What Did Jesus' Resurrection Mean To Mary Magdalene? Series

What Did Jesus’ Resurrection Mean....? Series

Sunday March 10/01

What did the Resurrection Mean To Mary?

Intro: This month for the month of March leading up to Easter on the 31st, I am planning on doing a series of messages entitled, "What Did Jesus’ Resurrection Mean? Today, I would like for us to look at what Jesus’ resurrection must have meant to Mary Magdalene.

Mary was from the city of Magdala, an important Galilean trading center at the southern end of the plain of Gennesaret, thus her name, Mary Magdalene. She was one of the most prominent of the Galilean women who followed & ministered to Jesus. The New Testament identifies her as one of several women who had been cleansed of evil spirits. She is mentioned 11 times in the Gospels. Though there is no scriptural proof, Mary Magdalene is often identified with the sinful woman who anointed Jesus, washed his feet with her tears, & dried them with her hair, at the home of Simon the Pharisee. The Gospel narrative shows us that Mary Magdalene’s great devotion to Jesus & to His cause was expressed in very practical ways. She was one of the women who, when Jesus was in Galilee, followed Him & ministered to Him. She accompanied Him & His disciples when He went to Jerusalem just prior to His death. She was present at the Crucifixion. She came to the tomb to anoint Jesus, & she reported the fact that the tomb was empty & gave the angel’s message to the Disciples. Many of us might feel that Jesus’ personal appearance to Mary Magdalene after His resurrection was a special reward for the unfailing loyalty and practical help she devoted to Him and His cause. Let’s read her story in John 20:1-18

(Read John 20:1-18 p. 808 pew Bible)

What did Jesus Resurrection mean to Mary Magdalene?

A. The first stage would be shock & fear. Why shock & fear?

1. Look at verse 2. Imagine Mary arriving at the tomb, seeing it open & running back to where Peter & John were hiding. Imagine the tremble in her voice as she tells them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!" Imagine the panic she was going through. Who would do such a terrible thing? The Pharisees of course. Everyone knew that the Pharisees did not like Jesus. But were they so pathetic that they would be willing to desecrate a gravesite to make a point?

2. Peter & John both from Missouri had to go see for themselves. Perhaps Mary had made a mistake. But they went & found the tomb empty just as she said. They believed her & went back home. What else could they do?

What did Jesus Resurrection mean to Mary Magdalene?

B. The second stage would be pain. Why pain?

1. Look at verses 11-15. She was crying. Why was she crying? Because she thought the Pharisees had taken Jesus body & had hidden it. They wanted to get rid of the memory of Jesus forever. Mary like everybody else at that time still believed that Jesus was dead. Jesus, the person that changed her life; her teacher & friend was gone. The ladies did not have enough time to give Jesus a proper burial. Now the body was gone. What were they going to do? Wouldn’t it be a painful experience for you if when you go to bury a loved one & the funeral home loses the body? The pain that Mary was experiencing was so bad that she couldn’t even recognize Jesus through her tears when he spoke to her. Thinking that he was the gardener, Mary asked Jesus where his body was so that they could bury it properly. But her pain would change in a moment to Joy!

What did Jesus Resurrection mean to Mary Magdalene?

C. The final stage would be one of Joy! Why joy?

2. Look at verses 16-18. Just imagine Mary shouting out in shock & joy Rabboni! Teacher! You’re alive! Imagine her touching him, hugging him. Her tears of pain turn to tears of joy! Jesus is alive! Mary is the first person that Jesus appears to after his resurrection. Mary is the first person that he commissions to go & tell the Good News. Imagine Mary running back to the others & in her joy & excitement she tells them that Jesus has risen from the dead.

July 20, 1992 my dad died. I remember my dad telling me while he was battling lung cancer that one day soon he would die. I refused to believe it. Just like the disciples refused to believe Jesus when he told them that one day he was going to die also. And when he did it happened so fast that like Mary I went through stages of grief. I remember being in shock & being afraid. My dad is dead? How? How could he die & leave me all alone? What am I going to do now? How can I go on without him? I remember the pain I experienced. It was like someone had come along & punched me in the stomach, again & again & again.