Jesus Called Mary By Name

JESUS WAS MARY MAGDALENE'SMASTER
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
John 20:16 Jesus said to her, Mary. She turned
herself, and said to him, Rabboni;which is to say,
Master.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Christ's Salutation to the Christian
J. M. Ludlow, D. D.
John 20:16
Jesus saidto her, Mary. She turned herself, and said to him, Rabboni; which
is to say, Master.
: — No one ever used human language so eloquently as Jesus. Menhave
spokenwith such arguments, rhetoric and passion, as to convince and move
multitudes. But no one save Jesus could by simply saying, "Follow Me," draw
any one from his trade, his home, and bind him in life-long devotion. What
powerin the look He, a helpless prisoner, castupon His renegade disciple!But
I suppose that this word "Mary" surpassed all others —
1. In what it revealedof Himself. Those lips were endowedwith a new power,
as there had passedupon them the change which had glorified His

resurrectionbody. These bodies, as organs through which our souls express
themselves, are like poor untuned instruments upon which one would play. It
is only by study of the art and long practice that the most skilful canmake
them reproduce what is in the depths of the heart. But Christ's resurrection
body was perfectly adapted to express all the emotions of His spirit. All the
sentiment of His soul was doubtless put into the manner and tone with which
He spake that word "Mary." There must have been a world of revelationand
love in it; the infinite thought filling and flowing out from the human word
more than the electric light radiates from the bulb of glass which enclosesthe
spark.
2. BecauseofHis choice ofan auditor. The import of the occasionwas so
great, the moment when life and immorality were brought to light, that the
earth might wellhave been assembledwhile the heavens boweddown to hear
the first word of the risen Son of God. But Jesus choosesone auditor. And
who is it? A king? A high priest? A prophet with intellect inspired to
comprehend the grandeur of His tidings? No; but a simple woman. And why?
Becauseshe loved the Saviour most. Very deep the lessonwe are to learn from
this, that not to the most serviceable even, nor to the most spiritually learned,
not to those who were appointed to the highest dignities in the Church by His
own designation, the holy apostles, but to her who loved Him most, gave He
the most resplendent honour of all. The blessing of Christ will most enwrap us
as we come closestto Him. You will learn most of His truth as you give
yourself up to feelHis affection.
I. WHAT IS THAT WORD WHICH OUR LORD CHOOSES THROUGH
WHICH TO REVEAL HIMSELF? There was one word so immense in its
meaning, so sacred, that the few would not venture even to pronounce it. How
appropriate if those lips which are henceforth to pronounce from the throne
of heaven the mandates of the universe had uttered that word in tones of
thunder, "I am God!" It would have been in keeping with the guard of angels
and the magnitude of the event. But Jesus saith unto her, Mary. He called her

name. His sense ofHis divinity and dominion is no greaterthan His love and
sympathy for one sorrowing human being. "I have called thee by name," said
God to the Old Testamentpeople. Our Saviour emphasizes very beautifully
the same truth. "He called His own sheep by name, and leadeththem out."
We cannotlose ourselves in the multitude of the world so as to escapeHis eye,
nor in the multitude of His saints so as to have only a part of His gracious
care.
II. MARY RECOGNIZED, NOT ONLYHER OWN NAME, BUT THE
VOICE THAT UTTERED IT. At first she did not see that it was Jesus. But
the voice penetratedboth Jesus'disguise and her own blindness. That
expressedmore than the mere presence did. The callwhich He makes to the
heart is beyond all the external evidence for His divinity and presence. A man
may through ignorance be unable to answerinfidel objections, and yet be
unshakenbecause of the impression Christ has wrought upon his inner
experience. What argument could have robbed the dying Wesleyof the
confidence he uttered, "God is with me"? How that word "Mary" stirred the
recollectionofthe disciple! He said it doubtless just as He used to say it. The
word recalledHis casting out the sevendevils. Such the fulness with which our
Saviour's call to us to-day is laden. It is a reminder of what He has always
been to us. His watchover you beganlong ago. Foryou He died as truly as for
Mary. And His providence and Spirit have hovered over you like the two
wings of a mighty angelshadowing you as you have moved down the path of
life. Do you remember what He was to you in the hour of your conversion? in
the hour of sorrow? Try to think what you would be now had not His
goodness keptor guided you. You were never such a friend to yourself as this
unseen, mysterious companion has been to you. And as He calls eachof us by
name — the name mother's voice so fondly calledin our childhood — the
name by which dear ones will try in vain to callus back for one moment's
recognitionas our souls disappear through the death shades — He condenses
into it all the love and goodof past years. Our life-long, tried, infinite Friend
calls us again.

III. But it was not merely an old-time greeting Mary received. IT WAS A
NEW AND MEASURELESS BENEDICTION. Thatsalutationmade real to
her all she had ever dared to hope. With the other disciples she did once
fondly dream that He who gave life to others would Himself always live. But
how terrible the disappointment? But now her wildest dream is surpassedby
the reality. Oh! if we could only realize what Christ means by His salutation
to-day! Mass allthe longings of your heart; they are nothing to be compared
with the reality.
(J. M. Ludlow, D. D.)
The Powerof the Human Voice and Ear
T. Whitelaw, D. D., Bp. Ryle., C. S. Robinson.
John 20:16
is to say, Master.
The voice is an instrument more delicate than the finest organor harp, and
capable of expressing emotions more manifold and spiritual than these. The
soul within is a player of marvellous subtlety that can so handle this Divine
instrument as to translate into articulate sounds (of talk or music), and
sometimes into a word, the thousand and one emotions of which the spirit is
susceptible. Only one other phenomenon rivals these in strangeness, viz., the
capacitywhich belongs to the intelligence that sits behind the ears of
interpreting, with a speedsurpassing thought and an accuracyexcluding
mistake, the thoughts and feelings that another has impressed upon these
waves of sound. When Mary, wrapped in sorrow, heardthe old voice speak,
caught the undefinable "something" that made that voice stand out from all

others as pre-eminently dear to her heart, she comprehended the situation
without further remark. No voice but one could say "Mary" like that.
(T. Whitelaw, D. D.)
She turned herself. — We know from ver. 14 that Mary had already turned
once from the grave when Jesus appearedbehind her. Here againshe "turned
herself." Notrecognizing the person who spoke to her, and thinking He had
been the gardener, she partially turned away, as a woman naturally would
from a strange man, and hardly lookedat Him, while she spoke of taking the
body away. But the moment the voice of Jesus soundedin her ears, she turned
againdirectly to Him, and made some movement towards Him. says, "It
seems to me that after having said, 'Where hast thou laid Him?' she turned to
the angels to ask why they were astonished;and that then Christ, by calling
her by name, turned her back to Himself from them, and revealedHimself by
His voice."
(Bp. Ryle.)
And saith unto Him, Rabboni. — This title existedin Jewishschools under a
threefold form: Rab, master, the lowestdegree ofhonour; Rabbi, my master,
of higher dignity; Rabboni, my greatmaster, the most honourable of all,
publicly given to only seven persons, all of the schoolof Hillel, and of great
eminence.
(C. S. Robinson.)

Sermon for Thursday in EasterWeek
Susannah Winkworth
John 20:16
is to say, Master.
How we ought to love God, and how Christ is a Masterof the Eternal Good,
wherefore we ought to love Him above all things; a Masterof the Highest
Truth, wherefore we ought to contemplate Him; and a Masterof the Highest
Perfectness, whereforewe ought to follow after Him without let or hindrance.
John xx.16. -- "She turned herself and said unto Him, Rabboni; which is to
say, Master."
WHEN our Lord had risen from the dead, Mary Magdalene desiredwith her
whole heart to behold our blessedLord; and he revealedHimself to her in the
form of a gardener, and so she did not know Him. Then our Lord said unto
her "Mary;" and with that word she knew Him, and said, Rabboni! that is to
say, Master.
Now mark, so long as Mary stoodby the grave looking at the angels, Christ
stoodbehind her, concealing Himself from her. For the Lord our God hideth
Himself from those who are full of care about the creatures, and grieving over
the loss of earthly things and creatures;but as soonas man turns from the
creatures to find God, God reveals Himself unto the soul. Thus, when Mary
turned to the grave of Christ, it was said unto her, "Mary," which name
signifies a star of the sea, a queen of the world, and one who is illuminated by
the Holy Spirit. He who desireth to see God, must be as a star in the

firmament, severedfrom and spurning all the things of time, and illuminated
to see all heavenly things.
When she heard the word that Christ spoke, "Mary," she knew our Lord, and
said, Rabboni, which is to say, Master;for she and His other disciples and
followers commonly address Him with this title, as He says:"Ye callme
Masterand Lord, and ye say well, for so I am." ForHe is truly a Masterof
the HighestGood, and therefore should we love Him above all things. He is a
Masterof Truth, and therefore should we contemplate Him. He is a Masterof
the HighestPerfectness,and therefore should we follow Him without any
looking backwards behind us.
He is (as I said first) a Masterof the Highest Good, and therefore should we
love Him above all things. Now, thou mightest say, "Godis infinite, a supreme
Goodwithout limits, and the soul and all creatures are finite and bounded;
how, then, can the soul love and know God?" Hearken:God is infinite and
without end, but the soul's desire is an abyss which cannot be filled exceptby
a Goodwhich is infinite; and the more ardently the soul longeth after God, the
more she wills to long after Him; for God is a Goodwithout drawback, and a
well of living water without bottom, and the soul is made in the image of God,
and therefore it is createdto know and love God. So, because Christis a
Masterof the Highest Good, the soul ought to love Him above all things; for
He is love, and from Him doth love flow into us, as out of a wellof life. The
well of life is love; and he who dwelleth not in love is dead, as St. John says in
his Epistle. Now, forasmuchas Christ is a well-spring and Masterof the
Highest Good, therefore shall the soul love Him without resistance. Forit is
her property that she must love that which is God; and therefore must she
love that which is the Highest Good, without measure, without rival, and
without ceasing to utter forth His praise.

