It was Mary Magdalene who walked down to the tomb in the early morning hours, without the escort of the Apostles or other men, to set the embalming things up so the other women could help her prepare the body. She picked her way through the deserted trails that lead to the tombs, with a low fog blanketing the land during that quiet spring morning. This was a woman whom Jesus had healed of 'the demons' of epilepsy, and the love she held for him was more pure than any physical love. As she walked, she remembered her life before he healed her, and all the pain that went with daily living. She reflected upon the last moments he spent with her, reassuring everyone that his Father's will would be done, and that the promise of his resurrection would be kept. It didn't sooth her much...
She was weeping when she arrived at the tomb. Through her tears, she saw the heavy stone rolled back, and looking around, she saw no Roman guards, and the body was gone. In terror, she ran back to the Apostles, and told Peter what she saw. The men ran with her back to the tomb, and looked around, and finding nothing, returned to their place of hiding, leaving her standing there alone. Had they doubted her words when she first told them? Or did they feel this was the final hammer fall... the body was gone and the hope of Jesus' return seemed impossible.
Mary continued to weep, drawing closer to the empty tomb. Suddenly, she realized that there were two strangers standing there, bathed in brilliant white. The spoke to her, asking, "Woman, why are you weeping?"
Mary, in her grief, cried out, "They have taken away the body of my Lord, and I do not know where to find him!" How could she possibly convey the terror she felt in her heart? Didn't they understand? Was this a way of Rome mocking him one last time? Was this a cruel trick?
A second voice called out, and she turned to see the gardener standing quietly beside the opening. "Woman," he asked her, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?"
Mary was a bit shocked. How can anyone living here not know about Jesus? She would not play that game. She pleaded to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."
The man replied, "Mary." And she knew... she knew that voice. It was impossible that she was hearing it again, yet had he not promised he would return to them? Was he not broken, and yet there he stood before her? He was alive! Jesus was alive!
She cried out, "Rabboni!!", which is Aramaic for 'teacher', meaning to throw her arms around him in joy, but he told her, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' "
Mary ran back to the others, her tears now ones of joy, and proclaimed, "I have seen the Lord!" She told them all that had happened.
Hallelujah! Christ is risen, and Christ will come again!
(Based on John 20)
She was weeping when she arrived at the tomb. Through her tears, she saw the heavy stone rolled back, and looking around, she saw no Roman guards, and the body was gone. In terror, she ran back to the Apostles, and told Peter what she saw. The men ran with her back to the tomb, and looked around, and finding nothing, returned to their place of hiding, leaving her standing there alone. Had they doubted her words when she first told them? Or did they feel this was the final hammer fall... the body was gone and the hope of Jesus' return seemed impossible.
Mary continued to weep, drawing closer to the empty tomb. Suddenly, she realized that there were two strangers standing there, bathed in brilliant white. The spoke to her, asking, "Woman, why are you weeping?"
Mary, in her grief, cried out, "They have taken away the body of my Lord, and I do not know where to find him!" How could she possibly convey the terror she felt in her heart? Didn't they understand? Was this a way of Rome mocking him one last time? Was this a cruel trick?
A second voice called out, and she turned to see the gardener standing quietly beside the opening. "Woman," he asked her, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?"
Mary was a bit shocked. How can anyone living here not know about Jesus? She would not play that game. She pleaded to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."
The man replied, "Mary." And she knew... she knew that voice. It was impossible that she was hearing it again, yet had he not promised he would return to them? Was he not broken, and yet there he stood before her? He was alive! Jesus was alive!
She cried out, "Rabboni!!", which is Aramaic for 'teacher', meaning to throw her arms around him in joy, but he told her, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' "
Mary ran back to the others, her tears now ones of joy, and proclaimed, "I have seen the Lord!" She told them all that had happened.
Hallelujah! Christ is risen, and Christ will come again!
(Based on John 20)
Happy Easter to my friends!
May the Lord bless you this day, and every day.
(Orig Published 4/15/06)
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Yes He Lives! When he arose it established the immortality of the soul, the existence of loved ones who are on the other side, their personality persisting. They are as real in that spiritual realm as Christ's spirt when He preached to the spirits in prison. (1Pet.3:19 (18-20);(1Pet.4:6 (5,6); Rev. 20:13; Isa.61:1 (1,2.) The fact that he was resurrected suddenly changed his disciples to confident, fearless, heroic preachers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was the revelation that Christ had risen from the grave. His promises had been kept, his Messianic mission fulfilled. Resurrection and Spring are happily associated, not that there is anything in nature exactly analogous to the resurrection, but there is so much which suggests and AWAKENING thought. Truly He would say,"I am the Resurrection and the Life. He that believeth in me though he were dead, yet shall he live." (John 11:25.) With this assurance, obedience to eternal law should be a joy, not a burden, for life is joy, life is love...Obedience to Christ and his laws brings life. May each recurring Easter emphasize this truth, and fill our souls with the divine assurance that Christ is truly risen, and through him man's immortality secured. BiddyKelly
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