jesus takes those pit moments and he brings us up to the foundation of who he is, and he reminds us even when you're sad and when you're grieving and when you're praying and when you're desperate, you're not alone. Like when tears fall to the ground, not a single tear has been shed that Jesus is unaware of, that he meets you at your point of need and he walks with you and shepherds you and guides you. That's who Jesus is, and that's what Jesus does. While Mary was in the garden grieving, Jesus was near. Even when she didn't know who he was, guess what? He was right there beside her. And in the same way, I just want somebody to hear this today. When you are in that season, when you are in your garden of sorrow, that Jesus is right there with you. He'll never leave you or forsake you. And so don't mistake your savior for a stranger. Don't be like Mary and think he's a gardener. He's not, he's God, and he's with you today. The very first thing I see in this encounter

is her desperation. She was desperate and she had King Jesus right behind her. But not only do we see her desperation, secondly, I want to point out her discovery. Her discovery. It's interesting that when they began this conversation, Jesus is speaking to Mary and Mary has no idea who he is. Did you pick up on that? He's like, woman, why are you crying? And she's like, listen, gardener, leave me alone, right? I mean, it's like this moment where she's talking to Jesus, but she has no idea who he is. You're like, how could that even happen? They had a really good relationship. She had followed him for years. She knew everything about Jesus at that point in her story, and yet her eyeballs are locking with his eyeballs and she has no clue that it's him. Well, that was true until Jesus spoke one word. He said, woman, first, and she's like, don't know you. But then he said, Mary. And in that moment, her eyes were open. And she recognized who it was that was speaking to her. She recognized this is Jesus, the one who has loved me and delivered me and changed my life and provided for me. When Jesus called Mary by name, notice this, that one word changed everything. Hey, as Jesus called you by name, John chapter 10, verse 27, Jesus said this,

"'My sheep hear my voice, "'and I know them and they follow me. "'I give them eternal life and they will never perish. "'No one will snatch them out of my hands.'" He's talking about his sheep. He's talking about his kids. And that same thing happened in the garden that day. Not only did Jesus see Mary, get this, Jesus knew her. And you know what that ought to tell you today? That Jesus not only sees you, but Jesus knows you. He knows your name. Is that not mind-blowing to you right now? That the king of the universe knows every hair on your head, that he knows everything about you and he still loves you? That he knows your past and he still calls you forward? That he knows your pain and he still offers you peace? He knows where you've been, hello, everything about where you've been. And yet he also knows who you can become if you'll just trust him and follow him and believe in him. Is it not mind-blowing that the son of God gave his life for you? That still, that still just blows my mind. That he died for me. He died for you. And some of you have heard that a long time, but you've never really fully embraced what that means for you personally. Today, I believe Jesus is calling some of you by name. Not generically, but personally.

And like Mary, he is calling you to respond to him. He's calling you to pursue him. And once he changes your life, he's calling you to testify about your experience with him. We see her desperation in the beginning. We see her discovery secondary. But lastly, I want you to see her declaration. We see Mary's declaration in the garden that day. Let's keep reading, verse 16. Jesus said to her, Mary, turning around, she said to him in Aramaic, rabbi, which means teacher. She knew him in that moment. And Jesus said, don't cling to me since I have not yet ascended to the father, but go to my brothers and tell them that I am ascending to my father and to your father, to my God and to your God. Hey, get this. When Mary realized who Jesus was, what was the very first thing she did? Man, I believe it was like a bear hug. It was like a, oh, Jesus, right? I mean, hey, what would you do if Jesus was standing in front of you? And the veil was lifted. And he's like, yeah, I'm Jesus. What would you do? I would do the same thing. I'm like, ah, Jesus, I mean, come on, man.

