++Rt. Rev. Dr. Vince McLaughlin
Please recall that St. John is the writer here and he is recalling events that took place
some 6o years or so ago. In 20:8-9, St. John recalls that he is timid at first at the tomb
but becomes emboldened by Peter to entered the tomb and saw the place where the
Master lay. He remembers that nothing but linen grave-clothes and the additional burial
cloth that had been around Yeshua’s head was present. With sudden intuition he
perceived that the only explanation was that the Yeshua who had been crucified, the
Yeshua who had so recently assigned him his mother, the Yeshua who had been buried
in this new tomb, had risen from the dead.
The beloved disciple saw and believed—and thus the Evangelist introduces the themes
of seeing and believing that reach their climax in v29. The Greek word used here in the
original text means “to perceive with understanding.”
But lest readers of this Gospel get the wrong idea about the quality of the disciples’ faith
at this point, John appended a parenthesis telling us that neither he nor the rest of the
disciples yet understood the connection between scriptural prophecy and the
resurrection. That would await Yeshua’s post-resurrection teaching followed by the
infilling with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.
What Scripture might John have had in mind when he wrote v9? Quite possibly Isaiah
53:10–12 or even Psalm 16:10. What did he actually believe if he did not understand the
biblical background of resurrection? Perhaps the best option in the text is to conclude
that John believed Yeshua was alive but could not figure out why or what would happen
next. That fits well with the great surprise of the disciples at post-resurrection
appearances. Nevertheless, once they understood, the message of the living Savior
permeated their preaching throughout the next thirty years. This had been for
them—and for us—a genuine Super Sunday.
It is clear from the New Testament that the early Christians saw the resurrection as
foretold in the Old Testament. But this verse shows plainly that it was belief in the
resurrection that came first. The believers did not manufacture a resurrection to agree
with their interpretation of prophecy. They were first convinced that Christ was risen!
Then they came to see a fuller meaning in certain Old Testament passages. I am going
into this further at the end of this teaching manuscript on how the Early Church engaged
the reality of Yeshua’s Resurrection.
As we begin to exegete the text, we see how beautiful to learn that though the cross
may have killed faith and hope, it could not destroy love. Yeshua told Mary not to hold
to the past. Now there would be a new relationship, and she would be the first witness
to other disciples that Yeshua was alive.
In 20:10–12. The phrase “you will be my witnesses” or “we are witnesses” does not
appear in this chapter of John, but the Lord used it in Acts 1:8 and we see it repeated in
Acts 2:32; 3:15; 5:32; 10:39. In all four of those passages, it is always spoken by St.
Peter, and the context always describes the crucifixion and resurrection. But here the
primary witness was not St. Peter but Mary. Peter and John had left, but Mary stayed at
the tomb and St. John, the beloved disciple, offered this loving and passionate account
of the first post-resurrection appearance of our Lord.
Mary wept as we would over the loss of a dear friend. Then suddenly two angels
appeared, and a fascinating conversation took place. We know from Luke’s record that
Mary had been cured of demon possession (Luke 8:2) and also had helped support the
Lord financially. We must not confuse her with the prostitute of Luke 7 or with Mary the
sister of Martha and Lazarus. Empty tomb or not, her grief was unbearable—so deep
that she could not take her eyes off the grave to perceive the living Lord.
No Bible reader is surprised to find angels at the empty tomb. From the birth of Yeshua
(Luke 1:11, 26) to the announcement of the Holy City (Rev. 22:8–9) we find angels
announcing God’s plan. They not only heralded the resurrection and showed up at the
ascension; they even prophesied the second coming (Acts 1:11). One of the major
duties assigned these “ministering spirits” was to appear at crucial times and places to
announce God’s plan to individuals or groups. This is the only place where St. John
mentioned angels in his Gospel.
No description is given of the angels. When angels appear in the Bible, they are usually
recognized by their powers rather than by any significant difference from human form.
Mary did not respond to them in any unusual way, possibly because her eyes were
clouded with tears, or because she was preoccupied with the loss of Yeshua’s body. The
sole feature noted in the text is that angels were clothed in white.
In 20:13–14, St. John records that Mary saw Yeshua. She noticed a person standing
there, but she had no idea who it was. Many interpreters have wondered about this
passage. How could she not recognize Yeshua? Certainly there are many plausible
explanations.
She had experienced deep trauma; her eyes had filled with tears; it was still dark; she
was very confused. But perhaps most important, she had not considered the
resurrection a possibility. So the idea that she might be talking to a living Christ never
occurred to her. She was looking for a body; she did not expect a resurrection.
In 20:15–16, Mary finally asked the person she thought to be the gardener where the
body might be so she could retrieve it. The engagement of Yeshua with Mary is quite
interesting as we look at the questions asked.
