The word “everything” refers to “something that is extremely or most important.” If you believe someone or something is everything, you’re saying that person or that thing is most important in your life. Barry White made these words popular in a song from 1974: “My first, my last, my everything and the answer to all my dreams; you’re all I’m living for.”
What or who is your everything? Is it a person or a possession? A career or a car? A pet or a place?
Here’s the deal. When your “everything” disappears or disintegrates, it’s easy to feel like you have nothing or that you are nothing.
That’s how Mary Magdalene felt on the first Easter morning. There are a number of women named Mary in the Bible so it’s easy to get them confused. This Mary is mentioned 12 times in the Gospels, more than most of the disciples.
Unfortunately, she’s been the subject of some nasty gossip over the years. Thanks to Pope Gregory in 581, who confused her with a prostitute. The film, “The Passion of Christ,” incorrectly associated her with the woman caught in adultery in John 8, but there is no biblical evidence for this either. The DaVinci Code also maligns Mary Magdalene and blasphemes Jesus by depicting them as married.
Some of you feel misunderstood and maligned as well. Perhaps Covid protocols have not affected you much because people have been keeping their distance from you for years. Maybe you’ve been cheated on, or you’re struggling through divorce, singleness, depression, mental health issues, infertility, or just feeling unimportant. Others of you might feel you are not taken seriously because of your gender, race, background, or past.
Mary was from a town called Magdala on the coast of the Sea of Galilee. Luke 8:2 says Jesus cast seven demons out of her. She’s living proof of John 8:36: “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” After being set free from bondage to sin and Satan, Jesus becomes everything to her, and she devotes everything to Him in selfless service. Along with several other women, she traveled with Jesus, and provided financially for Him and His team.
Incidentally, the central facts of the Christian faith were primarily witnessed by women – especially the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ. Women, you matter to God, you matter to this church, and we believe you.
Mary was among Jesus’ first followers, she was one of the last ones at the crucifixion, and she was part of the initial group gathered at the tomb where Jesus was buried. She was the first to see Him alive and hear His voice.
When we read about her in John 20:1 we’re given a metaphor for how she’s feeling: “Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.” Jesus was everything to her because He had brought light to her world. Now that He had died, everything felt dark and dismal.
Thinking the body of Jesus was stolen, Mary runs to tell Peter and John. After investigating, they’re convinced Jesus is alive, but then they return home. Mary is left by herself…or so she thought. Let’s pick up the narrative in verses 11-18:
“But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 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.’ Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 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.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ She turned and said to him in Aramaic, ‘Rabboni!’ (which means Teacher). 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.’ Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’—and that he had said these things to her.”
Here’s the main idea: “Because Easter is everything, Jesus must be everything to you.”
I see four facts we can apply from this passage.
1. Jesus sees your sorrow. When Peter and John headed home, Mary was left standing as if paralyzed by her pain. She wasn’t singing Easter songs because she was too empty. The word for “weeping” means she was “wailing and lamenting” and referred to constant, unrestrained sobbing. Her shoulders were heaving, her eyes were swimming with tears, and her heart was breaking. James 5:1 links this kind of weeping with howling. If you were to read the Easter accounts in the gospels, you’d find a wide array of emotions: crying, alarm, bewilderment, trembling and fear.
Some of you are dealing with deep sorrow over the loss of a loved one. In our community, I think of the family of Breasia Terell as they seek justice for her murder and walk through the valley of grief. And here in Rock Island, we’ve been rocked by what happened on Thursday night.
Our tears tell us there’s more, leading us to look further. In the midst of Mary’s sorrow, she “stoops” to look into the tomb. Beth and I have been to this Garden Tomb, and it makes sense she stooped as the entrance is not very high.
When she looks in, she sees two angels in “white.” In the midst of the darkness of the day and the sorrow in her own soul, these angels are glowing with glittering brightness, representing the glory of God.
