“So the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb weeping. As she wept, she bent down to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seating where Jesus’ body had been lying, one at the head and the other at the foot. They said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ Mary replied, ‘They have taken my Lord away, and I don’t know where they have put him.’ At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?’ Because she thought he was the gardener, she said to him, ‘Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary.’ She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, ‘Rabboni!’ (which means Teacher).” —John 20:10–16
In this passage, we see Mary’s deep love for Jesus. The going away of Peter and John highlights the fact that Mary stayed. She was the first to the grave, then she goes to tell the disciples, she returns to the grave with them, and at the grave, she remains without them—an unwavering love which, as we will discover, was richly rewarded by the Lord. As we in faith draw closer to Jesus, He will draw closer than anyone we have ever known. He will never leave or abandon us. Mary knew this.
“All believers have not the same degree of faith, or hope, or knowledge, or courage, or wisdom; and it is vain to expect it. But it is a certain fact that those who love Christ most fervently, and cleave to Him most closely, will always enjoy most communion with Him, and feel most of the witness of the Spirit in their hearts. It is precisely those who wait on the Lord, in the temper of Mary Magdalene, to whom the Lord will reveal Himself most fully, and make them know and feel more than others.” —John Charles Ryle
Jesus was the object of Mary’s affections. Her strong love for Him kept her at the tomb—while others left—with a flicker of hope that something or someone might turn up to explain where her Master’s body had gone. She could not tear herself away from the last place His body had been seen.
Become More
While Jesus’ identity may have at first been hidden from Mary’s desperate eyes, there was certainly no missing the sound of him speaking her name. One single word—one very personal word—was enough to deliver her from her present blindness. Jesus sees Mary’s genuine, persevering love for Him. He is the solitary aim of her soul and He rewards her consuming love. He always does.
“The LORD is compassionate and merciful, he is patient and demonstrates great loyal love … he does not deal with us as our sins deserve; he does not repay us as our misdeeds deserves. For as the skies are high above the earth, so his loyal love towers over his faithful followers. As far as the eastern horizon is from the west, so he removes the guilt our rebellious actions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on his faithful followers. For he knows how we are formed, he knows what we are made of … But the LORD continually shows loyal love to his faithful followers, and is faithful to their descendants, to those who keep his covenant, who are careful to obey his commands.” —Psalm 103:8–14; 17–18
Further Reflection
“We shall never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our doings, or our feelings; it is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the soul.” —C.H. Spurgeon