Seeker Heart I

Matt.12:²⁰ “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
till he has brought justice through to victory.”

Jesus could not resist Mary’s love and thirst for Him. Jesus said, ‘Ma-ry!’ and even though Mary did not recognize Him facially, she recognized that nickname, that special way Jesus calls her. The Bible says, “She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” Just picture Mary, she heard Jesus’ voice and she was going to grab Him. Jesus knew what she was going to do because it probably was not her first time of hugging Him. So, Jesus had to say, ‘Calm down Mary, I am on assignment.’ When people come to Jesus, some call Him Rabbi [teacher] and that is accurate like we see Nicodemus do in John 3. But certain people that are close to Jesus do not call Him Rabbi, they Him Rabboni. Rabboni is literally the possessive form of Rabbi and it means “my Rabbi”.

When Mary saw Jesus, she did not say Rabbi. When Jesus said ‘Ma-ry,’ Mary also responded to Jesus with her own possessive name, “my Rabbi” [Rabboni]. As parents, we can attest to the fact that the feeling is different when your child says Mum or Dad, and when your child says, ‘my Mummy’, or ‘my Daddy’. Similarly, some people say, ‘the Pastor of that church’. Some say, ‘Pastor’. Some others say, ‘my Pastor’. Some people call me ‘Pappy’ and very few people say, ‘my Pappy’. How do you think the response will be at the different gradients? Some people tried to call me Pappy, but it was not smooth in their mouth because the chemistry was not there.

Mary saw Jesus and said, “Rabboni, my Rabbi, my Father” and that speaks volumes. Jesus had to respond. He could not ignore it. It is good to be pally with God, it is lifesaving. When trouble comes, God will say my boy is there or my girl is there. If you treat God purely based on legalistic procedures, He is still your God but there are different responses. John 20:¹⁷ “Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” The same way Jesus was ‘my Rabbi’ to Mary, the Father is ‘My Father’ to Jesus. And because of the work on Calvary, He has now also become your Father and my Father, My God and your God. It is so liberating.

Jesus risked it all; Jesus had gotten up from the grave, He was on the way to heaven. Then He heard Peter and John’s footsteps, running towards the tomb and so He stopped. The angels also stopped to see what was going to happen. The women were behind Peter and John who obviously left them behind. Peter went in, inspected everything and John did the same. Then they both left because they believed that they had stolen Jesus’ body. Jesus was about to turn and go and then he saw Mary. This is just my imagination; it is not in the Bible. Jesus saw Mary crying and the Word of God says, a bruised reed God will not break. God cannot ignore a genuine seeker. Whether Muslim, Buddhist, atheist, or Christian. If you sincerely seek God, you will find God.

Prayer [song]: I have a Father. He calls me His own. He’ll never leave me. No matter where I go. He knows my name. He knows my every thought. He sees each tear that falls… Amen!