Jesus is risen! He is risen indeed....just as He said! And now this risen Jesus spends time picking up the pieces of His scattered and unbelieving disciples. Grief stricken. Confused. Shattered dreams. This has been the existence of His followers since Friday. But suddenly rumors begin to infiltrate their circle...the tomb is empty and we can’t find His body! Peter and John run to see. Sure enough, against all odds, the stone is rolled away and Jesus is no where to be found. But in spite of the empty tomb there remains doubt, disbelief, and confusion. (Mark 16:12-13)
We will spend the week looking at some of the encounters with Jesus following His resurrection. The first encounter we want to look at takes place in the Garden near the tomb immediately after His resurrection. Read John 20:11-18. Can you picture the scene? Mary Magdalene (and several other women) had gone to the tomb early Sunday morning to properly prepare His body. But to their shock when they arrive, the stone was rolled away and the tomb was empty. At some point Mary finds herself alone in the Garden when she sees Jesus...but she doesn’t see Him. He is standing right in front of her and He talks to her but she doesn’t know it is He. She sees but she doesn’t see. She hears Him talk to her but she doesn’t hear. But then He calls her name. “Mary.” And it is like the lights suddenly were turned on and she suddenly can see. She now can see her Lord.
Had she ever seen Him before? Did she really know Him before? She knew in part, but now she stood face to face with her risen Lord. He was more than she had ever hoped or imagined Him to be. He wasn’t just a man. He wasn’t just a prophet. He wasn’t just a powerful teacher and speaker. He wasn’t just someone who had shown mercy and grace on her. He wasn’t just her healer. He was her God. He was her Redeemer. He was her Savior. He was her King. She was finally seeing Jesus for the first time in her life.
Seeing but not seeing. Can you relate to Mary? Have you heard Him call your name? Have you seen the risen Jesus?
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