Early on one Saturday morning, not long ago, I looked out my window and saw the grey sky with heavy, low-hanging clouds. It was raining. Above those thick grey clouds, the sun was just rising, but its light had not yet begun to fill the sky. It felt like a dreary, sad day was beginning.
On another Saturday, the day following the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The day after His mom, his disciples, and students watched as his lifeless body was taken from the cross and laid in a tomb. There he was sealed up and left in the dark. That Saturday his friends and family woke up to the realization that He would not be with them that day. He would not greet them, eat with them, or teach them.
It is difficult to imagine the emotions each of His followers felt on that day, I can only reconcile it with my own sense of loss when those close to me have departed their mortal life. Or the agony I’ve witnessed on the faces of those who have suffered even greater losses than mine. Was I one of His disciples left behind, my heart would have broken. He was gone. He died! Jesus was buried in a tomb and unlike Lazarus or the son of a widow from Nain, there was no other who could raise Him from the dead. That day, his followers would have to get up and figure out how life could possibly go on without Him.
Endless Saturdays
Sometimes we can get stuck living endless Saturdays like that one. A day filled with sadness, loss, doubt, and fear. We go about our day feeling nothing, numb with loss, betrayal, addiction, or the consequences of sin. We wander in darkness and live ignorant of the coming sunrise of hope, joy, and deliverance. This hopeless Saturday following the crucifixion of Jesus Christ did mercifully fade, and then it was Sunday.
“When dark clouds of trouble hang o’er us
And threaten our peace to destroy,
There is hope smiling brightly before us,
And we know that deliv’rance is nigh.”
{Hymn 19 “We Thank Thee O God for a Prophet”}
In Doctrine and Covenants 18:10 we read, “Remember, the worth of souls is great in the sight of God.” The worth of each soul, yours, mine, every child of God’s soul.
The Beginning
Now, let us go back to the very beginning: In the pre-mortal existence, we were introduced to God’s purpose and His plan. His purpose, His work, and His glory are to bring to pass man’s immortality and eternal life. Therefore, His plan called for us to become like Him. As His spirit children in this realm, we could never become as He is without the experience of living in mortality with a physical body.
God explained His plan to us. Agency, or the ability to choose, is one of God’s greatest gifts to His children, but with this agency, we would make mistakes when we were no longer in His presence. We would have to learn, grow through opposition, and be tested to see if we would be obedient to His laws and commandments. Our eternal progression depends on how we use this gift of agency.
A Savior
God did not intend for us to fail, but He knew we would all sin and thus be cut off from His presence and unable to dwell with Him again. Therefore, His plan called for a Savior who could enter mortality and live a sin-free life. One who could atone for all our sins, One who would pay the price for our mistakes.
In Abraham 3 verse 27 we read, “And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man. Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first.”
A trillion souls were taught that their eternal progression, yeah, their eternal salvation rested upon one person doing what none other could do. Why would we pin our eternal hope on such a plan?? What were we possibly thinking? As for me, I know why I agreed to such odds. For however long I existed in the pre-mortal world, I watched Jehovah make choices and act as our Father in Heaven acted. Through millennia I witnessed Jehovah’s ability to in fact succeed in this plan. My faith and that of many more of God’s children in Him was well placed, for He did succeed.
Why?
But let’s ask a different question. Why would Jesus Christ agree, even volunteer, to be the Savior? Why would He commit to coming to Earth and taking on the responsibility to live perfectly? Never making a mistake, carrying the stress of knowing countless souls were hanging in the balance waiting for one slip up, one error, one sin, and all would be lost. Be perfect all day, every day, week after week, month after month, year after year. Regardless of your environment and treatment by others. Even if the man who taught you to become a carpenter dies, or one of your closest friends betrays you, or everyone abandons you…never, ever mess up. Oh, and after that, suffer such incredible pain that blood drips from every pore on your entire body! Why did Jesus Christ agree to such a life? There can be only one answer, love.
On Easter, we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We reverence His atoning sacrifice. In my message to you today, I exclaim great joy and appreciation for both His resurrection and His atoning sacrifice. But what fills my heart on Easter morning isn’t just the knowledge that because of Him, I will be resurrected, or even because of His atoning sacrifice, I can be washed clean of my sins. What fills my soul with happiness is the love He has for me. He knows me personally, He walks with me every day and heals me, teaches me, and comforts me. Examples of this great love that Jesus has for each soul are what I would like to speak about today.
