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It is difficult to find a more moving scene in Scripture than the risen Jesus’ appearance to Mary Magdalene. Saved out of unimaginable spiritual affliction, Mary had followed Christ and given of her own resources to support His itinerant ministry (see Luke 8:2–3). She was surely devastated by His death. Stunned further when she went in the dark to His tomb on that first Easter morning and saw the stone rolled away, she raced to bring Peter and John to the scene, only to be left alone again after they departed (John 20:1–10).
Mary was overcome by sadness and confusion, and her tears declared that Jesus was the only soul-satisfying object of her faith. The two angels she saw inside the sepulchre were no substitute for her Savior. For when they asked her why she was weeping—a genuine inquiry, given that all of heaven was celebrating Christ’s victory over death—Mary answered, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him” (v. 13). Note the personal address in her cry. Mary could not rest until she drew near to her Lord, even if He was no longer able to draw near to her. Or so she thought.
At that moment, Mary’s weeping gave way to the Lord’s appearing. Turning to see Him, she did not recognize Him at first. Intriguingly, John explains why: “supposing him to be the gardener” (John 20:15). It turns out that Mary was correct. In an ultimate sense, Jesus was and is God’s Gardener. Risen from the dead, He was reversing the curse inflicted in the garden of Eden. Today Jesus continues to cultivate a new creation to be visibly consummated at His return. It is stunning that in the midst of that cosmic work He did not reveal Himself first to society’s elite. He did not appear to kings to subdue them, nor to His enemies to shame them. No, Jesus chose to appear first to a woman who loved Him and knew her need for Him. How wonderful is the Servant-Savior of the world.
The climax of John’s account arrives when Jesus calls Mary by name. Immediately, heaven’s joy filled her heart and the song of the angels became her own. “Rabboni!” she cried (v. 16). The word means “teacher,” but surely it meant infinitely more at that point. It signaled Mary’s complete satisfaction and unending devotion now that she had the living Jesus for herself.
One last promise provides the coda to this drama. Jesus stopped Mary from clinging to Him. Why did He deny her heart’s desire? The answer: He was poised to ascend to the Father in heaven (v. 17), from which He would send the Holy Spirit into every heart of those He loves, so that through the Spirit He might embrace not only Mary but everyone else who loves Him in truth. And when He visibly returns, “Rabboni!” will spring from the lips of a countless multitude and echo in the Father’s house forever.