Austin Bible Church
Regarding the doctrine of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, Peter had understood the doctrine, but had not yet believed it. He only had gnosis or factual knowledge in the left lobe of his soul. His solution would be faith. John, on the other hand, had believed the doctrine of the resurrection as epignosis in the right lobe of his soul, but had an incomplete picture. The solution was more Bible doctrine. Mary Magdalene was is an emotional state of mourning. Mary’s emotional state came when she was mourning the death of her Savior and was undergoing an emotional overload. All three were undergoing undeserved suffering.
Exposition of Mary’s reaction to the absence of Christ’s body
Response to a crisis must come from the believer’s frame of reference in the right lobe of the soul. When you do not yet have enough epignosis Bible doctrine in the right lobe of the soul and if your soul is not controlled by God the Holy Spirit, you will not correctly apply the Bible doctrine you have believed. John 20:9.
“For as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.” (John 20:9, NASB)
The problem here was an incomplete picture of Bible doctrine. You possess a rare trait if you can put a doctrine on the back burner and let it percolate without going off half charged. In John 20:9, “For as yet they did not understand the Scripture” is the pluperfect active indicative of οἶδα (oida) plus the adverb οὐδέπω (oudepō) and means never yet, there was a total blackout. “They” refers to Peter and John, but not Mary Magdalene. Neither Peter and John understood the significance of the resurrection. They simply had only gnosis in the left lobe of the soul.
They didn’t understand the resurrection even through it was taught in the Old Testament. Yes, they understood the feast of first fruits, the Levitical offerings, and certain prophecies. And yet, they did not associate the empty tomb with the resurrection of Jesus Christ. So, somewhere there was a short circuit of unbelief in the grace apparatus for perception. Apparently Peter and John had not believed this doctrine where the Holy Spirit would have converted the gnosis to epignosis and transferred it to the right lobe of the soul.
But with Mary, she had transferred and stored the doctrine of the resurrection as epignosis, but at the time she was too emotional in her grief to recall for application. She was so overtaken with grief at the tragedy of the empty tomb that she could not apply the epignosis Bible doctrine to the situation. As a result, she had suffering. It was not long, but enough for us to learn a fantastic lesson in the doctrine of suffering.
In John 20:10, “went away” is ἀπέρχομαι (aperchomai) and means they went face to face with their own. The emphasis is on the people more than on the house. Peter was returning to his wife and mother-in-law. John returned to his mother and Mary, the mother of Jesus. John 19:27.
“So the disciples went away again to their own homes.” (John 20:10, NASB)
“Then He said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!" From that hour the disciple took her into his own household.” (John 19:27, NASB)
Notice when people are upset, they go somewhere even if only in their minds. Home is not in the passage. They go to their own people, their family.
In John 20:11, “But Mary” means that she did not go to people because the only one she loved in her own mind was dead. This was personal love toward God. In a sense they all went to their own. She knew that Peter and John would be chatting as they went their way. She felt as do they, that someone had stolen the body out of the tomb.
“But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb;” (John 20:11, NASB)
Therefore, she was going to the place where she had last seen her Lord’s body. She couldn’t leave the empty tomb because she was a responder and she was responding to what was before her, an empty tomb. There is a difference here between an aggressor and a responder. Therefore, she wept. Everything she did at this point was the instinct of a great woman. She had rapport love and she wanted privacy. She didn’t need people around, but her emotions were so overloaded that she couldn’t apply Bible doctrine from her frame of reference.
The tomb was open, the body was stolen, and the tomb was empty. It was just too much and hysteria, disorientation and panic had set it. She couldn’t apply the doctrine. She was suffering grief as only a woman can. Peter and John were suffering, but not unduly. They could walk and talk. They ran back to their own nest. The only thing in the world that Mary had was the Lord and she thought He was gone.
In John 20:11, “standing” is the pluperfect of ἵστημι (histēmi) and is very intensive. A pluperfect is a past perfect and means she had been standing. That was while Peter and John were leaving. She couldn’t see anything, so she kept standing. “Weeping” is the present active participle of κλαίω (klaiō) and means she kept on weeping. Use of the verb indicates that the Greeks didn’t think much of weeping. Greeks never wept at funerals. They screamed but never cried. This started out as bona fide weeping but went into non-bona fide continuous weeping.