Widow of Nain
Following a conversation with a centurion, Jesus went into a city called Nain. And there was a great crowd that went in with Him. As Jesus approached the gate of the city, there was a dead man carried out. The only son of his mother, and she was a widow. I believe this young man who died, and his mom, were well-known in Nain as “much people of the city was with her” as they carried her dead son out. This poor distraught widow wept as she trudged along, and when Jesus saw her, He had compassion on her.
Gently, I believe, he looked upon her, catching her eye, and said, “Weep not”. With the power of the Son of God radiating from His eyes, she must have been captured at that moment, and He turned, touched the stretcher, and said, “Young man, I say unto thee, Arise!” and he that was dead sat up and began to speak. Oh, how joy transcended from sorrow at that moment for this poor widow. One-on-one, this act of love was just for the widow.
The Leper
Hansen’s disease (also known as leprosy) is an infection caused by slow-growing bacteria called Mycobacterium leprae. It can affect the nerves, skin, eyes, and lining of the nose. Leprosy causes severe, disfiguring skin sores and nerve damage in the arms, legs, and skin areas around your body. Few diseases in human history have provoked greater public fear than leprosy. During the time of Christ, a leper was deemed “unclean” and was an outcast from society. There was no cure for the disease and eventually a person was disfigured through the loss of fingers, toes, and eventually limbs. While serving a mission in Bangkok, Thailand, I witnessed firsthand the ravages of this terrible disease as beggars held up fingerless hands covered in cuts and scabs to ask for alms.
In Mark chapter one we read of a leper who came to Jesus, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him said, “Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.” Knowing this man was already treated as a dead man, and left untreated would die apart from his family, friends and society, Jesus, moved by the awesome faith of this man, with great compassion, put forth his hand and touched him! He touched him!
Think about that for a moment. A leper, UNCLEAN they would shout. Or, he would have to shout to keep others away, I AM UNCLEAN! We know Jesus could have healed this man without touching him, or even being near him, but this simple touch shows the awesome love of the Savior. He spoke to this man and said, “I will, be thou clean”. And he was clean! One-on-one, this act of love was just for the leper.
Jairus and the woman
A ruler of the synagogue, Jairus by name, had a twelve-year-old daughter who was dying. In desperation, he sought out and found Jesus and fell at His feet and begged Him to come into his house. How helpless this poor man must have felt, but what faith! Now, to quickly lead the master to his home! But, as they went the people thronged him. Imagine being poor Jairus…if it were me, I would be screaming and throwing people aside just to move more quickly…and then, everything stopped.
“Who touched me?” Jesus said. Peter and those that were with him said, Seriously? We’re in the middle of a crowd so thick we can’t move, and you ask, “Who touched me?” (I would have been known as the sarcastic disciple; I think?). But Jesus explained, “Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue (or power) is gone out of me.” And there was a woman who had suffered an issue of blood for twelve years.
Almost as outcast as a leper, unable to be healed by any physician, came trembling and fell down before Jesus. Scared, yet overjoyed, for she declared to all that upon touching just the hem of his garment, she was immediately healed! In that moment, Jesus looked into her eyes and knew her story. Knew her suffering, and as the Son of God, smiled upon her. And said, “Daughter, be of good comfort, thy faith hath made the whole, go in peace.”. One-on-one, this act of love was just for this woman.
Fear not
But what about Jairus?? His daughter is dying and this interaction between Jesus and the woman was taking too long! Before Jesus finished speaking to the woman, someone from Jairus’s house arrived with the tragic news. “Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master”. In that moment, Jairus’s heart would have shattered. Yet, Jesus would not let the moment linger, and said, “Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.”. With amazing faith, Jairus trusted the Master and led Him to his home. Entering the room where the dead little girl lie, Jesus took the maid by the hand and said, “Damsel, I say unto thee, arise”. And she came back to life, stood, and walked! One-on-one, this act of love was for Jairus.
Mary
Let’s talk about the end of His mortal story. In John 20 verse 17 Jesus reveals himself to Mary. “and saith to her, Touch me not, for I have not yet ascended unto my father.