Without measure shall the soul love God; concerning which St. Bernard says:
"The cause wherefore the soulshall love God, is God; but the measure of this
love is without measure, for God is an immeasurable Good, because His
benefits are without number or end: wherefore the soul shall love God
without measure." Hence St. Paul says: "I pray God that your love may
increase and abound yet more and more." And St. Bernard says:"In our love
to God we have no rule nor direction to observe, but that we love Him as He
hath loved us. He hath loved us unto the end that we might love Him world
without end. Therefore, our inward desire ought everto increase so long as we
are here on earth; but although the inward work of our love to God ought
ever to increase, yetthe outward works of love ought to be meted out with due
wisdom, that we so exercise ourselves as notto injure nature, but to subdue it
unto the spirit."
In the secondplace, the soul shall love God without a fellow; that is to say, in
that degree of love with which the soul loveth God, shall no creature stand;
and all whom the soul loves, she shall love in God and to God. Furthermore,
she shall love the creatures for God's sake, to God and in God. She loves them
for God's sake, whenshe loves them for that cause which is God; she loves
them to God, when she loveth them for that goodnesswhichis God; she loves
them in God, when she seeksno other delight nor end in them but God; and
thus she loveth the creatures in God, and God in the creatures. Hence Christ
tells us: "Thou shalt love God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all
thy mind," which words are thus expounded by St. Augustine: "Our Lord
saith that we are to love God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all
our mind, to the intent that man should have no single faculty within his soul
that is empty or barren of the love of God; that is, from which the love of God
is absent; and that all which it comes into our heart to love, we may love for
God's sake, and enjoy in godly love; for God loveth the soul, and therefore
shall the soullove Him without a fellow."

In the third place, the soul shall love God without silence;for he who is in love
cannot be silent, but must proclaim and utter forth his love. St. Gregory
speaks oftwo sorts of crying aloud: the one is that of the mouth, the other that
of the works. He says of the voice of the deeds, that it is louder than that of the
mouth. Of the latter, David says; "I have cried unto God with my voice, and
He hath heard my prayer." Chrysostomsays:"It is the habit and custom of
loving souls that they cannot hide their love, nor forbear to speak of it, but
they tell it to their familiar friends, and describe the inward flames of love;
and the faults which they have committed againstGodthey tell to those whom
they love, and cannot keepsilence about them, but often speak of them, that
they may obtain relief and refreshment thereby." The secondcry is that of the
actions, -- the way in which a man proves his inward love by his outward
works. St. Gregorysays the witness of love is the proof given by the works;for
where love is, it works greatthings; but if it work not, it is a sure sign that it is
not there. Thus Mary Magdalene hadgood reasonto exclaim "Master!" for
Christ is a Masterof all Good. Therefore we ought to love Him above all
things. And rightly is He called a Masterof Love, for three causes;for He
rewards nothing but love, He rewards only out of love, and He rewards with
love.
First, I saythat He rewards nothing but love. By three things may a man win
reward: by outward acts, by inward contemplation, and by inward aspiration
and love. The outward act has no merit unless it be wrought in love; for the
outward act perishes and is over, and cannot merit that which is eternal. For
Paul says:"Charity never ceases;" wherefore a man can never win eternallife
by any works exceptthey be done in love; and hence he who truly loveth God
separates himselffrom all that is not God; for he who loves the uncreated
good, despises the created.
In the secondplace, I said that God only rewards out of love. For from the
love wherewith He loveth man, He giveth Himself, He giveth His very self as a
reward, He giveth Himself wholly, and not in part; for God hath loved man

with an eternal love, and He gives a man nothing less than Himself. He said to
Abraham: "Fearnot, I am thy shield, and thy exceeding greatreward."
In the third place, He rewards a man with love. Forthis reward consists in
being able to behold God in His clearnesswithout a veil, and to enjoy the
fruition of His love, and keepit for all eternity. Wherefore it was not without
reasonthat Mary exclaimed"Master!" And thou too, O man, cry unto Him
devoutly from the bottom of thy heart; "O Masterof the Highest Good, and
my God, by the love which Thou art, draw me to Thyself, I long after Thy
favour, and that I may love Thee above all things."
Now when I began I mentioned two other points: first, how that Christ is a
Masterof the Highest Truth, and therefore we ought to contemplate Him.
Here take note that thou canstcontemplate God in His creatures, whichHe
has made out of nothing, whereby thou art able to discoverHis omnipotence.
But when thou seestand consideresthow admirably the creatures are
fashionedand put together, and in what wonderful order they are arranged,
thou art able to perceive and trace the Wisdom of God, which is ascribedto
the Son. And when further thou comestto perceive the gentleness ofthe
creatures, and how all creatures have something loving in them, then thou
perceivest the loving-kindness of the Holy Spirit. Thus St. Paul tells the
Romans that men are able to behold the invisible goodnessofGod through the
things that they can see;that is to say, the creatures whichHe has made. We
are also able to perceive Godby the light of grace, as the Prophet says:"Lord,
in Thy light shall we see the light;" that is, God Himself; for "God is light, and
in Him is no darkness anywhere." Moreoverwe shallat the last behold Godin
the light of His glory, and there shall we see Him without a veil, bright as He
is; for He is a Masterof Truth, who giveth us to know all truth. In the third
place, Christ is a Masterof Perfection;wherefore a man shall leave all things
to follow Him, for in God he shall find all things united in one perfectness
which are scatteredabroadamong the creatures. Therefore, O man, if thou
wilt be perfect, be a followerof Christ. He says:"Whoso will not forsake

father and mother, and sisters and brothers, and all that he hath, cannot be
my disciple." Forfather and mother, sisters and brothers, and all creatures,
are a man's enemies if they keephim back from God and hinder him from
treading the straight path to eternalblessedness.Therefore forsake the
creatures, and follow after the Masterof Perfection, evenJesus Christ, blessed
for ever. May He grant us by His grace to do so!Amen.
NewmanHall, LL. B.
John 20:11-18
But Mary stoodwithout at the sepulcherweeping: and as she wept, she
stoopeddown, and lookedinto the sepulcher,…
: —
1. Christians are often sorrowful, when, if they had clearerknowledge and
strongerfaith, they would rejoice.
2. Angels sympathize with Christians in their sorrow. If they shed no tears
they are not indifferent to ours.
3. The thought of losing Jesus is enough to make His friends weep. When He is
absent from the Church, and outward shows divert the eye from the Lord;
when, instead of a living Christ, there is only a sepulchre, no whitening of
which can compensate for the absence ofthe Prince of Life; and when He is
absent from the pulpit, and where criticism, or philosophy, or Jewishethics,
or Christian polemics are discussed, and the living, loving Christ is absent;
and when by worldliness we have no longer that fellowshipwith Him we once

enjoyed — if we are indeed His friends we shall weep, saying of our follies and
our sins (ver. 13).
4. Jesus is often very close to His disciples when they do not perceive Him (ver.
14). We are so absorbedin sorrow that we do not see Him who comes to
soothe it. We often think He is farthest when He is nearest. Is He not "a very
present help in trouble?" Like Mary, also, we sometimes mistake Him for the
gardener. We think only of the servantwhen we should acknowledgethe
Master. We rest in the means of grace when we should rise to the Giver of
grace.
5. Christ's first resurrection-wordwas one of consoling sympathy — not of
power, victory, or vengeance.He is tender, loving still. He spake to Mary, and
to womanhoodthrough her. He knew how often woman weeps unseen, what a
martyrdom of grief she often undergoes by sensibilities wounded, yearnings
unsatisfied, love unrequited, closestties torn asunder, anxieties and toils
which only love like hers could enable her to endure, and wounds hidden from
all eyes, which only love like hers could bear and yet conceal;and so Christ's
first word after His resurrectionwas one of sympathy with woman's grief.
Seeking Jesusis the best antidote to weeping.
6. True love may be combined with deficient knowledge. "Sir, if Thou have
borne Him hence," &c. No name had been mentioned, but Mary speaks as if
because He was uppermost in her feelings all the world besides must think of
"Him" too. So let the thought of Jesus be in our hearts. Will He be pleased?
What would He have me do? In this enterprise, in that company, shall I have
His presence and enjoy His blessing?
7. Christ knows His disciples individually. He addresses herby the old
familiar name (ver. 16). The friend of former days was still individually dear.

Are we in sorrow, inconsolable, forgetting Him who sends it for our good? He
reminds us of His presence, saying, "Mary!" Are we fearing some danger as
though we had no Almighty Friend to protectus? He places Himself between
us and it, and says, "Mary!" Are we becoming worldly, restraining prayer,
toying with temptation, looking at some forbidden fruit till it becomes
pleasantin our eyes? Jesus,in a tone of faithful remonstrance, says, "Mary!"
8. Every true disciple recognizes the Saviour's voice (ver. 16). Do we thus
confess Him to be "Master," saying, "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?"
In sorrow, do we submit with patience, and say, "Rabboni"? In danger, do we
trust with holy confidence and repeat, "Rabboni"? Whentempted, do we turn
at His reproof and penitently, resolutelyexclaim, "Rabboni"? At death, Jesus
will say, "Mary! It will be the voice not of an enemy, but of our best, our
heavenly Friend. It will be Jesus coming to take us to Himself. Shall we be
ready at once to welcome Him as Rabboni? When He sits on the throne of
judgment He will invite to His kingdom every one of His faithful followers,
with an individual recognition, calling eachby name — Mary! Shall we be
among them and joyfully respond, Rabboni"?
(NewmanHall, LL. B.)
Love in Tears;Or, Mary At the Sepulchre
Biblical Illustrator
John 20:11-18

I. MARY'S MOURNING, orlove's grief expressed(ver. 11).
1. Standing beside the vacant tomb — a hopeful circumstance. How much
worse for her had it been tenanted!
2. Lamenting in mistakensorrow. Mostsorrow perhaps of this sort.
Christians grieve when they ought to rejoice, e.g., atthe graves of those who
are for ever with the Lord. Continuing dejectedwithout. Had Mary gone in
she would have found it a habitation of angels. "No more a charnelhouse to
fence, the relics of lostinnocence," &c. (Keble).
II. MARY'S VISION, or love's attention arrested(vers. 12-14).
1. The advanced guards of the King.
(1) Their nature — angels.
(2) Their number — two, to correspondwith the two robbers.
(3) Their appearance — in white, or shining garments (Daniel10:6;
Revelation10:1).
(4) Their situation — at the head and feet, guarding the place from
profanation.

(5) Their question — to arrest attention and conveysympathy.
2. The person of the RisenLord.
(1) Near her, as always to His people (Matthew 18:20), especiallyin times of
sadness (Luke 24:15).
(2) Speaking to her. Christ still notes the tears of His people (Luke 24:17;
Hebrews 4:15).
(3) Yet unrecognized by her, as He often is by His sorrowing disciples (Luke
24:16).
III. MARY'S MISTAKE, or love's blindness discovered(ver. 15).
1. Great. Already she had committed severalblunders — seeking the living
among the dead, sorrowing when she ought to have rejoiced, &c., but none so
greatas mistaking Christ for Joseph's gardener.
2. Natural. The likeliestperson at that hour was the gardener, and as to other
disciples He may have had "another form."
3. Persistent.

