1 The Resurrection,
by Kristy L. Christian
There are two different traditional sites for the location of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.
One is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (now situated in the crowded section of the Old City of
Jerusalem known as the Christian Quarter). The other site is known as the Garden Tomb.
Protestants bought this serene garden setting in 1894, and to this day it is one of the most popular
and meaningful sites for Protestants to visit in Jerusalem.
The New Testament gives the biblical student no hint as to the location of Golgotha or the burial
tomb. No written source in antiquity – Jewish or non-Jewish—has preserved the name of
Golgotha. So the debate will continue as to the exact physical location of these momentous
events. Our focus, then, is to search for the inspiration behind Jesus’ experience.
The word “resurrection” in Greek is anastasis (Strong 385). Its meaning is “a rising again,
resurrection.” Its simplest, literal definition is “stand up” (or “stand again”). We might even use
the phrase, “a step upwards” to convey the spiritual implication. Are we capable of a step
upwards?
Joseph of Arimathaea takes the body of Jesus, wraps it in fine linen and lays it in a sepulchre.
Then a stone is rolled over the entrance (see Mark 15:43-46). Mark records in his Gospel that
very early in the morning after the Sabbath, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and
Salome take sweet spices to the grave to anoint Jesus’ body in preparation for burial. What do
they find? The stone has been rolled away. Matthew 28:6, Mark 16:6, and Luke 24:6 contain the
same words, “He is not here, he is risen.” That is the message carried to humanity.
Mary Baker Eddy spoke the following words at the Easter services in 1889: “In the new religion
the teaching is, ‘He is not here; Truth is not in matter; he is risen; Truth has become more to us,
-- more true, more spiritual.’ Can we say this to-day? Have we left the consciousness of
sickness and sin for that of health and holiness? What is it that seems a stone between us and the
resurrection morning? It is the belief of mind in matter. We can only come into the spiritual
resurrection by quitting the old consciousness of Soul in sense” (Mis. 179:13).
John’s Gospel records: “The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was
yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre” (20:1). Instead
of looking into the tomb at this point, Mary immediately goes to tell Peter and John that Jesus’
tomb is empty.
2 The two male disciples run back to the tomb. Neither of them saw angels. John stoops down
and looks in, observes the linen clothes neatly folded, but somehow feels the reverence for the
place and stops short of going further. Even in a tomb Jesus leaves everything in order.
Peter, however, does not hesitate. He rushes past John and enters the area where the body would
have been. He, too, sees the linen clothes lying and the napkin wrapped separately (evidence
that the body was not stolen).
What had occurred in that tomb? One Greek word for “buried” is sunthapto (Strong 4916) and
can mean “to assimilate spiritually.” Mrs. Eddy includes in her “Glossary” definition of “burial”:
“Submergence in Spirit; immortality brought to light” (S&H 582:22).
After the two disciples leave, Mary stays behind. She weeps as she stoops down to look into the
sepulchre (John 20:11). What does she see? “. . .two angels in white sitting, the one at the head,
and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain” (John 20:12). They ask her, “. . .
Woman, why weepest thou?” Her response: “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I
know not where they have laid him” (John 20:13). Then she turns herself back and sees Jesus
standing, but she does not know that it is the Master (John 20:14).
The question is asked again (this time by Jesus): “Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest
thou?” (John 20:15). In other words, who are you looking for? Mary believes he is the gardener
and volunteers to take Jesus’ body if this stranger will tell her where it is (John 20:15). Jesus
speaks to her directly and says: “Mary.” What would the sound of his voice have meant to
Mary? Think of womanhood’s willingness to turn from doubt and darkness, represented by the
grave, and turn towards the light of resurrection, represented by Jesus’ appearance! Doesn’t that
one word, “Mary,” turn defeat and death into the recognition of his victory over death and the
grave?
Consider the spiritual significance of Mary’s action! Before Jesus speaks, her face is toward the
tomb. After he speaks, she turns sharply towards the sound of his voice and exclaims,
“Rabboni”! (John 20:16), that is, to say, “my Master” – a term of great respect. But more than
that, it is a term which tells us Jesus has mastered the last enemy called death.
Jesus gives her a mission: “. . . go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father
and your Father; and to my God, and your God” (John 20:17). A woman has been given the
assignment to bear witness not only to the resurrection, but to the ascension as well. “That
which was to gather together the scattered sheep, rekindle the quenched fire of faith, and turn the
forlorn hope of a few peasants and fishermen into a world…religion was first revealed to a
woman” (Southard 136).
3 A new day has dawned – a day whose light will never go out. Death and the grave have been
overcome. Every step of progress is a resurrection. Isn’t the Master, Christ Jesus, inviting us to
follow him and demonstrate that same ongoing victory over the belief that life is in matter?
Sources:
Eddy, Mary Baker. Miscellaneous Writings, 1883-1896. Boston: The First Church of Christ,
Scientist, 1896. Concord Windows 95 version, CD-ROM.
___________. Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. 1875. Boston: The First Church of
Christ, Scientist, 1911. Concord Windows 95 version, CD-ROM.
Southard, M. Madeline. The Attitude of Jesus Toward Woman. New York: George H. Doran
Company, 1927).
Strong, James. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1987.