Mary's Encounters

John 20:11-18

Lets revisit John 20:1-9 just real quick. Mary Magdalene and Mary; possibly Christ Jesus' Mom went to the tomb where Christ Jesus's body had been placed three days earlier. It was early, still dark when they left for the tomb and when they got there the stone covering the cave was rolled out of the way and Christ Jesus' body was gone. Mary Magdalene was disturbed by what she found and she ran all the way back to the place where Peter and John were hiding out and told them the news. Not sure what to believe the three run back to the tomb, where John (who got there first) pulled up short and Peter ran right on past and into the cave where the body had been laid. What he saw gave him cause to wonder, the grave clothes, including the face cloth was laying in perfect order. It looked as if Christ Jesus had just raised right up through them. They saw all of this and yet they still did not understand what had happened. Well that's not quite right; usually the saying is “seeing is believing, but in this case “not seeing was believing.” Look at verse 8 again, John saw and believed. But when we look at verse 9 we are just not sure what he believed?

When you look at verse 11, our starting point for this morning's sermon you read;

But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping. While she grieved, little did Mary know she would have three encounters that morning at the tomb. 

 John 20:11-18
11 But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb;

12 and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying.

13 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."

14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus.

15 Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, "Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away."

16 Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, "Rabboni!" (which means, Teacher).

17 Jesus said to her, "Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, "I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.'"

18 Mary Magdalene came, announcing to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord," and that He had said these things to her.

So who did Mary encounter first that Sunday morning at the tomb?

1. Mary's Encounter With the Angles (vs. 11-13)

Mary wept as we would over the loss of a dear friend. Nothing had changed for her. We know from Luke 8:2-3 that Mary had been cured of demon possession by our Lord. We also know she helped support the Lord's ministry financially. The death and now the empty tomb was just almost to much for Mary to bear, her grief was at that moment inconsolable. 

Mary and the disciples had walked with Christ Jesus for three and a half years and now not only was He dead, but His body was also missing. I can only imagine the sorrow she must have felt. A feeling of a deserted soul, that had been comforted by the evidences of the love of God in Christ Jesus. And through Him to have the hope of heaven, but all that was now lost, and she walked in darkness and despair. Who could bear such a wounded spirit?

Her grief was so deep she couldn't take her eyes off the empty tomb. Don't we do something similar? We seem to have a hard time taking our eyes off the cross. Now don't get me wrong the cross is important, but Christ Jesus' work did not stop there. You must also look to the empty tomb. 

Once more she stooped and looked in. She may have been hoping that the body had been miraculously returned. There was no body, but she saw an angel at both ends of the place where Christ Jesus had been laid. Notice that Mary was not afraid of the appearance of the angles? What ever the reason was, finding the body of Christ Jesus seem to be the only thing on Mary's mind. Even the sight of these messengers from God did not frighten her or bring her comfort. All she could think about was Christ Jesus' body and where it might be. There in lies the problem, all she could think about was the body of Christ Jesus. 

Some might say, “She was so passionate in her quest for the body of Christ Jesus. How could that be a problem?” Others might say, “She was so sincere in her quest to find the body of Christ Jesus. That has to count for something right?” Here's the thing, it does not matter how passionate you are in your belief or how sincere you are in your belief; if it's wrong, it's wrong. And a belief in anyone or anything other than Christ Jesus is wrong. Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” John 14:6

Like Mary wanting to know where the body of Christ Jesus was it is easy to get distracted. Remember the woman at the well in John 4:19-20. Where do we worship? Or the disciples in Mark 9:38 – he's not one of us. What is keeping you from finding Christ Jesus this morning?

Things aren't always as they seem. Take for instance Billy Tipton. Tipton was a gifted pianist and saxophonist who got his start during the big band era of the 1930s.

According to Time magazine, Billy had a few peculiarities: He refused to give his social security number to his booking agent. His three adopted sons could not recall a time when he went swimming with them. He would never visit a doctor even when suffering from serious illness.

