Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
[Read John 20:11-18]
There’s something that often goes on in the homes of many married couples. Sadly, it’s often only attributed as being a problem for the men in the relationship. It could be called cupboard blindness or fridge blindness. The husband is looking in the fridge or a cupboard for something and cannot find it. So, he yells to his wife for assistance, hoping that she will inform him of where the particular item is. He thought it was in the fridge but can’t find it. Typically, the wife yells back from across the house, it’s in the cupboard you’re looking in, but he still can’t find it. So, his wife comes across the house, opens the cupboard, grabs the thing that’s in front of his face, and hands it to him. Cupboard blindness.
Yet, I’m aware of the fact that this isn’t only a problem with men. Women struggle with it too. Maybe it’s not a problem in the cupboards, but it’s a problem in other places. I’ve witnessed issues like toolbox blindness in women many times before (it’s a serious issue). In our house, it’s often cellphone blindness. The females in my house never know where their phone is. Often, they will be looking around for their phone, and it’s right in front of them on the counter. One of my favorite things to do in those instances is to ask a question like, “What ya looking for?,” knowing they’re looking for their phone AND seeing their phone in front of me. Rather than being helpful, I want to rub it in a little bit…lol. They inform me they’re looking for their phone and my response is, “Rachel…” which immediately reveals the phone on the counter.
Now, I’m not sure that’s exactly how this encounter went down at the tomb, but I definitely like to think that’s how it went down. If you remember the last sermon I preached, it started with Mary coming to the tomb early in the morning. She noticed that the stone had been rolled away and went running back to the disciples to inform them. She had her own theory about what had happened. John and Peter ran to the tomb and found it empty, only the linen cloths lying there, and then they went back to their homes—a little bewildered and confused. Obviously, Mary had followed them to the tomb. We don’t know if she ran with them to the tomb or showed up a little later, but when John and Peter head back home, we read, “But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb…” (John 20:11, ESV). She hung back by the tomb.
Yet we also read, “…and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb.” (John 20:11, ESV). The way the story is told, this is probably the first time Mary has looked into the tomb. Most likely, she didn’t look in the first time. She saw the stone rolled away and took off running. Now she wants to look in the tomb to see what Peter and John saw. Notice that she sees something different. Peter and John looked in the tomb and saw the linen cloths lying there. When Mary looks in the tomb we read, “And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet.” (John 20:12, ESV). Mary looks in the tomb and sees angels. Notice something very significant here. I ran out of time this week and wasn’t able to make sure this is correct—so correct me if I’m wrong—but I think this is the ONLY reference in the Bible when someone encounters an angel and isn’t afraid. I think that’s significant and tells us something and it explains some things that happen later in the passage.
Again, as I’ve pointed out numerous times throughout the Gospel of John, there are a variety of explanations for why the angels were in the tomb and why we’re told they are sitting at the head and the feet of where Jesus lay. I’m not even sure they’re wrong, but I’m not fully convinced this is exactly what John is trying to teach us. Some have said that the angels are at the head and the feet of where Jesus lay to represent the ark of the covenant—where two cherubim were on either side of the ark, marking out an empty space to represent the Lord’s presence. It’s possible. As I’ve mentioned before, John likes imagery and allusions to the Old Testament. Herman Ridderbos doesn’t fully go there in his explanation, but he gets close. He says that the angels are at the head and the foot of where Jesus lay to show that the space was empty—which sounds like the ark a little bit—making this another point that the tomb was empty. At a minimum, I like DA Carson’s explanation. He says that angels show up to clearly reveal that God is at work in his power in particular situations. The angels are in the tomb to show Mary that this was not about grave robbers, but this was a powerful work of God.
I love the angels’ response to Mary, “Woman, why are you weeping?” (John 20:13, ESV). I’ve mentioned this before, but feel the need to remind us again, that calling Mary “woman” is actually a compassionate way of responding to her. I say that because in our current culture, it is not received that way. I think many people read that with a very different tone of voice, much more derogatory. But, I think it’s better to understand this from the perspective of a Southern boy, that they’re basically saying “Ma’am…” They see her in her grief and weeping. It seems like she’s weeping uncontrollably because it keeps being repeated. So, they basically ask, “Ma’am, are you alright? Why are you weeping?”
