Let Go and Go Tell
It’s hard to let go of those you love. Yet doing this is a regular experience of life. We let go of our family, friends, neighbors, classmates, cultures, homes, and familiar surroundings when we move to another neighborhood, city, State, or country. We let go when we send our children to college (or when we leave our parents at home when we go to college). We let go when we marry (or when we give our children away in marriage).
In all these difficult encounterswith “letting go,” we learn how life really works. Life flourishes when we learnto let go of what and whom we love, when the necessary moments come for doingso. We wonder what life would be like if our kittens never turned into cats,our puppies never turned into dogs, and our cuddly toddlers never turned intoadults. But even if we could discover some scientific way for making thishappen, we would fail in the end, because life flourishes only when we learn tolet go.
The same is true for those whobelieve in Jesus. As followers of Christ, we must learn to let go rather thanhold on. A church may fail to move forward in their mission of reaching theircommunity with the gospel because they cling too tightly to vestiges of thepast. Stained glass windows. Longstanding programs, entrenched committees, old traditionsand ways of doing things.
But Bible-believing Christianity thrivesbest when believers learn to let go of physical, temporary relationships andtraditions at appropriate times so that they can more effectively go into theworld to spread the truth of the resurrected Christ. Thefact of the resurrection motivates believers to tell others about Jesus.
Asyou look ahead to the New Year, ask yourself whether you are clinging to thepast and the present, or whether you are prepared to go out into the world to spreadthe truth about Jesus? Though you know the truth about Jesus and thefact that he has risen from the dead, are you living in a way that showsyou believe and that shows you care? Join me in discovering how John20:1-18 can help us answer these questions.
The apostles established the fact ofthe resurrection.
Peter and John, like the other ninedisciples, had distanced themselves from Jesus after he died, leaving Joseph ofArimathea and Nicodemus, little-known followers from among the Sanhedrin, tobury him. But when Mary Magdalene informed them about the absence of Jesus’sbody from the tomb, they jumped to action. Both men ran to the tomb. John ranfaster but stopped at the entrance. Peter ran slower but entered when hearrived.
Both men noticed that the strips ofcloth which had been wrapped about Jesus were folded neatly to the side, with aseparate piece of cloth sitting neatly across the room. This evidence revealsseveral important details about the death and resurrection of Jesus.
First, it indicates that neither graverobbers nor Roman soldiers had removed the body. Thieves would have removed thebody quickly without unwrapping it. Soldiers would have done the same, notwanting to be seen. Furthermore, grave robbers would have retained thewrappings on the corpse to preserve the expensive spices which they bound tothe corpse. What’s more, if either robbers or soldiers had removed the stripsof cloth, carrying the exposed, decaying corpse by itself, they would not havebothered to fold the cloth strips carefully, setting them neatly to the side.They would have removed them hastily.
Second, the folded burial wrappings indicatedthat the disciples had not removed the body. As Jewish men, they would haveinsisted on leaving the grave clothes intact. For centuries, Jewish people insistedon showing utmost respect for the dead body of those they loved. That’s why themighty men of Jabesh Gilead traveled through the night to recapture the bodiesof King Saul and his sons from the Philistines, so that they might protect themfrom careless treatment by their enemies (1 Sam 31:8-13). Knowing this, if thedisciples had removed the body, they would have kept the burial wrappings inplace.
Ultimately, the twofold witness ofPete and John support this important evidence. John saw it from a distance, thenPeter confirmed it up close. This fulfills the longstanding expectation thattruth be established by two or three witnesses, not one alone (Deut 19:15). Inthis case, the two men who had witnessed the most of Christ’s trial and crucifixionup close were also the two who initially verified that the tomb was empty.
To confirm that the tomb was emptyis a very important fact because the truthfulness of Christianity depends onit. Paul points this out most plainly (1 Cor 15:13-19): “If there is noresurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen,then our preaching is empty, and your faith is also empty … if Christ is notrisen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those whohave fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hopein Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.” In other words, if Christ did notresurrect from the dead, then (1) there is nothing to preach, (2) there isnothing to believe, (3) your faith in Christ is useless, (4) you are still inbondage to your sins, (5) you will never see again your believing loved oneswho have already died, and (6) Christians – more than anyone else – are theones for whom all people should feel most sorry. For all these reasons andmore, we should be more than glad to know that both Peter and John givecredible evidence that Jesus was indeed buried and that he did indeed resurrectfrom the dead.
