John’s Gospel: Magdalena

She rushed forward and fell at His feet embracing Him in complete submission and joy.

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Deep in her heart, Mary still had faith in Jesus.
Standing by the empty tomb as Peter and John disappeared on the road out of the garden, her mind raced with possibilities. What did she know for sure?

  • The soldiers were gone. It looked like they had been frightened away.
  • The stone was rolled to one side. How many men and tools did it take to do that?
  • John and Peter reported that the grave clothes were there but the body wasn’t.

She could not yet entertain the idea of resurrection, even though she had witnessed Lazarus
emerging from his tomb. The only fact to be sure of was that Jesus’ was not in that tomb.

Angels
Scarcely breathing, Mary stooped down and looked into the tomb. A pearly white light glowed deep inside the vaulted space. She stared at the light as it morphed into the forms of two tall men in shining white clothes, one at each end of the slab where the linens lay. Speaking at the same time but in a strange harmony, the men asked her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”

She was fascinated by the multiple pitches in their voices and now her heart was racing faster than her mind. Perhaps they knew… “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”

Dead or alive, present or absent, Jesus was and always would be her Lord.

Jesus
The two angels looked past her toward the low opening of the tomb. Suddenly, they began to worship, whispering in a language Mary had never before heard. Their constant focus on a single point behind her prompted her sense that someone else was in that tomb. Slowly she turned around to see a man standing in the morning light as it streamed into the tomb. The light was so bright she lowered her eyes assuming He was a worker in the garden. He spoke and there was something familiar about His voice. “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?”

She turned her face away from the shining light, caught her breath, and somehow managed to answer. “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”

At this, Jesus called her name. She turned to look at Him and called Him “Teacher!” He was smiling with the same smile that thrilled her heart and terrified the demons the day He set her free. Mary was transfixed by Him. Was this a vision? No, this was real. Tears flowed freely as soft notes of wonder issued from her lips. She rushed forward and fell at His feet embracing Him in complete submission and joy. After a moment, Jesus lifted her to her feet saying,

“Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.'”

Her Jesus was back and He had called her name! All was right with the world again, her world, at least. As if waking from a dream, she remembered that Jesus had given her a mission. With one long look at Him, she turned and ran from the garden to find the men who had gone home too soon.

Scriptures:
John 20:11-18

But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.'” Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, teach me perseverance. Help me hold on to the facts of my faith until the answer comes. Help me bear up under the strain when events of people turn against me. Holy Spirit, keep me focused on Jesus and the promises made to me. Help me to never give up until victory is mine. Lord, You are alive in me and You rule this day. Give me the strength to persevere to the end. For the end of this day is the dawn of a greater one. In Jesus’ Name, Amen!

Song:
Christ the Lord Is Risen Today

Words: Charles Wesley; Music: from Lyra Davidica

  1. Christ the Lord is risen today, Alleluia!
    Earth and heaven in chorus say, Alleluia!
    Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!
    Sing, ye heavens, and earth reply, Alleluia!
  2. Love’s redeeming work is done, Alleluia!
    Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!
    Death in vain forbids him rise, Alleluia!
    Christ has opened paradise, Alleluia!
  3. Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!
    Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
    Once he died our souls to save, Alleluia!
    Where’s thy victory, boasting grave? Alleluia!
  4. Soar we now where Christ has led, Alleluia!
    Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!
    Made like him, like him we rise, Alleluia!
    Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!
  5. Hail the Lord of earth and heaven, Alleluia!
    Praise to thee by both be given, Alleluia!
    Thee we greet triumphant now, Alleluia!
    Hail the Resurrection, thou, Alleluia!
  6. King of glory, soul of bliss, Alleluia!
    Everlasting life is this, Alleluia!
    Thee to know, thy power to prove, Alleluia!
    Thus to sing, and thus to love, Alleluia!

 

 

 


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About the Author

Full of passion for Jesus Christ, Stephen Phifer is a third-generation minister with more than three decades of experience as a pastoral artist, worship leader, and conductor.