The word “touch” appears 99 times in the Bible, but The Greek word used in verse 17 is ἅπτου (waptoo) which appears only once. Diving a bit more deeply into the type of “touch” intended by using the word “waptoo”, we find it is translated as “cling to, lay hold of, or grasp tightly”. To shed even more light on this verse, the JST of “Touch” in verse 17 is “Hold”.
With this new understanding, may I be so bold as to paint this scene once again with a bit of literary license? Beginning in John chapter 20 verse 13:
13 And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? Through her tears Mary saith unto them, I watched them nail him to the cross. I watched Him hang there suffering. I saw Him die. He did so much for me, he healed me, taught me, and loved me. I followed Him to the end and came this morning to perform one last act of service. In gratitude for everything. And to look upon His face one last time. But now they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid Him. And I fear that I have lost Him forever.
14 And when she had thus said, she turned herself back and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. For it was not yet dawn.
Why weepest thou?
15 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.
16 Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, light flooding in around her like the breaking dawn, in hope against hope, with emotions erupting and cascading over her, seeing Jesus standing there, alive, complete, perfect, and leaping into His arms with the joy cried unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.
17 With tender love, stroking her hair, he waited for her sobs to subside, and as her breathing slowed, Jesus saith unto her, Mary, I can’t stay with you right now, but I love you so much, and I wanted you to know that I am alive and all that I told you was true; as her grip tightened, He said, Hold me not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father: I need to go and do a few things, but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God. And don’t worry. I’ll be back, and I will be with you again.
It may not have happened exactly that way, but in my heart, it did. Jesus loved Mary and to her, He revealed himself before any other mortal being. One-on-one, this act of love was just for Mary.
Even in Seminary
There are many more examples from the scriptures that we could talk about. I’d like to share a personal story of an event that occurred just a few days ago that illustrates this principle of the love of the Savior.
Last Thursday was the day before spring break for my seminary class. Knowing how extremely excited my three wonderful students are about early morning seminary, and how much they would miss having class while they were on spring break, I knew I needed a powerful lesson for that day. And, I think it would have been, but what I think matters not to the Lord.
Before my students arrived, I opened my materials and said a prayer for my class and for each of my students. I always want the lessons to be led by the Spirit as I desperately need help to teach. As everyone arrived each student expressed how they almost didn’t come that morning…I also admit that when my alarm went off at 5 a.m., I had the momentary desire to cancel the class for the day and start spring break one day early.
As I was about to start the lesson, I felt prompted instead to ask each student a simple question, “How do you know God loves you?”. We briefly discussed our answers, and then came the lesson, but not from me.
Emily
As we began our class, a woman clearly in distress, arrived at the church dressed in a t-shirt, hospital pants, and those little hair net style booties they give you in the hospital on her feet. God bless Sisters Mullins and Center for their efforts to help, pray with, and provide comfort to a distraught soul who clearly had some mental health challenges. After calling the hospital and being directed by the emergency room staff to call the Bowling Green Police for assistance, two officers retrieved this woman named Emily and took her to where she could be cared for safely.
It wasn’t what I had planned for the day, but it was definitely what God had planned. He knew this poor soul would unwisely leave the ER in the dark on a cold morning barely dressed for a warm summer day, not a cold spring morning in Ohio. And so, He directed her to the one place at 6:15 in the morning on a Thursday, where there would be angels waiting to care for her, protect her, and make sure she was safely taken back to where she could get the help she needed.
Had she arrived on Friday, or any day next week, or if the class had been canceled Thursday morning, where would she have ended up? How long in the cold would she have walked? How safe would she have been? He loved her that much to put all of us in place to help when and where it was most needed for Emily. As I pondered on how amazing it is to see the hand of the Lord working in our lives, I know that one-on-one, this act of love was just for Emily.
He knows us, one-by-one
If there were time, I know that I could add a story from each person in this meeting today about the love Jesus has for them and I exclaim with joy this Easter morning that He is risen! He is alive! He knows us. We are His brothers and sisters. We are His family.
He knows our challenges, our weaknesses, and our sins. He knows how tired we are, how desperately we pray for our own children. Jesus knows how many nights we lie awake with worry. He knows our anxieties and our hopes. No matter what we’ve said, or thought, or done, He loves us. No matter the struggle, the fear, the doubt, no matter the joy or the sorrow, He loves us. He sweat drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane to atone for each of us because He loves us one by one. May you feel that love as you celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ on this day!
