Part 2 – The Gardener Who Seeks

What was lost in the first garden—on a tree—was restored by the tree our Savior hung on.
Back to where we’ve always belonged.
Back to the garden.

Mary thought He was the gardener.
And maybe—just maybe—she was right.

And if that’s true—if Jesus is the Gardener—then this moment in John 20 isn’t just about Mary recognizing Him—
It’s about creation remembering its Redeemer.

Because this isn’t the first garden.
And it isn’t the first time God came walking, looking for someone He loved.

The story started long before resurrection.
It started in Eden—with another tree, another choice, and another garden walk.

But this Gardener—He hasn’t changed.
He is still seeking, still calling, still walking toward the ones who are hiding.

In Genesis 3, the serpent comes and tempts Eve to eat from the tree of Good & Evil.
Eve takes the fruit, eats it, and then gives it to her husband Adam to eat.

Suddenly, they realize they are naked.
(It’s like that dream—you’re just strolling through your hometown, and then you realize you aren’t wearing any clothes and have no idea how to get home.)

So Adam does what man does best: he takes matters into his own hands and starts making clothes out of fig leaves for himself and Eve to cover up the shame they were feeling.

God comes walking in the garden, and Adam hears the sound of the Lord.
And in their shame, Adam and Eve hide.

This next part baffles me.
The Lord asks a question:

“Where are you?”

Which is bizarre—because He’s God.
It’s like a parent playing hide-and-seek with their toddler. He knows exactly where they are.

The truth is, He knows where they are.
He knows what they did.
He’s got the GPS coordinates at all times.

But God, in His grace, wasn’t looking for their location.
He was heartbroken over what had happened.

And maybe the question He asked them…

“Where are you?”
…is still echoing in gardens today.

Not because God is unaware—but because He longs for you to stop hiding.

So where are you, really?
Are you running? Covering? Pretending?

He’s still walking toward you.
Still calling your name.

We think Jesus is absent from us when we sin.
I would argue He’s a first responder—first to the scene to mend what’s been broken.

Shame is when we start to believe that Christ is far from us in our sin.
But from the very beginning—from the first sin ever committed—our God has always been one who searches for sinners.

He longs to be with His creation.

Jesus isn’t afraid of your sin—He conquered it.
And He runs to it, because He has already defeated it.

He doesn’t leave us in our sin—He comes running toward it.

Why?

Because in the original plan, it was always meant to be you and me in a garden with our Savior.

Since that moment in time, God has longed for the day He would once again be with His people—face to face.

I mean, the entire Old Testament is a back-and-forth story of trying to be right with God—of God wanting to be with His people.

For thousands of years, God longed to walk again with His people—like He once did in the garden.

But a sacrifice was needed to cover what sin had broken.

So the Gardener came back to earth.
Not in glory—but in skin.
He walked on dirt He once spoke into existence.
He healed the dust He once formed with His hands.

And on the night He would be betrayed, He chose a garden.
Of course He did.
Where else would a Gardener go?

Could it be that He went to a place to pray where He longed to be with you and me?

And if Jesus brought His sorrow to the soil—
Maybe we can, too.

Maybe the garden isn’t just the place He meets us—
It’s the place we lay it all down.
The shame.
The striving.
The sin.

He still kneels beside us there.

Jesus, after that night, is persecuted and crucified for righteousness, buried in an unused tomb, conquering death, hell, and the grave.
And three days later, the first place we see Him again?

Surprise: a garden.

To pick up on our story: Peter and John had left—but Mary stayed.
Mary is distraught.

“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put Him.”

At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

Maybe you’ve found yourself like Mary—
So broken, all you can do is weep.
So heartbroken—looking for answers—and the only one you can turn to is Jesus.

I like to think that in these moments, Christ is weeping with us (John 11).
But I also think He’s smiling—because we’ve come to the end of ourselves.

But aren’t you glad that in your shame and disbelief, you don’t serve a distant God—
but one who comes close, to meet you in your brokenness?

Jesus is in a garden once again, asking questions He already knows the answer to.

And now it’s not just about Mary.

“Who are you looking for?”

That’s your question too.

When life unravels, when the tomb feels empty, when your heart is breaking—
Who are you looking for?

He knew who she was looking for—just like He once knew where Adam and Eve were hiding.

In Eden, God asked, “Where are you?”
Not because He didn’t know—but because He wanted them to see where they had gone.

Now, in this resurrection garden, the Gardener asks again—
But the question has changed.

“Who are you looking for?”

One question searched for the sinner.
The other invites the seeker.

This is redemption at its finest:
The One we once hid from… is now the One we go searching for.

Jesus searches after sinners—

At this moment, Jesus was telling everyone:

“I can be found again.”

The One our souls were meant to be with from the very beginning—
The One who sustains us,
The One who wants to walk with us—
Is back in the garden.
And He’s not hiding from us.
He’s revealing Himself to us.

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

The Gardener wants to be found—by those who want to seek Him.

Peter and John left.
Mary stayed.

Mary showed what it was like to be found—
And to find Him all over again.

I am reminded of a parable Jesus told in the gospel of Matthew.

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field.
When a man found it, he hid it again,
and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.”

Treasures are not locked up in safe or in a vault. They’re not withheld for the elite or those with a certain status. They’re in a field.

Not on the surface.
But in the places were lingering is required.

What does this show us about Jesus?
That He’s not just a God who seeks—
He’s a God who rewards the ones who stay.

And what’s the prize?
Funny you ask.
It’s always been Him.

The One we were separated from… is the One our hearts have always been searching for.

The good news?
Jesus is ready to be found.

Because in 2025, when the world is noisy and your soul is tired,
The Gardener is still in the garden.

Still calling your name.
Still waiting to be found.

And the field is still full of treasure.

Will you linger long enough to find Him?

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.