Mary – First Person
Mary Magdalene was the first to see the risen Jesus. She was given the responsibility of telling others the astonishing news that Jesus had risen from the dead.
Mary Magdalene – The First Person to see the risen Jesus!
Did you know that Mary Magdalene was the first person to see the risen Lord? Imagine the mixture of emotions she must have felt that day. Enjoy this poem by Ron Hughes about the astonishing event we know as the resurrection!
Mary – First Person
On the road out of town.
In the dark before the dawn.
Swollen eyes, trembling lips.
Chilly hands, hurried steps.
In the silence, stifled sobs,
Broken heart that death has robbed.
This is my reality.
Since they took my Lord from me.
Once tormented, full of sin.
Pride without, shame within.
Doing things I didn’t want.
Listening to the demons’ taunt.
All at once to my surprise
Words of kindness, tender eyes.
Jesus spoke the words that free,
Changed the deepest part of me.
Whole and feeling, thinking, sane,
Life would never be the same.
Months of joyful following,
Summer, fall, winter, spring.
Till this week it came apart
When they seized Him in the dark
Then what happened, I can’t tell.
The words won’t come. I watched Him killed.
Days and nights of emptiness.
Half alive, what desperateness!
Memories both bless and curse.
Remembering just makes it worse.
So last night, I made my plan.
I would go and take my stand.
By His tomb, I’d weep and sigh
Until,
like Him, at last, I’d die
Look around. This is the place.
Half-light makes this empty space.
There’s the winepress, there the trees,
There the tomb. What! Can it be?
Just three days – already robbed!
Empty, vacant. Why, my God?
Help me look. He must be here.
They must have left him some place near.
“Excuse me, sir. Oh! Gardener,
Where have you put Him – the One I love?
Here in the garden still and dark
I came to be alone with Him
And now…
He’s gone.”
“Mary.” My name. I know the voice.
Master, you make my heart rejoice.
Mary, my name, how many times
My heart rose up just at the sound!
Mary, my name, a trust to keep
To tell the others “Do not weep,
Arise and go as He has said
He’ll meet with you, no longer dead.”
No need of winding cloth or tomb,
The night is gone. Full light of noon.
And you, you’ve come along with me,
Never guessing what we’d see
In the garden out of town,
In the dark before the dawn.
Mary. You heard him speak my name.
Once full, poured out and filled again
Then emptied to be filled once more,
To love and serve my risen Lord.
Are you Inspired?
Does the story of Mary Magdalene inspire you? How?
Why do you think that Mary was blessed to be the first to see the risen Jesus? We would love to hear from you. Comment below or contact
Ron Hughes
Ron Hughes is the former President of FBH International He developed his interest in technology and mass communications during his highschool years in Peterborough, Ontario.
He received a Bachelor of Applied Arts degree in Radio and Television Arts from Ryerson University where he graduated as the program’s “outstanding graduate.” He gained experience working in both commercial and cultural radio stations in Southern Ontario as well as engaging in freelance production.
In 1983, he and his wife, Debbie, moved to Ecuador where they served as missionaries for 10 years. There, Ron produced radio specials and numerous music albums as well as several videos. Some of these videos were the first ever produced in Ecuador’s major indigenous languages. In 1993, the Hughes family returned to Canada at the invitation of FBH International (then Family Bible Hour) and oversaw the ministry for many years. Ron retired in 2021.
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