In our daily meditations, we explore John's account of what the resurrection of Christ was like for Jesus' followers. When Mary Magdalene found the tomb empty, she ran to tell John and Peter. After catching her breath, she hurried back, trying to understand what had happened. Her emotions overwhelmed her when she returned to the tomb; John and Peter had already left. John’s testimony of the events continues:
10Then the disciples went back to where they were staying. 11Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot (John 20:10-12).
Many have heard the resurrection account so often that it has become very familiar. It is hard to imagine what it was like for the disciples on that first morning of resurrection. They still failed to grasp the concept of the resurrected Jesus, despite the Lord's attempts to inform them in advance of what would happen. Mary Magdalene could not accept the thought, perhaps because it was too incredible to believe. Psychologists call this state of mind Cognitive Dissonance, a mental discomfort when your beliefs conflict with new information you receive. How could Jesus be alive when she so clearly saw Him crucified and dead? (Matthew 27:56). How can a person overcome death? Her only thought was the urgency to find her Lord's body. In Mary's mind, the body was no longer present; the only logical explanation was that it had been stolen from the tomb.
Mary Magdalene was a woman who was delivered of seven demons by the Lord Jesus (Mark 16:9). Her gratitude for this deliverance grew alongside her sincere love for the Lord because of the grace, mercy, and power He had shown her. Whosoever is forgiven much loves much. It is a beautiful thought that the Lord first appeared to a woman who had been deeply involved in sin and evil and was now transformed by God's grace and power. “The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18). Besides the Christian faith, most religions look down on women as unreliable witnesses, but not Jesus. He raises women to the same status as men in the kingdom of God (Galatians 3:28).
Mary Magdalene exemplifies the very people Christ came to save. Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17). It was a traumatic experience for Mary to witness Jesus crucified (Mark 15:40), and I am sure she shed many tears that weekend. In front of the tomb that morning, her emotions overwhelmed her again. John tells us that she was crying as she stood outside the tomb (John 20:2). "Crying" is the Greek word klaiõ, which suggests a loud lament rather than quiet sobbing. When she looked inside the tomb, she saw two angels seated at the foot and the head of the empty cocoon-like strips of burial cloth. The Roman soldiers had already fled, terrified by the sight of the two angels, but Mary was in emotional shock, with only one thought: “Where is the Lord?” For all those who long for His appearance, Mary's cry resonates with ours: "Where is the Lord?" Genuine believers yearn for the coming of the Lord and an end to the ways of this world, the evil we witness, and the injustice that runs rampant. Come, Lord Jesus — we long for your presence and deliverance! Tomorrow, we will see Jesus revealing Himself to Mary.
The YouTube video of this talk with closed captions (subtitles) in 65 languages is found at the following link: https://youtu.be/OSV2bnALI6w
The written notes are at the following link: The Burial and Resurrection of Christ