John 20:1-18 (NIV) 1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” 3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes, 11 but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. 15 “Woman,” he said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).
I want to share four things I think we can glean from Jesus’ conversation with Mary in this passage:
When Jesus spoke Mary’s name, the reality of the Resurrection was undeniable. No one could ever tell Mary from that moment on that Jesus was dead. No one could convince her that her future was compromised. No one could argue that her hope was gone. When Jesus spoke Mary’s name, when she SAW that He was alive, no one could ever tell her He was a thing of the past, that He had come and gone, and that He was no longer Someone to believe in and to follow. No. When Jesus spoke Mary’s name, the joy and confidence, the peace and hope, the safety and security that she had experienced as a Christ-follower, returned. It was instantaneous and forever.
If there is one thing I know for sure, it is that Jesus wants to reveal Himself to you today, and once He calls you by name, you will no longer be able to deny that He was and is and will forever be. And when that happens, you will have to decide if you will embrace or reject Him which is your choice to make, but you will not be able to refute that the reason the tomb is empty is because Jesus rose from the dead.
Well, Mary embraced Jesus. She reached out to touch Him. She thought she had lost Him once before, and she was going to hold onto Him this time. And He replied in verse 17:
“Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father.
When Jesus said that, when Jesus spoke, a new kind of Relationship was established.
Mary was no longer going to have Jesus physically present with her. When He had previously told the disciples that He was going away, He meant it. The plan was still the plan. He was leaving the earth. He was returning to Heaven, but that wasn’t going to be the end of the relationship, friends. It was like Jesus was saying, “But wait, there’s more!” The Resurrection wasn’t going to be the end of the miracles God would do on the earth. It wasn’t Jesus’ last Hurrah! Oh, Jesus was Heaven-bound, but His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, was going to descend in a miraculous and mighty way and take over, possess, and literally fill the hearts and lives of those who would follow after Christ. Jesus would inhabit the earth in multiplied ways as through the Spirit He would inhabit the hearts of His followers.
Oh, so many of Jesus’ teachings were all making sense to Mary. Jesus had told His disciples in John 14:17 that the Holy Spirit would live IN them. They were going to move from an external knowing and following to an internal empowering and fellowship. There would be a relational shift from Christ with them to Christ in them!
My friends, the Resurrection wasn’t the end of the story, but it paved the way for the kind of relationship that God has wanted with us all along. The Resurrection didn’t just open Heaven to us, but it opened our hearts to the Spirit of God.
Jesus went on in verse 17 to say, Go instead to my brothers and tell them, “I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” Mary Magdalene, the one who had been delivered from seven demons, was commissioned as the first preacher of the Gospel. She was to “go and tell” the others about her encounter with the Risen Lord.
Oh, when Jesus spoke, a new Responsibility was issued to Mary. I’m not really even sure we can view the sharing of this awesome news as a responsibility. It’s really more of a privilege, isn’t it? Do we still believe the Gospel is “Good News?” It is the BEST news! It is life-changing news! Don’t we love sharing Good News?
I know we love sharing. If there is anything this time period in history will be known for it is how openly and often people share their thoughts, feelings, and accomplishments on our social media. We love to share. We love sharing what we made for dinner. For crying out loud, we take pictures of our plates and post them on our social media. We love sharing about the accomplishments of our children. When they make the Dean’s List, when they win the tournament championship we are proudly posting about their success. It doesn’t even have to be a big moment, friends, let’s face it, we’ll share anything… a lost tooth, a successful potty training moment or the riding of a bicycle without training wheels. We don’t have a sharing problem!
But why is it that what we made for dinner, how our pets look after their grooming, and our vacation pictures often get more press than the Good News that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead? I know I opened the message kind of soft and fluffy, but folks, I am coming in kind of hot on this responsibility point. If you are a believer, you have a responsibility to talk about the empty tomb. It’s fun to see someone posting that they are in a relationship, but how about we all start talking about being in a relationship with the Risen Lord?
Remember how Mary didn’t recognize Jesus at first? Life was heavy, she was in shock, and it was tough for her to make Him out. The same is true for many people right now. They can’t see Jesus because their situation is so heavy, so uncertain. Notice that Jesus started the conversation with Mary. He asked her why she was crying. She didn’t know in that moment if Jesus was a good guy or a bad guy. She didn’t know if He was a grave robber or the Gardener. She said, “If you have carried Him away, tell me where You have put Him, and I will go get Him.” Even though she didn’t know if He was friend or foe she was willing to talk to Him about what she was going through. Friends, we have an opportunity to speak into, to lean into, to listen into people’s stories, to express concern over their situation, to ask why they are crying and to let them see the Resurrected Jesus in us.
Well, Mary took the responsibility seriously. Look at verse 18:18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.
I would say this about verse 18: When Jesus spoke, a Response was called for.
What would Mary do with this responsibility she was given? She took it seriously, didn’t she?
The Good News went public because one person was faithful to assume the responsibility to proclaim it. As she shared it, she prepared the hearts of the others to fully receive what Jesus had done for them, and when Jesus appeared to the disciples later in John 20 they were ready to receive Him. And that’s how the Gospel started to spread. One light, one person, one witness who fulfilled the responsibility to go and tell became the catalyst for millions upon millions times millions of people to come to Christ.
Why are YOU crying today? What is causing you grief and anguish right now? You aren’t out of options. You aren’t without hope because hope is a Person. His name is Jesus. He is speaking your name. He is validating the Resurrection right now in this moment. If you are listening, He is talking to you, and you know it’s all true. Maybe you have known Him in the past but your relationship with Him needs a Resurrection. Guess what? He’s willing. He’s waiting. That is what He wants more than anything. Allow Him to take control. He can protect you from the darkness that seeks to steal your joy and rob you of your destiny. He can empower you to be an instrument for His glory. He can erase your fears and dry your tears, and He knows the way out of here, out of the temporary and into the eternal, out of the struggle and into perfect peace. What will you say in response to what Jesus is saying right now to you? This I know, when Jesus speaks, a new day dawns. There is resurrection, new life, a fresh start, and an opportunity to follow Him into your best possible life.
