In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of looking at things from a heavenly perspective. He encourages the audience not to focus on temporary and earthly things, but to see the eternal and spiritual aspects of life. The preacher shares personal anecdotes and biblical stories to illustrate his point, including the story of Joseph being released from prison and the angels sitting at the tomb of Jesus. He concludes by urging the audience to trust in God's plan and to find joy in the knowledge that Jesus is alive.

And we're at chapter 20 this evening, and commencing to read up the very first verse, and going right through to the end of verse 16. John, chapter 20, verse 1, right through to verse 16. And we're touching some very lovely things this evening. Indeed, I almost entitled this part of the chapter, Lovely Lessons, because indeed we have some very lovely lessons before us in the chapter tonight. We shall be gazing again and again and again as we go down these phrases of the devotedness of Mary Magdalene. We'll be gazing up a devotedness. If ever a soul truly loved the Lord Jesus Christ with every fiber of their being, it was this devoted woman, and we shall prove that this evening. We'll be looking up the devotedness of Mary. And then we can see tonight that the providence of God was working to provide two witnesses, that in the mouth of two witnesses every word might be established. When we come to establish this great, doctrinous, mighty, truth of the bodily resurrection of Christ, we would need it established, indeed, by very dependable witnesses, so that we shall look up the witness of the name. And then we'll come to the depths of the chapter when we come to the plainness of the medical, of the bodily resurrection of Christ. This is one of the fundamental truths of our gospel, that our Lord Jesus Christ bodily rose again the third day. This is something that we can't afford to dispute about. If you don't believe in the bodily resurrection, well, you can't be in this church. That's all there is about. My dear friends, this is fundamental, and it's something that can't be debated or disputed. Friends, this is put beyond question. Infallible proofs are given, and we have some of them before us in the chapter, so that we'll be looking up the plainness of the medical. Then we'll come on to look at the angels, the whiteness of the messenger. Mind you, they were not in mourning, not a bit of it. They were really rejoicing, praising the Lord. They knew the inside facts. And here they are, robed in white, sitting up with their head on the feet of where the body had been laid. And then we shall end on a very lovely note this evening, the tenderness of the Master when he preached the message of just one word. Well, the Lord can really preach. Just one word was enough, and what a message it is. Now, there are the bones of the sixteen verses, and we'll start and put the beef on now. Back to verse 1, John chapter 20, verse 1, the first day of the week. And I think I need to stop for a moment at that phrase. It's a very important one in our New Testament. The first day of the week. You know that the last day of the week is Saturday, and that was and is still held by the Jews of the Jewish Sabbath. But day of the week's altogether different, you know. Talk about the Sabbath, I don't know where you get it, but you do talk anyway, some of you pray about the Sabbath. You ought to be living in Saturday to do that, because that's the Sabbath day. The first day of the week's an entirely different day altogether, altogether. And there are many references made to the first day of the week in your New Testaments, and it's a very important one. You see, strictly speaking, in the calendar sense, well, it was just the first day of another week, it was just Sunday. Oh, but in the New Testament it comes before us not only in a calendar sense, but, listen carefully, in a dispensational sense. And that's very important. What do I mean when I talk about the first day of the week coming before us in the New Testament in a dispensational sense? Well, I shall very soon show. You come with me to the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 4. And I'm sure you remember the story here, but I don't need to read too much. Peter and John have been arrested because they performed a wonderful miracle in chapter 3. And they're standing before the Jewish Sanhedrin, that was the old Jewish courts, and 71 Jews are examining them, and they're being examined for the wonderful miracle that was performed. And as they stood before the courts, here's the first question that was asked the prisoners at first test. And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, by what power, or by what name, have you done this? Well, that was a very subtle question, because if you knew Jewish law, you would know that there is an old law way back in Deuteronomy, and it says, if any man performs a miracle, and it comes to pass in any other name than the name of Jehovah, let him be put to death. So, they're getting right on