But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,
Mary stayed weeping outside the tomb after Peter and John left and went back home, bending down to look inside again because she could not bear to leave without knowing what had become of her Lord. She found two angels in white sitting where His body had lain, one at the head and one at the feet, but her grief kept her from knowing them as heavenly beings while she still believed He had been taken away to some unknown place. At that very moment Jesus Himself was close beside her, yet her tears kept her from recognizing Him. When He called her by name she knew His voice, and her sorrow turned to joy in Him as the resurrection and the life. She hastened to the disciples as the first to preach that He had risen, showing that He reveals Himself to those devotedly seeking Him and turns their weeping into witness that He is a living Saviour.
Weeping Outside the Sepulchre
Mary remained at the tomb in grief after the disciples left and went home to Jerusalem, with Peter and John named as those who returned from the sepulchre while she stayed behind. She stood without at the sepulchre weeping in bitter disappointment at not finding her Lord, her heart crying after her Saviour. She could not bear the uncertainty about what had happened to His body, and she could not leave while its loss remained unknown.
As she wept she stooped down and looked into the sepulchre again. Inside she saw two angels where Jesus' body had lain, one at the head and one at the feet of the place. They appeared in human form and in white, yet her grief kept her from recognizing them as heavenly beings. She still believed His body had been taken away, and when asked why she wept she answered that her Lord had been taken away and she did not know where He had been laid.
From Sorrow to Witness
Even as she wept outside the tomb, Jesus was close beside her, yet her tears kept her from recognizing Him. Her sorrow turned to joy when the risen Jesus revealed Himself to her, calling her by name until she recognized Him by His voice. In that meeting He proclaimed that He is the resurrection and the life. He makes Himself known to those who are devoted to Him and who seek a living connection with heaven. He told her to carry His message to the disciples, and then He ascended to the Father to receive confirmation that His sacrifice was accepted and to receive authority in heaven and on earth.
She hastened to the disciples with the glad tidings, and so she was the first to preach that Jesus had risen. The grieving women were made the first messengers to spread the news of the risen Saviour. Her seeking and meeting the risen Saviour illustrates resurrection hope, for even as Christ was raised from the dead, those who sleep in Jesus will be brought with Him. As Mary recognized Jesus, so the faithful will recognize loved ones again in the resurrection.
Her weeping is a picture of acting as though Jesus were still buried in Joseph's new tomb with a great stone rolled before the door. That outlook is doubt, discouragement and unbelief, seen when things become entangled and cannot be easily adjusted and when self-sacrifice and consecration are not seen in those who manage important interests. Against it the truth to be proclaimed with voice and pen is that Jesus has risen, He is a living Saviour, the Head of the church, the Good Shepherd. Courage and faith must not be lost to doubts and unbelief, for discouragement spreads as a deadly malady.
Mary stayed weeping outside the tomb after Peter and John left and went back home, bending down to look inside again because she could not bear to leave without knowing what had become of her Lord. She found two angels in white sitting where His body had lain, one at the head and one at the feet, but her grief kept her from knowing them as heavenly beings while she still believed He had been taken away to some unknown place. At that very moment Jesus Himself was close beside her, yet her tears kept her from recognizing Him. When He called her by name she knew His voice, and her sorrow turned to joy in Him as the resurrection and the life. She hastened to the disciples as the first to preach that He had risen, showing that He reveals Himself to those devotedly seeking Him and turns their weeping into witness that He is a living Saviour.
Weeping Outside the Sepulchre
Mary remained at the tomb in grief after the disciples left and went home to Jerusalem, with Peter and John named as those who returned from the sepulchre while she stayed behind. She stood without at the sepulchre weeping in bitter disappointment at not finding her Lord, her heart crying after her Saviour. She could not bear the uncertainty about what had happened to His body, and she could not leave while its loss remained unknown.
As she wept she stooped down and looked into the sepulchre again. Inside she saw two angels where Jesus' body had lain, one at the head and one at the feet of the place. They appeared in human form and in white, yet her grief kept her from recognizing them as heavenly beings. She still believed His body had been taken away, and when asked why she wept she answered that her Lord had been taken away and she did not know where He had been laid.
From Sorrow to Witness
Even as she wept outside the tomb, Jesus was close beside her, yet her tears kept her from recognizing Him. Her sorrow turned to joy when the risen Jesus revealed Himself to her, calling her by name until she recognized Him by His voice. In that meeting He proclaimed that He is the resurrection and the life. He makes Himself known to those who are devoted to Him and who seek a living connection with heaven. He told her to carry His message to the disciples, and then He ascended to the Father to receive confirmation that His sacrifice was accepted and to receive authority in heaven and on earth.
She hastened to the disciples with the glad tidings, and so she was the first to preach that Jesus had risen. The grieving women were made the first messengers to spread the news of the risen Saviour. Her seeking and meeting the risen Saviour illustrates resurrection hope, for even as Christ was raised from the dead, those who sleep in Jesus will be brought with Him. As Mary recognized Jesus, so the faithful will recognize loved ones again in the resurrection.
Her weeping is a picture of acting as though Jesus were still buried in Joseph's new tomb with a great stone rolled before the door. That outlook is doubt, discouragement and unbelief, seen when things become entangled and cannot be easily adjusted and when self-sacrifice and consecration are not seen in those who manage important interests. Against it the truth to be proclaimed with voice and pen is that Jesus has risen, He is a living Saviour, the Head of the church, the Good Shepherd. Courage and faith must not be lost to doubts and unbelief, for discouragement spreads as a deadly malady.