Garden of light

Part 30 of 35 I have seen the Lord!

Jesus had been buried in a garden: "Now there was a garden in the place where Jesus was crucified, and in the garden a new tomb" (John 19:41). Mary Magdalene stood outside the empty tomb, crying. She turned and saw a man standing there and, thinking he was the gardener, asked him where the body had been taken.

Then he said to her, "Mary." She knew his voice at once and cried out, "Rabboni!", which means "Teacher." It was Jesus, alive! She went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" (John 20:16–18).

This is the heart of the good news. As the apostle Paul later wrote: "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures… He was buried… He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:3–4). Death could not hold him.

Imagined The garden

Glowing white lilies line a long pool, and tall cypress trees stand along the walls. The Bible begins in a garden and ends in a garden city, and the best news of all began in a garden too.

Real world Easter

Christians celebrate the resurrection of Jesus at Easter. Its date changes every year: in most churches it is the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after March 21, so it always falls between March 22 and April 25.

Real world The Garden Tomb

Outside the walls of Jerusalem's Old City lies the Garden Tomb, a tomb cut into the rock in a quiet garden, found in 1867. The people who look after it say they cannot be sure it is the tomb of Jesus, but it helps visitors picture the story.

Think about it

1. How did Mary know it was Jesus?
2. Why is the resurrection such good news?
3. How do people you know celebrate Easter?

Key words

Rabboni

A Hebrew word meaning "my teacher".

Resurrection

Rising from death to life again.

Easter

The day Christians celebrate Jesus rising from the dead.