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To grow in the things of God, we must be willing for God to reveal, or expose, areas in our lives where we may not be living according to God’s Word. Let’s take obedience, for example. Someone reading this may believe that, as long as I eventually get around to doing what God commanded, that is good enough. But is this really true? Let us look at the account in the Gospel of Matthew where Mary Magdalene and the other Mary encountered an angel at the tomb where Jesus was buried.
Matthew 28:5-8 (ESV):
5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.
6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.
7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.”
8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.
In Matthew 28:7 we see that Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were told to “go quickly”. Matthew 28:8 shows that they “departed quickly”. The two women did not only do as the angel told them to do, but they did it with fear and great joy.
Take note of what happened next.
Matthew 28:9-10 (ESV) states: And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”
From Matthew 28:9-10, we see that when Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were doing as they were told to do, they encountered Jesus along the way.
God knows everything. Hebrews 4:13 (NIV) states in part: Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Because God knows everything, God knows our weaknesses and how, without His help – without Him encountering us along the way – we may fall prey to the deceptions of the enemy.
As Matthew 28:13 (ESV) details, when it became known that Jesus was no longer in the tomb, the soldiers were paid to tell people: His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep’. This lie was to cover up the truth that Jesus had been resurrected.
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, however, knew the truth. Not only did the angel tell them Jesus was alive, but they had also personally encountered Jesus as they were on their way to tell the disciples to go to Galilee.
As believers, we must know that obedience to God is not something we do on our own terms. This is certainly not how Jesus lived. As the scriptures reveal, Jesus lived in perfect obedience to the Father. For example, when faced with his arrest, Jesus went to the Mount of Olives to pray. His disciples followed Him.
Luke 22:41-42 (NIV) states: He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”
Just as Jesus did not pursue His own Will, we are to also lay aside our will and pursue God’s Will. And just as Jesus lived, we too should live in obedience to God.
Philippians 2:8 (NKJV) states: And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
Except where indicated, scripture references are from the American Standard Version (ASV), Darby Translation (DARBY), or King James Version (KJV) – all public domain.
