Mary Magdalene Sees Jesus
She thought he was the gardener
This story opens with Mary weeping alone at the tomb. It may be hard to read if you are grieving a loss yourself.
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- A verse number shows the Bible’s exact words.
- An underlined word shows what it means.
Story
What happened?
Tap a verse number, like , to read the Bible’s exact words.
Who’s who and what came beforePeople, places, and the story so far. Open it anytime.
Scene Card
Cast
- Mary Magdalene: A follower of Jesus from the town of Magdala, by the Sea of Galilee. Jesus had set her free from seven demons (Luke 8:2).
- Jesus: The one the Gospels present as the promised Messiah and the Son of God.
- Peter: One of Jesus's closest followers.
- The other disciple: John's Gospel calls him "the one whom Jesus loved" (20:2). It never gives his name.
- Two angels in white: God's messengers, sitting inside the tomb.
Setting
- A garden outside Jerusalem, near the place where Jesus was crucified. In the garden is a new tomb cut into the rock (19:41).
When
- About 2,000 years ago, very early on a Sunday morning, while it was still dark. Jesus had died on the Friday before.
Before the Story
Mary stayed near Jesus when he died. She stood near the cross with Jesus's mother and other women (19:25).
Jesus was buried in a garden. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus wrapped his body in linen cloths with spices. They laid him in a new tomb in a garden (19:38-42).
Mary owed Jesus a great deal. Jesus had set her free from seven demons. After that, she traveled with him and helped support his work (Luke 8:1-3).
Here's what you know that almost nobody in this story knows: Jesus is alive. Our story called The Resurrection follows Luke's Gospel. It tells what the women found that morning. John tells it in his own way. John's Gospel follows Mary.
Map of the Story
| Scene | Verses | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Alone in the dark | 20:1-2 | Mary finds the stone moved and runs for help |
| 2. The race to the tomb | 20:3-10 | Peter and the other disciple run to see. Then they go home |
| 3. Mary stays | 20:11-13 | Mary weeps. Two angels speak to her |
| 4. The gardener | 20:14-15 | Mary sees a man she does not know |
| 5. "Mary." | 20:16 | Jesus says her name |
| 6. "I have seen the Lord!" | 20:17-18 | Jesus sends Mary with a message |
Plain Retelling
Scene 1 of 6Alone in the Dark
It was Sunday, very early. The sky was still dark. Mary Magdalene walked to the tomb in the garden.
Two days before, she had watched Jesus die. Now she came to the place where he was buried.
Mary saw that the stone had been moved away from the door of the tomb.
Mary ran. She ran to Peter and to the other disciple, the one Jesus loved.
"They have taken the Lord out of the tomb," she said, "and we do not know where they have put Him!" (20:2). Mary was upset and confused. She thought someone had taken Jesus's body away.
Scene 2 of 6The Race to the Tomb
Peter and the other disciple set out for the tomb. They ran together. The other disciple ran faster and got there first.
The other disciple bent down and looked in. He saw the linen cloths lying there. But he did not go in.
Then Peter arrived. On the night Jesus was arrested, Peter had said three times that he did not know Jesus (18:17, 18:25-27). Now Peter went straight into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there too.
The cloth that had been around Jesus's head was rolled up. It lay by itself, apart from the other cloths.
Then the other disciple went in. John's Gospel says the other disciple "saw and believed" (20:8).
But the two disciples still did not understand what the Scriptures said. The Scriptures said Jesus had to rise from the dead.
Then Peter and the other disciple went back to their homes.
Scene 3 of 6Mary Stays
Mary did not go home. She stood outside the tomb, crying.
Mary had lost her teacher. Now she had lost even his body. She was grieving, and she was alone.
Nobody in the garden told her to stop crying. Crying for someone you love is not wrong. Jesus himself cried when his friend Lazarus died: "Jesus wept" (John 11:35).
As Mary cried, she bent down and looked into the tomb.
She saw two angels dressed in white. They were sitting where Jesus's body had been. One sat at the head. The other sat at the feet.
The angels asked her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" (20:13). Back then, "woman" was a polite way to speak to a woman. It was not rude.
"Because they have taken my Lord away," Mary said, "and I do not know where they have put Him" (20:13).
Mary was talking with angels. Still she did not stop crying. Her grief was that big.
Scene 4 of 6The Gardener
Mary turned around. Jesus was standing there. But she did not know it was Jesus.
"Woman, why are you weeping?" Jesus asked. "Whom are you seeking?" (20:15).