The angels see her sadness, so they ask, “Woman, why are you weeping?” I’m not sure she realized she was talking to angels because her answer seems so matter of fact. But grief does that to you: “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” Notice how personal her relationship with Jesus is because she says, “my Lord.” This echoes back to the lament of Song of Songs 3:3: “Have you seen him whom my soul loves?”
I wonder at this point if Mary hears a sound or notices the angels looking behind her because verse 14 says, “she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus.” Grief has a way of clouding our vision and she certainly wasn’t expecting Jesus to be in the garden.
In verse 15, Jesus repeats the question of the angels, “Woman, why are you weeping?” Jesus does not rebuke her for crying or for grieving greatly. Instead, He gently invites her to speak about her sorrow. The angels asked their question out of curiosity. Jesus asked the same question out of compassion because He wanted Mary to put her weeping into words.
Mary isn’t the only one who has stood in a cemetery, battling tears. Friend, Jesus knows all about those things that make you sad. He understands your anxiety. He sees your fears and your tears. He wants to walk through your pain with you. If you’re wiped out by worry, take comfort in the fact that Jesus sees your sorrow.
Because Easter is everything, Jesus must be everything to you.
2. Jesus sees your seeking. The second question Jesus asks in verse 15 is, “Whom are you seeking?” The word “whom” is an interrogative pronoun, written with an acute accent in the original. It’s noteworthy that Jesus asks “whom” and not “what” are you seeking? The only one who can satisfy your seeking is the person of Jesus Christ, not some pleasure, a possession, or a place. Until we find Jesus, we are all looking for Someone as well. Sadly, many of us are seeking something, when we should be looking for Someone. Only Jesus Himself can meet our deepest needs.
Are you crying on the inside today? Are you messed up and mixed up? Jesus knows all about it. Invite Him into your pain. Whom are you searching for?
I like how Augustine put it, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You.”
The word “seeking” has the idea of “looking for, striving to find.” If you are seeking the satisfaction only Jesus can give you, you will find who you are looking for. Listen to Jeremiah 29:13: “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” Jesus made this amazing offer in Matthew 7:7: “Seek and you will find.”
Mary thinks she’s talking to the gardener until Jesus calls her by name in verse 16: “Mary.” Earlier, when Jesus called her “Woman,” she didn’t recognize Him, but when He called her name, everything changed. This was probably the last thing Mary expected to hear from the Gardener. Actually, in the original He uses her Aramaic name, “Miriam.” He speaks her native name in her native tongue. This was the name that family and close friends used. Jesus always called her Miriam when He spoke to her.
Many of you have a name only your family calls you. My dad gave me a nickname when I was a little boy which he still uses today. Whenever he calls me “Buckshot,” I immediately drop what I’m doing and look up. It’s my name and when he speaks it, I know my dad has a smile on his face…and so do I.
God has not forgotten you. He knows you by name. Take comfort in Isaiah 43:1: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” We’re always trying to find out who we are. Christ turns to you and says, “I love you personally, expansively, and eternally.” Tim Keller points out, “He reveals Himself and reveals her to herself at the same time.”
Jesus knows everything about you and loves you anyway. He loves you just the way you are…but He loves you too much to let you stay the way you are.
Because Easter is everything, Jesus must be everything to you.
3. Jesus sees your surrender. All Jesus had to do was speak her name and verse 16 tells us she immediately turned toward Him. The word “turned” means, “to turn about.” When she realized it was her Lord, her despair turned to delight, and her sorrow led to surrender. She could only utter one word: “Rabboni.” This was an Aramaic term of highest respect. She had the choice of three words she could have used:
• Rab – generic form for “a teacher.”
• Rabbi – “Teacher”
• Rabboni - “My respected Master Teacher.”
The Resurrected Christ is speaking your name right now. Just as Jesus restored everything that Mary had lost simply by speaking her name, so He speaks your name today. Do you hear Him? Nick. Mary Jo. Ryan. Mike. Angie. Karly. Steve. Rachael. Will you do a turn-about and turn to Him in full trust and surrender?
