Day 21 - Special Edition - Beloved

 “But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept, she stopped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” John 20:11-18

From the time of Exodus, the Holy of Holies in the most inner part of the Tabernacle was a place set apart, a sacred space into which only the high priest could enter, and only once a year on the Day of Atonement. He entered trembling, with the blood of a sacrifice, to sprinkle it on the mercy seat. The Day of Atonement symbolized the atonement of sins and the reconciliation between God and His people. Behind a thick veil, the Holy of Holies was the space where God’s presence dwelt, a stark reminder that sin separated humanity from the holy God.

The mercy seat was the golden cover placed atop the Ark of the Covenant, with two cherubim facing each other, their wings overshadowing the space where God’s presence would dwell. It marked the very place where God met with His people. Inside the ark were also the stone tablets of the covenant and the manna, symbols of God's law and His provision.

Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. Mary, who was once possessed by seven demons, had lived in complete spiritual darkness, unholy, not filled with the Spirit of God, but tormented by evil spirits. Her body had been united not to the only true God, but to other gods. The ultimate spiritual adulteress. She embodied the image of spiritual unfaithfulness, much like Israel throughout its history, called to covenant faithfulness but often wandering after other gods.

Mary steps into the tomb and sees the place where Jesus’ body had been laid, perhaps the place still marked, sprinkled with His blood. Two angels sit, one at the head and one at the feet. 

Do you see the picture? She is standing before a living image of the Ark of the Covenant, like the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies, where the blood of atonement was once sprinkled. And here stands the once-adulterous bride, who had broken her covenant with God, allowed into the very presence of God.

Mary is standing on holy ground. The veil has been torn. The Passover Lamb has been slain. The final, perfect atonement for sin has been accomplished. Before her is the true and living Ark of the Covenant—the place that, just hours earlier, held the true manna from heaven, broken for the world, and the true embodiment of God’s perfect law, Jesus. In that sacred moment, Mary is witnessing the fulfillment of every shadow, every sacrifice, every promise, and every prophecy related to atonement and redemption.

Mary turns and sees Jesus standing there, the true and final High Priest, who has just fulfilled The Feast of Passover, The Feast of Unleavened Bread and the Day of Atonement by offering Himself as the pure sacrifice and by being the mediator between men and God. 

He speaks to her, the once-lost sheep, the former unfaithful bride, asking, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” She is no longer chasing after false gods, idols, or empty images. She is seeking Him, the Redeemer, the Bridegroom, the Shepherd of her soul. Mistaking Him for the gardener, she pleads, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him.” Her heart is no longer wandering. It is searching only for Him.

Jesus calls her by name. Not "lost," not "possessed," not "adulterous," not "rebellious," not "faithless"—but simply, tenderly: Mary. That name means beloved. In that moment, she is no longer defined by her past but by His grace. She is made clean, forgiven, redeemed, worthy to stand in the presence of the Holy of Holies, to behold the true Ark of the Covenant, to receive the living manna, to face the perfect Law fulfilled in Christ, and to walk beyond the torn veil. She, once a sinner, once bound to darkness, is now holy. No longer a captive, but a cherished bride, made pure for her coming Bridegroom.

"I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God". Her Redeemer has called her by name, and now His Father is her Father, His God is her God. She has been brought into the family, welcomed, restored, beloved.

In Exodus, when the tabernacle was completed, the glory of God descended into the Holy of Holies to dwell among His people. What a wonder that must have been, to witness that glory! And yet now, in the quiet shadows of semi-darkness, while the world still slumbers in unawareness, that same glory stands revealed, not in a cloud or fire, but in the risen body of Jesus. Mary stands before the true Passover Lamb, the eternal High Priest, bearing the scars of His love for her. 

The tomb is no longer sealed. The veil is no longer in place. The Holy of Holies has been opened wide. He is risen—and we are redeemed.