Jesus said to her,”Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” She, supposing Him to be the gardener said,”If you have carried Him away, tell me where you have put Him and I will get Him.” (John 20:15)
Isn’t it amazing that the first person to see Jesus after His resurrection addressed Him as the gardener. This is not by chance that He is called this. Is not Jesus the second Adam? Wasn’t the first Adam told by God to subdue the earth, to tend to the garden of Eden? Therefore man’s first assignment was to be a gardener, but he failed. God sent the second Adam, Jesus, to make right the relationship between God and man, and He, Jesus, is referred to as the Gardener.
Jesus is the gardener of our lives in that He removed all that was separating us from God. He tends to the garden of our hearts through the Holy Spirit. God is the God of the second chance and a remedy was given for man’s fallen state. That remedy was and is the precious Blood of Jesus. He is risen and the only true God! Allow Him to penetrate the garden of your heart and fill you with life and love. Now we can go back to the original calling of man to tend God’s garden of people, the great harvest of souls! Sow in God’s kingdom and what will be reaped are multitudes of souls that will enter eternity.
One of the traits of a gardener is that his hands and body are often scarred by wounds from thorns and thistles. Gardeners also get dirty due to the soil. See how Jesus was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities, He was dirtied with our sins so that we can be set free! There was a crown of thorns placed deeply into his skull for the peace that we have through His sacrifice. Offer thanks to Him today for choosing to become the great Gardener for us in order that we may have life and have it in abundance!
When we recognize Jesus in God’s Word, we can clearly see the love of God that was demonstrated through Him. I pray that you would experience and know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
Let’s strive to be like Jesus, the perfect Gardener and show God’s love to others.
We have a Gardener’s calling!
Pastor Michael Cannatello
lazarusministry.com
