A New Relationship
Gospel of John
Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
15 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.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her. John 20:11-18
We see and focus on the extraordinary event of the resurrection, as we should, but something more is happening here. Something more. Something that transcends extraordinary to extra, extra, extraordinary.
Yes, the tomb is empty. Mary stoops down to look inside and sees two angels clothed in white. White was the symbol of holiness, righteousness, and purity. Hollywood did not invent the differences of white hat good and black hat bad. This idea dates back to ancient times. The priests in the temple were to be clothed in white as a symbol of purity. Mary sees angels clothed in white robes.2
The angels ask why she is crying. She turns around and a man, whom she assumes is the gardener, also asks why she is crying. Her assumption that he is the gardener is wrong on one level and absolutely correct on a different level. John has already told us the Word was with God and is God. Jesus told us that he was the true vine and his father the gardener or vinedresser. Here Jesus is fully portrayed as the gardener and is charged with bringing a new creation into a new garden, out of the chaos of the world once created in another garden. New order. New fruitfulness. New life. New creation. Extra - extraordinary.3
Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
An empty tomb. A new garden. A new creation.
A new relationship.
The resurrection changes everything we know about God and our relationship to Christ. Look at Jesus’ relationship to the disciples. First, they were invited to “come and see,” then they were followers of Christ. Then very recently, Jesus says, “I will no longer call you servants, but you are friends.” They moved from following, to serving, to befriending. Here Jesus is telling Mary to “go to my brothers.” The relationship has changed to a sibling relationship.
I have one brother. We are siblings because we share parents. Christ is telling Mary that they now share a parent. They share a relationship with the Father. This is the Father that is Jesus’ father and now is the Father to believers. They have a joint heritage with Christ, the elder brother.
Twice now Mary takes a message to the disciples. First, an empty tomb and now a resurrected elder brother with a message for his siblings.
A new relationship. Extra-extra-extraordinary. A result of the resurrection. More than an empty tomb. A new creation and a new relationship to Christ. A new relationship to the Father.
This challenges us to look at our relationship to Christ. Are we just checking it out, like when Jesus says, “Come and see.” Are we caught up in serving? Are we reveling in friendship? Is our relationship one of family intimacy?
Jesus desires for us to share the intimacy of family and to know the Father, whom he has revealed.