A New Day has Dawned!
Reflective Reading: John 20: 1-16
Have you ever considered why Mary Magdalene was the first to enter the tomb after Jesus’s resurrection? Early in the morning she approaches the tomb; she stoops as she enters and weeps. There she sees two angels, one at the foot of where the body had lain, and the other at the head.
The mercy seat in the OT also had two angels, but these were made of gold; one on the left and the other on the right. The priest, the only one allowed to enter the Holy of Holies, sprinkled blood upon the mercy seat. Even he entered with fear and trepidation, because if he did not follow the specific requirements laid out by God, he could die. They may not have realized it at the time, but they were enacting one of the most important scenes yet to occur in human history.
And who would have thought that the first to enter the holiest of holies in the NT would be, not a righteous ceremonial cleansed priest, but a woman who previously was dirty, unclean, and whorish. God used Mary Magdalene to demonstrate to all the new requirements to enter the presence of God. To have Mary be the first to enter this holy site and to be the first to greet and see the Lord would have been so completely opposite to the Jewish mind. Jesus’ life, death, burial, and resurrection turned the world upside down in every way.
This once-defiled woman is now stooping in a posture of humility and worship in the Holy of Holies, replacing the privileged priest. There she is with the two angels, one on the right, the other on the left, and the blood stained clothes of Christ left behind in the center.
A new day has dawned! True holiness would no longer be demonstrated by external washings and decorated clothing. True holiness would now be demonstrated by a woman who is weeping because of her love, stooping because of her reverence, and longing because of her desire to find her Lord, dead or alive.
“And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, just as he said” (Matthew 28:5-6a).
Sincerely,
Mark Hamby
M.S., M. Div., Th. M., D. Min.
