Year of the Bible: Part Nine of TwelveSample

The Risen Jesus Brings a New Covenant

John was keenly interested in showing that Jesus was the Messiah. Throughout his book, he pointed out signs that Jesus was the Christ. With each miracle He performed, Jesus distinguished Himself from other teachers: He turned water into wine, healed a sick boy, healed a paralyzed man, fed 5,000 hungry people, healed a blind man, and raised Lazarus from the grave. The miracle of His Resurrection was the seventh and final sign that Jesus was the Messiah.

On Sunday morning, when the stone rolled away and Jesus walked into the garden, He had conquered death. Satan thought he had won, but God uses adversity to bring good. God was fulfilling the plan He had initiated in the Garden of Eden: to bring all people back to Himself through Jesus.

When Mary saw Jesus, she didn’t recognize Him (maybe conquering death had made Him look different), but she did know His voice. The risen Jesus brought access for all humankind to enter God’s covenant. When Jesus conquered death, satan knew we would all have access to God. Everything was different. The strategies of the enemy had to change. God had upped the ante by breaking the power of sin and death.

Mary may have mistaken Jesus for a gardener, but we can see Him as our forever hope in the new covenant. We walk in freedom when we are in Christ because His willing self-sacrifice bought our freedom. What a moment! Mary, a woman dear to His heart, was the first to see Him in His resurrected body. We can revel in the joy that we, too, will live resurrected with Him.

Question: Where does your imagination go when you pretend to be in Mary’s shoes talking to the “gardener”?

Prayer: Ask God to give you a deeper understanding of the new covenant and how it is a blessing for your life today.