Photo by The Lazy Artist Gallery on Pexels.com

John 20:10-17

John 20:10 Then the disciples went away again by themselves.

John 20:11 But Mary stood outside the tomb, crying. As she was crying, she stooped to look into the tomb.

John 20:12 She experienced two angels in white sitting where Jesus’s body had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet.

John 20:13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “Because they’ve taken away my Lord,” she told them, “and I don’t know where they’ve laid him down.”

John 20:14 Having said this, she turned around and experienced Jesus standing there, but she did not know it was Jesus.

John 20:15 “Woman,” Jesus said to her, “why are you crying? Who is it that you’re seeking?” Supposing he was the gardener, she replied, “Sir, if you’ve carried him away, tell me where you’ve laid him down, and I will take him away.”

John 20:16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” Turning around, she said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!”– which means “Teacher.”

John 20:17 “Don’t cling to me,” Jesus told her, “since I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them that I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”

don’t cling, go and tell

The message Jesus entrusted to Mary on resurrection morning carries a depth that reaches far beyond that single moment. It was not only a word of comfort for a grieving disciple; it was a commissioning. Mary’s instinct was to cling to Him, to hold tightly to the One she thought she had lost. But Jesus gently redirected her. His resurrection was not meant to draw His followers into private devotion alone. It was meant to send them outward with news the world had never heard before.

He wanted Mary to know He was alive—truly, bodily, gloriously alive. But He also wanted her to understand that His mission had not ended at the tomb. The Son who left the Father to take on flesh had now returned to the Father, carrying with Him the completed work of redemption. His ascension was not a departure from His people but the beginning of His intercession for them. He returned to the Father for us, just as He came into the world for us.

Mary was the first to hear this astonishing truth, and she was the first to be sent to proclaim it. The pattern has not changed. Worship is essential, but worship that never becomes witness is incomplete. The risen Christ calls His followers not only to adore Him but to announce Him. The good news is not meant to be held tightly; it is meant to be shared freely.

The message entrusted to Mary is the message entrusted to every generation of believers:
Christ has died.
Christ is risen.
Christ has ascended.
Christ intercedes.
Christ reconciles.
Christ lives forever.

This is the story the world still needs to hear. And the Holy Spirit continues the same work He began that morning—opening eyes, stirring hearts, and empowering ordinary disciples to speak of the resurrected and ascended Lord.

Holy Spirit, reveal more ways to share the good news of the risen Christ, and make the witness of His people bold, joyful, and clear.