After the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and other women joined together, buying spices they headed to the Garden tomb to anoint Jesus’ body. (ref. Luke 24:10 & Mark 16:1) They went in mourning to honour their Lord’s body but were surprised and overtaken by grief when they learned that His body was nowhere to be found.
“Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
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.” At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
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.”
Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). 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.’” - John 20:11-17 (NLT)
Can you imagine what Mary Magdalene felt in this moment? When we read the scriptures and understand the miraculous deliverance that Jesus performed in her life, giving her freedom from the seven demonic spirits that had imprisoned her. (ref. Luke 8:2) Can you imagine witnessing the One who delivered you, being beaten, and killed in front of your own eyes? And then as you go to His grave to anoint His body in honour of Who He was to you, He is missing… can you imagine the grief-stricken pain?
But when Jesus says her name… “Mary.” The revelation of Who He is, is understood by her and her grief turns to joy. The resurrected Jesus restored her hope by saying her name. So beautiful. So powerful! I believe this portion of the resurrection narrative is so key to us understanding that God still calls names out today. His love for us doesn’t keep us sitting hopeless in the grief of this broken world but calls us to look to the One who knows our name, knows us intimately – more than we know ourselves - and draws us to Himself through His word and by His Spirit, offering us a hope and peace that is unrivaled.
I love that Jesus would commission women to ‘go’ and ‘tell’ the truth that death was defeated – that He is alive! I love that He empowered those who were overlooked and undervalued in the culture of the day, to bring hope to so many others. He empowered them to be the first missionaries of the Good News. No one is overlooked or undervalued in the Kingdom of God. By the power of Jesus in us, He resurrects and restores us to the perfect will that His Father has planned for each of us. What love!
Empowered women go and speak, sharing their life stories with others, all about the One Who changed everything about their life. This is our story. This is our calling. Who can we share with today, what Jesus has done in and through us?
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