Mary thought Jesus was the gardener. One likely reason: the tomb was in a garden.
She said, "Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you put him. I will go and get him."
Here's what you know that Mary does not know yet: the man she was talking to was Jesus. The one she was looking for was right in front of her.
The Bible doesn't say why Mary did not know him. But remember, she was weeping. And even the disciples did not yet understand that Jesus had to rise from the dead.
Scene 5 of 6"Mary."
Then Jesus said one word.
"Mary." (20:16).
Mary turned toward him. Now she knew him.
"Rabboni!" she said (20:16).
Rabboni means "Teacher." It is a word from Jesus's own language. John says she spoke "in Hebrew."
Jesus was not gone. His body had not been stolen. Jesus was alive, and he knew her name.
Scene 6 of 6"I Have Seen the Lord!"
"Do not cling to Me," Jesus said, "for I have not yet ascended to the Father" (20:17). To cling means to hold on tight. To ascend means to go up.
Then Jesus gave Mary a job. "But go and tell My brothers, 'I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God'" (20:17).
Jesus called his disciples "brothers." Two of them had gone home. All of them had run away when he was arrested (Mark 14:50). Jesus still called them his family.
So Mary went. She found the disciples. She told them, "I have seen the Lord!" (20:18).
Then she told them everything Jesus had said to her.
In John's Gospel, Mary was the first person to see Jesus alive. She was also the first to carry the news. The longer ending of Mark's Gospel says the same thing: Jesus "appeared first to Mary Magdalene" (Mark 16:9).
That morning Mary came to the garden looking for a dead body. She left with news that Jesus was alive.
Meaning
What does it mean?
Read It
What Does This Mean?
| The text says | It means |
|---|---|
| "While it was still dark" (20:1) | Very early, before sunrise. In John's Gospel, darkness can also be a picture of not yet understanding. This is a comparison. |
| "He saw and believed" (20:8) | John's Gospel does not say exactly what the other disciple believed. Many readers think he believed Jesus had risen. But he did not yet understand the Scriptures about it (20:9). |
| "Woman, why are you weeping?" (20:13) | The angels and then Jesus asked about her tears. They did not scold her for crying. |
| "Mary" (20:16) | Jesus knew her and called her by name. Earlier in John, Jesus said the shepherd "calls his own sheep by name" (John 10:3). |
| "Rabboni!" (20:16) | "My teacher." Easton's Bible Dictionary calls it the most honorable of all the titles for a teacher. |
| "Do not cling to Me" (20:17) | Jesus was not pushing Mary away. Many readers think he meant this: "I am not staying the same way as before. Soon I will go to the Father. Don't try to hold on to the old way. Go and tell the others." |
| "My Father and your Father" (20:17) | Jesus shares his Father with his followers. They are God's family too. |
| "I have seen the Lord!" (20:18) | Mary was the first person in John's Gospel to see Jesus alive and tell the news. |
Back Then
Magdala was a town on the west shore of the Sea of Galilee. It was about 3 miles northwest of the city of Tiberias. The name means "tower." "Magdalene" means "from Magdala." (Easton's Bible Dictionary)
Tombs were often carved into rock. A large stone closed the door. Matthew says Jesus's tomb was cut into the rock, with a great stone rolled across the entrance (Matthew 27:60).
Bodies were wrapped in linen with spices. John says Jesus's body was wrapped "in linen cloths with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom" (John 19:40). Linen is a cloth made from the flax plant. (Easton's Bible Dictionary)
Rabboni is Aramaic. The BSB says Mary spoke "in Hebrew." Many scholars think this means Aramaic, the everyday language of Jewish people in Galilee and Judea then. It is close to Hebrew. John also says "in Hebrew" for the place names Gabbatha and Golgotha, which are Aramaic words (John 19:13, 19:17).
Literal Reader Alert
Why is this different from Luke's story? In Luke, a group of women go to the tomb and see two men in shining clothes (Luke 24:1-10). In John, the story stays close to Mary. The Gospels remember that morning in their own ways. The main events are the same. The tomb was empty. Mary Magdalene was there. Jesus was alive.
Was Mary Magdalene a prostitute? No. The Bible never says so. Luke says only that Jesus set her free from seven demons (Luke 8:2). A sermon by Pope Gregory the Great spread the idea that she was a sinful woman. That sermon is usually dated to 591. In it, Gregory said Mary Magdalene was the same person as the sinful woman in Luke 7 and as Mary of Bethany. The Bible does not say that. Many churches today, including the Roman Catholic Church, no longer teach that idea.
