Today’s Verse
Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven devils.
– Mark 16:9
Thoughts on Today’s Verse…
Easter is approaching. After reading this verse, let’s recall the past: The Lord Jesus became flesh and came to earth to do the work of redemption. He was nailed to the cross, becoming the sin offering of mankind. As long as we pray in the Lord Jesus’ name, and confess and repent to the Lord, our sins can be forgiven and we can enjoy God’s abundant grace. It stands to reason that the Lord Jesus had already completed the work of redemption after He was crucified on the cross. So why did He resurrect and appear to people for 40 days? What is the significance of the Lord Jesus doing this? God’s words have unraveled this mystery. God says, “The first thing that the Lord Jesus did after His resurrection was to allow everyone to see Him, to confirm that He exists, and to confirm the fact of His resurrection. In addition, this action restored His relationship with the people back to the way it was when He was working in the flesh, when He was the Christ whom they could see and touch. One outcome of this is that the people had no doubt whatever that the Lord Jesus had been resurrected from death after being nailed to the cross, and they also had no doubt in the Lord Jesus’ work to redeem mankind. Another outcome is that the fact of the Lord Jesus appearing to people after His resurrection and allowing people to see and touch Him firmly secured mankind in the Age of Grace, ensuring that, from this time on, people would not return to the previous Age of Law on the supposed basis that the Lord Jesus had ‘disappeared’ or that He had ‘left without a word.’ He thus ensured that they would continue to move forward, following the Lord Jesus’ teachings and the work He had done. Thus, a new phase in the work in the Age of Grace was formally opened, and from that moment on, the people who had been living under the law formally emerged from the law and entered into a new era, a new beginning. These are the multi-faceted meanings of the Lord Jesus’ appearance to mankind after the resurrection.” From God’s words, we can see the great significance of the Lord Jesus’ appearance to people after His resurrection. God knows man’s difficulties. While following the Lord Jesus, many people admitted that the Lord Jesus was Christ but they remained skeptical that the Lord Jesus was God Himself and could rise from the dead. Thomas was a typical example. It was not until the Lord appeared and asked Thomas to touch the wound in His side and the nail marks on His hand that Thomas let go of his doubts about God. Therefore, through His resurrection and appearance to man, the Lord Jesus made all of His followers truly believe that He is God in the flesh and the Lord who created the heavens, the earth, and all things. Besides, He completely opened up the work of the Age of Grace, and led man to emerge from the law and enter into the new age, strengthening believers’ faith. Therefore, they started to bear witness to the Lord Jesus and preach the gospel, spreading the fact that the Lord Jesus did the work of saving mankind throughout the universe and to the ends of the earth.