4. Beautiful — love knows no impossibilities; and no passionis so omnipotent
as that of a renewedheart for Christ. "At this hour millions would die for
him" (Napoleon).
IV. MARY'S AWAKENING, or love's darkness dispelled(ver. 16).
1. The familiar voice. What a wealth of pitying love would be infused into the
"Mary" (cf. John 21:15; Luke 22:48;Acts 9:4, 10).
2. The spell broken. No voice but One could say "Mary" like that.
3. The heart relieved — "Rabboni."
V. MARY'S PROHIBITION, orlove's ardour restrained (ver. 17).
1. The restriction — "TouchMe not."
2. The reason— "I am not yet ascended."
3. The consolation. The restriction would only be temporary.
VI. MARY'S COMMISSION, orlove's service claimed(ver. 17).
1. To whom sent-Christ's brethren.

(1) The condescensionin it — God's Son calls them brethren.
(2) The honour in it.
(3) The love in it — they had desertedHim.
2. With what charged— a message concerning —
(1) Himself.
(2) His ascension.
(3) The Father.
VII. MARY'S OBEDIENCE,orloves willingness expressed(ver. 18).
1. With cheerful resignation.
2. With prompt execution.
3. With faithful repetition.Learn —

1. "Blessedare they that mourn," &c.
2. The eyes of Christ's people are sometimes holden (Luke 24:16).
3. "My sheephear My voice," &c.
4. Truly our fellowshipis with the Father, &c.
5. The ascendedChrist is not ashamedto call His people brethren (Hebrews
2:11).
(T. Whitelaw, D. D.)
Mary At the Empty Tomb
Dr. Beyschlag.
John 20:11-18
How does the risen Saviour revealHimself?

I. TO WHAT LONGING?
1. Even then the seeing the risen One was not a thing of physical sight. It was
dependent On the condition of the inner life. Not to the world, who did not
want to be convinced, but to those who were longing to be fully convinced that
He was the Saviour.
2. Mary, foremostamong these, could not tear herselfaway from the grave.
She had passedthrough the scene atCalvary in mute amazement; now she
realized that her heart had lost its last stay, and the whole world seemedlike
an empty tomb. What would become of her now His Divine life was no longer
there for her poor life to cling to, as ivy to oak, and train itself heavenwards.
3. Is not this a page in our history? The Saviour once took you by the hand
and your life began to twine itself around His. Then this childlike confidence
was lost, but the longing remains. This is the deepestsorrow — to know what
can help and to have lostit — to seek the Lord among the evidences ofHis
life, and have only an empty grave to go to. When we have to stand before our
own life as before an empty tomb, which reminds us only of what we have lost,
and in which we cannot find our childhood's Saviour there is no comfort for
us. A risen and living Saviour is what we want. It would not have helped Mary
had she found the buried One. If our longing souls rest in the fact that He has
lived, what can He be to us? He is not here; He is risen, is the Divine message
to us.
II. IN WHAT EXPERIENCE?While Mary is still hopeless He is beside her.
Though invisible and unknown He is near all who seek Him. Why not disclose
Himself then? "Woman, Mine hour is not yet come." The experience God
gives depends for its value on our susceptibility, and this comes to maturity
only by persistent seeking. She turns againto seek Him when Jesus says,

"Mary!" It was through her name that the Lord revealedHimself. A name
may awakenemotion, as when you hear the voice of one long absent. She
knew her Lord in that He knew her. Her name is written in His heart for ever.
It is the heart that recognizes the living Saviour.
III. WITH WHAT DIRECTIONS The complaint of the heart is not of the
reality of precious moments, but that they are only moments. Mary had no
advantage in this over us. The moment she recognizedHim He says, Touch
Me not. Stern but needful words. Mary needed to be taught that the
fellowship of the future would be very different from that of the past. Few had
enjoyed His intimacy, henceforth all might and in a higher form. Their
dependence on Him as a man must be changedinto a holier relation —
"brethren." All this Mary had to learn amid her joy, that her joy might not be
takenfrom her when the Lord should ascend. And as this joy would naturally
seek to retain the beloved objectshe is bid serve Christ by going to His
brethren and bearing witness to others. Moments such as this are short and
fleeting; must be; should be. It is not goodto live on mountain peaks. Mary
now knew that what is needed for the service of Christ is power from on high.
(Dr. Beyschlag.)
Mary At the Sepulchre
David Davies.
John 20:11-18

1. We little realize how much light goes outof the world with some lives.
"There was darkness overthe whole land until the ninth hour," write
Matthew and Mark in their recordof the Crucifixion. This symbolized a great
fact. We know how the vanishing of one life may be to us like the setting of the
sun: many of us have passedthrough such an experience. After the
Evangelists have recordedthe burial, they pause and halt in the narrative.
The recordonly moves againwhen the light begins to return. "As it beganto
dawn towards the first day" are the words with which Mark starts anew; so,
too, in different phrase, the other Evangelists emphasize this new starting-
point.
2. Again, observe the revealing power of a greattrial. It takes greator trying
events to revealall the strength and beauty which otherwise lie dormant in
some characters. The breeze of summer brings music out of the AEolian harp,
but only the storms of winter canawake the mighty deep into harmonious
symphony and make the trees of the woodclap their hands in grand
accompaniment. So it required greattests to revealthe devotion of these
grand heroic women towardtheir Lord.
3. This expressionof devotion was very human, and supremely womanly. How
significant — how full of strange amotion — the first visit to the grave where
our dearestlie!
4. This was a very beautiful and expressive protest againstmortality. Beneath
all this anointing was the conviction that man was too noble to pass awayinto
decay. In the proposedanointing of the Christ by the women, we find the
mightiest protest againstthe corruption of the grave;but God would yet
accomplishthe same end in His own way. John, however, centres his narrative
in one person: Mary's love was the most intense and the most persistent. "But
Mary stood" (or RevisedVersion, "was standing") — stationedherself —

words expressive of resoluteness.Up to this point there was a measure of
companionship in sorrowful watching among the mourners, — now we reach
the point of isolation. Others had acceptedthe theory that Jesus had been
takenaway, and had left with sorrow, but Mary was more persistent, since to
her more had been forgiven. The sorrow of this little community now became
Mary's, as if it were exclusively her own. "As she wept." According to the
three Synoptic Gospels, the other womenwere afraid, or "affrighted." Mary
wept. There is nothing new in weeping at the grave. It is the old place of
weeping. More tears have been shed there than anywhere else. But the
circumstances are exceptionalin this case. Others have wept because the
grave is tenanted; Mary wept because it was empty, and because the ministry
of love in anointing the dead body seemedno longerpossible. At length, by
steady gazing, she found that the grave was not so empty as it had appeared.
There was no dead body in it, but there were two of God's angels. Marysaw
them. Peterand John did not. They were in two greata hurry. Men do not see
angels in such a mood — they only see "linen clothes," and the like. "Theysay
unto her, Woman, why weepestthou?" Tears are a profound mystery to
angels. But it was a misuse of the mysterious capacityto weepthat perplexed
them now. Weeping in this case they knew was out of place. "Why weepest
thou?" are words of challenge. "Because theyhave taken awaymy Lord,"
was Mary's reply. These words reveal, among other things, the soul's powerof
appropriation — "My Lord." This is the greatestparadoxof being, that finite
man or woman can claim the Infinite God as his or her possession. "Thouart
my God," saidthe Psalmist. But here, too, we have weeping inadequately
explained. Mary's data are wrong. "Theyhave takenaway my Lord." How
much more the angels knew about it than Mary! How inadequate our
explanation of our grief when we are challenge!There is an impatience in the
answer. She has silencedthe angels with a false theory, and hastily withdraws,
or "turns round," and waits not for the reply. It is a terrible thing when
sorrow becomes reflective, andturns in upon itself. But as Mary turns there is
another Presencenear. Now it is askedby One who has Himself wept by the
grave side. There is a tear in this tone of inquiry. Rememberin passing, as a
significant fact, that these are the first recordedwords of Christ after the
Resurrection— "Woman, why weepestthou?" &c. What a reflectionfor
sorrowing ones!There is hero also the additional question which completes

the first. "Why weepestthou? Whom seekestthou?" Sorrow is stupefying.
There was a danger for Mary to forgether searchin the steady gaze,
becoming more vacantas it was continued. The question of the angels threw
her in upon her sorrow; the further question of Christ awakenedwithin her
the recollectionof her quest. It arousedthe spirit of searchand of expectation
anew in Mary. It is a sadthing when, in our sorrow, we forgetthe aim of life,
and lose the inspiration of hope. This takes allthe buoyancy out of life. Our
Lord would eversave us againstthis. Observe Mary's answeras contrasted
with her answerto the angels. To the angels she replied, "Becausethey have
takenawaymy Lord, and I know not where they have laid Him." This is
sorrow in its reflective, despairing form. On the contrary, her answerto Jesus
is — "Sir, if thou have borne Him hence, tell me where thou hast laid Him,
and I will take Him away." This is sorrow in its resolute and hopeful aspect.
"I will take Him away." She could not have carriedHim; yet she saw no
difficulty. There is a frenzy of love which is well-nigh omnipotent. There is yet
hope of Mary. It is a grand thing when sorrow has not taken all the courage
out of us. The Christ can hide Himself no longer from her. He reveals Himself
now through speech. Of all things about us, the voice is that which, amid the
processes ofchange, retains its identity most. "Mary." How much Jesus
compressesoftenderness and revelationinto that one word! Her reply is
equally brief — "Rabboni." Here we have a dialogue in two words. When
feeling is intense, utterance becomes laconic. "Rabboni" is the word in which
Mary's soul expressesalike its love and its wonder. We find here a passionate
concentrationof feeling. The spirit of loving discipleship is crystallized and
perpetuated in that one word. There are times when the whole soul flashes
forth and reveals its personality in an exclamation. The first impulse of the
soul in the presence ofthe risen Christ is to worship. It is a moment of infinite
surprise. It is the reactionfrom blank despair to boundless ecstasy. The gospel
of the open grave is the story of the Resurrectionand the prediction of the
Ascensioncombined. "I ascend!" She had stoopedand lookedinto the grave
for the Christ; hence. forth she will look up and wait for her Lord from
heaven. Thus is the story grandly progressive, and the past and present are
made predictive of the yet more glorious future.

(David Davies.)
Mary Magdalene At the Selpulchre
C. Short, M. A.
John 20:11-18
: —
I. MARY'S SORROW.
1. She sought for a lostChrist, and lookedfor Him where He was not to be
found. So —
(1) Some lose Christ when any greatcalamity comes upon them, and their
faith is shakenin the Divine goodness.
(2) Others fall into temptations, become prosperous, and worldly, lose sight of
all spiritual aims, become content with this world, and their faith and hope in
Christ are gone.

