Origins (of the Gospel)
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.
-written by the Apostle John (one of the brothers that Jesus told Mary to go to, to say what she saw) 1st century
[This is the 4th message of this series]
The Gospel is the good news of salvation through the finished redemptive work of Jesus of Nazareth.
At the cross, before giving up His spirit Jesus said "it is finished". (John 19:30)
Indeed it was.
Jesus paid the full price (the penalty in full) for humankind's redemption -- His life.
On the third day, in His resurrected body, He came out of the tomb where His body was entombed.
Mary Magdalene was the first human to find out about the good news. And she was also the first person to tell anyone else about it -- the first evangelist.
Full Circle
It is not by accident that it was a woman and that it was in a garden.
Mary Magdalene was the first human to find out about the good news. And she was also the first person to tell anyone else about it -- the first evangelist.
Full Circle
It is not by accident that it was a woman and that it was in a garden.
Humankind fell out of grace due to the first woman who was deceived to disobey God in a garden, the first garden (the Garden of Eden, we've talked about this garden in a previous message).
Gardens
Whenever a garden is mentioned in Scriptures it is almost always referring to a king's garden or the palace garden.
The only other notable mention of a garden aside from the Garden of Eden, is the Garden of Gethsemane (John 18:1).
This garden is where Jesus agonized over the weight of humanity's sins and the place where He was betrayed by a close follower -- the beginning of the end.
Gardens
Whenever a garden is mentioned in Scriptures it is almost always referring to a king's garden or the palace garden.
The only other notable mention of a garden aside from the Garden of Eden, is the Garden of Gethsemane (John 18:1).
This garden is where Jesus agonized over the weight of humanity's sins and the place where He was betrayed by a close follower -- the beginning of the end.
Gethsemane today, is still a garden.
This is at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. Wikimedia Commons
The Garden Tomb
Another mention of a garden (although implied) is in the passage we read above, in the tomb of Jesus where the first gospel -- the good news of salvation was preached by none other than Jesus Himself.
And as we have said the good news was preached to a woman, one of several female disciples of Jesus (no rabbi or teacher in that time and place have female students).
Another mention of a garden (although implied) is in the passage we read above, in the tomb of Jesus where the first gospel -- the good news of salvation was preached by none other than Jesus Himself.
And as we have said the good news was preached to a woman, one of several female disciples of Jesus (no rabbi or teacher in that time and place have female students).
So it was not a coincidence, Jesus having female students. It was part of the plan from the beginning.
Garden?
Now, you may ask, why was it a garden? If you missed it, you will need to reread it again. It is in verse 15, where it says that Mary Magdalene (Mary from the town of Magdala) thought the man in the tomb was the gardener.
So not just 'a' gardener, but "the" gardener. I don't think anyone would assume anyone there would be the gardener unless they were in an actual garden.
Other Mentions of Gardens
John mentioned in John 15:1 that Jesus told them that:
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener."
In the next verse, Jesus continued:
“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes so that it may bear more fruit."
And then finishes it off with:
"Abide in Me, and I will abide in you. The branch cannot itself produce fruit, unless it abides on the vine. Likewise, you cannot produce fruit unless you abide in Me."
“I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for apart from Me, you can do nothing."
Now we can see a glimpse of why everything began and ended in a garden.
Now, you may ask, why was it a garden? If you missed it, you will need to reread it again. It is in verse 15, where it says that Mary Magdalene (Mary from the town of Magdala) thought the man in the tomb was the gardener.
So not just 'a' gardener, but "the" gardener. I don't think anyone would assume anyone there would be the gardener unless they were in an actual garden.
Other Mentions of Gardens
John mentioned in John 15:1 that Jesus told them that:
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener."
In the next verse, Jesus continued:
“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes so that it may bear more fruit."
And then finishes it off with:
"Abide in Me, and I will abide in you. The branch cannot itself produce fruit, unless it abides on the vine. Likewise, you cannot produce fruit unless you abide in Me."
“I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for apart from Me, you can do nothing."
Now we can see a glimpse of why everything began and ended in a garden.
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