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Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent
over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’
body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

 

They asked her, “Woman, why are you 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. He asked her, “Woman, 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.” She turned toward him and cried out in
Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for
I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them,
‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ”

 

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.

 

John
20:11–18 (NIV)

 

 

Early on Sunday morning, Mary was crying at
the entrance of the tomb.  She was crying
for several reasons: not only had Jesus been crucified three days earlier, now,
it seemed someone had taken His body away (verse 13).  Mary feared that His body had been
mistreated.  The treatment of the body
after death was very important to the Jewish religion.  Their belief in the bodily resurrection led
them to treat the body (after death) with great respect.

 

Although there are several issues in this
passage we could dive into, let’s focus on the last recorded words of Mary Magdalene
in this passage, “I
have seen the Lord!”

 

“I have seen the Lord!”  Could there be any words more filled with
promise and hope than these?  This is not
the same declaration Thomas made when He saw the Lord: “My Lord and my God!”
(John 20:28); nevertheless, Mary spoke more truth than she probably
realized.  The Master, the Teacher, the
Friend, was standing there before her eyes. 
Everything had changed now.

 

When we see the Lord, whether we see it or
not, everything changes.  Could it be
that we have experienced so many Easters (Resurrection Days) that we have grown
dull to the power of seeing the Lord?  It
is the resurrection of Jesus that assures that everything He said was
true.  He was not merely speaking as a
religious guru with some great advice for humanity.  He was speaking, in fact, as God
Himself.  He was God in flesh.  He laid down His life and He took it back! 

 

Hallelujah! 
We have seen the Lord!  And as a
result, everything has changed.

 

Have a blessed Resurrection Day!