1When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint him. 2Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. 3They were saying among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” 4for it was very big. Looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back.
5Entering into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe; and they were amazed. 6He said to them, “Don’t be amazed. You seek Jesus, the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him! 7But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He goes before you into Galilee. There you will see him, as he said to you.’”
8They went out, and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had come on them. They said nothing to anyone; for they were afraid.
9Now when he had risen early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. 10She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. 11When they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they disbelieved.
12After these things he was revealed in another form to two of them as they walked, on their way into the country. 13They went away and told it to the rest. They didn’t believe them, either.
14Afterward he was revealed to the eleven themselves as they sat at the table; and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they didn’t believe those who had seen him after he had risen. 15He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to the whole creation. 16He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who disbelieves will be condemned. 17These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new languages; 18they will take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it will in no way hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
19So then the Lord, after he had spoken to them, was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. 20They went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word by the signs that followed. Amen.
He Is Able
9 Now when he had risen early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. 11 When they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they disbelieved.
We know very little about Mary Magdalene. Throughout Church history, there have been numerous inaccurate portrayals. For example, nowhere does the Bible tell us that she was a repentant prostitute. What we do know is that she was demon-possessed before meeting Jesus. The passage tells us that after the resurrection, “He appeared first to Mary Magdalene”. Mary had been delivered and set free by Jesus. She knew the relief of going from a tortured life to a life of peace and devotion to her Lord. So when Jesus appeared to her after His resurrection, she believed. She went and told the others, “as they mourned and wept”. They were still weeping and mourning His death when she was there to say to them that HE IS ALIVE! I HAVE SEEN HIM! They could not rejoice because they were mired in the sin of disbelief.
Oftentimes, we are in great need of a touch from God. We beg God to show Himself, but when He does, we may respond in disbelief. We discount what we’ve seen. We convince ourselves that what happened was just a coincidence. The following was NOT such an instance. Recently, I experienced significant pain for several months as I suffered side effects from cancer treatment. As I lay in the hospital bed, never seeing much improvement, I prayed a desperate prayer. “Jesus, are you still there? Do you not see me? Do you not care about what I am going through? Lord, I have no relationship with any doctors in this place. Have mercy on me, Lord. Just let me see you once again working in my life.”
Not long after this prayer, late on a Wednesday night, I remembered that I had seen a doctor in the area right down the street from where my hospital window faced. With modern medicine, I knew there was no way I could get this doctor to come see me. That simply doesn’t happen with the current setup in the medical field. That night, before going to sleep, I remembered his name. I prayed, “Lord, I know it would be a miracle, but give me a miracle. Let me somehow see Dr. Moore to get help.” The next morning, I called his office at 8:05 and explained that I was in a nearby hospital, and I really needed to see Dr. Moore. She asked where I was, and when I told her, she said, “Well, aren’t you the lucky guy. He sees patients outside of his office two days per month, and today he’s coming to the hospital where you are.” He came later in the day. He treated me, and the next day he sent me home. That would have been easy to perhaps discount as a coincidence, but it was not. That was God letting me know that He had not forgotten me, and in my most desperate hour, He had heard the cries of my heart. Reader, you may be reading this right now, and you are doubting whether this happened or if it was truly the hand of God. THAT is the kind of disbelief Mary Magdalene was met with when she told the others that HE IS ALIVE. I HAVE SEEN HIM. HE HAS RISEN, JUST AS HE SAID.” Reader, walk in belief today and know that He hears you and He is faithful. He is able. Don't become mired in the sin of disbelief.