Faith In Fiction | That First Easter
Helpless, I had watched as a crown of thorns was placed on his head. So much blood trickled down his face that I had to turn my head away. The shouts to crucify him, the mocking, the crown of thorns, the beating, why? I still hear the echo of nails pounded into his hands and feet. Pound, pound, pound! For hours now, he has hung on that cross, the sign above his head mocking him, ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.’
Here in Golgotha, I continue to stand, watching our Lord suffer a slow, agonizing death. His dear mother, Mary, as well as Clopas’ wife, Mary, are weeping next to me as John stands quietly beside us. My eyes feel like they’re on fire from all of the tears that I’ve shed today. Although it is midday, the skies have been dark for the past three hours. Some soldiers claim that it’s an eclipse but surely, God has removed the light of day to show his wrath. Suddenly, we hear a piercing shout,
“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’” Matthew 27:46
Hearing that, those of us who love him, begin to sob loudly, for him and for ourselves. As he gazes down at us, we sense his great gentleness and compassion when he petitions John to care for Mary as if she were his own mother,
“When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother!’” John 19:26-27a
It is finished! His mother and I watch as his broken body is wrapped, laid in a tomb and a huge rock is rolled in front of the burial place. It is against Jewish law for us to prepare him for burial until the Passover Sabbath ends so we will return later.
While it is still dark, after the Sabbath is over, James’ mother, Salome and I carry jars of burial spices, walking briskly to the gravesite to anoint his body. As we walk, we wonder among ourselves, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” (Mark 16:3b). As soon as the tomb is in view, I am relieved that the rock no longer blocks the tomb entrance. But entering the tomb, we are confused that Jesus’ body is not here. Leaving the other women behind, I run back to Peter and John telling them, with tears between the words, that someone has removed the Lord from the tomb and we have no idea where they’ve laid him. Peter and John sprint out the door in a flash and I follow behind them.
When I arrive back at the tomb, I see Peter and John leaving, as confused as I am about its emptiness. I stand here alone sobbing, consumed by grief and uncertainty. Bending over to look into the tomb, there are two men in white (angels) seated where Jesus’ body had been laid, one at the head and the other at the foot. When they ask why I’m crying, my voice crackles as I speak,
“They have taken my Lord away and I don’t know where they have put him.” John 20:13b
Turning around, I notice the gardener standing nearby; he too questions why I am weeping. I assume he moved the body so I plead with him to tell me where he has put it so I can go get it myself, but it is not the gardener after all, it is the Lord himself,
“Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ She turned and said to him in Aramaic, ‘Rabboni!’ (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, ‘Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”’ Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’—and that he had said these things to her.” John 20:15-18
An hour ago, everything felt lost since I thought Jesus was dead. But now everything is gained because Jesus is alive and standing next to me. I cannot contain my joy as I race back and excitedly tell the disciples of this miracle, that I have seen the Lord. He has risen from the dead! JESUS LIVES!
Early on that Sunday morning two thousand years ago, Jesus defied laws of science and reason, as well as laws of nature, going from mortal death to resurrection, proving he is Lord over life and death. He alone offers hope for today and everlasting life for tomorrow. Mary Magdalene witnessed this first; but every year on Easter Sunday, believers around the world celebrate his resurrection and the victory that it gives his followers today.
