Good morning. He has risen! He has risen indeed!
But who shouted those words on that Sunday, the day of His resurrection? Did his closest disciples, Peter and John? No. They heard the words of the women that the tomb was empty and that they had encountered angels. They ran to the tomb as fast as their legs could carry them. They poked their heads inside and looked around. They saw that the slab of stone where He had been laid was now bare except for the neatly folded strips of cloth that had been wrapped around Him. Did they immediately rejoice? No, they did not. They wondered about it, and they discussed it, but they were not yet ready to rejoice.
How about the women who first saw the tomb where the stone had been rolled away? No, they were filled with confusion, then with fear, and then with wonder as the angels asked them “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” They hurried back to the house where His disciples were in hiding and told them the news, but did they immediately rejoice? No, they did not.
Of all the group of women who went to the tomb to care for Jesus, Mary Magdalene is the one we read about the most. Her story is shared with us in John’s gospel. She too had seen the empty tomb. She too had heard the angels. She too had gone back to tell the disciples. But did she rejoice? Not yet.
Mary returned to the tomb, broken hearted and filled with grief. All she could think of was that her Lord’s body had been taken from them, and she couldn’t even fulfill the obligation of caring for His body after His death. Mary wept bitterly. The angels spoke to her, but in her grief, she didn’t seem to care. And then she saw Jesus.
At first, she didn’t recognize Him. Her mind wouldn’t allow her to accept Him on sight. But then He called her by name, and everything changed: Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” John 20:16-17
That lack of recognition could also be said of the disciples Jesus met on the road to Emmaus. They couldn’t rejoice until they came to recognize Him in His resurrected glory. Not even the disciples who were closest to Jesus could believe in the resurrection until they were personally confronted by the risen Savior. It is that personal relationship with the risen Christ that brings us the reason for joyful celebration.
It was true then and it is true now. If Jesus is only a religion, a philosophy, a “good teacher,” an idea and an ideal, then there is no cause for joy.
But….He is risen! We serve a risen Savior who wants a personal relationship with each of us right now. Let the celebration be grand and our joy complete. HE IS RISEN!
Vern