Mary

Issue no. 28

  Scripture Reading: John 20:1-18

  After the Lord Jesus resurrected from the dead, He manifested Himself to many people. The Lord Jesus manifested Himself first to Mary the Magdalene. The Lord was eager to manifest Himself to Peter because Peter was in the midst of weakness, but He was more eager to manifest Himself to Mary the Magdalene. He was eager to manifest Himself to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus because they were heading in the wrong direction, but He was more eager to manifest Himself to Mary the Magdalene. He was eager to manifest Himself to John because John was the one He loved, but He was more eager to manifest Himself to Mary the Magdalene. He was eager to manifest Himself to Thomas because Thomas did not believe His resurrection, but He was more eager to manifest Himself to Mary the Magdalene. There were other disciples to whom the Lord was eager to manifest Himself. But the Lord did not manifest Himself to them first. He manifested Himself first to Mary the Magdalene. Why did the Lord manifest Himself first to Mary the Magdalene before Peter, John, Thomas, the other disciples, and the people?

  Mary the Magdalene was the last one to leave the site of the cross; she was the first one to come to the tomb. Besides Mary the Magdalene, many others were saved. Besides Mary the Magdalene, many others had demons cast out. But only Mary the Magdalene came early in the morning to the tomb to seek the Lord. There is no doubt that she did not understand many things. Some may even have thought that she did not have a good mind; but she received the best portion, a portion which we may not have. Her better portion was her love for the Lord. Every Christian should desire and pursue after this.

  John 1:29 says that when John the Baptist saw Jesus coming to him, he said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" John the Baptist said this when he saw the Lord for the first time. In verse 36 John saw the Lord Jesus again and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!" John did not say "who takes away the sin of the world" the second time. Had he forgotten? No. This is the experience of a saved person. When a person sees the Lord for the first time, he thinks about himself as well as the Lord. He thinks of the Lord as the Lamb of God who takes away his sin. When he sees the Lord for the second time, he forgets about himself and sees only the Lord. The first time, he thanks Him because of the grace He gives. The second time, he draws near to Him because of Himself. Our baptism is our union with the Lord, while the breaking of bread is our remembrance of the Lord Himself. First, we become the Lord's believers; then we become His lovers. First, we believe in the Lord's work; then we are drawn to the Lord's person. Many of us only know the preciousness of the Lord's work, but not the preciousness of the Lord Himself. We only know the grace we have received, but not the loveliness of the Lord. The difference between Mary the Magdalene and the others was that she not only appreciated salvation, she also treasured the Savior.

  Oh, many people had their demons cast out by the Lord, but only Mary the Magdalene sought after the Lord. Although other women came to seek the Lord, the very first one to come to the tomb was Mary the Magdalene. On the first day of the week, early in the morning while it was still dark, she came to the tomb. She did not care for anything; she came to seek the Lord. A brother once said something very good about this. He said, "Since the Lord Jesus died, the world in the eyes of Mary had become nothing but a void!" The whole world could not draw Mary's heart, because One had already taken her heart away. Mary's heart was a heart completely occupied by the Lord. Mary's heart was a heart captured by the Lord. Oh, the heart of Mary the Magdalene was seized by the Lord!

  When Mary came to the tomb, what did she see? What did she do? She thought, "My beloved Lord has died. Today all I want is to have a look at His body." However, the body was gone! She could only run to Peter and John and say to them, "They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him." Peter and the other disciple, John, then went to the tomb. They ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came first to the tomb. Stooping down and looking in, he saw the linen cloths; yet he did not go in. Simon Peter followed him, went into the tomb, and saw the linen cloths; the handkerchief that had been over His head was not lying with the linen cloths, but was folded up in one place apart. Then the other disciple went in, saw, and believed. After the two disciples saw this, what did they do? The Bible says, "The disciples therefore went away again to their own home." They still had a home in the world which they regarded as their best. They still had a home. Although they found that the Lord was not there, they did not feel anything. They felt that going back to their own home was the most important thing to do. Besides the Lord, they still had a place to go.

