Not a Gardner

“He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”
“Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” – John 20:15

First Baptist Church has been blessed with many guests in the past few years. We now have a team of connectors who intentionally meet as many guests as possible. This past Sunday I was informed that a couple was in the back, and I should meet them. I put out my hand and started to intro- duce myself when I stopped. I didn’t have to introduce myself because we all knew each other. They were in my student ministry at another church many years ago. When I recognized them, my countenance changed.

Have you ever been guilty of not recognizing someone? We’ve all made those embarrassing mistakes in seeing someone we should know but don’t know. Or we think we know them but realize that it is not who we know. We even wave at people who wave at us only to find out they are waving at the person behind us. Sometimes our eyes, ears and minds don’t process the total picture. Dare I say we all have moments of an eclipse when it comes to recognition at times.

May I introduce you to Mary Magdalene. She was from the fishing town called Magdala and hence she was known as a Magdalene. We know from the gospels that she was changed by Jesus. “Now when it was early on the first day of the week, He appeared to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.” Mark 16:9. She is mentioned on nearly a dozen occasions in the gospels, and we know she was an eyewitness to the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. But as John Macarthur states, “Scripture deliberately draws a curtain of silence over much of her life and personal background, but she emerges as one of the most prominent wom- en of the New Testament.” There is one thing for sure, if anyone knew Jesus, Mary Magdalene knew Him. She was close to his family and a de- vout follower. She knew of His voice, mannerisms, and even the small de- tails that others would miss. She stood with Jesus’ mom weeping at the cross. She had submitted to Him that He was Lord and Savior!

Yet there came a time she thought Him to just be a gardener. The simple phrase we often skip over in the Easter story leaps off the page. How could this woman that was so close to Jesus, mistakenly think He was just a caretaker and gardener? In this case, she was looking for a corpse and the presence of Life threw her a curveball. How would we feel if we went to a funeral and the dead person met us at the door? What she had precon- ceived in her mind, she did not find. But what she found was oh, so much more!

Today, I think we often miss Jesus in our daily life. Our focus like Mary Magdalene is so set on the tasks at hand that I’m afraid we miss the oppor- tunities of encountering Jesus in an amazing way. Our focus is on the earthly that so many times we miss the eternal encounters. Even those that walk closest to him mistake Him for someone else. This week, remem- ber our Lord is ALIVE! Those routine meetings may be more than meeting a simple gardener. Look for Jesus! But don’t be surprised when He shows up in your life!