I HAVE SEEN THE LORD

Jn.20:17,18 – Jesus *said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene *came and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and that He had said these things to her.

Mary’s words, “I have seen the Lord”, are the very definition of our Christian faith. They echo the words of John himself found in the beginning of John’s first epistle,
1 John 1:1,2 – “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life– and the life was revealed, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was revealed to us…”
This is exactly what the Lord was looking for, witnesses of the resurrection to proclaim the gospel. This is how Barclay describes Mary’s encounter with Jesus outside of His tomb and her resulting testimony.

“Jesus sent Mary back to the disciples with the message that what he had so often told them was now about to happen – he was on his way to his father; and Mary came with the news: ‘I have seen the Lord.’ In that message of Mary, there is the very essence of Christianity, for a Christian is essentially one who can say: ‘I have seen the Lord.’ Christianity does not mean knowing about Jesus; it means knowing him. It does not mean arguing about him; it means meeting him. It means the certainty of experience that Jesus is alive.”

There were literally 500 eyewitnesses of Christ being raised from the dead who met with Him at His ascension. They told their story to everyone who would listen and they turned their world upside down with their report. How does this message relate to us 2000 years later? Even today Jesus is looking for witnesses. He is alive and His Holy Spirit is being poured out on people everywhere. Once He impacts your life you become a witness like Mary. We may have not seen the Lord with our physical eyes but the spiritual eyes of our hearts have been opened and we have clearly seen Him. What is our message this Easter almost 2000 years after the first one? I have seen the Lord – He is alive.