Who Do You Seek?
Looking in the Right Place: The Question That Changes Everything
The tomb was empty. The stone rolled away. And two women stood in the early morning light, searching for a body that was no longer there. What they expected to find and what they actually discovered would change the trajectory of human history forever.
When Our Expectations Aren't Met
Life has a way of defying our expectations. We wake up anticipating one thing and encounter something entirely different. We plan for success and face disappointment. We expect comfort and find challenge. We look for answers and discover more questions.
The two Marys who came to the sepulcher that first Easter morning knew this feeling intimately. They arrived expecting to tend to a dead body, to perform the final acts of devotion for someone they loved. Instead, they encountered an earthquake, angels, and the most profound truth ever spoken: "He is not here, for he is risen."
Their expectation wasn't met—but what they received was infinitely greater than what they had anticipated. How often do we find ourselves in similar circumstances? We approach life with certain expectations, and when those expectations crumble, we're left asking "Why?" But perhaps the better question isn't "Why?" but "Who?"
The Question That Matters Most
"Who do you seek?"
This was the question posed to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary. It's the same question that echoes through the centuries to each of us today. We're all seeking something. We wake up each morning in pursuit of provision, success, comfort, security, or rest. We seek relationships, financial stability, meaningful work, and peaceful retirement. We expend enormous energy chasing after the things we believe will satisfy us.
But when was the last time we invested that same energy seeking Jesus Christ?
The angel's words to Mary Magdalene carry profound weight: "I know that you seek Jesus." What a remarkable thing to have said about you—that someone would observe your life and know without question that you seek Jesus above all else. Not Jesus and something else. Not Jesus or another option. But Jesus only.
The Trap of Seeking Among the Dead
"Why seek ye the living among the dead?"
This question, asked by angels at the empty tomb, cuts to the heart of our human condition. We consistently look for life, hope, and meaning in places where they cannot be found. We visit old graves, expecting to discover something living there—some source of inspiration, some wellspring of hope. We seek life in our careers, our accomplishments, our bank accounts, our relationships, and our carefully constructed routines. We jump from one dead thing to another, trying to sustain hope by strangling control over our circumstances.
When one thing fails to satisfy, we move to the next, always searching, always grasping, always coming up empty. The truth is uncomfortable but liberating: outside of Jesus Christ, everything else is darkness masquerading as light. Before we discover the true Light, we don't even realize we're living in darkness. Our families may be intact, our jobs successful, our finances secure—but without Christ, it's all shadow and void.
The God Who Transforms
God never simply gives us back our past. He doesn't reconstitute what was and drop it into our present. Instead, He does something far more powerful: He raises up through the past and creates something entirely new.
This is the resurrection principle.
We often come to God with our blueprints, our designs, our ideas of how He should act. We try to box Him into our expectations, dictating how we want Him to work based on how we've experienced Him before. But God refuses to be confined by our limited vision.
The resurrection wasn't expected, even though Jesus had explicitly predicted it. It was something radically new—a transformation that shattered every expectation and revealed God's true character. Oswald Chambers captured this beautifully: "Have you been asking God what He is going to do? He will never tell you. God does not tell you what He is going to do. Instead, He reveals to you who He is."
The One True Light
In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. Not a light among many, but the Light—singular, unique, incomparable. Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the only light worth seeking. He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. He holds the stars in His hands and knows the end from the beginning. He is beyond our control, beyond our understanding, yet invites us into relationship with Him. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." This isn't a suggestion or a helpful tip—it's the fundamental principle of life itself. When we seek Him first, everything else falls into proper perspective. Not because our circumstances necessarily change, but because we change. Our vision clears. Our priorities align. Our hope anchors in something—Someone—who cannot be shaken.
The Promise That Cannot Fail
"Ask and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you." What an extraordinary promise. What an audacious claim. And yet, it's backed by the most powerful evidence in human history: an empty tomb and a risen Savior.
Jesus declared Himself the Son of God in an era when such claims meant certain death. Emperors and caesars demanded worship, executing anyone who challenged their divine status. Yet Jesus not only made the claim—He backed it up with miracles, with transformed lives, and ultimately with resurrection. "Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved."
This exclusivity offends our modern sensibilities. We prefer options, alternatives, multiple paths to the same destination. But truth isn't democratic. Reality doesn't bend to our preferences. And the reality is this: Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life.
The Simple Invitation
The beauty of the gospel is its simplicity. Jesus doesn't say, "Go and do." He says, "Come."
He doesn't say, "Be better, try harder, clean yourself up first." He simply says, "Come."
No preparation required. No performance necessary. No pretense accepted. Just come.
Come as you are—broken, failing, struggling, doubting, desperate. Come and receive what you could never earn, never achieve, never manufacture on your own: real life, eternal life, abundant life. The old song says: "Because He lives, we can face tomorrow." All fear is gone. Because He holds the future, life is worth living.
The tomb is empty. The grave has no power. Death has been defeated.