Yet, there’s something else going on here. Mary is mentioned as weeping two times and she gets asked, “Why are you weeping?” two times. This is a theme and there’s a contrast here. One of the commentators said that the question “Why are you weeping?” comes from above, from the perspective of the resurrection. It’s almost as if the angels are baffled why she’s weeping. Can’t she see what has happened here? Can’t she see that God has done something beautiful and powerful in this tomb? Why is she weeping?
The answer to that question is: She can’t see it. She’s been blinded by her grief. She is so overwhelmed with grief over the situation in front of her that she cannot see clearly. I think that’s why she isn’t afraid of the angels when she sees them. Her grief has blinded her. That’s also why she doesn’t recognize the power of God in this situation. Her grief has blinded her.
It’s also why she doesn’t recognize Jesus. We read, “Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she 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…” (John 20:14–15, ESV). Her grief blinded her so that she couldn’t see the very thing she was looking for. She was there, looking for Jesus, frantically looking for Jesus, and even when he was standing right in front of her, she couldn’t see him. She was blinded by her grief.
This is a real problem—and I’m not talking about cupboard blindness or cellphone blindness. I’m talking about spiritual blindness. We get so caught up in the difficulties we’re experiencing in this world, so caught up in hardships and trials, that we become blind at times. We can’t see beyond the difficulty or the storm we’re in. If only we could lift our eyes for a moment above our current situation and get a glimpse into the heavenly realities, we would ask ourselves, “Why am I weeping?” but we don’t. We keep going through life with our heads down, blinded by our grief and sorrow, never lifting our heads to see beyond from the heavenly perspective.
That is until something changes. As I’ve mentioned before, we don’t always know the tone in which things are said in the Bible, but I like to think of Jesus’ tone here in a particular way. He knows Mary is looking for his body—frantically looking for his body. Even as he is standing right in front of her, she is frantically looking for his body. So, he asks her a similar question to the one I mentioned at the beginning of this sermon, “Whom are you seeking?” (John 20:15, ESV)—also known as “Whatcha looking for?” She still can’t see what’s right in front of her. So we read, “Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).” (John 20:16, ESV). I like to imagine that Jesus says “Mary” with a little bit of that tone that I give the females in my home, when the thing they are looking for is obviously right in front of them—like, seriously, you can’t see it?
When Mary hears her name from Jesus’ lips, her eyes are opened and she sees him clearly for who he is. In an instant, all of the weeping and grieving and sorrow are replaced with pure joy. There are clear allusions here to something Jesus said earlier in this book, “The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out…the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.” (John 10:3–4, ESV).
This is such a powerful picture for us to get into our minds. It’s powerful on both sides of the equation. On the one hand, in Mary we see a clear picture of many people in the world around us—even a picture of ourselves at times. We see people in sorrow and grief, seeking salvation, seeking refuge, seeking peace and hope and joy—but completely blind to the one who can truly give it to them. They are running around on a daily basis trying to figure out how to find these things, all the while, Jesus—the only one who can provide these things for them—is standing right in front of them. They can’t see him. They’re blind to him. They often mistake him as being the person getting in their way of finding the things they are looking for. We can find ourselves in that same sad situation as well.
Yet, the flip side of this story is just as powerful. All it takes is one word from our shepherd to open our eyes and draw us back to him. He knows us and he knows our name and when he speaks his sheep recognize his voice. That’s true of those running around in the world seeking salvation in all the wrong places. When their shepherd calls their name, they recognize his voice, their eyes are opened—just like Mary’s—and they give their lives to him and follow him.
The same is true for Christians throughout our lives as well. As I mentioned earlier, we can easily get so caught up in the trials and difficulties of this life that we are blinded to the spiritual realities that we know to be true. We can still be blinded by our grief. Sometimes we need to hear the voice of our shepherd, calling our name, to open our eyes to the spiritual reality behind the trials we’re currently experiencing so that we can begin to experience the power and the joy that comes from following the Good Shepherd, who leads us through the Valley of the Shadow of Death with his rod and staff to comfort us, so that we do not fear.
