Jesus Literally Rises From The Dead

Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so as she wept she stooped and looked into the tomb

and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying.

And they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord and I do not know where they have laid him."

When she had said this,  she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that is was Jesus.

Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?"

Supposing Him to be the gardener she said to Him, "Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away."

Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, "Rabboni!" (which in Hebrew means, Teacher).

Jesus said to her, "Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father, but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.' "

Mary Magdalene came announcing to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord" and that He had said these things to her.  (John 20: 11-18)

The world had literally just ended for Mary Madgdalene and the disciples. For the last couple of years they had heard and seen Truth and Power, every day and in so many different ways. Surely this was the prophesied coming of the Kingdom.

True, Jesus had been hinting, maybe even outright saying that the Son of Man must sacrifice Himself for the nation. But how could that have been true. When He was with them there was life as they had never experienced it. There was joy. And most important, there was hope.

But the last couple of days had been a nightmare. They were caught off guard by Jesus arrest. They were stunned by His trial. They were crushed by His gruesome death. They were numb by His absence. It wasn't the Kingdom after all that was so important. It was Him.

And then, early on a Sunday morning, at the entrance to an empty tomb, while talking to someone she thought took care of the garden, Mary encountered the true Caretaker, the second Adam, the Restorer, the Redeemer.

Jesus reveals Himself to Mary and tells her that He must now ascend to the Father and she needs to go to the brethren and proclaim to them what she has seen and heard.

Hope! Hope! It has now been returned. There is Light in a world that looked so dark! "I have seen the Lord" proclaimed Mary.

Hope! Hope! I proclaim to you today. The risen Lord has come into my heart and He lives! If your world seems dark and bleak know that Jesus lives! He loves you just as much as He loves me and just as much as He loved his good friend Mary.