  What did Mary do? "But Mary stood outside at the tomb weeping." She had nowhere to go! She could not go away! How profound is the word "but!" Mary thought in her heart, "You have a home to which you can go, but I cannot because the Lord is not here. You think that the disappearance of the Lord is not important, but I cannot feel the same. Who has taken Him away? How can I leave?" She stood outside of the tomb weeping. In her eyes the world had become a void! The Lord was not there. What else could she do? She could not do anything but stand outside of the tomb and weep. Oh, Mary's heart was a widow's heart! The disciples who followed after the Lord went away. The disciples who had some knowledge went away. John, who loved the Lord, went away. Peter, who was so bold, went away. But Mary, a simple woman out of whom the Lord had driven seven demons, was caught by the Lord. She had no peace. She had no comfort. She could not go away. The Lord was not there; everything was over. Her heart was missing something. Her heart was empty; therefore, she could only weep.

  "Then as she wept, she stooped to look into the tomb and beheld two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. 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 Mary saw the angels, she was neither surprised nor frightened. Why? Her heart was completely set on the matter of "they have taken away my Lord." She paid no attention to other things. Her heart was so single in thinking about the Lord that even the manifestation of the angels could not attract her attention. She did not care for what the angels were doing. Her heart was only for her Lord. Even the angels could not move her heart.

  Perhaps someone may think, "John loved the Lord so much. If I could only follow after him, it would be wonderful. Peter was dealt with by the Lord very much. If I could listen to his instruction once, it would be wonderful." But Mary's heart was not concerned with these things. Although Peter and John were present, it was not enough. Her heart was a widow's heart! You may think that she should have been glad to have angels talking to her. But Mary did not feel anything. While others may think that the angels were special and attractive in such white and shining clothes, Mary thought only about her Lord being taken away. The angels could not fill up her empty heart, and she could only weep. She thought, "The Lord is gone; I cannot be satisfied anymore! Although Peter and John are here, the Lord is gone; I cannot be satisfied! Although angels are here, the Lord is not here; I cannot be satisfied."

  The angels asked her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him." She thought that even though the Lord was dead, His body was still precious. It did not occur to her that the Lord had resurrected. In Matthew the Lord told the disciples four times that He would be raised on the third day after He died (Matt. 16:21; 17:23; 20:19; 26:32). But she did not know anything about this. On that day she was without hope. It would be good enough if she could only have the body of the Lord. Although she was so ignorant, her singleness in wanting the Lord caused the Lord to reveal Himself to her.

  The reason the Lord manifested Himself to Mary was to satisfy a heart that was hungry and thirsty for Him. Peter and John went back to their own home. The Lord did not go to find them. But here was a heart which was single and wholly for Him. Therefore, the Lord needed to look for her. Brothers and sisters, it will not matter much if we have less knowledge. What matters is that we have a heart which can urge the Lord to look for us. This is the most precious thing.

  "When she said these things, she turned backward and beheld Jesus standing there, yet she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? She, supposing that He was the gardener, said to Him, Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away." She saw the Lord Jesus, but she thought He was the gardener. The Lord asked her whom she sought. She said, "If you have carried Him away." She forgot to say she was seeking the Lord. She was seeking Jesus the Nazarene. She only said, "Him." In Mary's eyes, there was only one "Him" in the world. In Mary's heart, she supposed everyone knew who "Him" was. Mary supposed everyone should recognize "Him." Mary did not care for anyone but only one "Him." This was Mary's heart.

  In Song of Solomon 1:2, the beginning of the first sentence says, "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth." These were the words of the Shulamite who longed for Solomon. The One Mary's heart longed for was "Him." What she said with her mouth was also "Him." In her heart and mouth there was only "Him." If there was "Him," she had enough. We should have enough to have only "Him" in our heart also. It does not matter if we lack spiritual knowledge. It is enough to have "Him." It is not necessary to have more knowledge; what we need is a heart that is wholly for Him.

