Page 135 - laten-08-06-2020

who came to the tomb, but Jesus chose Mary. She was there,
not only first, but by her own choice. Peter and John would not
have even come at all had it not been for her telling them what
had happened. It is obvious that Jesus deliberately chose Mary
to be first. Spurgeon wrote, "...Mary was selected to see Christ
first, because she loved Jesus most. John loved Jesus much, but
Mary loved Him better; John went away when he saw the empty
sepulchre, but Mary stood without and wept."

Her first impression upon seeing the evidence was a
negative one, and she ran to tell the Apostles of the bad news. The
first message that Mary carried on that first Easter was negative
because it was not based on fact, but on her imagination. Her
mind was filled with a false concept of what had happened at
the tomb, and in desperation she ran to Peter and John for help.
Why did she suddenly sense the need for male help? It was
because she was convinced she was dealing with men who had
robbed the tomb. She was hurt, and she needed help to find the
body.
Jesus had shattered the chains of death, but Mary was
still in bondage because of her ignorance. She saw the stone
was gone, and her Savior was gone, and she gave it the worst
instead of the best interpretation. So often we, like Mary, jump
to conclusions, and we suffer sorrow when joy could be ours
with a more positive interpretation of the evidence.We say, they
have taken our Lord,And we know not where He lies,When the
light of His resurrection morn is breaking out of the skies.

Glory was ready to burst all around her, and yet she
was in gloom. So many remain in gloom when glory is real. It
is because facts are not enough. The resurrection is a fact, but
facts have no power until we are aware of them, and until we
accept their reality. The resurrection is a fact whether we believe
it or not. But only those who, like Mary, come to believe it, and
encounter the living Christ will experience the reality of the
glory of the resurrection. Mary was the first, but Jesus was not
content until all His followers became aware that He was alive. It
is now the goal of His church to reach the whole world with this
129
Lenten Meditations Re - Imaging People