Was It a Morning Like This?

“Was it a morning like this, when the Son still hid from Jerusalem?
And Mary rose from her bed to tend the Lord she thought was dead…”
(Was It A Morning Like This, Performed by Sandi Patty, words and music by Jim Croegaert, ©1978 Meadowgreen Music Company)

For some reason, I have always identified with Mary. I have tried to imagine her absolute despair as she watched her Teacher die the horrible death of crucifixion. Jesus had freed her from seven demons who possessed her, at a time and culture when no man would most likely even talk to her – because she had the double curse of being possessed and being a woman. Jesus accepted her into His group, and partly from her support, He was able to minister during the three years of His adult ministry.

But there He was – hanging on a cross. In today’s world, we have cleaned up the cross – and polished it – and hung it as jewelry around our necks, or hung it on the wall as a piece of art. In reality – there was nothing pretty or polished or artistic about the cross. It was rough-hewn and dirty. (Consider that this part of the world doesn’t have many tall, sturdy trees. It is possible, and maybe even probable, that the crosses were used over and over again. Now, think about the smell and the insects associated with dried blood – not a pretty picture.) The cross was meant to rouse disgust and fear in the people. It was supposed to be a deterrent to crime. Only the worst “criminals” were crucified. No one in today’s world would think about wearing an electric chair on a chain around his or her neck.

Jesus had accepted Mary into His group, but the group was in hiding. There would have been many people who knew her past – and who would not have welcomed her into their lives. Without that small band of followers, without Someone to follow, her future looked bleak. Still, from a distance, she watched Him die. She watched as Joseph took down His body and placed it in a tomb. And she was among the first to be at the tomb to finish Jesus’ burial. She couldn’t stop His death, but she would honor Jesus by tending to His body.

John 20:1-2 (NIV) tells us, “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. 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!’”


And while Peter and the other disciple ran to find out what she was talking about, Mary went back to the tomb. Not only was her Teacher dead from a horrible death, but she would not even have the chance to tend to His body, to perform the only service she could at this point. Her grief is overwhelming. Her world is shattered.

She turned away, and there He was, right in front of her! She didn’t recognize Him, but hoped that this person might be able to give her some information, some glimmer that would allow her to complete the final ministrations for her Lord. She begged for an answer – she had to know. She was expecting knowledge, but she was given LIFE! I imagine Jesus looking deep into her eyes – past the tears, past the heart-wrenching pain, past the confusion, and past the anger – and seeing her soul. He spoke her name. His compelling voice, His absolute authority reached through all of her emotions and she recognized Him. Her beloved Teacher was alive, standing right there in front of her, and asking her to do something for Him! Where there was darkness, now there was LIGHT. Where there was misery, now there was JOY. Where there was death, now there was LIFE!

“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.” (John 20:18, NIV)