John 20:11-18 John records Mary's conversation with the angels
slightly differently than the other gospel writers. He records only their
question to her. As she explains her understanding of the events, Jesus appears
and speaks to her. As on the Emmaus road, she does not recognize Him, even when
He speaks to her. Why did she mistake Him for the gardener? Perhaps that was
the only person she would have expected to see in the garden. Still unaware of
His resurrection, but aware that Jesus' body was gone, she responded
appropriately. She would care for His body.
But when Jesus said her name her eyes
were opened to recognize Him, just as the disciples on the Emmaus road
recognized Jesus when He prayed. What is the significance of this apparent
obfuscation by Jesus? We do not know if
this attribute of not being recognized will be present in all resurrected
saints, or is unique to Jesus as God. But we should be cautious of the fact
that Jesus could appear to us in disguise. He might be that homeless beggar
whose appearance is unkempt, or that stranger that shows up to help us out, out
of the blue. Mary says, "Teacher!" a cry of recognition, and clings
to Him.
Why did Jesus tell her that the reason
she could not continue to hug Him was because He had not yet ascended to the
Father? Perhaps there is a clue in Hebrews 9:11-12. The consummation of the
plan of salvation had been Jesus' death on the cross. The epistle to the
Hebrews indicates that Jesus entered a heavenly tabernacle of which the Mosaic
tabernacle was only a copy. In the tabernacle in the wilderness, on the day of
atonement, the high priest entered the Holy of Holies to pour the blood of the
lamb on the mercy seat. How this would happen in the presence of God is
probably beyond our earthly comprehension. But perhaps this was the final
essential step in the process of atonement, and Jesus knew that although He had
defeated death, the blood still had to be applied so that the redeemed would
live eternally free from the stigma of sin. He must ascend to the Father to do
this. He had led captivity captive, and freed
the Old Testament saints from death (Matthew 27:52-53). But they needed
to be cleansed to enter the Father's presence. One can only imagine the shouts
of victory and celebration in heaven when this occurred.
Mary then reported all that had
happened to the disciples.
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