Mary Magdalene | Paula Wiseman

Q: Why Are You Weeping?

Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? John 20:15

The risen, but yet unrecognized Jesus Christ asked this question to Mary Magdalene. Now she'd just answered this question for a couple of angels. She told them it was because the body of Jesus was gone. She answers Jesus with a request to tell her where the body was. Mary grieved because her brain was locked on the limits of her own experience. Jesus' questions invited her to rethink things.

Why are you weeping?
Jesus had died, a brutal torturous death, and Mary had stayed until that last dreadful moment. She worshipped Him and after two days of 'this CAN'T be happening', there was no body. There was no place of reflection, no tangible memorial to go to for comfort.

But there was.

Whom are you seeking?
Mary was searching for a dead Jesus. She never expected to find a risen Christ. In her grief, she limited God's abilities, and discounted His promises. She assumed this Savior was just like her, only better, more righteous and godly.

But He wasn't.

Mary wept because she missed the truth about who Jesus IS. Not just a man, righteous enough to call himself the Son of God, but GOD HIMSELF, utterly different from us, unbound by the constraints of time, space or even physical life.

Do we grieve because we don't grasp who Jesus is? Are we seeking a dead rabbi or a risen Lord? It makes a difference.

Filed Under: Questions Tagged With: Gospel of John, Jesus, Mary Magdalene, resurrection, tomb

STT: Seeing in Greek

By Paula

English is a tremendous language with rich shades of meaning in its words. However, there are a few occasions in Scripture where we miss out because we’re reading in English. One of those passages is John 20 where the discovery of the empty tomb is described. The word “see” or one of its form is repeated several times. However, there is much more going on in the Greek.

If you have your handy-dandy Strong’s or some other Greek reference, and read verse 1 you find out that Mary Magdalene “saw” the stone removed. The word is blep? and it means to look at (literally or figuratively), behold, look (on, to), perceive, regard, see, take heed. Strong calls it a voluntary observation.

In verse 5, John does the same thing. He looked in and “saw” the linen clothes lying there. Same Greek word.

In verse 6, Peter arrives and he checks things out. His word is the?re? It means to be a spectator, look at, behold, to view attentively, take a view of, survey, to view mentally, consider. Peter examines things, inspects them and begins to process the information he’s taking in.

Then in verse 9, John has another turn. John followed Peter’s example, examined things, especially everything neatly folded and in order and he “saw” and believed. His word is eido. He perceived with his eyes and understood the implications of what he saw. (Granted, John helps us out a little by supplying the words “and believed” so we know he ‘got’ it.) John had a light bulb moment. He’s not quite there yet, though, because he and Peter go home.

Mary is still hanging around, however, and in verse 12, she sees an angel at the tomb. This is the?re?. In verse 14, she sees Jesus Himself. Same the?re? kind of seeing. The risen Christ speaks to her and she recognizes Him. Jesus sends her to tell His disciples.

In verse 18, she runs to tell them she saw the Lord. She gets a whole new Greek word- horao which means to become acquainted with by experience, to experience. Strong goes on to say this word implies that it’s something remarkable. It has an idea of wide-eyed wonder. So the boys “saw” it, maybe even comprehended it, but Mary “got” it.

May God grant us all a new grasp on the wonder and miracle that is Easter.

If you have your handy-dandy Strong’s or some other Greek reference, and read verse 1 you find out that Mary Magdalene “saw” the stone removed. The word is blep? and it means to look at (literally or figuratively), behold, look (on, to), perceive, regard, see, take heed. Strong calls it a voluntary observation.

In verse 5, John does the same thing. He looked in and “saw” the linen clothes lying there. Same Greek word.

In verse 6, Peter arrives and he checks things out. His word is the?re?. It means to be a spectator, look at, behold, to view attentively, take a view of, survey, to view mentally, consider. Peter examines things, inspects them and begins to process the information he’s taking in.

Then in verse 9, John has another turn. John followed Peter’s example, examined things, especially everything neatly folded and in order and he “saw” and believed. His word is eido. He perceived with his eyes and understood the implications of what he saw. John had a light bulb moment. He’s not quite there yet, though, because he and Peter go home.

Mary is still hanging around, however, and in verse 12, she sees an angel at the tomb. This is the?re?. In verse 14, she sees Jesus Himself. Same the?re? kind of seeing. The risen Christ speaks to her and she recognizes Him. Jesus sends her to tell His disciples.

In verse 18, she runs to tell them she saw the Lord. She gets a whole new Greek word- horao which means to become acquainted with by experience, to experience. Strong goes on to say this word implies that it’s something remarkable. It has an idea of wide-eyed wonder. So the boys “saw” it, maybe even comprehended it, but Mary “got” it.

May God grant us all a new grasp on the wonder and miracle that is Easter.

Filed Under: Study Tip Tuesday, Uncategorized Tagged With: Bible study, Easter, Gospel of John, John, Mary Magdalene, Peter

The Empty Tomb without the Risen Lord

By Paula

Often our familiarity with Biblical events and truths causes our wonder to fade or be lost entirely. Unfortunately, the two greatest events in human history are the ones that suffer the most from this casual indifference. The birth of Christ is so well known; even ten year olds glaze over at its retelling. The resurrection elicits the same response. We need to remind ourselves that the story is not about the empty tomb, but really about the Risen Lord.

Consider John 20, which begins with the account of Peter and John running to the tomb to check out Mary Magdalene’s claim that Christ was gone. They investigate things carefully. The Greek words translated “saw” or “looked” give the idea that it was a thorough examination of the scene. John even says that he saw and believed. Jesus was gone. They could not deny that. However, verse 10 is the kicker. After seeing, verifying, the truth of the empty tomb, they went home! They were convinced Jesus had risen from the dead, and it was no big deal. Nothing changed. Their lives were not affected by that knowledge or belief.

Mary Magdalene hung around the tomb after Peter and John left. She was privileged not only to see angels, but also to be the first person to see the glorious, resurrected High Priest on His way to atone for all our sins. He spoke her name, assuring her that He was the same Jesus she had known, the Jesus that loved her in spite of her sins, her past, her very self.

Christ was on His way to establish our full access to the Father. We can now approach God, as one of His children, just as Christ does. Atonement means reconciliation, theologically speaking. The covering of our sins by Christ’s blood means a restoration of the broken fellowship of man with God, which came after Adam sinned. Christ’s resurrection means that the offering was accepted, the price paid, the wrath of God appeased.

After seeing the risen Lord, Mary became the first to proclaim the Good News of Christ and her listeners were the disciples themselves. Later that evening Jesus appeared to them. Once they saw Jesus, their lives changed as well. Eleven simple, small-town boys became world changers. Not because of a hole in a rock, mind you, but because of the Lord who rose again.

When the fact of someone rising from the dead becomes a little mundane, I have to stop and think, not about the tomb left behind, but about the Christ who went to His Father and your Father, to His God and mine. Rising from the dead was the easy part. Reconciling me to God… now that was something!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: John, Mary Magdalene, Peter, resurrection