the mark, and they're saying, by what name, by what power, have you done this? And you know, they were on the spot, because life was at stake. Look at that case now, very carefully. Then, Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost. So, whatever comes after this, there can be no arguments about it. The Holy Ghost that's talking. It isn't just Peter, the fisherman, you know. It's a man filled with the Spirit of God that's answering. So, everything that comes behind this is very dependable for the Holy Ghost that's talking through Peter. And, oh, he's facing seventy-one, and he's standing on the edge of his own grave. Oh, I shall always bless him for this, and when I get to eternity, I think that I'll take him by the hand one day, and say, God bless you for answering the way you did. Now, listen to the answer. Then, Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, if we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole, be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Now, there's no fear there, is there? I tell you, I wish we had a few Peters, you know. We, we do talk about them at times. So, he's putting his shoulders back now, and just looking all the old Jews full in the face, and he's saying, be it known unto you all, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. You know, that was enough to cost him his life. But, he didn't stop there, you know. He went a bit further. He did this. He said, be it known unto you all, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Watch it. Whom ye crucify. What's this? Whom God raised from the dead. Now, that's what you call shooting on your neck. And, he was really doing it, because if they didn't like the name, and they didn't like to be told about crucifying him, they most certainly didn't like to hear that he had risen from the dead. And, he said this, even by him doth this man stand here before you all. And, then he went to the Old Testament by the Spirit, of course. The Holy Ghost called him to Psalm 118, and he said this, this is the stone which was set up not of you people. They rejected him and crucified him, which is become the head of the corner. That's in resurrection, of course. And, then he really shouted at him. Sometimes they blame me for shouting. Who could keep back from shouting? Neither is there salvation in any other. Say, he was really, he was really talking now. But, I want you to notice this, that the Holy Ghost very carefully led him back to the 118th Psalm. Now, we would need to go back there ourselves. Let's go back and see what it was all about. Psalm 118. And, when you get there, if you've got a good Bible, you will find under Psalm 118 the word, Messianic. Of this is a psalm that belongs to the Messiah. That just simply means that many things in this psalm can only be applied to the Messiah, and to nobody else. You see, here's where Peter was thinking about when the Holy Ghost led him back, verse 22. The stone which the builders refused. That, of course, was the Jewish nation, the builders, rejecting Christ and crucifying him. The stone which the builders refused, is, is become the head, stone of the corner. Now, he went a little bit further here in the psalm. This is the Lord's doing, isn't it? Why, it was the Lord that brought him back from the dead. It is marvelous in our eyes. Now, watch this with me then. This is the day which the Lord has made what day? A resurrection day. By the first day. Got it? Let me tell you, it's not only used in this book in a calendar sense, it's used in a dispensational sense. It is become the day that the Lord hath made. Yes, this is the Lord, by the day he made specially, that the whole world might remember that he's alive, and the head of the corner. Now, that's the first day. And there's all the difference in your Bible between the Lord's day and the Jewish Sabbath. It takes me an hour to develop that, but I'm not after that line tonight. I'm only pensing it. We'll go back to where we were. John 19, 20. Now, here's what happened on that wonderful day when the Lord rose and made this day to be forever his own. The Lord's day. The first day of the week cometh, nearly Magdalene. Now, watch the little phrases that the Holy Ghost put in for you to watch, that word, erre. When it was yet dark. Now, I want you to get the hold of this. If I were to go to Mass at 27 tonight, you would see Mary standing at the cross, and she stood there until our Lord gave his very last sight. And she stood in the shadows when Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus brought that dead body down from the cross. And this book declares that she followed them right to the grave, and she was there when they laid him in the tomb. And the great teaching of the book is this, that she was the last to leave, and she's the first to come. I don't know where other women came, but John's just laughing out loud that she was a wee bit ahead of them. Yes, she was the last to leave, and she's the first to come. Being a Jewess, you had to stay through on the Sabbath day. On the