John 20: 11-18
11But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him." 14Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" Supposing him to be wthe gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." 16Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means Teacher). 17Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" 18Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord" - and that he had said these things to her.
Mary Meets Jesus (John 20: 11-18)
The two men had looked into the tomb and were convinced by what they saw before Mary arrived. They returned home, but Mary was riveted to the spot by the tragedy of what she thought was a stolen body. For Mary the empty tomb could only mean one thing; that even in death Jesus wasn’t allowed to rest in peace. She was utterly devastated and could not contain her grief. She wept and was still weeping when she stooped and looked into the tomb and ‘saw two angels in white’.
The word ‘angel’ means ‘messenger’ and is used in the Bible to describe both the human and heavenly beings who perform this task on God’s behalf. Indeed, often there is no way to distinguish between the two. In this case the fact that they were ‘in white’ (verse 12) suggests the latter.
Think: Mary was en route to Jesus’ tomb to anoint the body. What can we learn from her actions?