David Seamands tells of a Muslim in Africa who became a Christian. When his friends asked why he made the decision, he told them, “Suppose you were going down a road, and suddenly the road forked in two directions. Then you saw two men at the fork, one dead and one alive. Which one would you follow? I decided to follow the man who is alive.”
Because Easter is everything, Jesus must be everything to you.
Because Jesus is alive, He not only knows your pain…He knows you personally… He has plans for your life…and He has a purpose for you. Mary’s sorrow was followed by seeking, which led to surrender, and ended with serving.
4. Jesus sees your service. If you follow Jesus your life won’t be perfect, but it will always have meaning. Mary wanted to sit and soak up her time with the Savior, but Jesus had a task for her. Notice how the Resurrection reframes everything.
• New relationship. Mary doesn’t want to lose the Lord again, so she holds on tightly to Him. Jesus responds in verse 17: “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father…” The word “cling” means, “to fasten to.” Jesus is not a possession to hold onto. He’s not our little pet on a leash. No, He’s the risen Redeemer, Lord of all, the exalted King of everyone and everything.
Several years ago, our oldest daughter Emily left as a missionary to the Dominican Republic for two years. I remember hugging her and not wanting to let go when we were at O’Hare. When she finally broke away and waved goodbye as she entered Security, I lost it. I found one of the big pillars holding up the roof and wrapped my arms around it to keep from falling to the ground. Mary didn’t want Jesus to fly away so she held on as long as she could.
• New relatives. Since Jesus has died and been raised again, He is now building a new faith family through the new birth. We see this in the second half of verse 17: “But go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” At the beginning of His ministry, Jesus called His followers servants and then disciples followed by friends and now He refers to them as my brothers. Hebrews 2:10 says God’s goal is “bringing many sons and daughters to glory.” Hebrews 2:11 says, “He is not ashamed to call them brothers.”
Mary now has a new name through the new birth. If you’re born again, you have a new relationship with new relatives, and Mary is your sister in Christ.
• New responsibility. Verse 18 tells us Mary the mourner was turned into Mary the messenger: “Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’ – and that He had said these things to her.” Mary gets up and goes instead of just sitting and soaking. There is great power in the words of someone who can say, “I was there. I saw it. I heard it. I was an eyewitness to Jesus being alive.”
A Baptist Church in Bangladesh was showing the “Jesus” film to an audience who had never heard the gospel before. Little children sat in the front and in the aisle. The adults stood in the back. As the crucifixion was presented, there were many tears, loud crying, and audible gasps. As the Bengalis watched and wept, one young boy suddenly spoke up and said, “Do not be afraid. He gets up again! I saw it before.”
Jesus got up again and He would be closer to Mary after He ascended than ever before. If He had stayed on earth, His ministry would be limited to the few who could see Him face to face. On that day in the garden, Mary could touch Him but now that He has ascended, everyone can “touch Him” through faith in His finished work. Jesus is present even when He’s invisible to us.
Cool Connections
As I meditated on Mary’s encounter, I was struck by several connections to the Old Testament.
1. The Angels. One angel in the tomb was positioned where the head of Jesus was and the other sat where His feet were. This reminds us of the two angels (cherubim) positioned across from each other on the Mercy Seat on the Ark of the Covenant. The Mercy Seat was where blood sacrifice was accepted. Jesus was the final sacrifice for our sins, and we find mercy only through Him.
2. The Gardens. Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden and God Himself walked in the garden in the cool of the day. Because of their sin, they hid from God and thorns and thistles started growing. God asked Adam a question, “Adam, where are you?” Sin brings shame and guilt makes us hide. God provided clothing which involved sacrificing animals to use their skins (3:21). Adam and Eve were kicked out of Eden and angels guarded the entrance so they couldn’t come back near the tree of life.
Get this. Jesus became the final sacrifice, was raised from the dead, and then walked in a garden in the cool of the day when He asked Mary, “Why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?”
