The glorious appearance of Christ Jesus to Mary Magdalene in the Gospel of John is the consummate show stealer. All else pales in the glimpse of His beautiful face, rinsed of blood and flushed with fresh life.
She’s sobbing. The hole that the loss of Jesus would cause in a life would be unlike any other. Incomparable. A canyon carved out of granite earth. A bottomless pit. A soul’s abyss. His words, “I’ll never leave you nor forsake you” in Hebrews 13:5 relieve us of the most horrific prospect in the human experience: the loss of Jesus. But the woman in this scene got to feel it and, in this terrifying state, nothing of value – no one of value – was recognizable to her.
Deeply moved, He puts His loved one out of her misery.
“Mary,” He says.
“Rabboni!”
And she grabs onto Him for dear life until He has to peel her off His Person to send her forth with the news that changes everything.
But right there in the very first verse is a piece of information that captures my imagination over and over.
“Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.” (John 20:1)
Look at it one more time. How early?
“While it was still dark.”
Really, does it get any earlier than while it is still dark? And He was already up. Already alive. Already raised.
“While it was still dark” was too late to catch Christ in the tomb. She’d overslept the divine alarm.
Doesn’t it touch you that the Father did not wait till dawn? For Scripture to be perfectly and vividly fulfilled, Christ had to be raised on the third day. Isn’t there treasure in the realization that the One and only Father of this One and only Son did not even wait until the sun peeked over the horizon? If it was still dark when Mary found the tomb empty, what unthinkable time must God have raised Him from the dead?
I don’t know. Call me sentimental but I wonder if the Father, patient and long-suffering through the ages, that one particular hour could not bring Himself to wait another minute. After all, He’d been up all night – Blessed and Wide-Eyed Insomniac – while those who could sleep slept. And He’d waited. And waited. And waited. We earthlings have few greater challenges than waiting. Wouldn’t you say? And, as people of faith, our longest waiting can be, in particular, waiting upon the Lord. As one of my mentors used to say, “God is never late but He misses a few good opportunities to be early.”
Except, notably, on this particular Sunday morning.
Well, I wonder if perhaps that late Saturday night, God Himself grew anxious waiting upon the Lord. And maybe He watched the clock just long enough for the hour to qualify as morning. And way before dawn, when it was pitch black outside, when the earth seemed without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep, God spoke. Maybe something close to this…
“Arise, my Son. My one and only Son, Whom I Love. In whom I am well pleased. up with You! Rise!”
“While it was still dark outside.”
And God said “Let there be Light.”
And there was.
“The light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God…for God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:4b,6)
This morning when I got up to publish this post for you, it was like pitch outside and so very still and the full moon shown like it was proud of itself. And it made me think. Only the moon was up that morning when God brought up the Son.
“They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign for ever and ever.” (Revelation 22:5)
Happy, happy Resurrection Sunday, my beloved Sisters! There is no day on our calendar like this day. It was without competition, the Father’s best day. As 365 days fly by on the annual calendar, this one is His favorite. Dance it away from dawn till dusk. Worship Him, study Him, seek Him, feast before Him, laugh before Him, hug the people you love before Him, kiss and cuddle those babies before Him, eat dessert before Him, hide eggs before Him, LIVE this whole day before Him. In Him, Through Him. With Him. Dance in the crowd of angels toasting. All emptiness is swallowed whole. He is our fullness. Celebrate this Day! He won it for you. Live it with all the life you have! Give those who know you but do not know Christ a glimpse of abundance alive and spinning in human flesh. Have a festival of praise. Death has lost its sting!
Pat that yawn away. Wash the sleep from your eyes. For no matter how early you got out of bed this morning, one thing is certain.
He was already up.
Beautifully said.
Love you mama beth 🙂
xoxo
ang
“Let no one caught in sin remain*
Inside the lie of inward shame
We fix our eyes upon the cross
And run to him who showed great love
And bled for us
Freely you bled, for us
Christ is risen from the dead
Trampling over death by death
Come awake, come awake!
Come and rise up from the grave!”
Have a glorious day in Christ Jesus dear teacher!
Hallelujah He is Risen!!!!
