Mary's Three Easter Questions

We assemble to celebrate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus from the grave.

On Friday… crucified.

Once the Sabbath had completed, the gospels each tell of his closest friends heading to the tomb.

Mark: Mary Magdalene, Mary (mother of James), and Salome

Luke: Mary Magdalene, Mary (mother of James, Joanna (wife of Herod’s household manager), and other women

John: First, Mary Magdalene… she sees the body gone and sprints to Peter and the disciple Jesus loved… and the two of them race to the tomb… the one Jesus loved was faster, but Peter was first in; and the one Jesus loved believed; and Peter didn’t know what to do. And they go home… but Mary Magdalene stays.

These variances in the stories have been harmonized and criticized over and over again. But what all three share in common is the naming of Mary Magdalene as the central figure in the discovery and announcement of Jesus risen from the dead.

And in each story… Mary is met with a key question — different questions in each of the three gospels… three questions of great value to us this Easter weekend.

Question 1: Who Will Roll Away the Stone?

Mark 16:1–3 ESV

1 When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?”

The stone is heavy… inserted… established.

Stone of Separation… we know that full well.

Memorial Day as a kid — Namie

Memorial Day now — David

They can’t get to him by his death… and they can’t get to him by the stone of separation.

Every year as we approach the grave of death, the question we ask is what are we going to do with that stone of separation?

I ASK YOU THIS WEEKEND AS YOU APPROACH THE STONE OF SEPARATION --- WHO WILL ROLL AWAY THAT HOPELESS STONE?

Question 2: Why Do You Seek the Living Among the Dead?

Luke 24:1–6 ESV

1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. 5 And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee,

There are places where you think you’d find life...

Growing up in Nebraska — going to dances… drunk people all around me.

Chuck puking in the bathroom, “Kenny, I’m never gonna do this again.”

He did. We do. We just keep doubling down… sure that an ounce of live will pop out.

We all have substitutes:

Relationship — boyfriend/girlfriend… husband/wife… those outside of marriage

Kids… Grandkids

Money

Power

Information

Education

Pleasure

Renown

Respect

When you look for true, full, meaningful life among the items that are sold to have it, and you find out they don’t possess on their own such a valuable commodity as true living… you get “PERPLEXED”

THE LAST PLACE THE LADIES EXPECTED TO FIND THE DOOR TO TRUE LIVING WAS IN A CEMETERY…

Among the dead they expected to find only death. And when they didn’t… they were “perplexed.”

Wouldn’t it be an aid to us if every time we walk into our cemeteries of substitutes we knew we were only and always going to find death?

If we could do that, how much more would our RECOGNITION and CELEBRATION of Easter be added… because you hang around in enough cemeteries, when real life shows up and you engage in it, you start to ask yourself and everyone you meet: Why do you look for life among deadly things?

SO I ASK YOU THIS EASTER WEEKEND… AS YOU CONSIDER YOUR OWN CEMETERY OF SUBSTITUTES: WHY DO YOU LOOK FOR THE LIVING AMONG THE DEAD?

JESUS IS NOT HERE. HE IS RISEN.

Question 3: Why are you weeping?

John 20:11–18 ESV

11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 17 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.’ ” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.

The question is absent on Good Friday… when there seems to be no hope, nobody questions why we weep.

But when there is hope, it’s the first question asked.

In this instance, Mary is asked the question twice — first by the angels and second by the Lord Jesus himself.

The planning of my funeral...

The grave cannot hold Him… and the grave cannot hold his friends —

SO I ASK YOU THIS EASTER WEEKEND: WHY ARE YOU WEEPING?

RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE AND AS YOU ARE YOU CAN PLACE YOUR FAITH AND CONFIDENCE IN THE LORD JESUS TO MOVE YOU TO LIVE AMONG THE LIVING.