“As she wept” is the imperfect active indicative of κλαίω (klaiō) where the imperfect tense indicates that it was prolonged beyond what it should have been. The participle modifies the indicative mood and it means that her weeping was now out of bounds. “She stooped” is παρακύπτω (parakuptō) and means to stoop to a thing in order to look at it, to look at with head bowed forward. The weeping of Mary was a woman’s love responding to what she had, an empty tomb. You can see what happened to her. She wept because even His body was not there. So she responded with “out of bounds” weeping.
Mary had privacy at the empty tomb. Privacy plus free will are the ingredients of a woman’s love. Some men are idiots and will never learn this. Do you think you can force, coerce, or pressure a woman into loving you? You snap your fingers and expect the woman to bow down and love you?
If her love doesn’t come of her own free will, it is not worth having. It isn’t love. It’s slavery. If you rip away a woman’s privacy and you rip away that mysterious something that put the icing on the cake. It will destroy the romance of a lifetime. By the way, the Bible teaches everything about women and about men.
If she had remained with Peter and John they would have been talking. One thing about them, they were never at a loss for words. This tells you something. In times of stress, who wants to gab? Men or women? The men. The women would rather remain quiet.
She didn’t want conversation. Why? She wanted privacy. Why? She didn’t want conversation because she had to think as a woman in love would do. It was a greater test of faith-rest to face the empty tomb alone without the rapport of friends. Now, put this in your mind. In solitude of privacy, you discover what you believe. It may be right, it may be wrong. But in the company of friends, you simply discover what you understand.
In John 20:12, “and she saw two angels” is the present active indicative of θεωρέω (theōreō) and means to perceive with the eyes, to discern, to see. You would expect “she saw” to be βλέπω (blepō) or ὁράω (horaō) (panoramic view) but it is theōreō. Theōreō means the angels were there all the time, but Peter and John didn’t see them and Mary hadn’t seen them until now. Angels have bodies composed of light and this is speaking of a translucent or partially transparent object. We know this from Lucifer, son of the morning in Isaiah 14:12. This type of light means that it can be observed under certain conditions and at certain angles. Occasionally a shadow is thrown across the object in some way and they become observable. Angels have been seen by people.
“and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying.” (John 20:12, NASB)
“"How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations!” (Isaiah 14:12, NASB)
And when angels are observed by people, they appear to be as people. Angels appeared to Daniel and Zechariah. They appeared at some time or another to every prophet. The mind and eyes are reflecting same word that was used by Peter in John 20:6. God guarded the body, one at the foot and one at the head. This is God’s way of comforting Mary.
“And so Simon Peter also came, following him, and entered the tomb; and he saw the linen wrappings lying there,” (John 20:6, NASB)
In John 20:12, “sitting” is καθέζομαι (kathezomai) and means to seat oneself. They made themselves visible. The presence of the angels proves that the body of Jesus had not been stolen as Mary presumed. One angel at the head and another at the feet where the body of our Lord Jesus Christ had been lying.
In John 20:13, Mary was crying. There was no need to cry anymore. There is a time when tears need to be dried and we need to keep on living. The angels asked “why are you weeping?” but they knew why. Men often ask women why they are crying. They are often confused. They didn’t know she was happy. They didn’t know she was sad. They didn’t know she was mad. They didn’t know she was upset. A woman can be a thousand things and cry. It just means that a woman is a responder. She has a supercharger on her emotions.
“And they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him."” (John 20:13, NASB)
Women would go absolutely berserk if they didn’t have this. Because she is a responder, this is her safety valve. It lets off the extra pressure by weeping. Since a man is an initiator, he doesn’t need this supercharger. Tears to a woman are a fantastic source of relief.
These angels ask the question not because they did not understand, but because Mary at this point was out of line. Her legitimate weeping had turned to disorientation at the point in the past. If her frame of reference had been functioning, she would have looked at the empty tomb and concluded that her Lord and Savior had been resurrected. But, at this point she was disoriented.
This is why a woman can become angry at a man and still love him. Her supercharger has broken down. She can even love a man and go out and get drunk with another man then wake up in the morning and feel like 40 kinds of a donkey and her supercharger returns to normal.
Mary thought they had snatched away the body of her Lord and she did not know where they have placed His body. She got away by herself and when she thought the thing through, she found out what she believed. A lie. When someone believes a lie, they are never interested in the facts. When you believe in a point of false doctrine, when you hear the true doctrine, you do not believe it.
