We read in John chapter 20,“Then the disciples went back to their homes,
but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept she bent over to
look into the tomb and saw two angels in white seated where Jesus’ body
had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. They asked her,
Woman, why are you crying?” Later, Jesus will ask the same question
again. Let’s look more closely at this. When go back to the original
language of this passage, we see that, really, the angels and Jesus are
asking something much less solemn sounding than, “Woman, why are you
weeping?” Actually, they say, “Woman, why weep?” Repeat this question
with a Brooklyn or Yiddish accent and you get an even
stronger hint that something happy is going on here!
There is a
story in Nehemiah 8 that helps us to understand this joy. A remnant of
the people of Israel have come back to Jerusalem and are rebuilding the
city and the temple. One day they assemble as a congregation at the
entrance to the city. The Bible is read and explained to them; when
they hear it they begin to weep. Why are they weeping? They are
thinking of all the trouble they had caused for God; they had been so
disobedient and awful. God had had to slave in their sins like a janitor
cleaning up muck in a church basement. So the people were weeping but
Nehemiah and the priests say, “Don’t weep.” In fact, they say, “go and
get some good stuff to eat and drink and if there is a neighbor that
doesn’t have good food on hand, send some of yours to their house!”
Nehemiah explains further, he says, “the joy of the Lord will be
your strength.” The people had been telling themselves, “We’ve been
such a burden to God” but God replies, “No, trouble at all!” “My
pleasure!” That’s the secret here and at the tomb. Mary is weeping,
but Jesus and the angels say, “Why cry?” In effect, God says to Mary
and to us, “It was no trouble at all; it was my pleasure!” It was his
joy to give his only begotten son, the son whom he loved, even to die on
a cross and be put in a tomb and be raised on the third day--that we
might be freed from our sins and live and have a living savior who will
never fail or forsake us. As the Bible tells us, “the people shall live
in Zion and you shall cry no more.” (Isaiah 30) God will wipe away
every tear from the eye. So, “Why cry?” Remember instead, the joy of
the Lord over what he has done in Jesus. This will be your strength.
