Priscilla Shirer: Jesus Is Calling YOUR Name | TBN

Priscilla Shirer discusses Mary Magdalene’s visit to the empty tomb on TBN’s Easter Sunday Special. Priscilla unpacks Mary’s first person, eye-witness account of encountering the resurrected Jesus–and what it means for each one of us.

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John chapter 20 says that it was early

in the morning even while it was still

dark that Mary of Magdala made her way

to the garden to picture her arriving at

the tomb of the one whom had changed her

entire life Jesus had met Mary at a time

when her life was in complete disrepair

not only was she oppressed but she was

marginalized in a socio-economic time

period where women were not valued at

all but she lacked joy she lacked peace

she lacked freedom she lacked fullness

until Jesus came and then everything

changed she had followed him ever since

with a new light in her eyes and new

hope in her future and not only did she

follow him closely but she supported him

his ministry in every single way that

she possibly could and she had been

there by his side during the trials she

had been there while they had whipped

him to the point where he could not even

be recognized she had been there to

witness his crucifixion and now she is

there a lone figure in the darkness

wandering into the garden so that she

can come and pay respects to him at the

tomb and while she cannot see much

because the light of the Sun has yet to

arrive on this morning what she can see

is that the gargantuan stone that had

been used to seal up the tomb that it

has been rolled away and her her mind in

the moment that could only mean one

thing that robbers have come and they

have stolen the body of her Lord she

races away so that she can tell the

disciples and two of them immediately

run as fast as they can along with her

back to the tomb those two go in and

corroborate that indeed Jesus’s body is

not there and long after they have gone

home John chapter 20 says that Mary

remains of course she does her heart

longing again to see her Lord she is

weeping a river of tears when she looks

inside and realizes that there are two

angels that have come one is positioned

at the head and the other at the foot of

the slab where Jesus’s body has once

been laid and as she looks in and sees

them and they see her they ask her woman

why are you weeping she says I’ve come

looking for Jesus and I cannot find him

where is his body and before they can

even respond

something Garner’s her attention whether

it’s Russell and the foliage behind or

whether it’s just the sense of a

presence

the scripture says she turns around and

she sees someone standing there who she

supposes to be the gardener she’s still

weeping and she’s still crying because

even though now she has seen two angels

and now she has seen someone that she

believes to be the gardener none of the

presence of these human beings or

angelic beings can take the place of

Jesus and for any of us who have come to

know Jesus Christ as Lord we can tell

you the same thing that it doesn’t

matter who we come in contact with no

matter the success they’ve achieved no

matter how high they have climbed up the

the ladder of success no matter how

notable they are even angelic beings

cannot take the place of the one who has

changed our lives who has revolutionized

our future and so she looks at this one

who she supposes to be the gardener and

whether she can’t tell that it’s Jesus

because she’s crying so many tears that

those tears has stung her eyes to the

point where her vision is blurred or

whether it is because supernaturally

Jesus has veiled himself so that she

can’t quite make him out clearly

whatever the reason she doesn’t know

that it’s him and again this person

poses the question woman why are you

crying and she says in so many words

just give me Jesus and then he says her

name he says Mary

her name only rolled off of the lips

with that kind of love and grace and

kindness of one other person she’s only

known one person to speak her name with

that much purity and that much affinity

and in that moment the gospel becomes

not

just powerful it becomes personal and

when she hears her name her eyes are

open and she recognizes that they said

in the gardener after all this right

here this is Jesus Christ and I can tell

you because I’m a witness to it that

Jesus is still calling people’s names

one by one he calls our names and our

hearts warm not just because the gospel

is powerful but because it’s personal he

knows me he knows you he knows where

we’ve been he knows what we’ve done he

knows our weaknesses he knows our

strengths he knows the places in our

lives where we need his mercy or grace

and like Mary

he doesn’t discard us he doesn’t treat

us the way others have he doesn’t

marginalize us he comes to the

disenfranchised and the people that are

lowly and the people like me that are in

need of a savior and he speaks our name

and when our heartworms with the

conviction that only the Holy Spirit of

God can give we respond just like Mary

our eyes are open because we realize

that he is who he says he is and that he

can still accomplish exactly what he

says he could through the redemption of

our sins Mary man her whole destiny

changes at this point because she races

away becoming the very first evangelist

telling everybody that she can of what

her eyes have seen Jesus has been raised

from the dead

she’s our eyewitness and you know how it

is when you have an eyewitness think

about it when you’re watching the news

and the reporter is giving you

information it’s one thing to hear the

information but once that reporter takes

the microphone and puts it in front of a

person who was there a person who saw it

for themselves a person who’s not just

talking because they heard about it but

because they were in the room they

experienced it all of a sudden that

story that you just had information

about well now it’s got cement

it’s got flesh now you can believe

because you’ve heard from somebody who

saw it Mary is our eyewitness she saw

with her own eyes and she heard his

voice with her own ears she communicates

to us that Jesus

raised from the grave raised from the

tomb and he is still alive today and she

is why we can say with all confidence

for any of us who have placed faith in

Jesus Christ we can say it along with

the ancient hymn writer because he lives

I can face tomorrow because he lives all

fear is gone and because I know who

holds the future my life is worth the

living just because my Savior lives