Secured!

John 20:^16-17 “Mary!” Jesus said. She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”). “Don’t touch me,” he cautioned, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them that I ascend to my Father and your Father….” (NLT & LB)

Jesus had not yet gone to heaven to present His Blood on the altar for the sacrifices of the sin of humanity. So, Mary could not hug Him, or it will all be ruined. But after He ascended and came back, the disciples could touch Him and hug Him because the sacrifice had already been presented at the altar. I said to myself, I have a problem with that. ‘Jesus, You risked my salvation because of Mary’. What if Mary was a ‘Nigerian sister’ and Jesus said, ‘Don’t hug me’, you know ‘Nigerian sisters’ will not take that. They just hug you regardless. If Jesus says, ‘Do not hug me yet’, Mary will just jump on Jesus. In fact, before Jesus says, ‘Do not…’ Boom! Sacrifice kaput.

This is one of the questions I will ask Jesus when I see Him in heaven, by the grace of God. ‘Lord, please don’t be angry. But why would You take that risk because of one woman’s cry? Can’t you just quickly go, do the sacrifice, and then come back? Will she die?’ But it shows us how real Jesus is. It shows us how personal Jesus is. Jesus looked at her and said, ‘Mary’. And it is obvious that Jesus had a special way of calling Mary because all He needed to say was, ‘Mary’, and she responded ‘Rabboni!’. For others, Jesus was ‘Rabbi’, but for Mary, He was ‘Rabboni – my teacher’. Jesus secured the salvation of all humanity with His Blood. So, if Jesus does not come back in a thousand years, your salvation is bought and sealed.

If Jesus does not come back in a thousand years, guess what? There will be no Apple computers. There will be no iPhone a thousand years from now. There will be another innovative company that will take over. Why? It is because companies do not last forever. If Jesus tarries another one thousand years, guess what? There would be no United State of America, no Russia, and there will be no Nigeria. I am sure you know this based on the trend, and because kingdoms do not last forever. Some of us have not even thought about it. Nigeria is not going to last forever. America is not going to last forever. And it is simply because kingdoms come and kingdoms go, but Jesus remains the same forever and ever.

Where is Emperor Nero today? He persecuted the Church and skinned everybody alive. Where is the Hittite Empire and all those empires so strong and powerful? They lasted for hundreds of years but they all expired. The only entity that remains and would remain is the Church. Do you know why the Church is so secure? It is because Jesus died and shed His blood for His Church.

Prayer (hymn): My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus’ blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name. On Christ, the solid Rock… Amen!