I'm locking up. She locked up with Jesus. But notice what Jesus says to her in this moment. He said, don't cling to me, but go, but go. I know you want to have this moment and you want this, but you have a job to do. And what did she do? Hey, check this out. She went, she went, she obeyed the Lord. And notice that when she went, she didn't have a sermon prepared. She didn't go to seminary first and then go tell some people about the Lord. She didn't have a theology degree, but you know what she did have? She had a testimony. She had a testimony. You ever feel unqualified? Like God can't use me, God can't speak through me, God can't do this or that. Yes, he can. If you have a testimony, he can. That testimony is all you need. You need the power of God and a testimony of you meeting God. And guess what? You can be used by God. That's all she had was a testimony. And you know what her testimony was? It wasn't long and drawn out.

It was five simple words. I have seen the Lord. I've seen him. Look at verse 18. Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, I have seen the Lord. And she told them what he had said to her. You know, there are a lot of things about this story that are very intriguing to me, but one is the fact that in that day and in that culture, did you realize that women weren't even allowed to testify in court? Did you know that? Like if a woman tried to testify about something, her voice wasn't even considered to be valid evidence. It wasn't even considered to be reliable if she was in a room full of men. And yet what does Jesus do in this story? Remember, he can do anything he wants. What does he do? He chooses this woman named Mary to be the mouthpiece of the gospel. He sent this woman to testify with her voice about the resurrection. the erection of Jesus Christ. And I'm looking at this part of the story and thinking, man, what a beautiful picture of the upside down kingdom of God. What a beautiful picture. This is who Jesus is.

This is what Jesus does. Jesus gives a voice to the voiceless. Jesus is the one who took a bunch of teenage kids, made them disciples and allowed them to change the world. Jesus is the one who gives a mission to the broken and includes jacked up people like us and the mission of God in building the kingdom of God. Think about this. It's the upside down kingdom of God and Jesus chooses this woman. He says, don't cling to me, but I want you to use your voice to testify to the other people what you have seen today. And you know what? She did it. She obeyed the Lord. She told them, I have seen the Lord. And what a statement and what a phrase. In that day, this was a legal phrase that was commonly used in the court system. And it was a phrase that was used when someone was testifying under oath, testifying that they had been a firsthand witness to something else. They had personally experienced something and therefore they use this phrase to communicate. I was there. I experienced it. I witnessed it myself. Hey, get this.

You can't testify about something that you've never experienced personally. And Mary right here was saying, I've personally experienced him. I've encountered him. I know you guys were there when they beat him and when they hung him on the cross and when they stuck that spear in his side. I know that they declared him dead. I know they wrapped his body and they put him in the tomb. I know all of us know that. I know all of us experienced he was dead, but I'm just here to tell you, I have personally seen the Lord and he is alive today. She said, I can tell you from firsthand experience, Jesus changed my life. Listen, when Jesus changes your life, you cannot keep that to yourself. When Mary saw Jesus, she shared Jesus. She said, I personally have seen the Lord. Hey, may I ask you a personal question today? Can you say the same thing? Have you personally seen the Lord? I'm not asking if you know facts about him or if you show up from time to time, or I'm not saying that you've sung songs about him or walked an aisle or been dunked in some water. I'm not saying any of that. I'm saying, have you personally experienced Jesus in a way where he has completely transformed you

from the inside out? Where you are a new creation in Christ, you have died to your old self, you have been born again through him. You're a new creation never to be the same again. Can you say that personally? Have you met him and seen him and responded to him and followed him? Have you surrendered your life to him? Do you love him? Have you made him your Lord? If not, you need to know, he's calling you by name today and he wants you to respond to him by faith. Listen, only Jesus saves. You can try to save yourself in a number of ways, but I'm just telling you, you can't save yourself. The Bible tells us that only Jesus forgives sin. Only Jesus can give you hope for the future. Only Jesus can solidify your place to heaven. Only Jesus died to take your place and lives in this moment to set you free. Only Jesus can give you a fresh start and give you the direction you need for the future. Only Jesus can make you the mom or dad that you're supposed to be. Only Jesus can restore that relationship that's broken. Only Jesus can give you hope for the future and take a broken heart and make it whole. Only Jesus can change your life.