The first (why are you crying?) becomes mild rebuke; the second (Who is it you are
looking for?) becomes an invitation to reflect on the kind of Messiah she was expecting,
and thus to widen her horizons and to recognize that, grand as her devotion to him was,
her estimate of him was still far too small. The evangelistic implications for St. John’s
readers are transparent.
Whatever the cause of her blindness, the single word Mary, spoken as Yeshua had
always uttered it, was enough to remove it. The good shepherd ‘calls his own sheep by
name … and his sheep follow him because they know his voice’ (10:3–4). Anguish and
despair are instantly swallowed up by astonishment and delight. Yeshua spoke her
name and tragedy turned to triumph.
Mary addresses him as she always has: Rabbouni!—an Aramaic word which John
dutifully translates for his Greek-speaking readers. It may not be the highest
Christological confession, but at this point Mary is enthralled by the restored
relationship, not contemplating its theological implications.
This first appearance to a woman shows us the grace and openness of the gospel. This
historic narrative describes what really happened. Yeshua did not show himself to Peter
and John but spoke first to Mary – so much for gender discrimination in the Bible.
It is highly significant that Christ appeared first to a woman and that this appearance is
recorded by all four Gospels. It was not only to a woman, one who in that culture had
been oppressed, but to a person who had known great sin. What a great comfort this
should be to us. Christ always comes first to the poor in spirit.
In 20:17–18, we see a most difficult passage to both translate and provide a solid
exegetical theological interpretation. Many ideas have been put forth to explain the
words, do not hold on to me. But such conjecture is unnecessary, since Yeshua told us
this statement was connected with His ascension. The people who love Yeshua on
earth—beginning with Mary—must learn to live without the physical support of his
presence.
There must be no more kissing of His feet, but homage of a sterner, deeper sort; there
must be no more sitting at table with Him, and filling the mind with His words, until they
sit down with Him in the Father’s presence. Meanwhile His friends must walk by faith,
not by sight—by their inward light and spiritual likings; they must learn the truer fidelity
that serves an absent Lord; they must acquire the independent and inherent love of
righteousness which can freely grow only when relieved from the over-mastering
pressure of a visible presence, encouraging us by sensible expressions of favor,
guaranteeing us against defeat and danger.
Mary thus witnessed the resurrection, and her first act upon leaving Yeshua was a report
to the disciples. It is difficult to know from John’s account whether this report or the one
in v2 was rejected by the disciples. But for whatever reason, the women who believed
the reality of the empty tomb could not convince the other disciples what had happened.
The lesson we must learn here centers in the rock-solid unbelief of Yeshua’s closest
friends. We shall learn in a few verses that all reports of a risen Lord failed to convince
the one absent disciple (Thomas) that Yeshua had made a second appearance. The
disciples had no faith in a resurrection.
In 20:18, Mary of Magdala (19:25) did as she was told, not only announcing “I have
seen the Lord!” but also telling them that he had said these things to her. The words the
Lord still do not constitute a confession akin to that of St. Thomas (vv2, 15, 28). At this
point Mary is simply identifying the one she saw in the garden with the Master they all
knew, and knew to have been crucified. But she spoke better than she knew.
St. John does not tell us how the disciples responded, but there is no reason to think
that they reacted any better than they did to the women’s report of the empty tomb (Lk.
24:9– 11).
In conclusion, the transforming process of Mary coming to recognize the risen Lord took
place when Yeshua called her name, “Mary,” or more precisely at this point “Miriam.” It is
fascinating to note that the Johannine evangelist has described transformative
recognition occurring through the use of one word at this point.
In the sea story it occurred when the disciples responded obediently to the stranger on
the shore and cast their nets (in what seemed to be a foolish act) on the other side of
the boat (21:6–7). In the Lukan Emmaus story the recognition occurred in the breaking
of bread. What should be concluded from these examples is that recognition of Yeshua
does not need to follow a single pattern. Coming to the point of conviction that Yeshua is
alive is probably as varied as the nature of the people who believe.
Mary’s response was immediate, for her cries of sorrow turned to a word of exclamation
and personal association. The evangelist John captured the interchange in two singular
statements. For Yeshua it was “Miriam”; for Mary it was “Rabbouni” (my dear Rabbi). In
his concern for Greek-speaking readers, unfamiliar with Aramaic, however, the
evangelist clarified the term by adding another of his linguistic interpretive footnotes
(1:41–42) to identify the term as meaning “teacher,” although the Greek hardly carries
the same personal impact as the Aramaic word.
As we come to the Resurrection of Yeshua, in order to perceive with understanding, we
must:
First, hear Him speak our name as a result of the wooing of the Holy Spirit. There is a
call of our name that brings us to our senses. There are evidences of Him that demand
a verdict of committal response. Miriam turned like an act of repentance to the person
who had jest called her by her name!
Second, in our turning - we must recognize Him with celebratory joy not embracing the
past but the future – for all things are different now.
Third, we must go to proclaim the reality of the resurrection of Yeshua that has
happened personally in your life as Miriam did. “I have seen the Lord!”