"Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb. So she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.” So Peter and the other disciple went forth, and they were going to the tomb.... " John 20
We’ll call them Mary and Joseph. These are two people I know, but the names have been changed.
Mary grew up in a wonderful family. Dad was a hugely accomplished professional in his field. Mom was a full-time stay-at-home mom, and the kids were well cared for and properly supervised. The kids grew up knowing love, stability, and a solid middle-class life. Mom and the kids went to church almost every Sunday. Simply put, Mary grew up in a safe, wholesome environment. Mary grew up to be a fine person, in school she had excellent grades, almost perfect attendance in school, in all she truly was the all-American girl.
Joseph didn’t grow up in the same environment. He wasn’t anything like Mary. He grew up in chaos, pain and abuse. He also grew up to be a mean and nasty person. Joseph got good grades, but only so he could skip school whenever he wanted to. Because it was too dangerous to strike back at the adults and older siblings who hurt him, he made the life of his peers and teachers as miserable as he could without getting in too much trouble. He avoided being arrested because of the consequences that would lead to at home, but he was a nasty piece of work. He was isolated and felt protected by being so.
We could hardly find two more different people, and yet the truth is their story is the same, and in truth it is probably more miraculous that Mary had a great outcome than it is that Joseph did as well.
Mary is that rich person described in Matthew 19:24 who will find it harder to get into heaven than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle. She wasn’t financially wealthy, but her life was rich and prosperous in every way the world values; family, friends, comfort, a social life, and so much more. From where the world stood, she looked just fine the way she was.
Joseph? Well, the world knew he was in trouble, no doubt. He knew he was messed up, and for a long time he just figured he was broken and would never be mended. Most everyone who interacted with him agreed.
However, their stories were the same, at least in the end. Ultimately, they both encountered the only Truth that mattered. The Holy Spirit not only convicted them of their sin and utter need for Christ, but He helped them make their way to that empty tomb. He helped them embrace the One who conquered it. The world would say they came from a very different places, but they both knew they had to make the same journey, they knew they shared the same story. They arrived broken before the Healer, in need of a Savior.
Sometimes it is hard for me to recognize that there is absolutely no real difference between the lost and broken I see all around me; those living on the street, strangers living in chaos, co-workers alone and lost, all of them are like me… oh there are certainly differences in our journeys, but clearly there is no difference in the most important story in our lives. Think about it, the men and women who come to the Gospel Center Rescue Mission, suffering from all sorts of challenges, are no worse off than anyone else prior to coming to that empty tomb. The empty tomb doesn’t discriminate, it doesn’t make exceptions, it convicts us of and saves us from our sins. All of us, all of our sins, all of our failures and shame are left at that tomb if we embrace the One who won that battle.
Praise God, He is risen… He is risen indeed.