Matthew 28:6 “He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”

Mary Magdalene made her way toward her Savior’s tomb. The beauty of the sunrise seemed absurd, for in her mind, all time had ceased at the cross. Pain was nothing new to her, but the ache in her heart was unprecedented. Gruesome nightmares robbed her sleep and if not for the adrenaline of the past few days, she would have been unable to place one foot in front of the other. How could the Pharisees profess a godly faith yet pronounce such unspeakable tortures upon another human? What she had witnessed at the cross could never be un-seen. It would haunt her the remainder of her life.

Oh, how Mary Magdalene had loved Jesus. He had restored her life from the demons that once controlled her. Out of gratitude, Mary Magdalene had dedicated her life to serving Him.

How ironic, she thought, for a garden to become the Savior’s final resting place. It held such contrast to the horrific hill of Golgotha where he took his final breath on the cross. She also considered the irony of her mission, for she would soon anoint the lifeless body of Jesus with precious oils. However, this time, no insults would be hurled from the disciples as they had previously done, for they were nowhere to be found.

As daylight lit the sky, Mary Magdalene arrived at the tomb and stopped in her tracks. The tomb where the body of her precious Jesus once lay, was empty.

Hopelessness, anguish, and desperation momentarily filled her . . . that is, until she turned to encounter her risen Savior.

Dear Sisters, what Mary Magdalene could not visualize within the hopelessness of an empty tomb was the eternal, everlasting Hope born from a Risen Savior – a hope reaching to all generations to come.

That empty tomb stands today as the manifestation of Jesus’ love for us. When He chose death on the cross, He gifted us eternal hope. So sweet Sisters, just how will we live in response to so great a sacrifice?

Father God, help my life reflect the glory of the empty tomb.

Blessings,

Rita Cochrane

Read the familiar story of Mary Magdalene at the empty tomb from Matthew 28. If we were to live in honor of so great a sacrifice, what would our lives resemble? What changes might we need to make?