John 20:10-18

¹⁰Then the disciples went back to their homes, ¹¹but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb ¹²and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. ¹³They asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?" ¹⁴"They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put Him." At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. ¹⁵"Woman," He said, "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." ¹⁶Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned toward Him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher). ¹⁷Jesus said, "Do not hold on to Me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to My brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.' " ¹⁸Mary 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.

The empty tomb wrought faith in Jesus’ disciples, and they went home; but in order that we might have strong assurance, and the same faith in the risen Messiah, Jesus then showed Himself to many witnesses, of whom the first was Mary Magdalene. She’s there at the tomb alone this time. And when she looks in, she sees two beings, identified as angels, who ask her, “Why are you crying?” She answers with the same words she used in explaining to Peter and John. The other accounts reveal additional conversation: “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here. He has risen, just as He said He would.” Then she hears another voice, behind her, ask again, “Why are you crying?” And she thinks He’s the gardener. She wants to know where He put Jesus’ body. And I’m sure it’s true that she thought He was the gardener, but in reality, He is the gardener.

If we go back to the Garden of Eden, we recall that the first gardener failed. Adam failed. But the second gardener, the second Adam, this very Jesus, did not. He picks up right here with the restoration of creation. He’s the gardener, and John’s gospel has shown us repeatedly how He tills the soil of our hearts with His carefully chosen words in one-on-one and group conversations. When we are still in our sins, we may often have Christ presented before our mind’s eye but to no avail; however, when the voice that thundered into existence the very worlds speaks into our hearts “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6), then we see Him indeed, and our hearts are filled with a joy which all eternity cannot take away. Look at what He says to Mary: “Mary.” That’s all it takes. Jesus says our name and we come to life. Mary and Lazarus have experienced it. And we have too. Remember when Jesus said, “I call My sheep by name and they follow Me” (John 10:3). Calvin says, “The only way in which we are admitted to the true knowledge of Christ is, when He first knows us, and then familiarly invites us to Himself, not by that ordinary voice which sounds indiscriminately in the ears of all, but by that voice with which He especially calls the sheep which the Father hath given to Him.” Galatians 4:9 Jesus also tells her that He is going to His Father, who is our Father, and to His God, who is our God. That’s the unity we share with Christ. As close as He is to the Father, that’s how close we are. He is that way by begotten sonship; we are that way by adoption. But the love of God, amazingly, is the same for both Jesus and us.

Having thus been filled with joy at this recognition of Jesus, Mary wanted to cling to Him, for she still did not recognize that Jesus’ going to be with the Father was better for her than if He had remained on the earth in His physical body. It is great indeed to have Jesus at our side; but soon, we would have Jesus in our very hearts, through His Spirit, whom He was about to send. When Mary had seen the Lord, she immediately renders her obedience to Him in the fullest sense by calling Him Rabboni. She then hastened to tell the good news to those around her, namely His brothers – the apostles, and perhaps eventually His siblings – who also came to faith; and now, nearly 2000 years later, the Church is following in Mary’s footsteps, running to all the nations of the world, proclaiming the joyful news, “We have seen the Lord!”