John's Gospel narrative of the Resurrection presents us with the story that is at the heart of our faith. Christ, who has died, is now risen. Mary Magdalene, Peter, and the Disciple whom Jesus loved all discover Jesus’s now empty tomb. A place that held the dead is now a visible sign of new life. Jesus has conquered death, and we are witnesses alongside Mary when Jesus makes himself known to her and she brings the good news: “I have seen the Lord.”
As John’s story unfolds, we realize that the Gospel writer is taking us back, full circle, to the opening of the gospel narrative. The end is in the beginning.
John’s resurrection account begins “while it was still dark”. Mary Magdalene is coming to the tomb and finds the stone rolled away. She jumps to the first conclusion that seemed rational- someone has stolen the body of Jesus. She runs to Peter and to the disciple that Jesus loved. These two disciples, in John’s account, were the last two disciples with Jesus before he died. One of them was at the foot of the cross and was given charge of Jesus’s mother; the other denied him three times. Two radically different stories, and yet these are the two who race to the tomb.
When the men arrive there are no angels and no miraculous messages. There are simply empty grave clothes and a neatly folded cloth. The disciples go back to their homes, leaving Mary weeping next to the tomb. Alone once more, she gazes into the tomb and sees a sight much different than before. The tomb is no longer empty, but is now occupied by two angels. Echoing the report she gave to the disciples earlier, she explains to the angels her interpretation of the morning’s events- someone has stolen the Lord’s body.
She gives this same interpretation a third time. This time to a “gardener.” It’s always amazed me that Mary didn’t recognize Jesus right off the bat. And honestly, it almost makes me a little upset. I mean… this is a woman who was healed by Jesus himself! She spent years with him; learning, listening, talking, eating, walking, on and on it goes! She was even one of those who was at the foot of the cross when Jesus breathed his last. And she didn’t recognize him? Maybe there’s a deep theological reason behind this, but I think the Gospel writer also wants us to come full circle to the beginning of his narrative.
In the first chapter of John’s gospel, we are told of Jesus’s new ministry. John 1:35-39 reads:
“The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, ‘Look, here is the Lamb of God!’ The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, ‘What are you looking for?’ They said to him, ‘Rabbi’ (which translated means Teacher), ‘where are you staying?’ He said to them, ‘Come and see.’”
Jesus’s first words in his ministry are “What are you looking for?” And his first words to Mary after his resurrection? “Who are you looking for?” The disciples’ response: “Rabbi” Teacher; Mary’s response “Rabbouni” Teacher. I think John is trying to link these two stories together. But why?
Because it’s a beginning. The first chapter of John tells us of the beginning of Jesus’s earthly ministry. The twentieth chapter of John points to a new creation, and the beginning of a new ministry in light of this new creation. When John the Baptist’s disciples start to follow, Jesus tells them, “Come and see.” At the beginning of the narrative, we are invited to come and see. But at this new beginning, the command is different. Mary is not bidden to “Come and see” but to “Go and tell.” A new ministry has begun. Christ has risen from the dead and has secured our adoption, so that he can now say: “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” Go and tell! Go and tell that death has been trampled down by death. Go and tell that we are now co-heirs with Christ. Go and tell of the love that the Father has given us, that we are now called children of God.
There is a beginning in the end. John reminds us that even at the ending of his narrative, the story has not ended. Jesus is alive! We have come and seen, and now he has commissioned us to “Go and tell.” We join in this new creation and this new ministry, and echo alongside Mary: “I have seen the Lord.”
Kommentare