The question remains: Who do you seek?
The tomb was empty. The stone rolled away. And two women stood in the early morning light, searching for a body that was no longer there. What they expected to find and what they actually discovered would change the trajectory of human history forever.
When Our Expectations Aren't Met
Life has a way of defying our expectations. We wake up anticipating one thing and encounter something entirely different. We plan for success and face disappointment. We expect comfort and find challenge. We look for answers and discover more questions.
The two Marys who came to the sepulcher that first Easter morning knew this feeling intimately. They arrived expecting to tend to a dead body, to perform the final acts of devotion for someone they loved. Instead, they encountered an earthquake, angels, and the most profound truth ever spoken: "He is not here, for he is risen."
Their expectation wasn't met—but what they received was infinitely greater than what they had anticipated. How often do we find ourselves in similar circumstances? We approach life with certain expectations, and when those expectations crumble, we're left asking "Why?" But perhaps the better question isn't "Why?" but "Who?"
The Question That Matters Most
"Who do you seek?"
This was the question posed to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary. It's the same question that echoes through the centuries to each of us today. We're all seeking something. We wake up each morning in pursuit of provision, success, comfort, security, or rest. We seek relationships, financial stability, meaningful work, and peaceful retirement. We expend enormous energy chasing after the things we believe will satisfy us.
But when was the last time we invested that same energy seeking Jesus Christ?
The angel's words to Mary Magdalene carry profound weight: "I know that you seek Jesus." What a remarkable thing to have said about you—that someone would observe your life and know without question that you seek Jesus above all else. Not Jesus and something else. Not Jesus or another option. But Jesus only.
The Trap of Seeking Among the Dead
"Why seek ye the living among the dead?"
This question, asked by angels at the empty tomb, cuts to the heart of our human condition. We consistently look for life, hope, and meaning in places where they cannot be found. We visit old graves, expecting to discover something living there—some source of inspiration, some wellspring of hope. We seek life in our careers, our accomplishments, our bank accounts, our relationships, and our carefully constructed routines. We jump from one dead thing to another, trying to sustain hope by strangling control over our circumstances.
When one thing fails to satisfy, we move to the next, always searching, always grasping, always coming up empty. The truth is uncomfortable but liberating: outside of Jesus Christ, everything else is darkness masquerading as light. Before we discover the true Light, we don't even realize we're living in darkness. Our families may be intact, our jobs successful, our finances secure—but without Christ, it's all shadow and void.
The God Who Transforms
God never simply gives us back our past. He doesn't reconstitute what was and drop it into our present. Instead, He does something far more powerful: He raises up through the past and creates something entirely new.
This is the resurrection principle.
We often come to God with our blueprints, our designs, our ideas of how He should act. We try to box Him into our expectations, dictating how we want Him to work based on how we've experienced Him before. But God refuses to be confined by our limited vision.
The resurrection wasn't expected, even though Jesus had explicitly predicted it. It was something radically new—a transformation that shattered every expectation and revealed God's true character. Oswald Chambers captured this beautifully: "Have you been asking God what He is going to do? He will never tell you. God does not tell you what He is going to do. Instead, He reveals to you who He is."
The One True Light
In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. Not a light among many, but the Light—singular, unique, incomparable. Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the only light worth seeking. He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. He holds the stars in His hands and knows the end from the beginning. He is beyond our control, beyond our understanding, yet invites us into relationship with Him. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." This isn't a suggestion or a helpful tip—it's the fundamental principle of life itself. When we seek Him first, everything else falls into proper perspective. Not because our circumstances necessarily change, but because we change. Our vision clears. Our priorities align. Our hope anchors in something—Someone—who cannot be shaken.
The Promise That Cannot Fail
"Ask and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you." What an extraordinary promise. What an audacious claim. And yet, it's backed by the most powerful evidence in human history: an empty tomb and a risen Savior.
Jesus declared Himself the Son of God in an era when such claims meant certain death. Emperors and caesars demanded worship, executing anyone who challenged their divine status. Yet Jesus not only made the claim—He backed it up with miracles, with transformed lives, and ultimately with resurrection. "Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved."
This exclusivity offends our modern sensibilities. We prefer options, alternatives, multiple paths to the same destination. But truth isn't democratic. Reality doesn't bend to our preferences. And the reality is this: Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life.
The Simple Invitation
The beauty of the gospel is its simplicity. Jesus doesn't say, "Go and do." He says, "Come."
He doesn't say, "Be better, try harder, clean yourself up first." He simply says, "Come."
No preparation required. No performance necessary. No pretense accepted. Just come.
Come as you are—broken, failing, struggling, doubting, desperate. Come and receive what you could never earn, never achieve, never manufacture on your own: real life, eternal life, abundant life. The old song says: "Because He lives, we can face tomorrow." All fear is gone. Because He holds the future, life is worth living.
The tomb is empty. The grave has no power. Death has been defeated.
The question remains: Who do you seek?
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