Mary Magdalene -- The World's First Christian

John 20:1-18New International Version (NIV)

The Empty Tomb

20 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalenewent to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

13 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.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

15 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.”

16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

17 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.’”

18 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.

I appreciate that the Gospel of John tells the stories of Jesus through the individual.  This is an important point of view because it allows us, as readers, to see just how the personal relationship with Christ is central to believing who Jesus is.  The other day, Griffin was with me when we were working with a freshly born baby calf and the calf was trying to stand up.  Slimy, shivering and wet the calf is mustering all their strength to try to stand up and get that first drink.  Griffin starts narrating the calf’s struggle from the viewpoint of the calf.  He said something like, “I tried to stand up but I think I will lay back down.”  In that tiniest of moments I learned something about Griffin’s ability to see life through a different perspective.  It may seem insignificant if I hadn’t been paying attention but the ability to place yourself in someone else’s shoes is important.  It is the best way to find common ground and understanding with one another.  The focus of our message this morning will be Mary Magdalene and seeing the resurrection through her eyes.  

While it was still dark, Mary went to explore the tomb, probably to pay her final respects, to say one last goodbye.  But when she got there, she saw that the stone had been rolled away.  This is where the story gets a little odd.  Instead of seeing the stone moved and going in to investigate, she assumes that the body is stolen and heads back to tell Simon Peter and the beloved disciple.  This is odd because Mary assumes something very different than the truth.  I thought this was interesting because we still do this in today’s world.  We see a young teenage woman with a baby bump and automatically assume the worst about her.  We see a man with a prison record and allow our imaginations to run wild with the possibilities.  We see a drunken homeless man and think the worst about that person.  We see the stone rolled away and fail to understand.  We see Islamic terrorists and assume that explains the Muslim faith.  We use religion to back up our politics.  We twist and turn the truth so we can feel better about ourselves.  We see the stone rolled away and fail to understand.  We read the Bible too literally or too figuratively.  We believe there is a “correct way to faith.”  We believe in taxing the middle class.  We believe in taxing the upper class.  We see the stone rolled away and fail to understand.  My faith is complicated.  My faith is difficult to understand and sometimes I can’t even explain it.  My personal philosophies and ideals are always evolving.  The ground in which I stand is ever changing.  And there is good reason for all of that: faith, life, God, family -- these things do not fit nice and neatly into place.  These things are complex and, at times, overwhelming.  You can see how our observations can cloud our understanding.    

However, in the midst of her confusion, Jesus appeared.  Before we get to Mary’s encounter with the resurrected Jesus, we should mention Simon and the beloved disciple’s reaction to what they saw.  They saw the empty tomb and John then tells us simply, “He saw and believed.”  Keep this in mind. Then Mary finally peeks into the tomb to see to angels sitting where Jesus’ body had been laying.  The angels asked Mary why she was crying and she answered with the same line she told Peter, “They have taken my Lord away.”  Jesus finally says Mary’s name and then she realized whom she has been talking to.  She receives her instructions and runs to tell the disciples.  Remember when I said that Peter and the beloved disciple “saw and believed”?  Yes, they should have been the world’s first Christians but notice, I didn’t give them that title.

The difference does not come from what they each believed.  The difference came from what they did with that newfound belief.  Simon-Peter and the beloved disciple believed and didn’t say a word.  Mary finally believes and cannot contain her excitement.  She finally sees her Lord and tells the disciples while Peter and the beloved disciple said nothing.  This is important because it lets us know that a personal encounter with Christ is not enough.  I firmly believe that God designed a faith that is one of action.  To believe in who Jesus is also requires acting on that belief.  This, I believe, was John’s intention when he sharing his version of the gospel.  John in not content with leaving the individual encounter with Jesus at exactly that, an individual encounter.  John believes to be a true believer, a disciple, a follower of Jesus means to give witness to what you have experienced in your encounter with Jesus.

By viewing the resurrection through Mary’s point of view, we learn a lot about John’s understanding of how he views our relationship with God.  We make the same mistakes that she did.  We see the stone rolled away and assume something far different from the truth.  But in the midst of our confusion, Jesus calls us by name.  How many times, during the course of our lives, has Jesus called us by name in the midst of confusion.  How many times has Jesus helped us find our way again when we finally peek into the tomb?  Seeing the stone rolled away is not simply enough.  We must look past the stone and see past the things that can cloud our judgment.  Jesus called us to follow him and the act of following means taking action.  That action is the exact reason we have gathered this morning.  God took the steps necessary for us to see his love and grace at work through the life, death and resurrection of Christ.  Jesus lives on through eternity.  He lives on through you.  He lives on through the lives you touch through your witness.  This Easter morning, remember the actions taken on your behalf but tomorrow use those actions to show others the love and grace of God. Amen.