BROADCASTS.com

b'Mary Magdalene pressed a hand against her aching heart. \\u201cHow do I still\\nhave tears left in me?\\u201d She had been mourning for three days, along with\\nothers who were Jesus\\u2019s friends, followers, and family, but the realization\\nwas still sinking in: he was actually gone. It was dawn on the third day,\\nand Mary couldn\\u2019t wrap her mind around it\\u2014her heart was empty, and so was\\nthe tomb. She couldn\\u2019t even anoint his body for burial; someone had taken\\nit away.\\n.\\n\\u201cI don\\u2019t understand,\\u201d Mary wept, \\u201cYou were strong enough to cast the seven\\ndemons out of me\\u2014you set me free. Why did you have to die? Why didn\\u2019t you\\nput a stop to that crucifixion? Where are you now?\\u201d Mary clutched at the\\ncold stone of the tomb to steady her shaking knees. She bent to peer into\\nits emptiness once more.\\n.\\nMary gasped. The tomb wasn\\u2019t empty! Two angels dressed in brilliant white\\nwere sitting where Jesus\\u2019s body had been, one of them perched by the cloth\\nthat had been wrapped around her Lord\\u2019s head. This angel was swinging his\\nfeet and smiling, the other was gazing at Mary with compassion. His voice\\ncarried over to her, soft and musical. \\u201cWhy are you crying?\\u201d\\n.\\n\\u201cThey have taken my Lord!\\u201d A sob stuck in Mary\\u2019s throat. \\u201cI don\\u2019t know\\nwhere he is\\u2026\\u201d The unspoken words echoed in her heart, \\u201cEverything is\\nempty without Him.\\u201d\\n.\\nExhausted with grief, she turned back to the tomb\\u2019s opening to take a deep\\nbreath, and there was a man standing before her. His eyes radiated warmth\\nand kindness, which only made Mary cry harder. Then he asked, \\u201cWho are you\\nlooking for?\\u201d\\n.\\n\\u201cThis must be the gardener,\\u201d Mary thought. \\u201cMaybe he knows where my Jesus\\nis!\\u201d \\u201cSir, if you have carried him away, tell me where, and I will get him!\\u201d\\n.\\n\\u201cMary.\\u201d That one word\\u2014her name\\u2014spoken soft as a spring rain falling on hard\\nground\\u2026 Mary knew only one voice could speak her name in such a way. She\\nlooked up at him. \\u201cTeacher!\\u201d\\n.\\nSorrow fled from her soul like the breaking of dawn\\u2014her Lord, her Jesus,\\nwas alive! He had driven the seven demons out of her tortured body, and now\\nHe had conquered death itself. All that once ached empty inside her was now\\nfull\\u2014full to overflowing. \\u2022 Savannah Coleman\\n.\\n\\u2022 This story is how one author imagined what it was like for Mary Magdalene\\non Easter morning. Read John 20:1-18. What sticks out to you about Mary\\u2019s\\nencounter with Jesus? \\n.\\n\\u2022 Today, Christians around the world are celebrating Jesus\\u2019s resurrection\\nfrom the dead! Why can remembering the empty tomb fill us with joy? \\n.\\nJesus willingly died for us so that we could be God\\u2019s people and have life\\n\\u201cto the full\\u201d (John 10:10)\\u2014a life of freedom and forgiveness. Jesus shed\\nHis own blood on the cross for us, covering our sins and making the way for\\nus to have a restored relationship with the living God (Romans 10:9-10).\\nThis is what makes our story different from every other religion: we serve\\na God who gave up His own life for ours, and He is alive! If you\\u2019ve already\\nput your trust in Jesus, who is someone you could share this good news\\nwith? Consider taking a moment to pray for this person now, asking God to\\nhelp them know the truth of His love for them. If you\\u2019re not sure about\\ntrusting in Jesus, that\\u2019s okay\\u2014God doesn\\u2019t rush us, and He invites us to\\nask questions and wrestle with Him. What questions do you have about Jesus?\\nWho is a trusted Christian you\\u2019d feel comfortable bringing these questions\\nto? (You can also read more about Jesus on our \\u201cKnow Jesus\\u201d page.)\\n.\\n\\u201cI [Jesus] have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. I am\\nth'