OUT OF CONTEXT

OUT OF CONTEXT

Bible:John 20:13-16

Reading

She turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realise that it
was Jesus (V.14).

Someone tapped my shoulder and said, “Hi!” After seeing my blank stare, she added, “It’s me. Jane!” My mind flipped through a couple of different “Janes” I knew, but I couldn’t place her. Was she from an old school? Did she come to youth group once? I didn’t have a clue. Then she added, “We were in the same netball club.” Then I remembered! I hadn’t played netball for a few years, but once I knew the context, I recognised Jane. After Jesus’ death, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early in the morning and found the stone rolled away and His body gone (JOHN 20:1-2). She ran to get Peter and John, who returned with her to see the empty grave (VV.3-10). But Mary,
full of grief, stayed outside in the garden (V.11). When Jesus appeared there, “she did not realise that it was Jesus” (V.14), thinking He was the gardener (V.15). How could she have not recognised Jesus? Was His resurrected body so changed that He looked different? Did her tears blind her eyes? Or, perhaps, like me, was it because Jesus was ‘out of context’, alive in the garden instead of dead in the tomb, that she didn’t recognise Him? Are we ready and expecting to hear Jesus in any context? Not just during prayer or Bible reading, but through other conversations or situations. Or are we also in danger of not recognising Him?

EXPECT JESUS.

Youth Edition – Our Daily Bread Ministries