His Beloved Friend

The Resurrection

20 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. ² So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

¹¹ Now 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 He asked her, “Woman, 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”).

¹⁷ 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.’”

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.

We have a tender episode and a lasting image of the love Mary Magdalene had for Jesus and he for her.  He wanted to make sure that she knew he had risen from the dead, and gave her a unique and personal experience to verify it. The scene is filled with tenderness and energy as Jesus lifts Mary from her doldrums and sorrow to another level of tears: tears of joy.  He wanted to make sure his special friend was one of the first to experience his resurrection and one of the bearers of this good news.

We might put ourselves in this garden as we meditate today.  What would by my reaction to the sudden appearance of  Jesus I thought dead and buried, now alive  and more loving and tender than ever?   How would I react when he called my name? Would I embrace him and then run to tell others this good news?  Isn't that our calling as Christians, as followers of Jesus? 

Bro. Rene