The Woman Who Loved Jesus
| Topic: |
Mary Magdalene at the Garden Tomb |
| Theme: |
The Conversion of Mary Magdalene |
| Proposition: |
The vision of the glorified Christ makes a willing servant |
| Text: |
John 20:1-18 |
Scripture Reading:
John 20 1Now on the first day
of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the
stone already taken away from the tomb. 2And so she ran and came to
Simon Peter, and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved [John], and said to them, “They have
taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.”
3Peter therefore went forth, and the other
disciple, and they were going to the tomb. 4And the two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead faster than
Peter, and came to the tomb first; 5and
stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did not go
in. 6Simon Peter therefore also came,
following him, and entered the tomb; and he beheld the linen wrappings lying
there,7and the
face-cloth, which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in
a place by itself.
8So the other disciple who had first come to the
tomb entered then also, and he saw and believed. 9For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the
dead. 10So the disciples went away
again to their own homes.
11But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping;
and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb; 12and she beheld two angels in white sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet,
where the body of Jesus had been lying. 13And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”
She
said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid
Him.” 14When she had said this, she
turned around, and beheld Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus.
15Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?”
Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell
me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”
16Jesus said to her, “Mary!”
She
turned and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher).
17Jesus said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to
My brethren, and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My G-d
and your G-d.’”
18Mary Magdalene came, announcing to the
disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and that He had said these things to her.
Introduction
John was the disciple whom Jesus loved. Throughout his
Gospel account John continually refers to himself by that title — not as a matter of
self-pride, but rather as a point of identification — though it was certainly no small
matter to be loved by the Lord Jesus.
In all of the four Gospel accounts, it is John and Peter
whom we see as pre-eminent among the disciples.
-
John and Peter, along with their two brothers, were the
first of the disciples to be called;
-
John and Peter were two of the three disciples to whom
Jesus was revealed in His glory on the Mount of Transfiguration;
-
it was John who reclined against the Lord’s breast at
the place of honor during the final Passover meal;
-
it was John and Peter who, as we shall see, were the
first of the disciples to witness to the resurrection;
-
it was John and Peter who together performed the first
healing miracle after the Holy Spirit had come on the Day of Pentecost;
-
it was John the Beloved to whom the glories of the
Revelation of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom was given on the Isle of Patmos; and
-
it was John to whom the dying Jesus entrusted the care
of His blessed mother.
Surely John was the disciple whom Jesus loved. But it was
Miriam of Magdala, or Mary Magdalene as she has come to be known, who pre-eminently loved
Jesus.
Though some have suggested that Mary was of immoral
character, there is no scriptural evidence for that accusation — other than the recognized
fact that immorality is a frequent result of demon possession, and Dr. Luke tells us that
Christ had cast out seven demons from Mary.
The resurrection narrative, however, demonstrates to us
the deep love that Mary had for the Master.
First of all, let us observe Mary's ...
I. Anxiety over the crucified Lord
Verse 1 of our text tells us that Mary got up very early
in the morning, long before daylight, to come to the tomb.
We might do well to consider why it was so important for
her to come to the tomb. The other Gospel writers tell us that she had been with the other
women at the foot of the cross during all of Christ’s agony, and that she had been there
later that Friday afternoon when Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus had come to take the body
of the Lord to the family tomb in Joseph’s garden behind his house.
She had watched while Joseph and Nicodemus carefully
coated His body with a hundred pounds of myrrh and aloes, which were held in place by the
linen grave wrappings. John tells us that this is the burial custom of the Jews.
Miriam of Magdala had been with the other Mary as they had
watched the body of Jesus properly embalmed and laid to rest in Joseph’s new tomb.
What was the nature of Mary’s anxiety that caused her, and
the other Mary, and Salome, and perhaps also Joanna, to arise before daylight to bring
additional embalming spices with which to anoint the Sacred Body?
John tells us only that Mary came early to the tomb and
found the stone rolled away, but the other writers give us more information:
And
when the Sabbath was over Mt[as it
began to dawn], Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought
spices, that they might come and anoint Him. And very early on the first day of the week,
they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. And they were saying to one another, “Who will
roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?”
