Let me like Mary through the gloom
Come with a gift to Thee
Show to me now the empty tomb
Lead me to Calvary
Lead Me to Calvary 1921
By: Jennie Evelyn Hussey (1834 – 1925)
Listen to this simple version of this hymn as you prepare to ponder the lyrics. Please make certain to enjoy the podcast below.
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Everyone enjoy this podcast and transcript below! It features meditative music and moments to contemplate the Scriptures and reflections shared.
Transcript may be found below, at the end of the blog.
As we continue our journey through this hymn of commitment and our approach to Easter make time to ponder this text and all it communicates. Let’s think about this.
Show me
Did Jesus roll the stone away from the tomb so He could get out, or so the disciples could get in? He could have blasted a new escape hatch if He needed one, so I don’t think the stone was displaced for His benefit. I believe it was displaced so the disciples could make their way in and see He was not there. They had laid Jesus body to rest days before and they needed to see that it was no longer there.
Not only was there that evidence but He left some messengers there to explain what had happened. His body had not been stolen or moved. He was risen. No longer there.
How kind of Jesus to give us this proof! This confirmation. And then to allow the disciples to step down into that tomb and see it was empty. To hear the angelic explanation. Hallelujah! Don’t be alarmed. He…is….risen!
Show to me now the empty tomb
And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. Mark 16:6 ESV
Jesus only borrowed that tomb. What an incredible thought! Look into the tomb and see it empty. Jesus was here, cold and dead, but He is here no longer for He has risen. If we associate with the death of Jesus we can share in His resurrection. Look into the empty tomb.
Mary came through the partial darkness of that early morning to find an empty tomb. When you fight through your depression or despondency you may be as surprised as she was that Jesus was not where you thought He would be. Yet He was exactly where He said He would be.
RESONATE!
Take a few moments and ask for eyes of faith to see the empty tomb. Many might see the tomb and scoff, but if God imparts faith to you it enables you to see that empty tomb for what it truly is. Evidence Jesus is no longer dead. Pray the simple prayer, “Jesus, show me where You are.“
Lead Me
Only when we see Him can we follow Him. We ask for eyes of faith to see the empty tomb because it confirms for us where He is not. That opens the opportunity for us to see Him where He is.
He is not on a cross. He is not in a tomb. He has blazed a trail through painful places which remind us of His humanity so that when we face our our pain induced by the discipline of self-denial we will be inspired to follow Him.
He never asks us to follow in places He has not gone. Though the circumstances may be different, our dark, painful places are but a shadow to taking on the sin of the world and feeling forsaken by a Father whose presence He had always known.
Considering those places helps us surrender when we come to ours.
Lead me to Calvary
Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid. Mark 15:47 ESV
To fully appreciate the joy of the resurrection morning, we must be willing to contemplate the sadness of his burial evening. The empty tomb Mary saw days later was exhilarating because days before she had seen them lay Jesus’ dead body there. We must be willing to go there too.
If you are going to find where Jesus has gone, you will need to follow Him through where He went. Jesus denied Himself, and died to Himself, in order to follow God’s will. Calvary requires you to do the same. Deny yourself. Die to yourself. Let Jesus lead You to Calvary.
RESONATE!
Jesus wants to lead us. The problem is that we often do not want to follow, and that is true even before we know where He will lead. Once we know it becomes even more challenging. All the more reason to decide before you even see the path. Pray this simple prayer, but only when you are ready for it to be answered. “Jesus, lead me to Calvary.“
Jesus, thank You for showing me the empty tomb. Help me to follow You to and through my own, in life and death. Help me to commit to do so now, and submit to trust You to lead me. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Submitted Thinking!
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Podcast 39.3 Transcript
Welcome to Thursday Thoughts at Resonant 7, where we reflect on the reality of God and resolve to let it resound in our lives, repeatedly. Let’s think about this.
Let me like Mary through the gloom
…very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. Mark 16:2 ESV
She had watched them place His body in the tomb days before. Now she was returning in the early morning to the same tomb, with tears in her eyes and sadness in her heart. How can we follow her there? How can we enter into that sadness so as to feel that desperation?
Come with a gift to Thee
When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. Mark 16:1 ESV
As you approach, do you have a gift? Mary brought something that she thought Jesus needed. She brought spices to anoint Him for burial. As you come to worship, what gift will you bring? What do you think Jesus “needs” from you? Will you anoint Him with praise?
Show to me now the empty tomb
And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. Mark 16:6 ESV
Jesus only borrowed that tomb. What an incredible thought! Look into the tomb and see it empty. Jesus was here, cold and dead, but He is here no longer for He has risen. If we associate with the death of Jesus we can share in His resurrection. Look into the empty tomb.
Lead me to Calvary
Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid. Mark 15:47 ESV
To fully appreciate the joy of the resurrection morning, we must be willing to contemplate the sadness of his burial evening. The empty tomb Mary saw days later was exhilarating because days before she had seen them lay Jesus’ dead body there. We must be willing to go there too.
Take a few moments to talk to Jesus about what has come to your mind, or listen to what He is saying to you, then I will read our text once more, with the refrain.
Let me like Mary through the gloom
Come with a gift to Thee
Show to me now the empty tomb
Lead me to Calvary
Lest I forget Gethsemane
Lest I forget Thine agony
Lest I forget Thy love for me
Lead me to Calvary
Take the mindfulness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes into the next ones and beyond. Until next time, Be Resonant.
The post Submitted at the Sight of the Empty Tomb appeared first on Resonant 7.
Image Attributions
Show to me now the empty tomb – https://www.bible.com/videos/25032-mark-16?collection=6
Lead me to Calvary – https://www.bible.com/videos/25031-mark-15-21-47?collection=6
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