But Mary stayed outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet where the body of Jesus had been. 13 And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken my Lord, and I don’t know where they laid him.” 14 When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?” She thought it was the gardener and said to him, “Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,” which means Teacher. 17 Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary of Magdala went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and what he told her.
Mary remains outside the tomb weeping (v. 11). Peter and the other disciple have already gone away, but she stays. Her sorrow is real, but at this point she still does not understand what has happened. Even when she bends over and sees two angels sitting where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and one at the feet (v. 12), her answer shows that she is still thinking only in terms of loss: “They have taken my Lord, and I don’t know where they laid him” (v. 13). For her, the problem is still a missing body, not yet the Resurrection.
Then she turns and sees Jesus standing there, but she does not know that it is Jesus (v. 14). In the resurrection accounts, Jesus is recognized after he reveals himself (Lk. 24:16, 31; Jn. 21:4, 7). Jesus repeats the question the angels had asked: ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ But he adds another question that goes deeper: ‘Whom are you looking for?’ (v. 15). Mary is looking for Jesus, but she is still looking for him as one who is dead. She thinks he is the gardener and asks where the body has been laid (v. 15).
Everything changes when Jesus says one word: “Mary!” (v. 16). She recognizes him, not by her own insight, but when he calls her by name. Earlier in this Gospel, Jesus said that the good shepherd ‘calls his own sheep by name’ and that they know his voice (Jn. 10:3–4). This also recalls the words of the Lord in Isaiah: ‘I have called you by name: you are mine’ (Is. 43:1). That is what happens here. The risen Lord reveals himself personally. Mary responds, ‘Rabbouni,’ that is, ‘Teacher’ (v. 16). Her grief gives way to recognition.
Jesus then says, “Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father” (v. 17). This does not mean that Mary has done something wrong by loving him, nor does it mean that his risen body cannot be touched. The point is that Jesus is not returning to life as it was before. Mary must not cling to him as though the old companionship were simply restored. He has risen and is now going to the Father. So instead of holding on to him, she is sent to the disciples with a message. The risen Jesus is present to his followers, but he is now to be known in the new reality opened by his Resurrection and return to the Father.
Jesus then gives Mary a message for the disciples: “Go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God’” (v. 17). This is the first time in John that Jesus calls the disciples “my brothers.” That change matters. Through his saving work, those who believe in him are brought into a new relationship with God. Jesus does not say “our Father” as though his sonship and ours were identical. He is the Son by nature. But through him, his disciples are brought into the Father’s family as adopted children of God (Rom. 8:15–17; Gal. 4:4–7), and so he now calls them his brothers.
Mary obeys at once. She goes and announces to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and she reports what he told her (v. 18). At the beginning of the passage, she could only speak about a body she could not find. At the end, she bears witness to the risen Christ whom she has seen. She now speaks as one who has seen the risen Lord.
This passage shows that the Resurrection is not merely the discovery of an empty tomb. The empty tomb by itself did not bring Mary to faith. She came to faith when the risen Jesus revealed himself to her. The same Lord who called Mary by name still makes himself known to his people. He is not absent. He is risen, glorified, and alive, and he calls his own to recognize him, believe in him, and bear witness to him.
Lord Jesus, you called Mary by name and turned her sorrow into faith. Call us also, so that we may know your voice, believe that you are truly risen, and remain faithful in bearing witness to you. Amen.
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Sources and References
- The New American Bible, Revised Edition. Washington, DC: Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, 2011. John 20:11–18 and notes.
- Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch, Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2010, 199.
- José María Casciaro, gen. ed., The Navarre Bible: New Testament, Expanded Edition. Dublin: Four Courts Press; New York: Scepter Publishers, 2008, 442.
- Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland E. Murphy, eds., The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990, 983, para. 233.
- José Enrique Aguilar Chiu et al., eds., The Paulist Biblical Commentary. New York: Paulist Press, 2018, 1177–1178.
- John J. Collins, Gina Hens-Piazza, Barbara Reid OP, and Donald Senior CP, eds., The Jerome Biblical Commentary for the Twenty-First Century. Third Fully Revised Edition. With a Foreword by Pope Francis. London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2020, 1439.
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