The Faintest Hint of Dawn

There are two types of people in this world – larks and owls; those who love the early mornings and those who love the late nights. It seems that Mary Magdalene was a morning person.

Here’s how it unfolded:

John 20:1-2 Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb. She saw that the large stone was moved away from the entrance. So she ran to Simon Peter and the other follower (the one Jesus loved very much). She said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.”

So, the morning was still dark with just the faintest hint of dawn beginning to break over Jerusalem. The city was quiet, and the events of the past few days still weighed heavily on the minds of Jesus' followers. The trauma of the crucifixion left them in deep sorrow and confusion. They’d hoped that Jesus was the Messiah who would redeem Israel, but his death shattered their expectations.

In the early hours before the city awoke, Mary Magdalene made her way to the tomb. She carried spices to anoint Jesus' body, fulfilling the burial customs. Her heart was heavy with grief, but her love and dedication to Jesus compelled her to go. As she approached, she noticed something unusual—the stone covering the entrance was rolled away.

And as you can see, the very last thing she expected was for Jesus to have risen back to life, even though He’d predicted that many a time. And the very last thing that many of us expect on Resurrection Morning is that new life, even though that’s exactly what Jesus came to give us. New life … for you!

Romans 6:4 Don’t you know that all of us who’ve been baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (ESV)

Easter, it’s about a new life, and eternal life, for you!

That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.