In addition to corroborating thisevidence, the testimony of John also teaches us an important lesson about genuine,saving faith. Though John saw the empty tomb and the graveclothes of Jesus, hehad not yet seen Jesus in person. Despite this partial witness, he had seenenough to bolster his faith. Other disciples, like Thomas, would need to seeJesus in person in order to believe. But in that moment, at the entrance to theempty tomb that day, John saw all the proof he needed to be sure that Jesus hadrisen from the dead.
Like John that day, you and I must choose to believe the truth about Jesus without the luxury of seeing him in person. We need to hear the truth about Jesus according to the testimony handed down to us by the Holy Spirit, to the apostles, through the centuries. We will learn more about this in later
Now, knowing the important role thatmen like Peter and John played in confirming the timeless doctrine of theChristian faith and message – including the fact of the resurrection of Jesus –we need to ask why John “sandwiched” their crucial testimony between a storyabout another person, a woman named Mary Magdalene?
This fact rested first on theresponse of faithful women.
John gave special attention to the response of this Mary (from Magdala), who discovered the empty tomb. She was not a prominent figure. The only other time she appears in this gospel is John 19:25, at the foot of the cross, with the mother of Jesus. Many years later, in AD 591, Catholic Pope Gregory the Great claimed that she had been a prostitute or a notorious criminal. Unfortunately, this perception gained traction, even though the Bible confirms it nowhere. Thankfully, the Roman Catholic Church retracted this error in 1969.
Even so, Mary from Magdala did have a dark and painful past. Luke told us in his gospel that prior to believing in Jesus, she had been possessed or afflicted by seven demons (Luke 7:2). We know nothing more than this, but we can conclude that she suffered greatly from this terrible situation. Nevertheless, being delivered by Jesus had instilled in her heart an undying love for her Savior which brought her to the tomb that day. How is your love for Jesus today? Is it strong? Does influence the choices that you make?
The words of Mary in this passage allude to the other women besides herself, when she said, “And we do not know where they have laid him” (John 20:2). This matches the witness of the other gospel writers who identify other women by name (Mark 16:1; Matt 28:1; Luke 24:10).
Why is it important to highlight these women? Because in first-century Israel, people viewed neither women nor children as credible witnesses. This social flaw resembles the way that the United States prohibited women from voting prior to ratifying the 19th Constitutional amendment in 1920. Thankfully, Christianity did not perpetuate this viewpoint.
The Christian faith champions men and women as equal partners in the plan of God. In fact, all four gospel writers unashamedly uphold this viewpoint by presenting faithful women as front-line witnesses to the resurrection of Christ. Remarkably, these women exhibited faith in God when the apostles themselves had wavered. If you are a woman in the church today, do not underestimate the importance of your role in the work of God, for you play a crucial part.
To learn the important role thatthese women played, considered what John records about the actions of MaryMagdalene when she discovered the empty tomb.
She visited the tomb early.
Mary and the other women visited the tomb where Jesus had been buried for the purpose of seeing the tomb (Matt 28:1) and bringing additional spices to anoint the body (Mark 16:1; Luke 24:1). They did this on the first day of the week because Jewish law prohibited them from doing work or contacting a dead body during the Sabbath day (Saturday) and during the Passover holiday. However, by doing this as the sun began to set, while it was still quite dark, they showed a desire to return to the tomb “as soon as possible,” which exhibits great eagerness on their part.
Women traveling alone outside in the dark would have been a dangerous move. But even more, to travel to the grave site of Jesus would identify them as followers of him. This by itself would be a dangerous move because it would place them at risk of being persecuted just as the Jews had persecuted Jesus.
Despite these dangers, MaryMagdalene and the other women visited the tomb in public view, while thedisciples, as men, had locked themselves away in fear (John 20:19). Thisbravery by the women showed a depth of love and faith which the disciples struggledto exhibit. Perhaps they motivated John to write in another letter, “There isno fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involvestorment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love” (1 John 4:18). Doyou fear being identified with Jesus, as the disciples did? Or do you loveJesus so much that you serve him no matter what other people may think?