Sabbath, yes. But as soon as it was possible for her, she comes. Now, all this would really tell you about any thinking and something that this woman loved. Now, I want you to get this. She came when it was yet dark. Mind you, if you have to leave the city, come outside the city wall and go up the road to Calvary, all in the dark. And I want to tell you this, that there was not only darkness there, but danger. You know, the Roman soldiers were guarding the tomb. And I just want to say this quickly, they were not moralists. Indeed, from all that we can learn of them, they were the most immoral crowds on earth. And for a young woman to go out in the early morning in the dark, she was in danger. But never mind about the dark, and never mind about the danger, and never mind about the distance, because you loved them. You're just looking at Mary for her Lord. I think it's very touching to see her in the dark, and in the danger, going the whole distance, because she loved the Savior. But that'll do it there. Let's get on a little bit further. The first day of the week, Thomas Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark onto the sepulcher, and seeeth the stone taken away from the sepulcher. Now, as I see it, it was this. She's coming stumbling through the darkness of the morning. May well have been amidst the dark, I'm not sure. But as she came to the sepulcher, the stone is all the way. Now, she didn't wait. She didn't wait any more. That was just about enough for her. She just turns, and she runs. See how your Bible's written? Yes? Then she runs. I wish I could paint that for you. I wish you could see this young woman, and it's dark, and she gathers her long, eastern robes up round her, and she's running down, down this old, unleavened rope. She may have stumbled once or twice. Let me get up again. And she's panting. She's running. And she's running as hard as she can go to where Peter and John are. I want you to notice this. Then she runneth and cometh to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loves, that John. And saith unto them, now watch your language. They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulcher. She didn't know a thing about it. It's not the riddles that we thought. There was no such thing happened, and she didn't know anything about that. She's just excited, the woman. And look at the language. They have taken the Lord. Well, that's very poor, isn't it? If she had even said they have taken the body, we might have forgiven her. But she's so muddled that she makes mistakes. And listen, friends, let's get the hold of it. I've seen people who love the Savior, and are so jealous, and so very jealous that they've been muddled and made mistakes. They'll never rise up. Thank God for them. That's what you ought to do. Oh, don't go and bother some wee fellow, because he gives his testimony, and he breaks down, and he makes mistakes. And you say, oh, didn't he say this enough? Oh, why didn't you come and do it? Oh, no. She was muddled. I know she was muddled. And I've seen women in love muddled before, and saying things they shouldn't say. Never mind, it was only love in her heart. She loved him, and she's running, and she's running to get somebody, and she's stumbling, and she's panting for breath. And they've taken him. They've taken him away. Now, you know, she's just gets excited. That's all. Powerfully written, isn't it? Now, watch again. Then she runs and comes to Simon Peter, unto the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and says unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulcher, and we know not where they have laid him. A little word, we, there, seems to indicate that perhaps she met the other woman as she ran down the road. I think she did, and, you know, she wouldn't take any time. She just says, you know, the sepulcher's open, and she runs on. She's putting it all together now. I know she's muddled in the whole thing. We know not where they have laid him. Now, just leave her aside. We've looked at her language, and we've looked at her love. Leave her just there, and we'll take the thing as it comes. Verse three, Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulcher. In that I see the providence of God. You see, the old Jewish law requires that every word be established in the mouth of two witnesses, and get this, the two must be male. Now, that's very important. So, you can see the providence of God, getting two men out, getting them out to kill the next, they are to kill. You see, there are two males being brought in the providence of God to the sepulcher. And do you know that when Paul begins to talk about the witnesses of the resurrection, he never talks about anything but males. I know that women saw they risen Christ, but they're not brought in as witnesses. Have a look at 1 Corinthians 15, do you see? Did you never notice it before? Well, just have a look now. See how wonderful your Bible is written. Now, verse four is talking about Christ being buried, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scripture, and