Scripture: John 20:11-18
Video Link: https://youtu.be/EJA2Fnz9wX8
Structure:
- Introduction
- Mary Magdalene
- Blinded by grief
- Seen by Jesus
- Conclusion
Introduction:
Good morning everyone and happy Easter.
We have a tradition, in our house, of making pancakes every Saturday morning. It says the weekend is here. For reasons I can’t really explain, it just doesn’t feel the same eating pancakes any other day.
Pancakes by themselves are a bit bland, they need some kind of topping. Being a creature of habit, I usually add lemon and sugar. There’s something about a sweet and sour combination that tastes so good. An intimacy of opposites.
Lemon and sugar on pancakes is a kind of parable for life. Much of day to day life is pretty bland, pretty flat. It’s the interaction of opposites that gives life it’s flavour. A squeeze of sourness here and a sprinkling of sweetness there. We need both, in the right measure.
This morning’s message is based on John chapter 20, verses 11-18. The first thing that strikes me about this passage is the intimacy of opposites. In John 20, sweet meets sour. From verse 11 we read…
11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 13 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.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
15 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.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
17 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.’”
18 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.
May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.
Mary Magdalene:
Put up your hand if there is someone in your family named Oliver, Jack or Noah. Now put up your hand if there is someone in your family named Charlotte, Isla or Olivia. Apparently, these are among the most common baby names in New Zealand in recent years. (You can put your hands down now.)
The name Mary doesn’t appear in that list but if we went back a few years I expect it would. Mary seems to have been a very popular name among Jewish women in the first century.
Today’s reading features Mary Magdalene. So who is she?
Well, this is not Mary the mother of Jesus. Nor is it Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus. Magdalene is not Mary’s surname. It is most likely the place she comes from, on the shores of Lake Galilee. ‘Magdalene’ means watch tower.
In Luke 8 we learn that Mary Magdalene (among others) provided financial support for Jesus and his disciples after Jesus had delivered her from seven demons. This would suggest Mary was relatively wealthy, very capable and probably a leader in her own right. Mary Magdalene is a tower of strength.
In popular culture there is this idea that Mary Magdalene was a bit promiscuous, maybe even a prostitute. But there is no historical evidence for this thought. Mary Magdalene was not the woman of ill repute who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. That’s a different lady.
And, contrary to what the fiction writer, Dan Brown (of Da Vinci code fame), would have us believe, Mary Magdalene was not Jesus’ girlfriend or wife.
Mary Magdalene was devoted to Jesus though. Not only did she support Jesus’ work in practical ways, she was also present at the cross when Jesus died just days before. The past 72 hours have been sour for her indeed but they are about to get sweeter.
Blinded by grief:
When I was a kid, my grandfather made my cousins and I an onion salad for lunch. When I say ‘salad’, it was basically a bowl of raw chopped onions with a few slices of tomato on top. No lettuce. No dressing.
He wasn’t being mean. He was a kind and generous granddad. But, for some reason, he believed that raw onions purified the blood. In his mind, onions prevented cancer. I’m not sure if there is any science behind that but I can tell you for a fact, it cured me of eating raw onions.
Many years later I discovered caramelised onions. When you cook brown onions in a pan on a low heat, add some balsamic vinegar and a little brown sugar, the raw onion is transformed from bitterness to sweetness. A beautiful flavour. Who would have thought; vinegar & sugar. The intimacy of opposites.
In verse 11 we catch Mary at a vulnerable moment, weeping at Jesus’ tomb. The sweetness of love, coupled with the bitterness of death, an intimacy of opposites. The more we love someone, the greater our grief when they die.
Mary isn’t just upset that Jesus has died. She is distraught that Jesus’ body is missing. Her mind is dragging her down a path she doesn’t want to go. She thinks ‘they’ (maybe the religious leaders) have stolen Jesus’ body.
When she looks inside the tomb she sees two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been. They ask her why she is crying. They are not asking because they don’t know. They are asking because tears are out of place at this moment.
You would think the sight of two angels would startle Mary out of her grief but she doesn’t miss a beat. Her devotion to Jesus is so powerful, not even the presence of angels can distract her. Mary wants just one thing, to be close to Jesus.
In Matthew 5, Jesus gives the beatitudes. The beatitudes hold together the sweet and sour of being a follower of Jesus. These beautiful sayings of Jesus describe the intimacy of opposites. To live inside the beatitudes is to be close to Jesus.
