Easter Sunday – April 19, 2025

Jesus found Mary Magdalene when she was lost. Not physically, but emotionally. We don’t hear much about her from the text. We hear rumors about her, but nothing supported in the Bible. We DO know that she had 7 demons cast out of her by Jesus. And then she followed Jesus.

But now, NOW… Jesus is dead. While many of the other disciples deserted or denied Jesus, Mary and the other women were there at the cross. They were there to watch him get buried. They saw his dead body put into the tomb. This man who had saved Mary, whom she had left her life to follow, was truly dead. The miracle of Easter is NOT that Jesus escaped death. Because he died. And Mary Magdalene knew it.

If there was anything to keep her going, it seems to be the mission that she had adopted: to anoint the body of Jesus with spices. The other Gospel writer accounts tell us that Mary wasn’t alone, that she and other women had gone early in the morning to anoint Jesus for burial. It was a ceremonial custom that they hadn’t been able to finish on Friday, and they couldn’t do on the Sabbath. So the first thing in the morning, Mary woke up to finish the job. But there was a big problem: the stone was rolled away and Jesus was gone.

And so Mary’s purpose changed. Her mission was not to put spices on Jesus’ body. Her mission was now to tell the disciples that something was amiss. John tells us that she ran to them and when she found them, she told them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him” (Jn 20:2). John documents that Peter and John ran to the tomb to investigate, and there they found out that the body was gone, but the graveclothes remained. John also points out that not only did he beat Peter to the tomb on foot, he also beat Peter to the belief that Jesus rose from the dead, even though he didn’t really understand it fully. (These disciples were fighting over who was best, even after Jesus was dead!)

Behind them tagged Mary. We have to assume that she was a bit behind, since they were racing one another, and she had to run to find them in the first place. So we don’t actually know when in the timeline of this story she returned. Were they still looking in the tomb? Had they already left by the time she got there? In any case, Mary’s lost again. She’s alone in the garden, wondering what to do next. Crying. In fact, the text emphasizes FOUR times that Mary is weeping… she must have been crying pretty hard.

And then, the story tells us, Mary’s not alone. At least not physically. Because inside the tomb, Mary sees two angels who ask her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” (Jn 20:13). Now, maybe they’re asking rhetorically, like, “Hey! Jesus is alive! There’s no need to cry!” But I wonder if it isn’t more likely that she was so overcome that there was nothing to say except to ask why she was weeping. I remember when Zak was little (yes, there was a day when he was not eating 6 tacos for dinner!), there was no reasoning with him, and the only thing to ask was, “Why are you crying? What happened? Are you okay?”

And notice how Mary responds, in what is now the second time she’s conveying her understanding of what’s happened. When talking to the disciples, she said, “They have taken THE Lord out of the tomb, and WE do not know…” (Jn 20:2). Now, talking to the angels, she phrases it differently: “They have taken away MY Lord, and I do not know…” (Jn 20:13); she doesn’t know who these people are, but she’s certain that they aren’t the disciples. Perhaps they’re bystanders. Perhaps graverobbers. But whoever they are, Mary doesn’t include them in the “we.” She doesn’t refer to Jesus as “our” Lord or even “the” Lord, but rather as “my” Lord. She doesn’t know if these two people she’s talking to understand who Jesus is. They might be allies. But maybe not. She’s not talking to people who are with her, she’s talking to people, but essentially she’s alone. Out on a limb.

And then, Mary encounters the final person at the grave. She turns and sees a man, and supposes that he is the gardener. And he also asks her, “Woman, why are you weeping? For whom are you looking?” (Jn 20:15). And again Mary repeats her assessment of her the situation, but again with a different wording. Now it’s not, “They have taken” (Jn 20:13) but “Sir, if YOU have carried him away” (v. 15). Mary thinks she is talking to the person who moved Jesus’ body. She thinks this is the man who has caused her so much distress. And she’s straightforward. How many of us have ever been in a situation where our adrenaline is rushing and we just lose all sense of fear or caution and just do what needs to be done? That’s where Mary is. “Sir, if YOU have carried him away, tell ME where you have laid him, and I will take him away” (v. 15).

Mary is so focused that she’s not only talking to the man who she thinks has taken Jesus, she thinks he’s going to tell her where Jesus’ body is, and then she thinks that she – single-handedly – will put him back into the tomb. It’s not, “Sir, where is he? I’ll go get the disciples to help me.” It isn’t “Sir, where is he? Those two strangers who showed up in the tomb are going to help drag him back. It’s “I will get him.” Mary is convinced that she is all by herself. On her own. She’s completely lost and alone.

