Mary Magdalene and the Risen Jesus, John 20:11-18, 3 November 2013
Big Idea: Jesus is alive! Let’s tell the world!
We often approach communion with great reflection, and well we should. However, the story does not end on the cross. Last week we saw Mary Magdalene and others shocked to find the tomb of Jesus empty.
Jewish people spent seven days mourning the loss of a loved one. This meant they could not wash, work, study the law, or even have intercourse for a week. They knew how to express grief! An empty tomb prevented final acts of love to be done to Jesus. Even tomb raiders would usually leave behind the body.
We know “the rest of the story,” but those at the empty tomb
…still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead. (20:9)
What does this mean? It means they did not understand! Have you ever read the Bible and seen something you never saw previously? Some Scriptures require experience to fully understand.
Jesus had said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’? (John 16:19b)
Jesus had said, “You will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.” (John 16:20b)
Jesus had said, “Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.” (John 16:22)
Sometimes we are just filled with disbelief.
When we ended last Sunday, we read that
Then the disciples went back to where they were staying. (10)
Jesus died. The tomb is empty.
Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. (20:11-12)
Imagine the week Mary has had. This is a woman that deeply loved Jesus. He had expelled numerous demons from her. He showed her great compassion. She cried at the foot of the cross as her hope literally died.
His body was buried quickly and two days later she comes with friends to bring spices for the body. The tomb is empty. Peter and John leave. Now she is crying outside the tomb…and she encounters two angels, two angels dressed in white, hardly appropriate during a time of mourning!
Where were the angels when the boys were around?
They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” (13a)
Why do they ask? They’re angels! They know. Jesus is alive, but Mary remains clueless.
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”
(13b)
She thinks someone moved the body.
At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. (14)
Mary didn’t recognize Jesus. Unbelief is blind. He was the last Person Mary expected to see. Did her tears mask His face?
He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” (15a)
Jesus echoes the angels, asking the reason for her tears. She hears His voice now and still has no idea who is before her.
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.” (15b)
Was it common for gardeners to open tombs and hide bodies? Hardly! They were at the bottom of the social ladder and tended to gardening.
Jesus said to her, “Mary.” (16a)
The most important word in the world is your name. Jesus said that His sheep know His voice. One word changed everything for her.
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). (16b)
This means “my teacher” or “master.”
It’s easy for us to miss images and symbols John’s initial readers would recognize.
John is the only Gospel writer that tells us these events take place in a garden, a garden filled with spices, suggesting the imagery of the Song of Songs. Mary is a woman who finds the one she loves in a spice-filled garden and wants to be with Him.
Dr. Gary Burge notes,
“Miriam was the most famous sister of Moses, who oversaw her little brother’s journey down the Nile. In an ancient Jewish synagogue at Dura Europos on the Euphrates a fresco depicts this scene carefully. The floating bed of Moses becomes a coffin and tomb from which the baby Moses is raised to life (thus avoiding death).42 Old Testament Miriam even becomes a prophet (Ex. 15:20–21; Num. 12:1–2) who bears a message to Israel. While John refers to Mary in the narrative with the Greek word Maria, when Jesus (the new Moses) meets her in 20:16, oddly, he employs the Hebrew form of the name: Miriam (Gk. Mariam, Heb. Miryam). He names her “Miriam Magdalene”— where Magdalene connotes the Hebrew noun migdal, “tower.” This caretaker of the new Moses, this intimate helper, is now transformed from a mere “Mary” into a Miriam, into a migdal that now bears a prophetic message to the apostles.” (The NIV Application Commentary, John)
A woman in “paradise” encounters the Creator and Ruler of the Garden, Jesus.
Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” (17)
Why did He say not to touch Him? Scholars have wondered for two thousand years. Some believe Jesus literally meant don’t touch His body, but Thomas would soon. Some have translated it “do not fear,” but that seems unlikely. Others suggest it is preparation for His ascension, His return to the Father. In other words, He may be saying, “Do not cling to Me. Go tell the disciples I will soon return to the Father.” He will leave our planet, but also leave the Holy Spirit, an even more intimate expression of God who will live inside every believer.
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. (18)
John records her as the first one to see the resurrected Messiah.
She has seen the empty tomb.
She has seen the LORD.
So What?
Mary Magdalene told the disciples the good news: Jesus is alive.
It is our privilege to tell our friends, neighbors and co-workers the good news: Jesus is alive!!!
Last week it struck me how the Gospel is good news. Who doesn’t want to share good news? It’s hard to deliver bad news, but it should be a joy to announce good news.
This text perhaps raises more questions than it answers, but one thing is clear…Jesus is alive! The One who died for us, who redeems us from sin and death, lives.
We don’t worship an idea, a concept, or a book. We worship a Person who entered human history and transformed it.
Listen to the words of John Updike in his poem “Seven Stanzas at Easter.”
Make no mistake: if He rose at all it was as His body;
if the cells’ dissolution did not reverse,
the molecules reknit, the amino acids rekindle,
the church will fall. . . .
Let us not mock God with metaphor, Analogy, sidestepping transcendence;
Making of the event a parable, a sign painted in the faded credulity of earlier ages:
Let us walk through the door.
The stone is rolled back, not papier-mâché, Not a stone in a story,
But the vast rock of materiality that in the slow grinding of time will eclipse for each of us,
The wide light of day.
