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Easter Sunday School Lesson , 2013, Mary Magdalene at the Tomb of the Resurrection, John 20:1-17
John 20:1, The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.
Mary Magdalene, as her name tells us was from Magdala an important agricultural, fishing, and trade center of Galilee.
Mark and Luke indicate that this is the Mary, out of whom Jesus Christ cast seven devils or demons.
This Mary was part of the inner circle of the followers of Jesus.
She was a witness of His crucifixion, his burial, the empty tomb and she was a witness of Jesus' resurrection.
She had observed the Sabbath that had ended some 10 or 11 hours ago and she was one of the first to come to the tomb.
Mark tells us that Mary was accompanied to the grave by Mary the mother of James, and Salome.
Devoted to Jesus Christ, these women came very early in the morning when it was yet dark and they came in spite of the fact that there were Roman guards at the tomb.
Matthew records that they felt a great earthquake as they neared the tomb.
No doubt Jerusalem was filled with strangers that were probably sleeping outdoors in any sheltered place they could find.
But these women came in spite of any personal danger they faced.
There were not many who were attached to Jesus Christ as Mary Magdalene for she was totally indebted to him, He having released her from the demons.
Her indebtedness matched her affection for him.
Her gratitude was great because she had a clear view of the miry clay out of which Christ had brought her.
The message of what we are in the sight of God is missing today as the very idea of sin is being lost.
But how so important it is to know from what we have been rescued and to be thankful for what God has done for us!
Mary comes upon the tomb and sees that the entrance stone has been rolled aside and we are told in verse John 20:2:
Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.
Peter and John were together and Mary most likely went to John's house which was in Jerusalem.
She had heard the angel announce the Lord's resurrection but on the way to seek John she reasoned within herself that the authorities had taken the Lord out of the sepulchre.
The authorities had sealed the tomb at the time of burial but now seeing it opened she thought they had removed the body perhaps to forestall rumors of a resurrection.
Perhaps she reasoned, they intended to put the body in a common grave after all. All she knew was that the grave was now open, and what other explanation could there be?
How easy it is to forget the words of Christ for hadn’t he told her that on the third day he would rise?
But she depended upon her eyes and faith was far from her.
John 20:3,4 Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre.
This, of course, was alarming news to Peter and John and caused them to run to the sepulchre to find out what had taken place.
Perhaps they asked if Mary had looked into the open tomb and found out that she did not.
Imagine what went through their minds as they ran to the tomb.
Perhaps they recalled the words of Christ as he often had spoken of his resurrection.
Perhaps they recalled his words that he was the Resurrection and the Life.
John, the younger of the two, tells us that he outran Peter.
John had last seen the Lord while he was on the cross and had maintained right fellowship with him.
He had heard the words of Christ, Behold your mother!
But Peter, after having denied the Lord thrice, had not yet been restored into fellowship and perhaps this made Peter more cautious.
John 20:5, And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in.
The fact that John did not go in the sepulchre but waited for Peter provides a glimpse of God's providence.
The law very clearly states: In the mouth of two witnesses shall a matter be established.
By John not going in, he kept everything undisturbed so that when Peter came they could both be witnesses of the same thing and therefore establish the truth!
John 20:6,7, Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself.
Peter did not hesitate to go in for he also saw the linen clothes lying.
Looking closely he saw the napkin, the towel that bound the face of the body, lying separately and wrapped in a place by itself.
It appeared that everything was orderly and in place with no evidence of haste or vandalism.
People that steal bodies do not do what Peter and John saw and therefore light was beginning to shine in their minds.
The orderliness of the linen clothes were a sign of the resurrection, for no one who would have removed the body would have stripped it of the linen cloth.
No one would have taken the trouble to wrap the napkin which was about his head and set it apart from the linen.
What they saw was not the action of thieves who would naturally be in a hurry.
John 20:8,9, Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.
This also convinced John when he went in the sepulchre.
What John saw, led him to believe that Jesus Christ came out of the grave clothes bodily and left the grave clothes in the same wrapped condition that they were while on his body.
He saw and he believed what he saw, for as yet they knew not the scripture that he must rise again from the dead.
It was not that there was no scripture regarding the resurrection but Peter and John did not know it.
Nor had they grasped from Christ’s own words that he should rise from the dead.
They did not know the scripture but they knew what they saw and it must have been convincing evidence that the body of Christ rose bodily through the grave clothes.
The grave clothes were left in the tomb so that two witnesses could testify that the only explanation was the resurrection.
God used John's hesitation to go into the sepulchre so that in the mouths of two witnesses a thing would be established.
John and Peter both saw the sepulchre just as Jesus Christ had left it, undisturbed, and what they saw caused them to believe that he had risen through his grave clothes.
John 20:11,12, Then the disciples went away again unto their own home. But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
John and Peter's hurried departure caused them to miss this great event but it must have been meant for Mary alone.
