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.” John 20:15.
Mary Magdalene thinks the body of her Lord and precious friend has been stolen away. She doesn’t realise she is speaking with the risen Christ.
The Lord, by his question, tests the sincerity of her love. It is not lacking. With all conviction she says she will get his body wherever the gardener may have put it.
She’s come to administer perfume to the body - a mark of the love she had for him and the honour she sought to bestow upon him, and it’s her determination to complete the task.
There is no coldness in her, nor is there any sense of futility in her purpose. Her words, her actions, her attitude are shaped by Godly love for Jesus and desire to honour him with her time, her energy, her gifts, her money, and now her words too.
The risen Lord Jesus then simply calls her by name and she knows it is him. There is no doubt in her mind.
If our confidence in Jesus is to be unshakable it must be in the risen Lord Jesus too. And, that confidence must exercise itself in heartfelt devotion like this woman’s.
On resurrection morning it is very good news to hear the risen Lord Jesus call Mary by name. Thanks be to God he is risen and has called us by name too.
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