At early dawn that first Easter morning, Mary went to the tomb with the mother of Jesus, bearing spices to anoint the body of their beloved Lord. On the way to the grave, they pondered who would roll away the stone for them. It was a needless worry, because they arrived to find it had already been moved. Mary thought His body was still in the tomb—she couldn’t conceive the resurrection. But an angel appeared and declared that Jesus was no longer there. He was risen. Confused and scared, the women fled.
Later at the empty tomb, Mary was weeping, grieving the loss of her Lord, when Jesus appeared to her. “Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou?” (John 20:15). Jesus echoed the first words He spoke at the beginning of the book of John—“What seek ye?” (John 1:38). She didn’t recognize Him at first, and she didn’t expect to see Him there. But He initiated a conversation with her, and when He spoke her name, “Mary,” then she knew. The “sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out” (John 10:3). In that moment, she was ushered into a new ministry—witnessing to a lost world about her resurrected Lord.
Mary came to the tomb while it was still dark, and she found an empty tomb. Jesus met Mary in her brokenness and reminded her that He offers new beginnings. Her paradigm shifted, and she shed needless worries and discarded former assumptions. The resurrection was a reality—Jesus was alive!
Just as Mary’s grief dissipated when she heard Him call her name, our brokenness fades when we hear His voice. He “appears” to us through the written Word, and we don’t recognize Him until He personally calls our name. Often what we think is the worst event of our lives becomes life-changing when He discloses Himself to us, and then there’s no more weeping outside the tomb. Death is past. The darkness is gone, and morning has now come.
This month we’ve included a devotional about Mary by Dr. John Morris titled “Mary on Easter Morning” on page 22. And Dr. Brad Forlow introduces us to his upcoming book, the 7 Creation Miracles of Christ, in our feature article, which expounds on the deity of Christ our Creator as seen in the book of John.
Research is core to ICR and we are pleased to welcome Dr. Jason Lisle as our new Director of Research. Read his profile on page 18. Dr. James Johnson from our School of Biblical Apologetics gives us a glimpse of God’s glory through the colorful creatures of the Cayman Islands. Read about this on pages 8-10.
God’s glory is seen all around us, and this month we celebrate the glory seen in the empty tomb. Just as Jesus didn’t stay in the grave, He wants us to leave the tomb behind—to experience new life in Him. Morning has now come; may you walk in newness of life with our glorious Lord. He is risen, indeed!
* Jayme Durant is Associate Editor at the Institute for Creation Research.
Cite this article: Durant, J. 2012. Morning Has Now Come. Acts & Facts. 41 (4): 3.