A few days earlier, Jesus went to another garden called Gethsemane where He wrestled with the Father in prayer and prepared to die for our sins. After He died, His body was placed in a Garden Tomb. The Book of Revelation ends with the restoration of the Garden of Eden. Heaven contains the tree of life and there is no longer any curse (22:1-5).
The thief on the cross was promised paradise (another name for God’s garden) when He turned to Jesus in faith. As the second Adam, Jesus undid what Adam had done and did what Adam failed to do. In between the gardens stands a tree, the cross Jesus died on to make all things new. Man’s rebellion in the Garden of Eden brought death, separation and suffering. This was all reversed by the glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ which took place in another garden. Today, Jesus is the Great Gardener as He plants the seed of God’s word in the soil of our souls, causing us to grow and bear fruit for His glory.
Believe and Receive
What if there was one thing that impacts everything about your life? What if that one thing is the One who created you and knows everything about you? He sees your sorrow and how you’ve been seeking. He longs for you to surrender and to start serving Him.
If you’re not yet a Christ-follower, can I urge you to become one today? It’s not enough to just know some truth or just feel some Easter emotions. You must make a decision to believe and receive.
During our expansion and renovation project, we encouraged people to write the names of unsaved loved ones on the southwest wall of our Worship Center. There are over 2,600 names behind the acoustic panels! These are people we long to get saved. A couple of weeks ago, I received a letter from someone whose name is up on the wall. Here’s an excerpt:
The thought of you all lifting up me, a total stranger, humbles me beyond words. Your prayers have been answered. I am not the same man of a year ago. Grace has been realized by the miracle of salvation. I celebrated my first year of sobriety, which makes no sense to those who know me. Jesus has taken control of my life and I have few words to explain the joy and purpose of my life.
On Tuesday, our staff team spent time praying for those names and in the process, we prayed for you to be saved. Jesus knows your name. Will you believe and be saved right now? Interestingly, to “believe” means to “cling to, rely on, and trust in.” What Mary did to the feet of Jesus is what we’re called to do by faith today. Biblical belief involves the intellectual, emotional, and volitional elements. In other words, it’s not enough to just know something in your head or feel good about it in your heart. A decision of the will must be made.
Have you ever been saved from your sins? You may not be oppressed by the power of seven demons, but maybe you have your own “demons” you’re battling. Are you tired of living in darkness and ready to enter the light? The stakes are high.
I like how one pastor said it: “If you die as a non-Christian, this life will be as close to Heaven as you will ever experience, and nothing but Hell awaits you. But if you die as a Christian, this life will be as close to Hell as you will ever experience, and nothing but Heaven awaits you.”
Belief must ultimately become personal. Repent and receive the finished work of Christ on the cross for forgiveness of sins. John 1:12 says: “Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.”
Ron Hutchcraft captures it this way: “Jesus walked out of His grave so He could walk into your life.” Listen to how one person recounts how Jesus walked into his life when he went from seeking to surrender.
? Andy Lekin Video
If you’re ready to make Jesus everything to you by saying He’s all you’re going to live for, please pray with me now.
God, I have failed big time. I admit I’m a sinner. I’ve been searching for satisfaction in all the wrong places. I’m ready to turn around and trust what your Son did on the Cross when He died in my place, paying the price for all that I’ve done. You see my sorrow and my seeking. Thank you for meeting me right where I am and for calling me by name. You know me and for some reason you still love me. I want to be at peace with you. I believe Jesus not only died, but He rose again on the third day. And now I receive Him into my life so I can be born again. Save me from my sins. Because you are now my everything, I surrender to you and will serve you every day for the rest of my life. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
If you prayed that prayer and meant it, would you have the courage to raise your hand so we can rejoice with you?
Closing Song: “The Gospel Changes Everything”
We’re going to end by participating in a worldwide tradition this Easter weekend. I will say, “Christ is risen!” and you respond with, “He is risen indeed!”
