John 20:2, commentary and pictures

Finding the stone removed and the body gone, Mary Magdalene at once ran to Simon Peter and to John, the disciple Jesus loved, and told them the Lord had been taken out of the sepulchre and she did not know where he had been laid. Her report meant she assumed the body had been removed, fearing enemies had taken it, before she had heard or understood that Jesus had risen. While she hastened to Peter and John, other women came to the tomb from another direction and likewise found the stone rolled away and the body of their Lord not there.

Her report prompted the disciples to hurry to the tomb, and its empty state confirmed what she had told them. Their confusion reflected grief and distress after the crucifixion; although Jesus had told them he would rise from the dead, sorrow kept them from taking in his words and expecting fulfillment, and they had not yet understood the Old Testament scriptures foretelling Christ's resurrection. On seeing the empty tomb, John believed Jesus had risen, basing his belief on Jesus' own earlier words.

Although angels told Mary and the other women that Jesus had risen and sent them to tell the disciples, the disciples could not believe the report, and Mary remained at the tomb grieving and still distressed by the thought that the body had been taken. The empty tomb, the burial cloths, and the later encounters with the risen Jesus showed he had truly risen and that the claim his body had been stolen was false. The verse voices the mistaken thought that Jesus was still dead and taken away, but he did not remain buried in Joseph's new tomb with a great stone rolled before the door; he has risen as a living Saviour, the Head of the church and the Good Shepherd. To act as if he is still buried is unbelief that loses heart and courage and faith when things become entangled and spreads discouragement as a deadly malady; his resurrection calls for proclaiming with voice and pen that he lives and for trusting him with holy faith and hope.