that he was seen of Cephas, yes, there's Peter, then of the twelve, after that he was seen of above five hundred, quick, brethren at once, after that he was seen of James, then of all the apostles, and last of all he was seen of me, never mentioned the woman. You see, the Jewish law must always be admired. You know, when the Jews wanted to establish anything, it must be established in the mouth of two witnesses who agree perfectly on every detail, and they must be males. Why, that's very, very important. And do you see God's providence getting through out here? My, this running was all of God's. Well, let's get the hold of that, that's the providence of God. Then we come to the reminiscence of John. John's writing the thing, and in verse four of chapter twenty he said, so they ran both together. You see, the two of them starting off together, and the other disciple did outrun Peter. He remembers that, and came fast to the sepulchre, and he's stooping down and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying, yet went he not in. Oh, he's remembering all this. You can remember Mary coming, bustling in all out of breath. And he can remember the two starting off, and the running along the road together, and then he gets a bit of a spurt on. I believe he was younger than Peter. After all, John lived longer than all the apostles. He wrote the Revelation. I believe he was younger, and perhaps that's the answer, that he got away from Peter on this occasion, and he came first. And you can see that it's just John, you know, who comes and goes again, but wouldn't go any further. And when you get the providence of God into that little pot, and the reminiscence of Peter, of John, then you get the impertence of Peter. Well, it was almost impertent to a degree. Then comes Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre. One who was in here, just the same old blundering Peter. How beautifully it was. You see, this was the place where the body of the Lord had lay in. It was a holy place. And for Peter to blunder in like this is almost impertinent. Impertinent. And here he is. He's going right in, and see if the linen clothes lie. You see, when he went in, he saw the linen clothes lie. We'll read this, and then we'll go back on. And an option that was about his head not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in the place by itself. Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw. Now here's a wee word. Unbelieved. What was it to believe? Now, this was an experience. Do you see it? You can see the providence of God in bringing him up. You can see John going back in memory. You can see blundering Peter bustling in to the very place where the body lay. And you can see this. You can see that both of them had an experience. And the experience is a wonderful one. You remember last week, let's get down to this plainness of the miracle. Look at verse 40 of last week's chapter, 19. Then took they, that is, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, then took they the body of Jesus, the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen cloth, I said the word should be, and so it should. You don't wind anything in cloth, do you? No, this was the mode of burial. They got long stripes of very fine, fine linen, I'm told about a foot, a foot across, and maybe three foot. And they dipped this piece of linen in anointment, and they began at the toes, and they began to wind it. They wound the body with linen cloth. Then they got another one, went on again, and the arms were kept tight, and they came up and wound the whole body, and the last was tucked in at the neck, the whole body was wound up. Then they got another piece, and they wound it round the head of the coffin, and stuck it in, and there's the night. The only thing that can be seen is the dead face. And this was how they laid the Lord to rest. And when John came, he just stopped and glanced into the saffron cloth, and saw the linen cloth, and Peter bustles on in, and then John gets a real look, and I want you to notice this one. Look at this. They saw verse 7, that was about his head, not lying with the linen cloth, but now what's the word, one of the greatest Greek scholars of all time, that this was still in its combustion, still in its full. You see, this ointment that these linen cloths were gifted, the moment that it went on, it began to set the cloth into a crystalline shell, and when they get in, here's something that's amazing. There is not one fold of the cloth, this cloth, still in the wrapping, and there's the place where the face was, and there's the linen, still in its wrapping. You would have believed. Ah, this was done for this purpose. You see, no friend could have taken them out of that. Without disturbing the folds, could they? No fool could have done it. Friend, here's an exhibition before their eyes of the exceeding greatness of the power that brought Christ to the dead, right out through the folds, without disturbing one of them. No wonder when John Gist, the book says, unbelieved. You know, it settles