10 Then the disciples went back to their homes, 11 but 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.
Humor me for a minute if you will. I received the following quote yesterday and I cannot seem to shake it from my thoughts (or the convictions of it from my heart) in light of our verses for today. Hopefully, this will not prove to be a rabbit trail of no avail:
“Since we are made to worship, we are always centering our lives on something whether we realize it or not. It is like a fire hose that is stuck in the ‘on’ position and shooting water out endlessly with great force. We must decide where we aim the hose as the focus of our worship. The idols of our modern world are not necessarily the hand-carved statues of the ancient world. In our autonomous self-seeking ways, people have instead come to serve or worship the self-erected idols of approval, comfort, and security. We must ruthlessly inspect the sin in our heart for these idols... so it is vital that [we] get to the heart. As Tim Keller puts it, ‘The solution to our sin problem is not simply to change our behavior, but to reorient and center our entire heart and life on God.’ Therefore, we must go after the nature of the sin by going after its root and not just the fruit of the sin. Oftentimes people repent of sin that is simply the fruit of the idols in their hearts. We must find out the why of the behavior and not just the what”. Tom Wood & Scott Thomas
“A man’s heart has only enough life in it to pursue one object fully.” Charles Spurgeon
Seriously, how are we able to read our verses for today regarding this Mary of Magdalene without clearly seeing her Object of worship? The going away of Peter and John commends Mary’s staying – she was the first to the grave, then she retreats to tell them, to the grave she then returns with them, and at the grave she remains without them – a constant love which, as we will discover, was richly rewarded by the Lord. Those who honor Christ will be honored by Christ. As we in faith draw closer to Jesus, He will draw closer than anyone we have ever known. He will never leave us nor forsake us – His nearness far better than anything this earth provides (to say the least). Mary knew this at a gut level. Considering the Focus of Mary’s desire reminds me of the writer of Hebrews words:
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Heb 12:1-2 (NIV)
“All believers have not the same degree of faith, or hope, or knowledge, or courage, or wisdom; and it is vain to expect it. But it is a certain fact that those who love Christ most fervently, and cleave to Him most closely, will always enjoy most communion with Him, and feel most of the witness of the Spirit in their hearts. It is precisely those who wait on the Lord, in the temper of Mary Magdalene, to whom the Lord will reveal Himself most fully, and make them know and feel more than others.” John Charles Ryle
8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. James 4:8-10 (NIV)
Christ is to be the object of our affections and indeed, Christ was Mary’s. Her strong love and gratitude toward our Lord caused her to linger at the tomb - while others left - with a small flicker of a faint hope that something might turn up to explain where her Master’s body had gone. She could not tear herself away from the last place His body had been seen. Even the angelic visitation did not seem to faze her – she speaks calmly to them and without hesitation – harping on the same string: "They have taken my Lord away." She had lingered in hope and hope in the Lord never disappoints. Paul tells us in Romans:
And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Romans 5:2-5 (NIV)
“We shall never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our doings, or our feelings; it is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the soul. If we would at once overcome Satan and have peace with God, it must be by ‘looking unto Jesus’. Keep thine eye simply on Him; let His death, His sufferings, His merits, His glories, His intercession, be fresh upon thy mind; when thou wakest in the morning look to Him; when thou liest down at night look to Him. Oh! Let not thy hopes or fears come between thee and Jesus; follow hard after Him, and He will never fail thee.” C. H. Spurgeon