John 20:1 Now on the first day of the week Mary
Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the
stone had been taken away from the tomb.
There is a lot of emotion written into John’s account of
resurrection day. In each of the subsequent appearances of Jesus we find His
followers deep in the turmoil of overwhelming emotion. All of the pain and
frustration of their unrealized dreams and expectations of the coming kingdom
of God has them in a tail spin.
It is in just this type of tail spin we find Mary Magdalene as
she approaches the now empty tomb in the darkness of predawn. Her eyes and her
understanding still dim to the reality of what had occurred. Her mind still
reeling from the thought of her dead Messiah. Her eyes puffy from the
multiplied tears she had been releasing all throughout the silence of the
previous day. Her breathing was labored and strained as the invisible weight on
her chest promised no reprieve. Her head and neck ached as it seemed her heart
would never settle down from her throat. Coming to the tomb early that morning
must have already felt like walking miles as every time she looked up to see
the garden tomb drawing closer it only seemed to be that much further away.
This was truly a moment for Mary that reveals the depth of the darkness in our souls apart from the knowledge of the resurrected Christ. And if there was ever a soul crushing darkness, this must have been it. All of the disciples had so many hopes and dreams for what the Lord was going to do. Peter, the headstrong fisherman, imagined he would be Jesus’ Sargent at Arms when Jesus took His earthly thrown and established the new world super-power, James and John, the sons of thunder, were going to rule with Him in that kingdom, one on His right hand and one on His left. But maybe none could have felt as dark as Mary in that very moment.
She had been set free of seven demons, and had given every
cell of her being to following Jesus, but what was she going to do now? She had
nowhere to go, no earthly idea of what she would do next. She may have
struggled inside as the questions kept berating her mind like hail on the hot summer
pavement, steam billowing up obscuring her vision, as car alarms are blaring
around her from the vehicles being pummeled by mother nature’s onslaught. Was
He not the one the prophet Isaiah spoke of? Wasn’t He God’s Servant who would
bring restoration to God’s people? Wasn’t He the one we have been waiting for? If
He has failed, what of God? Is God still there? Will God still save us? Can God
still save us? Is He still sovereign?
I can’t imagine the way Mary must have felt that morning
walking through the countryside of Jerusalem. But I do imagine all of us have
felt similar, as we’ve watched our hopes and dreams crumble before us like
stale bread. The worst part is not so much the initial failure, as it is the
powerlessness to breathe new life into those dreams. The despair comes when we
are completely out of control, and cannot exact our will on the situation.
There is much that we could say about this typical human
experience, but the good news is there need never be a despair as deep as what
Mary was feeling that morning in Galilee. Things are not always going to go our way, and
dreams may go unrealized, but Jesus has risen and we have hope that reaches
beyond the pain of loss. “For the Lord has ransomed Jacob and has redeemed him
from hands too strong for him. Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,
and the young men and the old shall be merry. I will turn their mourning into
joy; I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.” (Jer. 31:11, 13,
ESV)
Whatever happens in this fleeting life of ours we have hope
beyond the struggle, and it’s guaranteed. We have been completely set free from
the burden of sin and shame through the cross of Jesus Christ, and we have the
promise of life ever after through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And
nothing, “neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor
things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created
thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ
Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39, ESV) And that love is proven beyond the
shadow of doubt by Jesus willingness to endure the cross and the Father’s willing
to put Him there. And now, after the resurrection, we can bask in that loving
embrace for all eternity, come hell or high water, the rivers can over top
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