Notes on the Easter Gospel

Mary Magdalene and Peter and John do not find Christ's empty tomb as you would if someone stoll the body. The cloths are neatly folded.

It should strike us that Mary does not recognize Jesus. This is the way it goes at the end of Luke on the road to Emmaus. The disciples don't recognize Jesus. It is only when Christ says Mary's name and when He breaks bread with the disciples that they recognize Him. This shows to us that Christ desires to be seen in His word and sacraments.

When Jesus tells Mary to stop clinging to Him, He is not being rough. Mary wants to hang on to Jesus there with her. However, Jesus has something better in mind. "Mary go tell my brothers I'm ascending to my Father and your Father. My God and your God." When Jesus tells her of His ascension, He is not saying that He is going away. Instead, He is working in such a way where all people are brought to the Father and are with Jesus forever. When Jesus does something, it's always to improve the status of things, never to take away or lessen the good things that God gives.

The fact that the first witness is a woman is another detail that reflects validity of Christ's resurrection. If this was a made up story, Jesus would not have told a woman to tell the disciples. At this period in time a woman's testimony wasn't valid. Hence the disciples are dubious about the news. The fact that the first witness is a woman also shows that Christ has no use for the notion of superiority between the sexes.