First Witness to The Resurrection - An Easter Story Part 2

Read the transcript below video...


Mary from Magdala, along with a number of other women, had been there at the cross when Jesus was crucified.  They saw Him hanging there.  They were there when He breathed His last, and when a Roman soldier stabbed Jesus’ body with a spear to make sure He was dead.

They were there as Jesus body was lifted down from the cross.


  • I can imagine these women weeping over the body of their Lord; the One they saw as God’s Messiah, God’s Special Chosen One. Can you?
  • Can you imagine the anguish of losing someone they had put so much faith in; someone they had followed for the last few years?

Mary Magdalene, and others, were there when Jesus’ body was wrapped in strips of cloth, carried to a tomb and laid there in the cold, stone grave.  They watched as a large, heavy rock was rolled in front of the tomb’s entrance.

Mary Magdalene had been there for all this. 

  • How hopeless did things look now?
  • Have you ever wondered what that must have been like for these women?

This group of women wanted to bring spices to the tomb as part of their burial custom.  Mary and the others went home to prepare the spices, though this custom would have to wait, since the Sabbath, the Jewish day of rest, was approaching.

The day after the Sabbath, as the sun was rising on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene with the rest of these women, brought the spices to the tomb.

As the women approached the gravesite, they started questioning who could help them move the massive stone away from the entrance of the tomb.

But when they arrived they saw that the rock had already been removed, and they were welcomed by angelic messengers from Heaven.  The angels told them not to be scared, that Jesus’ body wasn’t there, and that Jesus was no longer dead.  He had been raised back to life. 

“Jesus has risen!  He’s alive,” they said.

In the tomb, the women saw that Jesus’ body was missing, though the strips of cloth His body had been wrapped in were still lying there.

One of the angels told the women to go and tell Jesus’ 11 disciples that Jesus is alive, and so they rushed back to the city and told these close followers of Jesus everything that had happened and what the angels said.

But, the disciples didn’t believe what they were hearing.  Though Peter and John decided to see for themselves and so they raced to the tomb.  Mary Magdalene followed Peter and John back to the gravesite.

Finding the tomb empty and seeing the grave clothes lying by themselves, Peter left the tomb wondering to himself what it all meant.

John also when into the tomb and saw the strips of cloth, but no sign of the body.  This was enough for John to get his hopes up and start to believe that Jesus really was alive again.

After Peter and John had left, Mary Magdalene stood there outside the tomb, still trying to make sense of it all. 

She had seen Jesus die and be buried.  How could He be alive again?

Mary was so emotionally overcome, that she started to weep.

As she looked through the tears into the tomb she again saw two angels sitting where Jesus’ body had been.  “Why are you crying,” they asked her.

“Because they’ve taken away my Lord and I don’t know where they’ve put Him,” Mary responded.


As she started to turn around, with tears in her eyes she noticed a man standing there.  He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?  Who are you looking for?”

Mary thought this Man was the gardener, so she said, “Sir, if you have carried his body away, please tell me where you have laid Him so I can go and get Him.”

“Mary,” the Man said.  Recognising His voice, Mary turned to face the Man and realized He was Jesus; Alive!

“Teacher!”  she cried out.  Overcome, she embraced Jesus.

After a moment, Jesus said, “Don’t keep clinging to Me, Mary, for I haven’t yet ascended to God, my Father. And He’s not only My Father and God, but now He’s your Father and your God!

“Now go find My brothers and tell them what I’ve told you, that I am ascending to My Father—and your Father, to My God—and your God!”

So Mary Magdalene went to Jesus’ disciples and said to them, “I have seen the risen Lord,” and she told them what Jesus had said.
(Matthew 27:55-28:10; Mark 15:40-16:11; Luke 23:49-24:11; John 19:31-20:18)

Over the next 40 days, Jesus appeared to His followers many times and in various places.  He walked with them, ate with them, let them touch Him, and even let them touch His nail and spear wounds.  He appeared to over 500 at one of these times.  Jesus gave them more than enough reasons to know that He really was alive again (1Corinthians 15:6; Acts 1:3).

In a place and time when the word of a woman was not trusted as a reliable witness, Jesus chose a woman as the very first witness to His resurrection.

Most of His followers struggled to believe at first, but as Jesus continued to spend time with them, they became convinced that He has Risen.  Jesus is alive.

  • What’s something that stands out to you from this story?
  • What do you find encouraging or challenging?
  • What does it mean to you that Jesus overcame death, and offers new life?
  • What is your response to Jesus’ life, death and resurrection?

We’d love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to connect through the comments below, or send me a direct message or email if you like.

If you have found this story helpful in some way, then I encourage you to share it with someone else and talk together about what it means to you.

If you haven't already, you may also want to subscribe if you’d like to hear more stories like this in future.

Thank you and Happy Easter.

Blessings,
Mike Smith

P.S. You can watch the video Mike sharing this story on Facebook or Youtube.

0 Comments