John 20:10-18

Rev Keith Vethaak

Can you imagine someone getting up in church and praying this prayer:
"I thank you God that I am not a barbarian, unbeliever, slave or… a woman!"

Yet in Biblical days this may not have been so unusual. The society in which Jesus lived didn’t value women very highly. It was commonly said that there were three beasts of burden: A camel, a donkey and a woman.

That’s why John 20 is so fascinating because it tells us that the very first person to see the risen Jesus was a woman. This is repeated in Mark 16:9: "When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene out of whom he had driven seven demons."

Some commentators say that here we have prime evidence for both the resurrection and the authenticity of the Gospels for after all no self respecting Jew would dare to admit that a woman was the first to see Jesus! And even if they did they certainly wouldn’t bother recording it, after all women couldn’t generally be called as legal witnesses. (This may explain why in 1 Corinthian 15 not one woman is mentioned as being a witness to the resurrection of Jesus.)

So why did this happen? Surely nothing concerning the life of Jesus was accidental?

Especially not this incredibly significant moment. After all Jesus had just gone through one of the most shattering events in history, his crucifixion. God the Son had taken upon himself the sin of the world, he paid the penalty for sin so that we could be forgiven. Satan was defeated and the power of death was broken.

And now He has risen as the glorious conquering Lord.

A new dawn is breaking as Jesus the risen, victorious saviour walks the earth on that resurrection morning. What a moment! What an event!

I can imagine the angels waiting with bated breath, wondering who would be honoured with being the first to greet the Risen King.

What a significant moment in the history of the Universe. Who would it be? Surely not Peter, he had betrayed Jesus. Maybe John, maybe Matthew. Who knows. Only God.

And then we see Mary in the garden.

Mary, Mary from Magdala.

Surely that can’t be. A woman?

But it gets worse. What sort of woman?

Seven demons cast out? Couldn’t be!

Why? Why was she the first? What’s God saying? Surely this isn’t just happenstance? God does know what he’s doing doesn’t he?

There is a message coming through loud and clear.

Jesus is saying: "Every human being is of infinite value to me. It doesn’t matter who you are, it doesn’t matter what you have done. You are important to me."

Jesus deliberately chose one of the least to be first.

We might think: She’s just a woman, and not just a woman but a woman whose life has been terribly messed up. Jesus wants to underline the fact that his acceptance of us has nothing to do with what we have done or haven’t done, nothing to do with who we are –his acceptance of us is based on what He did on the cross. His love is unconditional. It’s grace.

Jesus wants us to know that when He forgives we are really forgiven. Our sins are removed.

Sometimes we think that God keeps a black book in which all our sins are recorded. But no, Psalm 103:12 tells us that "as far as the east is from the west so far has he removed our transgressions from us". The Psalms do tell us that God does keep another kind of record however. Psalm 56:8 tells us that the Lord keeps a record of our sorrows and our tears. He actually keeps them in his wineskin, his bottle. Keep that truth in your mind for a moment. Now let’s come back to Mary: (John 20:11)

She’s crying her eyes out. The angels were bothered. No one likes tears. (Vs 13.) Mary is crying her heart out because she can’t even perform a last act of kindness to Jesus because his body is not there. But then, suddenly, out of the shadows of the dawn Jesus speaks. Now listen to Jesus first words (Vs 15).

"Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?"

He uses the common form of address: "Mrs, Madam, why do you weep?"

Jesus sees her tears!

He’s worried about her tears!

God doesn’t keep a black book of our sins but he keeps a record of our tears!

I once heard about a hospital chaplain who specialized in caring for young children with cancer. Often as he came to visit they would be in tears from the pain of their disease. One day he took a bag of popcorn in with him, and gently he wiped the tears away with the popcorn and then he said to the child, "Now watch!" He quickly put the popcorn into his mouth and swallowed it, and looking at them he said, "See, I’ve just eaten your tears".

I once had an opportunity to sit in on an interview Cliff Richard gave to the local press. He just returned from Bangladesh when that country was experiencing a horrific famine and children were dying by the thousands. There were two things about that interview I have never forgotten. The first was that Cliff Richard was wearing socks with the Union Jack on them. The second was a question asked by a skeptical reporter. He sneered and asked: "Mr. Richard, how can you believe in a good God when there is such suffering on earth?" He went on to mention Bangladesh.

I’ll never forget Cliff Richard’s answer.

He looked at the reporter and said, "Just a few days ago I was holding one of these babies in my arms when she died."

His eyes grew moist as he continued. "I have never, never experienced the presence of God so powerfully as I did at that moment. I don’t know all the reasons why, but don’t try to tell me that God doesn’t care."

God is in our pain.

He drinks our tears.

Now look at the next word He speaks:
(vs. 16) "Mary."

The resurrected Jesus meets the forgiven sinner and he still knows her name.

A woman broken with grief meets
the resurrected Jesus and He speaks
so tenderly.

He hasn’t changed!

Jesus is still the same! The Jesus who had walked the earth filled with grace and compassion and love is still the same. The Jesus who had accepted and delivered a broken woman is still the same. Though he has conquered death, though he had vanquished Satan, though he has been given the Name above all names and is exalted to the highest place, he is still the same.

I don’t know what’s happening in your life right now as you read this article but I can make some predictions.

Every one of us will one day face tears and pain and suffering.

Every one of us will come to a place where we wonder why God isn’t hearing our prayers, where we feel betrayed and alone.

Maybe you are suffering already.

So many weep on the inside.

But let me tell you: He knows your Name. Your tears are in His bottle. When you weep He is weeping with you. When you suffer He is suffering with you. If you belong to Him He will never ever let go of your hand.

He was waiting there in the garden for a weeping Mary, waiting to turn her tears into joy. And then in vs.17 he says, "It’s OK, you can let go. I won’t ever forsake you or leave you."

What are the last words Jesus spoke in Matt? 28:20:

Take a moment to read Romans 8 again, especially these words (vs. 38,39)