Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. - Matthew 4:1Spiritual victory is often followed by spiritual attack.Jesus experienced a powerful moment at His baptism. The heavens opened. The Spirit descended like a dove. The Father spoke words of affirmation. This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. If you were writing the story, you would expect t...  Read More

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb. - John 20:1Before anything miraculous happened after Jesus’ death, there was waiting.Jesus had been crucified, buried, and sealed inside a tomb. Mary had watched everything unfold. She had followed closely, loved deeply, and now she believed the story had ended. Scripture tells us that after the burial, t...  Read More

Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them what he had said to her. - John 20:18Mary’s phrase, “I have seen the Lord,” carried significant meaning in the first century. It was the language of legal testimony. It implied firsthand witness. Mary was saying, “I saw Him with my own eyes. I encountered Him myself.” This was not secondhand information o...  Read More

Jesus told her, “Do not 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 your Father, to my God and your God.” - John 20:17When Mary realized who Jesus was, her instinct was to cling to Him. That response makes sense. The One she believed was gone forever was suddenly standing alive before her. Holding on felt natura...  Read More

Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it that you are seeking?” Supposing he was the gardener, she replied, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will take him away.” - John 20:15When Mary saw Jesus standing in front of her, she assumed He was the gardener. That detail is easy to overlook, but it is incredibly revealing.Grief narrows perspective....  Read More

Jesus said to her, Mary. Turning around, she said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni,” which means Teacher. - John 20:16Mary Magdalene stood in the garden, overwhelmed by grief and confusion. She had seen the empty tomb. She had spoken with angels. She had even turned and looked directly at Jesus. And still, she did not recognize Him.It is striking how close she was to the truth and yet how unaware she r...  Read More

Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know it was Jesus. “Woman,” Jesus said to her, “why are you crying? Who is it that you’re seeking?” – John 20:14-15Mary was seeking Jesus, but she was seeking Him through sorrow. She saw a man standing nearby and assumed He was the gardener. Her assumption makes sense. Resurrection was not on her radar. Grief shaped ...  Read More

But Mary stood outside the tomb, crying. As she was crying, she stooped to look into the tomb. She saw two angels in white sitting where Jesus’s body had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. 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’ve put him.” – John 20:11-13The story of the resurrection begi...  Read More

And he said to him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” – Luke 23:43Jesus’ response to the criminal on the cross is immediate and decisive. He does not hesitate. He does not delay. He does not require proof. He makes a promise.“Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”That single sentence rewrote a lifetime of failure.The criminal could not save himself. He c...  Read More

Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” – Luke 23:42This statement by the second criminal in today’s key verse may be one of the most remarkable statements of faith in all of Scripture. Hanging on a cross, gasping for breath, staring at his own death, he turns to Jesus and says, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”Do not rush past that sentence.Jesus di...  Read More

But the other answered, rebuking him: “Don’t you even fear God, since you are undergoing the same punishment? We are punished justly, because we’re getting back what we deserve for the things we did, but this man has done nothing wrong.” – Luke 23:40-41The second criminal responded very differently from the first criminal, as we discussed yesterday. Instead of mocking Jesus, he rebuked the other m...  Read More

Then one of the criminals hanging there began to yell insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” – Luke 23:39The words of the crucified criminal recorded in today's key verse were loud, demanding, and revealing. “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” This man was not asking for forgiveness. He was not confessing sin. He was demanding rescue.What he wanted was relief w...  Read More