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Words we don\u2019t expect to hear: <\/span>Jesus was not where He was supposed to be.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n John 20:1-7<\/b><\/a>:<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cEarly on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don\u2019t know where they have put him!<\/span><\/p>\n The passage goes on:<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSo Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb.<\/span> Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.<\/span> He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus\u2019 head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen.<\/span><\/p>\n Maybe it\u2019s surprising to think about, but this was not unusual for Jesus. He was often not where He was supposed to be. This habit began when he was just a child.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201c<\/b>Every year Jesus\u2019 parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThen they began looking for him among their relatives and friends.<\/span> When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, \u2018Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n \u201c\u2018<\/b>Why were you searching for me?\u201d he asked. \u2018Didn\u2019t you know I had to be in my Father\u2019s house?\u2019 But they did not understand what he was saying to them\u201d (<\/span>Luke 2:41-50<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n In<\/span> John, Chapter 8<\/span><\/a>, Jesus is again in the temple courts, this time as an adult. The people begin to question His testimony and accuse Him of being demon-possessed. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201c\u2018Very truly I tell you,\u2019 Jesus [finally] answered, \u2018before Abraham was born, I am!\u2019 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n When they drew up to throw the stones, Jesus had disappeared.<\/span><\/p>\n One day, Jesus\u2019 friend Lazarus lay sick unto death:<\/span><\/p>\n \u201c<\/b>Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. (This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) So the sisters sent word to Jesus, \u2018Lord, the one you love is sick.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n From John 11<\/span><\/a>: \u201cWhen he heard this, Jesus said, \u2018This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God\u2019s glory so that God\u2019s Son may be glorified through it.\u2019 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days \u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Wait.<\/span> What? <\/span><\/i>He didn\u2019t immediately go to Lazarus, a friend and a family He loved?<\/span><\/p>\n Oh, but He did eventually go, and showed the people the miracle of a lifetime!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cJesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. <\/span>\u2018<\/b>Take away the stone,\u2019 he said.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201c\u2018But, Lord,\u201d said Martha, \u2026 \u2018by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n \u201c<\/b>Then Jesus said, \u2018Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n \u201c<\/b>So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, \u2018Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n \u201c<\/b>When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, \u2018Lazarus, come out!\u2019 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cJesus said to them, \u2018Take off the grave clothes and let him go.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n There were certainly times when Jesus surprised people. Along with times He was not where He was supposed to be, there were times when He <\/span>was <\/span><\/i>where He <\/span>was not <\/span><\/i>supposed to be:<\/span><\/p>\n At the dinner table with tax-collectors, sinners, and prostitutes<\/span><\/p>\n At a well talking to a Samaritan woman<\/span><\/p>\n Walking on a stormy sea<\/span><\/p>\n Washing feet\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Hanging on a cross<\/span><\/p>\n \u2026 taking a punishment that was <\/span>not <\/span><\/i>His, but mine.<\/span><\/p>\n By the way, that day at the tomb when Jesus was not where He was supposed to be:<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAfter the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.<\/span> His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201c<\/b>The angel said to the women, \u2018Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him. Now I have told you.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n \u201c<\/b>So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. \u2018Greetings,\u2019 he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, \u2018Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me\u2019\u201d (<\/span>Matthew 28:1-10)<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\nJesus was not where He was supposed to be!<\/i><\/b><\/h2>\n
But Jesus was not where He was supposed to be!<\/i><\/b><\/h2>\n
But Jesus was not where He was supposed to be!<\/i><\/b><\/h2>\n
Jesus was not where He was supposed to be.\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/h2>\n
Wasn\u2019t Jesus supposed to be there?<\/i><\/b><\/h2>\n
Jesus was not where He was supposed to be; but He was exactly where He intended to be.<\/i><\/b><\/h2>\n