ANCHOR DEVOTIONS MARCH 29, 2012

Buried in a Garden
John 19:40-42,
20:14-16
 

"Thinking he was the gardener, she said, 'Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.'"
(JOHN 20:15)

INSIGHT
POETS OFTEN WRITE POETRY TO PUT HISTORY IN PERSPECTIVE. BUT HERE IS A PLACE WHERE POETRY AND HISTORY MEET: IN THE AMAZING WORK OF JESUS.
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
1 Samuel 9-10
Psalm 124
2 Corinthians 2-3

John 19:40-42

New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)

40

Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. ⁴¹ At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. ⁴² Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

John 20:14-16

New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)

14

NEVER FORSAKEN

with J.J. Jasper

"How could you let this happen?" J.J. Jasper begged God for an answer when he lost his 5-year-old son. To his surprise God answered and gave him a powerful testimony of joy and hope. At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
¹⁵ “Woman,” he said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).

Sometimes the little details in the Bible are as amazing as the big ones. Did you know Jesus was buried and rose again in a garden? The Bible says, "At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb ... they laid Jesus there" (John19: 41-42). When Mary Magdalene saw the resurrected Christ, she even thought He was the gardener.

Why is this significant? Think back on the story of humanity in the Bible. It began in a garden. Although sin entered the world there, God also assured Adam and Eve then that He would send a Redeemer to save His people from sin. That Redeemer, Jesus, was crucified, buried and arose from death in a garden. How like God to keep His promises so precisely that the circumstances match with perfect symmetry.

Do you think it's a coincidence that all of this happened in a literal garden? More likely it is evidence that history is in the hands of a great Master of art and science who is writing the ultimate masterpiece with you and me in it!