(3) Others get entangledin intellectual difficulties about the Gospels, or
inspiration, or miracles, and because they cannot see their way out. Christ
meanwhile is almost, if not entirely, lost to their vision. We can lose Christ in a
thousand ways, and look for Him in a thousand places where He is not to be
found. We try to find Him in books of controversy, in going from one Church
to another, in praying for faith in Him, in reiterating the creeds, forgetting
that the restorationof all belief must begin on the high road of duty, and that
spiritual work is the road to spiritual knowledge, and the recoveryof our hold
of Christ.
2. Mary failed to recognize Him though so near to her. So we often fail to
recognize Christ though He manifests Himself to us in all the manifold forms
of our life. We, too, often think that we can meet and recognize Him only in
Church; but there is no charm in a Church for disclosing Christ; the charm
must be in ourselves, perceiving and answering to the charm that there is in
Christ. Then we cansee Him everywhere.
(1) The wickedestpersons oughtto reveal Christ, for you may be sure that He
is there yearning to recoverthem.
(2) Wherever an afflicted man or womanlies in sorrow, there you hear His
voice, saying, "Come unto Me," &c.
(3) Whenever you see a man reviled or misrepresented, there you have an
image of that Christ who was crucified for His goodness.
(4) Christ looks atus through the eyes of every innocent child; for there is in
them the light of the kingdom of heaven.

(5) Every just and noble deed is a revelationof Christ; for He came not to be
ministered unto, &c.
3. She mistook the Divine work for man's. "They have takenawaymy Lord;"
not knowing that He had reclaimedHis own life by the power of the eternal
Spirit. There is a human and a Divine side to every event, and things become
significant in proportion as we can see their Divine aspect. There are men who
can see in Christ nothing but what is simply human. There are men who have
no eye for the Divine. They are mostly cold, self-contentednatures; having no
moral enthusiasm, nor intellectual grasp, but play upon the surface of a great
many things with cold moonlight gleams. Let us guard as beyond all price the
faculty which can see Godin all things.
II. THE STRENGTHOF MARY'S LOVE (ver. 15). Her overflowing love in
the midst of her grief does not wait to measure her strength. She was equal to
anything that her love prompted her to undertake. Love is the real workerof
miracles in this world. And I am speaking now of human love; the Divine love,
which is the parent of ours, is to ours as the oceanis to the rivulet, and as the
sun is to the glow-worm. Human love still undertakes tasks that are beyond its
strength, and dies in hopeless endeavours. How many lives are there who have
not been able, through years of ill-treatment, to uproot the love of their youth,
and who still wait and pray for a change in the husband who has long ago
forfeited all title even to respect. And I think there are some men of the same
nature. There is a love that descends upon those lowerthan itself, as when the
mother loves the unworthy son or daughter, and there is the love that bends,
entranced before a goodness anda beauty far surpassing itself. This was the
love that kindled in the soul of Mary, and the highestproof that we have it is
that we do not waste our time in visions and rapture, but imitate the love of
Christ in doing His work. "Inasmuchas ye did it," &c.

III. THE IMPERFECTION OF MARY'S FAITH. She desired and dwelt too
much on the outward Christ. Therefore she must not touch Him. The most
difficult thing is to pass away from the outward things of religion into the
regionwhere faith grasps its objects, and sees its truths, and feels their reality.
Does eternity open to you when you sing, or pray, or meditate? When you
gather round the Lord's table, does it proclaim the unseenfact of Christ's
sacrificiallove?
IV. OUR LORD'S MESSAGE SENT BY MARY (ver. 17).
1. This was a message offorgiveness. There are two things difficult about
forgiveness — the powerto forgive and the manner in which it is done. There
are some natures that cannot forgive, even when they profess to do it, but
when we canturn our resentment into pity and mercy we have learned the
lessonwhich Christ taught us from the cross.
2. The message was one ofcontinued, unbroken affection. Go and tell My
brethren — not My poor weak followers anddisciples, not even My friends.
He was not ashamedof them, notwithstanding all their spiritual poverty and
their want of sympathy with Him. What a lessonit reads to us!
(C. Short, M. A.)
Sorrow and DespondencyExchangedforJoy and Service
J.R. Thomson

John 20:11-18
Among the wonderful events of the first Lord's day morning, the incident here
recordedis remarkable for pathos and beauty, and also for spiritual
instruction and encouragement.
I. IT WAS A DEAD AND LOST CHRIST THAT CAUSED MARY'S GRIEF
AND DISMAY. The woman's attachment and devotion to the Saviorwere
unquestionable. She and her companions seemto have been more faithful to
Jesus eventhan the twelve.
"Who, while apostles shrank, could dangers brave;
Last at his cross, andearliestat his grave." To Mary Jesus was as a dead
Friend. She shared the common grief of the disciples, and their common
anxiety during the interval betweenthe Crucifixion and the Lord's first
appearance to his own. Love induced her to linger near the tomb, and thus
occasionedherinterview with the angels and with the Masterhimself. No
wonder that she loved much; she was indebted, she may well have thought,
more than others to the compassionof Christ, for she had been delivered from
the powerof demons, and receivedinto the favor and friendship of her
Deliverer. And now to lose the Lord she loved and on whom she leanedwas a
trial to her faith, a grief to her heart; and she would fain care for the lifeless
body of the slain One. Emblem of those who have not found Christ; of those
who, having found, have then lost him; of those to whom Christ, alas!is as if
dead, to whom he is no living reality, no near presence, no Divine power. Yet
it is better that sensitive and yearning souls should grieve over the distance
betweenthe holy Savior and themselves than that they should acquiesce
contentedand indifferent - in their privation.

II. IT WAS A LIVING CHRIST THAT TURNED MARY'S SORROW INTO
JOY. Observe that Jesus knew Marybefore she recognizedhim. The language
he used was intended to draw out her best feelings. Very beautiful and
touching was the wayin which Christ revealedhimself to her heart, uttering
simply the familiar name, dear from the hallowedintercourse of friendship. It
was, perhaps, the name he had used in dispossessing the demons, and its
utterance must have awakenedmany a tender memory in her heart. The
living Christ thus, in a waytruly human, revealedhimself to his friend in one
moment to banish her forebodings and assuage hergrief. Her cry, "My
Master!" was enough to revealher gratitude and joy - her joy againto see
him, her gratitude that the appearance and revelationwere to her. Emblem of
those souls to whom - is their darkness and sadness, their skepticismand
despondency- Christ appears in his ownDivine dignity and human sympathy,
addressing them in language of compassion, andgladdening them by the
vision of his risen form and his glorified and gracious countenance. -T.
The Interview BetweenJesus andMary
Bp. Ryle.
John 20:11-18
We see —

I. THAT THOSE WHO LOVE CHRIST MOST DILIGENTLY AND
PERSEVERINGLYARE THOSE WHO RECEIVE MOST PRIVILEGES
FROM CHRIST'S HAND.
1. Mary would not leave the sepulchre when Peter and John went away to
their own home. Love to her Mastermade her honour the lastplace where His
precious body had been seenby mortal eyes. And she reaped a rich reward.
She saw the angels whom Peterand John had never observed; had soothing
words addressedto her; and was the first to see our Lord, and to hear His
voice.
2. As it was in the morning of the first EasterDay, so will it be as long as the
Church stands. All believers have not the same degree of faith, or hope, or
knowledge, orcourage, orwisdom; and it is vain to expectit. But it is certain
that those who love Christ most will always enjoy most communion with Him.
To know Christ is good; but to "know that we know Him" is far better (1
John 2:3).
II. THAT THE FEARS AND SORROWSOF BELIEVERS ARE OFTEN
QUITE NEEDLESS.
1. "Marystood at the sepulchre weeping." She wept when the angels spoke to
her, and when our Lord spoke to her. And the burden of her complaint was
always the same — "Theyhave takenaway my Lord." Yet all this time her
risen Masterwas close to her. Like Hagar in the wilderness, she had a well of
waterby her side, but she had not eyes to see it.
2. How often we are anxious when there is no just cause for anxiety! How
often we mourn over the absence ofthings which in reality are within our

grasp! Let us pray for more faith and patience, and allow more time for the
full development of God's purposes. Jacobsaid"All these things are against
me"; yet he lived to thank God for all that had happened. If Mary had found
the sealof the tomb unbroken she might well have wept. The very absence of
the body which made her weepwas a cause ofjoy for herself and all mankind.
III. WHAT LOW AND EARTHLY THOUGHTS OF CHRIST MAY CREEP
INTO THE MIND OF A TRUE BELIEVER.
1. The first surprise, and the reactionfrom great sorrow to greatjoy, was
more than the mind of Mary could bear. It is highly probable that she threw
herself at our Lord's feet, and made greaterdemonstrations of feeling than
were seemly or becoming; too much like one who thought all must be right if
she had her Lord's bodily presence, and all must be wrong in His bodily
absence;like one who forgot that her Masterwas God as well as Man. And
hence she calledforth our Lord's gentle rebuke, "I am not yet ascending to
My Fatherfor forty days: your present duty is not to linger at My feet, but to
go and tell My brethren that I have risen. Think of the feelings of others as
well as of your own."
2. The fault of this holy woman was one into which Christians have always
been too ready to fall. In every age there has been a tendency to make too
much of Christ's bodily presence, and to forgetthat He is "Godover all,
blessedfor ever" as well as Man (Romans 9:5). The pertinacity with which
Romanists cling to the doctrine of Christ's real corporalpresence is only
another exhibition of Mary's feeling. Let us be content to have Christ dwelling
in our hearts by faith, and when two or three are met in His name. What we
really need is not His literal flesh, but His Spirit (John 6:63; 2 Corinthians
5:16).