What were the seven demons? The Bible doesn't say what this was like for Mary. It says Jesus set her free. Some readers wonder whether it was an illness. Either way, it did not make her worse than anyone else. Luke says that afterward she followed Jesus and helped support his work (Luke 8:1-3).
Who was "the one whom Jesus loved"? John's Gospel never names him. Church tradition has long said he was John, one of the twelve. Many Christians still think so. Others are less sure.
Why did Jesus say "Do not cling to Me"? Older Bibles say "Touch me not." It's okay to notice things like this. Careful readers have asked about it for centuries. The Bible doesn't explain it fully. Jesus was not angry at Mary. He did not stay on earth in the same way as before. Later he promised to send the Holy Spirit and to be with his people always (John 16:7, Matthew 28:20).
How People Feel
| Who | Feeling | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Mary | Upset and confused | The stone was moved and the body was gone (20:1-2) |
| The other disciple | Believing | He saw the empty tomb and the linen cloths (20:8) |
| Mary | Grieving and alone | She thought someone had taken Jesus's body away (20:11-13) |
| Mary | Joyful | Jesus said her name, and she knew him (20:16) |
| Mary | Eager to tell | Jesus sent her with news (20:17-18) |
For you
What does it mean for me?
Your Turn
Where are you in this garden today? Tap one.
Crying outside the tomb
That's where Mary was. Nobody told her to stop crying. Jesus came to her while she was still in tears. It's okay to be sad. God hears you and stays near.
Missing someone who died
Mary came to the garden because she missed Jesus. Grief is the pain of loving someone you lost. You don't have to hurry through it. If this brings up big feelings, talk with a parent, pastor, or trusted adult.
Nobody sees me
Mary stayed when the two disciples went home. Jesus came to her and said her name. He knows your name too.
Ready to tell someone
Mary went to the disciples and said, "I have seen the Lord!" You can share good news too, in your own words.
It's really bad right now
Mary told the truth about her pain. You can too. Please tell a trusted adult today. In the U.S., you can call or text 988 any time. If you are in danger, call 911 or your local emergency number. Outside the U.S., findahelpline.com lists free helplines.
You Might Have Heard
"Mary Magdalene was a sinful woman who changed her ways."
What's true: Jesus did set Mary free (Luke 8:2). She loved him and followed him.
What the story is mainly about: Jesus found Mary in her grief and called her by name. Then he sent her to tell the others. The Bible never calls her a prostitute. It calls her the first one to say, "I have seen the Lord!" (20:18).
Where Jesus is: In the garden, alive, standing right behind her before she knew it.
Good News
Mary stayed at the tomb and cried. Jesus did not wait for her to stop. He did not scold her for not knowing him. He said her name.
Sadness is not a lack of faith. Mary was sad because she loved Jesus. Jesus had once promised, "You have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice" (John 16:22). That morning, the promise came true for Mary.
God does not always take our sadness away quickly. But Jesus stays near while we cry. In Baptism, God calls each of his children by name too.
Jesus comes to people who are grieving, knows them by name, and sends them out with good news.
From the Wider Church
Since the Middle Ages, Christian writers such as Thomas Aquinas have called Mary Magdalene the "apostle to the apostles." An apostle is someone sent with a message. Jesus sent Mary to the apostles with the news that he was alive. In 2016 the Roman Catholic Church used this title when it raised her day to a feast. The ELCA remembers her on July 22 as "Mary Magdalene, Apostle." Many other churches remember her that day too.
Big Idea
The risen Jesus comes to Mary in her grief, calls her by name, and sends her to tell the good news.
If this story brings up big feelings, talk with someone you trust, like a parent, pastor, or counselor.
For leaders and parentsLuther, church readings, and notes for teaching.
From Luther
In the Small Catechism, Luther explains that Jesus is "my Lord." Jesus "has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature" (Small Catechism, Second Article, in an older English translation). The same explanation ends with Jesus, who "is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity." Luther teaches us to say "me." Jesus did not rise only for the world in general. He rose for each person. He spoke to Mary by her own name in the same personal way.
In Church
Many churches follow a reading plan called the Revised Common Lectionary. John 20:1-18 is one of the Gospel choices on Easter Day every year. Part of it is also read on her day, July 22.
We quote Luther for what he got right about grace. He also wrote terrible things about Jewish people. Read our note on that.
Memorize
How do I keep it?
One line from this story to learn by heart. Practice a little now. It will come back later so it sticks.
I have seen the Lord!
How did that feel?