You know how you can read a story you think you know, and then you read it again and see something you’ve never seen?
You know how you can read about the same event 100 times and then on the one hundred and first hear something so striking and new that it makes you wonder if you slept through the other times? Maybe it’s because you started in the middle of the story instead of at the beginning. Or perhaps it’s because someone else reads it aloud and pauses at a place where you normally wouldn’t and POW! It hits you. You grab the book and look at it, knowing that someone copied or read something wrong. But then you read it and well, what do you know... there it is!
Well, it happened to me. Today. Only God knows how many times I’ve read the resurrection story. At least a couple of dozen Easters and a couple of hundred times in between. I’ve taught it. I’ve written about it. I’ve meditated on it. I’ve underlined it. But what I saw today I’d never seen before.
What did I see? Before I tell you, let me recount the story.
It’s early dawn on Sunday morning and the sky is dark. Those, in fact, are John’s words.
It was still dark… — John 20:1
It’s a dark Sunday morning. It had been dark since Friday. Dark with Peter’s denial. Dark with the disciples’ betrayal. Dark with Pilate’s cowardice. Dark with Christ’s anguish. Dark with Satan’s glee. The only ember of light is the small band of women standing at a distance from the cross — “watching from a distance” (Matthew 27:55).
Among them are two Marys. One the mother of James and Joseph, and the other is Mary Magdalene. Why are they there? They are there to call Jesus’ name. To be the final voices He hears before His death. To prepare His body for burial. They are there to clean the blood from His beard. To wipe the crimson from His legs. To close His eyes. To touch His face. They are there. The last to leave Calvary and the first to arrive at the grave.
So, early on that Sunday morning, they leave their pallets and walk out onto the tree-shadowed path. Theirs is a somber task. The morning promises only one encounter: an encounter with a corpse. Remember, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary don’t know this is the first Easter. They are not hoping the tomb will be vacant. They aren’t discussing what their response will be when they see Jesus. Their dreams have been dashed.
They have absolutely no idea that the grave has been vacated.
- In James 1:5, we read, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (NKJV). What fresh insights do you need from God today for a problem you are facing?
- In what ways are you feeling stuck or stagnant in your walk with God? In what areas of your life do you need to encounter “the God of surprises”?
Mary Magdalene’s tears show us that she didn’t wake up that Sunday morning expecting Jesus to be alive. Her Lord was dead, and she was devastated. Yet, even though He was executed on a cross — a shameful way to die — she wasn’t ashamed of Him. She wasn’t angry with Him. She didn’t betray Him.
She was the last at the cross and the first at the grave.
Mary Magdalene embodies loyalty. No matter what other people said about Him, what she understood of Him, or what hopelessness she felt, she chose to stand by Jesus. She served Him till the end... or what she thought was the end. This lesson, as we look at her faith, let’s ask God to give us Mary Magdalene devotion. Let’s ask God to help us stand by Him and serve Him no matter what life brings or how hopeless we feel.
Let’s ask Him to allow the resurrection story to stir fresh excitement in our hearts and remind us of the devotion our risen Savior deserves.
Prayer for the Week
Jesus, You are alive! You are worthy of our devotion! Today, we pray that You will give us a steadfast and unswerving love for You, like Mary possessed. May the promise of the resurrection outshine any hopelessness we feel and any challenge we face. Amen.
Excerpted with permission from Ten Women of the Bible by Max Lucado, copyright Max Lucado.
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Your Turn
No matter what we are going through, we can ask the Lord for the grace to have loyalty to Him as Mary modeled. Whether we expect disappointment or a miracle, we know that Jesus is worthy of our faithfulness and love. ~ Devotionals Daily