Mary recognizes Jesus when she hears her name, but she still doesn’t fully understand what has happened, nor what is happening. From Jesus’ response, we get the picture that Mary not only cried out “Rabboni” but she also fell down at his feet and wrapped her arms around him, refusing to let go. That’s why Jesus responds to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” (John 20:17, ESV). In Mary’s mind, she just got Jesus back and she was never going to let him go again. She thought she would never see him again, but now he’s right there in front of her. She was so thankful to be in his presence again. Yet, Jesus wants her to know that this isn’t the end of the story.
The end of the story is not the resurrection, but the ascension. He’s been trying to tell his disciples this for a long time now, but they didn’t understand, and neither has Mary. Jesus isn’t going to remain on earth with her in his physical body. He has to go away and ascend into heaven AND that will be much better for her and for the rest of the disciples. It’s better that Jesus is no longer physically on earth but has ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From there he sends the Holy Spirit to fill us and be with us throughout eternity. Now, through the Holy Spirit, Jesus can literally be with us wherever we go from now until the end of the age. That’s much better, so he tells Mary not to cling to his physical presence on earth, because he needs to finish his mission by ascending into heaven.
I also want you to notice something beautiful about what Jesus tells Mary to tell the disciples. He says, “…go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” (John 20:17, ESV). Notice the connection between my Father and your Father, my God and your God. Jesus is letting the disciples know that they’re in this with him. When he ascends into heaven, he’s not leaving them alone, but he’s going to his Father, who is also their Father.
We read this earlier in the service, but I think it’s helpful to bring this up again here because I think the Heidelberg Catechism explains this in a very helpful way. It asks the question, “How does Christ’s ascension to heaven benefit us?” Here’s the answer it gives—and pay attention to the way it connects to everything we’ve been talking about so far—“First, he is our advocate, in heaven in the presence of his Father. Second, we have our own flesh in heaven as a sure pledge that Christ our head will also take us, his members, up to himself. Third, he sends his Spirit to us on earth as a corresponding pledge. By the Spirit’s power we seek not earthly things but the things above, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand.” (HC 49). First, since Jesus is going to OUR Father, he is an advocate for us, speaking to the Father that we share on our behalf. Second, the Father who raised Jesus from the dead and ascended him into heaven is also our Father, and we can have confidence he will do the same for us.
Yet, I want you to notice that final portion, because it connects with what I was saying about Mary earlier in the sermon. He sends his Spirit to us and by the Spirit’s power we no longer seek earthly things but heavenly things. The Spirit helps lift our eyes—and open our eyes—to the heavenly, spiritual realities of things. It’s better that Jesus ascend to heaven.
The passage ends with Mary doing what Jesus told her to do—with her own added message. We read, “Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.” (John 20:18, ESV). I love how John adds at the end of this passage that Mary eventually told the disciples what Jesus told her to tell them, but first she had to say, “I have seen the Lord!” It’s one of the beautiful through-lines of this story so far. Don’t forget how this story started at the beginning of chapter 20. It began with Mary seeing the stone rolled away. From there Peter and John—and eventually Mary—saw the empty tomb. It ends with Mary witnessing to the disciples that she has seen the resurrected Jesus. And then, Mary disappears from the story. She never pops up again in this gospel. I think this points to something I’ve tried to show us throughout the gospel. What’s one of the major themes in this gospel? The concept of witness. It’s been emphasized throughout the gospel in almost every story, and again now in the resurrection. Jesus has called her name, opened her eyes, Mary saw Jesus, embraced Jesus and witnessed to the disciples about what she’s seen. She’s been a faithful witness and fulfilled her role. Her story ends on that note.
It’s this powerful reminder for all of us as this sermon comes to close. How are we to respond when Jesus calls our name and opens our eyes? Are we to sit back and act like we’re better than everyone else? Are we to go through life with open eyes judging all those blindly stumbling and bumbling through life, unable to see their Savior standing right in front of them? Did Jesus open our eyes and call our name only for ourselves? OR did he open our eyes, call our name, and then tell us to go out as witnesses to tell everyone else “I have seen the Lord! I’ve found what you’ve been searching for all your life! Look to him and believe!”