Thank you Beth for your timely post. I am up early this resurrection morning. I decided last night that I wanted to go to our sunrise service. I went to bed somewhat early with the hopes of getting about 7 hours of sleep. Well God decided it best that I get up after 5! Good thing too because I’m bringing the deviled eggs (just seems wrong to call them that on this blessed special day!) so anyway, I’m boiling eggs and going to sit before the Lord and have a few moments with Him before the “day” begins. Your post has me thinking….much to process with God this morning.
Happy Easter my sweet Siesta Mama and sisters!
HE IS RISEN!! Nothing else to say.
He is risen, indeed!
“..There is no power that came overcome your love, lthe cross was enough the cross was enough..” Passion 2012. This says it all!! Thank you Father for giving your Son Jesus to atoin for my sins. We love you and give You ALL the glory. Have a blessed Easter Sunday Beth, your family, and all my beloved Siestas!!
I love this, Beth. Thank you for this beautiful peek into your early morning Resurrection Day thoughts! Makes me want to get up and dance! Celebrate! He’s Alive! 🙂
Good morning, Beth. A beautiful post for another early riser! Happy Resurrection Sunday….He is risen indeed. XOXO
Blessings to you not just for today, but always.
Sabrina
Happy, happy Resurrection Day from Germany, where we praised and sang while even you were still sleeping!We’ve loved praying for the US as the sun rose over y’all.
Thank you so much, Beth, for your words earlier this week about jump-starts…meant so much I wasn’t even able to comment before now.
Wendy,
Thanks for praying the US into the day! I saw a beautiful moon LATE last night and wondered who else was looking at it and marveling about God. Maybe it was you and the other siestas on the blog!
Happy Easter,
Kim Feth
Apex, NC
Kim,
Knowing that we’re all looking at the same moon makes it much easier to be a continent away from family and you sweet Siestas. Blessings!
What a wonderful way to start out the day! He, indeed, was up before me today! However, I dearly needed this reminder! Thank you so much and may you have a very blessed Resurrection Sunday
I love picturing the Father so excited He just could not wait!! He is Risen!
Thank you Beth…beautifully written. Today is an amazing day…one we should live to the fullest. I look forward to all it will hold.
All Glory to His Holy Name!! Jesus- we thank you!!
Happy Resurrection Day to you and your precious family! What a beautiful post!! My heart was pounding with excitement as I read this! Glorious!!
May His sweet presence be found all around you today!
He is risen indeed 🙂
Love you Siesta Mama!
PS-you probably didn’t know but u have 5 more Siesta grand kids 😉
My little guy(5) heard me mention that I had met you and asked,”You met my grandma?!” Made me smile 🙂
AWESOME THANKS FOR THAT THOUGHT OF WHILE IT WAS STILL DARK HE ROSE!!!!
Amen! Celebrate! Let there be Light!!!
AMEN and THANK YOU for these pertinent,thoughtful words! Thinking and praying for you all down there in Houston, especially at BCF….Easter blessings to each!
Amen!
SOOOO GOOD! Thank you for this beautiful truth.
Thank you Beth and Melissa for your insightful thoughts on the death and resurrection. I find it a very powerful exercise to put myself in the mindset of what was actually happening in those days, rather than resting in the “peace” of hindsight. This particular Easter it is easy to imagine the grief and despair that overtook the disciples, as our little community is still reeling from the tragic death of a 16 year old boy 3 weeks ago. He was a vital part of our church and school; an excellent athlete and scholar; one of my daughter’s best friends. I’ve never experienced such a communal outpouring of grief. I keep thinking about Lazarus and Jesus being raised from the dead and can begin to imagine how incredibly joyous an occasion that would be. To know that Jesus literally conquered death is unbelievably important at times like these. Thank you for bringing these doctrinal truths to “life”.
Katie,
We had a similar situation in our town last Spring where we lost three young boys in one car accident and almost lost another. It is a difficult season to walk through and frequently made me stop and wonder how anyone can walk this life without God. Stay on your knees in prayer and love each other is the only advice I know to give.
Will lift up your community.
Peace,
Kim Feth
Apex, NC
Thank you Kim! I so appreciate your encouragement and prayers.
No lie, I woke up today while it was still dark and that exact passage came to mind. I pondered –Pre coffee which is miraculous — that He arose before dawn. Glorious day!
Love your post. Easter blessing! We are driving to praise the risen Lord!
Oh, Beth! What triumph! This IS the message of joy. From Fyriday to today seemed so long without the Lord! While it was still dark. I never picked up on that in all the times I read this beautiful passage. That moon this morning was amazing! The same moon that shone on King David in the fields with his flocks and later with the armies… Happiest of Easters, honey!