Do you need your life to change? Jesus said, I'm ready and I'm willing. God sent his one and only son for sinners like us so that we could be saved. He extends the gift of salvation with his God-sized arms and he tells us all you have to do is receive the gift. May I ask you a question? Will you receive the gift today? You know, Jesus told Mary, take this to the disciples and let them know I have seen the Lord. And she told the disciples, people who already knew Jesus, she said, why would the message go to the disciples first? I believe it was to remind us that Jesus is alive. He is who he says he is. And we can have confidence today that the gospel is real. It is powerful. It is active. It is able to do what Jesus says it will do. We need that reminder as believers, don't we? But I also believe that when she took this message to the believers, there were people Hadn't yet believed, who also heard this message, they heard this man who is dead is now alive. He claims to be the son of God and he is the son of God. And as them, as they learn that message, as they believe that truth, people began placing their faith and trust in Jesus Christ and being saved. And I believe there might be somebody here today who needs to do the same. I believe today is the day and God doesn't have you here by accident. Today is the day that God is calling you to put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ. The question is, will you do that? Will you be able to walk out of this place saying these words, I have seen the Lord.

You know, Bible says that salvation is really easy, is ABC. You want to be saved? The A stands for this. You must admit that you're a sinner and in need of forgiveness. Hey, can you say that today with clarity? I admit it. I am a sinner. I've fallen short of the glory of God. Romans 3.23 says, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. That's every single one of us. That's the first step of salvation is admitting I need a Savior in my life. But the second letter represents the B and that is we must also believe in Jesus and believe that He's alive and able to save. Romans 3.23 — no, Acts 16.31 says believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved. But not only must we admit that we're a sinner and believe that Jesus can save us, we must also confess Jesus, confess Him as our Lord and commit our life to following Him. That's Romans 10.9. It says if, right? If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and if you believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. So I might be speaking to someone here today that says I need to do that today. Would you just bow your heads and close your eyes? Do you want to ask Jesus to save you? Guess what? He meets you at your point of need every single time. And today I believe He's calling some of you, by name, to salvation. Would you just pray this prayer, say, Lord Jesus, I want to give you my life and I'm asking you to save me. Change me. Make me new.

God, I turn my back on my sin and I turn to you as the Savior and the Lord of my life. God, allow me to become the person you created me to be. Allow me to experience you in a real way. And God, use me to build your kingdom and make a difference for you while I'm here. God, thank you for meeting me at my point of need. Thank you for saving me and changing me and making me new. May I never be ashamed of this decision. No, not one. And Lord, help me to confess you as my Lord and Savior. It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen. As a pastor, the best advice I can give you for your daily walk with Jesus is to start each day in the Word. While this may seem obvious, many people struggle to find the time to pause for just a few moments every single morning and to spend time with the Lord. I want to help you find the right balance. So start your day by offering easy to read daily inspiration through the All In Daily Devotional email. You know, each daily devotion includes a passage of scripture and some food for thought commentary that can be read very quickly. These few minutes can help center your mind on Jesus and prepare you to face the day's challenges. You can subscribe right now by scanning the QR code on the screen or by visiting our website at GoAllIn.tv. I pray these devotionals bless and encourage you. And thank you once again for tuning in. And I look forward to seeing you next time on this station for a new episode of All In next week. Until then, may you stay strong in your faith with Jesus and continue to go all in with Him. Hey, we never want to end our broadcast without giving you the opportunity to know Jesus as

your personal Lord and Savior. If you'd like to make the decision to trust Jesus and want to know more about what it looks like to follow Jesus, get in touch with me right now. Follow the instructions at the bottom of the screen so that we can pray for you and also put information in your hands right away. Today we celebrate your decision and look forward to being a part of your personal journey of going all in with Jesus Christ. This episode of All In with Pastor Jordan Easley has been made possible by the generous support of viewers like you. We hope today's message encourages you as you strive to live your life fully committed to Jesus Christ.