do we truly see?

"And he stooping down, and

looking in, saw the linen cloths lying; 

yet went he not in; "

(John 20:5)

In this verse, the verb 'saw' is from the Greek word 'blepo'. It means to glance in; to look in; to give a passing glance.

John is quick to tell us in this passage that he outruns Peter to the tomb but as he approaches it, he only gives it a cursory glance. He just kinda stoops over and looks in very quickly and doesn't really take notice of what he is seeing. Are we, as Christians, guilty of this at times? Do we pass by God and barely give Him a glance? Do we just look in as we walk by and then continue on our way? How many times do we not only treat Him in this manner, but His precious Word as well? We are so busy in our daily lives, that we tend to give God what is left over and not the first fruits.

"Then cometh Simon Peter following him, 

and went into the sepulcher, and seeth

the linen clothes lie, and the napkin, that 

was about His head, not lying with the

linen clothes, but wrapped together in a

place by itself"

(John 20:6-7)

In verse 6, we notice the verb 'seeth' which is from the Greek word 'theoreo'. It means to carefully consider; to observe closely.

Peter gave the tomb a little more than just a cursory glance, but he still didn't give it a lot of thought. We, too, can be guilty of this type of 'seeing' as well. We can carefully consider Christ and still have no real revelation of who He is. We can observe the Word closely and still not have a personal and intimate relationship with Him. We can go through the motions of a Christian walk but fail to develop an intimate and deep knowledge of who He truly is. 

It's not just knowing about Christ that makes our relationship personal, it's having a knowledge of Him. We have to know Him in the deepest sense of the word. We can know a lot about something but have no true experiential knowledge of the subject. There is a huge difference between knowing about and knowing personally. Christ desires that we know Him in the most intimate way possible. He is to be our everything. He is to be the most important thing in our lives. He wants to be our all-in-all.

"Then went in also that other disciple, 

which came first to the sepulcher, and

he saw, and believed"

(John 20:8)

The verb 'saw' in this verse is from the Greek word 'eidon' which is the act of beholding; to perceive with intelligence; comprehension that leads to believing.

We can have a faith based strictly on evidence, but then we really don't have faith, do we? Our faith in Christ has to be based solely on the Word of God and nothing else. That is what Jesus tried over and over again to cultivate in His disciples. A faith based strictly on their knowledge of the Word. Their knowledge of who He said He was. After all, He was the Word.

They never could seem to grasp it until after the resurrection and then they finally got it. John 2:22 tells us that they remembered what He had said and they believed the scriptures.  Down the road, the Holy Spirit confirmed their faith through the knowledge of the Old Testament scriptures. Too bad they didn't truly get it while He was still on the other side of the Cross.

We need to guard ourselves so we don't become guilty of this as well. Lets not be too busy with our own agenda to really take a close look at our Lord. We need to be beholding Him daily. We need to be closely observing Him. Giving Him more than just that small inattentive glance. We need to be carefully looking at Christ with comprehension of His Holiness and His Sovereignty. We need to do whatever it takes to really know Him. 

That very evening, after they had been at the tomb, they met the Master. He had indeed risen, just as He said He would. The passing glances now became a sure knowledge of what they were witnessing. Jesus had fulfilled what He had promised. Our sweet Lord always keeps His promises. He is just waiting for us to begin seeking Him with all of our hearts so that we can see Him with eyes wide open and truly know that He is God.