Mary Magdalene was there – in the dark.
The stone was not covering the tomb. Worse still, the resting place of her Lord was empty.
This was unfathomable. Jews took mourning seriously. History tells us that the first seven days of grief were set aside to mourn – no work, no bathing – nothing. It was a time for expressing grief – not repressing it. How would she grieve now? How would others pay their final respects? How would they move on?
She ran to the disciples and told them what she had seen. They all came back to see for themselves.
Then everyone departed to their own homes – all but Mary.
She stood outside and wept.
She looked back inside – and wept.
As if it was not broken enough, Mary’s heart must have been shattered now.
Suddenly, she noticed two angels who asked why she was crying. She replied, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”
She felt a presence behind her. Turning around she saw a man she believed was a gardener who asked the same question. She replied again, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”
Then, the man spoke – “Mary!”
Her eyes were opened. Her heart was healed. The tears of angst and pain were now sobs of inexpressible joy. It appears at that moment that she leapt forward and began hugging her Lord.
With the call of just a name – her name – the Savior changed her world forever.
How?
In the ancient Mediterranean culture, women were not valued much as witnesses. Her words would not have been taken with any sense of trust or believability. Yet Jesus chose her to be the first to see Him.
Not only that, but Mary was also the first one to be sent as a witness to the risen Savior.
John 20:17 records Christ’s words: “Stop clinging to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them: ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.”
Each year as we celebrate Easter, we are reminded of the three-fold truth of this magnificent event through that first witness, Mary. First, Christ has defeated death. Second, He knows your name. Third, He has sent you out as His witness of the resurrection.
If you have forgotten those things, kneel and peer into the empty tomb once again. Search for Him, cry out for Him – to the depths of your soul. Listen as He gently and quietly calls your name. Then erupt in praise and tell the world.
If you do not know the Jesus of the resurrection, you can find Him there – at the empty tomb. Peer into the tomb of your future, cry out in search of Him – listen as He calls you by name. Then erupt in praise and tell the world.
He is alive! He knows your name! And He is sending you to be His witness!
(EDITOR’S NOTE – Phil Goble Jr. serves as pastor of Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Hayesville, N.C. This devotional originally appeared in the March 2023 issue of the Biblical Recorder magazine.)
