John 20:1-2, 11-18
Chapter 20
Resurrection of Jesus
Early on the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala arrived at the tomb before sunrise and saw that the stone covering the entrance had been rolled away.So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them:
“They have taken the LORD from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.”
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene
But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb; as she wept, she bent down to look inside.
She saw two angels dressed in white sitting where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the feet.
They said to her:
“Woman, why are you weeping?”
She replied:
“They have taken my Lord, and I don’t know where they laid him.”
As she said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not recognize him.
Jesus asked her:
“Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?”
She thought he was the gardener and answered:
“Sir, if you have taken him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him.”
Jesus said to her:
“Mary!”
She turned and said to him:
“Rabboni!”—which means Teacher.
Jesus told her:
“Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father, and your Father, to my God, and your God.”
So Mary of Magdala went and told the disciples:
“I have seen the Lord, and this is what he said to me.”
Commentaries
Resurrection of Jesus.
Mary Magdalene is the first to witness the resurrection. “It was still dark” is the symbol from which Easter faith begins. Mary sees the stone removed and runs to tell Peter and the beloved disciple, providing two witnesses who can give reliable testimony. Both respond positively. The beloved disciple arrives at the tomb first, sees the linen cloths but does not enter; after Peter enters, he does: “he saw and believed.” What did he see? That the tomb was empty, and he believed in the resurrection. This belief should not be understood as complete certainty but rather as “he began to believe,” as indicated by the tense of the original Greek verb. This belief emerged at the sight of the empty tomb, a negative “sign”: the absence of a body; not based on Jesus’s words, because “they did not yet know the Scriptures” that speak of the resurrection. Since it is not a complete belief, he does not share it with the others but goes home.
Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene.
Mary Magdalene is described as “the faithful woman.” Peter and the beloved disciple go to the tomb and find only emptiness: the sheets on the ground and the rolled-up shroud. They begin to believe, then each one goes home. However, Mary remains at the tomb (11). Unlike the weary, inconsistent disciples, her steadfast perseverance stands out. Mary Magdalene represents “the Beloved of the Song.” As such, she can be seen as mad or lovesick, which is why she perceives Jesus everywhere, even thinking that the gardener has taken him away and wanting to fetch him herself (15). But the Master appears and calls her by name. She wants to hold on to Jesus (17). She does not yet understand that the risen Lord is a living gift for all humanity; she cannot keep him for herself alone. True love is never selfish or possessive; it always manifests in self-giving and pure generosity. Mary receives a great revelation: Jesus has risen, and she shares the wonderful gift from God the Father — that Jesus’ Father is now our Father, and his God is now our God (17). Finally, the Lord makes her a missionary (18): she must go to her brothers and sisters and proclaim her faith experience — that she has seen the risen Jesus and that he has shared all these things with her.