I Am Way Ahead of You

When someone is reporting a plan, those listening can sometimes deduce where it all is going. Sometimes a listener will interject, “I’m way ahead of you”, and pose it how the plan continues and concludes. It’s a pretty common expression. The sharper the listener is, the more accurate the deduction.

In the stories after the resurrection of Jesus, it is the disciples who have the task of catching up with what God has planned for getting the news and the effect of the Risen Life in Christ out to everyone. Jesus will be out front for all that must take place.

The wisdom of God is absolute so there is no surprise that women among the followers are told first. Matthew records that two women called Mary came to see the tomb. An angel, coming with a commotion like that of an earthquake, has news for them. The angel reveals that it is clear why they have come to this tomb. They know that Jesus has been crucified. The tomb of the one who has died is the obvious place for paying respects, but the angel straightens something out for Mary Magdalen and the other Mary. They won’t find this crucified one here, for he has been raised. The tomb is no place to look for the living.

The Angel tells the faithful women to go quickly to tell the other disciples that Jesus has been raised from the dead and is going ahead of them to Galilee where they will be able to encounter him. They hurried off, filled with awe and joy to deliver the angel’s message. And who do you think they come across on the way? Take a look:

Jesus met Mary Magdalene and the other Mary and said, "Greetings!" And they came to him, took hold of his feet, and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me."  
—Matthew 28:9-10

The plans of God are sure but the plans of the priests and elders are being pulled together under duress. Soldiers report to these officials that the tomb entrance had rumbled open and the body of Jesus is nowhere to be found. They concoct a conspiracy that the body was stolen; with this, they will dissuade anyone from believing that Jesus was raised to life. They bribed the soldiers, paying them to spread this tale.

So the chief priests and their colleagues were devising their plans. Simon Peter and other disciples had no plans except to hide and lay low since they were filled with fear and grief. But the two named Mary get to them with news that they had seen Jesus; they have news from the angel at the tomb and the Lord himself of new plans for them. They are to get to Galilee and see Jesus there. Thanks to the women, the other disciples learn that Jesus is going ahead of them, and they can meet him in their old stomping grounds. The ministry of the Kingdom of God has launched anew.

That’s the message I take from this Monday in Easter Week: we can always understand that Jesus is going ahead of us, and that Jesus will meet us in the circumstances we find. We can be worried about what may lie ahead but Jesus will say to us, “Oh, I’m way ahead of you.” God provides for us a way through.