Except that WE know the great truth of this moment. And she is about to realize it too. Jesus says one word… her name. He says, “Mary.” And she knows. She knows who he is. She knows what that means. All of her fear and worry and weeping is answered. Her eyes are opened and she sees who is really in front of her. She was so distressed… she was prepared to go haul a dead body by herself… and in an instant she knows that the man who saved her isn’t dead. He wasn’t defeated. He’s alive and is there with her, speaking to her, calling her name. She calls out “Rabbouni,” which means “my teacher” and she clings to him. She holds on so tightly to Jesus that he tells her to stop, because there is still work to be done.

Mary was lost and she felt absolutely alone. But in that moment of her absolute distress and loneliness, the answer to her problem was standing right in front of her. Not only was Jesus’ body NOT stolen, but he wasn’t dead anymore. He was there, with her, in that garden. With her, calling her name.

And even though Mary had all sorts of tasks to do, when Jesus spoke, everything changed. She thought that she was supposed to put spices on a dead body. And then she thought that she was supposed to get the disciples to find the dead body. And then she thought that she singlehandedly was supposed to get the dead body back into the tomb. But there was no dead body… Jesus was alive. And when he revealed himself to her, he gave her an even more important job to do. The message of Easter is not the empty tomb, but the risen Lord!

“[G]o to my brothers” (v. 17). Jesus is clearly talking about the disciples. And Mary understands because she goes to tell the disciples. He says, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God” (v. 17). John told us that he believed that Jesus came back to life when he saw the wrappings, but he didn’t understand from the Scriptures the significance of the resurrection. But now Jesus is telling Mary the crucial part. Because Jesus died and rose again, his followers are no longer just followers… they are siblings. Because Jesus died and rose, we no longer worship a distant God, but a God who holds us close and calls us children. We can speak to him as Lord, or God, or Savior, but also as Father or parent. Jesus tells this amazing truth to Mary and trusts her to share it with disciples. They didn’t understand from the scripture what Jesus had done, but Mary was supposed to tell them.

This one sentence that Mary announces could be the shortest sermon ever given. Jesus is alive. Jesus is ascending to the Father. Now all of Jesus’ followers will have a new relationship with God. It will change the world.

Are you feeling emotionally lost today? Are you facing something where you feel absolutely alone? Are you dealing with something that no one else could possibly understand? Because this morning, Jesus is calling your name. He wants you to know that no matter how alone you feel, how much you think you’re on your own, he’s with you. He sees you. He understands. Why are you weeping today? Jesus is here to comfort you in your struggles. You are not alone. Jesus finds us when we are lost and alone.

Are you searching for your purpose and your calling this morning? Can you relate to how Mary was feeling as she searched around that tomb? Whom are you seeking? Jesus gave Mary a different role than the one she discerned. Are you willing to hear from Jesus about what he has in store for you next? Have you put yourself in a position to hear Jesus call your name, change your life, and give you new direction? If you don’t know him already, Jesus wants to give you a new purpose, a new focus, a new life in him. If you know him already but feel like you’ve lost your way, he’s here today to redirect you. You don’t need to be lost anymore.

And if you know this truth, if this message has personally impacted your life, who are you called to go and tell, whether it’s by explicitly stating the gospel message or finding way to reflect the compassion and patience of Christ to someone feeling lost. If you’ve been found by God, who do you need to seek in your own life?

Because friends, in that garden, Mary represents the hope that the Gospel provides to all of us. Years before, in a garden, a woman had been given a job to do by God: be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth. But the woman was deceived. She embraced death, not God. Her actions led to the breaking of the relationship between God and creation. As God sought her out in that garden, she hid. God called to Adam and Eve, “Where are you?”

But here again in a garden, a woman is confronted with death. Again she is deceived, as the cloud of tragedy keeps her from seeing the reality of the situation, of what has transpired. But Mary does not hide. Mary seeks the Lord and is found by him. He reveals that his actions have canceled the curse of death that was started by her ancestor millennia prior. He has fixed the failed relationship. And he gives her a new job: to share what has happened, to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth with the good news.

You might recall about ten years ago a news story about a family in Massachusetts that was lost in a Corn Maze. The members of the family that called 911 for help getting out of the Corn Maze were found 25 feet from the exit. The story ended up making national news and the owners of the farm responded to the situation. They said that while they appreciated the family not wanting to ruin the maze, in a situation like that it would have been totally fine for them to just cut through the corn. The lost family felt trapped, and lost, and alone. What they didn’t see at the time was how close they were to being safe. Mary felt lost and alone, until she realized Jesus was actually right there. Are you in a corn maze this morning? Are you lost and alone? Because Jesus has come to find you this morning. Allow yourself to be found by Him, for Alleluia! Christ is risen indeed.