They said to her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “Because they’ve taken away my Lord,” she told them, “and I don’t know where they’ve put Him.”

This is a grief and a burden. They have taken away the Lord Jesus, and no gospel is preached.

First, Mary is grieved because the Lord is risen, but she does not know it. She is ignorant of what’s going on, and ignorance is not bliss in the gospel.

We must fix our eyes on Christ to have peace. The Spirit only works while Christ is visible. Take away the Beloved, and we’re on our own, striving and struggling. Give us Him believingly, and we have all things. We have power, comfort, joy, and peace. Our head is above water, and our feet are walking on it [Matt 14:29]. We are supernaturally empowered for great things.

This is the joy of Christianity, and everything else is false peace and morbidity. Everything else is the flesh taking us captive and sin and death in our members. It is the cruelty and bitterness of life without Christ, especially for the Christian. We have a war within. Romans 7:18, “For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For the desire to do what is good is with me, but there is no ability to do it.”

Secondly, they’ve taken away Christ in our churches. He is not preached. We get religious rules and duty, but it is all hypocrisy without the Son of God. We are banished from hope.

Men stand up and don’t preach Christ, because they don’t need Him. They have no conviction of sin or teaching by the Spirit. They have never been weakened, so they boast in the flesh with the rules of men. They’ve never seen God’s glory and been humbled to the dust. There’s no thirst in their soul. They are content with hypocrisy and disobedience [John 19:22]. There’s no need for the atonement. They can do it themselves, so they don’t need Christ, and how horrible it is. Joy is not real, and pleasure is in the flesh. They’re happy about something other than Christ crucified. They are not Christ focused. They believe lies and promote themselves. 1 Corinthians 1:18, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but it is God’s power to us who are being saved.”

This can only be remedied by Christ in the Spirit. We need revelation, which is a miracle of power, where Christ leaps us from the Scriptures, and we see Him saving us, putting away our sins, and enabling us to follow Him. Ephesians 1:17-19, “I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, would give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the perception of your mind may be enlightened so you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the glorious riches of His inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power to us who believe, according to the working of His vast strength.” We see the hope, hear the rebuke, and we receive the warning. God speaks into our soul.

Thirdly, are you living by the Spirit revealing Christ, or are you on your own?

How do we know? Joy is gone and so is peace. Power to obey is thwarted. You’re living in known sin. You fall into the pit over and over.

Keep your eyes on Christ, and He will come [Jonah 2:4]. Believe the gospel in all seasons - that you are totally accepted, and He is with you. Believe He loves you when things go wrong, and He’s operating in wisdom. Philippians 4:7, “And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Live to serve God in this world. Colossians 1:10, “so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God.” Give up your life, and you will gain. Luke 9:24, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will save it.” Sweet things of the Spirit cannot be worked up: we must see Christ.