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11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. 15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). 17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her. ~ John 20:11-18
Our text focuses on Mary Magdalene, standing outside the tomb of the Lord Jesus, still convinced that her Lord was dead and His body had been stolen. Mary is weeping and standing. Then, looking into the tomb, she sees two "angels" sitting inside.
In v.11, Mary had to stoop in order to see that the Lord Jesus body was not in the tomb. She had to stoop in order to see reality. This reminds me of a story of a man who was looking for a water fountain in a newly built government building. He sees the water fountain and approaches it. When he gets to the water fountain, he looks for a button or a peddle to push. At that point a maintenance worker came with a sign that he fixed to the wall behind the water fountain. The sign read, "Stoop and drink." Such is the nature of what is truly real, we have to humble ourselves to get it.
In v.13, the angels ask Mary, "Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?" Mary responds out of her uncertainty. Her faith is shaken. She and the others had left everything to follow the Lord Jesus and now it seems to be for naught. Such is the nature of faith, it does not grow apart from being made uncertain.
In v.14-15 the context is framed up with more uncertainty for Mary. In v.14 she is spinning around and in v.15 she is asked the same two questions the angels had previously asked by a person she thinks is the gardener. Perhaps the swollen and ripped up body of the Lord Jesus did not allow Mary to recognize the Lord Jesus for He had not yet ascended to His Father. And, He had not received His glorified body.
In v.16, the Lord Jesus speaks one word and Mary's eyes are opened. He simply uttered her name, "Miriam," as He reverted to their native Aramaic. Mary instantly recognized His voice. Responding in Aramaic, Mary flung herself at his feet and cried, "Rabboni!" (which means "Teacher"). She grabbed Him by His feet and began to weep tears of joy.
This is the first eyewitness to the risen Christ, first appearance of Jesus. The women, and Peter and John, Mary Magdalene included, have seen the empty tomb; but this is the first appearance of Jesus. And remarkably He appears to this lady named Mary from the town of Magdala. We know she was a follower of our Lord. We also know that the Lord Jesus had delivered her from demon possession.
According to v.17, we read, "Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God." Had the Lord ascended to His Father, Mary would have recognized Him more readily. The Lord often leaves us in our uncertainty so that will be trained to look for Him with our hearts. This is faith.
In v.18, Mary rushes back to the disciples to tell them that she saw the resurrected Lord Jesus. The resurrection is the event by which God validates the sacrifice of Christ. All those sacrifices in the Old Testament could never take away sin; but this one sacrifice of the Lord Jesus removes sin our forever. And God's approval is seen through the resurrection of His Son.
The biblical accounts of the crucifixion stress that many people watched it from a distance. They wanted to see what would happen but they didn’t want to get too close. That’s how most of us handle death, by keeping it at arm’s length.
But, as believers in the Lord Jesus, we do not end with death. We are buoyed by His resurrection which means that our existence will not end in any form of death. No, life, real life awaits us. Watchman Nee once said, "The greatest negative in the universe is the Cross, for with it God wiped out everything that was not of Himself: the greatest positive in the universe is the resurrection, for through it God brought into being all."