  "If you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away." What kind of person was Mary? She was a woman. We do not know whether she was weak or physically strong, but we know that her heart wanted to take Him. She did not consider if her strength was great enough. She did not consider how far the way was. She only considered that she wanted to take Him. Love does not know the meaning of "difficulty." The most wonderful thing in the world is that the presence of love makes everything easy. She did not care for anything. She only wanted to know where others had taken Him. She would then go to take Him. This was Mary's heart.

  Under this circumstance, the Lord had to reveal Himself to her. The Lord could not let her weep anymore. The Lord could not first go to find Peter and John, nor could He go to find the two disciples who were on the way to Emmaus. He also could not go to find Thomas. The Lord had to first fill up a heart that was hungry and thirsty for Him. The Lord had to manifest Himself first to Mary.

  How did the Lord manifest Himself to her? "Jesus said to her, Mary! She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, Rabboni! (which means Teacher)." Have we heard the Lord speak "Mary" with such a voice? At the time of your prayer, in your chamber, if you hear this voice say, "Mary," it will be enough. When the Lord said, "Mary," Mary recognized Him. This was a revelation. Once the Lord speaks, it is enough. When the shepherd calls his sheep, the eyes of his sheep are opened. Once Mary heard the voice of the Lord, she knew that it was not the gardener but the Master. She did not need to weep anymore. Once the Lord reveals Himself to us, there is no need to say anything more. The Lord only said "Mary" once, and she immediately recognized that it was the Lord. Brothers and sisters, do we recognize the voice of the Lord?

  There was one brother who knew of a family with only a mother and her son. Every evening the son rode home on a bicycle. When he was near home, he always whistled. His mother always knew when her son was back. One day this brother was talking to the mother in her home. As he was preparing to leave, she asked him to stay because her son would soon be home. He asked how she knew, and she replied that she had heard the sound of her son's whistling. To other people this sound had no meaning, but to his mother it was especially meaningful. The Lord said, "Mary." Other people may not have felt anything, but Mary recognized this voice. Once she heard it, she recognized that this was the Lord.

  Following this, "Jesus said to her, Do not touch Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brothers and say to them, I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God." In Matthew 28, because the women were worshipping Him, the Lord allowed them to touch Him. Here the Lord did not allow Mary to touch Him. What does this mean? Mary had a strong desire to keep the Lord on the earth. She wanted to catch Him and not let go of Him. But what the Lord received on the earth was nothing more than the crown of thorns, the cross, and the tomb. Now the Lord would ascend to the heavens, to the place of "My Father and your Father, and My God and your God." This is why He said to Mary, "Do not touch Me." Do not keep Him on the earth. The Lord not only resurrected, but He also ascended, becoming the Head of the new mankind and the representative of man. Man had never been in the heavens. By the ascension of the Lord Jesus, the first man went there. Now, those who believe in Him will also go there. Hebrews 2:9-10 says, "But we see Jesus, who was made a little inferior to the angels because of the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor...For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and through whom are all things, in leading many sons into glory." Because of the suffering of death, the Lord received glory and honor, and many sons will also be brought into glory. The Lord has gone. The disciples will go too. After resurrection the disciples were called brothers by the Lord for the first time. In other words, the Lord is the firstborn, and we are the many sons. The Lord resurrected and ascended. His Father is also our Father; His God is also our God. Therefore, the Lord said to Mary, "Go to My brothers and say to them, I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God."

  Now what else did Mary have to say? She had nothing more to say. She had enough. She truly had enough. Therefore, Mary went back. Now she could go back. Brothers and sisters, if you lack this revelation, if you have not seen the Lord and have not heard the word of the Lord, can you blame the Lord? No. You cannot blame the Lord, because you do not have Mary's hunger. Please ask yourselves if you have deeply longed for the Lord. Have you longed for the Son of God from the heart? Do you know that the heart of the Lord will never be touched by your rank or by your reputation? But if you truly long for the Lord, even if but for a short time, His heart will be touched! May God create in you a desire so that you will long after the Son of God and love Him single-heartedly.