The Empty Tomb
“Woman, why are you weeping?” they asked. John 20:13 · Berean Standard Bible
The angels ask her, 'Why are you crying?' Mary answers through tears: 'They've taken my Lord, and I don't know where they put Him.'
Even with angels present, Mary is consumed by grief. She's so focused on what she's lost that she can't yet see what she's about to gain.
Angels and Mary have a tender exchange.
Mary is so deep in grief that even angels can't break through. She just wants to find Jesus' body. She doesn't realize that what she's looking for is standing right behind her.
The angels ask Mary why she is weeping, and she expresses her grief over the missing body, still not comprehending the resurrection.
The angels' question is not informational but pastoral—designed to direct Mary's attention from grief to hope. Mary's singular 'I do not know' (contrasting with the plural 'we' in verse 2) reflects her isolation in grief.
The angels and Mary exchange words.
Even the presence of angels does not immediately dispel Mary's grief. She remains focused on the missing body, not yet grasping that the empty tomb is cause for celebration, not mourning.
11But Mary stood outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent down to look into the tomb,
12and she saw two angels in white sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and the other at the feet.
13“Woman, why are you weeping?” they asked.
14When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there. But she did not recognize that it was Jesus.
15“Woman, why are you weeping?” Jesus asked. “Whom are you seeking?”
Read all of John 20 — Mary weeping in a garden hears her name spoken by a voice she thought she'd lost forever. Then Jesus walks into a locked room: peace.
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