And looking up,
they saw that the stone had been rolled away Lk&Jn[from the tomb], although it was extremely large. (Matt 28:1; Mark 16:1-4;
Luke 24:1-2; John 20:1)
And when they
entered the tomb, Lk[they did not
find the body of the Lord Jesus], but they saw a young man sitting at the right,
wearing a white robe; and they were amazed. And Mt[the angel] said to them, “Do not be amazed; Mt[for I know that] you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified.
He has risen Mt[just as He said]; He
is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His
disciples and Peter Mt[that He has
risen from the dead;], He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, just as
He said to you; Mt[behold, I have
told you.]” (Matt 28:5-7; Mark 16:5-7; Luke 24:3)
And it happened
that while they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in
dazzling apparel; and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the
ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is
not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee,
saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified,
and the third day rise again.” And they remembered His words. (Luke 24:4-8)
And they went out
and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said
nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. (Mark 16:8)
And so Mary
Magdalene ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and
said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they
have laid Him.” (John 20:2)
In Mary’s anxiety over the missing body, she failed to hear the message
of the angels: “He is not here. He has risen from the dead.” We dare not find fault with
Mary, because we, too, so often allow our own anxieties blind us to the resurrection
message. He is alive. He is victorious over sin; He is victorious over death; He is
victorious over the grave; He is victorious over Satan; He is also victorious over those
things which cause us such great concern in our daily lives!
In Mary’s anxiety over the empty grave, she could not hear the angels’
message. She could hear only her own ...
II. Disappointment over the empty tomb
And so Mary Magdalene ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the
other disciple whom Jesus loved [that is, John], and said to them, “They have taken away
the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.” (John 20:2)
Mary had come to the tomb in search of a dead Lord. Instead she found an
empty grave.
And so it is often with us that our disappointment is G-d’s
appointment.
So often we seek that which we want so desperately to find, and when
G-d provides us with something far greater than our wildest hopes, we are so
caught up in our disappointment that we, for a while, fail to see G-d’s hand of
blessing.
Jesus Christ was absent from the tomb not so that Mary would fail to find
a dead friend and teacher, but that to her far greater heart’s satisfaction, she would find
a resurrected and glorified Lord and Savior.
Her momentary disappointment, however, was so great, that she was blinded
by her ...
III. Sorrow over her assumed loss
Verse 2 tells us that in her disappointment and sorrow, Mary ran from the
garden back to the city to find Peter and John, and told them that the Lord’s body was
missing. The distance from the tomb to the area of the city in which the upper room was
located is only about a mile through the twisted streets of the old city of Jerusalem.
When she found Peter and John and told them the news, the scriptures tell
us how they ran back to the garden to see for themselves the empty tomb, and how when they
saw the empty grave clothes, the two of them believed.
John 20 3Peter therefore went forth, and the other disciple,
and they were going to the tomb. 4And
the two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead faster than Peter, and came
to the tomb first; 5and stooping and
looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there; but he did not go in.
6Simon Peter therefore also came, following
him, and entered the tomb; and he beheld the linen wrappings lying there,
7and the face-cloth, which had been on His
head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself.
8So the other disciple who had first come to the
tomb entered then also, and he saw and believed. 9For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the
dead.
10So
the disciples went away again to their own homes.
11But
Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into
the tomb; 12and she beheld two angels
in white sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been
lying.
13And
they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”
She said to them,
“Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”
Peter and John had run on ahead to the tomb, had seen the evidence of the
resurrection, and had apparently missed Mary on their way back to the city. Coming back to
the garden after Peter and John had already gone home, Mary stood as one bound to that tomb
by the cords of faith and love. So intense were her desires, so deep was her disappointment,
and so blinded were her eyes by her sorrow, that her discussion with the angels never seemed
to awaken in her mind the slightest suspicion that the Lord was actually risen.
Just like Mary, it is possible for us to be so overwhelmed with our
imagined loss that we fail to grasp G-d’s greatest blessing being poured out on
us.
In Mary’s grief and sorrow and disappointment, she made a great ...
IV. Mistake in her perception
14When she had said this, she turned around, and
beheld Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus.
15Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?”
Supposing Him to
be the gardener, she said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have
laid Him, and I will take Him away.”
Even in His full resurrection power, our Lord was still in the
likeness of His flesh. But why did Mary not recognize Him at once? It is very likely
that she was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she was blinded to all outward objects —
“swallowed up with overmuch grief.”