Mary is living inside three beatitudes in particular…
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
And blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Mary is poor in spirit, at the end of her rope. Heaven has come to earth for her. Mary is mourning, crying her eyes out. She is comforted by angels. Mary is pure in heart, willing one thing, to be close to Jesus. She is about to see God’s Son.
When Mary turns around, Jesus is standing there. But she doesn’t recognise him at first. She thinks Jesus is the gardener. Perception is a funny thing. So often we see what we expect to see, not what is actually there.
When I write a sermon, I check the grammar and spelling. I think it’s all good to go and then I read it again the next day, with fresh eyes, and notice the odd word missing. With the first edit I saw what I expected to see, not what was actually there. It pays to take a second and third look.
Mary was not expecting Jesus to be alive and so she didn’t see him at first. She assumed him to be the gardener, perhaps because they were in a garden and who else would you expect to see that early in the morning.
But when we reflect on this scene, in the context of the Old Testament, we see there is perhaps a deeper connection here. The garden Mary and Jesus found themselves in would be fragrant with the myrrh and spices of Jesus’ grave clothes lying neatly in the tomb. This setting reminds us of the Song of Songs, that sacred love poem, which takes place in a garden filled with fragrance & spice.
In the Song of Songs the woman says…
16 Awake, north wind, and come, south wind! Blow on my garden, that its fragrance may spread everywhere…
And the man replies…
1 I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice.
The Song of Songs celebrates a love so powerful it conquers death. The power of God’s love (in Christ) has conquered death.
To be clear, Mary and Jesus were not lovers in a physical sense, but they did care deeply for each other. Mary’s devotion is tempered with restraint. You know that bitter sweet feeling (when you are young) and you like someone but you hold your feelings back? Lemon and sugar. The intimacy of opposites.
Seen by Jesus:
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
And in that moment Mary’s eyes are opened, her perception is changed and she recognises Jesus. He is risen. He is alive.
The interesting thing in verse 16 is that Jesus addresses Mary using the Hebrew version of her name, Miriam. Jesus speaks Mary’s heart language.
Tell me, who is Miriam in the Old Testament? [Wait] That’s right, Miriam is the older sister of Moses. Miriam was devoted to Moses, taking care of him as a new born child, watching over him as his basket floated down the Nile to where an Egyptian princess was bathing.
Intimacy is when someone sees into you. They see you as you really are and still accept you. To be intimate with someone is to let down your guard, take off your mask and stop pretending. If you are comfortable to be yourself with someone and they are comfortable being themselves with you, that’s an intimate relationship.
Jesus had seen Mary at her worst, when her life was a mess and she was under the influence of seven demons. But Jesus saw past the mess and the demons. Jesus saw who Mary truly was, on the inside. Who God had made her to be.
Jesus is the new Moses. The new leader of God’s people. The one who fulfils the law. By calling Mary, ‘Miriam’, Jesus is honouring her as his big sister; a tower of strength who has taken care of him in life and in death. Jesus is saying to Mary, ‘I see you’.
It’s only after Mary realises that the Lord sees her, that she is able to see the risen Jesus herself. It’s in being seen for who we are that our eyes are opened. It is through intimacy that we are set free to be our true selves.
Intimacy requires trust. Trust is at the heart of faith. Putting your faith in Jesus doesn’t just mean believing he exists. Putting your faith in Jesus means trusting him enough to be yourself with him.
Of course, when it comes to intimacy, we need to exercise wisdom. We cannot trust everyone. We cannot be intimate with everyone. We must be discerning about who we reveal ourselves to. Don’t put the pearls of your trust before swine. Your trust is precious. Value it.
Mary replies by addressing Jesus as ‘Rabboni’ (which means teacher). This indicates that Mary sees herself as one of Jesus’ disciples. She is his student, his apprentice. Sometimes men overlook the fact that Jesus had female disciples as well as male disciples.
In verse 17, Jesus says to Mary, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father…”
The first thing this verse tells us is that Mary is holding onto Jesus. Maybe clasping his feet or giving him a hug. It’s little wonder Mary responds by reaching out to hold Jesus. She loves him and is overjoyed to see him again.
The fact that Mary is able to touch Jesus shows us the risen Jesus has a physical body. He is real. Mary is not hallucinating. Jesus is alive, he is not a ghost.
