The story of the Resurrection is the intersection, the crux, of many stories. Sometimes it’s helpful to “zoom in” on just one person. Take Mary in John 20, for example. “They have taken the Lord,” she says, stunned. Crucifixion is a horrific thing to witness. And even after three days, the images of unfathomable, unforgettable suffering are still fresh.
Peter and John take off running. They see the empty tomb and leave. But Mary stays. It’s all too much — the grief, the fear of what will happen next. She weeps.
Through her tears, Mary becomes aware of someone she thinks is the gardener standing nearby. “Where is he?” she asks because she is desperate. “Mary,” the gardener replies, except “the gardener” is Jesus. And he is risen! “Go and tell my brothers,” Jesus tells her. When Mary stands, for the second time that day, at the doorway of the place the disciples are staying — breathless from running or the impossible joy of it all — she says, “I have seen the Lord.”
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SubscribeWhen you look closely at this story, you can see Jesus’ love for Mary, whom he calls by name, and for his disciples, whom he calls “brothers.”
Jesus cares about people. When we share the gospel, we might be meeting that person for the first time. But Jesus already knows the problems that weigh heavily on them. He already loves them like family. He is eager to be in relationship with them.
When we follow Jesus, his passion for people becomes our passion. We begin to see the story through his eyes. We long to comfort those who weep like Mary and share the Good News with those who do not yet know. Imagine standing at the door, like Mary, looking out at a room of people Jesus loves, people who are about to be changed forever by the news you have to share — “I have seen the Lord.”
Through your prayers for the work of Every Home for Christ in the nations, you take part in answering Jesus’ command to go and tell the people he loves that he is risen.
