Embodied Hopeნიმუში

I Have Seen the Lord

Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord.” (v. 18)

While the four Gospels differ slightly on the details of the first Easter, they all agree that when the women arrived at the tomb early that morning, they found it empty. Jesus’s body was gone without a trace. Mary weeps because she thinks her rabbi’s body has been stolen. But to her surprise, that same body that was beaten, crucified, and buried . . . has now been raised!

Notice John’s emphasis on the tomb being in the garden and the risen Jesus mistaken as the gardener. It’s a clear echo of the creation story in Genesis. Jesus is the new Adam, and his resurrected body is the firstfruit of God’s new creation—the beginning of a greater harvest in which God is restoring his shalom (peace and justice) in the world and making all things new.

Mary doesn’t immediately recognize Jesus. But when he speaks her name, she knows his voice. Her tears are suddenly turned to joy. Jesus says to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’“

Mary is the first preacher of the good news of Easter—the herald sent to announce the surprising and history-altering news that takes all of our tears and transforms them into unbridled joy: “I have seen the Lord!”

As you pray, thank God for raising Jesus from the dead and for new creation bursting forth.