John 20:14-16 14 After saying this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you crying? Whom are you seeking?” That woman, thinking that he was the gardener, said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16Jesus said to her, “Mary.” Turning, that woman said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).
Seeing something does not bring understanding. Experience and knowledge bring recognition. John does not record the words the angels speak found in the Synoptic Gospels. The early oral accounts of what happened at the tomb must have diverted in a few details, or John was just not concerned about those details when he gave his account. After seeing the angels in the tomb, Mary must have been even more confused in her sorrow. Turning, she saw someone standing there, thinking he was the gardener. Assumptions are often wrong, as in this case. One of the mysteries of Jesus’ resurrection was his new appearance. Did Mary miss him because of her tears? Was it still dark? Or was there something special about the resurrected Jesus, who escaped his grave clothes and could walk through walls? He was physically resurrected yet spiritual, like what Paul wrote about in 1 Corinthians 15:35-44.
Jesus’ question to Mary was an opportunity for her to express her grief and proclaim her hope. The first question focuses on her grief with an implied response that there should be no reason why she was crying. She had enough information to put the evidence together that Jesus had risen from the dead. The second question provides the opportunity for faith and for her to acknowledge Jesus as her Lord and Savior. All the pieces of the puzzle were there; she just needed to see how they fit together. She could not get past the idea that someone had taken Jesus’ body. Sometimes people get stuck in their thinking, even when the evidence says something different. Mary needed help to get out of this rut and back on the road of faith. She cared so deeply about what happened to Jesus’ body that she thought she could carry Jesus’ body and give it a proper burial.
Jesus only had to say her name and recognition came. Jesus had spoken her name many times. Verse 16 illustrates what Jesus said back in 10:3-4, that the sheep know the voice of the shepherd. The veil covering her understanding was lifted, and the new knowledge put a flame to the spark of her faith. Her confusion instantly left. She may not have understood all the theology of resurrection, but her eyes and ears did not lie about who was before her. Her response of Rabboni was one she had likely spoken countless times on their journeys across the Holy Land. She would change calling Jesus “Teacher” to calling him “Lord.” His resurrection proved him to be Lord, the I AM in the flesh. Not even death could stop him and the Father’s mission through him.
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