Programme: Anamnesis 2024 (Day 2 - Morning Session)
Theme: The Son; The Way
Date: Thursday, 12th December, 2024
Minister: Reverend Benjamin Gin
Topic: Waiting Recklessly for the Appearance of the Lord
Transcript Summary
- 1. “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. [10]And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept.” (Mark 16:9-10). The Lord is bringing to limelight the manner of life that Mary Magdalene portrayed in this Scripture. Mary was the first person Jesus appeared to after resurrection, and it was because of certain works that Jesus had done in her. Jesus had cast seven devils out of her but there was a work that was done in her that made her qualify for His first appearance. That work made her tenacious.
- 2. “Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God. [18] Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.” (John 20:17-18). Jesus’ statement to Mary summarises the agenda of the Church, which is to follow the way Jesus authored to the Father. This is what the Church ought to be preoccupied with. If we stop at becoming a son and do not progress into being a father, we would have come short of God’s will for us.
- 3. “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6). Jesus is the way to the Father. Therefore, to go to the Father, we have to follow Jesus. God’s will is for all men to come to Him, but there is no going to God without Jesus. The Son is the focal point of everything in the universe. Without the Son, there is no purpose for anything because by Him and for Him were all things created (Col. 1:16). As we wait on the Lord in this Anamnesis, we are waiting to receive the Son, and to receive a meal and a way to shift and move us to God.
- 4. (John 20:1-2) Mary came on the first day with a singular pursuit—to see the body of Jesus. She said, “...They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.” (John 20:2). Mary repeated this statement in verses 13 and 15 because she was not expecting to meet a corpse. Note that Mary did not say that they had taken the body of the Lord; rather, they had taken the Lord. That was because she did not go there in search of the dead body of the Lord but to meet the Lord. Mary had a certain hope, even though at that time, they did not know that Jesus would resurrect (John 20:10).
- 5. Jesus delayed His ascension to appear to Mary. He saw that there was someone who was expectant—one who was looking for the resurrected Lord, and not just a corpse. Mary was interested in her Lord, not a dead man. Eventually, her Lord appeared to her and she saw Him. In Mary’s heart, Jesus was not a dead man; He was a living man. There should be people in this Anamnesis who want to see and touch Jesus’ body.
- 6. “Then the disciples went away again unto their own home. [11]But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping…” (John 20:10-11). Unlike the other disciples, Mary did not go back home. She knew that her only home and resting place was the Father. She was willing to stay until her Master showed up. Many people have things they can rest upon but as for our tribe, we do not have any achievement until we see the Lord. In this Anamnesis, we are going to change our minds to be like Mary’s. We will say that there is no rest for us until we are in the Father who is our Home.
- 7. “But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre…” (John 20:11). These are some of the things that will attract the Lord. We have to get to that stage where we are in a weeping or sober mode, waiting for the revelation of the body of our Lord, because His body means everything to us. Our hope is gone without His body. Our entire hope for the way to the Father is tied to the body of the Lord.
- 8. (John 20:1-10). When Mary told the disciples about the sepulchre being empty, they all ran towards the sepulchre. The Bible recorded that Peter and a younger disciple ran together and the younger disciple outran Peter, but when he got to the sepulchre, he did not enter. Peter came later and entered. It was after Peter entered and did not see the Lord that the younger disciple entered the sepulchre. When he entered and did not see the body, the Bible says that he believed. However, what he believed was that Jesus’ body was stolen, not that He had resurrected. After this, everybody wanted to go home because according to them, ministry had ended. The disciples believed Jesus’ body had been stolen, and without the body, there was no hope.
- 9. We have come to a juncture as a people. This move is coming to an age when the hasty will not see it nor perceive it; it will take the ones that the Lord has dealt with, and those in whose hands the Lord has placed that thing that they will see. There is something the Lord is saying about the waiting of Mary in this dispensation: we should all be patient like Mary. We must wait and not run like the younger disciple. We should not be hasty; we must learn to wait a little longer. In this Anamnesis and in the days ahead in this tribe, we cannot tell how the Lord will come. Some may be physically seated here but they have gone to their homes in their souls. Mary Magdalene stayed! We should not be like the generation that will take their things and run back because of lack of patience.
- 10. As Mary wept at the sepulchre, she stooped down (John 20:11). Stooping down means to strip oneself of anything that makes one think they own their life. She stooped down and looked into the sepulchre because her hope was laid there. Her hope was that the embodiment of a Man who is the way. If we get this Man, we have gotten the way. If Mary had received the body and the Lord did not wake up, she might have gone to the extreme to adorn that body. She understood in the spirit that their part was inside that body. Until we are able to swallow that body, we cannot arrive at the way.
- 11. From Mary’s persistent heart position, Jesus saw that she was ripe (ready), so He appeared to her and said to her that they were on a journey that had to do with His body. The secret of Mary is this: “In all thy getting, do not miss His body.” Anything that is outside the way called the Son is outside God’s curriculum for the Church. We should be like Mary—following hard after that body until we get it. We must embody the body of Jesus. That is when we can say that we have come home and can take our rest at home.
- 12. This Anamnesis is an announcement of a season where our occupation should be to embody the Son. Anything short of the person of the Son as the Way is outside God’s curriculum. Mary waited, and the Lord appeared in her waiting, “Wait, and again I say, wait” (Ps. 27:14). Do not be in a hurry to go because you heard the first or second word, wait until the last word comes to you. The word will keep coming in layers.
- 13. Mary was a woman that was hungry for her Lord. She understood that once she got that body, that was all she needed. Others were not willing to look for the body if it was stolen, but Mary persisted and would not leave until she saw that body. Anamnesis is not just a four-day meeting; we should remember the Lord in everything we do. We should remember that our future is in the Lord—in His body. If we can get hold of Him, our future is secured.
Blessings!
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