Mary Is Overcome with Grief

Lesson #326

We ended the previous lesson with the disciples going back to their homes, “But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb” (John 20:11 ESV). Mary apparently followed Peter and John back to the tomb, but when they left and went back to their homes, Mary stayed at the tomb and wept, but why? According to Matthew, Mary and two other women saw an angle remove the stone and said that Jesus had risen. John reports Mary saying that someone had taken the body from the tomb. Remember, neither Matthew or John were eye witnesses and what they are reporting is second hand information. So, what really happened at the tomb?

“Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb,” “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). It appears that Matthew reported the appearance of the angles too early. Mary was at the tomb twice and if both had reported Mary seeing the angles on the second visit then the reports would have been less confusing. We will go with the version John gives and place the visit with the angels at the second visit to the tomb.

As she wept, Mary stooped to look into the tomb for the second time, but is met with a surprise; she sees two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had lain. “They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.”” (John 20:13 ESV). John didn’t record the angels telling Mary that Jesus had risen as Matthew did. He covers this in a different way in the next verse.

Before looking at that verse, consider the two angels and where they were sitting. Jesus died in payment for our salvation so that God could have mercy on us and extend grace to us. In Exodus 25 the mercy seat is mentioned in relation to two angels: “And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end. Of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends” (Exodus 25:18 – 19 ESV). I find it interesting that John reports two angels sitting at the two ends of where Jesus lay, like the two cherubim of gold at the ends of the mercy seat.

Back to Mary: “Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus” (John 20:14 ESV). John didn’t tell us that the angels told the women that Jesus had risen. Instead, he presents Jesus alive to talk to Mary, but she was so absorbed in grief that she didn’t realize at first that it was Jesus, because she probably had no expectation of seeing him there. As of yet, she probably had no concept of what the resurrection was like and so was unprepared to recognize the person standing there as Jesus.

Prayer

Father, we have come to a special place in our study of John where a great mystery is about to be understood. Up to this point no one has yet understood the meaning of rising from the dead. When Mary turns, absorbed in grief with eyes blurred by tears, she sees a man standing near her, but does not realize it is Jesus. Father, in the next lesson is the excitement of her realizing that she is talking with Jesus and he is alive.