Matthew 28
In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalen and the other Mary to see the sepulchure. ...
And the angel answered and said unto the women, ... He is not here, for He has risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
And go quickly, and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead; and behold He goes before you into Galilee; there you shall see Him. Now I have told you.
And as they went to tell His disciples, behold Jesus met them ... then said to them, Be not afraid; go tell my brothers that they go into Galilee, and they shall see Me there.
Jesus had made an appointment with His disciples before He died to meet with Him at a specific place and time, after He died, as He knew He would rise again.
The angel told the two Marys to tell the disciples to keep that appointment. Then when Jesus appeared to them on the way, He told them to also tell His brothers to go there, too, and they would see Him there.
This is not surprising to me, because I think that it is possible that the "other Mary" could be none other than the Lord's own mother, the mother of James and Joseph (Mark 15:40), Jesus' brothers, along with Simon and Jude. (Matthew records His neighbors as complaining about who He thought He was, because they knew His family, The carpenter's son, and His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon, and Jude? (13:55).
Can you imagine having a big brother who never did anything wrong? How frustrating it would be to constantly bait Him and He never fell for it!
Jesus wanted His own brothers to believe Him. So He would tell His mother to tell them to come to the meeting also. He wanted to keep His family together.
And His brother James became the head pastor of the church in Jerusalem. (Paul, in defending his apostleship, says that, Other of the Apostles saw I none, save James, the Lord's brother, Galatians 1:19.) And His brother Jude wrote the Epistle of Jude (V. 1, he calls himself, the brother of James).
O my Father, You have made Your written Word so clear, in giving understanding through Your Spirit of Truth that lives in us. Thank You for telling us plainly the historical Truth in all the stories You had Your prophets and evangelists to write. Thank You that we don't need to depend on mere oral Tradition, that changes in the telling, like the child's party game of "Telephone."
It has been said that writing is, "words that stay" (the movie, The Dark Crystal).
Having Your message written down with words on parchment, and the diligence Your Scribes used in transcribing these words, so that they would not disappear, insured that every generation would have access to what we need to learn and know and apply in our daily living.
And to be able to trust that You have the power and authority to preserve Your written Word, so that no mere man can change or alter it in any way. And You have cursed anyone who would teach someone to add anything to it, or take away any part of it. It is all Your Words, and all important for us to know.
It all fits together so perfectly, like pieces of a puzzle, like connecting all the dots into a beautiful picture, an exquisite Tapestry of Time.
Thank You, Father, for allowing us to each have a part in the weaving of Your Tapestry; that our stories are recorded, and will be told throughout all Time and Eternity, to the glory of Your Name.
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