She ran to tell the disciples.
When Mary discovered the empty tomb,she responded with urgency, running to tell the disciples what she had seen.This urgency was not, as you might suppose, because she discovered that Jesushad risen from the dead. After all, she wasn’t expecting Jesus to resurrect; shewas expecting him to be buried.
Instead, she acted with urgencybecause she believed that someone had stolen the body of Jesus away. As adevout Jewish person who also loved Jesus devotedly, she would have beenhorrified at the thought of an unknown person(s) desecrating the body of Jesus.Unable to resolve this problem by herself, she ran to tell the disciples,hoping that they would be able to do something about this apparent problem.
You appreciate Mary’s urgency. Youappreciate her zeal. You appreciate her love for Jesus that overcame her fear.But can you identify with her failure? Though she saw the evidence of the resurrection,she interpreted and understood what she saw in the wrong way. Even the sincerestbeliever can develop wrong ideas, believing them to be true! Loving Jesus doesnot automatically mean that you understand what the Bible teaches correctly.Knowing this should inspire increased humility in us all.
She wept at the tomb.
Ironically, Peter and John didnothing to help Mary resolve her dilemma. They ran to the tomb and confirmedher report, but they did nothing more. After seeing the empty tomb, they simply“went away again to their own homes” (John 20:10), leaving Mary and the otherwomen back where they started – alone and bewildered.
Unlike the disciples, Mary did nottrudge back to her home. Instead, she responded to the empty tomb with seriousdevotion; she returned after informing the disciples. She also responded with strongemotion; she wept. This word for weeping appears eight times in John’sgospel, including three times prior to the resurrection of Lazarus; but itappears most in this story (four times), here at the resurrection of Jesus.This word portrays loud, unrestrained wailing, the kind that is common at aJewish funeral. It revealed that Mary’s heart was filled with deep remorse and withthe pain of intense sorrow. Such was not the case with the eleven disciples
What’s more, it is fascinating toobserve that while a crowd of people had wept over the death of Lazarus, a nicebut ordinary sinner like you and me (John 11:33), only one lady (or a handfulof ladies) wept at the tomb of Jesus, even though he was the King of Kings andLord of Lords, the one and only perfect Son of God. Though Christ came to die forthe sins of the world and wept over the city of Jerusalem, only one woman inall the world and in all the city had come to weep over his tomb.
Like the disciples, do you claim tobelieve the truth about Jesus while being unmoved by him in a personal,intimate way? Cold, calloused indifference is a dangerous response to the truthabout Jesus. It leads to fear rather than courage, to discouragement anddepression rather than joy. You will find these experiences among the elevendisciples in the remaining verses of John’s gospel. But from the example ofMary, we should learn to care about Jesus in a real and personal way. LovingJesus hurts sometimes, but that’s okay. Don’t be afraid to hurt for Jesus.
She held on to Jesus.
As Mary wept, she saw two mensitting in the tomb, men who had not been sitting there before. These were notgrave robbers, nor were they Roman soldiers or disciples of Jesus who had cometo cover their tracks after stealing the body of Jesus away. No, these werevisitors from God, angels from heaven, messengers sent from the spiritual realmto ask her a question that would turn her sorrow into joy and her anguish intovictory. They asked, “Woman, why are you weeping?” (John 20:15).
They did not ask this question tolearn something new, as though they didn’t know the cause for Mary’s sorrow. Isay this because Jesus, who knows all things, soon asked her the very samequestion.
Standing behind Mary, he also asked,“Whom are you seeking?” The angels and Jesus asked these gentle questions toguide Mary out of her overwhelming sorrow towards clear-minded thinking. Afterhearing Jesus ask these questions, Mary turned enough to the side that she knewa man was standing nearby.
In her despair and bewilderment, shemistakenly identified this man as the gardener. On this premise, she askedwhether he had been the one who removed the body of Jesus. If he were, sheoffered to recover the body so that she could give it a proper and permanentburial.