forevermore that there were no fools got into this sepulchre to take away the body. Of course, there were no fools got in. You see, if a fool had got in, supposing some Roman, and they wanted to shift the body, they would have taken the linen wrappings with them, wouldn't they? Oh, they wouldn't have even thought of leaving something that would have been used for a witness of the resurrection. Oh no, they would have taken them away. And if a friend had got in, if some apostle had thought of coming and removing the body, he dare not have taken the time to remove the wrappings. A friend, no fool, has anything to do with it. Absolute, infallible proof that our Lord Jesus Christ rose bodily, bodily. What do the Rosalites believe? Do they think they're up to split the body? Well, have a doer. Go and try to rack a spirit up, a linen cloth. Should any man lose it, the body's ain't up. Did you ever see a grave digger trap a spade on his head? You couldn't bury spirits, you can only bury bodies. And oh, no, no fools, without disturbing one comes the blessed body of Jesus. The body rose not only triumphant over death, but this body rose in real marvelous spiritual power. The angel didn't rule away the storm to let Christ out. Oh no, he ruled away the storm to let the boy's end as he was out. He was out before the storm was ruled away. When the doors were shut for fear of the Jews, why, he just passed them through the door. You know, this bothers people, the time. The poor scientists who can't get on too well without two and two. They can't understand this. That doesn't bother men who can believe God's words. And just recently, you know, it has been proved by Russian scientists what a pity we have to wait on. People say that that is solid. That is not solid. That is composed of atoms, by the millions crushed together, and it's not solid. And if by some means you could get this hand with all its atoms, you can pass it through the atoms, and you can pass solids through solids. And it's been proved every day. And when Jesus rose triumphant, all power, all plutotonics belonged to heaven. And he came out through the pores, without disturbing one of them. And there's the evidence to polarize the plainness of the miracle. There's only one of the infallible proofs of the resurrection. But there's a lovely wee thing here. I want you to get the hold of it. You can see the exceeding greatness of the proof, and you're bound to see the exceeding greatness of the power. You know, God had this pictured long ago. I think that almost everyone in the class knows the story, the full story, of Joseph. You know it? Do you remember that he was the beloved of the Father, Father Joseph? Do you remember that he was despised and rejected by his brethren? Do you remember? Do you remember that the world scoffed, and that the world gave flesh, the scandal, on his brow? And Joseph, because of a worldling's lie, was sent down into the depths of darkness in judgment. Remember? Do you remember that when he was down in the depths of darkness in judgment, he was numbered with a transgression? It's true. And one he blessed, and the other remained undaunted. Now, I want you to get the story. That's all too plain, isn't it? You don't need me to sort that out for you. What a picture of Christ, the beloved of the Father, despised and rejected of his own brethren. And then the world is spitting his face, and send him down into the darkness in judgment, numbered with a transgression. Do you remember how he came out of it? Well, I think I'd better take you back and show you. Genesis 41, the book of Genesis, and we're at chapter 41. Now, Joseph's in prison, in the darkness, numbered with a transgression. And then Pharaoh had a dream, and you remember all that took place. Now, verse 14 is all we need to get just now. 41, 14. Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him history out of the dungeon. And he shaved himself, what does he do? And changed his rim. That's very lovely put in. Left the old dungeon closed behind him. Oh, he was coming out as a prince. That's exactly what our Lord did, why he left the old dungeon closed behind him. And I want you to get this. Oh, in that little wonderful bit we're at now, you not only see the exceeding greatness of the proof, but you not only see the exceeding greatness of the power, and the exceeding greatness of the picture in the Old Testament. Oh, but I want you to get this, the exceeding greatness of the prospect. You see what I'm living in now? This is what I'm living in now, this old chalk of fear. Sometimes it's not so well, that's true. My dear friends, let's get a hold of this. All of us see it, all of us. It is dissolving. If you want to debate that, have a look at the heads in front of you. Some of them with no hair at all. I've got a bit anyway. And a whole lot of you, very few of you have got your own teeth. Oh yes, and look at how many glasses there are about the place, you can't half see. Oh yes, that's Selina that's crying. My dear friend, it's dissolving, it's dissolving. But will you