(73) When Jesus Calls Your Name || David Platt - YouTube
It doesn’t matter your past, your present, your personality, your age, your ethnicity, your socio-economic status. However, you might identify yourself, the bible teaches that we have all turned aside from God and His ways. This is an invitation tor you to come back to God either for the first time or for the first time in a long time.
John 20 tells the account of about a woman named Mary and two of Jesus disciples who go to the Tomb of Jesus after He has died on the cross and there they discovered that Jesus’s body is gone. Little did they know by that time Jesus had risen from the dead. Jesus is alive. Jesus resurrection makes clear that He was not merely a man who has power over death. This is God in the flesh.
Jesus’s followers didn’t understand that He had risen. They assumed somebody had stolen His body. The two disciples were scared, not knowing what all tis might mean for them. So they run back home. But this woman, Mary, stayed.
In verse 11, the Bible tells us Mary stood outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she stooped to look into the tomb and she saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had laid – one at the head, and one at the foot. They asked her, “woman why are you weeping? She said to them, “they have taken away my Lord and I do not know where they have laid Him.” Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus, standing but she did not know that it was Jesus. She did not only did not recognize Jesus, she did not expect in any way that He would be alive. Resurrection was not in peoples worldview.
Jesus said to her, “woman why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? Supposing that He was the gardner, she said to Him, “sir, if you’ve carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him and I will take Him away.”
Jesus said to her “Mary”. She turned and said to Him in aramaic “rabbina” which means teacher. Feel the weight and the wonder of this scene.
This is Mary Magdalene. Mary had a really rough past. Jesus had healed her from demon possession. She was an outcast in her culture. Jesus had given her a new start but now He was dead and her hopes were dashed; her joy was gone. And now in her grieving, she thinks that somebody’s stolen His body.
Have you ever had your hopes dashed. When it rains it pours. If you’ve ever lost your joy, every experienced deep grief.
Here she stands, weeping and unable to be consoled even by angels much less some gardener until the supposed Gardener says one word “Mary” All Jesus says is her name and immediately she recognizes His voice.
This is the voice of the One who knows me like no one else. Who knows all my past, all my shame, all I’ve done, all my sin and struggles. All my hurts, all the ways others have hurt me and this is the voice of the One who saw me, who looked past all of that and pursued me and took away my shame and healed my hurts and gave me life.
And as soon as she realizes its Jesus calling her name, everything changes.
This is where we need to recognize Him calling our name. The one who created you who knows you like no one else calling your name. The God who knows your past and your present better than even you do. The God who knows your shame, who knows your sin, your struggles. Who knows your hurts and the ways you have been hurt. God sees you and God pursues you and He alone is able to remove all your shame and heal all your hurts and give you eternal life. This is why Jesus, God in the flesh, died on the cross.
The whole point of the cross is that our sins deserve death before God but Jesus gave His life, He shed His blood to pay the price for the sins of anyone and everyone who will trust in Him so that you had I can be forgiven of all our sin and cleansed of all our shame.
Jesus did this for me. And for you.
11:38