Return Engagement

John 20:11-18 NIV

¹¹ Now 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.

 ¹⁵ He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

   Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”

 ¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary.”

   She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).

 ¹⁷ Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

 ¹⁸ Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.

A Return Engagement

      The first mortal to see the risen Lord was a redeemed outcast. When she first encountered Jesus, she had seven demons. Jesus delivered her and she followed Him. Think about it.  Jesus didn’t go to the religious or spiritual elite. He went to a woman alone in the world. This situation is often like being in a cemetery, full of dead men’s bones, sadness, and ceaseless grieving. Jesus met her there.  He returned, spoke her name, and sent her out with a message. What a joy and comfort. But it doesn’t stop there.

        He’s coming back. Yes, He is coming back! The next time, He’s not leaving us or sending us on a mission. He is coming to take us with him…as His Bride! Yea, girl, we will wear white! We will be His pure and holy bride. We will live with Him forever!

Amen, amen.