Mary Magdalene: From Grief to Resurrection Hope

Here in John 20, something happens, or has happened, and it's a rift in time, and everything has changed. When N. T. Wright says, the future has transported into the present in this moment, and everything has changed. Because Jesus is not dead, he is alive, embodied, everything has changed. And what I want you to see here, three things. The first, Mary's call and our call, Mary's grief and our grief, and then the whole of creation have changed. Now, first, it's important to know who this Mary is. She's mentioned five times in John's Gospel, the first time, just in the previous chapter, chapter 19. [00:49:12] (39 seconds) Edit Clip


Mary is here to anoint Jesus's body. She's a watchman on the Tower of Mourning, the first one there that morning. And when she leaves, what changes? What changes for her? She now becomes a witness of what? Resurrection of grave clothes and death folded up, put away of a body. That's not dead, but alive. The fact that she is a witness by all the Gospel writers shouldn't be lost on us. [00:51:46] (32 seconds) Edit Clip


And here the Gospel writers give platform to Mary and these women as the first to see the risen Jesus, their testimony valued, respected. And in the face of questions where testimony by a man might confirm things, the Bible doesn't shy away from giving this platform to Mary and these women. So Mary leaves this place as the first Christian, the first to announce what? He is alive. [00:52:18] (31 seconds) Edit Clip


This morning, I want to invite you into this space to consider how encountering the risen Jesus changes your call. She is now an Apostle to the Apostles. The Apostles are the ones who have seen Jesus and announced the good news. This is what Mary does. He is risen. The second thing is Mary's grief. There's something about Christianity. God never engages any of us in a vacuum. To know God is to know him within your story and your life, not apart from it. [00:53:10] (36 seconds) Edit Clip


And Jesus doesn't just reveal himself. Ta-da, it's me. I'm here. He engages Mary where? Where she is. In her grief. In her loss. In her story. This is what God does. And maybe that's what he wants to do with us today. Here where we sit. And so the angels and then Jesus, disguised as the gardener, ask, Why are you crying? [00:55:01] (22 seconds) Edit Clip


Mary asks this question looking into him, lost in her grief. She can't even look up. She's not even paying attention to the gardener who's talking to her. And then Jesus says her name. Mary. Mary hears for the first time. And suddenly she turns around and the questions are no more. The sheep know the shepherd's voice, Jesus says. She finds who she's looking for and the moment she finds him, she finds herself. The moment she hears her name, she knows him. And that is the point. [00:59:30] (38 seconds) Edit Clip


Your name spoken by Jesus. That he knew what was going on with you the whole time. And he was watching and waiting, is waiting and has said your name. Or at some point you will know when he has said your name. And this is the thing. This is the thing about union with Jesus. Your, your actual self and actual story united to his actual self and his story. [01:00:40] (26 seconds) Edit Clip


When Jesus says Mary's name, it's like he's bringing her into the story of the resurrection and allowing her to say, we did it. We beat death. Jesus meets Mary in her grief, her questions. Everything's changing, changes with he is risen. And this leads to the last transformation. All of creation has been changed. Like John gives us all these Easter eggs, bear with me in this passage, these hidden things. First, our passage begins with the first day of the week. Sabbath for the Jew was Saturday evening to Sunday evening. But here on Sunday morning, we have begun the first day of the week. [01:01:52] (45 seconds) Edit Clip


John tells us in John 12, unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, he cannot bear much fruit. But if he dies, he will bear much fruit. This is the scene. This is the garden. He is the gardener. He has come to uproot the thorns and thistles of the curse. As far as that curse is found, and replaced them with blooms and harvest, as far as that curse is found. So the sin of mankind is buried in the very place where sin and death came from. Third, Mary's grip. Right? Mary does what any of us would do. She sees Jesus and she latches on, hugs him, grabs him, clutches him. [01:03:31] (45 seconds) Edit Clip


Jesus tells Mary Magdalene to go and tell his brothers. Interesting he uses the term, I'm ascending to my Father and your Father, my God and your God. What's going on here? Jesus is saying, I am alive again. I've conquered death in my body. What that means is that all of my people are now a part of this family because of Jesus's resurrection. His disciples have God as a father. Because of his resurrection, Mary is now an adopted daughter of the Father. You're no longer a slave, but a son. And if a son, an heir through God. The resurrection means that God, our Father, through Jesus, has adopted us. [01:06:23] (39 seconds) Edit Clip