Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
The cross had already happened.
The shouting had stopped. The crowds had gone home. The sky had grown dark and then light again.
Now there was only a garden and an empty tomb.
Mary Magdalene stood outside the tomb weeping.
She had followed Jesus faithfully. She had watched him heal, restore, and welcome those others ignored. She had stayed near the cross when many others fled.
Now the one who had changed her life was gone.
The stone had been rolled away. The tomb was empty. But the grief remained. Through her tears she saw two angels sitting where Jesus’ body had been.
“Woman,” they asked, “why are you crying?”
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.”
Then she turned and saw someone standing there. She thought he was the gardener.
“Woman,” he said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”
She still did not recognize him.
Then Jesus spoke one word.
“Mary.”
Everything changed.
It was not a long explanation. It was not a sermon. It was simply her name. And in that moment she knew.
“Rabboni!” she cried.
The voice of the one she thought she had lost forever was speaking to her again.
This is the kind of Savior Jesus is.
All through this journey toward Easter we have listened to the words he spoke to women.
To the Samaritan woman, he revealed who he was. To the woman caught in adultery, he gave mercy. To the woman who had suffered for twelve years, he gave peace. To Mary in Bethany, he defended devotion.
And now, in the quiet of a garden, he spoke a name.
“Mary.”
Jesus calls individuals. He speaks personally.
The first witness to the risen Christ was not a ruler, not a priest, not even one of his twelve disciples. It was a woman standing in a garden with tears on her face.
As we arrive at Easter, we see why every word Jesus speaks matters. Because the cross was not the end of his voice. It was the beginning of him calling each one of us by name. When we listen to him calling us by name, it is the beginning of new life.
The one who was buried stood alive in the garden and now stands alive at the right-hand of God, interceeding for us by name.
And when Jesus speaks your name, misunderstanding gives way to recognition.
Mary came to the tomb expecting to honor the one who was dead. She knew nothing but death. She left knowing resurrection life.
The risen Savior still speaks.
Pray
For now, stay in the garden with Mary.
Listen for Jesus’ voice.
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
And when he speaks your name, turn toward him.
Because the one who died is the one who is alive today.
He is risen! Hallelujah!
Hallelujah!!!