Easter Morning

John 20: 10 – 18 (NIV): Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?" "They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him." At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. "Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?" Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him." Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher). Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' " Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her.

The most wonderful moment in history had just occurred, but Mary Magdalene just couldn't get her mind around it. She didn't understand that Jesus had just conquered death. In her wildest dreams she never imagined Jesus would come back from the dead. She had seen how brutally he was beaten. She had seen how much blood he lost. She had witnessed him die in agony on the cross. She had seen him wrapped in a cloth and sealed in a tomb. She was merely trying to pay her respects to a dead man and couldn't fathom that he had come back to life.
That's why when she saw Jesus, she thought he must have been the gardener. She thought perhaps he had moved Jesus' body and she simply wanted to know where. She was not expecting something so incredible, so unbelievable, so wonderful. But what God has in store for us is beyond our wildest dreams. We cannot fathom his glory or the wonder of heaven. It is going to surprise us no matter how much we think about it.
It's just too far-fetched to believe a man actually came back from the dead. But then something happened. He called her by name. Then she knew. Then all doubt, all fear went away. I could never believe Jesus really rose again except for one thing: he called me by name. I've never gotten over that. I've never been the same. That was 43 years ago, but I'm not even close to over it. When we encounter the risen Christ, it changes everything. Call me a fool for believing if you wish, but I know what happened. I know I met the Christ and he changed me forever. When Jesus calls your name, say yes and experience a power, a peace, and a hope that is beyond your imagination.