Knowing Jesus

On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” 

Mary stayed outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb and saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet where the Body of Jesus had been. And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken my Lord, and I don’t know where they laid him.”

When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” She thought it was the gardener and said to him, “Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him.”

Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,” which means Teacher. Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and then reported what he told her. (John 20:1-2, 11-18)

Quite the story!  There are no easy interpretations.  Understanding these verses is very difficult.  For example, why didn’t Mary recognize Jesus?  Why two angels who could speak?  Why did Jesus say “Stop holding onto me…?  Scholar William Barclay offered the following: “Now, sometimes the eyes of scribes who copied the manuscripts made mistakes, for the manuscripts were not easy to read.  Some scholars think that what John originally wrote was not ME APTOU, Do not touch me, but ME PTOUU, Do not be afraid.  In that case, Jesus was saying to Mary: “Do not be afraid; I haven’t gone to my Father yet; I am still here with you.”  

Barclay also said: “In that message of Mary there is the very essence of Christianity, for a Christian is essentially one who can say: ‘I have seen the Lord.’ Christianity does not mean knowing about Jesus; it means knowing him.  It does not mean arguing about him; it means meeting him.  It means the certainty of experience that Jesus is alive.”

Do we know Jesus?  Do we meet him?  Is he alive for us? Have we seen him?  Each of us must answer these questions honestly.

Deacon David Pierce