Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. “Dear woman, why are you crying?” the angels asked her. “Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him. “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?” She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.” “Mary!” Jesus said. She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”). — John 20:11-16 (NLT)
Hopelessness is a horrible thing. It steals your future. It takes away your tomorrows.
Mary Magdalene was a lady who knew something about hopelessness. When she first encountered Jesus she was possessed with seven demons. Think about it, seven demons living in your soul, torturing and tormenting you continually.
When the devil is around there’s always darkness. He traffics in despair. He’s always trying to sell us a hopeless future. A bleak picture. Gloomy days are always on the horizon when the devil gets access to our thinking. He paints very ugly portraits of tomorrow’s plans.
Mary Magdalene certainly suffered with despair until the day she met Jesus the first time. That day Jesus drove these demons from her and gave her a faith-filled expectation for her future.
And then it happened, Jesus was crucified and buried. Mary must have wondered what this meant for her life. Was she doomed to go back to the dark days of her past?
Early Sunday morning following Jesus’ Friday crucifixion, Mary went to the tomb of Jesus. Her emotions were in turmoil. Her heart was in deep grief. She was weeping intensely at the tomb when she encountered two angels. And not long after meeting this pair of heavenly beings, she heard a voice — the voice — that she knew and had come to love — the voice of Jesus calling her name.
This event is one of the most precious recorded in Scripture. When Jesus spoke Mary’s name, her hope burst out in bright flame again. The resurrected Jesus restored faith for her future!
In this Easter season, my prayer is that you would hear the same Jesus — the living Savior — calling your name. And as you hear Him calling you, may unquenchable hope be inflamed in your soul again!
Pastor Dale
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