April 06, 2026 | Be Connected
Jesus Rises and Appears to Mary
Scripture: John 20:1-18(NIV)
1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. 2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.
11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
13 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.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
15 He asked her, “Woman, 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.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
18 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.
Devotional
There is a lot of running in today’s scripture reading. When Mary Magdalene gets to the tomb early that morning and discovers the stone has been removed, she runs straight to Peter and John (that other disciple that Jesus loved) to tell them the news. Then Peter starts off first running to the tomb, but that other disciple that Jesus loved outran him (interesting that he felt it important enough to include it in his Gospel account). After all that running, the other disciple bent down to look but did not go in. Peter went straight in (as soon as he trailed along after John). Again, when John mentions himself entering the tomb, he reminds us that he got there first. (John 20:8, NIV)
I think it’s worth mentioning that Mary, a woman, was the first to see the empty tomb, the first to run to tell the news and the first one to whom Jesus appeared after he rose from the dead. She also was the only one who stayed there. We don’t really know if Peter and John left in despair or gave up hope, but we do know that Mary wasn’t going to leave until she got some more information. She was rewarded with two angels seated in the tomb asking her why she was crying (this time her tears were running). Then she turned around and there was Jesus asking her the same question (although she didn’t recognize him just yet). When he said her name, “Mary”—that’s all it took! She recognized the shepherd’s voice!
I hope Peter and John were proud of Mary for sticking around and bringing this earth-shattering news to them; for taking the time to grieve, cry and then see the Master’s face and hear his voice! John was the fastest and Peter was the bravest, but Mary was tenacious! She got to talk to Jesus and be the first to see and know that all they had been told was TRUE!
Another resurrection story was told by Jesus and also included some running. But this time it was the Father who ran in the parable of the Prodigal Son. (Luke 15:24) The father ran with great emotion to embrace his returning son. “For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found. So they began to celebrate.”
God runs to embrace us when we return to him. I pray that we “run” to tell others the good news that Jesus is alive and longs to embrace them too. Let’s celebrate!
