The Empty Tomb

Transcript of the segment on the Voice of Jesus:

They were kept from recognizing him, because he is teaching them something. Both in the story of the Emmaus walk and here in the encounter with Mary, how does she recognize him? Now you notice. She recognizes Jesus when he speaks to her, when his voice is heard. And the theological implication of that is that from this point onward, that is, in fact, how people will come to recognize Jesus. In John 3 [John 10:3], for example, Jesus uses the image of himself as the Great Shepherd, and he says this, “The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” Jesus is in the business of coming to individual people, as he called her name, “Mary!” And she recognized him when he called her name. Jesus is looking out for people, his people, searching them out, revealing himself to them, calling them to himself by name, individually, touching their hearts, getting their attention, drawing them to himself. That’s the work Jesus is doing today. That’s how he works and operates today. In John 10:14 there’s another verse, ‘I am the Good Shepherd and I know my own and my own know me.’ They know me when I speak their name; when I call them, they recognize my voice. They won’t follow another shepherd; they will only follow me. Jesus the Great Shepherd is in the business of calling people, like Mary, to himself.