From the Pulpit: Expecting Jesus

When was the last time you got way more than you expected? Or maybe you arrived at an event and you were excited to find a special guest was arriving that no one expected to come. That’s exactly what happened to Mary on Easter morning. Early in the morning, Mary came to the tomb carrying spices and sorrow, expecting to find Jesus’ body. She wasn’t expecting a miracle (Matthew 28:1–2). Her expectation wasn’t wrong – it was reasonable. Jesus had truly died. She had seen the cross, his suffering, and the final moment Jesus cried, “It is finished” (John 19:30). What Mary thought the end was actually fulfillment. As the prophet declared, “He was pierced for our transgressions… and by His wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). When He died, “the curtain of the temple was torn in two” (Matthew 27:51), and through Jesus we now have confidence to enter God’s presence (Hebrews 10:19–20). Even with these promises, fear caused His followers to forget. Even though the angel had said, “He is not here; He has risen, just as He said” (Luke 24:6–7), they were still living as if hope had been buried with Jesus.

But everything changed at the tomb. Mary stood there weeping, looking directly at Jesus, yet not recognizing Him (John 20:14), because she was still expecting death. Then Jesus called Mary by name. (John 20:16). In that moment, everything shifted – grief turned to joy, confusion to clarity, and death to life. What she could not see with her eyes was revealed by His voice. This is the essence of faith: “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). When we don’t expect God to move, we often miss the miracle standing right in front of us. Jesus is calling you by name. Jesus has the authority to change everything in your life.  

Here’s the question for you. Do you believe He rose, and are you living like He’s alive? Mary loved Jesus, but she wasn’t expecting Him. Many of us do the same. We pray, worship, and show up, but without expectation. Yet the same Jesus who rose is also returning: “This same Jesus…will come back in the same way you have seen Him go” (Acts 1:11). And the promise still stands: “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). Mary came expecting a dead Savior, but she encountered a living King. The tomb was empty, but her heart became full. And today, He is still alive, still calling, and still moving – Let’s live expecting Jesus. He died and rose again, for you.