Without the resurrection Christianity is destroyed. “Christianity is in its very essence a resurrection religion” says Dr. John Stott. “The concept of resurrection lies at its heart.” Easter Sunday, we will celebrate what separates Christians from all other religionists, the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. In this update, I want to give you a couple of thoughts I have been thinking about for a while.
Early on Resurrection morning Mary Magdalen and several other women arrived at the tomb. They returned telling Peter and John the body was gone. The men came and saw for themselves. Mary Magdalene then went back to the grave site. The grief, sorrow, and anguish she experienced was deep. In John 20:16, Mary Magdalene is heartbroken wondering where they have taken the body of Jesus. Seeing a man, she thinks it is the gardener and she asks if he has taken the body. He tenderly calls her by name, “Mary,” and she responds with one word, ‘Rabboni’. Can you imagine the euphoria in her soul? The last thing she expected to see was Jesus alive. From the depths of despair to exhilaration with the sound of one word, “Mary.”
In Judaism there were levels of respect for their teachers. ‘Rab’ was the lowest, usually reserved for the younger men. ‘Rabbi’ was the next level. Several times in the ministry of Jesus, He was referred to as ‘Rabbi’. The word Mary uses is ‘Rabboni’. That is the absolute highest term of respect that could be offered. From the passage in the original text, many scholars believe she physically fell at His feet and began to cling to him causing him to say, “Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father…” My whole Christian life I have heard that he did not want her to touch him because of the need to remain ceremonially clean. Reading all the gospel passages concerning the crucifixion and resurrection over and over, Matthew 28:9 seems to have a different slant on that teaching. Only a short time passes from his words to Mary Magdalene, and we see Jesus meeting other women and He allows them to hold Him by the feet and worship Him. So why do I think Mary Magdalene was not allowed to cling to His feet? Possibly because there would be time for clinging and worshipping later, but at that moment she had a job to do. “Go and tell my brethren” (John 20:17).
Let’s go back to Mary’s word ‘Rabboni’. How much respect do you offer to Jesus? I do not mean what you say with your lips, but what you actually have in your heart. Matthew 15:8, “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.” As a church, let’s give Jesus the highest honor. Not lip service only, but life service.