IV. HOW KINDLY AND GRACIOUSLY OUR LORD SPEAKS OF HIS
DISCIPLES.
1. He bids Mary Magdalene carrya message to them, as "His brethren." All
was forgiven and forgotten(Psalm 103:13, 14).
2. As He dealt with His erring disciples, so will He deal with all who believe
and love Him, until He comes again. Whenwe wander out of the way He will
bring us back (chap. John 6:37; Psalm103:10).
(Bp. Ryle.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(16) Jesus saithunto her, Mary.—It is to that devoted love that the first words
of the risen Lord are spoken. He who knew her whole past, and knew that her
devotion to Him had sprung from the freedom from the thraldom of evil
which He had wrought for her, is near to that woman weeping by the grave-
side, while Apostles, eventhe true-hearted Peterand the loving John, have
gone to their own homes. The voice of God is always mostquickly heard by
the hearts that love Him; the presence of God is never so truly felt as in the
utter helplessness ofhuman woe.
Saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.—The betterreading is,
saith unto Him in Hebrew, Rabboni . . .—Comp. Notes on John 19:13, and on

Mark 10:51, which is the only other passage in the New Testamentwhere
“Rabboni” occurs. She had heard in the well-knownvoice her ownname, and
it has brought back to her all the old associations.It is the “Master,”or, as the
Hebrew word means, “My Master,” and she falls at His feet to embrace Him.
BensonCommentary
John 20:16-17. Jesussaithunto her, Mary — Expressing himself with an
emphasis, and that air of kindness and freedom, with which he had been wont
to speak to her. This one word, Mary, was like that to the disciples, in the
storm, It is I. She turned herself directly towardhim, and, eagerlyfixing her
eyes upon him, instantly discoveredwho it was;and transported with a
mixture of unutterable passions, she cried, Rabboni, which is to say, Master
— And so much was her heart affected, that she could sayno more, but
immediately prostrated herselfat his feet to embrace them; according to that
modesty and reverence with which the women of the Eastsalutedthe men, 2
Kings 4:27; Luke 7:38. But Jesus refusedthis compliment, saying, Touchme
not — Do not embrace me, either to pay thine homage to me, or to confirm
thy faith; or do not cling to me; for it seems she held him by the feet, Matthew
28:9. Or, Do not detain me now, or waste time in embracing me; for I am not
yet ascendedto my Father — I have not yet left, and am not immediately to
leave, the world; thou wilt, therefore, have many other opportunities of
testifying thy regard to me. “The word απτεσθαι, (says Dr. Campbell, here
rendered to touch,) in the use of the LXX., denotes also to lay hold on, and to
cleave to, as in Job 31:7; Ezekiel41:6, and other places.” The sense here
plainly is, “Do not detain me at present. The time is precious. Lose not a
moment, therefore, in carrying the joyful tidings of my resurrection to my
disciples.” Accordinglyit follows, Go to my brethren, &c. — Thus does he
intimate in the strongestmanner the forgiveness oftheir fault, even without
ever mentioning it. These exquisite touches, which everywhere abound in the
evangelicalwritings, show how perfectly Christ knew our frame. And say unto
them, I ascend— He anticipates his ascensionin his thoughts, and so speaks
of it as a thing already present; to my Father and your Father; my God and
your God — This uncommon expressionshows, that the only- begotten Son

has every kind of fellowship with his Father. And a fellowship with God, some
way resembling his own, he bestows upon his brethren. Yet he does not say
our God, (for no creature can be raised to an equality with him,) but my God,
and your God: intimating that the Father is his, in a singular and
incommunicable manner, and ours through him, in such a kind as a creature
is capable of.
According to Mr. West, this text, I am not yet ascended, &c., comprehends, in
a few words, a variety of very important hints, which have not commonly been
takennotice of in them; particularly that our Lord intended by them to recall
to the minds of his disciples the discourse he had with them three nights
before, in which he explained what he meant by going to the Father, (John
16:28,)and by twice using the word ascend, designedto intimate that he was
to go up to heaven, not merely in spirit, as the pious dead do, but by a
corporealmotion and translation, and that it would be some time before he
took his final leave of earth, by this intended ascension. All which expressions
and predictions concur, with a greatmany other circumstances,to show how
impossible it was that such an apprehended appearance should have been
merely the result of a disordered imagination, which Mr. Westillustrates at
large, as he also does the mistakenapprehension of those disciples, who, when
some of their companions, whose veracity they could not suspect, testified they
had seenthe Lord, thought his body was not risen, but that it was only his
spirit which appearedto them.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
20:11-18 We are likely to seek and find, when we seek with affection, and seek
in tears. But many believers complain of the clouds and darkness they are
under, which are methods of grace for humbling their souls, mortifying their
sins, and endearing Christ to them. A sight of angels and their smiles, will not
suffice, without a sight of Jesus, and God's smiles in him. None know, but
those who have tastedit, the sorrows ofa desertedsoul, which has had
comfortable evidences of the love of God in Christ, and hopes of heaven, but
has now lostthem, and walks in darkness;such a wounded spirit who can

bear? Christ, in manifesting himself to those that seek him, often outdoes their
expectations. See how Mary's heart was in earnestto find Jesus. Christ's way
of making himself known to his people is by his word; his word applied to
their souls, speaking to them in particular. It might be read, Is it my Master?
See with what pleasure those who love Jesus speak ofhis authority over them.
He forbids her to expect that his bodily presence look further, than the
present state of things. Observe the relation to God, from union with Christ.
We, partaking of a Divine nature, Christ's Fatheris our Father; and he,
partaking of the human nature, our God is his God. Christ's ascensioninto
heaven, there to plead for us, is likewise anunspeakable comfort. Let them
not think this earth is to be their home and rest;their eye and aim, and
earnestdesires, must be upon another world, and this ever upon their hearts,
I ascend, therefore I must seek the things which are above. And let those who
know the word of Christ, endeavour that others should get goodfrom their
knowledge.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
Jesus saithunto her, Mary - This was spoken, doubtless, in a tone of voice that
at once recalledhim to her recollection.
Rabboni - This is a Hebrew word denoting, literally, my greatmaster. If was
one of the titles given to Jewishteachers. This title was given under three
forms:
(a) Rab, or master - the lowestdegree of honor.
(b) Rabbi, my master - a title of higher dignity.
(c) Rabboni, my greatmaster the most honorable of all.

This title, among the Jews, wasonly given to seven persons, all persons of
greateminence. As given by Mary to the Saviour, it was at once an expression
of her joy, and an acknowledgmentofhim, as her Lord and Master. It is not
improbable that she, filled with joy, was about to castherselfat his feet.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
16, 17. Jesus saithunto her, Mary—It is not now the distant, though
respectful, "Woman." It is the oft-repeated name, uttered, no doubt, with all
the wontedmanner, and bringing a rush of unutterable and overpowering
associationswith it.
She turned herself, and saith to him, Rabboni!—But that single word of
transported recognitionwas not enough for woman's full heart. Not knowing
the change which had passedupon Him, she hastens to express by her action
what words failed to clothe; but she is checked.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
Christ callethher by name, making such a sound as he certainly knew she
understood. She calleth him Rabboni, which is as much as to say: My Master.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
Jesus saithunto her, Mary,.... He might alter the tone of his voice, and speak
unto her as he used to do, calling her by her name in his usual manner: so
Christ has personalknowledge ofall his people, and can call them by name;
he knows them, and makes himself knownto them, before they canknow him;
and though he may absenthimself from them for a while, yet not always:
she turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni, which is to say, Master;it
seems, as if she had dropped her conversationwith the supposed gardenerat
once, and scarce waitedfor an answerfrom him, but turns herself to the
angels again, if she could hear any tidings from them; acting like a person in
the utmost distress, hurry and confusion; looking this way and that way, to

this or the other person: and now upon Christ's speaking to her, in this plain,
familiar manner, she turns herself again;when fully knowing him, she
addresses him with the greatestfaith and affection, reverence and humility;
calling him her Lord and master, and throws herselfat his feet: thus when
Christ is pleasedto manifest himself to his people, there goes a poweralong
with his word, making himself known; and a word from Christ, attended with
divine power, will give a soul a turn to him from the most excellentcreatures,
even angels;and when Christ is known, he will be acknowledgedwith all love,
humility, and obedience. The word Rabboni, is of the Chaldee and Syriac
form, and signifies "my Lord, or master";and is commonly applied to one
that has a despotic powerover another; though all the Oriental versions say,
that she spoke to him in Hebrew. The Syriac and Ethiopic, "Rabboni", but
the Arabic and Persic, "Rabbi". The titles of Rab, Rabbi, and Rabban, are
frequent with the Jewishdoctors;who say (m), that Rabbi is greaterthan
Rab, and Rabban is greater than Rabbi; and a man's own name greaterthan
Rabban: but the word in the form here used Rabbon, I do not remember ever
to have observedapplied to any of the doctors;but is frequently used of the
Divine Being, who, in their prayers, is often addressedin this manner, "Lord
of the world" (n). I conjecture therefore, that Mary used this word, as
expressive of her faith in his power and Godhead, seeing him alive from the
dead; though it might be a name she was usedto callhim by before, being
convinced from what he had done to her, and by the miracles she had
observedperformed by him on others, of his proper deity; as the poor blind
man expresses his faith in the powerof Christ to cure him, by addressing him
in the same language, using the same word, Mark 10:51.
(m) Halichot Olam Tract. 1. c. 3. p. 25. (n) T. Bab. Taanith, fol. 20. 1.
Sanhedrin, fol. 94. 1. Abot R. Nathan, c. 9. BereshitRabba, sect. 8. fol. 6. 4.
Geneva Study Bible
Jesus saithunto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni;
which is to say, Master.

EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
John 20:16. Jesus now calls her by name. Nothing more. By the voice, and by
this voice, which utters aloud her name, she was to recogniseHim.
στραφεῖσα]She had therefore, after John 20:14, againturned towards the
grave.
ῥαββουνί]See on Mark 10:51.
The ʼΕβραϊστί is, indeed, matter of course, and in itself is superfluous; but in
this circumstantiality there lies a certain solemnity in the delineation of the
impressive moment. Note how, on the mention of her name, there follows
nothing further on her side also, exceptthat she utters the expressive
Rabboni! More she cannot in all the throng of joyful surprise. Thus took place
the ἐφάνη πρῶτον Μαρίᾳ τῇ Μαγδ., Mark 16:9.
Expositor's Greek Testament
John 20:16. λέγει … Διδάσκαλε. His uttering her name, Μαριάμ, revealedthat
He was a friend who knew her; and there was also that in the tone which
made her instantly turn fully round to searchHim with her gaze. Surprise,
recognition, relief, joy, utter themselves in her exclamation, Ῥαββουνί, which
Buxtorf renders “Domine mi”; but probably the pronominal suffix had ceased
to have significance, as in “Monsieur,” etc. Lampe quotes the saying; “Majus
estRabbi quam Rabh, et majus estRabban quam Rabbi,” cf. Mark 10:51.
With the exclamationMary made a forward movement as if to embrace Him.
But this is forbidden.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges

16. Mary] The term of generaladdress, ‘Woman’awoke no echo in her heart;
the signof personalknowledge andsympathy comes home to her at once.
Thus ‘He callethHis own sheepby name’ (John 10:3).
saith unto him] We must add with the best authorities, in Hebrew. The
insertion is of importance as indicating the language spokenbetween Christ
and His disciples. S. John thinks it wellto remind Greek readers that Greek
was not the language used. Comp. Acts 22:2; Acts 26:14. The expressionhere
used (Hebraïsti) occurs only in this Gospel(John 5:2, John 19:13;John 19:17;
John 19:20) and in Revelation(John 9:11, John 16:16). See on John
19:37Rabboni]More exactly, Rabbuni. This precise form occurs also in Mark
10:51, but has been obliterated in the A. V. It is said to be Galilean, and if so
natural in a woman of Magdala. Would any but a Jew of Palestine have
preservedthis detail?
Master]Or, Teacher. Its literal meaning is ‘my Master,’but the pronominal
portion of the word had lostalmost all meaning. S. John’s translation shews
that as yet her belief is very imperfect: she uses a mere human title.
Bengel's Gnomen
John 20:16. Λέγει, saith) with His wonted expressionof countenance and
accent. [A voice which, as we may suppose, poured such a flood of sweetness
on her pious soul!—V. g.]—ἐκείνη, she)believing at once.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 16. - Jesus saithunto her, Mary. The more generalexpression,
"woman" (ver. 15), makes her seemto us the representative of the whole of
suffering humanity, weeping over the inability to find any link of fellowship
betweenitself and the invisible God, feeling unconsciouslyafterthe Christ and
haply not finding him, weeping because hostility had obliterated him or
superstition had concealedhim, while all the while he is near at hand. But now
Jesus stirred the affection of the living, weeping person at his side by uttering

her own name in tones that thrilled her to the heart, and createdthe new
sublime conviction that he had risen, as he said. She turned herself, as though
the previous glance had been momentary and partial, and now the vision and
voice blended, and she knew him. And saith unto him in Hebrew, Rabbouni
Ἑβραίστι is here introduced by modern editors, This word only occurs in this
Gospeland the Apocalypse), a word (the evangelistadds) which is to say,
Master. The Hebrew term - probably preserved in its Galilaeanform, ‫ר‬ַ‫נּוּב‬ ִ‫,י‬
rabbouni, rather than in the ordinary form (see Authorized Version) ‫ר‬ַ‫ּב‬‫ניר‬ ִ‫,י‬
rabboni - if strictly translated, would be "my Teacher,"or"my Master," yet
the personalpronoun must not be pressed. It doubtless had lostits specialtyas
we find in many other languages (monsieur, mein herr, "my Lord," are
familiar instances). Evenif the full force of the pronoun were urged, Mary's
faith had not gone beyond the ideal of her devotedly loved Teacher, Friend,
Master, and fell far short of the insight which even the incredulous Thomas
would soonexhibit, that the Lord had put on Divine glory, and filled all
things. She apparently fell in speechless, passionate affectionathis feet, as the
other women did shortly afterwards (see Matthew 28:9); but with the idea
that now the old relations betweenTeacherand loving disciples would be
resumed. She was in no mood answering to the doubtfulness of the disciples
who desired proof of his identity, of the fact of his corporeity, before they
could understand his claim to be their perpetual Guide, and his promise to be
with them "unto the end of the world;" but she thought at once of the old life
in Galilee. Her joy knew no bounds, but her conceptionof the reality of that
which was revealedto her was most imperfect. It was the realization of love
rather than the perception of intellect. She rushed hastily to a very limited
conclusion;and she suffered an obvious correction, if not repulse, which has
been interpreted in many ways.
Vincent's Word Studies
Saith unto Him, Rabboni
Insert, as Rev., after Him, in Hebrew.

PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
ALBERT BARNES
Verse 16
Jesus saithunto her, Mary - This was spoken, doubtless, in a tone of voice that
at once recalledhim to her recollection.
Rabboni - This is a Hebrew word denoting, literally, my greatmaster. If was
one of the titles given to Jewishteachers. This title was given under three
forms:
(a)Rab, or master - the lowestdegree ofhonor.
(b)Rabbi, my master- a title of higher dignity.
(c)Rabboni, my greatmaster the most honorable of all.
This title, among the Jews, wasonly given to seven persons, all persons of
greateminence. As given by Mary to the Saviour, it was at once an expression
of her joy, and an acknowledgmentofhim, as her Lord and Master. It is not
improbable that she, filled with joy, was about to castherselfat his feet.

CALVIN
Verse 16
16.Jesus saithto her, Mary! That Christ allowedMary, a short time, to fall
into a mistake, was useful for confirming her faith; but now, by a single word,
he corrects her mistake. He had formerly addressedher, but his discourse
seemedto be that of an unknown person; he now assumes the characterofthe
Master, and addresses his disciple by name, as we have formerly seenthat
the goodshepherd calleth to him by name every sheep of his flock,
(John 10:3.)
That voice of the shepherd, therefore, enters into Mary’s heart, opens her
eyes, arouses allher senses, andaffects her in such a manner, that she
immediately surrenders herself to Christ.
Thus in Mary we have a lively image of our calling;for the only way in which
we are admitted to the true knowledge ofChrist is, when he first knows us,
and then familiarly invites us to himself, not by that ordinary voice which
sounds indiscriminately in the ears of all, but by that voice with which he
especiallycalls the sheepwhich the Father hath given to him. Thus Paul says,
After that you have knownGod, or rather, after that you have been known by
him,
(Galatians 4:9.)

And said to him, Rabboni! The efficacyof the address is evident from this
circumstance, that Mary immediately renders to Christ the honor which is
due to him; for the word Rabboni is not only respectful, but involves a
professionof obedience. Marytherefore declares, thatshe is a disciple of
Christ, and submits to him as her Master. This is a secretand wonderful
change effectedon the human understanding, when God, enlightening her by
his Spirit, renders her clear-sighted, who formerly was slow of apprehension,
and, indeed, altogetherblind. Besides, the example of Mary ought to serve the
purpose of exhortation, that all whom Christ invites to himself may reply to
him without delay.
The word Rabboni is Chaldee, though the Chaldeans pronounce it Ribboni;
but it is customary to make a change on words, when they are transferred to a
foreign tongue. The meaning is the same as if we were to say, My Lord! or,
My Master!But in the time of Christ this mode of expressionhad gained
currency, of using Rabbi and Rabboni instead of Master.
DR. THOMAS CONSTABLE
Verse 16
Mary recognizedJesus whenHe calledher by name (cf. John 10:3-4).
"The Shepherd had called his sheep by name, and the sheep heard and
joyfully responded ( John 10:3)." [Note:Beasley-Murray, p375.]
She respondedby calling Him by the name she had undoubtedly used to
address Him numerous times before. John accommodatedhis readers by

translating the Aramaic word. This title probably did not reflectinsight into
Jesus" true identity. It simply expressedthe joy of a restoredrelationship that
she had concluded had ended. Mary swung from the depths of despair
emotionally to the height of joy in one brief second. This is one of the greatest
recognitionscenes in literature.
"Neverwas there a one-wordutterance more chargedwith emotion than
this." [Note:Tasker, p221.]
Mary Magdalene and the Resurrection
John 20:11-18
Dr. S. Lewis Johnsoncomments on the exchange betweenJesus andMary
Magdalene atthe empty tomb.
SLJ Institute > Gospelof John > Mary Magdalene andthe Resurrection
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[Message]Johnchapter 20 verse 11 through verse 18. We are drawing near
the end of the exposition of this unusually marvelous portion of the word of
God and I for one feela little sad that we are drawing near the end. But the
end of the gospelis some of the best of its teaching. So that to some extent
makes up for the sadness ofcoming to the end of it. In chapter 20 you may
remember from lastweek if you were here, John gave us his testimony to the
manner by which he came to faith in the resurrection. He describedthe events
that were important to him. He also describedwhat he saw when he went
down into the tomb. He saw the linen clothes in a specialposition, and
particularly the napkin that had been about the head of our Lord. He saw that
retaining its annular or twirled shape on the raisedledge on a place by itself.
And by the testimony of the empty tomb and the testimony of the grave
clothes, Johngives evidence that it is through this especiallythat he came to
understand the resurrectionof Christ. He says, ofcourse, later he
remembered that the Lord had saidto him that he would rise from the dead.
But at this point he had not yet put togetherthe facts with the messagethat
Jesus had given him.
We remember too that it Mary Magdalene who had been out to the tomb with
some others of the ladies, and it is she who had returned to Peterand to John
and had told them that the body of our Lord had been removed from the
tomb. And Peterand John had racedout to the tomb with John outrunning
Peterbut not going down into the tomb because he stoopedand lookedand
saw the grave clothes and must have thought the body was really there and
made a mistake. But Petercame and went down into the tomb. He must have
calledJohn, and John went down into the tomb. And they both seemed
satisfiedthat the resurrection had taken place and went on their way home.
Mary, in the meantime, had apparently returned to the tomb. And so the
story is resumed at that point and in verse 11 of chapter 20 the apostle writes,

“But Mary stood without at the sepulcher weeping:and as she wept, she
stoopeddown, and lookedinto the sepulcher, And seethtwo angels in white
sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus
had lain. And they say unto her, Woman, why weepestthou? She saith unto
them, Becausethey have takenawaymy LORD, and I know not where they
have laid him. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw
Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. (Now notice carefullythat she
was talking with the angels, but suddenly she turned around. John does not
tell us why. But she turned back and she saw the Lord standing, but she was
not at this point able to recognize him.) Jesus saithunto her, Woman, why
weepestthou? whom seekestthou? 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 saithunto her, Mary. (The Greek text
has the expressionMariam, Mariam being the Aramaic term for Mary.) She
turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni (the Aramaic term for Master);
which is to say, Master. Jesus saithunto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet
ascendedto my Father (Now let me just interrupt again. The words, “Touch
me not” are the translationof a Greek expressionthat probably more often
has the sense of touch but since it is a present tense, touch with a durative
force which results in the sense ofstop clinging to me, that’s probably the
force of it. So “Stop clinging to me for I have not yet ascendedto my Father.):
but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascendunto my Father, and your
Father; and to my God, and your God. Mary Magdalene came andtold the
disciples that she had seenthe LORD, and that he had spokenthese things
unto her.”
That’s very vivid in the original text. She came to the disciples and she said, “I
have seenthe Lord,” direct discourse. “Ihave seenthe Lord.” And then John
said that she had told these other things to them. May the Lord bless this
reading of his word. And let’s bow togetherin a brief time of prayer.

