John 20:12, commentary and pictures

Mary remained weeping alone outside the opened tomb after Peter and John had returned home, and bending down to look inside once more she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet where the body of Jesus had lain.
They appeared in the form of men so she did not know them for heavenly beings, and when they tenderly asked why she wept she answered that her Lord had been taken away and she did not know where He had been laid.
Their place at either end of the empty place confirms His body was no longer there and marks it to show He is not still buried but has risen as a living Saviour.
Grief and tears kept weeping Mary from recognizing Jesus standing close beside her, as grief kept the disciples from believing the angels' message and His words.
She who loved Him for forgiving her sins became the first messenger of the risen news, hurrying to the disciples that she had seen the Lord alive, and as she knew Him again by His voice so the faithful will know again their loved ones by voice and manner in the resurrection morning.

The Scene at the Tomb

Mary remained alone outside the opened tomb weeping bitterly disappointed at not finding her Lord after Peter and John had returned home, and uncertain what had become of His body she bent down to look inside once more. Inside Joseph's new tomb, with a great stone rolled before the door, she saw two angels in white garments sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and the other at the feet. The two in white were seated at either end of the place where His head had rested and where His feet had been.

They appeared in human form as men, so she did not recognize them as heavenly or celestial beings. They spoke tenderly to her in her grief and asked why she was weeping. She answered that her Lord had been taken away and she did not know where He had been laid, thinking someone had taken His body, and her grief over the missing body kept her from being comforted by their question.

Their presence at either end of the empty place confirms His body was no longer there. It frames the empty tomb just before Mary meets the risen Jesus, accompanying the news that He had risen and the women's report that angels had appeared at His tomb and affirmed He had risen.

Resurrection Message and Hope

This verse belongs to Jesus' appearance after His resurrection to the weeping women, whom He made the first messengers of the risen news. A woman was the first to proclaim the risen Savior, for after Jesus called Mary by name and she acknowledged Him as Master and Lord, she hurried to the disciples with His charge that He ascends to His Father and their Father and to His God and their God. The women's report was that angels had appeared at the tomb and affirmed that He had risen, and that they had seen Jesus alive in the garden.

Though Jesus was already standing close beside weeping Mary, grief and tears kept her from recognizing Him. The disciples' grief likewise kept them from believing the angels' message and Jesus' words. Jesus stayed on earth after His resurrection until He had made Himself known to Mary, because she loved Him for forgiving her sins and joining her soul to heaven. This shows He is willing to reveal Himself to those devoted to Him and His service who desire above all else to keep a living connection with heaven.

Since Jesus died and rose again, those who sleep in Jesus God will bring with Him. As Mary recognized Jesus after His resurrection by His voice and manner, so the faithful will recognize again those who now sleep when they hear their voice once more in the resurrection morning. The living connection between heaven and earth still holds, and every promise God has made will be fulfilled to those who remain faithful and meet their Lord in peace with a part among the people of God in His kingdom. The seated angels mark the place where His body had lain to show He is not still buried there but has risen, revealing Himself as the resurrection and the life. He is a living Saviour, the Head of the church and the Good Shepherd whose sheep know His voice and will not follow a stranger.

To act as if He were still dead spreads discouragement as a deadly malady when things become entangled. Instead His resurrection must be proclaimed and met with courage, faith and hope that cannot fall while trusting God.