Lingering at the Tomb

The disciples left, “but 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.” John 10:11-12 I wonder why Peter and John did not see the angels. Mary did. Is it possible that Mary lingered and therefore she saw the angels? I wonder how many times in my life I miss important things or blessings because I’m in too much of a hurry to get somewhere else? Peter and John likely feared for their lives being out and exposed. They were in a hurry to get back into hiding where it was safer. They missed the angels and they missed what came next as well.

“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. ‘Woman,’ he said, ‘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.)” John 20:13-16

I wonder why Mary did not recognize Jesus at first. Even when he spoke to her, she did not recognize his voice until he said her name. I wonder if she could not see it was him because she did not expect him to be alive. She likely wasn’t focusing very well because she was distraught. But somehow, his speaking her name focused her and she could see and hear that it was indeed Jesus standing there.

“Jesus said to 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.’” John 20:17 I imagine when Mary realized it was Jesus, she held on to him very tight – like a child holding on to a lost kitten that just returned, not wanting to ever let go for fear it would disappear again. It is pretty clear that Jesus was not a ghost at this point. You can’t hug a ghost. He wanted to make sure that Mary fully understood that he had indeed risen from the dead and was alive again. And I’m pretty sure that John shared these details in order to convince us as well that Jesus did indeed rise from the dead.

“Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: ‘I have seen the Lord!’ And she told them that he had said these things to her.’” John 20: 18 In a recent Bible study I did, the author pointed out that the form of the word ‘seen’ here actually means: change focus, look away from one to see another. It is interesting to me that Jesus chose to appear to Mary Magdalene before the disciples. Mary had done a complete turn-around in her life when she met Jesus and had been a devoted follower from then on, even traveling with him and caring for his needs along the way. While the other Gospels include other women with Mary at this time, John chooses to focus on Mary Magdalene for some reason. Possibly, she was the spokesperson for the women, or possibly, she was the most bubbling, outstanding, talkative among the women. But in my mind, it likely was because Mary had gained so much from what Jesus said and did in her life; and his act of going to the cross, dying and rising again, was for Mary and those who like her were a total mess without him. There is no one so bad that Jesus cannot save them. I think John wanted to make that clear. I think many times through his ministry here on earth, Jesus also made it clear that there is no one so good that they don’t need him. But in this case, I think John wanted to make sure that we understood the complete turn-around Mary made.

I wonder if I have too much distracting me in my life, or if I am willing to linger with Jesus long enough to see what he is doing and allow him to speak into my life, or change my direction. I would like to be able to say with Mary, “I have seen the Lord!” I want to hear his voice when he calls my name and sends me with a message for others. And I want to go immediately and without hesitation to carry the message he has given me.