And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb
and saw two angels in white sitting there,
one at the head and one at the feet
where the Body of Jesus had been.
And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”
Mary Magdalene was so distraught that the presence of the angels barely registered. Unlike the guards, whose fear paralyzed them at the very sight of the angels, Mary was too engrossed in her grief to notice. She had a connection to Jesus that was so important to her that she simply did not know how to let it go, did not know what to do with herself in a world without him, and did not have attention to spare for such a world. This connection to Jesus kept her near the tomb, and positioned her to be the first witness of the resurrection. Her sorrow would, as Jesus had said, turn to joy (see John 16:20).
When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there,
but did not know it was Jesus.
It seemed that her grief was so great that she couldn't even recognize the return of the one whose loss she mourned. The fact that such a return was almost inconceivable could not have helped. And the Jesus who returned was in fact changed by the glory of his resurrection. But the main reason she didn't recognize Jesus was probably not her fault. Jesus was known to prevent people from recognizing him until a precisely planned moment of self-revelation. This was what happened when he was with the disciples at Emmaus, but he wasn't known to them until the breaking of the bread (see Luke 24:13-35). In fact, the presence of the risen Lord was always unpredictable. Once the rumors of the resurrection began to circulate, his followers started to investigate. But he seemed to delight in surprising them. He was never quite where they expected. And part of the reason for this was that their expectations were based on Jesus before his resurrection. He was different now. It was a relationship that could not be reestablished from the human side, but only from that of Jesus himself.
Jesus said to her, “Mary!”
She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,”
which means Teacher.
She did not recognize him. But he would always know her. If she couldn't identify Jesus based on appearance, she at least remembered what it was like to be known by him. In speaking her name, it was as though Jesus was recreating her, establishing a new relationship with her in the light of his resurrection. She hadn't known who Jesus was. But more to it, she didn't even know who she herself was until she heard Jesus call her name. In hearing Jesus call her name in this way she experienced the power of his resurrection washing over her and transforming her.
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it (see Revelation 2:17).
Even with all the newness of the Easter revelation of Jesus to Mary Magdalene she was still tempted to cling to older ways of thinking, acting, and relating to Jesus.
Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me,
for I have not yet ascended to the Father.
But go to my brothers and tell them,
‘I am going to my Father and your Father,
to my God and your God.’”
The power of sin and death over the world had been ended. But Jesus was not finished. His mission was ongoing, and, during the life of his disciples in the world, so too was theirs. Jesus was headed to his enthronement in heaven. And Mary was now meant to go and spread the good news of what she had seen. Her words would help to restore the relationship of the disciples with Jesus, helping them to realize that the resurrection of Jesus now made them his very brothers. His relationship with the Father was now something they could share.
Mary went and announced to the disciples,
“I have seen the Lord,”
and then reported what he had told her.
We can't simply sit in the solace of the Easter festivities forever. But the joy of those festivities is meant to make a lasting change on our lives. Like Mary Magdalene we too are meant to be filled with the joy of knowing the risen Lord so much that we cannot help but say to others, "I have seen the Lord".
Newsboys - Your Love Never Fails
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