Easter Sunday -- John 20:1-18

“Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance…” –John 20:1 (NIV)

He is Risen!

Early in the morning on the first day of the week (after the Passover feast), Mary Magdalene and several other women went to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body. They knew Joseph and Nicodemus had prepared Jesus’ body, so either they intended to finish traditional burial rites, applying spices to the outside of the wrapped body, or they planned to anoint Jesus out of love and devotion.

John only mentions Mary Magdalene visiting the tomb, but note that when she saw the stone rolled away and ran to tell Peter and John, she said, “WE don’t know where they have put [Jesus]!” (v. 2, emphasis added). The other gospels tell us there were at least four others with Mary: Salome, Joanna, Mary (the mother of James the younger and Joseph), and “others,” which probably included Mary, the wife of Cleopas, who was present with Mary Magdalene at the Crucifixion (see Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:1, and Luke 24:10).

Mary Magdalene was alone when she spoke to Peter and John. She had left the other women at the tomb. Matthew 28, Mark 16, and Luke 24 tell us that the other women entered the tomb, encountered two angels, then went off to find the other disciples. (Mary had gone only to Peter and John.)

Meanwhile, Mary, Peter, and John returned to the tomb. John reached the tomb first and looked in; then Peter arrived and, in typical Peter fashion, rushed right in. Both saw the graveclothes, and upon entering the tomb, John immediately believed, though neither yet understood that this was supposed to happen. Both Peter and John returned to where they had been staying.

Mary, however, remained at the tomb, grieving and alone. When she looked inside, the two angels who had appeared to the other women appeared to her. Apparently, her grief was so overwhelming this didn’t shake her! They asked why she was crying, and she responded that she didn’t know where “they” had taken her Lord. She turned from the tomb and saw a man. We are not told why she didn’t recognize Jesus, but if she was crying so hard that she was not even astonished by angels, it was likely that her head was down, and she was wiping away tears. Jesus asked why she was crying, and thinking He was the gardener, she asked where He had laid Jesus so she could bury Him properly.

That’s when Jesus called her name. In that instant, Mary turned toward Him, and as she did so, everything changed for her. Her grief was turned to joy. Any doubts she might have had about Jesus being the Messiah vanished. And she was filled with new life and hope. She called out, “Teacher!”—a cry that must have overflowed with joy and relief.

Jesus told her not to “hold on to Him.” This didn’t mean she could not touch Him (others do later); it meant she was not to expect that He would stay. He said He would soon be ascending to the Father and told her to go and tell the disciples what she had seen and heard.

Jesus still calls our names, and we have the choice whether or not we will turn toward Him, not only to believe in Him for our salvation but also to trust Him in our daily lives. He’s waiting to transform your grief into joy, your fear into faith, and your confusion into hope. Turn toward Him this Easter Sunday and greet Him with joy and praise!