The women who followed Jesus appear at the tomb in all four New Testament Gospels. They arrived early in the morning on the third day while it was still dark.
John tells of Mary Magdalene’s very personal and powerful encounter with Jesus.
John 20: 10-18
After the others left, Mary Magdalene lingered at the tomb. She was distraught. She had questions. Not only had her beloved Teacher been killed on Friday, but now His body was missing. As she turned to leave, Jesus was near. He did not say, “Pull yourself together!” even though she mistakenly thought He was the gardener. He acknowledged her tears. He called her by her name. “Mary.” At that moment she realized it was Jesus.
As followers of Jesus today, we sometimes don’t recognize Him because our chaos is too loud, or our pain is too severe. We do not expect Him to come to us in such times. But then we hear our name – and know that He is with us. We can turn to Him just as confused or crushed or skeptical as even his closest followers were on that early Resurrection morning.
Mary Magdalene’s encounter with Jesus did not end at the empty tomb. He helped her move forward when He said “Go to my brothers and tell them.” Then Mary went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord!”
What does it mean for us present day Jesus-followers to live after the Resurrection? Author Anne Lamott says the Monday after Easter is “not the day to hit the snooze button!” It is the time to go into our world, around the globe or down the street, and remind someone that Jesus rose from the tomb, that He knows their name, and that He might show up in unexpected places.
Diane Parker
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