Read John 20:11-12. Circle the word(s) that stand out to you. What is the Lord saying to you?
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.
Reflections on the Word.
Crisis! Most of us will experience a major crisis in our lives. It may be a sudden life-threatening illness or the unexpected loss of a loved one. Our response is shock and grief. We tell ourselves, “This can’t be happening to me!”
Mary Magdalene was grieved at the death of her Lord. She and other women wanted to honor their teacher and Lord. They went to re-anoint the body of Jesus. Instead of finding the tomb of Jesus enclosed, the stone was rolled away. The immediate reaction was that someone had taken the body of Jesus! She had to tell the disciples this horrible news and find the body of Jesus! (Verses 1 and 2)
Mary ran back and told the disciples that someone stole the body of Jesus. She didn’t stay at the house. When she saw Simeon and Peter dashing out of the house, she followed behind. Maybe, just maybe, they would find the body of Jesus.
The text says this, “As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot” (NIV).
Peter and John didn’t see the body of Jesus at the tomb. They saw an empty tomb. They didn’t see any angels. They saw the linen burial cloth of Jesus. I am sure they must have looked around the Garden area. I know that I would have done a search of the immediate area. But they didn’t find Jesus’ body anywhere in the Garden area.
I wonder if Peter and John met Mary on the way back to their place. Did they say anything to her? She didn’t return with them. She went to the tomb to see what they saw in the tomb. As she approached the tomb, her tears began to flow.
As she bent down to look into the tomb for herself, she saw two beings in white sitting inside the tomb. Was her mind playing tricks on her as she was in deep grief? What were they doing in the tomb of Jesus? Were they there to minister to Mary?
Angels are ministering spirits (Heb. 1:14). Is it possible that in our times of deepest grief that angels are there to help us? The angels were there when Jesus prayed in the Garden. The angels were there when Mary wept at the tomb. I believe the angels are ministering to us.
Have you ever experienced an angel seemingly helping you? Was it avoiding the accident by a split second or some how sensing a car in your blind spot? Have you felt weak or discourage, and at your lowest point you received a text or phone call, an unexpected mail, or an aha moment in solving a problem?
I don’t know how exactly the angels minister us, but one day we will know how our guardian angels have supported us. They are all around us even though we don’t see them, they see us.
-Kingston