They had left and Mary had returned after telling them of the missing Christ.
She did not know of the evidence of the burial clothes.
Mary loved the Lord and sought him early.
She was a doer of the word that the Lord had said: I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me.
Mary was the one to whom Christ appeared first.
It is interesting to note that Mary was weeping because she loved Christ and wondered at his missing body.
In reality he had risen and this was cause for rejoicing but all she knew was that her Lord's body was missing.
She attributed the loss of the body to man-made causes and therefore she wept.
But the body was not there because of God-made causes and had she known she would have rejoiced instead of weeping.
So many times what we see, over shadows our faith and causes us to be totally opposite in our emotions.
But her weeping showed her affection and great love for Christ but it also revealed her dullness toward his resurrection.
Most often the fears and sorrows of Christians are needless.
Most often, tears we shed are shed in vain even though sincere, for we easily forget the care and love that God has for us.
So she stooped down and looked into the sepulchre hoping that she was wrong and that somehow His body was still there.
But instead of seeing the body of Christ she saw two angels in white sitting, the one at the head and the other at the feet.
John 20:13, And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.
In asking "Woman, why weepest thou" they desired Mary to examine herself.
In asking the question they inferred that it was not necessary to be weeping.
There was no place for tears here!
Instead of weeping eyes there should have been shouts of joy and praise for the fact that Christ is not here but risen, is cause for rejoicing.
But she did not know this for she concluded everything by what she saw.
This was a seeing is believing moment but God’s economy is believing then seeing.
Someone has said, "It is the error of our conceit to weep when we have no cause, and to joy when we have as little. False joys and false sorrows, false hopes and false fears, this life of ours is full of them."
Man weeps when a loved one dies but God rejoices in the death of his saints. God’s thoughts are not our thoughts!
John 20:14, And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
We are not told why she turned away from the angels but perhaps it was a reaction of grief or perhaps she heard the sound of approaching footsteps.
So she turned and was rewarded by being the first one amongst His disciples to see the risen Christ.
Mary’s great love for Jesus Christ was acknowledged by Christ.
She had lingered at the tomb while others left and in doing this Christ appeared to her first but she knew not that it was Jesus.
He had come to comfort her in her sorrow and to turn her sorrow into joy but she was so distraught she continued weeping for she knew him not.
John 20:15, Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.
Her tears and sobs had touched his heart toward Mary Magdalene who came to seek him early.
He knew her heart of gratitude for what he had done for her.
Christ asked the same thing as the angels but adds the words "whom seekest thou?"
He knows her grief is attached to him and his missing body.
He has come to wipe away her tears and bring her to a place of rejoicing.
Why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou? Both penetrating questions!
Who is it that ye are seeking among the dead for why seek ye the living among the dead?
Have you forgotten that the crucified one is the Lord of life, the resurrection and the life, the one who laid down his life that he may take it again? Mary was devoted to Christ but in her sorrow she had forgotten the words of Christ that he had spoken often to his disciples.
How often we, when we are in a dilemma of life, forget the word of God and choose to operate emotionally.
John 20:16,17, Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; (hrab‑bon‑ee') which is to say, Master. Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
He had called her woman and she knew him not thinking him to be the gardener, but now the Good Shepherd calls his own sheep by name and she knows him. He sayeth unto her, Mary.
Her eyes are opened at the sound of her name and she immediately calls him Rabboni which is to say Master.
But Jesus immediately says words that point her to a new relationship.
Things are not the same as they were before his resurrection.
Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended unto my Father, he says.
By saying this Jesus is introducing a new order of things and a new relationship is to be established with Mary.
He is about to ascend up on high to take his place at the right hand of His Father.
She is no longer to regard his bodily presence here on earth as she is used to doing.
He is now to be regarded as the object of faith, received up in heaven by the Father.
After his ascension she and all believers are brought into a spiritual union with him through His Spirit.
She is to know him no longer in the flesh but she is to know him as he is glorified in heaven.
Through him she is to know his Father as her Father, and his God as her God.
At this point in time Jesus Christ's earthly relationship with the Jews ceases and a heavenly relationship with the Jewish remnant is begun.
This earthly relationship will be resumed at the Lord's return when he sets up the kingdom.
He will be present bodily in the kingdom; but in the heavenly relationship he is absent bodily and believers are in a heavenly union with the risen Christ.
There is a change taking place in the relationship of his followers with Christ and Christ introduces that change first to Mary.
He could have said "Approach me not as you did before, for matters are not in the same state; nor shall I henceforth be with you in the same way."
But he chooses to say instead, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
He connects his Father to his brethren and his God to his brethren.
This is what the coming of Christ was all about.
He came to reveal the Father and he now returns to the Father.
But he brings the Father new children who know the Father because they know Jesus Christ and he tells Mary of this relationship.
Go Mary! and tell my brethren also that I ascend unto our Father. |