[Prayer] Father, we are grateful to Thee for the privilege of the ministry of the
word of God. And we thank Thee for this day, the first day of the week, the
day of the resurrection, the Lord’s Day, the day in which we meet not simply
to have fellowship with one another but preeminently to have fellowshipwith
the risen Lord through the Scriptures. And we thank Thee for the testimony
of the word of God which has so fully and completely and convincingly given
testimony to the resurrectionof the Lord Jesus. We give Thee thanks, our
heavenly Father, for a risen Messiah, a risen Lord who ever lives to make
intercessionfor us. And today we thank Thee. We praise Thy name. And we
pray that through the days of this week, we as Mary may go telling the good
news concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank Thee for the privilege of
proclaiming that messageand ask, Lord, thy blessing upon it in this meeting.
And if there are some in this meeting who do not know with assurance the
forgiveness ofsins and the relationship to the Lord Jesus we pray, oh God,
that Thou wilt through the Holy Spirit bring conviction and conversionto the
glory of Thy name.
We thank Thee for the promises of the word of God which assure us that our
needs shall be met. And we commit ourselves to Thee, and we commit those in
this audience to Thee who have need of the ministry of the triune God. At this
moment and throughout the days that are ahead. We especiallyremember
those in our calends of concern. And we pray, Lord, that Thou wilt minister to
them and supply the needs that exist. We pray for this assemblyof believers
and friends. And we ask Thy blessing upon the elders, and deacons, and
members of Believers Chapel, upon the friends who are gatheredhere. We
pray, Lord, Thy blessing on the ministry of the Chapel, its radio ministry and
publications ministry and Bible classesand other forms of personal outreach,
for the many faithful representatives ofthe Lord Jesus Christ who through
the days of the week representhim who loved us and loosedus from our sins
in his own precious blood.

And then Fatherin this hour may we have the sense of the presence of the
Holy Spirit in illumination, and may our meeting redound ultimately to the
glory of our greatGod in heaven. We give Thee thanks now. We pray Thy
blessing upon us as we sing another hymn, may it be from the heart to the
glory of God. For Jesus’sake. Amen.
[Message]We turn to John chapter 20 and verse 11 through verse 18, and our
subject this morning is “MaryMagdalene and the Resurrection.” How
important is strong devotion to the Lord.” The writer of the Proverbs states in
the 8th chapter of his marvelous book of practicalwisdom, “I love them that
love me; and those that seek me early shall find me” That’s a marvelous
statement, and a wonderful promise. “I love them that love me; and those that
seek me early shall find me.” Of course he’s speaking aboutwisdom, but
wisdom in the personified sense is a reference to ultimately our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christand this is a marvelous promise.
If you had been askedto write a gospel, fabricate a gospel, and if you had
known something of the events that transpired up to the time of the cross. And
then you were told that you were to write a sectionin which the Lord Jesus
Christ should be pictured as rising againfrom the dead, and then giving a
commission. You probably would have surely thought that the way in which
you should write the resurrectionnarratives would gather around the
apostles, the men who had been so commonly and often with him. And isn’t it
strange really that the messengerofthe empty tomb should be Mary
Magdalene, a woman.
Now, of course Mary was very important for the ministry of the Lord Jesus
Christ. We know from some of the statements of the synoptic gospels thatit
was they who were responsible for much of the supply needs of our Lord.
They gave him financial help, for of course he depended upon the Lord

through the individuals who helped him from time to time. And it is
specificallysaid that she among others gave to him of their substance.
And then if you ask who will be the messengerofthe living and risen Messiah
you would never have thought that it would be first of all, a woman. You
would have thought that it would have been one of the apostle’s and probably
Peteror John, one of the important ones. But she is not only the messengerof
the empty tomb; she is the messengerof the risen Messiah. It’s one of those
little things in the word of God that assure us or confirm to us the historicity
of the accounts that we read and study and appreciate so much.
Well Mary have given the announcement of the empty tomb, and now she is
back at the tomb. The apostles, Peterand John, having come and then having
left. And then as the accountthat we are to study now begins, Mary
Magdalene is standing outside the tomb of our Lord weeping. And we read
that as she wept she stoopeddown and lookedinto the sepulcher. Something
must have caught her attention, and as she lookedowninto the sepulchershe
saw two angels in white sitting. I like that expression, “She was standing
outside looking at the tomb,” because as youread through this accountit
becomes evident that she is very, very much associatedwith this one thing,
this tomb where the Lord Jesus Christ’s body had been. In other words, it’s
almost as if she has a kind of one track mind. The thing that she’s interested
in is the Lord Jesus Christ. Mary, after all, was a person out of whom had
come sevendemons, so the Bible says. And she was grateful for that which the
Lord Jesus had done for her. She’s a marvelous illustration of how we who
have delivered from the guilt and powerof sin should appreciate and be
thankful for the things that the Lord Jesus has done.
Many years ago whenI was studying this account, I read a story of a father
who had tried to persuade his young son that he did not really want an ice
creamcone or that he did not need an ice creamcone. They were driving

along the road togetherin an automobile and the little boy had said, “Daddy, I
want an ice creamcone.” And thinking that it would be desirable to give some
reasons why rather than simply saying no, he launched into an explanation of
why he thought it would be bad for him to have an ice cream cone. He said it
was already late in the afternoon, and furthermore on top of all the other
sweets thathe had eaten not too long ago an ice cream cone would probably
be bad for him. And in addition supper would come and that might ruin his
appetite. He gave a number of goodrational reasons why the young man
should not have an ice cream cone. And after a rather lengthy treatise, quiet
settled in the automobile. And he patted his back figuratively for managing to
give such a reasonable explanationof why he should not have an ice cream
and contentedly continued to drive down the road. Well, after a lengthy bit of
silence the boy spoke and said, “Daddy.” “What son?” “I want an ice cream
cone.” [Laughter]
A one track can be a very useful thing, of course, and in Mary’s case she had a
one track mind. She was thinking of the Lord Jesus and she was thinking of
what she had gained knowing him and what she had lost, no doubt, because he
was no longer with her. Well, seeing the angels sitting there, one at the head
and the other at the feet where the body of Jesus had lain, she was probably
surprised when they spoke to her and said, “Womanwhy weepestthou?” I’ve
always thought that was good, it’s a rather sympathetic question on the part
of the angels, and it’s of course in thorough harmony with what we know
about the angels. We are taught in the word of God that they are those who
minister to those who are the heirs of salvation. And so they were seeking to
minister to Mary Magdalene who was one of the heirs of salvation.
One other interesting thing that is told us in the word of God about the angels
is that they do not, of course, experience salvation, becausetheydo not know
what it is to be lost and then delivered from their lostness andcome to the
forgiveness ofsins. There are electangels, andthere are non-electangels and
the electangels are those who have been electedby God never to fall but to

remain in fellowship with him. So they do not know the experience of
redemption. And they are puzzled by it, so puzzled by it that they are
extremely interested in it. In fact, the Apostle Peterwill say in his first letter
when he talks about preaching the gospel, he says, “Whichthings the angels
desire to look into.” And Paul tells us that God teaches the angels the manifold
wisdom of God through the church of Jesus Christ. So as amazing as it may
seem, we are the instrumentality by which the angels learnthe manifold
wisdom of God. They see his justice and his righteousness,and they see
evidence of his love. And they see the power of the redemptive work of the
Lord Jesus Christ in the factthat sinners, rebellious individuals by the
preaching of the gospel, are transformed in their life, literally often stopped in
their tracks and by the power of God forcedto turn and become worshippers
of the one againstwhom they had rebelled before. So the angels are concerned
about spiritual things.
And they ask Mary, too, “Why weepestthou?” That’s interesting too when we
think that even angels are puzzled by women’s tears. [Laughter] Now all of us
who are men know the experience of being puzzled by the tears of women.
How often, men, have you spokento your wife or some friend who happened
to be weeping and you say, “Why are you weeping?” And often you’ll get the
reply, “I’m weeping because I’m so happy.” It seems so strange to us men.
And I’m happy that the angels are puzzled as well. Now of course in a
moment the Lord Jesus will say, “Why weepestthou?” And I don’t think he
was really puzzled. He was anxious to lead Mary to himself. And so he quickly
asks, “Whomseekestthou?”
Well, Mary replies to the angels first in a rather dejectedway. In the 13th
verse sensationalwe read, “Because theyhave taken awaymy LORD, and I
know not where they have laid him.” Isn’t it also interesting that she is
weeping because ofthe empty tomb? Now that’s a rather ironic thing, isn’t it?
Of all the things that should be giving Mary joy it was the empty tomb. But
instead of looking at it from the divine standpoint, she’s looking at it from the

human standpoint. She’s thinking not so much of what she’s gained by the
resurrectionof the Lord, she’s thinking rather of what she has lost. And so
her thoughts are all togetherturned toward herself. And so she says, “They’ve
takenawaymy Lord.” She’s identified againour Lord with his body and she
thinks that he is takenawaybecause the body is no longer there, and she
doesn’t know where they have placed him. Weeping because ofthe empty
tomb when she should be shouting for joy, ideally. I think that is so
characteristic ofus, too. So what we can sayabout Mary is she was a very,
very devoted woman, but her faith at this point is a defective faith. But
remember the statement of the Proverbs, “I love them that love me; and those
that seek me early shall find me.” And so she shall find the Lord.
And we read that as she is standing there and replying to the angels, “And
when she had thus said, she turned herself back.” Now one might wonder why
in speaking with the angels she should turn awayfrom them. There must have
been some reasonfor it. I’m sure that if I should ever speak to an angelyou
wouldn’t find me turning awayfrom the angels without having some good
reasonfor it. Well, the text doesn’t really tell us what the reasonis, but John
Chrysostom, one of the early church fathers who ministered in the 4th
century, he gives a singularly beautiful treatment of this by saying that as the
Lord appeared the angels did obeisance, andMary turned to see to whom
they were bowing. Well, it makes goodsense that as she was speaking with the
angels, suddenly they begin to bow down and she looks around to see to whom
they were bowing down. And she lookedand she thought what she thought
was the gardener.
She saw Jesus standing and knew not that it was Jesus. And the personwhom
she thought was the gardenersaid to her, “Woman, why weepestthou? Whom
seekestthou?” Now, she had been looking for something and he leads her
thoughts to someone. She’s thinking about the body, and so he says, “Woman,
why weepestthou? Whom seekestthou?” He points her to someone. So often
that is our response in spiritual experiences. We think of things when ideally

our Lord would like us to keepour thoughts upon him, because it’s the
personalrelationship in the final analysis that is important. And so she
supposing him to be the gardener, after all she was in Joseph’s place. Joseph
was a wealthy man. He as a man who evidently had his own private garden
and his own private tomb that he had hewn out at greatexpense, the kind of
personaltomb that a wealthy man would have. And you have expectedhim to
have a gardener. And so she saw the man before whom the angels had knelt in
obeisance,thinking that he was Joseph’s gardenershe said to him, “Sir, if
thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take
him away.”
So she plans a secondburial for our Lord. I imagine she was really confused
by what was happening, and so thinking that perhaps Josephhad put our
Lord in his tomb worthy of a rich man, he was now being transferred to
another place. So she plans another interment. She had gone out originally
with the other womento finish some of the burial arrangements, the personal
things with reference to our Lord’s body, which they had not had time to do,
since our Lord had had to be takendown from the cross quickly after his
crucifixion. So, “Tellme where you’ve put him, I will take him away.”
And then the Lord with one word awakenedin her a response. “Mariam,”
and there was just something about the word itself that brought recognitionto
her. This magnificent simple word Mariam. Now if you’ve been a careful
reader of the Gospelof John, if you’ve been listening to the ministry of the
word of God as we’ve tried to expound this magnificent book, you may
remember that in some of the chapters preceding the Lord Jesus Christ
through the apostle has made reference to the importance of hearing his voice.
For example, in the greatchapter on the goodshepherd, John chapter 10, the
messages whichnow are being heard over WRR here in Dallas. In the 3rd
verse of the 10th chapter the Lord Jesus speaking aboutthe shepherd and the
porter at the door of the fold says, “To him the porter openeth and the sheep
hear his voice and he callethhis own sheepby name and leadeth them out.