When Tipton died in 1989 at age 78, the family found out why these peculiarities. The funeral director told one of the adopted sons that Billy Tipton was a woman. Tipton had started passing herself off as a man because during the big band era, women were aloud to sing but rarely allowed to play in the band.

Mary's second encounter that morning was not what it seemed.

2. Mary's Encounter With the Gardener (vs. 14-15)

In verse 14 John records that Mary saw Christ Jesus, but she did not know it. She turned around and saw a man standing there. She had no idea who it was and mistook Christ Jesus for the gardener. Many have wondered about this passage. How could she not have recognized Christ Jesus? Well, grief could have kept her from seeing the truth. She had also just experienced deep trauma in finding Christ Jesus' body missing. Her eyes were filled with tears, it was dark, and she was confused. And finally she was not looking for a resurrected Christ Jesus. The idea that she might be talking to the living Christ never occurred to her. She was looking for a body, not the risen Saviour. And so Mary saw Christ Jesus as a stranger, who now also asked about her grief. 

Christ Jesus asked, “Whom are you seeking?”— notice Christ Jesus did not ask what, but “whom?” Thinking that this “stranger” might have been involved in moving Christ Jesus’ body to a permanent grave or at least knowing something about the move, Mary asks if she may have the body to care for it. This was a small way in which she could show her love for her master, and friend. 

Many still mistake Christ Jesus for who He really is. Some call Him a prophet, some call Him a great teacher, some say he was a good man. Still others call Him a flimflam, a con-artist, a flat out liar. I ask you, “Whom are you seeking?” this today?

The third encounter that morning was nothing short of miraculous.

3. Mary's Encounter With the Risen Christ (vs. 16-18)

It was then that Christ Jesus spoke her name—tenderly, but with all the authority of one who has conquered death, “Mary!” (v. 16). “Mary!” This word was no doubt spoken with uncommon emphasis; and the usual sound of Christ Jesus' voice accompanied it, so as immediately to prove that it must be Him. The tenderness of the moment when He said, “Mary” and her recognition of Him caused her to cry out “Rabbi!” meaning “Teacher.” This is probably one of the most emotional highlights in the entire Gospel of John. It is the Shepherd calling one of His sheep, and Mary knows His voice. When she “turned” to Him; she changed directions. It is the movement from grief to joy, the moment when death is replaced with life. 

Mary clung to Christ Jesus, attempting once again to lay hold on to a past association, to grasp Him as He was before the Crucifixion, tabernacled here in flesh, with all its limitations. So Christ Jesus emphatically insisted that Mary could not continue clinging to Him. He warned Mary not to “hold on” to Him, for He had “not yet returned to the Father” (v.17). You must be careful not to cling to an idea or a notion of who Christ Jesus is or what you want Him to be like. In doing this you put limitations on Him. Christ Jesus is God and is without limitations. You must take Him as He is.

In His Resurrection Christ Jesus has not only broken the bonds of sin and death, but also the limitation of space and time and the weaknesses of earthly existence. Because He is God, He is changed. He is once more in His glorified body, and He was returning to His Father. Mary would cling to Christ Jesus when this journey was completed and He was in perfect union with the Father. Through the Spirit, she would then abide in Christ Jesus and “cling” to Him as her permanent place of abiding. We still today “cling” to Christ Jesus with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Mary was now to go to the “brethren,” a new title for the disciples who had become sons and daughters of the Father through Christ Jesus’ death and resurrection (v. 17). When Christ Jesus spoke of “My Father and your Father,” and “My God and your God,” He was defining a whole new standing for believers in the “divine household.” Mary, who was the first to see the Lord, was to be the messenger of His Resurrection and Ascension. Rather than allowing her to cling to Him, the risen Lord sent her on a mission to tell the others what she has seen and heard. 

Conclusion: Like Mary, we who are Christ Followers are sent forth to announce that the body is not in the tomb, for He is with the Father in resurrected glory. For those who are not Christ followers you must decide will you remain lost in a dying world or will you ask the resurrected Christ Jesus to be your Lord and Saviour and have eternal life.