The love of her heart was all right, but the theory of her head was all
wrong. Overwhelmed with her love for Him, she had failed to heed His teaching that it was
necessary for Him to die and to rise again from the grave.
In like manner it will save us from much disappointment and sorrow if we
make sure that we are as correct in our doctrine as we are in our devotion. It is not enough
that we love Him deeply, as important as that is. It is necessary for us to also have a firm
foundation in correct teaching.
Jesus had risen, just as He said, but they believed Him not
because they had failed to heed His teaching.
But Jesus does not leave us alone in our sorrow. When Mary listened to
Him, she made an ...
V. Amazing Discovery
John 20 16Jesus said to her, "Mary!"
She turned
and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher). [or Master].
Mary needed to have her eyes turned away from herself and the grave in
order to see Him who is the Resurrection and the Life. His word caught her ear and sunk into
her heart. He called her by name and claimed her as His own.
As Isaiah writes (43:1):
But now, thus says the Lord,
your Creator, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed
you; I have called you by name; and you are Mine!”
His sheep hear His voice, and He calls them by name. No one who ever
seeks the Lord Jesus Christ ever finds a dead or powerless teacher, but finds rather a risen
and powerful Savior and Lord.
When Mary heard the Savior speak her name, she was filled with a ...
VI. New Boldness
Upon coming face to face with the resurrected Lord, Mary
evidently fell at His feet, clung to Him, and worshipped Him. Matthew 28:9 tells us:
And they came up and took hold of His feet and
worshiped Him.
In the King James Version, John 20:17 says that Jesus told her, “Touch me
not.” But in the original language, what Jesus literally said was, “Stop clinging to me.”
Jesus did not object to being touched. In fact, later that evening in the upper room He
invited the disciples to examine His body to prove that He was physically raised from the
dead and not just some form of spiritual manifestation as so many of the cults and false
religions teach.
17Jesus said to her,
“Stop clinging to Me, for
I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren, and say to them, ‘I ascend to
My Father and your Father, and My G-d and your G-d.’”
When she realized that the man she was speaking to was really Jesus, Mary
incorrectly assumed that He was back and everything would now return to normal and their
usual fellowship would be resumed. But Jesus was telling her that she had to stop clinging
to their old relationship. Christ is now to ascend to the Father, and physical fellowship is
to be resumed only when He returns for His own.
His resurrection had changed His status, certainly; but His resurrection
had also changed the status of His disciples. They had been elevated from the status of
followers to that of brethren, or brothers. The Father of the Lord Jesus Christ has now
become the Father of His brethren. The G-d of the Lord Jesus Christ has now
become the G-d of His brethren.
When Mary correctly understood the nature of her resurrected Lord, her
desire for fellowship changed to a desire for ...
VII. Unquestioning Obedience
17Jesus said to her, “… go to my brethren, and say to them …” and 18Mary Magdalene came, announcing to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and
that He had said these things to her.
Mary had tarried in the garden until she was endued with the power of a
great commission. She had wrestles with her anxiety, her disappointment, and her sorrow. She
had made a mistake, but she had also made a great discovery. When she had come face to face
with the risen Savior she had been filled with boldness, and was now responding with
obedience.
What a message had Jesus given Mary to carry to the disciples, the Gospel
of Sonship; Jesus said, “My father, and your Father.” Her faithful love
for the Lord was rewarded by her being made the first herald of His resurrection power.
In John 14:21, Jesus said,
“… he who loves Me shall be
loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose Myself to him.”
When we truly come face to face with the glorified Christ,
He will make us to become His willing servants.
Are you a willing servant of the Lord Jesus Christ? Have
you ever come face to face with the resurrected and glorified Christ?
If not, let this be the day you receive Him as your Lord and Savior, and
let Him bestow upon you the gift of eternal life. The Scriptures say:
And working together with Him, we also
urge you not to receive the grace of G-d in vain — for He says, … behold, now
is “the acceptable time,” behold, now is “the day of salvation” — (2 Cor 6:2)
   
http://www.familybible.org/Articles/Meditations/MarysMistake.htm
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Friday October 24, 2008 09:48 AM |
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