John 20:11-15
 
John 20:11 (KJB)
But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,
 
Now begins the post-resurrection appearances of the Lord Jesus Christ. Once Peter and John had gone back to their place, Mary Magdalene had either arrived from a different direction and had come back to the tomb. In an effort to look one more time to see if the body of the Lord Jesus was really missing, she had stooped down, like John did, and looked inside the tomb to confirm the story of Peter and John. Mary had loved the Lord because he had saved her soul and saved her from a life of continued sin and she wanted to know what happened to the body of the Lord. If there is one thing that shines through about Mary Magdalene it is her tenacious spirit.
 
John 20:12 (KJB)
And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
 
When Mary had looked into the tomb she had seen two angels which were sitting on the place where the body of the Lord Jesus had lain. There were 12 appearances of the Lord Jesus Christ recorded in all the Gospels but John records only 4 of them.
 
John 20:13 (KJB)
And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.
 
Now here is an interesting scenario. The angels probably looked very human even though they were dressed in white. If they had come in some type of heavenly glory which shined, Mary may have been scared but here she holds a conversation with them as if they were just two normal people. Hey asked her why she is weeping and she responded that they have taken away the body of the Lord and she did not know where they laid Him. Mary probably had planned to go to the new sepulchre and continue her initial preparation among many tears.
 
John 20:14 (KJB)
And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
 
Once Mary had made her statement to the angels, she then turned herself back from stooping into the tomb. Upon her turning around she had seen Jesus but at this point she did not know it was Him because she was not expecting to see Jesus alive. She was filled with much grief and maybe the tears had prevented her from recognizing Jesus. Jesus must have been standing there a while but probably appeared after the two disciples had gone back to their place. The word “standing” in the Greek is in the perfect tense which means that Jesus was standing there for a while so it is possible that Mary had a longer conversation with the angels, not knowing they were angels.
 
John 20:15 (KJB)
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.
 
Jesus than asks Mary two questions as to why she is weeping and whom was she seeking? It is apparent that Mary’s grief had prevented her from recognizing the voice of Jesus unless His voice was different because in the resurrection all things will be made new. Mary had thought that He was the gardener and maybe it was him who had moved the body to a different tomb. Mary wanted to know where he moved him and the next statement shows the love Mary had for Jesus. She was willing to get the body and take it away herself. Now keep in mind that 100 pounds of spices was added to the weight of Jesus and if He was still dead, then Mary would be attempting to move a dead body which is literally dead weight plus the weight of the spices by herself. She would never have been able to do it but she was showing her deep love for Jesus in wanting to care for His bodily remains. The next question would be where would she take Him as she wanted to take Him away?

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