"Mary, It's Me"—Finding Jesus in the Middle of Your Grief

Send me a text and let me know your thoughts! The Trouble with Jesus Easter isn't just a holiday — it's a story about getting up when grief has pinned you down.  In this episode, Jan and guest Constance Hastings walk through the resurrection accounts in John 20 and Matthew 28, exploring the raw human emotions of that first Sunday morning.  Why did Mary Magdalene not recognize Jesus at first?  Why did the disciples go back to fishing?  And what does it mean that Jesus called her name — Mary — in the middle of her weeping?  Constance, author of "The Trouble with Jesus," brings warmth, honesty, and deep scriptural insight to these questions, including why it's okay to say "Lord, I believe — help my unbelief."  A beautiful episode for anyone carrying grief, doubt, or hope this Easter season. Isaiah 55:8–9 (NLT) "My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the LORD. "And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine." Music from #uppbeat https://uppbeat.io/t/christian-larssen /it-happens License code: 1VGTL4IFRH9CMKAU Music from #uppbeat https://uppbeat.io/t/monument-music/ tears-of-joy License code: P0TCMFWPYAIEW94V 0:00 Opening Reflection — How Do You Rise in the Morning? 1:05 Welcome & Introduction 1:41 The World We're Living In — Grief, Anxiety & Shaken Ground 2:48 Scripture Reading — John 20:1–18 (Mary at the Tomb) 4:44 Scripture Reading — Matthew 28:1–10 (The Angel & The Women) 6:07 The Women's Grief — Going in Faith Without Answers 8:42 "Why Get Out of Bed?" — The Depth of Their Loss 9:11 They Watched Him Raise Lazarus — Why Couldn't They Grasp It? 10:06 Was It Literal or a Metaphor? The Question Then and Now 11:15 The Empty Tomb Wasn't Enough — They Needed to Encounter Jesus 11:50 Christmas Parallels — Angels to the Outsiders 13:41 Women as First Witnesses — Radical in the First Century 14:05 Going Back to What They Knew — The Disciples and Peter 15:01 Is It Just a Story? — The Power of Narrative and Truth 18:22 Modern Grief and Loss — Divorce, Deployment, Deportation, and Death 19:47 "The Trouble with Jesus" — Addressing Obstacles to Belief 20:33 Mark 9:24 — Lord, I Believe; Help My Unbelief 22:03 Fear vs. Hope — Will God Let Me Down Again? 23:41 Jesus Chose Losers — The Trouble with His Strategy 24:53 Misunderstanding Who God Is — Does He Make Bad Things Happen? 26:46 A Personal Story of Loss — Father, Church, and Finding Purpose 29:31 Discovering Your Journey — Jan's Bible Study on God's Patterns 30:47 Moving the Needle Toward Christ — The Resurrection as Foundation 32:46 Jonah, Moses, and the Pattern of God's Deliverance 34:19 The Living Word — This Podcast Goes Places We'll Never Go 35:38 Hope in the Risen Jesus — Not a Guarantee of Easy, But of Eternal 35:53 A Personal Witness — 38 Years of Faith and the Father-in-Law's Story 37:08 Closing Words — The Resurrection Is the Pivot Point of All History 38:01 Outro & Thank You   Welcome to Just Talkin' About Jesus. I'm Jan Johnson, a seasoned believer who loves relationships and, you know, just talkin' about Jesus. Here you will find testimonies of those who God has changed through his grace. Stories of feeling unworthy because of being sex trafficked, or of radical redemption of a woman who grew up with abuse, neglect, abandonment and drugs. A story of an abortion survivor. This and more. Lean in now. Consider subscribing to this podcast, YouTube and Substack- all with the same name: Just Talkin' About Jesus! https://www.youtube.com/@JustTalkinAboutJesus https://jan-johnson.com/ https://justtalkingaboutjesus.com/ https://janjohnsonauthor.substack.com/ https://www.youtube.com/@JustTalkinAboutJesus Thanks for listening! If you have a story to tell, check out the form on my website- justtalkingaboutjesus.com. I'd love to connect with you! No, really.... hit me up!