Beth, I can’t believe I was thinking similar thoughts when I woke up this morning in the darkness (although not as eloquently as you). I thought of the women visiting the tomb to find Jesus already gone–and I have never thought of that before. I have always thought of Jesus arising with the sun, but He was gone by then! So then I wondered like you–when did God raise Him? I love your thought that God couldn’t wait one moment longer to raise up His precious Son!
May your Easter be blessed with worship and wonderful times with your family Wishing all the siestas a special Easter as we celebrate Jesus.
Happy Easter He Is Risen
Beautifully written post loved it I am going to read it again when I get home it spoke to me we serve a Risen Lord
Loved the ending as well
Thank you for posting for us today
Love you may you all have a blessed day
Carol
Amen. Amen. Amen.
Praise You, Jesus!!
Happy Resurrection Day, y’all!
Amen! He is Risen! Praise Jehovah!
Beth, your thoughts on this holy and joy-filled day have blessed me this morning and I look forward to dancing through this day in praise filled wonder, may He help me rise above earthly cares and only focus on Him and His Goodness and Life!
Have a blessed Easter yourself!! Kelly
Thank You for posting before the dawn.
Christ arose before we did on that Easter morning so we wouldn’t have to wait for Him!
Often when we are waiting for a sign from God we think He is not there but He is waiting for us.
Waiting for us maybe to come to Him, mature, understand or just be ready to accept what He has for us. He is always there waiting for us.
I love that!
Reading comments on the blog of women who have memorized James, my heart was stirred. I recalled that James speaks a lot to taming the tongue, an area in which I so need to grow!
So I read the book and thought, ‘how helpful these verses would be to me on a daily basis, if i knew them.’ I need your prayer. Please toss even a quick one up for me!
Not only do I need a bridle on my tongue, but I need a ‘resurrection’ of heart.
But I’m afraid. Terrified of another ‘you think these words are life but refuse to come to me to have life’ experience. Afraid it will be just another mental exercise that leaves my heart behind. Terrified of failure. Afraid of what others will think, if they find out. Afraid it won’t ‘work’. And even afraid of pride.
I used to memorize scripture but gave it up years ago for these reasons. I really need the Lord to work a miracle. I’m trying to ‘do it scared.’ I hear that’s courage, oh how I need it. Please pray for me.
Beth,
Thank you for such a beautifuly written piece. “While it was still dark” I love it! And “He will never leave us nor forsake us” He is with us no matter where we are, who we are with, or what our situation. Powerful! Happy Easter!
I just blogged this exact passage. It is my favorite of the entire Bible. When I opened my eyes this morning…my first thought was…would He have already been OUT.
Mary….that must have been the sweetest sound ever..
How awesome that I was thinking these very thoughts.
God is good. Words cannot express….
Thank You Beth for words put so beautifully. This is a day like no other our Christ hung on that cross for sins I committed and he looked at me with loving eyes, OH What A Saviour!!!! But HE AROSE and is living within me!!! Thank You Lord Jesus! I was reading my devotional yesterday in Streams in the Desert and it was talking about God speaking to the heart in the quiet or “still”, this morning I closed my eyes and pictured myself in the lap of Jesus with his arms wrapped around me, as a Mother holds a child, and I looked in the distance and I pictured God on his throne looking down smiling, there is no greater comfort in knowing that I am his CHILD!! Be Still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10
AMEN, Dear Sister in Christ!!! Blessings to you and yours
What a beautiful reminder! We definitely have reason to celebrate!
Sweet Siesta Mama: Happy Resurrection Day to you and yours! I’ve been waiting on my Father such a long time for the answer to one particular prayer. The waiting just seems like it will never end. But your post reminded me HOW THANKFUL I am to not be waiting alone. Because of this day, I can rejoice that my precious Jesus will NEVER leave me or forsake me.
For all of my other sweet siestas out there who are waiting as well, here is a love note from your God: “Let the beloved of the Lord rest secure in Him, for He shields him (or her (-:) all the day long, and the one the Lord loves rests between His shoulders” (Deut. 33:12).
