John 20:10-18

John 20:10-18

 

So the disciples went away again to their own homes. But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb; and she beheld two angels in white sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying. And they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him." When she had said this, she turned around, and beheld Jesus standing there, and 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 Hebrew, "Rabboni!" (which means, Teacher). Jesus said to her, "Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren, and say to them, `I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.'" Mary Magdalene came, announcing to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord," and that He had said these things to her.

 

John believed Jesus had risen because he saw something. He saw that the linens were empty, though Jesus should have been in them.

 

But Mary Magdalene did not yet believe. After Peter and John left, she stayed behind at the tomb, weeping.

 

And then she saw something. She looked into the tomb and saw to angels sitting where Jesus’ body had been, and they asked her why she was weeping.

 

This sight wasn’t enough. Mary, rather than asking herself how these two men had managed to get past her into the tomb and immediately realizing that they were angels, stayed focused on her questions, on her sorrow, on her loss. She answered the angels, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I don’t know where they have laid Him.”

 

Who are they? Why would they take Jesus’ body? But Mary was convinced that someone must have taken Jesus’ body! After all, it wasn’t where it should be! So she was dismayed.

 

And then Mary saw something else. John tells us that she saw Jesus Himself, but didn’t know it. This sight wasn’t enough for her to believe yet. Jesus asked her why she was weeping and whom she was seeking.

 

But Mary thought Jesus was the gardener. She thought He might know something about the location of Jesus’ body. She only wanted to know one thing – Where was Jesus’ body? She wanted to recover it, to care for it. She didn’t believe Jesus had risen from the dead.

 

And then He said her name. The gardener? No! Jesus! Finally, Mary saw enough to believe the incredible, and she cried out in recognition, “Teacher!”

 

And Jesus told her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father.” Some people think that when Mary recognized Jesus, she must have fallen to His feet and clasped them with her hands; others don’t. If she was clasping His feet, then Jesus was probably telling her that she didn’t need to hold on to Him because He wasn’t going to vanish into thin air; He would ascend to the Father later. If she wasn’t clasping His feet, then Jesus may have been telling her to stop clinging to Him as a respected and loved earthly teacher, for He would do more for her as the risen Lord at the right hand of the Father.

 

Either way, Jesus wanted her to go tell His “brothers” – His disciples – that Jesus was ascending to the Father.

 

She believed. And she came to the disciples. And she told them that she had seen Jesus. And she told them what He had said.

 

So now John has believed that Jesus rose from the dead because he saw Jesus’ empty linens. And Mary Magdalene has believed because she saw Jesus Himself. The weight of eyewitness testimony is growing heavier.  Jesus rose from the dead!

 

Father, thank You that Jesus rose from the dead. Thank You that Jesus is more than Teacher, that He is more than earthly, that He is Your Son! Thank You that He not only rose to a longer earthly existence, but to return to heaven with You – to heaven, from where He blesses us forever! Thank You for the blessings that come through Him – forgiveness, freedom from sins, reconciliation with You, friendship with You, adoption as Your children. Thank You.