And when he putteth forth his own sheephe goeth before them. And the sheep
follow him, for they know his voice.” And then in the 27th verse of John 10 the
Lord said, “My sheephear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
There was something distinctive about the Lord’s voice for Mary that she
would never forget. And when he said to her, “Mariam,” she knew his voice
and replied immediately, “Rabboni,” or teacher.
Now we all know what that is. My father died almostthirteen years ago. I
would never forgethis voice. I would know his voice if I should hear it now as
his voice. If he were to speak, and I were not to see his face, and if he were to
say to me, “Lewis,” I would know his voice. There is something about the
distinctive quality of his voice that marks him out as my father. Now every
Christian, every genuine Christian knows whatour Lord is speaking about
when he said, “My sheephear my voice.” If you walk down the streetand you
were to walk by the Christian Science MonitorReading Roomand look in and
see Mary BakerGloverPattersonEddy’s Science and Health with a Key to
the Scriptures opened up in the window and start reading, well my old
theologyprofessorusedto say, “I have opened up that book or have read that
book and to me it makes just as much sense if you beganat the back of the
book and read it upside down, as if you begin at the beginning and read it
right side up.”
And he said once when he first did that it puzzled him that he could
understand nothing about it until the Holy Spirit brought home to him this
very passage. “Mysheephear my voice.” And that is true, the shepherd’s
voice the sheepknow. And those who are genuine believers in the Lord Jesus
Christ know his voice. And when the Lord Jesus said, “Mariam,” she knew,
“Rabboni.” Now, ofcourse that’s in the physical sphere, but that’s the
principle that pertains in the spiritual sphere. That’s why the sheep are kept
from the false influences that are about them. You never have to worry really
about the ultimate safetyand security of those who have truly believed in the
Lord Jesus Christ. Oh they may be from time to time mislead for a bit, they

may be taken in by some of the cultists of our day, and there are many of
them. But in the final analysis, his sheep hear his voice.
There is that distinctive testimony that comes from the Holy Spirit and the
Lord that marks us out as his own and marks him out as our own. It is the
testimonium interim spiritus sancta — the internal testimony of the Holy
Spirit that says in effectthat the word of God is the word of God and the
saints respond to it. It’s the sovereignactivity of God in the hearts of his
people. Now, those who are not his people cannot understand this. That’s why
Paul says, “Thatnatural man receivethnot the things of the spirit of God.
They are foolishness to him; neither can he know them, for they are
spiritually discerned.” His sheephear his voice. Those that are not his sheep
do not hear his voice. They find his voice puzzling, troublesome, nonsensical,
often arouses within them the natural rebellion of the human heart. I like this,
“Mariam.” “Rabboni.” She had thought he was the gardener, but the voice
awakenedin her the sense ofthe identity of the Lord Jesus.
Last night I was reading a commentary on the Apostle John. I always like to
keepreading some new one eachtime I go through the Gospelof John. And I
was reading another commentary last night on this section, and the writer of
the commentary told of a story that he had read about in one of the books that
he had been reading. One of the ministers had a funeral for people to whom
the funeral source was only a form, who did not have any Christian faith, who
did not really understand Christianity at all. And when the funeral service
was over, one of the daughters of the family walkedby the casketand said,
“Goodbye father.” It’s the end for those who have no Christian hope, but for
us, the author went on to sayit’s literally adieu to God, and it’s literally until
we meet again. There is that personalrelationship to the Lord that means
everything. And our Lord causedthat to rise out of Mary when he said to her
simply, “Mary.” “Rabboni.” They had met again.

A long time ago I read a story about an Easternparable. And in this Eastern
parable a sheik one day met a woman who was carrying in her one hand a
basin of water. In her other hand she held a torch. And the sheik askedher
what she meant to do with the water in one hand and the torch in the other.
She said, “Well, with one of them I’m going to put out the flames of hell. And
I’m going to burn up the glories of heaven with the torch.” “Why are you
going to do this?” askedthe sheik. And her reply was, “Thatmen may love
God for what he is in himself and not for what they escape orwhat they
receive.” And so here, Mary is brought to that relationship, that personal
relationship that we eachshould enjoy with him. We’re not like Jacob, we’re
not going to serve the Lord for what we can get, but we are going to serve the
Lord because ofwhat he is. And Mary says, “Master.”
And at this point there comes the commission, a lovely commissionand I want
to spend just a few moments on it. First of all, he said, “Stopclinging to me.”
It’s clearthat Mary is going to be the first witness of the resurrection, a
woman mind you. Now, I hear a lot of talk from the feminists these days, and
so do you. And some of the things that they say may be valid and genuine. I
don’t want to either criticize or praise the movement as a whole. But one thing
I will sayI have never seenthem yet claim that it was a woman who was the
first witness of the resurrection, but she was. Now, they don’t seemto go in for
this kind of thing. But nevertheless it’s true; a woman is the first witness of
the resurrection. That’s for the humbling of us who are men.
But Jesus saidto her, because evidently when she said, “Rabboni,” she fell at
the feetof our Lord and must have graspedhis legs. And he said, “Stop
clinging to me, because I have not yet ascendedto my Father.” A number of
different explanations have been given for this. I for simplicities sake will just
simply give you the one that I think is the most valid one. I think that what she
had suggestedby what she had done was that our Lord is perhaps is to remain
with her, or at leastshe expressedthe idea that she wantedhim to remain with

her in the physical sense. And our Lord replies, “Stop clinging to me, because
I have not yet ascendedto my Father.”
Now he was not talking just simply about going to the Father, but he uses a
tense in the Greek verb that means not simply that he will go to the Father,
but that he will go to the Fatherand the benefits of his going to the Father will
abide. For those of you who may have a Greek testamentbefore you, and
there probably are some in the audience, the tense you will notice is a perfect
tense. And so it could be rendered something like this, “Stopclinging to me
for I have not yet reachedmy ascendedstate.” He’s thinking about the
position that he has occupiedduring this whole present age. So this is why he
said to Mary, “It’s not yet the time to cling to me. When I reachmy ascended
state then you will cling to me, but you will not cling to me in the physical
sense, you will cling to me in the spiritual sense. BecausewhenI reachthe
right hand of the Father and am there in my session atthe right hand of the
Father, not only you Mary but all Christians will have the opportunity to cling
to me spiritually and know that I am there for your needs at all of the times of
your Christian experience, all the times of your days.” Magnificentto think
that the Lord Jesus is now not simply ministering to the eleven, or even to the
elevenand the company of believers, that group of about five hundred people
perhaps; but now he is ministering to all at all times. “So Mary stop clinging
to me, I’ve not yet reachedmy ascendedstate. Thenyou may callupon me.
Then you may find that I am ready to bless you at any moment of the day.”
But having warned her againstclinging to him, he turns to the positive side of
the ministry that she is to give. He says, “But go to my brethren and say unto
them I ascendunto my Father.” The first thing that she is told to do is she’s to
be a messengerofthe ascension, notI am coming back at this point, though
that of course is part of any messageconcerning the Lord; but I am going
away. When the resurrectiontook place the apostles couldlook at the cross
and see that the cross was notreally a defeat. It was a victory for the Lord
Jesus was raisedfrom the dead. Now, when he reaches the right hand of the

Father, that is the purpose of the death and resurrectionfor this age. It is not
simply that he’d make the atoning sacrifice onthe cross, but that he’d ascend
to the right hand of the Fatherand there make his constantintercessionto be
sure that every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ shall have all of the salvation
that the Lord Jesus has provided for them. In other words, he lives at the
right hand of the throne of God to secure the ultimate salvationand blessing
of all of the sheep of God. He has become the lamb on the throne shepherding
the flock of God and making certain that they will experience all of the
salvationthat was provided in the blood that was shed.
Now, I think that that is a magnificent thought, to realize that the Lord Jesus
is there having accomplishedthe finished work of atonement, the fundamental
foundation of salvation. He now lives in heavento secure, make certain all the
benefits that flow from that atoning work for the believers in Jesus Christ.
Isn’t it a comforting thought? Isn’t that a magnificent thing to realize that in
all of the experiences oflife the Lord Jesus is there securing the blessing,
guaranteeing the blessing, all of the promises that he has made for the
ultimate well being of all of his sheep. I find that most encouraging. And I find
it something that is sufficient for us in all of the experiences oflife.
Now he also says, “Mary, I’ve not yet ascended. I am going to ascend, of
course. But I want you to go to my brethren.” He’s going to announce a new
family relationship. “Go to my brethren and say to them, I ascendunto my
Father and your Father, and my God and you God.” Brethren, think of it,
think of the Lord Jesus as referring to me as my brother Lewis. Think of that.
Now that individual sense is not found in Scripture, but the idea that we
belong to our Lord in one family of God is stated in many different ways. “I
ascendto my Father. Go and tell my brethren.” Now mind you his brethren,
the apostles have forsakenhim and have fled at the time of the cross in
unbelief, in fear, but he still calls them brethren. In fact, in the Epistle to the
Hebrews the writer of that epistle in the secondchaptercites a text from the
Old Testamentapplies it to believers in the present day and says that he is not

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