It’s amazing in the ancient world that women would play such important roles in the story of God’s redemption. One such woman was Mary of Magdala or as we know her, Mary Magdalene. In Dan Brown’s fictional novel, The DaVinci Code, many people have come to know her as the wife of Jesus and the mother of his child. We noted that Brown’s basis for this information is the Gnostic Gospel of Phillip, a false writing that appeared some 100 years after the New Testament gospels.

The longest Scripture passage in which Mary of Magdala is featured and plays her most important role is found in John 20:10-18. Dan Brown claims that Mary’s most important role was being married to Jesus. The Bible claims that Mary’s most important role was to be the first eye witness that Jesus was alive. Some may argue, “Well, of course, Jesus would appear first to Mary—after all she was his wife!” If that be the case two things to consider: 1. Isn’t it odd that Mary thinking her husband is dead and in the shock of surprise would respond by calling him “teacher?” 2. The DaVinci Code purports that the disciples drove Mary and her child to France because they got in the way of them making Jesus out to be something far bigger and greater than he really was. If that were the case, then why would they have made Mary Magdalene the first person to see Jesus after His resurrection? Why put the person you despise so greatly and want to discredit the most in a position of such great honor?

We see in the Bible that Mary’s great purpose was not as Jesus’ wife but as the first person to see him alive again. As we shall see Mary is very much like you and me. Let’s look at Mary’s experience on that first Easter because she almost misses the reality of the truth of what is standing before her in that garden tomb.

Six ways to miss Jesus:

1. Sometimes we miss Jesus until we are stopped in our tracks (verse 11). The context of this scene is action. Running here and there. In earlier verses we see that Mary had been to the tomb earlier, found it empty and ran back to get Peter and John who then ran to the tomb. Lots of action and goings on! How often does life get in the way of our seeing Jesus. Run here there and everywhere—to soccer, to Scouts, to PTO, to the yard sale, to grandma’s house, to Wal-Mart, cut the grass and wash the car, dance lessons, clean the deck, run to Pizza Hut, paint the bedroom, make sure homework is done, throw away the dinner dishes and cutlery (who even has time to put the dishes in the dishwasher anymore?), get the kids to bed, catch a glimpse of the nightly weather, fall into bed ready to do it all again the next day! Life becomes a blur and often gets in our way of seeing Jesus.

The empty tomb stopped Mary in her tracks. The burning bush that didn’t burn stopped Moses in his tracks. The bright light knocked Paul off his horse. The thunderstorm of Martin Luther. The hurricane at sea for John Wesley. We often don’t see Jesus until something happens to get our attention: cancer, an accident, a job loss, a note that she is leaving, a heart attack. God sometimes puts us on our backs so we will look up! The empty tomb stopped Mary in her tracks and she was perplexed and stymied. It is often when our busy world is shaken that we are open to see Jesus.

2. Sometimes we miss Jesus because of our tears (verse 12-14). Mary isn’t crying here a little bit. She is weeping uncontrollable tears, more like sobbing. Now normally in the Bible when people see angels their first reaction is fear and trembling. But Mary in her grief and confusion isn’t even aware the angels are there! Here is an angel, this special messenger from God, telling her that Jesus is alive, but she is blinded by her tears.

It is said that tears are a language God understands. It is in our own brokenness that God does a new thing. Sometimes, though, our pain and suffering are so great that we simply can’t hear or see or understand because of our tears. Tears are not always bad. Even Jesus wept. Let those tears not blind you to seeing Jesus. Let them be an avenue to His healing and new life.

3. A third way we can miss Jesus is expecting too little from Him. In verse 15 Mary is asked, “Whom are you seeking?” Mary is fixated on trying to find the body of the dead Jesus. In spite of Jesus’ own words that He would die and then come back to life. In spite of the angel’s proclamations and in spite of the empty tomb, she is intent on finishing the burial process according to Jewish custom and tradition.

Like Mary we already have our minds made up—intentionally or unintentionally, and our blinders of short-sightedness keep us from God’s best. We are content with ‘good’ and not best. We are happy to be saved from our sins, but don’t know God’s sanctifying best. As I often say, we dine of God’s ‘Big Macs’ rather than on God’s ‘surf and turf.’ We settle for a little when God wants to give us a lot. We attempt small things for God and then wonder why we experience small blessings. Imagine you have a rich uncle who emails you that he wants to provide you with an extraordinary vacation of your choice. Anywhere in the world and money is no object. Where would you go and what would you do? How many of you would spend a week at Motel 6 on Long Beach Island, or take your camper to Batsto? I dare say that no one of you would do that. Then why do we do that with God who is not our uncle but our loving Father? We often miss Jesus because we expect so little.

4. We miss Jesus because of our presumptions. Verse 15 records that Mary “supposing him to be the gardener” asked where Jesus was. She did not entertain even the possibility that this could be Jesus. She was wrong and if Jesus hadn’t been forceful in His answer she would have missed him. People often don’t turn to Jesus because they already “know” what His answer will be: “God doesn’t really love me.” Somebody told them that but it certainly wasn’t God because God’s Word says that He loves each of us with an everlasting love. “You don’t know the things I’ve done.” The irony that God does know what we’ve done and He still loves us and wants to forgive us and have a dynamic relationship with us. “The church roof would fall in if I came to church.” Actually Lancaster County Amish carpenters built our roof and it is quite strong. The truth is that the church is here for both saint and sinner. The church is a recycling plant transforming the world’s trash into God’s treasure. We are all sinners here. The only difference is that many of us are “saved by God’s grace.” Don’t miss Jesus because you think you already know the answers.

5. People miss Jesus because they want to fix it themselves. Mary told this ‘gardener,’ “I will take him away.” Without thinking Mary thought she could handle this situation. What about the heavy stone, let alone the body. It can be pride, self-sufficiency, embarrassment, and a host of other reasons that cause us to think that we can “handle it” by ourselves. Then we mess it all up. God was there all the time, waiting patiently in line until we have tried everything else and then as the last resort we come to Him and He fixes it.

6. Finally, we often miss Jesus because we are fixated on the problem. Mary is so focused on what the problem is and what needs to be done that she can’t see or hear any other option. It wasn’t until Jesus raised his voice and emphatically called her name that she finally “turned” to Jesus. That is the key word—turned. She paid little attention to this ‘gardener’ until He called her name, and then she heard. Many of us are so very good at obsessing over our problems and worrying about our situations, and they are legion. You name it, we got it. Jesus is there with the help and strength and answers. We don’t really ‘see’ Him because we are so focused on the problem.

It is when we turn to Jesus that He gives us the grace, power, authority, and the resources to overcome whatever we face, or to go through whatever is before us. Isaiah 43:1-3a. Jesus has also given us “brothers,” ie one another as well to support us, encourage us, pray for us, and be there for us in our Christian walk. This is the body of Christ being the church.

Dan Brown is wrong about Mary Magdalene. Her importance is not being Jesus’ wife, but in being the very first to see the resurrected Jesus and being the first to proclaim the message that is still changing lives today: “I have seen the Risen Savior.”

Don’t miss Jesus!

Thank You for Taking The Time to Read This Message.
May God Use These Words to Help You and Strengthen You.