Summary
God's Personal Love
"Don't take it personally." It is one of those phrases meant to cushion a blow, to call the hearer to be rational rather than emotional, or to exclude the listener from a sweeping criticism. But when it comes to God and to sinners, the phrase fails on both sides. God takes sin personally, and God takes sinners personally. That is the heart of the Easter morning encounter recorded in John 20.
Mary Magdalene, from whom Jesus had cast seven demons, loved the Lord. She had followed Him, helped provide for Him, watched Him die, watched Joseph of Arimathea lay His body in the tomb, and now came in the dark of the first day of the week with spices. Finding the stone rolled away, she ran and fetched Peter and John. Peter saw the linen cloths and the face cloth folded and set apart—hardly the work of grave robbers. Yet even after seeing the empty tomb, even after seeing two angels seated where the body had lain, even with the risen Christ standing beside her, Mary did not believe. This was not a flicker of doubt; it was unbelief, plain and unqualified “God's Personal Love” 4-20-25.
Does God take such unbelief personally? He does. When Jesus faced the silent Pharisees in the synagogue over the man with the withered hand, Mark 3 tells us He was angry and grieved in His heart. When God looked upon the wickedness of humankind before the flood, Genesis 6 says He was sorry He had made humankind, and "it grieved him to his heart." Sin is an affront to the holy God, and He does not shrug it off. He feels it.
The two angels in the tomb, one at the head and one at the feet of where Jesus had lain, preach this same God's answer to that grief. In Exodus 25 the Lord commanded that two cherubim be placed on either end of the mercy seat atop the Ark of the Covenant, where once a year the high priest sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice for the sins of the people. There God promised, "I will meet you." Now the angels frame an empty slab in a tomb, declaring the new mercy seat: God meets sinners in the tomb of the risen Christ, where the blood of the spotless Lamb has been accepted for the sins of the world.
This is what God does with sin He takes personally—He sends His Son to take it personally. The wrath that sin deserves falls upon Jesus, who carries our sin in His own body to the cross. The buyback is accomplished in His blood; the gulf between God and sinner is bridged; and the empty tomb preaches that the sacrifice has been received and we are reconciled.
And then God comes personally. Mary did not believe until Jesus spoke one word: "Mary." Faith was born in her heart from a personal word with her own name in it. He does the same for us. In the waters of Baptism He calls us by name and says, "You are mine." At His Table He gives His body and blood "for you." In Holy Absolution He speaks into our ears, "Your sins are forgiven." He keeps coming, again and again, with that personal Word, tearing away unbelief and doubt—because with Jesus, it is personal. Very personal.
Video citations
- "God's Personal Love" 4-20-25 — Would you open your Bibles, please, with me, to John the 20th chapter for our study this morning. If you're using a Pew edition of Holy Scripture, you'll see in the rack in front of you or…