The Resurrected Christ
Scripture Reading: John 19:38–20:18
Meditation
When Jesus dies, secret love goes public.
Joseph of Arimethea, a wealthy yet discreet disciple, provided the tomb. Nicodemus, one of the Sanhedrin members who had earlier visited Jesus by night, brought the spices. Fear of the Jews had kept these two high profile men from revealing their hearts earlier. After all, they had much to lose—prestige, position, power. But they also knew that, in Jesus, they had much to gain.
While Jesus was alive, they never took a stand. They never got involved. They kept their faith quiet. But now that he’s dead, they’re willing to risk it all.
They go to Pilate and ask for his body. They carry it to a garden tomb, anoint it with seventy-five pounds of spices, wrap it with strips of linen, and then seal the tomb with a stone.
These men are silent no longer.
One has given his tomb; the other has brought his spices.
This Jesus is their Jesus. His death is their death. Little do they know that on the third day, his life will be their life.
“Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, ‘They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!’ ”
Mary Magdalene knew what it was like to be entombed.
She once had seven demons living within her! They bound her in fear, wrapped her in despair, and sealed her in darkness. She was among the living dead, buried alive. But when Jesus spoke her name, the demons left.
She was alive again.
Resurrected.
But now the one who freed her from her tomb is missing from his. The stone’s been rolled away, the grave clothes are still there, but his body is gone. Immediately, she runs and tells Simon Peter and the “disciple whom Jesus loved”,
“They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
Together, they all run back to the tomb.
Simon and the other disciple enter the tomb and notice that the strips of linen are still intact and the burial cloth that had been around his head was folded up by itself. No disorder. No disarray. This isn’t the work of thieves. They know that he’s not in the tomb but they don’t know what to believe beyond that.
Confused, the two disciples go back home. Crushed, Mary stays outside the tomb and weeps. As she weeps, she rocks her body. When she leans forward, she can see inside the tomb. When she leans back, she only sees the stone. As she leans forward into the tomb, she sees two angels in white and they ask her why she’s crying.
“ ‘They have taken my Lord away,’ she said, ‘and I don’t know where they have put him.’ At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
‘Woman,’ he said, ‘why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?’ Thinking he was the gardener, she said, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.’
Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ ”
He speaks her name.
When she hears her name, she recognizes his voice.
It’s the same voice that called out her name in the darkness of the seven demons. It’s the same voice that she followed when she went from town to town, village to village, listening to him proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God. It’s the same voice that she heard while she was beneath the cross. And now, once again, this voice speaks her name.
When he says,
“Mary”
… her weeping stops, her eyes clear, and she sees his face.
The one that she loves is alive.
Alive!
She can’t keep the news to herself.
“Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: ‘I have seen the Lord!’ And she told them that he had said these things to her.”
She’s seen the Lord! He’s alive!
He spoke her name!
Prayer
Father,
After your Son had died, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus asked Pilate for his body. They took him down from the cross and carried him to a garden tomb. In haste, they anointed his body with spices made of myrrh and aloe and then wrapped it in strips of linen. When they had finished, they sealed the tomb with a stone.
As the stone slammed into place, all of their dreams were locked inside. The grave had swallowed up their hope. Death had taken the last breath out of the Messiah. And so they left the garden believing that this was the end: not just the end of his life, but the beginning of the end of their lives.
But early in the morning, on the first day of the week, his life began again. Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and found the stone rolled away. She saw the grave clothes but his body was missing. Her first thought was,
“Grave robbers! They have rolled the stone away and have taken his body.”
But as she wept in the garden, the Resurrected Christ came to her. He called in a soft and tender voice,
“Mary.”
And when she heard her name, she knew that he was alive. He had moved the stone. And on the way out, he robbed the grave of its victory.
Father, like the women who made their way to the tomb on the first day of the week, gloom leads my way. My hope is buried. Fear entombs me. And sorrow shatters my dreams and seals me in. Like Mary Magdalene, tears blur my eyes.
But on this day, I ask that, in the graveyard of my life, the Resurrected Christ would speak my name.
And when I hear my name, may I turn and see the Ever-Living Jesus.
It’s his voice I listen for and it’s in his resurrected name I pray. Amen.
Reflection
Do you have any secret love for the Crucified Christ that needs to go public?
What graveyards are there in your life? What stones do you need rolled away?
What tears are blurring your eyes from seeing the Resurrected Christ?
In what way has the Resurrected Christ spoken your name? Who do you need to tell the good news, “I have seen the Lord!”?
All Scripture references in the meditation are marked by italics and are taken from the Gospel reading for the day (John 19:38–20:18). Those verses quoted outside of the chosen reading for the day are noted in parenthesis. All Scripture quoted on this site is taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.