In John 20:14, Mary was not interested in talking with the two angels. She gave them an answer. And then turned away from them. Her interest was in the Lord and no one else. What does a woman do when the one she loves is gone and then suddenly appears? She ran and threw her arms around Him. A passive response would be absurd. She will not talk to strangers. The principle here is that a woman in love is never a flirt. She is the glory of the man she loves, but never a flirt.
“When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus.” (John 20:14, NASB)
“Saw Jesus standing there” is the perfect active indicative of θεωρέω (theōreō) which means He has been standing there for some time. “And did not know that it was Jesus” is the pluperfect of οἶδα (oida) and is very intense. Why did Mary not recognize Jesus? Under emotional stress and with her eyes filled with tears, her physical vision was impaired. Therefore she saw, but she didn’t see. She was thinking about something else.
Her mind was made up with regard to something that was false. While it was not true, Mary thought the body of Jesus had been stolen. The principle here is that reality lies in what people think, not in the truth. “Don’t confuse me with the facts, my mind is made up.” Since Mary assumed that Jesus was dead, she could not associate any living person with Him. In her mind He was dead, so this person could not be Jesus.
Here is the suffering. If she would have had the facts in her frame of reference, she could have saved herself all this suffering. She had a good imagination, but no facts. Reality is found in what people believe. Therefore, Mary believed that Jesus was dead, so He couldn’t be alive. Her assumption was the man she saw must be the gardener who usually would be around this time of morning. Mary’s failure to recognize Christ emphasizes the importance of getting facts before drawing conclusions.
In John 20:15, “Woman, why are you weeping?” is the vocative of γυνή (gunē). Jesus knew the answer to the question. The question was needed to reorient Mary Magdalene. Her grief was a part of the excessive emotional function of the soul. Ordinarily it is a bona fide function. Remember that doctrine in the right lobe of the soul can be applied toward God or man, but a pressure situation has to be handled from frame of reference in the soul.
“Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, "Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away."” (John 20:15, NASB)
Before Mary could recognize Jesus, she had to stop being enslaved by her emotions. She was not mastering them. If you are a slave to your emotions you are miserable. If you are master of them, you are happy. The same principle is taught in Romans 16:17-18 and 2 Corinthians 6:11-12.
“Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them. For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.” (Romans 16:17-18, NASB)
“Our mouth has spoken freely to you, O Corinthians, our heart is opened wide. You are not restrained by us, but you are restrained in your own affections.” (2 Corinthians 6:11-12, NASB)
Both emotion and sorrow can take the believer out of bounds where divine viewpoint is lost, even in mature believers. Excessive emotion short circuits the frame of reference function. Reality was in the mind of Mary. In her mind, Jesus was dead. Therefore, she did not recognize Jesus when He spoke to her. But reality should have been in the facts, the doctrine of resurrection. This is why she can stand right beside Him and not recognize Him.
In John 20:15, “Supposing Him to be the gardener” was a wrong assumption. She did not recognize our Lord. She only wanted to find Him and offered to go and get Him and carry Him away. Her emotions were still dictating to her. She had an edification complex in the right lobe of her soul, but she had believed a lie. Mary was overly emotional and trying to think without facts and had believed a lie.
In John 20:16, Mary was tone oriented to her name pronounced by our Lord. It was pronounced in Aramaic. “She turned” is the aorist passive participle of στρέφω (strephō) and means to turn around. She called our Lord “Teacher” which means she was a responder to Bible doctrine.
“Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, "Rabboni!" (which means, Teacher).” (John 20:16, NASB)
In John 20:17, “Stop clinging to Me” is the present middle imperative of ἅπτω (haptō) plus the negative and means to stop fastening to, to stop kindling a fire, to stop clinging. She grabbed Him and hugged Him with all her strength. The word means to stop doing something that is in progress. Mary was clinging to Jesus with reflex and with impulse of a woman in love. Her precious loved one, her treasure, lost forever is now recovered forever through resurrection.
“Jesus said to her, "Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.'"” (John 20:17, NASB)
She made certain by clinging to Him that He was not a ghost. He was attractive but “hands off.” He wasn’t available. He was attractive and a challenge (once conquered and brought to heel like Carmen). He was a status symbol and attractive to her because of His status. He was attractive and would be acceptable under any circumstances. This is true love.