The Risen Savior Calls Your Name

John 20:11-18

Great grief and sorrow can blind us to what is right in front of our eyes.  This can be especially true if we have gone through a very traumatic, perhaps violent and brutal event.  Oftentimes the mind will draw the person back behind a protective shell for a while, as they try to cope with what has happened.  There are several different accounts of events connected with the Resurrection of Jesus, giving several different people’s perspectives of what they saw, felt, and believed that morning.  Today we’ll look at the account of one of Jesus’ most devoted followers, Mary Magdalene.

There were many women among Jesus’ followers.  Jesus treated them all with dignity and as people of worth, unlike the culture of His day.  Mary Magdalene was a woman who was tormented by many demons in her life, seven to be exact. Her life must have been sheer misery when she came to Jesus, and He cast them out of her (Mark 16:9).  (Legends have said that she was a prostitute, but there is no Scriptural evidence of this.) Mary Magdalene had followed Jesus from the early days of His ministry. She was present at the crucifixion, and was one of the several women who were going to anoint Jesus body early Sunday morning.  Jesus honored her love and devotion by appearing to her first, and entrusting her with the first message of His resurrection.

Mary Magdalene had gone with the other women to anoint Jesus’s body, but when they all saw the tomb open, they fled to tell the other disciples.  Mary’s feelings of grief and loss, along with possible wondering what really and truly had happened, drew her back to the tomb. She, along with all of the disciples, must have heard Jesus say that He would rise again.

When she returned, Mary looked inside the tomb and saw the angels, one at the head of where Jesus had lain, and the other at the feet (vs. 11-12).  This was a symbolic picture of the two cherubim that covered the Mercy Seat (Exodus 25:22). That was where the blood, on the Day of Atonement. was brought by the High Priest for the atonement of the sins of the people.  Only the High Priest could go there and see the Mercy Seat. Jesus was in reality the Lamb of God, and His Blood was poured out for our atonement. Here, where His Body had lain, was symbolic of the Mercy Seat, and the two angels pictured those two other angels at the Mercy Seat.  Now, an ordinary woman has come, showing that Jesus’ Blood has opened the way for us to come to the throne of God and obtain mercy (Hebrews 4:16).

The angels came to shed light where there was darkness.  They came to bring glory where there was death. The angels at the tomb signified that God approved of Jesus’ sacrifice by raising Him to life.  God’s righteous demands for atonement had been fulfilled.

When Mary Magdalene turned around, leaving the tomb, she saw Jesus, though she did not recognize Him (vs. 14).  The vivid memories of Jesus’ bruised and broken body were still etched in her mind. Jesus’ resurrection appearance in a glorified body was so dramatically different, that she failed to recognize Him.  However, the moment He spoke her name Mary recognized Him. She was a true and faithful follower and believer. “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27).

Mary Magdalene didn’t want to lose Jesus again (vs. 17).  Her understanding was not full. Jesus did not want to be detained at the tomb.  If He did not ascend into heaven, the Holy Spirit could not come. Jesus had important work to do, and so did Mary Magdalene.  She needed to go forth and spread the Good News of Jesus. It was also here that Jesus called the disciples “brethren” for the first time.  Because of Jesus’ work on the cross in place of sinners, this new relationship with Jesus was made possible.

Mary Magdalene did not meet the risen Savior until she discovered the empty tomb.  She then responded with joy and obedience by going to tell the disciples. We cannot meet Jesus until we discover that He is alive, and His tomb is empty.  Then we are to share the Good News. Mary Magdalene didn’t at first recognize Jesus. Her grief had blinded her. She couldn’t see Him because she didn’t expect to see Him.  Jesus spoke her name, and immediately she recognized Him. Jesus is calling your name. Can you, like Mary Magdalene, regard Him as your Lord?