*written by Jason Stockdale
Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” John 20:21
When the followers of Jesus left the scene of the cross to observe the Sabbath, they thought Jesus would be dead forever. The Gospel of Mark tells us that Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Joseph, saw Jesus’ body go into the tomb. The gospel accounts each tell us that the women went to the garden to finish the burial process. By this point, there was no expectation of anything other than death and defeat.
And yet, when those women arrived on that unsuspecting Resurrection morning, the stone was already rolled away. Still, something else had happened unexpectedly: the body of Jesus, the body they went to anoint, the body of their friend and hopeful Messiah, was not there—these first few minutes in the garden had to be some of the most confusing and chaotic minutes for each of them!
But in those next few minutes, three things become crystal clear: 1) Jesus wasn’t there, and even more incredible, 2) he had risen from the grave and was alive! 3) This news had to be shared. So who did Jesus first ask to share this good news with the world? It was not Peter, the denier, whom Jesus would radically restore and use on Pentecost. It was not James or John who would give their lives in allegiance to Jesus. It was an unexpected source on this unexpected morning.
Mary Magdalene…
Mary, whom Jesus had cast out demons, who became a financial supporter of Jesus’ ministry, and who some believe is the one who anointed Jesus with costly perfume, returned to the disciples with the most incredible, unexpected announcement.
I have seen the Lord!
She had not seen the Lord dead in the grave. She had seen the Lord risen from the grave! Now, these words were not expected. And they still surprise us today. Jesus asked a woman, Mary, to be the ambassador who would proclaim, for the very first time, that Jesus was not there, that he had risen, and that he was alive!
Mary was the first preacher of the good news of the resurrection. It was the news that would change life for everyone who believed: Jesus had risen from the grave! The news has changed my life, and I pray it has changed yours.
Today, we should all be in awe of the story of our Savior. But I also pray we are thankful for the first preacher of that story, the story of the good news of the risen Jesus, Mary Magdalene.