The first person to believe in the Risen Savior was John, the Beloved. His coming to this living faith is stated in just four words...He saw and believed.

John is modest to a fault. He never calls himself by name throughout the whole book. But he does not deny what happened in his heart when he looked into the empty tomb. He had not yet even seen the risen Jesus. That would come later, and John would meet Jesus again and again. John's vision of the glorified and risen Christ would finally surpass every vision; at least until we all, for ourselves, behold Him face to face.

But that first beginning is recorded so simply that it would be easy to pass over as insignificant. John saw and John believed. John saw what? The empty tomb. The empty graveclothes. And that was all John needed. He remembered Jesus had said, "I will rise again the third day." He remembered Jesus had said, "I will not leave you without a comforter." The seed has been planted in pure and fertile soil, and a miracle took place: John believed. That was it period.

Mary's revelation is so much more dramatic. A sinner, a notorious sinner, she was the first to see the Savior. But John was good ground. The seed has lodged well. John stands for millions of believers who have been implanted with the good seed of the Gospel before they ever came into rebellion, or before they knew enough to doubt. John stands for many who know that Jesus is alive long before they reach the age of full understanding. John stands for those who are so inclined to believe in Jesus that they know even before they know HOW they know. And we should never despise such faith. It will mature. It will be tested. It will have its revelations. John was first.

The first person to see the risen Savior was a woman. She was, without doubt, a remarkable woman, with a strong character that had been refined and prepared for faith by the redeeming grace of Jesus. Her past keeps coming back to us: when she first met Him, she had been possessed of seven devils. Jesus had set her free, and she had been a part of the faithful few that went all the way to the cross with Him. But after the crucifixion Mary came to a dead stop. Her life was totally circumscribed by a visible, tangible Authority. She would gladly have died for Him, but she had not fully grasped how He had died for her. Her hope was in a living Messiah. And she had seen Him die on a cross. She loved Him so much she wanted to go as far as she could in showing Him respect and honor. But all the words He had spoken, and all the things He had done were history now. Except that she still was free of the demons.

She went to honor a dead Jesus, but she went with love. And the hunger and cry and aching of her heart were answered in a way she could never have imagined. It is one of the most beautiful scenes in all Holy Writ. Jesus, Himself, came to the Garden where she was. He came near and spoke her name. "Mary!" And within her the dormant seed of faith sprang to life. "Master!"

Mary stands for the millions who have come to faith through love of a Christ that they have been seeking. Perhaps we all have sought in the wrong places at times for Jesus. It may be that we have "supposed" and have almost mistaken the truth in the error of our suppositions. And then the living, Risen Savior has spoken our name. "I know you. And you know Me, too."

Mary stands for those who go looking with love for the Master.

It was a different king of 'coming to faith' that John used for the very climax of his Gospel. Thomas was a man who missed church on the first Easter Sunday. Perhaps if he had been there it might have been different. But it wouldn't have been so good for you and me if we didn't know this story of Thomas.

Thomas seemed to be that sort of person who is cursed with a gloomy outlook on life. But at the same time he seemed to be as honest as he knew how to be. Remember how at a time late in Jesus' ministry when Jesus said He was going to Jerusalem, and the other disciples tried to tell Him not to go, that it was dangerous? Remember who spoke up and what he said? It was Thomas who said, "Well, let's go with Him and die!" He loved Jesus enough to follow Him even when he, Thomas, thought He was probably wrong. Anyway, Thomas didn't see, so he wouldn't believe. I get the idea that Thomas didn't dare to try to believe, because he didn't want to be disappointed again. And besides, Thomas couldn't see how things had changed. They were still a powerless little band of outsiders in their society.

Thomas represents honest doubt. Thomas stands for millions who have been persuaded that all religions are made of smoke and mirrors, and that believing in an unseen God probably is delusion. Thomas would like Jesus to prove to him personally that He is revelant in a hostile world. One thing comes through this story: Jesus really loved Thomas. He may have been stubborn. He may have been unable to join in the celebration because he couldn't believe what he hadn't seen. Jesus still loved Thomas. And Jesus found Thomas. And when Jesus came to where Thomas was, the arguments Thomas had insisted he would make were never made. "Come, put your hand in my side," said the Savior. Thomas never did. Instead, he fell to his knees. The seed of faith sprang to life. "My Lord and my God!" said Thomas.

It is a wonderful thing to know the story of Jesus. It is a wonderful thing to come to love Him and to believe in Him as the Christ of the Bible. Jesus said that the Good News of the Gospel is the Seed of Life, and to know about Jesus is to receive that seed into the heart. But it is an infinitely more wonderful thing to believe. To believe, to be persuaded deep in one's heart that Christ is alive, and to make Him our own personal Lord and Savior.

Believing, in this sense, does not come from knowing more and more. Believing does not come by winning arguments or human understanding. Believing comes when people meet the Risen Jesus. A church where Jesus is alive can be a place where Jesus meets with people, and brings the seeds of faith to life. A heart where Jesus lives can take the Risen Savior to neighbors and friends, at school or in the work place. God help you and me to let the living Savior shine through our lives.

Whether we are like John, or like Mary, or like Thomas, if we will let Him, Jesus will come to where we are. He will speak the word that calls our seeking to a living faith: we can believe. Now the Sower was gone. All of a sudden it was winter, it was night, and it had never been this dark, this bleak, ever, ever before.

Then suddenly the Son came up, and it was springtime. Some of the seeds began to feel the stirrings of life.

Some of the seeds knew they must respond.

The Word was calling them to LIFE.