Introduction
• All four gospels focus attention on the resurrection of Jesus from the dead and the impact that had on his disciples. The accounts found in Matthew, Mark and Luke are similar. John, in his signature style, however, gives us a number of details and events that cannot be found in the other gospels. John’s uniqueness completes the story of how Jesus conquered death and focuses on the love and compassion he had for his followers.
• I’m Brent and this is episode 34 of The Bible Unplugged. We continue our series, Easter Unplugged, John’s account of the morning that everything changed.
• Please take a minute to look at the show notes for this episode at PowerLoveandMiracles.com under the Podcast tab.
• While you are there, take a look at my new written devotional series, “In the Presence… 31 Days of Experiencing God in All You Do.”
John is Different
• As we have discussed, John gives us details that none of the other gospels do. John has a common theme throughout most of the gospel: Jesus is the ultimate Passover lamb who takes away the sin of the world. Through his death on the cross, Jesus became the sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin. Through his resurrection from the dead, Jesus gives us a promise of eternal life.
• The resurrection shows a major shift in Jesus’ purpose. When Jesus emerged from the tomb on that life changing Sunday morning, he had a new mission: help his followers with their grief and encourage them to carry the gospel to the rest of the world.
Resurrection narrative
• John gives us details in his account of the resurrection that differ from the other gospels. These details carry deep theological and symbolic meanings. We will focus on several of these meaningful details in this and the next few episodes.
• The first theme we see in John’s resurrection account is his interaction with Mary Magdalene.
Who was Mary Magdalene
• Mary was a prominent figure in the gospels; she is mentioned more times than any other woman and more times than many of the disciples.
• We find details about her Mary’s life in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 8, tells us that Mary was from the town of Magdala on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. “Magdalene” isn’t her last name, it denotes where she was from.
• Luke also says that Jesus cast out seven demons from Mary.
• There are some common misconceptions about Mary
• Scripture does not say she was a prostitute. That belief came from Pope Gregory the first in the sixth century who combined Mary with the unnamed “sinful woman” in Luke chapter 7
• She is also confused with Mary of Bethany, the sister of Lazarus who anointed Jesus’ feet with her hair. Conflating the accounts of a woman anointing Jesus from the several gospels can be confusing.
• After that, Mary joined a group of women who financially supported Jesus and traveled with Him. Mary was at the crucifixion and stayed there even after most of his followers left.
• According to John’s account, Mary was the only one to go to the tomb and was the first person to see the risen Jesus.
• Let’s take a look at what this means.
Mary represents the Gospel message
• The Gospel of John, chapter 20, is where we find the resurrection account.
• According to John, Mary went to the tomb before dawn on the first day of the week. Mary’s grief was deep and she likely could not sleep because of it.
• When she saw the stone rolled away from the tomb. Thinking that someone took Jesus’ body, she ran to the disciples and told them.
• After the disciples went to look at the tomb, Mary stayed at the tomb. She saw Jesus standing next to her but did not recognize him.
• Jesus asked her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?” Mary thought that Jesus was the gardener and asked if he had taken Jesus away.
• The most compassionate and meaningful single word ever uttered in this story is: “Mary.” Jesus called her by name. She immediately knew it was him. She uttered one word that shows the depth of her devotion to him: “Rabboni,” which is Aramaic for, “My great master.” Translating this word “teacher” doesn’t do it justice.
• We can infer from Jesus’ next words that Mary fell into his arms and held on to him. Can you imagine the raging mix of emotions she felt?
Jesus responds to Mary
• What Jesus says to Mary has been misunderstood and underestimated. Jesus said, “Don’t hold me for I have not yet ascended to my Father.”
• The common interpretation is that Jesus did not want Mary to touch him, but that isn’t what the text tells us.
• The Greek word translated “hold” literally means, “Don’t cling to me.” Mary held on to Jesus but also held on to her belief that Jesus came back to her in the way he did before his crucifixion. Jesus had a completely different purpose now.
• Jesus then said, “go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” Jesus considered the disciples his brothers now. What we easily miss, though, is Jesus commissioned Mary to be the one to tell them that he had risen from the dead.
What does this mean
• The account of Jesus and Mary Magdalene after the resurrection shows some of the deepest and most meaningful themes of the gospel story.
• In Genesis chapter 2, a woman, Eve, is the first to encounter the serpent. That led to death becoming a human reality. Mary is the first to encounter the risen Jesus and then spread the good news of eternal life. John presents this as a new creation narrative.
• Mary represents devoted love and discipleship. Unlike the disciples, Mary stayed at the tomb, she wept for Jesus, she looked for him when she believed he was still dead.
• Most significantly, Mary did not recognize Jesus when she saw him. When he called out her name, she knew. We refer back to the Gospel of John, chapter 10, where Jesus, referring to himself as the good shepherd says, “He calls his own sheep by name, and lead them out.”
• Jesus commissioned Mary, a woman, to be the first to spread the good news of Jesus conquering death. In this way, Mary became the first apostle to the apostles.
• Mary’s account is one of the most emotionally intense scenes in all of the gospels. We find a dramatic spiritual journey for Mary: grief, seeking, encounter, recognition, release, mission. Each of these is a story of transformation.
What do we learn from this
• God knows our feelings, our frailties, and our needs. Jesus responded to Mary in a compassionate way. He helped her through her grief process until she was ready to reach beyond her pain and tell the disciples Jesus had risen from the dead.
• We find in a few brief verses the story of transformation from overwhelming pain to ecstatic victory. We may not change as quickly as Mary, but God helps us grown beyond our pain and grief.
What do we do with this?
• When you read stories in the Bible, take time to study the background and look for deeper meanings. Doing so can help you grow in your spiritual life. As you read a story, imagine you are one of the characters in it. How would you feel and think? What would you have done?
• We all face grief and loss in life. When we do, or when we help someone else who is struggling, look to this story for how Jesus helped Mary through the process. Compassion and understanding go a long way to help others in their grief.
The conclusion
• And the music in the background means my time is up for this episode, but I’ll be back with a lot more later.
• I hope this has been helpful. If so, give this podcast a high rating and share it with others.
• In the next episode we will continue our focus on the resurrection account and look at some deeper meanings that we may easily miss.
• My prayer for you is that you will celebrate the gift of eternal life that God has provided you and share that gift with others who are suffering grief and pain.
• Have a blessed week.
The disclaimers
• Just to let you know
• All opinions are my own. If you agree, keep listening. If you don’t… keep listening, I might surprise you with something you didn’t know.
• All Bible quotations come from the World English Bible which is a public domain work.
• Our show theme song is “Awesome Call” by Kevin MacLeod and is available under a Creative Commons license.
• The content of this podcast is copyrighted 2025 by J. Brent Eaton
• This has been a Power Love and Miracles production.
Share this post