To this offer, Jesus answered, “Mary”(which is actually Miriam and would have been a more personal andfamiliar way of addressing her). To this, she turned around completely andexclaimed, “Rabboni!”
You should know the meaning of thesewords. Miriam comes from the root word Marah, which means“bitter,” and Rabboni means “my great one” or “my highly respectedteacher.” Jesus spoke the truth about Mary. She was filled with sorrow andbitterness in her soul at a moment when she should have been filled with joyand laughter. Likewise, Mary spoke the truth about Jesus. He was indeed her mosthighly respected teacher, to whom she owed everything, including her undividedloyalty and devotion. What a moment! What a reunion! Mary was reunited with herLord and Savior, and he was no longer dead, but alive!
This moment fascinates me because itresembles the first time that we read about God speaking to people in a garden.In Genesis 3, we read how the first woman, Eve, succumbed to temptation in theGarden of Eden and how Adam and Eve hid themselves from God when he spoke tothem. But here in the Garden of Gethsemane, we read how another woman, Mary Magdalene(and perhaps a group of women) were seeking after God, not running from him.
What an amazing reversal, do youagree? Though a woman, by her actions, opened the way for Adam to sin and drawthe entire human race into death, another woman here opened the way for theapostles to discover the fact of the resurrection, which defeated the power ofdeath and offers life to everyone who believes.
There is another way, too, in whichthis episode in the Garden of Gethsemane mirrors the episode in the Garden ofEden. In Genesis 3, God sent Adam and Eve away from the garden, and here inthis resurrection episode with Jesus, he sends Mary away as well.
She let go of Jesus to go tell others about him.
What would have been your first reaction to seeing the resurrected Jesus? In Mary’s case (and she was the first person to see Jesus this way), she appeared to move forward in order to grab a hold of Jesus, as if to hug him tightly or to cling tightly to his feet. Jesus, however, discouraged such behavior. But why?
Jesus did not prohibit her fromclinging to him because of some mystical reasons pertaining to his resurrectedbody. If this were the case, then he would not have told his disciples in thefollowing verses to touch his wounds (John 20:27). Instead, he explained thatthough now he was resurrected and had returned to them, he would not be stayingwith them forever in a physical way (John 20:17). He would soon return toheaven, from where he had come and from where he had been from eternity, withoutbeginning or end. For this reason, it would do no good to cling to him. Noamount of clinging in the world would keep him there.
Since he would soon return toheaven, Jesus urged Mary to let go of him so that she could do something moreimportant. And this – I think – is the ultimate purpose of this story. Theproper response to the resurrection of Jesus was not to hold onto him, as thoughhe would never go away. Instead, the proper response was to let go so that shecould go tell others about what she had seen and heard. Jesus wasn’t looking forhugs. He was looking for action! He was looking for those who loved him to gotell others the good news, that he had risen again!
Conclusion
Today, how do you respond to theresurrection of Jesus?
- Do you – like the disciples – accept the facts, then return to your home in fear of being found out to be a follower of Christ, disinterested in doing anything serious for Jesus?
- Do you – like Mary – show great love and devotion to Christ, yet you cling to physical things and temporary relationships as if to never let them go?
- Or do you – as Jesus said – let go of those things which are precious but temporary (like seeing the human Jesus), focusing instead on building up the faith of others and spreading the truth about the resurrected Jesus to the world?
As we look forward to a new year of faith and service asFaith Baptist Church, we need to take some lessons from Mary of Magdalene.Though we may believe the fact of the resurrection – as John himself did when hesaw the evidence – will we simply “return to our own homes,” carrying on anordinary life with little difference from anyone else in the world?
Like Mary, we should respond with greater passion and zeal.Yet even so, we must be sure that we do not cling to those things which – no matterhow important in faith and service – are temporary and transient. We may saygoodbye to those we love, and only God knows the changes he will bring into ourlives. Like Mary, we should learn not to cling to such things, no matter howdeep our love for them may be. Because of the resurrection, we will all meet againsomeday when we see Jesus face to face.
What matters most is that we let go so that we might go tellthe world the good news and the truth about Jesus. We serve a loving, livingSavior whom they must trust and obey for themselves. Will this purpose markyour life in 2019? I pray that it will.