What Is the Importance of Mary Magdalene as the First Messenger of the Resurrection?
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In verse 10, we see that the disciples have left, and Mary Magdalene is still at the tomb crying. She investigates the tomb again, but now she sees two angels in white sitting, one at the head, and one at the foot, of where Jesus had laid.
They asked her why she was weeping, and she told them that someone had taken her Lord away. But then she turned and saw Jesus standing behind her, but she didn’t know that it was Jesus.
He asked her why she was weeping and who she was looking for. Mary thinks this person is a gardener and wants to know where Jesus had been taken so that she can take His body.
At first, Mary did not recognize Jesus. She was blinded by her grief. She did not expect to see Him, so she could not see Him.
Then, when He mentioned her name, she recognized Him right away. When she heard her Savior call her name, just imagine the love that flooded her heart. Jesus is calling out to us from nearby. Can we respond to Him by saying, “Master,” as Mary did?
Then Jesus tells her, “Touch me not.” Mary did not want to lose Jesus again, so this can also be translated as, “Do not hold on to me” or “Do not cling to me.” The resurrection was a mystery to her at this point.
She might have misinterpreted this to mean that this was His promised Second Coming (John 14:3). However, Jesus did not wish to be hindered by the tomb. The Holy Spirit would be unable to descend if He did not ascend to heaven. He and Mary had significant responsibilities to attend to.
What was Mary’s responsibility? She was to “go and tell.” Her job was to go tell the disciples that Jesus was going to ascend to God the Father. This is where we see that Mary Magdalene was the first person that was commissioned to share the Good News of the risen Savior.
It would have been against the prejudices of the time regarding women that the first person to receive a message from the risen Christ was a woman. In fact, the disciples will dismiss the message that Jesus asks her to share as feminine hysteria (Luke 24:10-11, 22-24).
The specifics of Jesus’ statement are somewhat hazy. He speaks of the disciples as “brothers” to emphasize that salvation is a spiritual adoption by God (Hebrews 2:11-18).
The same idea is echoed when the Father is referred to as “His God and their God” at the same time. Christ also talks about His ascension, which will happen when He leaves the apostles to build the new church (Acts 1:6-11).
Mary did not see that Christ had risen from the dead until she found that the tomb was empty. When she told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and told them what she was instructed to tell them, she did so with joy and obedience.
How does a sinner meet Christ? By someone doing what Mary did, go and tell them. They will not know unless they are told. Are we filled with the joy of this Good News? Do we share the joy that this good news brings with others?
He rose, He rose from earth’s domain,
Upon Golgotha’s brow.
He lives on high beyond the sky,
His tomb is empty now.
For further reading:
Why Did Only the Women Go to Jesus’ Tomb?
What Happened to Mary Magdalene at the Tomb?
How Did Jesus Treat Women in the Bible?
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/joshblake
