Good News - March 2021

MARKED BY THE WORD 34 MARCH 2021 www.goodnewsfl.org Good News • South Florida Edition Jesus turns to face the door of the tomb. The open door beckons him to go forth into a new world. He goes forth to redeem all that was lost byAdam. He goes forth, having conquered death and sin! This very moment he will conquer the grave! Later that morning, Jesus is standing near the tomb; he is unseen, watch- ▪ ing. Then Jesus sees her. He sees her there in front of the tomb — it is Mary Magdalene. She is weeping. Alone before the tomb. He comes up behind her. Just as we love to surprise our family and friends when they are not expecting to see us after a long journey, so Jesus comes up behind Mary, who is sobbing in her grief. What will he call her? He knows his Father has chosen her to represent his bridal people. So he uses the name Adam first used to name his bride. He speaks. “Woman, why are you weeping?” Mary is looking into the tomb and weeping when she hears the voice ▪ behind her. She mistakes him for the gardener. But in truth, she makes no mistake. This Gardener has restored the garden to us all. He is the new and greater Adam. He has taken away the sin and death brought by the first Adam. Now he is about to restore the fellowship of God and mankind in the garden — all that was lost in the beginning. So he calls her a second time, “Mary!” At his voice, as he calls her by name, she recognizes Jesus. Her tears are suddenly wiped away. Her sorrow is gone. Joy floods her soul, a joy that can never be taken away. It is just as John promises to all of us in the new world to come, on that day God himself will wipe away all our tears (Revelation 21:4). Jesus will spend his great Day, the greatest day in the history of the world, not in displaying his triumph over his enemies, but finding company with his friends. He will not present himself to Caiaphas and Herod. He will not parade before Pilate and the Sanhedrin. He will spend the morning consoling Mary Mag- dalene, showing how he has redeemed the woman and restored the fellowship of man with God in the garden. He will spend the afternoon encouraging two bro- ken hearted disciples from Emmaus, walking alongside them. In the cool of the day. And he will meet the eleven disciples later that night, to encourage them even as a new day begins. His light, they will learn, will soon scatter away the shadows of every darkness. It is a new day. It is a new beginning. Solomon had said there is nothing new under the heavens. But today, this day, Jesus has made all things new. Dr. WarrenA. Gage , Th.M., J.D., Ph.D. is president of TheAlexandrian Form, which provides life-changing Biblical teaching. © 2021 The Alexandrian Forum …(Continued from pg. 32)