The Empty Tomb

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Our series’ focus this quarter has been on “following our leader.” We’ve watched and experienced through his disciples’ eyes and ears what He did and said. Clearly they were meant to learn and imitate Him. So are we.

We’ve followed all the way from the Jordan river where Jesus’ earthly ministry and mission began all the way to this moment - standing in front of a tomb, wondering what is happening.

It is a singular and extraordinary event never to be repeated until the Lord comes again. Until that time, however, we remember and celebrate Jesus’ resurrection as we long for our own experience of the new creation.

So our focus this Easter is to complete our journey with Jesus’ disciples. In this case, with what at first may seem an unlikely choice.

We may recall that only a few remained after being scattered as His arrest. Just a few of the women, and two of the men (Peter and John) managed to stay close and follow Jesus to His mockery of a trial.

Only Mary, His mother, His aunt, and Mary Magdalene along with John stood witness at the cross. They were the funeral procession as His body was laid in a borrowed tomb.

Now the events sharpen in focus. On the first day of the week (our Sunday), only some of the women come back to the tomb to render final respect and love to Jesus by preparing Him for interment.

It’s noteworthy that all four gospels make a point of mentioning Mary Magdalene as witness and participant in the resurrection.

She’s an unlikely choice to utilize as we put our focus on the tomb that morning.

Her reputation in much of Christian thinking (and secular for that matter) isn’t very good.

I brought her up in conversation folks in my church a few times this week and got pretty much the same response from all of them. Basically, oh, one of the “bad girls of the bible.”

This is an undeserved and unbiblical perception.

Some of the confusion stems from there being so many women mentioned in the NT with the name Mary (Miriam in Hebrew). Sometimes it’s easy to overlay one event in a gospel with what is perhaps a different event and think that the same people are involved.

This confusion led Pope Gregory in the 6th century to preach a sermon where he decreed there were only two women name Mary in the NT. Jesus’ mother (representing purity and holiness) and the “other Mary” who was probably a harlot, evil woman.

This is untrue.

In fact we know very little of Mary Magdalene in the earlier stages of Jesus’ ministry.

We know where she was from: Magdala, a town on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee.

What we can say for sure is that Jesus cast at least seven demons from her.

Luke 8:1–3 NLT

1 Soon afterward Jesus began a tour of the nearby towns and villages, preaching and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom of God. He took his twelve disciples with him, 2 along with some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases. Among them were Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons; 3 Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s business manager; Susanna; and many others who were contributing from their own resources to support Jesus and his disciples.

Mary demonstrated her love and loyalty to Christ by becoming His follower after she was released from possession. It is important to note that not who were demon possessed were presented as evil prior to OR during their possession.

Mary wasn’t necessarily evil or deliberately sinful in her life before Jesus released her.

We also know from Mark’s gospel that she helped to support Jesus’ travels and band of disciples.

So in modern times, Mary Magdalene is smeared with the injustice of a sinful life.

Much later, unreliable and unbiblical documents claim that Mary Magdalen was actually married to Jesus.

This gnostic gospel misinformation was picked up and used to sensationalize Jesus in fiction like Dan Brown’s Da Vince Code and the movie of the same name.

It’s important that we not oversensationalize her in the encounter at the tomb.

It was enough to her that Jesus had released her from demon possession to cause her to choose to follow Jesus throughout his ministry and to back up her faith with her financial resources.

This is how she finds herself at the entrance to a tomb. This tomb should contain the body of her leader, rabbi, expected Messiah.

Remember, there’s no expectation that Jesus would be resurrected. She speculated with the other women on the way what to do about the massive stone that covered the entrance. They’d brought expensive spices and wrappings to finish death’s work on Jesus.

She anticipated having to endure the sights and senses of Jesus’ badly tortured and abused body.

But this wasn’t going to be her experience:

What she finds is a stone rolled away and an empty tomb!

In the moment of discovery, this is not better than her original expectation. The only logical conclusion for her at that time is that the body has been taken away.

This is where Mariam of Magdala becomes one of the most important people of the whole gospel story.

She becomes the first named person in a series of firsts:

First to Hear the Good News

John 20:11–13 NLT

11 Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. 12 She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. 13 “Dear woman, why are you crying?” the angels asked her. “Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”

Matthew 28:5–6 NLT

5 Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying.

First to Meet the Risen Lord

John 20:14–15 NLT

14 She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him. 15 “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?” She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.”

First to Worship the Risen Lord

John 20:16 NLT

16 “Mary!” Jesus said. She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”).

First to Go and Tell

John 20:17–18 NLT

17 “Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” 18 Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” Then she gave them his message.

Likely you and I have met the Lord at some point in life. He has delivered us from our torment, guilt, sins, demon possession.

At times, we see the path of discipleship through blurry eyes, not sure what it all means. Can it be true? Is there hope or is it all a cruel joke?

Easter causes us, like Mary, to confront the truth. Following Jesus is about more than relief in this life. More than having a great friend in Jesus.

We hear a question, even in this moment, why do you weep so often? Why are your eyes so blurred with tears that you cannot seen the truth?

We hear our name and all becomes real and clear.

Like Mary, we cry out to our Lord, our Teacher, our King and we worship!

But Jesus has a ministry for us now: Go and tell that the Lord is, indeed, Risen!