get this, the prospect is that the Lord Jesus will come again, and he'll change our vile body, like Anselm's web that equips his glory. This corruptible will put on incorruption, and this mortal will put on immortality, and we'll be dressed for the mountains. Hell and death, by the very same power that brought him from the dead, will affect our bodies too. Wonderful thought. Let's get on with this. Now we'll go back through the chapter, and we'll try to see something about these messengers. Don't think that we should pass by this evening. Did you notice something? Now this is very specially put in for the young ones, how to read your bible. Watch. Then went in verse 8, that of the disciple which came first to the sepulcher, and he saw and believed. I think I should touch this, for as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. You know, they were just basing their whole facts now on what their eyes could see. Oh, but that's not half as great a foundation as the word of God, you know. It's a wonderful thing to see the falls altogether. But the real basis of the bodily resurrection truth is in the bible. These fellas didn't get the hold of the word yet, they were only going by fact. But it's when you place your faith in the book, that you really stand steadfast and unmovable. Then there's something happens here, verse 10, then the disciples went away again onto their own home. Now I can't explain how they passed merely by without saying something true about what they had seen in the sepulcher. It may well have been that when she went back to the house and told them, and they ran out, that she just didn't come immediately. And it may be as they went down the hill, she came up some other way, I don't know. But there's this fact that they came out, and they went down the road, and into the morning darkness, and Mary was left standing at the tomb weeping. See that phrase there? But Mary stood without of the sepulcher weeping. Lovely picture, isn't it? You know friends, the very lingering of this woman, we're back to the place on your notes tonight, the very lingering of this woman proves that she loved him. Now I'm going to say something that's almost going to upset the beauty of the story now, and I want you to get it because it's very important. You see, this woman really loved him. That's proved by her coming into the dark, by coming into the danger, by coming all that distance. That's proved by her getting muddled in the language. That's proved by her lingering outside. When the apostles go away, she stands outside the sepulcher weeping. Oh, I know she loved him. The Lord had told her, you know, many, many times, that on the third day, I'll rise again. I know she loved him, but you know your love would need to travel in companionship with your trust. And there are a lot of souls who love the Lord, who stand and weep when they ought to be shouting praises, and the trouble is they're not shouting because they have no faith. Oh, I know she loved him, but she was standing weeping at the very spot where she must, where she ought to have been shouting for joy. And you know, we're all just to blame as much as we love the Savior, that's true, and he looks into our hearts, and he can see, and you can look into his face, and you can say, I love you, and we do love him. But there are times when the darkness falls, that we stand and weep when we ought to be trusting the Lord because of his word and praising him. I thought I should point that out to you. But watch this, verse 11, But Mary stood without at the sepulcher weeping, and as she wept, she stooped down and looked into the sepulcher, and she is two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body, Jehovah's Witnesses to mark, where the body of Jesus, the tense feet, had laid. That's for just for Jehovah's Witnesses. Had laid. There's another question here, isn't there? Where were these angels when Peter and John was in this place a minute ago? Were they there? Didn't Peter bustle into this holy place? No angels now. Didn't John come creeping in behind you? No angels now. Oh yes, I believe they were there. You see, we must always remember that the angels can be either visible or invisible according to the will of God. I honestly believe there are angels here. Mind you, that's a tremendous thing. And the teaching of this book in my hand is that a woman should always have her head covered in a meeting like this because of the angels. And some of you act like the Yanks, don't you? When you ought to be a man of the book, dear, and don't ever forget it either. Oh yes, there are angels here. They're unseen to us. They're ever ministering to us. But on this occasion, it was the will of God that she should see the angels. Now their very presence there ought to have told her that there's nothing has happened to her. Get that? Why, here are two angels, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And the very presence of two shining angels ought to have told this woman that nobody could come and nobody could steal them and nobody could take