We might be a little puzzled as to why Jesus tells Mary to stop holding on to him. It’s not that Jesus is afraid of being contaminated by Mary in some way.
Rather, Jesus wants Mary to know: I’m not leaving right now, but I will be ascending to God my Father soon, so our relationship is going to change. It won’t be like it was before when we all hung out together. Once I’ve ascended, we will have a different kind of intimacy, a deeper intimacy. You won’t see me or be able to touch me, but I will be with you and among you by my Spirit.
Although Jesus doesn’t explicitly mention the Holy Spirit in his conversation with Mary, later in verse 22 when the Lord meets with the other disciples, we read how Jesus breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit”.
The other reason Jesus tells Mary to let go, is because Jesus has something he wants Mary to do. Jesus says, “Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
It’s interesting that Jesus chooses Mary to give this most important message. In the first century women were not legally allowed to be witnesses in court proceedings. They were considered inferior or not reliable enough.
That idea is offensive to us today and Jesus didn’t like it much either. Peter and John were at the tomb only moments before. Jesus could have appeared to them first but he waited until they had left and then appeared to Mary instead.
Jesus did not think women were inferior or unreliable. Jesus sees Mary and he commissions her to be an apostle to the apostles. By trusting Mary with the good news of his resurrection, Jesus was letting the disciples know that women have equal status, equal value with men.
Notice though the intimacy in Jesus’ statement: “Go to my brothers… My Father and your Father. My God and your God.”
With Jesus’ death and resurrection, the disciples’ relationship, to Jesus has changed. Now they are family. Which means they have a closer connection, a deeper bond, with God through Jesus.
In obedience to Jesus, Mary went to the other disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord”. Intimacy with Jesus produces faithfulness to Jesus.
Conclusion:
Don’t you find it curious that when Jesus rose from the dead he didn’t appear in the temple and say, “I’m back”. Jesus did not reveal himself to the masses. He didn’t issue a press release and stage a massive rally. No.
Jesus revealed his resurrection personally, intimately, to individuals and small groups of people whom he had formed deep relationships with. Why did he do it this way? Because eternal life is not a stadium rock concert. Eternal life is intimacy with God through Jesus.
The resurrection of Jesus is the basis of our hope of resurrection. Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we have real hope of being raised to eternal life through faith in him.
But eternal life is not just something in the distant future when we die. Eternal life is intimacy with Jesus. And intimacy with Jesus can be experienced now, in this world, when life is making us suck lemons.
I would like to offer you a recipe or a formula for creating intimacy with Jesus, but it doesn’t work like that.
Maybe you have enjoyed an intimate experience with the Lord while working in your garden, or singing praise in church or reading your Bible in private or walking in the hills. But it’s not like that every time is it. Sometimes reading the Bible feels dry. Sometimes being in the garden is a chore. If Mary had gone back to the garden the next day, she would not have found Jesus there.
Intimacy isn’t something we can switch on like a light. Intimacy cannot be manufactured. Intimacy comes to us as a gift at the intersection of opposites, in the crucible of personal suffering, when we are least expecting it.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
The intimacy of opposites. When we find ourselves inside the beatitudes, we are close to Jesus. May the Lord bless you with intimacy.
Questions for discussion or reflection:
What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
- How do you like to eat your pancakes? (What topping do you prefer?) What culinary opposites tend to work well together?
- What do we know about Mary Magdalene from the Bible?
- What is intimacy? Why do we need intimacy?
- Discuss / reflect on the beatitudes of Jesus as examples of the intimacy of opposites. What does it mean to live inside the beatitudes? Which of the beatitudes are you living inside at the moment?
- Why does Mary fail to recognise Jesus at first? How does Jesus enable Mary to see?
- Why does Jesus tell Mary not to hold onto him? Why does Jesus choose Mary to be an apostle to the apostles?
Outtakes
To mistake Jesus for the gardener reminds us of another garden and another gardener. I’m thinking of the garden of Eden, before the fall. We read in the opening chapters of Genesis how God took the first man (Adam) and put in him the garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. Now Jesus, the second Adam, the new paradigm or model of what it means to be human, is thought of (in Mary’s mind) as a gardener. We also read of the intimacy (the close companionship) Adam and Eve enjoyed with God, as the Lord walked in the garden of Eden in the cool of the day. Now Jesus, the Son of God, is walking in the garden of resurrection with Mary.
Tawa Baptist 