John 20:10-18

"Then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.

They asked her, 'Woman, why are you crying?'

'They have taken my Lord away,' she said, 'and I don't know where they have put him.' At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.

'Woman,' he said, 'why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?'

Thinking he was the gardener, she said, 'Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.'

Jesus said to her, 'Mary.'

She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, 'Rabboni!' (which means Teacher).

Jesus said, 'Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'

Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: 'I have seen the Lord!' And she told them that he had said these things to her.

Thoughts to Ponder

1. Mary wants to know where Jesus is, who took him, what happened, and is very emotional about what she sees (or does not see!)

2. Think of how you would react if then you see Jesus before your eyes again, after his crucifixion? Of course she cried out and reached out to hold onto Jesus, so that he would not leave again. But God's plans are bigger. Jesus had not yet returned to his Father.

3. Mary's news to the disciples must have been SHOCKING!!! OR they thought she had been emotionally overtaken. OR they finally understood what Jesus was telling them would happen!