them away while the Lord had given his angels charge concerning him. And they were there the whole time, you know. They were there. And they were there to see that nothing disturbed the prophecies of God. And she ought to have known, you know. But we're all slow, you know. We're all terribly slow. You see, their presence ought to have been a lesson. Now I want you to notice their performance, you younger ones watching what I'm doing. Two angels in white, sitting, sitting, sitting. Don't go galloping over the words. Sitting. And if you take your Bible sometime and go through from Genesis to Revelation, it's the only place in the book where you'll find the angel sitting. That's worth thinking about, isn't it? Now don't get mixed up when you read about the angel of the Lord, because that happens to be the Lord himself who sat under the tree with Gideon. But these are the angels. My, they're sitting down. They're absolutely contented with the whole affair. They know the thing's been done. Perfectly done. They're sitting down. And the only place you get them sitting. That's their performance. There's a lovely retouch here. They were sitting. Just watch their position. One at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body had laid. And I mustn't steal this. It was Dr. Pink who first said, I think, that if the Lord had allowed two saints to look after the body, there would have been a row before the night was over of who should sit at the head and who should sit at the feet. It's very probable there would have been. But the angels were so contented. My, they were honored either to be at the blessed feet or the blessed brow of the Savior. And we should be content to fill the little niche that God gives us to fill, whether it's at the head or at the feet. There's a wee lesson there. Perfectly content they were. But the depth of the lesson is here. Watch this. And see if two angels in white sitting, the one at the head and the other at the feet where the body of Jesus had lain, and they say unto her, full words, now watch them, woman, why weepest thou? Now, in a moment, she's going to see the Savior. Do you see verse 14? And when she had thus said, she turned herself back and said, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. And Jesus said unto her, full words, woman, why weepest thou? Do you see that the angels are talking the same language as the Master? I think that's worth seeing. Mine are just saying the very same thing that the Lord says. Oh, how much in harmony they were with Him. But look, here's the great thing. Here's the great thing. You know, many, many times, earth cries, why? I must be tender in this meeting. I know that death visits homes very quickly. And I know a loved one can be removed. And I know so many things come upon all of us that sometimes we turn our faces towards heaven and we say, why? And I'll tell you, maybe at the same time the angels are looking down and saying, why? Because the one that was up sometimes meets the one that comes down. You see, they're looking from the other side of the picture. They say, why? Why are your eyes full of tears, woman? Why are you weeping? Why is something there shivering in the dark? He's alive and alive forevermore. They've seen the whole picture, you know. There's nothing to weep about. Oh, and one day I may die quickly, and sometimes I tell my sons who are here tonight, when they come in and say, your father's dead, just get this into your head. He's more alive than he ever was before. I'll only be in the better land. I'll only be on the golden street. I'll only be at the throne. I'll only be present along. There's nothing to get excited about. Oh, listen, heaven, please, don't let go. I know the loss. You're not to just be a stoic. I know the loss sometimes is terrible and heart-rending, but heaven wants you to see the things which are eternal. The things which are seen are only temporary. Ah, but the things are not seen that can be seen by faith are eternal. And sometimes the why that goes up, why, is met by a why that comes down. They're often the same thing, because they see the other side. Some lovely little touches there. You see their presence, and you see their performance, and you see their position, and you see their probing. Well, let's get down to it. Verse 13, they say unto her woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, because, because they have taken away my love, and I know not where they have led them. And when she had not said, she turned herself back and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her woman, why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou? She supposing him to be the garden that saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him, hence. There's a lovely touch in there. She never even told the gardener his name. She thought, well, at least they know. If thou have borne him, hence. As if him was the only him in the world. Why, that was lovely. You see the woman's heart is going out now in lamentation. You can see Mary's love. You can see Mary's