You can listen to this message and others at the Scio podcast here. You can also subscribe to our podcast here.
We often approach communion with great reflection, and well we should. However, the story does not end on the cross. Last week we saw Mary Magdalene and others shocked to find the tomb of Jesus empty.
Jewish people spent seven days mourning the loss of a loved one. This meant they could not wash, work, study the law, or even have intercourse for a week. They knew how to express grief! An empty tomb prevented final acts of love to be done to Jesus. Even tomb raiders would usually leave behind the body.
We know “the rest of the story,” but those at the empty tomb
…still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead. (20:9)
What does this mean? It means they did not understand! Have you ever read the Bible and seen something you never saw previously? Some Scriptures require experience to fully understand.
Jesus had said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’? (John 16:19b)
Jesus had said, “You will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.” (John 16:20b)
Jesus had said, “Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.” (John 16:22)
Sometimes we are just filled with disbelief.
When we ended last Sunday, we read that
Then the disciples went back to where they were staying. (10)
Jesus died. The tomb is empty.
Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. (20:11-12)
Imagine the week Mary has had. This is a woman that deeply loved Jesus. He had expelled numerous demons from her. He showed her great compassion. She cried at the foot of the cross as her hope literally died.
His body was buried quickly and two days later she comes with friends to bring spices for the body. The tomb is empty. Peter and John leave. Now she is crying outside the tomb…and she encounters two angels, two angels dressed in white, hardly appropriate during a time of mourning!
Where were the angels when the boys were around?
They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” (13a)
Why do they ask? They’re angels! They know. Jesus is alive, but Mary remains clueless.
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”
(13b)
She thinks someone moved the body.
At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. (14)
Mary didn’t recognize Jesus. Unbelief is blind. He was the last Person Mary expected to see. Did her tears mask His face?
He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” (15a)
Jesus echoes the angels, asking the reason for her tears. She hears His voice now and still has no idea who is before her.
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.” (15b)
Was it common for gardeners to open tombs and hide bodies? Hardly! They were at the bottom of the social ladder and tended to gardening.
Jesus said to her, “Mary.” (16a)
The most important word in the world is your name. Jesus said that His sheep know His voice. One word changed everything for her.
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). (16b)
This means “my teacher” or “master.”
It’s easy for us to miss images and symbols John’s initial readers would recognize.
John is the only Gospel writer that tells us these events take place in a garden, a garden filled with spices, suggesting the imagery of the Song of Songs. Mary is a woman who finds the one she loves in a spice-filled garden and wants to be with Him.
Dr. Gary Burge notes,
“Miriam was the most famous sister of Moses, who oversaw her little brother’s journey down the Nile. In an ancient Jewish synagogue at Dura Europos on the Euphrates a fresco depicts this scene carefully. The floating bed of Moses becomes a coffin and tomb from which the baby Moses is raised to life (thus avoiding death).42 Old Testament Miriam even becomes a prophet (Ex. 15:20–21; Num. 12:1–2) who bears a message to Israel. While John refers to Mary in the narrative with the Greek word Maria, when Jesus (the new Moses) meets her in 20:16, oddly, he employs the Hebrew form of the name: Miriam (Gk. Mariam, Heb. Miryam). He names her “Miriam Magdalene”— where Magdalene connotes the Hebrew noun migdal, “tower.” This caretaker of the new Moses, this intimate helper, is now transformed from a mere “Mary” into a Miriam, into a migdal that now bears a prophetic message to the apostles.” (The NIV Application Commentary, John)
A woman in “paradise” encounters the Creator and Ruler of the Garden, Jesus.
Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” (17)
Why did He say not to touch Him? Scholars have wondered for two thousand years. Some believe Jesus literally meant don’t touch His body, but Thomas would soon. Some have translated it “do not fear,” but that seems unlikely. Others suggest it is preparation for His ascension, His return to the Father. In other words, He may be saying, “Do not cling to Me. Go tell the disciples I will soon return to the Father.” He will leave our planet, but also leave the Holy Spirit, an even more intimate expression of God who will live inside every believer.
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. (18)
John records her as the first one to see the resurrected Messiah.
She has seen the empty tomb.
She has seen the LORD.
So What?
Mary Magdalene told the disciples the good news: Jesus is alive.
It is our privilege to tell our friends, neighbors and co-workers the good news: Jesus is alive!!!
Last week it struck me how the Gospel is good news. Who doesn’t want to share good news? It’s hard to deliver bad news, but it should be a joy to announce good news.
This text perhaps raises more questions than it answers, but one thing is clear…Jesus is alive! The One who died for us, who redeems us from sin and death, lives.
We don’t worship an idea, a concept, or a book. We worship a Person who entered human history and transformed it.
Listen to the words of John Updike in his poem “Seven Stanzas at Easter.”
Make no mistake: if He rose at all it was as His body;
if the cells’ dissolution did not reverse,
the molecules reknit, the amino acids rekindle,
the church will fall. . . .
Let us not mock God with metaphor, Analogy, sidestepping transcendence;
Making of the event a parable, a sign painted in the faded credulity of earlier ages:
Let us walk through the door.
The stone is rolled back, not papier-mâché, Not a stone in a story,
But the vast rock of materiality that in the slow grinding of time will eclipse for each of us,
The wide light of day.
You can listen to this message and others at the Scio podcast here. You can also subscribe to our podcast here.