Our pastor shared a statement that I had never thought of this morning. “The stone was rolled away not so Jesus could get out but so Mary could get in”. Wow! Amen
Happy Easter
glorious day!!!!
your post reminds me of when my children were very young. when they would misbehave, we would put them in “time out” as punishment for the transgression. they would sit, squirm, twist and ask, over and over, “can i get up now?” “now?” “has it been long enough now?” and the truth of the matter was that i hated to keep them there any longer than necessary. oh the jubilation when we finally said, “now you may get up.” i am sure that this pales in comparison to the picture between God the Father and His son, Jesus. but it gives my earthly eyes a glimpse into the spiritual realm.
then my eyes turn to my one son. my precious son. could i, would i have sacrificed him for such a worm as i? no. how deep the Father’s love for me….had i been the only sinner He would have given up glory, walked among men, hung on a cross and died. just for me. my feeble brain can not comprehend that.
He is risen, He is risen, indeed!! oh, glorious day!!
“While it was still dark” – one little phrase that adds a whole new dimension to this glorious account! How deep & rich is the Word of God!
It is also good encouragement to rise in the morning to meet with Him while it is still dark. He is making what was dead alive in those early, quiet hours. Thanks for sharing!
I ended up reading the account of Christ’s resurrection from the dead from the book of John this morning to my sixth grade girls class. We talked about Mary Magdalene also. It is such a comforting promise that He will never leave us nor forsake us.
What beautiful thoughts this Easter morning! Thank you for your gift of love and sharing what our Lord puts on your heart. It is always such a blessing. I hope that you have a wonderful day with your family and are surrounded by reminders of our risen savior’s live all day!!
Beautiful thoughts! Jesus up before it is light. I’m picturing God being so eager to raise his Son. Love your fresh perspective!
Oh Beth, amen and amen to that last paragraph. My heart has been dancing before the Lord since Friday. The Spirit has shouted into my heart HE LIVES and my feet want to move and dance. Oh I love Resurrection Day, also, and all that it means for every Christian. How grateful I am that Victory is ours, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Love you, sweet sister.
Beth, Thanks for sharing this beautiful rendering of perspective on this particular moment after His resurrection. I will treasure it even more now!!
Have a blessed Easter dearest Siesta Mama and all you sweet Siesta sisters!
My sweet Beth, What precious words and I find myself again on this Easter Sunday crying out of sheer joy and the knowledge that I am loved by the God of the Universe! I have already had such a full day and it is not over. I am savoring every moment of it. I woke this morning with the knowledge that I have everything I could possibly need with my sweet Jesus and His unimaginable salvation and then He just piles it on with the blessings of health and family and friends and church and the Easter bunny and one very joyous pup who thinks every bunny is his and the prospect of a house with more people living in it and the knowledge that no plan comes but ordained by the Lord and…. Happy Easter! He is risen; He is risen indeed! I love you, Lynda
Happy Easter Siesta Mama and beloved Siesta’s!
Recently I started attending the church in downtown Mpls where John Piper is Pastor. To say that I have been blessed would be an understatement. I attended the Easter service and He also preached out of the gospel of John. One of the things he spoke of was how Jesus can reach every layer of us. Where no one else can go. He also spoke of the tender way Jesus tends to us when we are afraid. As he was speaking it was like I was experiencing Jesus that way, in a fresh new way in my heart. I felt like the love of Jesus was pouring into me in such a beautiful way. I feel like I am expressing it so poorly but let me say it is ressurection morning and I am changed! Hallelujah! He is risen! He is risen indeed!!!
AWESOME!!
I read this at 5:45 this morning as I was getting up for work. I am a brand new baby nurse working in a busy neonatal intensive care unit and I am assigned to a brand new
27 week’s gestation baby and a heart baby in a crowded unit. Today I desperately needed
to be reminded that Jesus was already up. Thank you.
Beautifully written! What a glorious day it is!
Thank You. What a great day.
Love this!
Oh glory be to God….just when I think that Easter morning could not be any more glorious, this aspect of the beautiful story makes it so! Every year, I venture out in the dark to hang our HE IS RISEN banner, so that no matter how early on Easter morning our neighbors ( or the paper boy ) pass by, they will know. You’ve added such a deeper, more joyous meaning to my little ritual. Xoxo
Amen. And thanks for posting.
Peace,
Kim Feth
Apex, NC
Happy Easter to you and yours
Beautifully written thank you for sharing with us on this beautiful day.
I love what you said at the end of your post thank you again.
Happy Easter
He is RISEN
PRAISE GOD
carol