love in Mary's language. You can see Mary's love in her lamentation. My, she's lamenting. Where have you led them? I'll come and take them away. And then this is the greatest touch in the story tonight. All that I could preach this the way it must have been. Verse 16, Jesus saith unto her, just one word. I think it was breathed very tenderly, and I think it was breathed very touchingly. Oh, I shouldn't try to imitate my master. I can't do it. I think he stood in the shadows and he said, it's a wonderful message, you know. I want you to get this now. I want you to get this. It was a personal message. Oh, it doesn't belong to everybody. Everybody's not Mary. And even if there were a lot of Marys, my, just the way this word was founded on his lips, it was only for one Mary. This is the way he always talked to her. He always said, you know, friend, if you stand in the shadows, and so many things have been taken out of your life, and you feel that all these things are against you, and you've lost so much, you seem to be out of the divine group, as it were. You know, if you're really seeking the Lord in honesty, he'll have a wee message for you. Maybe you'll have to wait on, maybe, at the tomb, yes. Maybe you'll have to stand when every soul is gone, when the two elders have gone, two friends gone. So many people, you know, lean upon the pastor when they should be looking for the Lord. And you'll never have to stand alone, and there'll not be a soul there, and in your loneliness, your whole heart will go out. Oh, let me out, but Lord, let me out of here, it's not what it should be. Oh, but he knows you love him. He'll have a wee word for you. My, this was a personal message. You know, it was an essential message. If this devoted soul was to have her tears dried, and her eyes opened, and her burdens removed, and her soul blessed, and be replied, he must speak that here alone. Oh friend, I confess that I come to this class, and I've got the whole chapter to work on. I'm only going through the phrases. I'm teaching the book these nights. That's very simple for me. But I've got to groan all week, sometimes into the early hours of the morning, for to get the message of the Lord for his people, for Lord's Day morning. And I try to do that. It must be the Lord's message. And Dr. Ironside drove this into me when I was just a young fellow. I can remember him picking me up from the class and saying, Do you know the difference between the Lord's truth and the Lord's message? I said, No, sir. He said, Well, I'll tell you. He said, If I came next Sunday morning to your church and preached on the Lord's coming, would that be the Lord's truth? I said, Yes, sir, it would. He said, Would it be the Lord's message for the people? I said, It may not. He said, Then remember this, that the Lord's truth is not always the Lord's message. He says, But if you take your time and get the Lord's message, you'll find it's the Lord's truth. Oh, how lovely that was. This was the Lord's message. They dried their tears and took their burdens away. Remember, he had risen from the dead. He was ascending to his power, but he held it with a special message. Ah, what did you get there? It was a reviving message. Maya sent her down the road, a new road. Oh, she was jumping for joy. He's alive, alive forevermore. She was thrown to the post. You know, friends, I'll try to say this. I don't know whether I'll get it over or not. I'm 61 next month, and you can count back to the First World War, 1914. You'll find I wasn't very old. I was born in 1911, and my father was at the World War, and he was right on there up to 1916. And just before 1916, he came home to visit us. And we were all children, and I was the youngest one. I'm only three or four. And he got into Belfast at some time of the early hours of the morning, and then couldn't get any conveyance to Newton Isles. And he walked the whole way home. Sergeant Major in the Royal Ulster Rifles. And when he got to our home, it was about five o'clock in the morning. And I can remember, you're all sleeping in the room with my mother, and I hear the knocking at the door. Those were the dark days of the war, and this was a woman on her own with her children. You know, in a flash, she was out of bed. And in a flash, she had me in her arms. I can see my bigger brother running down the stairs and standing in his pajamas. I can see another one getting out of a side room, just peeping out. And then there's something. I heard my mother say, who's there? And there was no answer. She said, if you don't get away, I'll put the dog on. And we hadn't got a dog to begin with. She was a real woman. And when he heard that, you know, I can remember this. I was very young, it's true. But I can remember in the middle of the night, one word coming from the other side of the door. It was Miss. My mother's name was Miss. And he just said, Mary. She says, drop me. Who's the boss? Who's the thing? Open the door. She was in. She knew that voice like nobody else with all my soul. He wants to speak to you like that every day.